J/24s & Shake-A-Leg Miami At Key West

* During Key West Race Week 2011, Kerry Gruson, a disabled sailor from Shake-A-Leg Miami, helmed John Smittle's J24 CLASS ACT for the first time Tuesday, then Wednesday and then again Thursday.

John Smittle has made it possible for disabled sailors and now current Military Veterans from Shake-A-Leg Miami to compete in Key West Race Week since 2005.  On Thursday, Ketty Wilson Gonzalez, an Iraq War Vet who is part of the Shake-A-Leg Miami Veteran's program, also joined the team.  Cool, eh?

John Smittle who teaches at J/World Key West, has a local sail making and canvas repair loft and is also a Navy Pilot Veteran (a.k.a. a Top Gun/ Black Aces trainer on those little F-14 jets that only go a million miles an hour upside down over Havana--- just to check on Fidel).

If any of you J Sailors wish to help out on Harry Horgan's eponymous program in Miami, please don't hesitate to contact him at:  Harry Horgan, Ph# 305-527-5602 or harryhorgan@gmail.com or visit Shake-A-Leg Sailing website- http://www.shakealegmiami.org   

J/24 Pan Am Games Trials

(Tampa, FL)- This week, the Davis Island YC who bills themselves as "The Sailingest Yacht Club South of the Mason Dixon Line (actually, Southeast)" is playing host to three J regattas in a row!  First, they are hosting the J/24 Pan Am Games Trials, then the J/24 Midwinters, then the J/22 Midwinters-- they will be busy catering to the fun-loving, under-demanding needs of J/22 and J/24 sailors who always look forward to their time in the sun in midwinter Florida.

Starting this week, the J/24 Pan Am Games Trials has a "who's who" of recent J/24 Champions (National, North American and World) vying for the honors of heading south to an awesome place to sail the Pan Am Games 2011 off Vallarta Yacht Club in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on the spectacular sailing venue, Bahia de Banderas.  Amongst the leaders will be Charlie Enright from Bristol, RI sailing MOOKIE, Will Welles from Portsmouth, RI skippering FAWN LIEBOWITZ and John Mollicone from Newport, RI racing 11TH HOUR RACING- "the green, environmental boat".

Sailing against the American representative will be Maurizio Santa Cruz from Brazil, a past J/24 World Champion, who will have just come off of some good practice sailing the J/24s at Monaco's Primo Cup last weekend as a qualifier for the J/24 Worlds in Montevideo, Uruguay in September of this year.  For more J/24 Pan Am Games Trials sailing information.   For more J/24 Pan Am Games Mexico sailing information.

Of note are the fact that J/80 and J/24 sailors from Texas have won the Lightning berth for the American team at the Pan Am Games. Jay and Jody Lutz along with foredeck crew Derek Gauger recently won the Lightning Class Pan Am Trial's dominating a very tough group of sailors-- Go get 'em guys!!   

J/24 Monaco Primo Cup

(Monaco- Feb 4-6)- This year's 27th edition of the Primo Cup/ Trophy Credit Suisse runs over two weekends, the 4-6th and 12-13th of February and has traditionally marked the launch of the international racing season in the beautiful, picturesque principality of Monaco.  For over a dozen years, Prince Albert of Monaco raced J/24s in the event, inviting other royals from around Europe to participate and either stay at the Palace or nearby swanky hotels along the waterfront.  This past year, Port Hercules was buzzing with all the competitors from around Europe- Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Great Britain, Hungary and, remarkably, a huge contingent from Russia.  Of the 99 entries in 5 classes, the J/24s were the largest sailing class at the event (others had many "no shows").  Those 24 J/24 entries came from 7 countries- Monaco, France, England, Hungary, Italy, Brazil and Sweden.  Amongst them were Sweden's Anna Maria Gunderson, Brazil's BRUSCHETTA sailed by Maurizio Santa Cruz with J/Boats Italy's Paolo Boido aboard, England's HITCHHIKER sailed by Andrew Taylor and JOLLY ROGER helmed by Roger Morris, and Hungary's NORD TELECOM SAILING TEAM skippered by Gabor Makai.

Brazil's Mauricio Santa Cruz, three times world title holder in 2006, 2007 and 2009, commented, "It is the first time I sail in Monaco, this event is internationally recognized for it gathers the best European challengers." To gather all the competitors, Dennis Frederiksen, J/24 class representative, had organised a skiing weekend in Limone, France. Dennis mentioned that "the competition would be a great challenge as the winner of this series would also receive an "invitation" for the J/24 World Championship on 11th to 19th November 2011 in Montevideo, Uruguay."

"The years follow on and none are alike. After the snow and very strong breezes of 2010, it is the first time in 27 years that we have had such light, sunny conditions!" declared Thierry Leret, Race Committee President, at the prize-giving. Indeed, spring-like conditions, with an anticyclone centered on the Gulf of Genoa meant only one race counted during the whole of the first weekend of the Primo Cup - Trophy Credit Suisse.

"That's the risk you run with regattas! We had the most amazing practice sailing conditions from Tuesday to Thursday with 15 knots of wind and a calm sea which meant we were able to sail with many foreign teams who had arrived early to get in some training!" observed Jean Rodelato, one of the J/24 specialists in the very international field.

"It is the first time I have come to Monaco to race in the Primo Cup, as I had heard so much about this event which is a benchmark on the international one-design scene. I witnessed the dynamism of the Monegasque J/24 class which organised a ski & sail ahead of the regatta,"  commented Mauricio Santa Cruz (Bruschetta), triple world champion. Faced with a Monegasque and Italian armada, he clinched a fine second ahead of the Monegasque Pieter Flohil (Dangerous) and won “selection by invitation” to take part in the series’ world championship being held 11 to 19 November 2011 in Argentina.

As it turns out, Mauricio only had to sail one race!  On Saturday 5th February, following a recall, the J/24s competitors had to calm down their enthusiasm after being shown a black flag, with all early starts disqualified.  Despite a slow start, Santa Cruz's BRUSCHETTA team figured out the tactics and surged through the fleet to finish 2nd in the one and only race that was run on all three days!  The placid, calm seas made for gorgeous sunrise and sunset photos but offered impossible conditions to finish off the regatta after a beautiful start on Friday midday.  BTW, the "swag" the competitors receive for entering the event is extraordinary, as are the trophies-- including a Hublot Yacht Chronograph for all the winners, tasty champagne and lots of other nice things like you see in this photo! See you there next year!   Sailing and Regatta Photos by Carlo Borlenghi     For more J/24 Monaco Primo Cup Sailing Information.   

J/24 Key West HQ- Schooner Wharf!

* J/24 sailor Evalena Worthington- Key West co-owner of the famous Schooner Wharf- is hoping more J/24 sailors and friends show up next year!  The Schooner Wharf has always been one of the most popular hangouts for sailors participating in the annual race week off Key West. Walk the dock in front of the Schooner Wharf around 4 p.m. any day this week and you will a rainbow of colors as the place is packed with crew members sporting their various team uniforms.

That is the type of scene Evalena Worthington envisioned when she sailed into Key West aboard an 83-foot wooden schooner named Defiance. Worthington and future husband Paul met while delivering schooners and decided to settle in the Conch Republic and open a bar.

Worthington, a native of Sweden, is competing in Key West 2011 aboard the J/24 FREYA. She has sailed in the regatta many times before, but is skippering an entry for the first time in three years.

“I love race week and having all the sailors in town,” Worthington told the Key West Citizen. “I love to sail, love to race and it’s just fun to participate in an international event.”

Worthington and her four-member crew of Key West locals performed well this year in PHRF 3. Like so many other competitors at Key West 2011, Worthington’s team heads straight to the Schooner Wharf after a long day of racing to enjoy green bottled beer, blender drinks, Mount Gay rum and live acoustical music.

“It’s fun to be part of this event and have Schooner Wharf be part of the camaraderie that race week brings to Key West. I like having the sailors at the bar sharing the stories of the day.”   

J/24s at Audi Victoria Week

PACEMAKER Claims Top Prize
(Geelong, Vic, Australia)- David Suda and his PACEMAKER crew proved too good for all the Sandringham Yacht Club entries they faced in the J24 competition at Audi Victoria Week, winning the week of sailing with a score card that included five wins in the nine race series.

With the pressure well and truly off, Suda finished a great week of sailing on Corio Bay with a pair of second places today to win the series from Hugo Ottoway’s VICE VERSA by a handy six points.

"I thought on Sunday ‘we’re not going to win this’, but then we turned the corner and got three wins, so that helped us a lot," an incredibly happy David Suda said on realizing he’d won.

Suda told how he and Ottoway could not make it to the J/24 Nationals, so both were determined not to miss Audi Victoria Week. "I really wanted to win against him (Ottoway) in Geelong, so it’s pleasing for my crew to do that," he said. (Note- we can see why, here's his support team to the right!).

Suda, who has been at Audi Victoria Week for the past eight years, said today, "we’ll definitely be back and we’ll be encouraging a few more J’s to come."

Simon Grain (MAKE MY JAY) finished third overall with a win in Race 8, four points behind Ottoway, while Kirsty Harris steered HYPERACTIVE to a win in the final race for fourth overall.

The competition was always going to be rife, but it was not unexpected to find David Suda (PACEMAKER) and Hugo Ottoway (VICE VERSA) at the top end of the fleet.

Today’s conditions on flat-water Corio Bay emulated those of two days ago; light and shifty 7-9 knot breezes initially from the north, but moving more around to the east throughout the day in the Royal Geelong Yacht Club series.

Beating Suda’s five wins from seven races, with a worst score of third place coming into today’s races, was always going to be a big ask. Suda set a high bar with his well-named PACEMAKER, even for Ottoway, who has had to play bridesmaid all week, apart from taking out the opening race.  Full sailing results for Audi Victoria Week     Audi Vic Week video- see Geelong Highlights with interview of David Suda, J/24 class winner on PACEMAKER.  

For more J/24 one-design sailboat information.   

DEATHSTAR Wins J/24 Australian Nationals

(Sydney, Australia)- A strong turnout of sixteen J/24s were hosted by Middle Harbour YC in a wide variety of sailing conditions for this year's J/24 Nationals Down Under.  It was very competitive.

The first day was a challenging one for most of the fleet, especially interstate boats who aren’t used to the 2m swell and shifty light winds. Race 1 was convincingly won by Nev Wittey on SAILPAC who led from start to finish, closely followed by John Crawfords’ INNAMINKA, skippered by his nephew, Robert Crawford and third place went to DEATHSTAR skippered by Sean Kirkjian. Defending National champion, Sean Wallis came 4th on LUNATIC ASYLUM. Race 2 saw Neville Wittey win again, very closely followed by Sean Kirkjian with Sean Wallis only 9 seconds further back. The third race of the day was  abandoned after a wind shift and was then re-run, this time seeing Sean Wallis take honours over Neville Wittey and Ace, sailed by David West coming third.

The second day started with similar wind conditions to  Day 1 – flukey 15 knots easterlies, tending north for the third race of the day produced difficult helming conditions for skippers.  Nev Wittey took out race 4 from Sean Kirkjian, with a convincing two and a half minute win. Robert Crawford sailing INNAMINKA came in a close third after DEATHSTAR.

Ron Thomson sailing KICKING BOTTOM had his best race of the series so far, with an impressive 4th, just 6th seconds behind INNAMINKA.  Race 5 produced an exciting finish between Sean Kirkjian and David West with only 1 second separating first and second.  Robert Crawford scored another third, only 10 seconds behind the winner.  Peter Stevens on CODE VIOLATION had his best race so far, to finish fourth.  Race 6 was a black flag start after a general recall, unfortunately seeing series leader Nev Wittey over the line, as well as MADDER N BADDER.  The two Seans, Kirkjian and  Wallis battled for first and second throughout the race.  Simon Grain helming  MAKE MY JAY finished third -their best race so far!  Today’s black flag has caused major change in overall placings in the regatta with yesterdays series leader, Nev Wittey dropping back to third and Sean Kirkjian moving up the placings to first.

The third day started with similar conditions to the last 2 days and race 7 saw a fine downwind tussle between Sean Wallis on LUNATIC ASYLUM and Neville Wittey on SAILPAC on the last leg – with Sean Wallis just taking the honours by centimeters.  Sean Kirkjian followed with third on DEATHSTAR.  Race 8 saw a slight wind increase and some boats changing down to jibs for the first upwind leg.  This time Sean Kirkjian finished first with a nice lead, after using his genoa for the whole race. SAILPAC came in 2nd again, followed by Sean Wallis in third.  The top 3 boats all scored 4 points each today.  It appears that the championship is between Sean Kirkjian and Neville Wittey but we will see what day 4 brings.  INNAMINKA, steered by Robert Crawford, first time sailing on a J/24 took 2 fourth places today and are running 4th overall after a consistently good week.

The fourth and last day was breezier than the rest of the week, with all boats carrying jibs today!  Race 9 saw Sean Kirkjian come out early and take the lead, with Sean Wallis in second and Nev Wittey in third.  Race 10 saw the same result, leaving no doubt that Sean Kirkjian was the first person to win his fourth J/24 Nationals – DEATHSTAR was hard to beat this week and out of 10 races, had 5 wins.

Congratulations to all competitors for some great racing this week, and for the efforts of 5 interstate boats making the trek to Sydney.  Thanks to MHYC for hosting a great regatta and for all those involved in making  this event a huge success.  Please also support Nicole at www.sailingimages.net   – she did a great job catching all the action on camera this week.   Full J/24 Australian Nationsl race results are available here.  For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information.  For more J/24 one-design sailboat information.   

SAILPAC Leading J/24 Australian Nationals

(Sydney, Australia)- A strong turnout of sixteen J/24s are being hosted by Middle Harbour YC in a wide variety of sailing conditions.  So far, the racing amongst the top three has been very competitive.

On the first day, January 10th, the fleet was sailing in very challenging conditions, especially out-of-town boats who aren’t used to the 2m swell and shifty light winds. Race 1 was convincingly won by Nev Wittey on SAILPAC who led from start to finish, closely followed by John Crawfords’ INNAMINKA, skippered by his nephew, Robert Crawford and third place went to DEATHSTAR skippered by Sean Kirkjian.  Defending National champion, Sean Wallis came 4th on LUNATIC ASYLUM.  Of note, the crew of three Pacific Sailing School boats that are sailing in this years Nationals include SAILPAC, STARPAC and PACATACK (picture above).

On Day 2 the fleet started with similar wind conditions to Day 1 – flukey 15 knots easterlies, tending north for the third race of the day produced difficult helming conditions for skippers.  Nev Wittey took out race 4 from Sean Kirkjian, with a convincing two and a half minute win. Robert Crawford sailing INNAMINKA came in a close third after DEATHSTAR.  Ron Thomson sailing KICKING BOTTOM had his best race of the series so far, with an impressive 4th, just 6th seconds behind INNAMINKA.

At this stage after day 2, the fleet leaders are SAILPAC's Neville Wittey with a 1-1-2 record for 4 points in first.  Second on a rebound roll is Sean Wallis' LUNATIC ASYLUM with a 1-3-4 score for 8 pts.  Third is DEATHSTAR sailed by Sean Kirkjian with a 4-2-3 tally for 9 pts.  Lying fourth is ACE skippered by Dave West with a 3-6-9 for 18 pts.  And rounding out the top five is WAVECUTER II's Graeme Thorburn with a 5-8-6 scorecard for 19 pts.  For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information.  For more J/24 sailboat information.