J/24s @ Bacardi Sailing Week

(Miami, FL) – Following a successful inaugural year, Bacardi Miami Sailing Week will return to Coconut Grove in Miami, FL, from March 6-12, 2011. For the J/24 fleet that participated, they were treated to some remarkable, beautiful conditions.  The hospitality was considered "unbelievable, gracious, extraordinary, groovy, awesome".  Wanna have some fun?  Go for it. J/24s.  Miami.  South Beach.  Coconut Grove.  Biscayne Bay.  Hard to miss.  Great follow-up to Key West and Miami offshore events.  Weather is awesome.

The event will be a six-day experience that will gather national and international sailing classes together in a fun-filled week of regattas, awards ceremonies, parties, and cultural exhibits. The racing begins on March 7, with events scheduled daily through March 12. The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club will coordinate on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The US Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami will also support the event. Racing will be held on three separate courses on Biscayne Bay.    More information on Miami Sailing Week.

  

Unique J/24 Prints

(Newport, RI)- Just in time for the holiday season, WG Sofrin Fine Prints of Newport, RI is pleased to announce the introduction of a customizable J/24 sail and lines plan print.

This print was developed in conjunction with the J Boats design team using the original design data from Rodney Johnstone. This classic keepsake is perfect for any office, home or club.

The print is produced using archival inks on acid-free select print stock.  WG Sofrin Fine Prints specializes in customizable print services.  Sofrin's work is collected around the globe, and his original work can be viewed upon prior appointment at the MIT Museum in Boston, MA.  Visit http://www.willsofrin.com for all the details or email will@willsofrin.com.

  

Happiness Is The J/24 Circus Regatta

(New Braunfels, Texas- Nov. 19-21)- The last stop of the Texas Circuit took place on November 19-21, 2010 at Lake Canyon Yacht Club in Canyon Lake. It was a triumphant win for the "happy" gang on-board Bob Harden's MR. HAPPY.  They not only won the last regatta, they won the whole bloody season and join the ranks of other famous Texas sailors like John Kolius, Scott Young, Jay Lutz who've preceded them as winners of this epic, season long series held at some of the best watering holes in Texas.  Ever popular, this year's J/24 Texas Circuit continues to see strong, competitive fleets and rarely does the same boat win successive events-- must be too much tequila and salsa during the previous victory celebration that might have something to do with that issue.

While Bob and crew won, it was not without a strong challenge from Bryan and Vicki Dyer on RUMLINE.  They started out strong with a 1-2-4, throwing down the challenge to the others to match them.  However, they could not keep up the pace, falling off the proverbial cliff in the last two races with a 5-3 to drop them out of content for the series against the HAPPY crowd.  Third overall was Stuart Lindow racing TROPICAL AGGRESSION, finishing strong with a 2-2 to cement their claim to the bronze.  Fourth was Doug Weakley sailing AMBASSADOR with 26 points and fifth was J/24 Southwest Champion Kelly Holmes-Moon racing BADMOON with 32 points.   For more J/24 Texas Circus Regatta sailing information.   

Vincenzo Onorator- ex-J/24 & J/39 sailor competes for America's Cup

* Vincenzo Onorato- another former J/24 and J/39 sailor from Italy (and leader of the famous MOBY Lines providing ferry service to the islands of Elba, Corsica and Sardinia)- is now the leader of the MASCALZONE LATINO AC34 Challenge.  Vincenzo was a good sailor when he was racing his J/24 and J/39 and was always an honorable and fun-loving person that loved the sport of sailing and, most importantly, included many of his friends and family.  Recently he wrote Michele Tognozzi, editor of FareVela (a leading Italian sailing publication):  "Dear Michele,  I read Fare Vela Online with interest, every day. I have also read the criticism leveled at my club, seen as a sleeping partner of the Defender rather than a Challenger of Record worthy of its name. I partly feel responsible for these opinions as a direct result of our scant communication on the work we are carrying out. Oracle and Mascalzone, and their respective yachts clubs, inherited a disastrous Cup in terms of image, a result of the long and, I point out, legitimate litigation with Bertarelli. Russell and I meet almost every week and our teams are in daily contact.

All decisions taken are thoroughly discussed and thought through. It is also true we are going through an international economic environment, to say the least disastrous, and this is a further incentive to act with utmost care and caution. My silence doesn't mean I'm not doing anything,  but that we are humbly working, among other things, on carrying water to our mill. I'm Italian and my mill is called Italy, I would like to take to our country a series of events of the next Cup, just like I did last summer in La Maddalena.  A Jesuit priest that taught me in school used to say: Look at the substance of things, not their form. That's what I'm doing.  Your faithful and devoted reader, Vincenzo Onorato".  Full story can be read on Scuttlebutt USA here.

  

J/24 Crew Goes Swimming?

*  What do you do when you are near the finish line and a crew member falls overboard?  Tell them to hang on and keep racing!! Ouch! Can't imagine J/24 racing in New South Wales, Australia is that competitive?!  In Saturdays fantastic MHYC Race on 13th November, the J fleet comments are that a lot of fun was had – blue skies, good solid breezes, dolphins on the start line, shrimp on the barbie, lots of cold tinnies.  However, probably not so much fun for the wet crew member off the J/24 J-SPOT!!  Post race comments from Skipper Adam were along the lines of telling him they were only 20 miles from the finish line so he better hang on!  Tall story for sure--- eye witnesses report it was more like 150 meters.  The picture says it all.  Photo courtesy of Nicole Scott- for more pics go to http://www.sailingimages.net.au  More interesting J/24 tidbits below, though one hopes many kept their crews on board most of the time!   

Mike Ingham- new J/24 North Guru

* A long-time J/24 ace and supporter of the class, Mike Ingham, recently joined North Sails to help them on their one-design programs in general.  Mike is a past J/24 North American and National Champion. In addition to his North American and National titles in the J/24 class, he has placed second in the J/24 World Championship and is an East Coast and Great Lakes Champion. Mike will continue working out of his home in Rochester, NY, where he lives with his wife and three children.  Another long-time J/24 expert and champion, Vince Brun (btw he sailed in the first J/24 Midwinters in 1978 in Key West!!), had this to say about Mike, “he will be a wonderful addition to our team of J/24 class experts and will give us the opportunity to reach out to even more J/24 sailors nationwide.” In addition to many victories on the race course, Mike has coached at Cornell University, the University of Rhode Island and Yale University. He has been a personal coach and training partner for many successful sailors and has won numerous awards and including being named an All-American at Cornell University in 1986.  Photo is J/24 North American Champion, Pat O'Toole using North Sails.   

Terry Hutchinson & Ed Baird- Quantum Evolution

* What do Ed Baird and Terry Hutchinson have in common with Mike Ingham, Ken Read, Chris Larson and several other noteworthy (perhaps famous) sailors?  A J/24 World Championship.  Not to beat their drum for any particular reason, but Quantum seems to be targeting a lot of good talent that are coming out of the world's largest offshore one-design keelboat classes- the J/22, J/24 and J/80s.  Recently, Terry is taking a deep breath and jumping in with both feet to be Captain Fantastic (e.g. helmsman) aboard the great yacht ARTEMIS in the America's Cup 34th rendition, sailing super-fast, incredibly dangerous 72 foot carbon fiber catamarans powered by enormous carbon wing-sails.  As a result, Terry is leaving his duties as helmsman aboard the TP-52 QUANTUM RACING.  Jumping into the driver's seat is yet another J/24 ace, Ed Baird, formerly skipper of ALINGHI in AC33 in Valencia, Spain!  Ed Reynolds, President of Quantum, says Baird’s expertise as both a sailor and coach make him a great fit for the team, which clinched the Audi MedCup TP-52 World Championship title earlier this month. "Ed is an 11-time world champion, has sailed with many of the guys on our team and is very much committed to our program, which is as much about product development as it is winning races. Ed’s accomplishments both on and off the water are impressive and his analytical approach to sailing is a real asset. We’re very excited to bring him on board and will value his expertise as we work to put a new boat, rig and sails on the water."