(Charleston, SC)- Event Chairman Randy Draftz said that nature smiled on
the fleet for Charleston Race Week’s 21st birthday. “This is a dream
forecast with our strongest group of sponsors, supporters, and
competitors ever, and it’s fitting that our birthday present is the same
thing that made Charleston such a world famous sailing destination:
Great wind.”
With three courses in Charleston Harbor and one outside the jetties,
Sperry Charleston Race Week welcomed competitive sailors of all skill
levels, from the highest ranks of Olympic and America’s Cup crews to the
newest jib-and-main racer looking to get their toes in the water.
Skippers and crews hailed from some 27 nations, while boats ranging from
19 feet to 84 feet raced in seven mixed/handicap fleets and 11
one-design racing classes.
Terry
Hutchinson was one of those America’s Cup stars, and he said there are
few things better than April on the water in Charleston. “I don’t get to
come to Charleston every year, but when I do, it starts the whole
season off perfectly,” said Hutchinson, who raced aboard Joel Ronning’s
CATAPULT in the 72-boat J/70 fleet. The former ARTEMIS Racing skipper
and his team arrived early enough to put in two extra days of practice,
which Hutchinson said would be essential for his team to do well in
Charleston. “The competition level in the J/70 class is no joke, and
this will probably be the biggest J/70 regatta all the way until Worlds
in 2016. We could use even more practice, but we’re ready to get out
there tomorrow and make good things happen.” Those were prophetic words
coming from a J/24 World Champion and two-time College Sailor of the
Year.
With high-levels of competition in both the offshore handicap and
one-design world, it is notable that the top two most prestigious
trophies in the regatta went to J/crews. Winning their fourth Palmetto
Cup, the perennial trophy for best overall handicap racing performance,
was Robin Team and the family-filled J/122 TEAMWORK program. As a
result, they became the winningest boat in Sperry Charleston Race Week’s
21-year history. Then, on the one-design front, Julian Fernandez’s J/70
FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO, producing a “two-peat” performance, took home the
Charleston Race Week Trophy for the best overall performance in a
one-design class. Here is what happened over the weekend.
Friday
The first morning came on like a winter blast, with cold, driving rain
and a brisk northeasterly breeze greeting the more than 2,000 sailors
ready to do battle for the day. With dangerous surf at the harbor’s edge
and a building wind forecast, all offshore racing was canceled before
8:00am. Event Director Randy Draftz said that while he hated to see the
big boats lose a day, it wasn’t a difficult call.
“After looking at wind readings and wave reports from private boats and
the US Coast Guard, and consulting with our Race Officers, we decided
safety was far more important than racing, especially in potentially
boat-breaking waves,” Draftz said. “There was definitely relief on most
of the skipper’s faces after we called the offshore racing off.”
Meanwhile, the shelter of Charleston Harbor meant the inshore fleets –
eight of them on three separate courses – had powerful but very
manageable conditions, with all classes finishing three or four races in
winds under 18 knots.
Just
under 70 teams were racing in the J/70 class, with more America’s Cup,
Olympic, and Championship racers than one can easily count. After three
races, no professionally driven and crewed boat was beating 13-year old
Gannon Troutman on PIED PIPER, whose crew includes his Dad- Dan. “We put
a lot of time into getting faster and progressing over the winter, and
it’s definitely showing this week,” said Troutman, who said his biggest
focus when he’s out on the race course is— - - focus!
“I work on keeping distractions to a minimum and doing my job– driving–
the very best I can, all the time,” said the teen, who added that he’s
rarely intimidated even when being shouted at by sailing superstars.
“They’re just trying to mess you up, so it’s best to ignore them and
just sail fast,” he said, with wisdom far beyond his age.
Troutman’s
youthful confidence may be brimming, but there’s another, far younger
J/70 sailor looking to put a dent in the 13 year-old’s game plan;
Connecticut couple Molly and John Baxter were racing their J/70 VINEYARD
VINES at the regatta, despite expecting their new baby in just four
months. “It’s early in the regatta, but we hope to have the first
prenatal Charleston Race Week Champion crowned on Sunday,” Molly said!
Youthful exuberance abounds in the J/70 fleet, while experience and
tradition filled the J/24 fleet– a Charleston staple. Local racer Mike
Palazzo and his team on JO’MAMA sat in 10th place after three races, and
he was all smiles in the afternoon, even before his first Gosling’s Rum
Dark-n-Stormy. “We had a middle-of-the-pack day, but it was still a ton
of fun out there racing in the best place there is. Everyone started
the day with blade jibs, and the smart guys transitioned to bigger
headsails for the second and third race when the wind dropped.
Unfortunately, we didn’t make that move, and paid for it,” said Palazzo.
Saturday
Friday’s wintery conditions were barely a memory after Saturday’s
picture-perfect Day 2, with 15-20 knots of wind inshore and over 20 kts
outside the jetties. The conditions allowed for racing across all the
courses despite seas that ranged from ‘bumpy’ to ‘scary’ according to
crews returning from the offshore race course.
Sailing in handicap racing Class B, Frickie Martschink and Bill
MacKenzie’s crew on board their J/105 RUM FRONT out of Charleston said
the racing was great. “The ride out was pretty rough, but once on the
course, conditions were not easy, but good for racing,” said Martschink,
who said the highlight of his day was rounding the top mark and setting
the asymmetrical spinnaker. “Once we got that set, we were smoking, and
what a blast- - - well, until we had a little issue getting the kite
down.”
Among Martschink’s competition in the 10-boat class was his brother
Miles, who helms an identical J/105 named SKIMMER. “We’re going to make
sure our crew work is clean and quick tomorrow so we can be sure to
beat my brother,” said Martschink.
Overhead waves against the tide caused problems for even the most
seasoned sailors, but it was the crew of the Circle 5 Race Committee
boat that faced the biggest challenge on Saturday. After the first race
of the day, a huge wave launched the 36-foot offshore fishing boat into
the air, seriously injuring two crew. With transfer to a safety boat
impossible in the rough water, the race officials were forced to return
to shore, ending the day for Circle 5 after one race.
Meanwhile, on the inshore course in the biggest class ever assembled at
CRW, 13 year-old Gannon Troutman continued to lead the huge J/70 fleet
despite blowing up a spinnaker. “A little hole at the top mark held
until the very end of the last race, and it tore to pieces in seconds,”
said Troutman. “We still got first place, though,” he said.
Sunday
Certain boats seem to thrive in Charleston’s breezy, tide-wrought
conditions, and this year provided the perfect weather for them.
Perennial favorites and past champions battled adversity to rise to the
top once again, while new faces joined the podium in several classes.
For the third straight day, the wind provided plenty of power for the
nearly 250 boats racing out of Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina,
and in the biggest and most competitive class– the 67-boat J/70 fleet –
13-year-old Gannon Troutman was poised to wrap up an amazing victory
after leading this tough fleet all week. From Mexico City, helmsman
Julian Fernandez Neckelmann – the reigning J/70 World Champion – had
other ideas for his crew on FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO. In what turned out to
be the final race of the series for their flight, it was a battle for
the top five all race. After rounding the weather mark first, Brian
Keane’s SAVASANA rounded the leeward gate even with FLOJITO. On the
next weather leg, it was nip and tuck with FLOJITO leading and
Troutman’s PIED PIPER passing boats to move into third position. At the
windward mark, FLOJITO rounded first and took off on starboard gybe,
only
to get into a relative hole of wind of less than 12 kts (displacement
mode) in the middle of the course. Rounding in second was Keane’s
SAVASANA, who immediately gybed onto port into a massive string of 18+
kt puffs to ultimately plane around FLOJITO to win the race at the
downwind finish. Meanwhile, FLOJITO’s crew nervously gybed back to the
left hand side of the course to protect their lead over PIED PIPER. In
the end, FLOJITO took second in the race and edged out Troutman that
took third in the race. As a result, the duo tied at 21 points after
nine races. By virtue of Fernandez’s number of first-place finishes, the
youngster from Fishing Bay Yacht Club lost the tiebreaker, but neither
Troutman nor his parents seemed disappointed at all.
“We just tied for first in big breeze against the guy who won this
regatta last year, and he’s also the World Champion, with his full World
Championship crew. We’re feeling pretty good about that,” said Gannon’s
proud Mom. FLOJITO’s team not only won their class, but also took home
the Charleston Race Week Trophy for the best overall performance in a
one-design class.
Rounding out the top five for the J/70’s were an amazing performance by
the Baxter family- John + Molly + new kid almost on the block! As
winners of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series in Tampa Bay, Team VINEYARD
VINES were one of the few crews that had yet to sail against a
comprehensive set of the top competitors in the class. They proved to
be up to the task, at one point winning two races in a row and finishing
only 3 pts out of first! Fourth was the formidably-talented team on
Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT with multiple World Champion and Rolex Yachtsman
of the Year Terry Hutchinson on board. Fifth was Bruno Pasquinelli’s
STAMPEDE team with yet another College Sailor of the Year aboard- Morgan
Reeser.
In the
“Master’s Division”
of skippers over 60 yrs old, it was Joel Ronning winning, with John
Brim’s RIMETTE in 2nd place with Steph Roble on board as tactician (a
Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year winner). Third in Master’s was Peter
Cunningham’s POWERPLAY Racing from the Cayman Islands with yet another
multiple Collegiate All-American onboard- Tony Rey from Newport, RI. As
Tony remarked after racing on Saturday, “I’ve never sailed in a regatta
that had as many College Sailors of the Year in one event- Terry
Hutchinson- 2x, Bill Hardesty- 1x, Morgan Reeser- 2x, Stu Johnstone- 1x.
Peter was more than pleased to feel competitive in such company to take
an 11th in his first regatta, particularly after having raced his J/29
POWERPLAY for years and more recently his TP52 POWERPLAY! By the way, he
loves sailing his J/22 at Cayman Islands Sailing Club!”
In the
“Corinthians Division”, it was Rob Britts crew on HOT MESS
that sailed a solid series to win by a significant margin, proving that
practice makes perfect after having sailed the entire Quantum J/70
Winter Series in Tampa. Second was Jack Jorgensen’s LAYLA. Third was
Andrew Fisher’s team on BUTTON FLY with the B-SQUARED gang of Bryan
Cameron & Bryan Elliot in fourth, followed by Alex Meleny’s TRUCKIN’
in fifth place.
It’s
a testament to the level of competition in the fleets that tiebreakers
would decide other titles as well. The J/24 fleet was just as close as
local Charleston skipper Scott McCormick’s GIGGTY held off a late
charge for the second straight year from Aidan Glacken’s NY-based MENTAL
FLOSS to take the back-to-back class win on equal scores. Third was
Carter White’s SEABAGS SAILING TEAM from Portland, ME. Chris Stone’s
VELOCIDAD was fourth and Ron Medlin’s BASH fifth.
On the same race course were the J/22s and J/80s. In J/80s, Gary
Panariello’s crew on COURAGEOUS proved their ORC Handicap win in Quantum
Key West Race Week over Farr 280s was no fluke. Posting virtually
straight bullets, they won class quite handily. Perhaps the
heartwarming story of the week on the family front (other than the
Gannon’s in the J/70s) was the successful performance of father Bill
Lockwood crewing for his skipper daughter- Shannon. That combo proved
quite formidable, taking second overall in J/80s. Third was Vince
Kalish’s WHITE LIGHTNIN’, with Alex Kraus’ COOL J in 4th and Senor MANGO
in 5th- Ken Mangano and crew.
The
J/22s saw John Mossman’s CYC crew win with Dan Lawless’s SLIPPERY WHEN
WET take second for the series. However, the “winners” for all J/22
crews concerned was the nice performance by the WARRIOR SAILING TEAM’s
first major regatta of the year.
Skippered by Sammy Lugo, a handicapped American war veteran, they
managed to prove those with disabilities can be competitive. Coached by
Ben Poucher, the team members arrived a little late to the awards party
and Poucher was immediately waylaid by a reporter from Charleston’s
Post & Courier. The team had been attracting local media attention
all weekend, but he didn’t mind it at all, because they were on hand to
collect their third-place trophy in the J/22 Class. “We’re all going up
on stage,” said Poucher, referring to skipper Sammy Lugo, and crew
members Scott Ford and David Carras.
“Today turned out to be our best day at the event for both of our
crews,” said Poucher. “The guys really jelled and had the boat going
well. It’s gratifying to see them do so well.” And gratification is what
local sailing organizer Guy Mossman offered when he took the stage at
the awards presentation to acknowledge the third place finish by the
Warrior crew. “The Warrior Sailing Program is such an admirable
initiative,” said Mossman to the crowd. “It introduces injured and ill
veterans and active service personnel to the sport of sailing. These are
people we should all be grateful to. They make up less than one percent
of our population, but they defend this nation all over the world, and
allow us all to live free.”
On the offshore side of things, it was getting a bit fraught.
Fortunately, there was a very, very cool solution to the issue. With no
end to the brutal wave conditions offshore, Event Director Randy Draftz
and his principal race officers decided early in the day to bring the
Circle 5 fleet inside the harbor, but where would they go? “It’s tough
to find space with 200 boats already racing in the harbor, but with the
help of the Harbor Pilots Association and the US Coast Guard, we came up
with a solution that seemed to work,” said Draftz.
That solution was something never before tried at Sperry Charleston Race
Week – a fourth inshore course inside the Wando River. “We weren’t sure
it would work, but thanks to great communication between all the local
agencies, every offshore boat got in three good races in perfect
conditions in the river,” Draftz added. One offshore racer, Phil Garland
who crewed aboard Steve Thurston's second place J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN,
said that sailing north of the Cooper River Bridge was "just like
frostbiting in Barrington. River sailing with current and tide just like
back home– we all thought it was pretty cool.”
As a result, after counting only one race offshore on Saturday, the
offshore divisions may have, ultimately, decided en’masse to only sail
Charleston in the Wando River from now on end after sailing three quick,
tight, extremely competitive races. After all, the thermals are
strongest in the river and when it’s from the north, it’s also fun and
much shiftier. Plus, many crews were heard to say, it was so much more
fun to think of the possibility of having breakfast with their friends
before sailing at a Caribbean-like 11am start! Hmmm. Interesting
possibilities for the future.
Taking advantage of that inshore situation were crews accustomed to short, tight, tactical scenarios with strong current.
Scenario #1- J/111s. Peter Wagner’s supremely talented crew on
SKELETON KEY from San Francisco, CA that won Quantum Key West Race Week
simply ran the table with straight bullets. In a battle for second was
Bill Smith’s WOOTON from Chicago, IL and Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF
from Cleveland, OH. That duel was settled by tactical, closed-course
strategies- advantage WOOTON. Fourth in the fleet was Bennet
Greenwalds’ PERSEVERANCE and fifth was Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY.
Scenario #2- J/88s. After posting an offshore 1st, Rob Butler’s
crew were going to have to deal with a talented short-course crew on
Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION. After a 1-1-2 on Sunday, it was clear Iris’s
crew were loving her ability to get off the starting line, steer fast,
and hit the shifts. Hanging tight despite a few miscues was Butler’s
TOUCH2PLAY RACING with a 5-2-3 on the last day. The “big mover”
happened to be the DNF on Saturday’s racing- Doug McKeige’s JAZZ. Their
final day posting of 3-4-1, with an emphatic final race win, was good
enough for the bronze. Mike Bruno’s WINGS Key West Race Week winning
team took 4th place in the challenging conditions and Brian O’Malley’s
crew on BLUE were fifth position.
Winning
PHRF A and the Overall Offshore Palmetto Trophy was Robin Team’s
extraordinary crew on his J/122 TEAMWORK. Taking 4th in class and
struggling a bit on the inshore course was Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION.
In PHRF B, it was an extraordinary performance for J crews, ultimately
taking five of the top six! Tops was Rick Moore’s J/120 MOOSE DOWN in
2nd, followed by Fred Martschink’s J/105 RUM FRONT in third, Willy
Schwenzfeier’s J/35 ARROW in fourth, John Keenan’s J/120 ILLYRIA in
fifth and Miles Martschink’s J/105 SKIMMER in sixth.
Ultimately, in PHRF D it was a matter of attrition by several top
boats. However, in the end it is pretty damn hard to beat a well-sailed
J/29 masthead boat. Steve Thurston’s MIGHTY PUFFIN pulled off their
class win with a 1-2-1-2 tally.
The Pursuit Racing Division had two races around the inside of
Charleston Harbor while the “offshore boats” had to deal with
contentious conditions. In Pursuit Race Spin 1, Bill Hanckel’s J/120
EMOCEAN took third overall and Bob Musor’s J/130 SCEPTRE was fifth
place. In Pursuit Race Spin 2, Bob Key’s J/27 AUDACIOUS was 4th. In the
Pursuit Race Non-Spin division, Mark Swatta’s J/30 LAS BRISAS was 6th.
Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes- TimWilkes.com
J/70 weather mark video More CRW sailing video here For
more Charleston Race Week sailing information
(San Diego, CA)- San Diego Yacht Club’s signature spring regatta, the
Yachting Cup, will be sailed for the 44th time April 29- May 1 and many
prominent sailors are eagerly awaiting and training for the event. There
are eighty-eight boats participating, with thirty-three J/Teams (38% of
the fleet) competing in offshore PHRF handicap and four one-design
classes (J/70, J/80, J/105 and J/120).
SDYC
Staff Commodore John Laun, winner of the 2012 Yachting Cup and owner of
the J/120 CAPER, is also registered for this year’s race. “The level of
competition is typically been very high, in fact, J/120 class winners
have been named the overall winners of the Yachting Cup for all classes
competing 3 times since 2006. As a SDYC signature regatta, it’s always
one we aim for on CAPER every year, and this year will be especially fun
and focused since it is essential that we win to be in the hunt for the
overall series championship. We always look forward to the close
competition and excellent camaraderie in the J/120 fleet.”
The
J/105s have nine boats on the starting line and they will be missing
some of their friends from the Los Angeles area. Nevertheless, in the
last event, the San Diego NOOD Regatta, it was a duel to the finish in
the final race for Rick Goebel’s SANITY and Dennis Case’s WINGS. Watch
for them to get all tangled up again this weekend. Meanwhile, other
fast teams can slip through the fireworks and score some good races,
like Steve Howell’s BLINK or the Hurlburt/ Driscoll duo on the bright
safety orange-colored JUICE!
Finally,
as outlined above, the J/80s will no doubt have a tough time with Curt
Johnson’s super-fast AVET, but Suzuki Yusuke on SAVAGE and Wayne
Zittell’s J/WORLD I are looking forward to their three-way cage fight
for first!
These
five sailors, aged 14 to 17 will compete in the J/105 class, against
national champions and highly experienced teams, putting their dingy
skills to use in the big keelboat:
(Mystic Seaport, CT)- Bob and Rod Johnstone to be honored by the Mystic Seaport Museum this October 22nd!
Mystic Seaport will present its 2016 America and the Sea Award to Bob
and Rod Johnstone – J/Boats. Given annually by the Museum, the
prestigious award recognizes individuals or organizations whose
contribution to the history, arts, business, or sciences of the sea best
exemplify the American character.
America
and the Sea Award Gala is the single largest fundraising event for the
Museum. Proceeds from the event benefit the mission of the Museum to
inspire an enduring connection to America’s maritime heritage.
(Detroit, MI)– The Premiere Sailing League USA (PSL USA) announces that
Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (GPYC) as the first official “stadium” for the
sport’s first American-based sailing league. The inaugural demonstration
event will take place from September 10th to 11th at Grosse Point YC in
their brand-new fleet of six matched J/70s. Founded in 1914, GPYC is
one of the country’s premier yacht clubs and a prominently visible
landmark located on Lake St. Clair, less than 30 miles from downtown
Detroit.
“Grosse
Pointe YC is doing an amazing job with their youth and high school
programs and will make good use of their boats in between sailing league
events,” said Benjamin Klatzka, the President of PSL USA. “Integrating
with the programs of our partner sailing clubs is one of the important
concepts PSL USA will implement to further support the sport.”