J/Sailors in America's Cup World Sailing Series

(San Francisco, CA) - America's Cup sailors participating in this week's ACWS 2013 Season Opener in San Francisco Bay are again having to put up with a strong contingent of past and current J/Sailors tossing a monkey-wrench into the works.  Starting with recent Gold Medal Olympian Ben Ainslie, he's on "training wheels" this week and progressing rapidly- having done well on the Match Race front and learning the ropes in the fleet racing-- a combination of dinghy and keelboat (J/109 & J/24/ IC24) experience have contributed to his open-minded approach to success.  Giving Ben and others a run for the money are J/24 World Champion Terry Hutchinson directing the Team ARTEMIS program along with other J/Alumni on other teams-- perhaps the Spanish sometime soon (Iker Martinez and friends from J/80 World in Spain?).  Then, don't forget John Kostecki, past J/24 World Champion as well calling the shots for Jimmie Spithill-- a formidable combo to go against in John's "backyard" (a.k.a. San Francisco Bay!).

J/24 Sailors Dominate Americas Cup Match

(Newport, RI)- In the America's Cup World Series Newport sailed on the AC 45 cats, it was past J/24 World Champion Terry Hutchinson that won the Match-Racing Series overall. Congratulations to Terry and crew on Team ARTEMIS for winning what amounted to the prologue to the America's Cup Match Race that will take place on the monster AC 72 catamarans with their towering 125 foot tall wing sails on San Francisco Bay in the summer of 2013.  If you're the type that slows down to look at car accidents, this may be THE sailing event for all you rubber-neckers! Flying bodies, broken boats, equipment and sails may be the norm if these 72 ft cats have to sail in 20-30 kts nuking out on the Bay.  For more America's Cup World Series sailing information

America's Cup World Series Celebration

(Newport, RI)- Governor and Mrs Lincoln Chaffee and the ACWS Host Committee invite you to join them for a celebration of the ACWS Newport event on June 8th, 6:00 PM at Fort Adams- North Lawn.  It will be a fun, festive affair. Enjoy lots of hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and live entertainment. You can buy America's Cup sailing celebration tickets here.

The World Series races are being held in locations around the globe; Newport's race will be the final stop before next year's America's Cup in San Francisco. Newport last hosted an America's Cup event decades ago-- back in 1983.  The upcoming ACWS regatta at Fort Adams State Park features top international sailors competing in 45 foot all carbon catamarans with massive wing-masts.

As many of you probably know, many of the top America's Cup teams feature skippers, tacticians, team managers that have sailed J/22s and J/24s and won numerous World Championships over time.  Included in that group are John Kostecki (tactician on ORACLE), Terry Hutchinson (skipper on ARTEMIS) and Francesco di'Angeles (manager of PRADA).  Plus, looking out for both the AC and Golden Gate YC's interests is Vice Commodore Tom Ehman (top J/24 sailor for years in the hot, local J/24 fleet in Newport!).

The event is scheduled for June 23 to July 1 and will include four days of exciting racing right between Ft Adams and Jamestown's Fort Wetherill across the Bay-- it promises to be extremely tight, thrill-a-minute racing. Skippers will be playing "rope-a-dope" as they challenge each other for maximum gains on every turn at NASCAR closing speeds!  For more ACWS sailing information.

J/24 Italian America's Cup Sailing

(Naples, Italy)- In keeping with the influence of Italy on the sailing world, it's somewhat coincidental that SAILING WORLD's recent "50th Celebration" article from past J/24 World Champion and College Sailor of the Year Terry Hutchinson- "Recover from a bad start"- was published recently.  As Terry said, "Patience is a virtue when it comes to recovering from a bad start."  In it, Terry Hutchinson explains how to get in the clear after a bad start: "You know you've had a bad start when you can't execute the game plan determined before the race. Two critical things must happen if you wish to recover: the helmsman has to sail the boat as fast as possible while in dirty air, and you need to decide where to go to get clean air."  Here's the article- http://www.sailingworld.com/experts/recover-from-a-bad-start

But, what to do after a "bad spill"?  Don't have that answer yet!  Take a look at this problem Terry recently encountered while racing an AC45 in the America's Cup World Series off Naples, Italy--

http://www.americascup.com/en/Latest/Gallery/2012/4/AC-World-Series---Race-Day-One---News/

What's the coincidence here??  Terry's up against LUNA ROSSA that has Francesco De'Angelis as a principal part of their racing/management program.  LUNA ROSSA recently won the fleet racing, appropriately enough, in Naples, Italy in the same waters that Francesco won his 1987 J/24 World Championship off the famous island of Capri!  Small world, eh?

Terry Hutchinson- Why AC45 Cats are Faster than J/24s

Terry Hutchinson has been participating in the new America's Cup AC45 catamarans down in Auckland, New Zealand.  Terry has learned to stuff the bows already doing 20+ knots and "send it down the mine", as they call it- a euphemism for going down to the bottom of the sea!  Terry's ARTEMIS RACING Team is learning fast and are, simultaneously, sailing the Extreme 40 catamaran circuit in Europe and Asia.  Hear more about Terry's perspective on the "learning to sail catamarans for dummies 101".  Interesting stuff.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JusttO11jXo  

So, which former J/24 World Champion has the better sailing toy?  Terry's AC45 and AC72 or Kenny's VOR 70?  In either case, you, too, could have that choice if you started sailing J/24s, J/22s or J/80s!!

  

J/24 Sailing Ace Terry Hutchinson Racing AC34 Cats

Past J/24 sailing ace Terry Hutchinson is now sailing for the AC34 on Team ARTEMIS. This past week he was caught on tape sailing one of the new AC45 cats for practice.

While fellow J/24 cats like Ed Baird and Chris Larson were kicking it back and sailing in the Rolex Cup regatta down in St Thomas, Terry was pushing the limits of disaster-- in cats those who live closest to the edge most consistently win, simple math.

Just ask Kenny Read about sailing Formula 40s in the Pro Circuit back in the 80s, remember that famous picture of them with bows stuck in the water on San Francisco Bay and the whole crew hanging on for dear life?  Should be fun and interesting to watch, just don't want to be a body hurtling through the hyperspace after a "double-poke" with a 72 foot cat cart-wheeling over my head, too.  Good on ya mates for pushing the envelope of performance!  Sure is fun to watch!    Watch this YouTube video of how they do sailing these machines here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_lDXQVcRaE   

J One-Design Expertise Helps Racing Big Boats!

* J One-Design Expertise Helps!  Past J/24 World Champion John Kostecki (right) led the Farr 40 Worlds fleet home sailing on TRANSFUSION.  Another former J/24 Champion Chris Larson (left) was doing the same further down the ladder.  Great story, consistency is King, as they say in tight, college-style fleets.

In race nine Transfusion's crew were coughing dust for the first upwind leg and appeared to lack boat speed while defending champion Nerone was sailing hotter angles out in front on the first downwind run. Transfusion's US tactician, John Kostecki, now a three-time winner in the Farr 40 Worlds, lived up to his reputation as one of the world's best as the local boat clawed its way back to finish second behind Nerone, and win the title!  While five different boats won races during the series, Transfusion won only once, but never dipped below a seven.  Consistency pays.

Start sailing any one of the large International J/One-Design classes- J/22 (http://www.j22.org), J/24 (http://www.j24class.org), J/80 (http://www.j80.org)- and you'll learn darn fast! Or, why do you think top women sailors have a hard time winning the Rolex Women's Worlds sailed in J/22s or many of the top USA skipper/ tacticians and European or Australian skipper/ tacticians often started in the middle of the pack of J/22, J/24, or J/80 fleets at some point in their life learning how to sail better, faster, smarter?  Takes practice to get good, lots of it.   

J/80 Sailor Bruno Trouble- Announces Louis Vuitton & AC34 Partnership

* Louis Vuitton Cup For AC34- Bruno Trouble (J/80 sailor extraordinaire from France), Russell Coutts, Yves Carcelle, Richard Worth, and Pietro Beccari celebrated their new partnership between Louis Vuitton and the 34th America's Cup!  Amazing, from the ashes a Phoenix yet rises again-- gotta hand it to Bruno, brilliant man and a French gentleman who knows how to get the job done.

Continuing its 30-year long association with the America's Cup, the Paris-based fashion house will present the prize, the Louis Vuitton Cup, to the winner of the America's Cup Challenger Series, as well as serve as Official Timing for the 34th America's Cup. "We are thrilled to announce today the continuation of our 30-year partnership with the America's Cup. Having met with the team several times, we believe that the 34th edition will be the best America's Cup yet," said Yves Carcelle, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier.   

Ken Read, Russell Coutts at Bitter End Pro-Am

* Ken Read, Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Tom Leweck and participants in the Bitter End YC's annual Pro-Am Regatta always have a good time.  A fascinating element of the event is to listen to what the top sailors have to say about many facets of the sport of sailing.  Tom Leweck has attended for years, as has Rodney Johnstone from nearly the beginning of the event on J/24s over 25+ years ago.  This year Tom had some rather interesting interviews.  This interview is led by Ken and Russell with audience participation- interesting YouTube video to watch.

  

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.

  

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."   

Russell Coutts- on one-design & youth sailing

Russell Coutts has sailed all kinds of boats, including match-racing in J/44s and J/105s.  This past week the America's Cup was on a tour of the East Coast of the United States, with stops at the White House, NASDAQ, CBS Early Show and finally to the former home of the America's Cup, Newport Rhode Island.

In the afternoon, the Russell and the BMW/Oracle team entertained upwards of 400 youth sailors from the Narragansett Bay sailing community. The boys and girls, ranging in age from 8 to 16, were welcomed by Coutts, a past youth world champion.  As Russell explained:

"You don’t have to be a good Optimist sailor to be a good sailor.  When I was growing up in New Zealand I used to read about the races in Newport, but never thought I’d get the chance to compete. I also never dreamed of visiting the White House and meeting the President of the United States. It just shows what you can accomplish with hard work and dedication, and how broad our sport is."    Read more on the Sail-World.com site.
  

J One-Design Champions Leading The Charge At Louis Vuitton Trophy

Who says that former College Sailors of the Year and J One-Design Champions don't know how to match race?  Amongst the world's top teams competing in the current Louis Vuitton Trophy are J sailors such as John Kostecki (Oracle/BMW), Ed Baird (LUNA ROSSA),  Terry Hutchinson (ARTEMIS), Chris Larson (MASCALZONE LATINO), Sebastien Col (ALL4ONE) and Morgan Larson (MASCALZONE LATINO).  And sprinkled amongst the crew of 8 of the 10 boats are champion J sailors of one form or another- guys who raced and cut their teeth on J/22s, J/24s, J/80s and J/105s across the world match racing in various venues.

One of the more amusing anecdotes of the racing in La Maddalena came from American Morgan Larson commenting on tactics that were employed between two former J/24 Champions:  "Mascalzone Latino slammed the door on Artemis with a strategy the Italian team had been refining for some time. The guys on the boat made a great call for the left side and Gavin did a beautiful job of executing that," said tactician Morgan Larson. "We spent a lot of time this morning talking about Terry Hutchinson's weaknesses in the prestart. I think Gavin exploited that weakness. It was very close. Terry was really close to getting an overlap with us that would have shifted everything. If they got an overlap they would have got the left and probably won the race."  Read more about how these top sailors are doing to win the Louis Vuitton Trophy.
  

J/24 Champion Ed Baird Skippering LUNA ROSSA

* Ed Baird - Back on the helm with LUNA ROSSA for AC34? Like the Ken Read's, Terry Hutchinson's, Chris Larson's, Dave Curtis', Maurizio Santa Cruz's of the world, winning the World Championship in a one-design class like the J/24 is terrific training for sailors wishing to succeed at world-class levels offshore and around the cans.  There is NO substitute for starting with world-class one-design dinghy sailing, then jumping into world-class one-design keelboat sailing to learn what it takes to prepare boats, fine-tune the sails, practice perfect boat-handling and motivate the crew to work as a cohesive team with the ultimate goal in mind of sailing to win.  Few practicioners know how to do it well consistently.  Ben Ainslie comes to mind as a good example of a next generation sailor that is learning the art and science of it quite well.  Amongst the "old guard", Ed Baird is certainly amongst the best.  Ed was at the helm when the Alinghi team won the 32nd America's Cup in 2007, which led to him being honored that year as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Last week it was announced that the Italian fashion house PRADA was returning to the America's Cup scene, where team owner Patrizio Bertelli - a three-time America's Cup campaigner - had reassembled the LUNA ROSSA team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in La Maddalena, Sardinia next month.  Read more about Ed's interview and current sailing plans on Scuttlebutt.