J/88 AND J/122 TRIUMPH @ PORT STEPHENS REGATTA

 

(Port Stephens, NSW, Australia)- The Sail Port Stephens 2021 Regatta was held 19-25 April with the Port Stephens Trophy Event held 23-25 April with 130 keelboats and 50 trailerables and off-the-beach classes enjoying the mild-Autumn conditions. 

Sail Port Stephens goal is to give competitors the best possible on and off water regatta experience in one of the east coast’s finest sailing destinations, a little over 2 hours north of Sydney by car or an easy 90.0nm day sail.  The Port Stephens slogan is "Incredible By Nature"! And, if you love pristine beaches, crystal blue waters, spectacular sunsets over the nearby ranges and great sailing conditions then this is the place to be.

Two particularly outstanding results for the three-day event were the J/88 JOJI and J/122 JACKPOT, both winning their class convincingly.  Mark Wharton’s J/88 JOJI winning 1-1-2 in their 26 boat Division 3 fleet.  Rob Hale’s J/122 JACKPOT with 12-2-2 scores in their 22 boat Division 1 fleet.

Friday, the fleet looked spectacular as they headed offshore from Port Stephens under spinnaker, rounded the offshore islands then headed to the mark off Fingal Bay’s white sandy beach. A westerly of around 12-14 knots stayed for their course.  Saturday was the Broughton Island Passage Race with light and variable breezes and a few DNF’s, but there was no stopping the J’s.  Sunday, the South Westerly breeze returned for the final day of the regatta being an inshore W/L race.  Reports from Mark (J/88 JOJI) and Rob (J/122 JACKPOT) are below:

J/88 JOJI:
“It was J/88 JOJI’s second Sail Port Stephens Regatta, its first in 2019 when the fleets got smashed by a 40-knot southerly squall in the last race. Not a fun moment or one to repeat. So this year’s breeze and weather conditions were just what the race organizers  ordered. It was a record fleet of 130 boats spread across a number of varied divisions. The racing was serious but lots of fun too with some close quarter starts and tense top mark roundings.

JOJI went into all races knowing who the local boats were, as local knowledge was key to master the currents and breeze shifts. The size of JOJI relative to the Division 3 fleet meant that it was essential to get a clear air start. Lucky for us, all three starts were good and so we managed to break away from the main fleet to chase down the fast locals.


The first 2 races were passage races out offshore around the Islands and made for terrific asymmetrical spinnaker sailing. The 3rd race, an up and down with two marks top and bottom to give the 60 or so boats room at either end.

JOJI’s handicap wins in the first two races didn’t separate the field very much “points wise” and going into the last race four boats were within a couple of points of each other. The pressure was on.

The 3rd race started in similar fashion, close quarters, downwind start, gybing onto port on the line and positioning for clear air again. And, also keeping the local gun boat within reach. JOJI’s superior speed upwind along with some great crew work on the tacks meant we knocked off the “boat to beat” and he eventually got buried in amongst the bigger boats. JOJI maintained its clear air lead and took line honors and 2nd on handicap and winning the series by a clear 16 points.

A great result for JOJI and its crew!“


J/122 JACKPOT:
Sydney-based J/122 JACKPOT lived up to her name again with a convincing win at Sail Port Stephens regatta over the weekend. The result is even more impressive as this is the first time JACKPOT has competed in the ever-growing Sail Port Stephens regatta. 

“It’s a very different sailing area to our beloved harbor, with much more navigational effort required for the shallows, channel markers, wind shifts, and tidal effects than we are used to,” said Rob.  

At 40ft, JACKPOT was at the smaller end of the impressive 22 boat competitive fleet including Farr 52, Dehler 46, First45’s, McConaghy 47, first 47’s, and an X43 to name a few.

Rob Hale commented, “the first race was very light with plenty of shifts and tidal influence, we were a bit rusty, but still managed a 12th. Being one of the smallest boats in the fleet, we had to re-think our start line tactics which helped us come back with vengeance in race 2 with a hard fought second place. Race three was inshore, but again we managed a second place totaling 16 points for this three-race regatta, a clear 4 points ahead of our closest competitor.


It’s such a good feeling when you know you are at the smaller end of the fleet, but finish with the top four boats crossing the line and look back thinking that was another great race.

Port Stephens is a beautiful and scenic place to race, and we will be back to defend our title in 2022. We would like to thank our competitors for keeping us on our toes, Port Stephens Race organizers, and of course, our trusty crew for a great event.”

Sailing Photo Credits: J/122 Jackpot photos by D Edmiston.  J/88 Joji photos by Sail Port Stephens.

CHECKMATE CROWNED J/24 VICTORIA STATE CHAMPIONS

(Victoria, Australia)- Recently the Sandringham Yacht Club hosted their annual Victoria States J/24 Championship. The fleet was blessed with gorgeous sunny weather, winds ranging from 4 to 18 kts, the breeze starting northwest and shifting to the southwest on both days. Choppy seas made for difficult steering conditions upwind, with teams making the hard choice of which jib to use in the upper wind ranges- the 150% genoa or the 100% jib. The fleet was unusually over-eager and aggressive on the starting line, with lots of general recalls, restarts, U-flags and even several U-flag DSQs! 

After an eight-race series, it was Brendan Lee's CHECKMATE that consistently powered their way to victory, winning four races and counting only podium finishes to win by a significant margin. Taking the silver was Warren Campbell's J-FORCE, posting all top five finishes for a cumulative score of 22 pts.  The bronze went to Adam Keyes-Tilley's BAILE DE LUNA with 28 pts total. Rounding out the top five were Hugo Ottoway's BRUSCHETTA VI and Warren Slater's JAB in fourth and fifth, respectively.


Winning the PHS handicap division was Darren Cuttsy's JOYRIDE, followed by Richard Taylor's HAYWIRE in second and Chris Ravesi's PANAREA in third position. 

A big thank you to Sandringham YC Race Management and PRO Warren Campbell and the Committee for putting on a fabulous event. Plus, thanks to our contributors, Carina Tomietto, Craig Wiley, Adam Keyes-Tilley. More posts, video and info on the Victoria J/24 Facebook page.  For more Australia J/24 class sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 BRISBANE TO GLADSTONE RACE REPORT

(Brisbane, Australia)- The past Easter Weekend, the J/111 BLACK DOG sailed the Brisbane to Gladstone Race in near gale sailing conditions. Here is their report from owner/skipper Rodger Vinton.   

"The 73rd Brisbane to Gladstone (B2G) yacht race started on Good Friday 2 April at midday. The course is 308.0nm long and starts in Brisbane (Queensland) in Moreton Bay, going to a turning mark off Redcliffe pier; before heading across the bay to Moreton Island then exiting the bay through the NW shipping channel. The course then runs past the Sunshine Coast, keeping Fraser Island to port, leaving Lady Elliot Island to port and then going across what is affectionately known as “the paddock” to Gladstone. The last 15.0nm is a trip up the shipping channel to finish off at the Gladstone Yacht Club.

There are many divisions in this race, including Vintage through to Modern yachts, competing in cruising and/or racing divisions. The boats range from 10.3 to the 30.48 metres Black Jack (100 ft Maxi). There were 37 boats that started the 2021 race, including the J/111 Black Dog with 7 crew skippered by Rodger Vinton.

The forecast was for southeasterly winds of 25-30 knots for the start and then building as the day went on with expected gusts of up to 35 knots and large confused seas off Breaksea at the northern tip of Fraser Island.  We started with full main and 3.5 jib and ended up a few minutes late for the start re-running reef lines.

Just after the start we put up the A3 kite but it was too shy, so we changed down to the 3.5 jib and then we were off passing the fleet. The upside of a slow start was that we did get to see most of the other boats.

Once in the shipping channel we were able to hoist the A3 kite again and in the bigger gusts we hit 20 knots boat speed. At NW4 beacon we were going to drop the kite but a gust of 30+knots hit and we broached. It took a while to get the kite back onboard and then up went the 3.5 jib again. 

At dusk we put the first reef in and sailed at about 150 AWA running down the large quartering swells. Dark rain clouds would come through and the wind speed would increase, occasionally hitting 40 knots. After Breaksea we jibed onto port to our next mark Lady Elliot Island and then after we reached Lady Elliot Island the wind dropped slightly with top gusts of only 25 knots. We put the A3 up again. This lasted about half an hour before the wind speed built and the A3 was reduced to tapes. 

We carried on under reefed main and the 3.5 jib until the finish. The top boat speed we recorded was 24 knots under reefed main and 3.5 jib as we surfed down big seas and we also saw a top wind speed of 41 knots. During the night we were smashed by a big wave and it hit one of the crew with such force that her PFD auto inflated with a bang and set the strobe light off. The look of shock on her face was priceless and we then had to use one of the spare PFDs for the rest of the race. Now we know what happens to an auto PFD and why you need to carry spares.

Our experience with our first B2G race in 2018 was that in heavy weather no one eats much, so we took a lot of finger-food that could be eaten on the rail. We ate things like salad rolls, BBQ sausages, home-made pies, fruit, biscuits, lollies, trail mix, chocolate, and Doc’s rice pudding. Seasickness impacted a few crew, but was managed with the appropriate meds. All of our crew finished the race in one piece and our mascot toy dog SALTY survived, too – just a bit wet. Other boats and crew were not so lucky – there were 11 DNF’s including most of the favorites for line honours and IRC, with a couple of crew injuries including one needing to be air-lifted off in a medical evacuation.

We crossed the line in 6th place after 32 hours and 12 mins, we won the line honors trophy for a yacht under 37 feet and came 2nd in Division Two on both IRC and PHRF. A great result for our J/111!

The boat went very well, with all three people on helm enjoying the challenge of the ride. The only boat damage sustained was one A3 kite and the broken toilet lid. If only we’d not been a few minutes late for the start. Oh well, next time!"Add to Flipboard Magazine.

VAMOS CROWNED J/70 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONS!

(Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)- This past fortnight, the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on the southern isthmus of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne hosted the 2021 Australian J/70 National Championship. Plenty of fun and games and great sailing was had by all that were more than happy to get sailing on the water again. 

For those "not in-the-know", Australia and their counterparts in the Antipodes "down under" (New Zealand) were one of the first few nation-states in the world to battle the pandemic aggressively (with incredible contact-tracing processes) to enable their countries to be the first to live a new "near-normal" lifestyle.

Here is the report from a three-time dinghy World Champion and top woman sailor- Nickie Douglass- a.k.a. "Sailor Girl". 

"With two strong days of racing down in the 2021 J/70 Australian Championship, the weather served up testing conditions for the racing crews and Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron race management team on the third and final day.

In what could be deemed the most challenging, yet exciting race of the series, race seven was a battle from start to finish. With the course set at 160 degrees, and the south-easter blowing directly from the club with the outgoing current, the shifts, which came in waves of pressure, were significant.


Reg Lord, defending National Champion and his team on JUNO were first to identify a left-hand shift during the start sequence, and popped at the pin cleanly as the gun went. Current regatta leader, Tim Ryan and his crew on VAMOS were just off their hip, and second-placed CELESTIAL were to windward of them, but opted to tack onto port shortly after starting, as did Karyn Gojnich and her team on THE JACKAL.

The next pressure line came from the right, and CELESTIAL and THE JACKAL looked to be making the most of the pivoting course. The local teams of JUMPIN' JACK FLASH, and the all-female team on SPIKE, and the only NSW Corinthians, MAYBE J were able to slip up the middle of the course while those on the left were left flailing in easing pressure.

The rounding at the first mark of the course, and the second gates were the same, with CELESTIAL leading from JUMPIN' JACK FLASH, SPIKE, MAYBE J, and THE JACKAL


On the second circuit rounding the cans, a pod of dolphins joined in with the racing, making for a happy distraction for crews while trying to connect the dots with the fickle pressure.

CELESTIAL skipper Sam Haynes and his crew of David Chapman, Johnny Warren and Locky Pryor continued to lead around the final mark, but it was the local heroes on JUMPIN' JACK FLASH who stole the gun on the line thanks to the final puff coming more from the west to push them over the line.

Laura Harding and her all-female youth team on SPIKE from Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron rounded out the podium finishing in their best place of the regatta so far.

The results also meant that Tim Ryan on VAMOS and his crew who had been sailing a near perfect regatta, would have to sail in the final race 8 to secure their win over the closing team of Celestial.


After a lengthy delay under AP, the breeze finally settled once again at 165 degrees, and the J/70 fleet for the first time of the regatta saw a change in the course, from a two-lap windward leeward to a three-lapper.

VAMOS triggered at exactly the right time at the pin to lead off the line, with the second-placed team of CELESTIAL right on their hip. VAMOS had their eyes on the prize and kept themselves in between CELESTIAL and the next mark, and the local team JOUST 70, skippered by Rod Warren slipped through to take the lead around the first and second marks of the course.

CELESTIAL opted to split from VAMOS, and took the left-hand turn at the bottom gate, while JOUST 70 ahead of them, then VAMOS at the same time as CELESTIAL, and then the youth all-female team on SPIKE all opted for the right-hand turn.

The next phase of the breeze came from the left, forcing CELESTIAL back to fourth, dashing their hopes of a chance to take the title.

The commanding VAMOS team of Rob Greenhalgh, Charlie Gundy and Jess Grimes, led by skipper Tim Ryan took the lead up the second beat and were not challenged for the remaining two laps. They crossed the finish line to take their sixth race win of the series, and the overall championship with a race to spare.

Rod Warren's JOUST 70 with Aaron Cole, Tim Smith and Ollie Vanderslot took second place, with Laura Harding and the all-female youth team on SPIKE backing up their race 7 performance with another third place.


With the Championship and runner-up positions already decided, VAMOS and CELESTIAL opted to head back to the beach for the final race of the series to allow the teams on JUNO skippered by Reg Lord, and THE JACKAL, skippered by Karyn Gojnich to battle it out for the final podium position.

JUNO opted to cover THE JACKAL in the pre-start forcing them to the right hand side with an early port tack duck off the line.

With the easing breeze, and the outgoing current, the top mark was a mess, with multiple crews doing turns for nipping the first mark of the course.

JUNO took command of the race, and took the win, securing third place in the overall Championship for the defending champion Reg Lord, and his crew of Tom Grimes, Murray Jones and James Hodgson.

Local team JO JO ZIP skippered by Ian Cooper with Neil Taylor, John Lindholm, Dean Taylor and Callum Burns had the best race of their series finishing in second.

Michael Nash, Peter Nash, John Watson, Garth Davies and Maria Nash on MAYBE J finished third to secure the Corinthian Division for 2021.

Laura Harding, Ella Grimshaw, Daisy Laing, Hannah Danks and Harriette Singh finished in sixth, to not only take the boat of the day bragging rights, but the Youth Division for 2021.

Karyn Gojnich, Sara Ladd, Ewa Lindelof and Kyle Dodds on SPIKE finished in fourth place to secure fourth overall in the championship and the Female Division for 2021.


1st Overall, Vamos (l-r) Charlie Gundy, Rob Greenhalgh, Jess Grimes, Tim Ryan, Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS 


Ladies Division winner Karyn Gojnich with Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS


Corinthian Division Winner, Michael Nash with Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS

Sailing photo and story credits- Nic Douglass / www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com / http://www.nicdouglass.orgAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122’S CONTINUE OFFSHORE DOMINATION IN AUSTRALIA

 

(Sydney, Australia)- Our friends "Down Under" have been enjoying sailing their J/122s for the past few seasons. For the 2020/ 2021 summer season from October to April, the J/122s are, yet again, throwing down the gauntlet against their fellow offshore competitors both on the eastern and western coastlines of Australia. Here's the latest report from Ray Entwistle, the J/Australia distributor.

"In Queensland on the east coast of Australia, J/122 JAVELIN skippered by Sally Crowley, won the Kingfisher Bay Night race, sailed on Moreton Bay off Brisbane.

There were 21 entries overall for the approximately six-hour race, with JAVELIN 1st in IRC class and 1st in AMS class.

Sally commented on her performance, “JAVELIN enjoyed a magnificent afternoon and evening of sailing in Race 3 of the Kingfisher Bay night series. The forecast for 10-15 kt easterlies was mostly accurate and made for a comfortable race.

Following a bit if excitement at the start, we set off on a work around the bottom of Mud Island and across to the Moreton Island Sandhills yellow buoy. We rounded in the leading group, then settled in for the 14.0 nm run to North Reef, off Scarborough. Without the favored kite for the conditions (blown during the last race) we couldn’t run the angles we would have liked and gave away some time to the symmetrical boats, but "ciest'la'vie".

A lovely sunset accompanied us heading south to Brisbane Rhodes and a spectacular moonrise welcomed us around the Coffee Pots and back to the start/finish.

Thanks as always to the race control volunteers for allowing us to compete in this wonderful series.“

The series consists of four afternoon/evening passage races, designed to be reasonably challenging and are a lead up to the Brisbane to Gladstone race. They are held each month from October through to February and sponsored by Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island, Queensland (Qld). Organized by Wynnum Manly Sailing Club with support of Royal Qld Yacht Club, Qld Cruising Yacht Club and Moreton Bay Boat Club. 


Meanwhile, over on the west coast in Perth, the J/122 JOSS is continuing her impeccable race record.

Saturday was Ocean Racing WA’s (ORWA) first race in the New Year, organized by Hillarys Yacht Club, the 41.0 nm “Pot of Gold” from Fremantle around Rottnest Island and finish at Hillarys.  

After 5.5 hours of racing JOSS was 1st Division 1 IRC against a great fleet of 40 footers; the King 40 “Checkmate” was 2nd, Farr 395 “Giddy Up” 3rd, and the J/122 LITHIUM was 4th (LITHIUM also won on PHS Handicap).

The sail back to Fremantle on Sunday was a Hillarys Yacht Club event. While a smaller fleet, JOSS was 1st IRC combined fleet & took line honours after a great duel with “Alfresco” (a Bakewell 39 pure racing boat) and “Surfer Rosa” (a Pogo 12.50).  For more J/122 offshore cruiser racer sailing information

J/70S GROWING IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

(Victoria, Australia)- The J/70 class continues to make inroads in Australia. The most recent fleet developing has been at the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron in Victoria. Here is a report from Down Under on their growing fleet from Andrew Little. 

"Heats 1 to 4 of the Juno Trophy were sailed last Sunday 17th January. What a fantastic day! We had 15-20 knots from the south, flat water, a steady breeze, sunshine and six J/70s lining up on a short start line. It was a lovely sight to see the rapidly growing BYS fleet participate in tight and close racing all afternoon.


Thank you to Tony Landgren for making his second boat Spike available to a pick-up crew of Alister Danks, Sean O’Brien, Steve Cowell and Fingers Vinck. It was great to welcome new member Rod Warren to the club, who had three solid second placings in his first hit-out at BYS.

The Youth team of Laura Harding, Ella Grimshaw, Hayden Brown, Hannah Danks and Mitch Harding was very impressive sailing Notte Bianca to three wins, with Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Doc, Marty, Andy Mac and a first-timer J70 crew member Batsey) winning the other heat.

A big "thank you" to Alex Bolton, Zoe Blochlinger and Gordon Hyde for the race management.

Australia Day Regatta report:

Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron held their inaugural J/70 Australia Day Regatta on 26th January with six races held on southern shores of Port Philip Bay.  Rod Warren on JOUST 70 won overall, closely followed by JUMPIN' JACK FLASH and JAVELIN.  Everyone commented on what close fun racing it was.  The teams are looking forward to the New South Wales and West Australian crews heading to Blairgowrie over Easter for the J/70 Nationals. Sailing photo credit- Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron  For more J/70 sailboat information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/99 Scores More Stunning Victories in Australia

 

(Sydney, Australia)- The J/99 JEDI scored another stunning trifecta win racing offshore out of Royal Prince Alfred YC in Pittwater, near Sydney. The top mark was 8nm offshore, conditions were light 5-10 knots ESE. JEDI was one of two boats sailing doublehanded in the combined 18-boat fleet. JEDI finished 1st overall combined Div 1 and 2 fleets in ORC, and 1st ORC and IRC in Div 2. Remarkably, the J/99 was the smallest boat by far and still beating fully crewed 40+ footers on the water.

Delighted with their performance, skipper Ray Entwistle said, ”we've been lucky enough to experience the J/99 in many different wind and sea states and the results have been just as impressive. The first race in 8-15 knots and lumpy seaway, second race in 15-25 knots and very rough seaway, third race in light conditions and fairly flat seas. The J/99 has performed outstandingly well in this wide range of conditions, is incredibly easy to manage, and a real joy to sail.”  Learn more about the J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster hereAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

CONVICTS REVENGE Wins J/24 NSW Champs

 

(Pittwater, Sydney, Australia)- The Australian J/24 NSW Championships was hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Pittwater from October 31st to November 1st on the gorgeous Sydney Harbour. Ten entries participated, but Paul Donnelly's CALYPSO suffered a trailer-related incident and did not compete (it’s a long story but a good one…. ask Paul about it when you’ve got a few minutes to spare).

Those regular boats who chose not to compete missed out on a great event, notwithstanding the weather which threw everything at us from warm and sunny to thunder and lightning and at times LOTS of rain! The venue and facilities were excellent, lots of hardstand space, cranes, a very professional race crew and helpful, welcoming staff. COVID Rules were obviously in place and restricted social activities a little, but it all ran very well.

The RPYC PRO Stephen Merrington managed to get all 6 heats run on a difficult stormy weekend when a lot of other club racing around Sydney was cancelled.

Saturday started with a Northeasterly breeze around 10 kts, but later shifted southerly. Two races had to be abandoned halfway through which was unfortunate (especially for Steve Wright's TINTO, leading both times), but that’s sailing!


Steve Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE won Race 1, followed by TINTO and Clinton Hood's EL FIDELDO. Then, Race 2 was won by Dave West's ACE from John Crawford's INNAMINCKA and David McKay's STAMPED URGENT. Another race was started, but then the storm closed in and competitors were sent home in the pouring rain.

With the forecast for an early southerly expected to get up to 30 kts, hopes were not high for much sailing on Sunday. But, we were fortunate to get all four races run, in a wind moving from SW to S and increasing from 8-10 kt to well over 20 kts.

Wright's TINTO won Race 3 after a poor first leg, coming from 4th at the last mark to the final margin of 24 seconds from Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE and West's ACE. Race 4 went to Crawford's INNAMINCKA from CONVICTS REVENGE and ACE. 

With the strengthening wind, all boats we were on jibs for Race 5. This race had the closest finish of the series, with the first five finishing in 6 seconds!! ACE taking first from INNAMINCKA, then TINTO. 

The final race was getting tough with the strong and gusty Southerly really testing everyone. CONVICTS REVENGE got the better of ACE in a tight tactical battle up the second work to win, with TINTO taking third.

Racing overall was very tight and competitive, with most finishing within 2 or 3 minutes each race. However, there were no protests and no (bad) collisions, so a good weekend all round. 


Congratulations to Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE team that won the series on a tiebreaker/ countback from West's ACE team on 10 points. Wright's TINTO rounded out the podium with the bronze medal. The balance of the top five included Crawford's INNAMINCKA in fourth and McKay's STAMPED URGENT in fifth position. 

OVANGA DELTA Wins PHS
The handicap-based PHS sub-division results gave the win to woman skipper Janette Syme's OKAVANGO DELTA crew. Second was Marc Tromp's WATERBORNE AGAIN and third went to Clinton Hood's EL FIDELDO. 

A "Resilience Prize" was awarded to Steve Arnold's SAILMATES. Competing in their first State Champs, they finished every race and flew a kite on every run. Well done!

Finally, special “Thanks” to Bryce at Infinity Rigging, and Shane at Doyle Sails who donated prizes for the event. Please support these locally owned businesses where you can. Thanks for this contribution from Stephen Wright.  For more Australian J/24 Class sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Australian J/99 Continues Doublehanded Success!

 

(Sydney Harbour, Australia)- The Australian J/99 JEDI proves again how much fun you can have racing two-up against significantly bigger boats up to 48ft, and some with 12 or more crew, even in gnarly offshore conditions. Read on about a woman's perspective sailing in the doublehanded Olympic-like format. Thanks to Sandra Entwistle for her report.

"We’ve been practicing two-handed racing in our J/99 while joining in with fully-crewed fleet from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) Short Offshore Point Score (SOPS) series.  While Ray and I have sailed together for many years, we haven’t seriously raced two-handed since 2008 when we owned our J/109 Sweet Chariot.  

Rather than putting together a story from last weekend’s SOPS race, I thought I’d share my thoughts on preparing for and racing two-up.  By no means am I a professional sailor or have any aspiration to enter the Olympics, I’m just keen to get out there and enjoy sailing.  The J/99 is perfect for us as she can be easily sailed by two, large enough to race fully crewed plus has enough creature comforts down below for some family cruising.


Actually, in all honesty, I prefer racing two-up as I get to do a bit of everything – from tactics to jib trim to kite trim to steering and all the tasks to make that happen. Paradoxically, I find it less stressful with just two on board, the reason being that we ensure we are organized and prepared for what’s going to happen next, I know what Ray is going to do and vice versa.

In relation to racing 2-up last weekend, the RPAYC SOPS races start at the entrance of Pittwater and head offshore.  This week’s race was up to a mark laid off First Point, starboard rounding and back into Pittwater.  Our J/99 is the smallest boat in the fleet by far, with most of the fleet in the 40-50ft range, it was quite funny listening to each of the yachts call in with their huge crew numbers prior to the start (some with a dozen crew or more) and then little JEDI just 2-up. The forecast was 10-15kn NE and building to 20-25kn NE later in the day.  The seas were a confused mess as we had a strong southerly the day prior then wind over tide – the waves were quite big and random with no backs.  

Prior to the start we were undecided on whether to use the J4 due to the building forecast or the J2 due to the lumpy seas and actual wind which was about 12kn.  We hooked up the J2, but typically about 5 mins before the start the wind picked up and we should have used the J4.  With no time to change jibs we put a reef in the main and the J/99 was perfectly balanced for the beat.  She was exceptionally dry even as we came pounding off the waves, a real credit to J/Boats designer Alan Johnstone.  We chose to use hanks on our jibs as it means the jibs can be easily hoisted and dropped without the need to go on the bow.  Others prefer furlers.  Another option we are seeing more of are reefing jibs, and if we had one, we would have made use of it.

The positioning of the winches makes the J/99 a cinch to tack on my own.  I cross sheet the jib sheets so it can be trimmed from the high side, plus the J/99 has powerful in-haulers and jib cars so is super easy to power up/ depower the jib.  Ray has the backstay, main traveler, main sheet and fine tune (and tiller!) all to hand, he calls the tack and around we go.  In the gusts Ray was mostly just playing the traveler and backstay while helming. There is lots of purchase so is very manageable.

After nearly 2 hours upwind we neared the top mark, shook out the reef and prepared for the kite run – now the fun would start!   Normally as we approach the top mark, I would rig the kite during the last tack in, but the seas were so rough that for safety we decided to wait until we rounded.  So, around the mark we went, I eased the jib sheet, grabbed the kite, ran forward and hooked it all up.  As part of our prep, we had the sheets, tack line and halyard ready on the starboard side and all to hand.  Pulled the tack of the kite to the end of the sprit, Ray had the kite sheet loaded ready, hoisted the kite and I raced back to grab the kite sheet.  We immediately got a gust and scooted down the swell doing about 17 kts – woo hoo!  The J/99 is so stiff and balanced, at no time were we out of control or concerned. Speed is your friend when going downwind as there is less sheet loading. I cross-sheeted the kite sheet to trim from the high side (the primary winches are set slightly aft on the J/99 so can also easily be reached by the helmsman if needed).  The jib was still up, so I released the halyard from the clutch which dropped easily on hanks.  With hindsight, we could have left the jib up and will practice with that another day.

The ride back to Pittwater was a real joy, just surfing the swell and having a blast with dolphins playing by our side.  The vang is led aft to both sides of the cabin top so can be reached while trimming the kite if needed.  Gybing an asymmetric kite is simple, just let one sheet off and pull on the other – no need to go on the bow.  Ray times the turn in co-ordination with me pulling on the new sheet.

The next challenge was to find the finish boat and plan for the kite drop.  The finish boat was quite close in to the shore which didn’t leave much room for a bear away to drop the kite.  Again, we planned ahead and decided to drop the kite about 150m early to ensure we would have the room to not hit Australia! LOL!  We opted for a letterbox drop where the kite is dropped between the mainsail and boom and down the main hatch. That technique is by far the safest, easiest spinnaker drop for any shorthanded sailing team. 

All in all, we had a great day and finished 2nd ORC in Div 2 and 3rd ORC overall combined fleets.  We were really pleased with the result given the seaway, size of the competition and against fully crewed boats, the J/99 punches way above her weight!

In summary, the points to remember are to plan ahead, be prepared and communication.  Safety always comes first; we always wear our lifejackets offshore and have the other safety equipment all to hand and ready to deploy.  Being a husband and wife team, the two rules we stick by which would apply to any two-handed team is that any mistake is a shared mistake (for example a bad call on tactics) and what happens on the water stays on the water!  Two-handed racing is a lot of fun, so give it a go!"  Thanks for this contribution by Sandra Entwistle. Sailing photo credits- Rob at RPAYC.

J/122 JOSS Continues Winning Ways Down Under

 

(Perth, WA, Australia)- It is exciting to see that certain parts of Australia have managed their pandemic behavior enough so that traditional offshore yachting events can take place.  In Western Australia, the Royal Perth YC in Perth, WA held their first race of the new ORWA 2020/21 Offshore Racing Series. The race is called the George Law Trophy.

The report from Ian Clyne, owner of J/122 JOSS, was brief and to the point:

"We just completed our first race of our offshore season in Perth. The conditions were quite rough, with most of the race sailed in 25 to 40 kts of wind! The seas were outrageous, extremely challenging, giant waves upwards of 10-12 feet at times, often with no "backs" to them, resulting in some extreme power slams onto the face of the wave below. The weather itself was somewhat extreme in its range, going from sun, to violent squalls, to just driving rain! Crazy stuff!

We are happy to report that our J/122 JOSS did us good, reveling in the rough stuff, garnering 1st in Division 1 IRC! We safely won the day in seriously nasty stuff offshore.  Great crew effort, especially by Ryan Binedell, our boat Captain!"

For more J/122 offshore cruiser/racer sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/99 JEDI Scores a Trifecta!

 

(Sydney Harbour, Australia)- Entering their first double-handed race, husband and wife team Ray and Sandra Entwistle on their new J/99 JEDI scored a stunning trifecta win on IRC, ORC and PHS competing with the fully crewed mixed fleet in the Short Offshore race. More amazingly, at 32.6′ the J/99 was the smallest boat in the fleet by some margin. The J/99 was placed in Division 2, the combined fleet comprised yachts up to 47ft.

The course was a 20-mile offshore race starting from the heads at Pittwater and beating NE up to a laid mark off the headland known as First Point (just south of Terrigal) and spinnaker return via a turning mark finishing near Mackerel Beach back in Pittwater. Both divisions started together (comprising 20 yachts) which made for an interesting start! It was a lumpy seaway with winds NNE varying from 8-15 knots but dying towards the finish.

Ray commented, “We knew we were in good shape when we rounded the top mark with some of the 40+ footers then stayed in touch with them downwind. The J/99 is so easy to sail, perfectly balanced, highly versatile and comfortable.  She was also very dry considering the lumpy seaway and simply carved her way through the swell.  The race was tactically challenging as we had to keep out of as much dirty air as possible with so many larger boats around us.  We popped the A2 for the return run, Sandra cross sheeted the kite sheets and enjoyed the ride home, gybing a couple of times to clear the Barrenjoey mark. As we neared the entrance to Pittwater, we gybed a bit early as we didn’t want to get tangled up with one of the 40-footers. So, unfortunately came a little too close to Barrenjoey headland and into less breeze. Fortunately, we made the most of every little puff to soak down to the finish, with a final gybe to cross the line.”

RPAYC also published the results for the combined Div 1 and 2 fleets – all the Div 1 boats were also fully crewed and included some very high profile race competition. In addition to winning Div 2, the double-handed J/99 finished 4th overall on ORC and IRC in the combined results and missed out by 3rd by only 13 seconds to the Farr 40, Farr45 and XP44.

We wish to thank Sailing Director Nick Elliot and his team at RPAYC for all their effort in promoting and encouraging shorthanded sailing and we hope this result goes some way to proving you can have an enormous amount of fast fun with the simplicity of just two crew.  

We dedicate this race to our dear friend Joe Millward (who passed recently) and his family who introduced me to sailing many years ago when I was a youngster.   Sailing photo credits- RPAYC
For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

"G'day From Down Under!"

 

(Sydney Harbour, Sydney, Australia)- We got a fun, enthusiastic report from yet another J/Boat owner from our friends Down Under. In this case, it was from Carl Braden sailing his gorgeous navy-blue J/109 BLUE SKY.

Braden commented, "last weekend delivered a fantastic coastal sailing day with southerly winds for the Sydney Harbour to Lion Island and return race, some 33.0nm distance with forty-one boats across two crewed divisions, as well as a doublehanded division.

Two J/109s were sailing in Division 2. On BLUE SKY, we finished 5th less than 1 1/2 minutes behind 2nd on corrected time based on a 6 1/4-hour race, with the other 109- SWEET CHARIOT coming in 11th, crossing closely behind us.

It was near perfect sailing conditions, with fast Code-zero reaching heading north, with a close-hauled bash heading back to Sydney.  Everyone was happy to be out of COVID lockdown to be enjoying sunny skies on the coastal run up and back to Lion Island. Fantastic day! And, we love our J/109!"Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/133 PATRIOT Sailing Again Down Under

We received an update from J/133 owner of PATRIOT from Sydney, Australia- Jason Close:

"We have had little sailing since Sydney- Hobart due to our state Victoria’s unbelievably harsh restrictions due to Covid 19 (which we are still in lockdown after 6 months!)

We did manage to race in the Sail Peninsula regatta in February and won the overall measurement rating division out of 21 entrants (which included a new J/121, which we had some great racing with). This was a good result for us after our solid Hobart campaign.

Here are photos of us on the water in the passing Tasman Island and entering Storm Bay in the final stages of the Sydney Hobart Race. The other photo is our team shot on the dock at Hobart.

We are yet to make immediate future racing plans due to our restrictions, but hopefully, we can finalize things in the upcoming weeks, fingers crossed!" (Editor's Note- we mistakenly attributed Jason's PATRIOT class win in the 2019 Sydney Hobart to another colleague's J/133. Apologies to all). :)

J/133 Scores Hat Trick in Sydney Harbour!

(Sydney, Australia)- Results from stunning Sydney Harbour are coming in as the Australian racing season concludes, including a remarkable "Hat Trick" of race wins in three races by Tony Coleman's unstoppable J/133 EUPHORIA.

In a wide range of conditions, from drifters to 40 knot gales, and winds from every quadrant of the compass, EUPHORIA showed a clean pair of heels over this amazing season against the cream of Sydney’s high-end, high-test racing fleet that includes several TP52s and past dual Rolex Sydney Hobart winners- Ichi Ban and Quest (ex Balance).  EUPHORIA's wins included:

1.  1st Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron Summer No. 1 Division Spinnaker Series- from January to April 2020

2.  1st Combined Clubs No 1 Division with Spinnaker Winter Series (including, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Sydney Amateurs and Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association and several other clubs participating in this popular series- from May to August 2020

3.  1st Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association Winter Wednesday Series- from June to August 2020


Tony and his crew had the following to say about the boat and the series. “It has been a great start to our 2020 sailing year following our return from competing in the 75th Sydney Hobart race in December 2019. EUPHORIA, despite being 16 years old now, performed exceptionally well. We would like to thank all the clubs involved in keeping us all going with our sailing in these extraordinary times and also thank our competition who certainly kept us on our toes and pushed us all the way.“Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122 JOSS Report from Australia

JOSS is a J/122 launched in 2012 and has been a regular competitor in offshore events in Perth, Western Australia (WA) since she arrived from Papua, New Guinea in 2013. 

Regular readers of J/News may remember JOSS cruised her inaugural voyage from Sydney to Papua, New Guinea where the owner was working, and then, onto Perth via Darwin (e.g. "north around the top of OZ"). Since arriving in the Perth racing scene, she has accumulated an enviable collection of silverware.

The Offshore Racing Spring/Summer Calendar in WA consists of 12 Ocean Racing WA (ORWA) official events and 3 club events (Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and Fremantle Sailing Club). FSC also conducts a 4 race winter series.


Ian, owner and skipper commented; “The more you sail, the more you hopefully improve, and JOSS typifies this statement.

We had a brilliant 2018/19 Offshore Season– Runner up in the Siska Trophy & Bluewater Div 1 IRC Series, and winning several IRC & YAH ORWA Series and 2 FSC IRC & YAH Series.

In 2019/20 ORWA changed the “Siska Trophy” criteria from being solely a Bluewater Combined Fleet IRC Series, to be all ORWA Races ie 12 Bluewater & Offshore IRC Races (Combined Fleets) - the “Winner” therefore crowned the “WA Offshore Champion Yacht”.

The 2019/20 Season has been simply “Amazing”.  JOSS had a clean sweep of “ALL” ORWA Div 1 IRC Series in WA, in summary:


Winner of the coveted 33rd Siska Trophy – Overall Season Champion Yacht (Combined Fleets)

Bluewater Series – Winners Div 1 IRC & PHS
Offshore Series – Winners Div 1 IRC & PHS

43rd Farrawa Cup Series (RFBYC) – Winners (Combined fleet), Winners Div 1 IRC.

Success Cup Series (FSC) – Winners Div 1 IRC & PHS
Captain Stirling Cup Series (FSC) – Winners Div 1 & PHS

Valamdre Winter Cup Series (FSC) – Winners DIV 1 IRC.

The key to our success – an extremely well-prepared boat, core crew who have sailed together for several years, a willingness to sail every event in every condition, aiming for consistent results throughout the season and sailing a really competitive IRC rated “J/Boat”.

Finally, the sheer enjoyment and sense of achievement of being able to sail offshore.

We are extremely realistic as to the ever-improving quality of the yachts competing in WA, and of our chances in terms of repeating such unbelievable season results, the challenges are made somewhat easier when your name is already inscribed on the trophies.

Our goals in 2020/21 are to continue to be as competitive as possible, enjoy ourselves sailing offshore, and celebrate whoever wins next year!!"

WOW! What else can you say about their extraordinary performance over the past two years. We wish Ian and JOSS crew well in their pursuit of future offshore silverware! Sail fast and fair winds to our Down Under sailing mates! Add to Flipboard Magazine.