J/70 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP POSTPONED

(Copenhagen, Denmark)– The Royal Danish Yacht Club (KDY) Organizing Committee and the International J/70 Class Association met to review the Danish governments pandemic restrictions and decided to move the Championship to late August this year. Registration/inspections will start on August 27th, 2021 and the prize-giving ceremony will conclude the Championship on September 4th, 2021.

The event was scheduled in June at the Royal Danish Yacht Club. Please see the revised Notice of Race that will be posted in the coming days. It's the hope of the KDY Organizing Committee to be able to host a great and “normal” regatta with activity at the harbor, socializing and great racing later this year
For more J/70 European Championship regatta informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

KDY Sharks Repeat as Danish Sailing League Champions!

 

(Skovshoved, Denmark)- This past weekend, the Danish J/70 Sailing League shortened-season finale was sailed off Skovshoved with eighteen sailing clubs participating from across Denmark. The fleet was thrilled to have simply amazing weather all weekend long with great sailing on both Saturday and Sunday. In fact, sailing on Saturday was so good that the host Skovshoved Sailing Club regatta PRO managed to run nine complete flights and 27 total races! Apparently, the sailors were getting a little tired towards the end of the day at sunset!  

In the end, the winners of the finale and the overall season (just 2 events) were a familiar team standing atop of the podium- the winners were the Royal Danish Yacht Club's KDY Sharks. In the past, the KDY teams would participate as just all women or all men's teams. This last regatta was the first time they sailed as a combined crew, with 2 women and 2 men.  

Henrik Jensen, skipper from KDY, commented at the awards, "thank you for a good event, it's great to see how the young people storm forward, women as well, and today our mixed crew, that's the future for KDY sailing!"

In the end, the top five teams in the Danish J/70 Sailing League were Kongelig Dansk YC KDY SHARKS in first, Team Roskilde Sejklub second, Frederikshavn Sejklub SEAHAWKS Team third, Kjobenhavns Amateur Sejklub THE BOXES team in fourth, and Sonderborg YC CHIA PIRATES in fifth place.  Sailing photo credit: Frederik Sivertsen  For more Danish J/70 Sailing League informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Danish J/70 WoW Regatta Promotes Women’s Sailing

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- After a great WoW (Women On Water) success in 2018, all sails were set for the second annual edition in 2019. The event was extended to 21 teams; this year WoW teams came from Portugal, Germany and Sweden to race on the Danish J/70 Sailing League boats. Host for the regatta was Sundby Sailing Club.

"For us, it's a great thing to be able to attract guests from abroad as well as from the local area, especially when there are so many other things happening around us. The community that we have in the club after a weekend like this continues for the rest of the year and we can use that weekend to bring our sailing community together in Sundby. This is also why we like to host the WoW event,” says Jesper Lorents, who sits on the board of Sundby Sailing Association and one of the key people behind the event.

It was close racing at the top of the leaderboard.  The KDY (Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub) Team of PELLE P (Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Helle Ørum Ryhding, Anne Sofie Munk-Hansen, Henriette Koch and Tina Schmidt Gramkov) was up against a formidable crew on Hellerup Sejlklub HS WILD comprised of Klara Ekdahl, Anna Ekdahl, Clara Svensdotter, Isabell Jobson and Julia Stålberg.

Despite the fact that both HS WILD and PELLE P only counted all podium finishes all weekend long, they were essentially tied going into the last race. In the crucial final race, PELLE P was leading at the bottom of the first of two windward-leeward legs. However, a bad takedown of the spinnaker enabled the HS WILD team to blow by them and win the crucial last race, with PELLE P taking second.  As a result, HS WILD won, with PELLE P in second and PLASTIC CHANGE Team in third.

The sailing was difficult for the sailors. The event started out with very heavy fog and virtually no wind, then slowly improved over the next two days. Despite the conditions, all the teams kept their fighting spirit. One thing the women were very good at was “networking”, spending a lot of team getting to know each other better during the repetitive postponements.  Follow the WoW Regattas on Facebook here   For more Danish J/70 Sailing League WoW events information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/121 Wins Visbypokalen Offshore Race

(Sandhamn, Sweden)- Fredrik, owner of the J/121 JOLENE, remarked on their recent triumph in the annual Visbypokalen Offshore Race:

"I have just concluded a 100.0nm offshore race where we sailed approximately 80.0nm in 16-24 kts TWS at a TWA of 85-120 degrees. We sailed double-headed with the J0 and the J4 headsails. Top speed 21.0 kts! It was a great ride and we won our class. I had Peter Gustafsson's BLUR.SE crew on board for this race, so read more about it on Blur.se!”  In fact, here is Peter’s article below.

“Our J/111 BLUR.SE was being sent to the Mediterranean so that we could do a few bucket list races, like the Rolex Middle Sea Race off Malta and around the famous rocks/ volcano’s around Sicily.  So, we decided early on not to race in the second half of August. But, we still wanted to get some offshore training, and had heard that Visby Town would be a nice competition.

So many parts of the team (6 out of 9 of our crew- Peter, Pelle, Mattias, Simon, Jens & Pär) signed on with our friend’s J/121 JOLENE; together with owner Fredrik we hoped to have a fun time sailing fast offshore on the amazing J/121- a flat-out reaching offshore machine!

I had sailed the boat before, from Marstrand to Falsterbo. Back then, it was a brand new boat and untested. Nevertheless, we also had many discussions with Fredrik about sail configurations and other things.

Fredrik is a great sailor, was also down with us, and drove the Tjörn Runt last year on our J/111 BLUR.SE.

The delivery sail down from Bullandö to Nynäs was quite tough. And, even the start was in dull weather. A number of starts were run during Friday so that all boats would come to Sandhamn at about the same time.

Just before the start, it also became clear that we would run a shorter course.

After a short passage in light winds, we headed out to sea and could go from LM Jib to J0. And then, combine the J0 with a J4 on the inner forestay. Wow, that was a fast combination. The boat is nicely configured with both of these sails on a case-lock, and 1:3 gear on the tack line.

Here you see how the three sails are in relation to each other. Many good combinations…

In addition, this was a good opportunity for us to train for speed offshore; where you often have to drive the boat against your own boat speed target numbers. It was a good opportunity to collect data on different combinations of J0, jib and J4 in TWA 70-120.

After the rounding at Gottskär, it was basically the same sailing angles back north. This time on port tack. We knew the winds would drop and rotate further aft, so we chose to go low and fast initially. We managed to get a surf up to 20.7 knots! Amazing, full control, cool sailing!

We also had a chance to practice our offshore watch schedule, although it was a short race.

Our cockpit organization was a little bit messy, eh?? LOL!

We finished the race at 0237 am, a little over 11 hours of sailing. Fastest boat with full crew!

A completely free Saturday in Sandhamn is a luxury. Simon checks if it is possible to sleep in the storage compartment. Apparently, they did it on the J/121 BLUE FLASH that crushed their class in the 50th Transpac Race.

Big thanks to Fredrik for sailing with him on JOLENE! We are happy to do that again.”  Thanks for contribution from Peter Gustafsson’s Blur.se site Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/112E Leading ORC Europeans

(Oxelsund, Sweden)- The 2019 ORC European Championship is currently under way with sailing taking place off Oxelsund, Sweden on the Baltic Sea.  Racing in the ORC C Class of forty-one boats (by far the largest in the regatta) is the J/112E MATILDA 4, owned by Kodutarve Ou from Estonia and skippered by Joachim Aschenbrenner.

As of Thursday, after two around-the-cans races and the 58.8nm Distance Race, MATILDA 4 is currently leading the ORC C fleet with a scoreline of 1-1-5 for 7 pts. There are two more days of windward-leeward course racing left for the fleet. The fleet has been blessed with good sailing weather so far, with plenty of breeze on the first day (puffy, shifty, 17-22 kt winds) and steady southwest 10-15 kt winds for the distance race. The reigning ORC World Class C Champion Italia 9.98- SUGAR- and the reigning ORC European Class C Champion Arcona 340- KATARIINA II- are being crushed by the J/112E MATILDA 4.
Follow the ORC European Championship on Facebook here  For more 2019 ORC European Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Jean-Michel Lautie Crowned J/22 World Champion

(Warnemuende, Germany)- Thirty-one boats sailed the 2019 J/22 World Championship in Warnemuender, Germany this past week.  Hosted by the Warnemuender Segel-Club with help of Berliner YC and YC Berlin-Grunau, the fleet enjoyed good sailing conditions from the 6th to 13th July. The J/22 teams came from Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, and The Netherlands. In the end, Jean-Michel Lautie, the “Flying Dutchman” from The Netherlands won the J/22 World Championship. Here is how it all went down over the four-day event.

Tuesday- Practice Race
In fantastic conditions, the J/22s sailed a great practice race. Of the 31 registered crews, 25 were on the race course.

"Today we had the famous Warnemünde wave. It was just a great race,” commented Holger Schmitt, Chairman of the German J/22 Class.

Race Officer Lorenz Buchler, a J/22 sailor himself, commented, “we were really jealous today. 15 to 20 knots of wind, blue sky. In short, it was awesome sailing weather!”

Favorites for the World Cup title were the Duisburg-based Reiner Brockerhoff (FRA 1444), who sailed under the French flag, and Jean-Michel Lautier (NED 1273). Lautier is a twice Vice World Champion in 2015 and 2017. In addition, Martin Menzner from Kiel, who generally sails J/80s in Germany, certainly had the experience to be at the top of the leaderboard; he finished fourth at the J/22 World Championship 2015 in Travemünde.

Wednesday- Strong Start to the Worlds
Four races were sailed on the first day and, much to everyone’s surprise, Jean-Michel Lautier won all four of them! Nevertheless, the 2019 J/22 European Champion was on form and sent a sent a clear message to his competitors. Four wins in four races make it clear that it will be hard to beat them.

The gap to runner-up Reiner Brockerhoff was already ten points. Brockerhoff, who is also one of the favorites, has made a solid start to the World Cup with fourth, second, third and fifth places. In third place, four points behind Reiner Brockerhoff, was Johan Koppernaes from Canada (with American Mike Marshall as crew- himself a J/22 World Champion).

Fourth-placed Dirk Jan Verdoorn from the Netherlands was one point behind. For the Dutchman, it was already his fourth J/22 World Championship, after two World Cups in Scheveningen and one in Travemünde. The area off Warnemünde is new to Dirk Jan Verdoorn: "It is the first time sailing in Warnemünde. I especially like the beautiful Baltic wave, as we have here," said Verdoorn.

The Kiel-based yacht designer Martin Menzner is currently in sixth place, making him the top German team. "I think the J/22 is great. I used to sail it a lot, but that was a long time ago. I have not yet grooved fully to the J/22 yet. Yesterday, I almost fell off the boat a couple of times, because of the big waves. That can only get better," said Menzner laughing.

Race officer Lorenz Buchler was very satisfied with the first day of the World Cup on the evening after the races, “today we had a great wind between 14 and 20 knots again. Over the whole day, the wind only changed about 15 degrees. In the second race today four boats were too early over the starting line. One of them was Holger Schmitt. Despite the early start, it was fun today. We got four tight races through. Nevertheless, I do not think we can repeat that tomorrow."

Thursday- The Flying Dutchman extends lead
The second day did not bring too many big surprises. Jean-Michel Lautier continued to lead the overall standings, ahead of Reiner Brockerhoff and Johan Koppernaes.

Day two started with bright sunshine and a light breeze that rarely exceeded the six-knot level required for a World Championship. Therefore, Lorenz Buchler and his team decided to postpone the race start. The weather forecast had left open the chance in the morning that a light sea breeze could build up around noon if the land would warm up enough due to the sun.

The postponement was a good decision, as the wind built by 1300 hrs to 8-10 kts. As a result, three more races were sailed. The first race was completed quickly. After that, there were slight delays. The start of the second race dragged on for almost an hour due to changing wind directions. The start line had to continuously be reset.

"That was a bit exhausting, but otherwise it was a good sailing day again today.” summarized PRO Lorenz Buchler. In the first three places, there was no change today. Jean-Michel Lautier was able to maintain his lead by taking a 6-1-1 for the day to lead with six bullets in seven races!

Friday- No Wind, Flying Dutchman Wins!
With all racing canceled for the day, the Dutchman Jean-Michel Lautier was declared the 2019 J/22 World Champion.

The winning boat was 22 years old. In many classes, that would be considered outdated. But, the J/22 is different. “We call our boat ‘the old lady’. Nevertheless, she is still quite competitive”, said Lautier. "That's what makes the class so exciting. The boats are very robust and simple. Here it doesn't matter who has the latest boats.” Overall, Jean-Michel Lautier and his fellow sailors were very satisfied with the event, “it was wonderful here in Warnemünde. We had great weather, not always the best wind, but we still managed seven races.”

Rounding out the podium was the French team of Reiner Brockerhoff in second and the Canadian John Koppernaes in third. The balance of the top five included German Martin Menzner in 4th and Dutchman Dirk Jan Verdoorn in 5th position.  For more J/22 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/22 World Championship Update

(Warnemuende, Germany)- Thirty-one boats are sailing the 2019 J/22 World Championship in Warnemuender, Germany in the coming week.  Hosts are the Warnemuender Segel-Club with help of Berliner YC and YC Berlin-Grunau, held in concert with Warnemeunder Week from the 6th to 13th July.

The J/22 teams come from Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, and The Netherlands.  Many of the top teams are in attendance. From Canada is John Koppernaes’ RAISED J from Toronto; from the Cayman Islands is Mike Farrington’s SEE YA LATER; from France is Reiner Brockerhoff’s JAZZY; from Germany is Martin Menzner’s JABULANI; and from the Netherlands are two contenders (Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL and Emma Kok’s TU DELFT:BROACH 1524.

Most of the 30+ teams sailed the Pre-Worlds over the past weekend.  It was a Netherlands J/22 class clean sweep of the podium. Winning that event was Merlijn Rutten’s NED 1500, followed by Christian Feij’s NED 1514, with Bram de Vries’ NED 1221 taking the bronze.

Currently leading the J/22 Worlds after seven races is The Netherlands team of NED 1273 with crew of Jean-Michael Lautier, Denis Neves, and Giuseppe D’Aquino.  Second is the French team of FRA 1444 with crew of Reiner Brockerhoff, Michaux Charles, and Christophe Declercq. Third are the Canadians- Johan Koppernaes, Michele Cimon, Caroline Main, and the American Mike Marshall.  For more J/22 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/22 World Championship Preview

(Warnemunde, Germany)- Thirty-one boats are sailing the 2019 J/22 World Championship in Warnemuender, Germany in the coming week.  Hosts are the Warnemuender Segel-Club with help of Berliner YC and YC Berlin-Grunau, held in concert with Warnemeunder Week from the 6th to 13th July.

The J/22 teams come from Austria, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, and The Netherlands.  Many of the top teams are in attendance. From Canada is John Koppernaes’ RAISED J from Toronto; from the Cayman Islands is Mike Farrington’s SEE YA LATER; from France is Reiner Brockerhoff’s JAZZY; from Germany is Martin Menzner’s JABULANI; and from the Netherlands are two contenders (Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL and Emma Kok’s TU DELFT:BROACH 1524).  For more J/22 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

BYCU Wins J/70 Youth SAILING Champions League

(Kiel, Germany)- Bodensee Yacht Club Überlingen won the second edition of the Youth SAILING Champions League after three days of sensational racing at Kiel Week in Germany. Regattaclub Oberhofen from Switzerland is runner-up ahead of Flensburger Segel Club in third place. A total of 21 clubs from nine nations came to Kiel for the under-22 regatta, which follows the same, proven format for league racing in multiple nations and the SAILING Champions League (SCL) itself.

Flensburger Segel Club was leading the qualifying until the final round when Überlingen came charging through and sneaked through qualifying in first place by a single point. It was a critical advantage to carry through to the four-boat final, as their victory in qualifying counted as their first point on the board in the final.

Überlingen were over early in the first start and had to go back. However, they were able to use superior boatspeed to sail quickly to the top of the field. The team from Lake Constance worked hard all the way to the finish and won the first race of the finals, which meant the competition was over. The other three teams never had a chance to post a winning score in the final because Überlingen had already won. It meant they had successfully defended the title they won a year earlier.

Konstantin Steidle, helmsman from Überlingen, commented: “Since we had an early start in the last race, we had no choice but to go to the other side away from the other three teams. Then, the wind played into our hands and we finished the race with confidence. I think the format of the Final Series is good, but, unfortunately, not all of us are allowed to participate next year because of the age limit. We hope the next team from Überlingen will be able to repeat this success next year.”

This was also the first intercontinental SCL regatta for the Australian competitor- Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS). Gradually, the league concept of racing is spreading further and further around the world. Jack Littlechild, skipper of the RSYS team said: “Most of us had never sailed in a J/70 before, so the main focus for our workout sessions has been strategy and tactics as well as a big emphasis on boat handling. We are very proud to have been representing our country and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron here. We want to use this opportunity to help promote the SAILING Champions League in Australia and get everyone back home excited for next year’s event.”

The SAP Sailing Analytics provide 24/7 additional statistics and data for sailors, fans, spectators and media like GPS tracking, real-time analysis, live leaderboard combined with 2D visualization. You find all results on sapsailing.com!  Sailing photo credits- Lars Wehrmann For more J/70 Youth SAILING Champions League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 Wins Marstrand Big Boat Race

(Marstrand, Sweden)- The Marstrand Big Boat Race started out as a local spring regatta, but have turned into Scandinavia’s biggest annual short course event. With almost 70 yachts from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany, it is also the first test for the more ambitious teams going on to European championships or international events.

This year, three J/boats attended the regatta; J/88.se racing in the newly formed sports boat class (sprit boats bellow 10 meter LOA) and J/111s BLUR and DACAPO (this tend to be a yearly battle).

Saturday morning was grey, but 18-20 knots westerly on the Marstrand fjord tend to be pretty epic, with big waves and challenging conditions, so most teams were excited to go racing.

The team on Blur has focused on offshore sailing after their Fastnet Campaign in 2015, and is planning to do the Middle Sea Race in October. But they have continuously worked to improve rig trim, sail design, and other speed factors.

And the result of this work was evident as they posted a 4th and a 1st before race management took the decision to cancel the last race of the day due to increasing wind and sketchy condition on the bigger boats.

So Blur grabbed the daily first champagne just in front of FinnFlyer 36 Zlatan with match racing star Johnie Berntson helming, Scandinavia’s fastest Farr 30 Cheyenne and the former CEO of North Sails Europe in his Xp-38 Soldier Blue.

Skipper Peter Gustafsson explains: "We had great speed upwind with our bulletproof J3.5 and managed to hang with the bigger boats.  Ideally, we want to go for speed, bet we managed to keep our lane. Downwind we stayed upright with the 'whomper', our 155 sqm A2 and managed to move ahead quite a bit. Especially on the last run where we observed a late shift and went for the A3."

Not bad for an offshore team approaching the regatta as a great training opportunity.

Sunday morning's forecast had 10-14 knots of wind moving from SW to S during the day. Also, the current plays an important part when racing in Marstrand, so with at least five boats in the mix, racing would be tight.

Most top boats opted for the right corner, close to land, to get relief from the current. Blur showed superior speed, this time with a recut J2 and led at all the marks to win with almost a minute on corrected time.

At this point, even the team was surprised.

After a bad start in race 4, they managed to catch the top boats and post a 3rd place.  Just ahead of the Norwegian J/111 Dacapo. Heading into the last race, Blur lead  FinnFlyer 36 Zlatan with only one point.

Another good start made it possible to both work the shifts and keep a light cover on Zlatan. After a long run to finish inside Marstrand harbor, Blur posted another 1st with just a 3-second margin.

Peter Gustavsson commented on their performance, “Wow.  This is unbelievable! After 6 years and over 12,000nm we know the boat well and are pretty confident with our targets. But, with more rake and harder jib in-haulers- we're almost a degree tighter than the North tuning guide. As a result, we sail higher without sacrificing speed. This is a team effort, both getting the boat blazing fast, but also when it comes to tactics and strategy, where we typically involve more people than many other crews. Comes in handy when we run watches at sea, but apparently, it's useful on tight courses as well."  For more Marstrand Big Boat Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cold, Windy MAIOR Cup Regatta

(Kiel, Germany)- Hosted by Kieler YC in Kiel-Schilksee, Germany, the MAIOR CUP Regatta took place from May 3rd to 5th in similar cold, wet, windy sailing conditions as did the Bundesliga down in southern Germany. The one-design fleets of J/70s and J/80s were participating in their first major regatta of the season and they were certainly put to the test, straining both boats and humans to the brink of exhaustion.

Day One- Cold, Wet & Wild
On the first day, it was cold in the Kiel Fjord and it blew hard- 20 to 25 kts all day with big seas. As the offshore crews struggled on the long haul outside course, the J/70 and J/80 classes fought close to land.

"Turning right in front of the harbor entrance was quite unusual," said J/80 skipper Martin Menzner. “As a result, we were so far inside, we had smoother water than the guys outside.”

After three races, Menzner’s PIKE crew had a 1-2-1 to be one point ahead of Arne Wilcken’s DIVA. Menzner joked, “Arne is the reason why I've exchanged half of my crew for this year! Thank goodness for my new crew members- Lars Keilwitz and Hannes Renzsch- they worked well with me and our other crew- Nils Berltermann!”

In the J/70 class, Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus’ crew on JINTO (Tobias Strenge, Florian Herrmann, Terje Klockemann) sailed fast and furious, winning the first race and ending the day with a 3-2 to lead the regatta by a point.  Just behind her was Gerd Knospe’s SANNA R in second and Hauke Thilow’s GER 1079 in third.

Day Two- More Demanding Conditions
Although the wind had slowed slightly compared to the start on Friday, the wind was shiftier and puffier, more extreme in fact. Again, the J/70s and J/80s had their course tucked in close to land in flatter water, but the puffs were more extreme!

“Of course, it was important to be in the right place at the right time," said Nils Beltermann, a crewman on Menzner’s PIKE. "We have done well today and are leading, but only by three points!  Our friend DIVA is fast and does not give up!”

In the J/70 class, Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus drove JINTO fast and on to the top of the leaderboard with a strong series of races for the day- a 1-4-2-1-2. She displaced the Berlin crew on SANNA R, dropping them into second.  The big move of the day was Tania Tammling’s all-women crew from Hamburg that sailed ALBIS into third place by the end of the day with a blazing hot 4-2-3-2! Her crew consisted of Kristin Mertner, Carlotta Meewes, Ragna Thonnessen, and Franziska Wilckens.

Day 3- Blessed Sun Shines
Sunday provided the perfect atmosphere for the final day of the regatta; sun, moderate breeze, clear skies, and much warmer temperatures. Smiles all around the docks as people hopped aboard their boats for just two more races to complete the regatta.

"It was very tricky on Sunday," said J/80 class winning skipper Martin Menzner. “We are thankful that we had three very good days of sailing, we sailed well, no dramas, and finished well. My new team was good all-around!“  Taking second in the J/80s was Arne Wilcken’s DIVA and third was Hauke Kruss’ TAK FOR TUREN.

There was a lot of drama in the J/70 class.  Having scored four 1sts in the first eight races, it was anyone’s guess that Knospe’s SANNA R crew could repeat those performances on the final day. In the first race, SANNA R did just that, winning it while JINTO took third, closing to within one point of Charlotte’s team.  However, in the last race, Charlotte sailed fast, stayed out of trouble, and scored a deuce, while SANNA R finished right behind them. As a result, Charlotte and her crew on JINTO jumped for joy, breathing a sigh of relief as they won the regatta with 17 pts net. Knospe’s SANNA R took second with 19 pts net and Tammling’s all-women team on ALBIS took the bronze (also winning the Helga Cup Special Award for best women’s team).

"That was very exciting and close. We actually had a plan to decide what we would do in the penultimate race, but that did not work," said JINTO’s skipper Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus. "Our advantage was that we sailed very consistently, even on Sunday, which was probably the most demanding sailing day. It was really hard to judge some things, especially crossing situations upwind. We’re happy to win and thank my amazing crew!”  Watch a nice sailing highlights video of the MAIOR CUP Regatta here  For more MAIOR CUP Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/88 MAI TAI Swedish Delivery- 865nm!

(Gothenburg, Sweden)- In a bit of a “Throwback Thursday”, the J/88 MAI TAI (now J88.SE) was bought by two Swedes in the Hamble, England in August 2017.  The two excited owners, Jonas Dyberg and Roger Ohlsson, decided they would do a doublehanded delivery back to Goteborg; it was an 865nm delivery in eleven days!

It was an epic adventure. Their delivery track took them from Hamble, across the English Channel to the Netherlands, then up the coast to the opening of the Elbe River in Brunsbuttel, Germany.  Then, they motored up the Nord See Kanal to Kiel, Germany, and then a straight shot north up the Baltic Sea to Gothenburg, Sweden! It was an epic journey and here are the videos to prove it! Top speed was 18.6 kts on their delivery cruise!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PSCQnqDVo

Then, if that wasn’t an adventure enough, Jonas and Roger took their friend Peter Gustafsson from BLUR.SE fame on board to see if they could establish a “speed run” on the windy wavy Baltic Sea in October 9th, 2017!  It was a gorgeous sunny day, with a northerly breeze of 20-30 kts off Vinga, Sweden.  Here is how they went.

https://youtu.be/9nHglNNWM4Y

J/121 Flies Down Baltic Sea: Marstand -> Malmo Delivery

(Gothenburg, Sweden)- “It was a really nice experience sailing her downwind in 17-20 kts of breeze on a 160nm delivery trip from Marstrand to Falsterbo (Malmo). We had Peter Gustafsson of BLUR.SE sailing fame onboard for the first leg down to southern Sweden. There is also a fun video from the downwind ride,” reports Fredrik Rydin, the proud new owner of the J/121 JOLENE.  Here is Peter’s report below.

“I have been intrigued with Fredrik Rydin’s process of bringing his new J/121 up to speed in Marstrand. His focus is on shorthanded racing and the appropriate sail wardrobe, instrumentation and systems to make sailing shorthanded effective- in fact, many of those elements are similar to my J/111 BLUR.SE.

It has been hectic to get everything done, so there was no traditional testing of everything before the delivery from Marstrand to Stockholm.  The plan was for Fredrik and his father Axel to do the delivery/sail to Stockholm and it was possible for me to join them on the first stage. It was especially exciting for me, since the weather forecast for the Marstrand-Malmö route promised a windspeed of 8-10 meters per second (about 16-21 kts).

When I landed in Marstrand, it was still a full-on commissioning process! Sikaflex and cartons everywhere! But, somewhere one has to draw a line, and it felt like order was necessary to get the ball rolling. It is easy under estimating how much work it takes to get a bigger boat commissioned and how many things can go wrong.  So, it felt like Fredrik and Axel were happy to finally get away sailing on their new ocean greyhound!

Once out of the pretty harbor of Marstrand, we hoisted the main, then went straight to the A3 asymmetric! But, we soon switched soon to an A2! Bigger, faster! Time to celebrate with morning coffee (see Fredrik here).

Even though the boat is only meter longer than the J/111, it feels like a much bigger boat. For better or worse, everything gets a bit heavier, but the sailing becomes a bit more comfortable.

So, when the wind pressed at 9-11 m/s (~17-22 kts), we completely trucked downwind!  We were doing a steady 12-13-14 kts with tops of 18-19 kts on the knotmeter. The boat has very responsive steering, despite two steering wheels.  And, no trouble placing the boat right where you wanted it in the waves. She also felt stiffer than J/111 and, in places where BLUR probably would broach, one could easily get back to onto course and dive down the next wave.

After sailing both the 88 and 111, and now the 121, I think the VMG downwind planing threshold is moved slightly up the wind scale relative to her smaller sisterships. If the 88 planes at 7-8 m/s (13.5-15.5 kts), Blur at 9-10 m/s (17.5-19.5 kts), you'll really like 10-11 m/s (19-22 kts) on the 121 to make it really fun! But, then it will go really fast, “sending it downhill” so to speak!

There were no good polars yet for the boat (the only one that it had was the ORC polar chart from ORC for the J/121 JACKHAMMER from the United Kingdom, which has a different configuration).  So, we drove using BLUR’s numbers downwind. TWA seemed about right, and in conditions where the 111 was always on a plane, we were steady at 100% planing on the 121. Fun for BLUR ... but, as I said, a little more wind, the 121 will simply fly away- you could tell going down the waves, the 121 is a reaching/ running speedster, hitting 19 kts was not hard for this boat- effortless, in fact. This boat will surprise a lot of sailors at its ability to go fast offshore- a reaching machine that can still go upwind like its legendary predescessors.


The cockpit is incredibly comfortable. Easy to get around and good ergonomics for both skipper and the trimmer, who can sit in front of the steering wheel and have good contact with the skipper without being in the way. All fittings are where they should be, although there are clearly some adjustments needed to be made for how Fredrik wants to sail the boat.

We dropped past Vinga and down towards Nidingen. Perfect conditions and steady 10-13 knots boatspeed (planing mode, obviously) with sporadic bursts of 16-17 kts. The route took us far west, but we chose to drive safe.

We experienced another gorgeous sunset. I estimated that this was the eighth full night sail this year, which feels very good. Swedish summer nights out on the wild blue sea are something special. It is twilight all night long!

The last gasp of breeze was at Gilleleje, before the wind turned southeast and dropped to 2-3 m/s (3.5-5.8 kts) at Höganäs. Pretty much as the weather routing had predicted.

After a little motoring at Helsingør, we could sail on a reach in the light wind down towards Ven. We tested the water ballast (small windward heel effect in the light wind) and compared the performance between jib and J0 (a big jib or small code that is rolled out flying from the top of the mast and end of the sprit pole). Useful data collection, and we were able to work around the sail chart and the experience we have on BLUR.

Here is what the white sail wardrobe looks like: a 104% Jib LM (40 m2), a J0 (JIB ZERO 61 m2) and a heavy air #4 set on its own inside of the foretriangle (30 m2).

Here is what the North Sails sail selection chart looks like for the J/121 JOLENE.

So, the sail chart is very close to what we have on BLUR. But, on J/121, you've been thinking right from the start. One big difference is that J0 is placed on the end of the sprit and masthead and stretched tight with a 3:1 ratio; that gives good sail shape and enables 55 TWA sailing upwind in light airs- a big advantage!

The interior has the same layout as the J/109, the "owners cabin" on the port side aft and a giant head and storage locker on the starboard side. There is a great forepeak dedicated to sail handling, but can also accommodate two pipe berths.

The interior is perfect for single or doublehanded racing.  But, offshore you should not sail more than six to be comfortable in the two main cabin settees and swing up bunks. But, with water ballast it should be just right to sail with six.

Well, it was now time to find the dock in Malmo after the Öresund Bridge. We then started the autopilot, which required a little change of settings and will need adjustments in further "sea trials". Many things to be adjusted on a new boat!
 

Fredrik has the same setup as BLUR (see here). The only difference is that you have two B&G Zeus 3’s, one for each wheel!

We finally make it to the dock in the Falsterbok channel. Many “thanks” to Fredrik for letting me go. And, congratulations on a beautiful boat!

How does it compare to a J/111? It is the same concept, but with a clearer focus on offshore racing. This boat is best for stretching its legs out at sea. To Bermuda, Hawaii or a quick Gotland Runt Race. It does not feel as sporty (powered up) as a J/111, or even a J/88.  But, in offshore weather and waves like we experienced, you will reel off the miles offshore without getting tired- it is a very comfortable boat! And, with a smaller crew.

Right now Fredrik & Axel are in Kalmarsund. They drove with the A2 asymmetric spinnaker from the canal to the cutout and got the chance to pump in 400 liters of water into the water tanks; they were sailing with a TWA 135 at 7-9 m/s (13.5-17.0 kts). There is no question, the water ballast definitely makes a difference. We wish them a nice trip!”

Watch the J/121 downwind sailing video here   Thanks for this contribution from Peter Gustafsson at BLUR.SE Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sweden Midsummer Solo Challenge a Success!

(Stockholm, Sweden)- Without a doubt, Swedish offshore sailor and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Peter Gustafsson, is always thinking, always dreaming, always innovating, wondering how to do things better in business as well as indulging in his favorite pastime- sailing his J/111 BLUR.SE.

Recently, Peter had yet another spasm of inspiration, commenting, “we have a crazy new side project, to start a solo archipelago race through Bohuslän. 125 nm with no rules.  We managed to fill 60 slots within 24 hours of announcing the race! 48 boats started, 15 finished (due to light winds and two nights at sea).  Nevertheless, the first edition of Midsummer Solo Challenge lived up to expectations. Remember, that far north in Scandinavia, it is “sunset twilight” all night long, the sun never fully sets!

Here is Peter’s commentary on the race from aboard his beloved J/111 BLUR.SE:

“How about 50 solo sailors completing a 125 nm course through one of the world's most beautiful archipelagos, in the middle of the light and warm Swedish summer night?

When the initiative was launched six months ago, the initial 50 spots filled up within 24 hours. We’ve seen the popularity of similar races, like the Danish Silverrudder, but a true archipelago race for solo sailors is something new.

On Thursday evening, 48 skippers met for a three course dinner and a weather briefing promising light to moderate winds from south... and lots of sunshine! Administration was kept to a minimum, and everyone just had to put a signature on a list to verify that they intended to take part.

A few of us had a final beer, but then everyone wandered off to their boats to prepare for the challenge ahead.

Friday morning, the mini class (boats from 18 to 25 feet) stated at 10:00 in 4-8 knots of wind from SW. With a mix of downwind sails set, the group set off to the north. As the second group started an hour later, the first wrestled with some major decisions; inshore through the small straights and through the picturesque fishing village of Gullholmen, or the westerly route close to Käringön and the landmark lighthouse of Måseskär. Inshore is shorter, but offshore you can catch a current pushing you north at 2 knots. One of many decisions to be made in the coming 24-48 hours.

Leif Jägerbrand in his Seascape 24, loved the conditions, took the shortest route and quickly extended his lead.

At 13:00 the bigger boats left Marstrand, trying to hunt down the smaller boats ahead. J/111 Blur with Peter Gustafsson was expected to be the fastest boat, and showed pace and set of offshore before hoisting his huge 155 sqm gennaker.

Late afternoon, the different classes started to mix, gybing through the islands ticking of Lysekil, Hållö, Smögen and many of the anchorages where people spend their summer vacation. It’s easy to spend 4-5 weeks cruising here and each night find a new amazing spot to anchor.  It was a strange feeling to cover the same distance in a day.

When the sun set, the leading boats were leaving Fjällbacka and aimed for the northern mark of Ramskär. The wind became even lighter, and some struggled to keep their boats going. It is always a special feeling to turn the boat around and sail towards the finish. But knowing it would be 15-30 hours of light upwind sailing and adverse current everyone understood the meaning of the word ”challenge”.

The first three boats, the Seascape 24, Jonas Dyberg in his J/88 and J/111 Blur stayed in the archipelago to avoid the current. Short tacking south, they reached the finish late afternoon. The smaller boats had a duel where the Seascape had to give in to the J/88 after leading the way for almost 30 hours. Blur crossed the line within the hour to post the fastest time around the course with 27 hours 35 minutes and 3 seconds.  Second was Dyberg’s J/88.

But that didn’t really matter. No winner was announced; no awards were handed out and the important thing was to prove to yourself that you could do it. And naturally to receive the t-shirts with ”FINISHER” printed at the back.

The three finishers had dinner, wondering if anyone else would make it. The wind had slowly died and many boats were parked with the finish in sight. Another bunch where anchored or drifting at Måseskär, as every attempt to get past just resulted in being pushed back by the current.

Would the skippers have the patience and endurance to hang in there and wait for the morning breeze? Later Saturday night, a few boats trickled in, managing to cross the line.  Early morning, a few more, and after 46 hours Staffan Cederlöf closed the gate in his red Compis 28 Retro Balloon.

All in all, 15 boats of the 48 that started, managed to complete the Midsummer Solo Challenge. And as always, it came down to grit and sheer will. It wouldn’t be surprising to see all of them, and quite a few more, back next year to challenge themselves again.

Enjoy this entertaining J/88 sailing video from Jonas Dyberg
https://youtu.be/GSTO0kPmqUU

The story and results in Swedish: http://www.blur.se/2018/06/11/midsummer-solo-challenge-2018/

For more information about the Midsummer Challenge Race- please contact Peter Gustafsson- M: +46 733 304000 / E: peter@blur.se Add to Flipboard Magazine.