SAIL 22 J/70 TUNING REGATTA- A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Over the course of our "pandemic winter" of 2020/2021, there have been several imaginative events that were created for sailors that enabled them to go sailing in a safe, healthy way and adhere to any known pandemic "safe behavior" guidelines.

One of those events in Florida has been Ed and Becky Furry's SAIL 22 J/70 Tuning Regatta. The first event took place on Tampa Bay hosted at Davis Island Yacht Club and the second just took place off Coconut Grove (south Miami) with host Shake-A-Leg providing launch/ docking facilities. The dozen J/70 teams that participated enjoyed two days of very nice spring sailing on the gorgeous aquamarine waters of Biscayne Bay. The goal for the event was "training" and not focused on "winning". As such, there was constant on-the-water coaching and discussions amongst teams regards boat-speed, boat-handling, and sail trim/ rig tune setups. 

In the end, several notable teams participated that offered their expertise to others, as well as picking up a few pointers themselves! Those teams included Pam Rose's ROSEBUD with Willem Van Waay aboard (3x J/70 World Champion crew), Laura Grondin's DARK ENERGY with Taylor Canfield providing guidance (multiple Match Race World Champion), Brian Keane's SAVASANA, and Buddy Cribb's VICTORY with Greiner Hobbs directing traffic (a multiple College All-American).

On the leaderboard, it was David Janetti's VERY ODD topping out the dozen crews, perhaps learning fastest from all the training/ speed lessons. Second was Chicagoan John Heaton' EMPEIRIA and third was Pam Rose's ROSEBUD. Kudos to class newcomer Doug Newhouse on YONDER and Lauran Grondin's DARK ENERGY for each dialing themselves in well-enough to win some races against very talented teams. Thanks to the Furry's SAIL 22 for organizing such a productive, helpful event (http://www.sail22.com). 
For more SAIL 22 J/70 Tuning Regatta sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

HONEYBADGER CROWNED J/70 BACARDI CHAMPION

(Miami, FL)- This past weekend, the Bacardi Invitational for the J/70 class took place on Miami's Biscayne Bay, hosted by the Shake-A-Leg Foundation, with race management conducted by the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.


The twenty-two boat J/70 fleet was simply blessed with classic, amazing Biscayne Bay sailing conditions all three days of the event. Starting off with two days of planing conditions in northerly winds, the smiles painted onto everyone's faces was palpable...pure joy as teams loved the good breeze, sunny weather, and turquoise waters of the Bay!

An incredible nine races were run by the Biscayne Bay YC Race Committee and PRO team, helping out that process was the quick mark reset capabilities of the tres-cool MARK-SET-BOT buoys of the windward marks and gates!


In the end, the most remarkable performance came from the well-known cast of characters from upstate New York; winning with style and grace was Travis Odenbach's HONEYBADGER team that consisted of Andy Horton, Geoff Becker, and Danny Lawless. They eclipsed a truly star-studded fleet that was deeply laden in talent, leaving multiple World, European, North American Champions in their wake. On their way to the top of the podium, they collected an outstanding record of four 1sts, two 2nds, and two 4ths to count only top five finishes for 16 pts net. 


For the third straight time, it was Ryan McKillen's SURGE crew of Jeff Reynolds, Lucas Calabrese, and Sam Loughborough that took the silver. They put up a good fight but could not match the sheer consistency of the HONEYBADGER gangsters.  Like their colleagues, they also posted all top five finishes, including two race wins, to end with 22 pts net. 


Rounding out the podium was World Champion Joel Ronning's team on CATAPULT that consisted of Jud Smith (another J/70 World champ), Kris Stoke, and Patrick Wilson. Winning two races and taking three 2nds, they were virtually tied for the lead with just two races to go in the series.  However, a lighter air, shiftier day for the finale proved to be their undoing, posting an uncharacteristic 9-8 to close out the regatta and dropping to the bronze step on the podium. Rounding out the top five were John Brim's RIMETTE in fourth place and Vernon Robert's Chilean crew on MORENITA.

Winning the Corinthians Division was Zach Segal's USA 1154 with crew of Ashton Hamerlin, Enrique Quintero, and Blake Cabasa. Second was the Brazilian crew on CLOUD NINE with Toribio Tedin as skipper and team of Emilio Miguel, and Javier & Enrique Dillon. Sailing photo credits- Bacardi / Mattias Cappizano.  For more Bacardi J/70 Invitational Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 BACARDI INVITATIONAL PREVIEW

(Miami, FL)- This coming weekend, the Bacardi Invitational for the J/70 class takes place on Miami's Biscayne Bay, hosted by the Shake-A-Leg Foundation, with race management conducted by the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.

The twenty-four boat J/70 fleet has multiple teams with impressive pedigrees in this highly competitive class. Past J/70 World Champion Joel Ronning on CATAPULT has to be a front runner with back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2018, although he dropped to 4th last year. 

In 2020 and 2019, Ryan McKillen and his team on SURGE had to settle for second place and will hope to improve upon that this year. Their target is firmly in sight, with a win at the recent Bacardi Winter Series 2, with new crew on board in the form of Olympian Lucas Calabrese, who may be the component to secure an upgrade. 

Always sitting high up the leader board is Brian Keane and his SAVASANA team. He previously placed 7th and 3rd as well as securing top five finishes at the J/70 Worlds. 

Pamela Rose and her team on ROSEBUD have been steadily advancing up the leader board, rounding out Bacardi Winter Series 2 in 3rd place, and clearly have the skill to stake their claim on the podium. 

During the Bacardi Cup there will be a special tribute to honor the life and legacy of James ‘Ding’ Schoonmaker who passed away on January 19, 2021. It was the special friendship between Ding, Tito Argamasilla Bacardi, and Frank Zagarino who in 1962 brought the Bacardi Cup to Miami from Cuba, thus saving this unique and special regatta.  For more Bacardi J/70 Invitational Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

JESUS LIZARD CROWNED J/24 MIDWINTER CHAMPION

 

(Miami, FL)- This past weekend from February 26th to 28th, the USA J/24 class held their J/24 Midwinter Championship in Miami, Florida, with the Shake-A-Leg Foundation as their host at their facility on the Miami waterfront. The twenty-nine J/24 teams from across the country were blessed with simply amazing weather for the entire three days of the regatta. In fact, the regatta PRO managed to run ten races, much to the delight of all sailors.

After a slow start on the first day, winning the event in convincing fashion was John Mollicone's JESUS LIZARD crew of Paul Abdullah, Mike Marshall, Nick Turney, and Dan Borrer. Here is how it all went down, thanks to reporting from class director Chris Howell.  

Day One- Friday- Gorgeous Start!    

The event kicked off with four races completed. Teams reveled in the pristine conditions on Biscayne Bay with winds at 8-10 knots, sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s. Carter White on WIND MONKEY (crew of Marcus Rogers, Chris Lombardo, Kelly Franklin-Colby, & Molly White) shot out to the early advantage with 1-2-1-4 finishes for 8 points. Mollicone's JESUS LIZARD stood in second place with 16 points with a 3-3-9-1 tally. Floridian Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM (crew of Richard Shellow, Steve Lowery, Kevin Ratigan, & Beaujeaux Delapouyade) finished third with a 11-1-10-6 tally of 28 points. 

White’s WIND MONKEY earned their first bullet of the day in race one, ahead of James Freedman’s MISS CONDUCT and Mollicone’s JESUS LIZARD. Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM grabbed the next win, with White and Mollicone again cracking the top three. Trailing White’s second victory in race three were Nadia Daggett’s MUSTACHE RIDE and Val Shestopalov’s VICTORIA. Mollicone secured his silver position for the day with a victory in Friday’s final battle, followed by Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS and Freedman.

Day Two- Saturday- Perfect Weather, Again!

The teams again enjoyed ideal conditions on Biscayne Bay. With breeze between 10-15 knots, blue skies and above-average temperatures, four more races went in the books, bringing the total to eight (now including a discard). 

Able to drop a ninth from Friday, Mollicone’s JESUS LIZARD now counted only top three finishes for 17 net points and the lead, heading into the final two scheduled races Sunday. Day one leader WIND MONKEY continued solid scores, but dropped to second with 23 net points. Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER joined Mollicone in placing among the top three in all of Saturday’s races to move into third overall with 30 net points.

Gilberto Rivera’s URAYO team (Jaime Balzac, Pablo Mendez, Melvin Gonzalez, & Efrain Logo) from Puerto Rico rocked the day with three bullets. The first came in the opening race in a duel they won with Odenbach and Mollicone. Odenbach and Mollicone moved up to first and second in the next contest, with Kirk Reynold’s TYRUS in third. Rivera’s second victory came in race seven, again with Mollicone and Odenbach staying at the front of the fleet. Mirroring how the day began in the last match, Rivera, Odenbach and Mollicone comprised the top spots.

Day Three- Sunday- Yet Another Glam Day!

The final day saw two scheduled races take place in more of the same glam conditions of the previous two.  After taking 2nd in the first race, Mollicone's JESUS LIZARD crew sailed home to celebrate their good fortunes! Taking up that opportunity, Odenbach's HONEYBADGER won the last two races to seal the deal for the silver medal. The WIND MONKEY crew experienced a bit of misfortune on their last day, posting a DSQ and 17th to drop to fourth place. Sailing solidly was Rivera's Puerto Rican team on URAYO that posted a 3-4 to excitedly jump onto the bronze step on the podium...their best finish ever in the USA J/24 Midwinters! Rounding out the top five was Brown's ANGEL OF HARLEM in fifth place. Sailing photo credits- Chris Howell/ JCA.  For more J/24 Midwinters sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/24 MIDWINTER CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

 

(Miami, FL)- This coming weekend, sailing from February 26th to 28th, the USA J/24 class has organized their J/24 Midwinter Championship in Miami, Florida, with the Shake-A-Leg Foundation being their host at their amazing facility on the Miami waterfront. J/24 sailors from across the country are certainly excited about heading down to one of their favorite "watering holes" in all of Florida- Coconut Grove and its super chill downtown collection of restaurants and bars (abiding by pandemic guidelines, of course). The sailors can't wait to chuck the boat in, pop open a few "tinnies", lather up in sunscreen, put on the shades, and take a cruise around the lovely aquamarine waters of Biscayne Bay with friends.


Nearly thirty J/24 teams are registered and the depth of talent is remarkable. Sailing the regatta are several past National, North American, and World Champions; such as the John Mollicone & Mike Marshall duo on AMERICAN GARAGE, Robby Brown's ANGEL OF HARLEM, the Long Island Sound brother duo of Al & Dave Constants on BLITZ, the scary smart crew on HONEYBADGER (Travis Odenbach, Patrick Wilson, Chris Stocke, and Monica Morgan), Eammon Delisser's MAIN SQUEEZE with Luke Lawrence on cockpit/ tactics, the famous Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS, Mark Pincus steering SCOUTS HONOR, Kirk Reynolds driving TYRUS, and Marcus Rogers on WIND MONKEY with Carter and Molly White providing traffic directions. No "spring chickens" amongst those boats, a lot of bragging rights in the J/24 class amongst them!  For more J/24 Midwinters event and registration information, click here to go to Yachtscoring.com and sign up!

J/24 MIDWINTERS UPDATE

 

(Miami, FL)- Following in the same footsteps as their J/70 friends and colleagues, the USA J/24 class has organized their J/24 Midwinter Championship in Miami, Florida, with the Shake-A-Leg Foundation being their host at their amazing facility on the Miami waterfront.  

Responding enthusiastically has been J/24 sailors from across the country. Clearly, there is an enormous pent-up demand to get back out on the water and enjoy the camaraderie of seeing long lost friends from living the pandemic life.

So far, thirty J/24 teams are registered on YachtScoring to participate in what may be the first regatta for nearly all the teams since the March "lockdown" last year. The depth and talent of the fleet is remarkable, with many boats getting their covers dusted off, boats polished, bottoms sanded, and shaking out the mice family living in the sail bags! Sailing the regatta are several past National, North American, and World Champions; such as the John Mollicone & Mike Marshall duo on AMERICAN GARAGE, Robby Brown's ANGEL OF HARLEM, the Long Island Sound brother duo of Al & Dave Constants on BLITZ, the scary smart crew on HONEYBADGER (Travis Odenbach, Patrick Wilson, Chris Stocke, and Monica Morgan), Eammon Delisser's MAIN SQUEEZE with Luke Lawrence on cockpit/ tactics, the famous Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS, Mark Pincus steering SCOUTS HONOR, Kirk Reynolds driving TYRUS, and Marcus Rogers on WIND MONKEY with Carter and Molly White providing traffic directions. Should be fun!

If YOU are not on a J/24 sailing in this regatta, you better be asking yourself, "why not"!? Go for it, it's an easy drive down I-95 to Miami! Just chuck the boat in, pop open a few "tinnies", lather-up with sunscreen, put on the shades, and take a cruise around the lovely aquamarine waters of Biscayne Bay with friends! Sign me up!  For more J/24 Midwinters event and registration information, click here to go to Yachtscoring.com and sign up! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

MCKILLEN FAMILY WINS J/70 BACARDI WINTER SERIES II!

 

Girl Power! Women Skippers 2-3!

(Miami, FL)- It's a story right out of a fairy tale. Man and woman meet three years ago, get married, learn to sail, buy J/70s, and each steer their own boats to victory! Who knew that would ever happen!? Certainly not Ryan and Maggie McKillen, the couple that went 1-2, respectively, in last weekend's J/70 Bacardi Winter Series on Biscayne Bay. While Ryan's crew on SURGE certainly had a head start on Maggie's team on MAGATRON in terms of experience and podium finishes, no one expected her to be at the top of the leaderboard when the smoke cleared on the race track!

Hosted principally by the Bacardi Event management team and Shake-A-Leg Miami's beautiful facilities in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida, the second of the three event Bacardi Winter Series took place this past weekend from January 22nd to 24th, 2021.  

While the first regatta in mid-December featured just one race, this past weekend tripled that number. While an improvement over the first event, the three beautiful races on Saturday were welcomed by all competitors. Who's complaining? No one. Just the fact that you can be on Biscayne Bay, enjoying warm temperatures, sailing/ floating on azure blue waters, being around friends was just a victory in itself! The J/70 fleet is a fun-loving, social group of sailors, despite the amazingly talented collection of World Champion sailors on hand.  


By any one-design class standards, the deeply talented fleet counted well over two-dozen World Champions in various classes amongst them. Fast out of the blocks in the first race was Ryan McKillen's SURGE. With Olympic Silver Medallist Lucas Calabrese calling tactics, their solid start and conservative strategy kept them in the hunt, playing the left-hand side of the course to a well-earned win. Second in that race was Pamela Rose's ROSEBUD with Bill Hardesty calling tactics. Third was David Janetti's VERY ODD with Travis Odenbach giving random advice. 

The second race saw more of the same in terms of course strategy, the left predominating as the breeze curved over Key Biscayne Island on the left-hand side of the course. Winning that race was class newcomer Doug Newhouse. No stranger to sailing fast and smart in various J's, like his recent J/88 YONDER, Doug and tactician Jeremy Wilmot got dialed in and never looked back. Second was Maggie McKillen's MAGATRON with Brian Kamilar calling the shots and third was World Champion Joel Ronning's CATAPULT with Morgan Reeser providing traffic directions. 

The third race was a shocker for many veteran J/70 teams. Two women skippers got podium finishes, propelling both of them onto the podium overall. Bounced out of the starboard end start by her husband Ryan on SURGE, Maggie's MAGATRON bailed right to clear and after a few minutes, flipped back onto starboard and carried more pressure and a right shift to lead by a country mile at the first weather mark. In the end, she won the race comfortably, her first race win ever. Third in that race was Pamela Rose's ROSEBUD, sandwiched in between was John Brim's RIMETTE with Zeke Horowitz calling the shots.

As a result of at least one good day of racing on gorgeous Biscayne Bay, it was the McKillen family (pictured at right) dueling for the top of the podium! Ryan's SURGE team of Lucas Calabrese, John Wallace, and Sam Loughborough took the win by just one point! Yes, over his wife Maggie! The Ladbroke's betting parlours in England were having a field day betting on these horses.  While Ryan's team had some pedigree based on previous events, the MAGATRON team was probably a 1,000:1 bet. Nice payoff. 

The SURGE team won with a 1-5-4 tally for 10 pts. One point back was MAGATRON with an 8-2-1 record. Third was Pam Rose's ROSEBUD with crew (pictured below) of Bill Hardesty, Alec Anderson, and Chris Watters, posting 2-9-3 finishes for 14 pts. 

Rounding out the top five was Joel Ronning's CATAPULT team (Patrick Wilson, Chris Stocke, Morgan Reeser, Erik Shampain) in fourth, with Doug Newhouse's YONDER team (Ted Hackney, Jeremy Wilmot, Tomas Dietrich) in fifth position. 


In the Corinthians Division, winning was the Brazilian team on CLOUD NINE, skippered by Toribio Tedin. His crew included Emilio Miguel, Javier Carbi, and Enrique Dillon. Second was USA 1154 skippered by Zachary Segal, with crew of Enrique Quintero, Ashton Hamerlin, and Blake Cabasa. Rounding out the podium was Kelly McGlynn's BEARNARCHY with crew of Luke Adams, Jim Barry, and Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick.  For more Bacardi Winter Series II sailing information

J/70 BACARDI WINTER SERIES II PREVIEW

 

Miami, FL- Hosted principally by the Bacardi Event management team and Shake-A-Leg Miami's beautiful facilities in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida, the second of the three event Bacardi Winter Series will be taking place this weekend from January 22nd to 24th, 2021.  

The forecast continues to improve for the weekend for the twenty J/70 teams that are entered from around the world. There are teams from Germany, Brazil, Cayman Islands, and USA. 

The first regatta in mid-December was nearly washed out due to no wind...a single, very marginal, race was held for the highly competitive fleet.  No question, everyone is looking forward to the classic breezes from the southeast that Biscayne Bay is famous for this coming weekend.  

By J/70 standards, the small fleet is deeply laden with talent across the board, counting well over two-dozen World Champions in various classes amongst them. Some teams that may be at the top of the leaderboard include Joel Ronning's CATAPULT (with Erik Shampain & Morgan Reeser on speed/tactics), Germany's Mike Illbruck on PINTA (including famous tactician John Kostecki), Peter Cunningham's POWERPLAY from the Cayman Islands, John Brim's RIMETTE (with Zeke Horowitz on tactics), Pam Rose's ROSEBUD (with Bill Hardesty on tactics), Steve Benjamin's SAINT (with 2 World Champion tacticians aboard- Al Terhune & Chris Larson), Ryan McKillen's SURGE (with Lucas Calabrese & John Wallace on speed/ tactics), Dave Janetti's VERY ODD (with Travis Odenbach on tactics), Buddy Cribb's VICTORY (with Greiner Hobbs & Malcolm Lamphere on speed/tactics), and Doug Newhouse's YONDER (with Jeremy Wilmot & Tomas Dietrich on speed/ tactics). That is a breath-taking collection of smart, fast sailors on those teams.  For more Bacardi Winter Series II sailing information

BACARDI J/70 WINTER SERIES PREVIEW

 

(Miami, FL)- While the Midwest and northeastern regions of the USA are caught in the grips of multiple Lows (depressions) bringing lots of nasty weather; like northeast winds, rain, sleet, snow, ice, slush, and just ugliness, the J/70 class will be hosting its first major event since the March 2020 coronavirus lockdowns shutdown every imaginable regatta in America, and the rest of the world, for that matter.

Hosted between Shake-a-Leg-Miami, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and the USSC, the first race weekend for the Bacardi Invitational Winter Series will be December 11-13, 2020 with the next face-off on January 22-24, 2021. Then, the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta will complete its final event from March 10-13, 2021.

A very star-studded sixteen boat fleet of enthusiastic participants are very excited to get back out on the water on the gorgeous aquamarine Biscayne Bay, with sailing taking place off Miami, Florida. Many of the top American teams will be participating, all familiar faces to J/Sailors that have sailed the J/70 circuit.

Several World Champions are in attendance, including Joel Ronning's CATAPULT (Morgan Reeser and Erik Shampain on speed/ tactics), Germany's Mike Illbruck sailing PINTA (John Kostecki on tactics), Steve Benjamin's SAINT team has THREE World Champions on the team (himself, plus Chris Larson and Al Terhune), Dave Janetti's VERY ODD (Travis Odenbach and Kris Werner on speed/ tactics), and Ryan McKillen's SURGE (Lucas Calabrese on tactics). So much for teams with World Champions on board, just one-third of the fleet! LOFL!

In addition, there are several hot teams that are no "wallflowers", such as John Evans' AIRPLANE (Martie Kullman on tactics), Trey Sheehan's HOOLIGAN: FLAT STANLEY RACING (Curtis Florence and Brad Boston on speed/ tactics), Ryan Foley's JOHNNY UTAH (Nic Baird- College Sailor of Year- on tactics), John Brim's RIMETTE (Zeke Horowitz on tactics), Pam Rose's ROSEBUD (Tomas Dietrich on tactics), and Peter Vessella's RUNNING WILD (Tracy Usher on tactics). 

WOW!! On a percentage basis, this regatta likely has the "deepest bench" of College All-Americans, National, North American, and World Champions in a sixteen-boat fleet, ever! Chill the beer, fire up the popcorn machine, and pull up a chair...this will be an interesting regatta to follow! 

By the way, there are two Corinthians teams that have hot hands on the tiller and smart sailors in their line-ups that may surprise a lot of the top teams. The BEARNARCHY team from Philadelphia, PA has Kelly McGlynn driving with Luke Adams on speed/ tactics (College All-American and son of the famous Ed Adams). Then, Team LIL from the local Coral Reef Yacht Club have proven to be surprisingly fast and smart; after all, they know Biscayne Bay quite well. The LIL team includes skipper Joey Kolisch and tactician/trim Val Schestopalov; both excellent youth sailors and a product of the Optimist/ 420 wars as kids.  Follow the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series here for complete results

SORC Social Distance Race Announcement

(Miami, Florida)- As event organizers navigate their local health restrictions, for some areas that means participation is permitted only with same household crew while other areas focus on group size.

On June 27, the SORC Social Distance Race will offer rating racing along a 21.0nm course around Key Biscayne in Miami, FL. A pursuit start will meet the mandate that boats must remain more than 50 feet apart, and participants must follow the crew capacity limits based on boat length:

• Boats less than 25 feet: 4 adults max. plus children 17 and under; max. of 8 people.
• Boats 25 to 36 feet: 6 adults max. plus children 17 and under; max. of 8 people.
• Boats greater than 36 feet: 8 adults max. plus children 17 and under; max. of 10 people.

Initially scheduled for May 24, the storm that became Tropical Storm Arthur caused a postponement to the week after Father’s Day. We look forward to seeing as many of you on the water as possible! For more SORC Social Distance Race sailing information

J/70 Heavy Air Tuning and Sailing Tips

When the breeze increases, a different set of skills are required. North Sails expert Allan Terhune, who called tactics on the winning TEAM VINEYARD VINES at the J/70 Midwinters in Miami, explains some lessons learned from a windy weekend.


Sailing in Breeze – Upwind
The key to speed upwind is keeping the boat flat and balanced. This is achieved two ways: rig tune and trim.

Rig Tune
We were at the top of our tuning guide most of the weekend to keep our headstay tight. One key factor is the backstay gross tune; make it TIGHT. You need to have enough throw to pull backstay on, in order to flatten out the main. Many teams took the slack out of their gross tune but didn’t make it tight. Also, I heard many people did not go to the top of the tuning guide. If this was not the weekend to go there, I don’t know what would be!

Trim
Once the rig is tuned, the goal is to keep the helm balanced, and also to be able to burp the main in the puffs to eliminate heel. The key to this is the jib sheet. If you have the sail max in-hauled like you would in lighter conditions, the main would immediately luff in puffs, forcing the bow to go down. To compensate for this, we sailed with less inhaul, and moved the lead forward one hole. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it keeps the leech correct and makes the foot powerful enough to get through the chop. We made sure the leech was close to the middle band on the spreader at all times.

We then played the in-hauler to get through waves and puffs. Our main luffed very few times, and we talked all the time about keeping the boat balanced.

As for mainsail trim, it was easy to over-tighten the outhaul and not have enough power through waves. We found that having max backstay was always faster and having enough vang on made it easy to play the sheet. We tried to NEVER let the main luff or flog. You have to be using both sails to be balanced and fast.

Sailing in Breeze – Downwind
Wow was that fun or what! Seriously though, it was HARD work!

A few things to remember off the wind in big breeze:

• Keep a constant angle of heel of 10-15 degrees. Too much heel and you wipe out, too little and you slow down and bear off too much. You have to keep the apparent wind forward.
• Jib trim is crucial. Molly did a great job of always keeping the jib full, but also knew when to blow it if I lost the kite.
• Jibing: Speed is your friend. The worst thing you can do is bear off and slow down and load the boat up right before a jibe. That is when you wipe out.
• Steer around waves and surf whenever possible. Finding a good rhythm with the trimmer and talking about the angles is the best way to identify the path of least resistance.
• Stay in the puff. We all work so hard upwind to go .1 or .2 knots faster, but if you miss a puff downwind you will be 2-5 knots slower. The tacticians who keep their eyes out for the next puff make HUGE gains.

This regatta was a great reminder that the J/70 is truly a team boat. Everyone has a role, and if one person is not carrying their weight, the boat does not succeed. For success in heavy air, you need to develop a different set of skills. And practicing with your team when it’s windy is the only way to get better.

John and Molly Baxter's TEAM VINEYARD VINES crew of Ben Lamb and Allan Terhune were the 2020 J/70 Midwinter Champs after a relentless eight-race battle in a variety of very windy, testing conditions with gusts up to 30 knots! For more information on J/70 heavy air sailing Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Britain's Ward Tops J/70 Bacardi Invitational

Loe's DIME Crowned Corinthians Winner
(Miami, FL)- A stellar fleet is assembled for the 2020 edition of the J/70 Bacardi Invitational in Miami, Florida.  Hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club and Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, the fleet of forty-three J/70 teams from ten nations (USA, Argentina, Italy, Thailand, Brazil, Great Britain, Chile, Germany, Canada, and Mexico) were treated to four-straight days of nearly perfect champagne sailing conditions. Solid breezes, sunny skies, a few clouds, warm waters (72 F) and warm weather (75 F) meant that "shorts, shirts, & shades" were the order of the day every day!


After starting off the first day with a 2-2-1 tally, the EAT SLEEP J REPEAT team from the United Kingdom (skipper Paul Ward, Ruairidh Scott, Ben Saxton, and Mario Trinidade) basically led the regatta from wire-to-wire over the eight-race series. As the current J/70 World Champions, they finally showed "good form" after getting a few kinds worked out of their system from earlier regattas in Florida where they were having difficulty staying in the top ten. After a fourth race debacle that saw them score their drop race, an 18th place, the team roared back to win yet another race and finish with 23 pts net.


Notably, the regatta was witness to a meteoric rise for a previously unknown team at the top of the J/70 class leaderboard. Having taken a surprising third place at the J/70 Midwinters two weeks ago, Ryan McKillen's SURGE Team of John Wallace, Sam Loughborough, and Mark Mendelblatt managed to repeat their most excellent performance in the previous event. The SURGE Team were able to sail quite consistently and posted six races in the top five to take the silver with just 28 pts net.


Taking the final bronze step on the podium was Bruce Golison's crew of MIDLIFE CRISIS (Steve Hunt, Jeff Reynolds, and Erik Shampain) from southern California. After their first race "down the mine shaft" finish of 26th, they won the next race and were able to post five finishes in the top five to finish just two points back with 30 pts net.

Rounding out the top five were J/70 World Champion Joel Ronning and his talented crew on CATAPULT (Patrick Wilson, Chris Stocke, and Paul Brotherinton), winning the final race and also posting five top five finishes to take fourth place with 35 pts net. Fifth place went to Oivind Lorentzen's NINE from New York with crew of David Shreiner, Lucas Calabrese, and Ian Coleman.

In the eight-boat Corinthians Division, it was Seattle, Washington's Mallory & Andrew Loe and crew of Cardwell Potts and Brian Shores aboard DIME that won the division, even winning the fourth race overall! Second was The Brazilian team on THREE MUSKETEERS (Alberto & Andre Guarischi, and Mario & Pedro Tinoco), then third went to Zach Segal's USA 1154 team (Enrique Quintero, Ashton Hammerlin, and Alex Sachs). For more J/70 Bacardi Invitational sailing information

J/70 Bacardi Invitational Preview

(Miami, FL)- Forty-three J/70 teams from ten nations (USA, Argentina, Italy, Thailand, Brazil, Great Britain, Chile, Germany, Canada, and Mexico) are looking forward to the third and final series of the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series- the Bacardi Invitational- that is being sailed from March 4th to 7th, 2020.  Coral Reef YC hosts the event, in coordination with Biscayne Bay YC, and the combined PRO’s hope to get in at least 3 to 4 races per day.

A stellar fleet is assembled for the event, following on the previous week’s J/70 Midwinter Championship that was hosted in the same venue. Leading teams from the USA include Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Houston, TX; Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT from Wayzata YC in Minnesota; Andrew & Mallory Loe's DIME from Seattle, WA; Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Beverly YC in Massachusetts; Bruce Golison's MIDLIFE CRISIS from Long Beach, CA; Oivind Lorentzen's NINE from Greenwich, CT; John Brim's RIMETTE from Palm Beach, Florida; Pam Rose's ROSEBUD from Coconut Grove, FL; Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, Texas; and Ryan McKillen's SURGE from New York, NY.

There are several formidable foreign teams that will be on the starting line, many having already sailed the recent J/70 Midwinters in Miami. Those teams include three from Great Britain: the 2019 World Champions- Paul Ward's EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, Martin Dent's JELVIS, and Tilly Harrison's JOLT. The three Chilean teams include Rene Vidal's MEMPHIS, Pablo Herman's NEW WAVE, and Vernon Robert's CHI-1038. A leading German team will also be on the starting line- Michel Grau's GER 1250 from Hamburg, Germany.
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NINE Shreds J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II

Segal Tops Corinthians Division
(Miami, FL)- As the second Act of the 2019/2020 Bacardi Invitational Winter Series unfolded last weekend, many of the world’s top J/70 teams resumed their battle for supremacy on the waters of Biscayne Bay in Miami. Twenty-five teams came from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and the USA. Despite the light to medium winds and a hyper-aggressive fleet on the starting line, the six windward/leeward races that were scheduled were completed.

Winning their first major J/70 regatta was Oivind Lorentzen's NINE crew from the greater New York area. His crew included Ian Coleman, David Shreiner, and the immensely talented Lucas Calabrese from Buenos Aires, Argentina (an Olympic Silver Medallist in the 470 class). Giving the NINE team moments of anxiety all weekend-long was past J/70 World Champion Joel Ronning and his crew on CATAPULT (Victor Diaz de Leon, Patrick Wilson, and Chris Stocke); they finished five points back to take the silver. The final spot on the podium was determined on a tie-breaker at 25 points each.  Winning on countback to take the bronze was long-time Chicago sailor John Heaton on EMPEIRIA with crew of Will Felder, Zeke Horowitz, and Zach Mason. Losing the tie-breaker to take fourth was another talented Chicago-based team- Pamela Rose's ROSEBUD with Goncalo Ribiero, Willem van Waay, and Bernardo Freitas. In fifth place was Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas; his team featured two brother who were both Olympic Medallists- Jonathan and Charlie McKee from Seattle, Washington- and Orrin Star.

Taking the Corinthians Division by a large margin was Zach Segal's USA 1154 with crew of Ashton Hamerlin, Enrique Quintero, and Peit Van Os. Twelve points back in second place was Doug Weitz's AGENT 99 with team of Yumio Dornberg, Brian O'Mahony, and Paul Zambriski. Another thirteen points in arrears to take the bronze was the Brazilian team on MANCHA NEGRA, skippered by Pedro Camargo with crew of Eduardo Penido and Danilo Santana.  For more Bacardi J/70 Winter Series sailing and scoring information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Bacardi Winter Series II Preview

(Miami, FL)- As event 2 of the 2019/2020 Bacardi Invitational Winter Series unfolds January 23rd to 26th, many of the world’s top J/70 sailors will resume their battle for supremacy on the waters of Biscayne Bay in Miami.

In December 2019, the first of this three-event series featured twenty-one boats for the J/70 fleet, coming from Brazil, Canada, Germany and the USA, with a climb to fifty-three entries for this weekend’s event and three new nations: Great Britain, Italy and Mexico.

Six windward/leeward races are scheduled for the J/70 fleet. The breeze set to be light and fickle as the regatta kicks off, building to a different race track over the weekend with an expected 11-13 knots forecast.

A mixed weather system in December’s event 1, with big breeze followed by light airs for two days led to mixed results in the J/70 class. The J/70 to beat is the team on SURGE skippered by Ryan McKillen, who showcased their tenacity to bounce back after a mid-series shocker to claim the win in December. His team was not exactly comprised of a bunch of "hacks", they included Mark Mendelblatt, John Wallace, and Sam Loughborough- all champion sailors in their own right. They are just one of twenty-five talented teams making the trip to Miami to stake out front of fleet finishes in a fight that will be finely balanced.

Amongst those strong on talent are Jeff Janov on MINOR THREAT, racing with a crew of Dave Ullman, Ben Mercer and Doug McLean, all highly experienced in getting results in under-powered wind conditions. MINOR THREAT finished second in December, just two points behind SURGE. Trey Sheehan and crew on HOOLIGAN also proved their ability to nail fluky breeze wins back in December, scoring two bullets in light pressure to finish third overall.

Joel Ronning and his team on CATAPULT, who won event 2 of last year’s Winter Series and claimed the J/70 World Championships silver medal in September 2019, struggled to balance out an up and down scorecard in event 1. They finished in 6th place, so they will be eyeing a return to form and upgrade to their usual podium placing. Joining the fleet after some time off is Glenn Darden's talented crew on HOSS from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas, his crew includes two rock stars- Eric Doyle and Max Skelley (Star and J/105 Champions). Other teams that have dialed up their efforts include Oivind Lorentzen's NINE, John Brim's RIMETTE, Pam Rose's ROSEBUD (with superstar crew Willem Van Waay aboard), Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE also from Fort Worth Boat Club, and perhaps the "sleeper" of the regatta- Buddy Cribb's VICTORY with a few characters on his crew list that actually know how to sail- Scott Ewing and Greiner Hobbs.  For more Bacardi J/70 Winter Series sailing and scoring information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Pierini Leads J/70 Bacardi Winter Series I

(Miami, FL)- The first of three events in the 2019/ 2020 Bacardi J/70 Winter Series took place this past weekend on Biscayne Bay. Hosting the series was the Shake-A-Leg Foundation sailing program located next to the completely refurbished Monty Trainer's Bar and Restaurant in Coconut Grove, FL. Seventeen team sailed the first event in somewhat challenging weather conditions; just three races were completed over the two days of competition, a rare scenario for the usually predictable sea breezes on Biscayne Bay.

Winning the first regatta was Geoff Pierini's "49" team from Perth Amboy, New Jersey with a 3-2-1 tally for 6 pts. Second was past World Champion Joel Ronning on his famous CATAPULT, his Wayzata Yacht Club (Minnesota) team posted a 1-5-2 record for 8 pts. Then, rounding out the podium was Trey Sheehan's HOOLIGAN: FLAT STANLEY RACING from Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio. The balance of the top five included Henry Brauer's RASCAL crew from Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts in fourth place and Bruno Pasquinelli's Fort Worth Boat Club (Texas) team on STAMPEDE in fifth place.

Winning the Corinthians Division was Joey Kolisch's LIL team from Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami, Florida), second place went to Jon Ewing's RUNNING WILD crew from Coral Reef YC, and third place was Marcus Wunderlich's STRATOS team from Jersey City, NJ and Edgewater Yacht Club.

The second of the three events in the J/70 Bacardi Winter Series takes place on January 25th to 26th in Coconut Grove, Florida.  For more Bacardi J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Bacardi Winter Series I Preview

(Miami, FL)- While the Tampa Bay Winter Series launched this past weekend, the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series starts this coming weekend on Biscayne Bay. Hosting the series will be the Shake-A-Leg Foundation sailing program located next to the completely refurbished Monty Trainer's Bar and Restaurant in Coconut Grove, FL.  Twenty-three boats have registered and despite being half the size of the Tampa Bay series fleet, the concentration of many top American teams ensure the fleet will have plenty of hot competition to begin gearing themselves up for the 2020 J/70 World Championship in Marina del Rey, CA in late July 2020.

Featured amongst those leading teams are past World Champion Joel Ronning skippering CATAPULT from Wayzata Yacht Club in Minnesota.  Ronning will be have to contend with other hot teams like Dan Goldberg's BAZINGA from American Yacht Club in New York, John Heaton's EMPEIRIA from Chicago Yacht Club in Illinois, Jeff Janov & David Ullman sailing MINOR THREAT from the 2020 J/70 World's host California Yacht Club, John Brim's RIMETTE from Fishers Island Yacht Club in New York, Buddy Cribb's VICTORY from Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami, and Pamela Rose's ROSEBUD from Chicago Yacht Club in Illinois.  A stellar group of teams with hot prospects for a podium finish!  For more Bacardi J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Whittemore Crowned J/24 World Champion!

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) sailed in the 41st edition of the J/24 World Championship. The amazing combination of USA J/24 Fleet 12 and the Shake-A-Leg organization in Coconut Grove, FL hosted the 400+ sailors and their friends and families. Ten races were sailed over four days from October 23rd to 26th on the aquamarine waters of the beautiful Biscayne Bay. Winning the regatta was the Seattle-based team on FURIO, Keith Whittemore with crew of Shelby Milne, Willem Van Waay, Mark Rodgerd and Brian Thomas. Here are the final two-day’s reports.

Day 3- Friday
Whittemore’s FURIO extended their lead on a wild and exciting day of sailing. Winds were regularly recorded at 18 knots with gusts in the 20s, testing competitors and equipment, and causing some boats to retire early.

Whittemore’s FURIO, who excelled in the Championship’s lighter days, also shone in the bigger breeze Friday, posting a bullet and a 12 for 32 net points in eight races. Two more races were planned Saturday to conclude the event. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD held on to the runner-up position with 41 points, following a 26-5 on the day (discarding the 26). Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR maintained the third spot with 42 points.

FURIO’s Whittemore explained that Van Waay has some regatta experience with Furio, but joked, “the rest of us has sailed together for 4,000 years.” Whittemore also keeps a boat in Europe, and is regular on that circuit, creating friends and supporters worldwide.

In race seven, Whittemore won with John Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN and Tokuma Takesue’s GEKKO taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Three J/24 World Champions comprised the top three in race eight: Mauricio Santa Cruz’s BRUSCHETTA from Brazil, Will Welles BUCKAROO from the USA, and Daniel Frost’s JJ-ONE from Germany.

Day 4- Saturday Finale
Whittemore’s FURIO entered the final two races with a nine-point advantage, and quickly slammed the door on the competition by dominating race nine of 10. Following their bullet to start Saturday, long-time J/24 sailor Whittemore placed eighth in the final contest, five notches better than his closest challenger Milev’s CLEAR AIR. Although 2017 J/24 World Champion Milev placed second behind Whittemore in Saturday’s first match, FURIO was able to cover Milev in the final race to clinch victory with 41 points to Milev’s 57. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD assembled an impressive Championship for third place (66 points).

Whittemore’s highest finish in prior World Championships was third, and he has been a bridesmaid at more than one major Championship. Five J/24 World Champion helmsmen were among this fleet, and Whittemore smiled, saying, “Being able to beat those guys feels really, really, really good!” He added, “Today was scary. When we drove down, we said we really need to win the first race, so the second race isn’t a complete mess.” The plan worked perfectly when FURIO started at the pin, and got a header. “We could cross everybody. We were frankly gone at that point, and extended our lead. We struggled up every first beat of every race. That was the first time where something happened, and we said this is going to be really good!”

The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:

• Jaeger Women’s Trophy- to Erica Beck-Spencer and her SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM as top Women’s team

• Under-25 Turner Trophy- to Matthew Miranda’s TEAM OUTRAGEOUS as the top Youth crew on the Kelly Holmes-Moon Grant Boat.

Rounding out the top five were Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS in fourth place and Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER in fifth. Complete J/24 World Championship results may be found here.  ForAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
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