J/133 JACANA Wins off Cape Town

(Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa)- In the southern hemisphere, most sailors are familiar with the extensive one-design and offshore racing taking place in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand). However, an active offshore fleet continues to enjoy the often-spectacular conditions sailors experience off the famous landmark known as the Cape of Good Hope. In fact, there are more than a dozen J/teams sailing those waters ranging from J/24s to J/27s, J/30s to J/105s, and even a J/133.

Recently, the J/133 Team HOLLARD JACANA (owned by the trio of David Munro, Patrick Holloway, and Neil Gregory) was the overall winner of the Class 1 Division in the 2019 Fling Regatta, the first amateur team to win in five years.

Patrick commented on their performance, “racing was incredibly close, as was the overall result. Our crew had one 1st, three 2nds, a 3rd and a 4th in the six-race regatta, for a total of 10 points, after a one-race discard. The regatta was sailed in Table Bay over the weekend of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd February 2019.

The event was the third and penultimate round of the Western Province Inshore Championships, which the team continues to lead. Previously, we won the False Bay Spring Regatta (September 2018) and finished 2nd in Table Bay Race Week (December 2018) by the narrowest of margins on a tie break.” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Meet Vestas 11th Hour Racing- Charlie Enright

(Newport, RI)- Team VESTAS includes as its leader a J/24 World Champion Charlie Enright. Furthermore, he is joined by friend Mark Towill, both avid sailors and racers since they were little kids growing up on Narragansett Bay, sailing out of the Bristol YC on Sunfishes, J/24s, J/35s, J/105s and even the new J/121 recently.

Young guns Charlie Enright and Mark Towill are back in the Volvo Ocean Race, and they've teamed up with Danish wind energy company Vestas and marine conservation program 11th Hour Racing hoping to make a lasting impact on and off the water in 2017-18.

American duo Enright and Towill return to lead the blue boat, and want to make an impact on and off the water. Enright and Towill got their first taste of Volvo Ocean Race action in the 2014-15 edition as with Team Alvimedica, and in doing so realized a long-awaited dream to test their mettles offshore in the ultimate round-the-world race.

Two In-Port Race wins and victory in the final ocean leg from Lorient to Gothenburg left the talented Americans wanting more, and now they're back with a star-studded crew, an even bigger hunger for success and an important message about the health of our oceans to promote.

The team's partnership with 11th Hour Racing will see them engage with communities around the world to increase understanding of marine environments and how best to respect them.

Joining Towill and Enright in the team's high command is Simon 'SiFi' Fisher, who helped orchestrate Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's win in 2014-15 from the navigation station, and returns for a fourth consecutive Volvo Ocean Race.

Around them are some of the most talented ocean racers on the planet. The likes of Damian Foxall, Tony Mutter, SCA's Stacey Jackson and Phil Harmer, all with Volvo Ocean Race victories on their CVs, will guarantee Vestas 11th Hour Racing are top contenders. Indeed, Harmer is hunting a hat-trick of consecutive wins after lifting the trophy with Groupama and Abu Dhabi in 2011-12 and 2014-15, respectively.

Nick Dana (Newport, RI) returns for a second race as a full crew member, then there are the team's under-30 crew members, bursting with enthusiasm and talent. Brit Hannah Diamond and Denmark's Jena Mai Hansen join the team from Olympic dinghy racing backgrounds, Diamond from the Nacra 17 multihull and Jensen from winning bronze in the 49er FX at Rio 2016. Young Aussie Tom Johnson joins the crew after racing with Vestas in the 2014-15 edition, then with Oracle Team USA for the most recent America's Cup.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing finished fifth in Leg Zero, the four-stage qualifying series before, then headed straight for Lisbon where they've been working hard to get up to speed, two-boat testing alongside team AkzoNobel as the countdown to the start of the Volvo Ocean Race continues.

Follow these guys as the go around the world on the Volvo Ocean Race website (great tracker, too!).

Ullman Sails Names Skip Novak As Sailing Ambassador!

(Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)- Recently, a good friend from back in our Midwest days (e.g. as kids growing up sailing off Chicago and Wisconsin’s various lakes), was named to be the Ullman Sails “Sailing Ambassador”- his name is Skip Novak.  For starters, kudos to Skip and to Dave Ullman and friends at Ullman Sails for bringing Skip on board to help promote the experience of sailing worldwide and educate people on the importance of eco-friendly life-styles and environmentally-friendly programs.

Skip has sailed just about everywhere, starting with dinghies in Chicago, then a Chicago-Mac Race, then a Whitbread Race on the Swan 65 KINGS LEGEND (with a beloved, now long lost, friend- Greg Tuxworth), then some J/24 stuff here and there with friends, a few Cowes Race Weeks, now adventuring in a 70 foot schooner/ketch called PELAGIC II (funded by mostly Chicago sailing friends) and based out of Tierra del Fuego doing charters/ eco-adventures!  Read on! Skip is a great person and the ultimate sailing ambassador for anyone; plus he was recently honored with the prestigious Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America for his many years of cruising and exploring the Antarctic.  Read more about Skip’s interview and background here.  Thanks for contribution from Ullman Sails/ Newport Beach.

LAUGH A MINUTE Wins J/22 Mpumalanga Provincials

(Mpumalanga, South Africa)-  The Amtec J22 Mpumalanga Provincials has become a regatta enjoyed by all the top sailors in the J/22 class in South Africa. Fourteen J/22’s entered with many happy to travel to the event, six entries from TYC, four from the Vaal clubs, three local entries and the J chairman from VLC.

Weather conditions were critical as sailing instructions required a minimum of 4 races to constitute a series and this was needed in two days. Friday’s weather looked bleak for sailing but Saturday proved far better for the 11.00 start. With a nip in the air and a breeze of 3-8 Knots coming from the NNW the shore was a buzz of activity as fourteen yachts prepared for racing.  Five slick races were sailed Saturday with the last race finishing by 1730 hrs.

From the first race the competitive nature of the fleet combined with the skills on each yacht gave an indication of what was to come. In the first race 42 seconds separated the local entry LAUGH A MINUTE and TYC entry of US'N’J for a 1st with SHAMBLES 55 seconds later in 3rd. The young newcomer to the fleet Marcello Marica, skipper on JUICE with Amtec’s Mike Hayton showed his potential with a 5th 38 seconds between 1st and 2nd.

In Race 2 saw MAJIC- Jessica Lenz and crew move from 6th (subsequently her discard) to 2nd and then she repeated this result in Race 3. JUICE had their best result, a 4th in the series.

JAYWALKER on the other hand did not have a good 3rd race. On the 1st leg they wandered off into the dam onto the way to Steve’s place! They appeared totally lost and confused but claims he saw some wind shift from there!  HAKAHANA also lost valuable places going off to the "game reserve" side of the course on the last leg of the race (must have thought this was the “Kruger” park) only to realise they were way off course as the Blue flag on bridge was flying and the finish line was open. A valuable lesson to all crew don’t forget to count laps and watch the flags.

Race 4 saw a turnaround for CELL-C who had had a few challenges in the previous races. Let’s say CELL-C, including others, had perfected the 360/720 penalty. A 1st in the next 2 races improved their overall position and they certainly went home hoping for wind on Sunday.

Great to see Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA showing his potential with a 6th in this race but never far off the pace. Surprisingly the Race Officer, Mario Scalco, never needed to bring out a black flag.  But, his team had to be organized and quick-witted to deal with the close finishes in each race.

A beautiful clear blue sky as well as two perfectly rigged brand new Optimists greeted sailors on Sunday at breakfast. That is another story to be told at future regattas. At the first sign of possible wind boats were rigged but despite two valiant attempts at starting races it was not to be. At 1400 hrs the final signal was sounded.

The winner, LAUGH A MINUTE- John Brookman/ Dave Martinson and Ayshia Genloud had a convincing win with a net 8 points. CELL-C, disappointed with the lack of wind, finished 2nd overall with US'N'J finishing 3rd.

The hospitality, fantastic improvements and renovations to the Witbank Yacht and Aquatic Club, great racing organisation and ideal sailing waters all contributed to a memorable regatta that I am sure will see many J boats returning in 2014.   For more J/22 South Africa sailing information