30th J/22 Jammin’ Jamaica Regatta Preview

(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- It is a momentous weekend for the J/22 JAMMIN' JAMAICA Regatta, it is celebrating its 30th anniversary from the 6th to 8th of December.  First started by the local J/22 fleet, the Royal Montego Bay Yacht Club has been hosting the regatta from the very beginning. Similar to the J/105 Bermuda Invitational, the "locals" from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, invite international sailing teams to participate and are given a boat for a nominal fee.  Bring your own sails, bring your own crew, and whatever is missing will be filled in by the local J/22 fleet. It has proven to be a popular event, particularly as it is held just three weeks prior to the December holidays.

A record thirteen boats are participating in this year's event with teams representing Canada, the USA, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands. The two Canadian teams are Michele Cimon's JIM SCREECHIE from Ottawa, ONT and Tracy Snow's NINA from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The four USA boats include famous J/22 Class President Galen Freeman racing CALYPSO from Nashville, Walter Caldwell's ZIPPER from Texas, Drew Mutch's FACEY WHITE HOT from Annapolis, and Bruce Berner's AWESOME from Indianapolis.

The Cayman Island contingent, though not large, is quite formidable in their talents. Led by homeboy Mike Farrington's ADJUSTED, they will be a force to contend with (Mike has gotten a 3rd in the J/22 Worlds). The other top crew is Bruce Johnson's YAHOO.

The hometown boys are well-represented with a few past winners in their midst. Leading them should be Richard Hamilton's RENEGADE, with Mike Morse's AYAHSO, PJ Gibson & Capt. Hernault's TSUNAMI, Jim Wilson's DEFENDER, and Steve Cooke's GERONIMO in hot pursuit for class honors.  For more J/22 JAMMIN' JAMAICA Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/42 Sailing Seven Seas- Wall St Journal!

(Harbor Springs, Michigan)- Bill & Judy Stellin have sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER all over the world.  And, now they have her sailing in Harbor Springs on Lake Michigan-- a gorgeous, azure blue bay in the magical northwest corner of upper Michigan.  On December 10th, the Wall Street Journal (that famous American business paper) ran a feature on the Stellin's sailing.  You can read more about their sailing adventures here at Wall St Journal.com.

By the way, if you want to do some "armchair sailing" and live a few fantasies of sailing in far-away places, the Stellin's have written three books about their adventures.  You can either buy them as books, or better still download for free on an iPad, iPhone or iPod.  They can be found at Blurb.com.

Montego Bay 75th Commodore's Ball

(Montego Bay, Jamaica)-  The growth of the Jamaica J/22 fleet based out of Montego Bay YC has generated enormous enthusiasm for sailors in the Montego area.  The combination of kids, Moms, Dads and lots of friends who have been looking to sail with "no dramas, mon" has generated a huge out-pouring of fun and games amongst the members.  Easy access, a fun-to-sail philosophy and an "all-inclusive" approach to anyone who walks down the beach wishing to go sailing can only mean one thing-- a good old-fashioned "jump up" to some awesome reggae!  And so it was.

The J/22 Montego Bay fleet helped to celebrate en-masse their MBYC's 75th Commodore's Ball with a "jump up" to end all "jump ups".  See the YouTube video here.

As they continue this celebration, as often these celebrations can happen for weeks or months, the Montego J/22 fleet has decided to host their JAMIN' INVITATIONAL CUP REGATTA from December 6th to 8th.  Come one, come all.  Everyone is welcome.  Just let us know, we take care of you!  We love you all, J sailors around'd'world.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you in these parts and join us!  If you know how to sail, we know how to have fun!  For more Mo'Bay Yacht Club & J/22 Fleet Sailing information

Nassau Cup Race Preview

(Nassau, Bahamas)- Planning for Paradise this winter?  Then, perhaps consider the Bahamas! As the summer sailing season begins to wind down, it is time to start organizing plans for the special winter sailing season starting in sunny south Florida.  The SORC group, along with the Coral Reef and Nassau Yacht Clubs, is busy finalizing plans for the 2012 Nassau Cup Ocean Race that starts Thursday, November 8th off Miami.

The Race Chairman, Carol Ewing, says: “The 2012 Nassau Cup is even better and bigger than last year – although we’re not sure how we can top last year’s steady 15 knot breeze with a full moon on a clear night – but we’ll try! The buzz is great and we have heard from several competitors that are already getting geared up for this year’s kick starter to sailing in the South during the winter months. The Bahamas in November! It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Since 1934, some of the best offshore sailors in the world have battled for the prestigious Miami-to-Nassau Cup, including Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Dick Bertram, and Ted Hood, aboard legendary boats like Running Tide, Windward Passage, Tenacious, and Boomerang.  Starting off Miami, racers leave Great Isaacs Light to starboard and proceed past Great Stirrup Light, finally finishing at Nassau Harbor off its picturesque lighthouse on the tip of Paradise Island. The current course record is held by George Coumantaros on the maxi BOOMERANG with an elapsed time of 14 hours, 26 minutes and 39 seconds in 1986.  Today’s modern boats just need the right conditions to claim this legendary prize, and racers of all types will enjoy the navigational and crew challenge of the race across the Gulf Stream.

After a day's rest from the race, most crews join one another for drinks and a buffet at the Nassau Yacht Club on Friday night and then proceeded to “Crazy Johnnie’s” for some lively entertainment. Saturday usually brings beautiful cool weather and a mid-day get together for the crews to vie for the J-22 Match Race Championship!! Many star-studded teams are sure to compete for honors again this year.  That same evening, a very nice buffet and open bar with plenty of Mt Gay rum makes for a lively dinner and prize-giving where the J-22 trophies and the Nassau Cup Race awards are presented to their deliriously happy winners!  For those who've experienced the fun and camaraderie of this event, it's one to put back onto your "bucket list" for your friends!  It looks like the J/44 WHITE GOLD sailed by Jim Bishop will be participating and perhaps last year's winner, the J/105 LOKI from Ft Lauderdale, too.  For more Nassau Cup Race sailing information

Tribute to J/46 Sailor Ned Cabot

* The J/Family expresses their deepest regrets and most profound sympathies to the family of Dr. Ned Cabot who drowned recently off the coast of Newfoundland, when a rogue wave swept him from his J/46 CIELITA.

Ned was a lifelong sailor and "friend" of the J/Family.  He was on the final leg of a journey he and friends had pursued over the past seven summers that had taken them from Nova Scotia through Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland to the coast of Norway.

“He was good at everything he did, and a great teacher,” Betsy Washburn Cabot said in the statement. “You couldn’t get out of an invitation by claiming you didn’t know how to do it, because he would teach you how.”

Cabot wrote and spoke publicly about his voyages, and won a 2012 writing award from the Cruising Club of America, in which he was a long-time member. In addition to sailing, Cabot enjoyed skiing, whitewater kayaking, and horseback riding, family and friends said.

Cabot’s father, Thomas Dudley Cabot, served as director of the US State Department’s Office of International Security Affairs under President Harry S Truman. His grandfather, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, in 1882 founded the highly-regarded Cabot Corporation, a Boston-based company.

Cabot was a surgeon at Brigham & Women’s Hospital for more than 25 years and taught at Harvard Medical School. He retired from medicine a decade ago and dedicated himself to philanthropy and sailing. He was the founder of Cabot-Wellington LLC and a trustee of the Cabot Family Charitable Trust and the Godfrey L. Cabot Family Association.

J/22 Sailing MoBay- "Hannah Montana" Report!

(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- The Jamaica J/22 Class had a fabulous third meet in Montego Bay.  The second meet was a hoot, but the third one was even better- we called it the "Hannah Montana" special.  We had six races in 5 to 25 kt winds.  For the most part there were three race per day with at most two hours on the water per day.  Too short, you say?

Well, here in MoBay we take most kindly to the most "considerate" sailing imaginable. After all, it's beautiful here.  The people are beautiful, too.  And, they are simply wonderful and laid back.  Don't believe us?  Please come down and join us, mon!  Be assured, we can show you a good time!

So, here's an example of how we sail-- There should be no such thing as a ‘close call’ in a port-starboard that doesn’t result in a protest and this past weekend people realized that as port boat in close quarters they must either tack and (preferably) lee bow, or duck.  A good duck can only mean that the chances are the roles will be reversed at the next encounter further up the course!!

The fleet was very conservative at the start on both days with ZIPPER playing at the port end and clearing easily across the fleet on a couple of occasions.

Once again a square short start line, with excellent race management from Evelyn Harrington and Robbin Delisser, the fleet was able to enjoy a focus on extremely close racing.  The only thing persistent for the whole weekend was that there was no right or wrong on the way up the course and 20 degree shifts were the norm.  Those that could capitalize gained big and those that couldn’t - well, next time.  Boat speed helped but as RENEGADE proved with her oldest sails pointing the bow in the right direction ensured a place well up in the fleet was really possible.

Sunday’s racing had everyone in the bar within 2.5 hours albeit with rain preventing the boats from coming out of the water.  There is so much positive energy and reaction to the impetus we can only hope that Montego Bay can generate as much participation in Kingston in the coming months.

Thanks to "Hanna Montana" for the title and a pink beach ball picked up during a downwind leg on "Renegade" which even has a little bell in it!!  Cool runnings, dudes, kids will love this one!  Sailing photo credits- Evelyn Harrington   For more Royal Jamaica YC and J/22 Montego Bay sailing information