If Plan A doesn’t work, Beware of Plan B- a real fish story?

Marc Hermann shares a non-sailing story to take our minds off all the non-sailing now occurring.

"Many years ago, I got an opportunity to go out fishing with a friend, and as we waited for the next bite, he told me about his wife’s unique experience obtaining her diving certification.

She was pursuing her dockside certification in shallow waters, and while underwater she saw a large white object floating just above the ocean floor. Curious, she swam closer to discover it was a 5+ foot halibut that had a rope noose around its body, followed by a length of line with a frayed end.

She found this to be rather odd, and once back on the dock, she told her story to one of the Marina attendants. He immediately started to laugh and began to tell her about an early morning fishing incident with a guy who had snagged a massive halibut in his old aluminum car-topper boat.

Apparently, he fought with this thing for a couple of hours when finally it succumbed, allowing him to reel it alongside the boat to club it. Realizing he had landed the mother lode, and it being far too big to bring into the boat, he decided to make a rope noose and tie it to the side of the boat and head back to the marina.

However, on his way back, the fish came back to life, and for those of you familiar with halibut and the strength in their tail, it started to violently thrash around while attached to the boat.

With less than half mile to the marina, this is when our avid, and at the time happy fisherman, realized that given the current circumstances, the trapped fish was going to destroy the boat.

Not realizing what to do next, and seeing the boat was taking on water, he panicked and picked up his shotgun (don’t ask me why he had a shotgun) to shoot the thrashing fish.

However, this idea didn’t quite go according to plan. As when he aimed at the fish, the fish’s tail violently hit the side of the boat and knocked our fisherman off balance just as he fired the gun. Rather than his aim be directed at the fish, it instead blew out the stern, which then led to significant ingress of water and subsequent sinking.

With half the marina watching this unfold, our now very unhappy fisherman was swimming in the water, with no boat, and much to his consternation that last traumatic course of events broke the noose around the fish and it, too, got away.

And now you know the story of the large halibut with a noose that got away."  Thanks for this funny fish story from Scuttlebutt. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sailing as an essential activity

A perspective by Darrell Nicholson, Practical Sailor

Let’s take away all the boats. Not the ships engaged in essential commerce, not the barges hauling goods, not the net boats catching fish. Keep those. And the Navy, of course, keep that. But all the rest can go.

Now, imagine as we look out over the waterfront, we see no skiffs on the bay, no dinghies along the shore, no sloops or schooners on a sunset sail. This arrangement, if it persists, could have dire consequences—at least if you believe French philosopher Michel Foucault:

“In civilizations without boats, dreams dry up, espionage takes the place of adventure and the police take the place of pirates.”

Some, like Pompey the Great (as quoted by Plutarch), put sailing above even life itself. “To sail is necessary; to live is not.”

As for me, always pining for another long passage on the Pacific, I can easily see the value of sending all willing sailors out to a seaborne isolation. Perhaps a future pandemic strategy?

As summer fast approaches and COVID-19 persists as a threat, coastal communities, sailing clubs, schools, and camps around the country are asking the same question: Must our boating activities be curtailed, and if they are to continue, what measures are necessary to ensure public health?

The situation is changing, but at the time of this writing, the boat ramps around our homeport in Sarasota, Florida were opening up again. All state municipalities have banned gatherings of boaters on sandbars and on-the-water events that might draw a crowd—although some impromptu two-boat “regattas” will likely spring up (as they tend to do whenever another sail appears on the horizon).

The concern about even solo outings is that the boat and boater don’t exist in a bubble. A simple afternoon on the water can involve a great deal of bustling about. Whether in commerce (buying fuel, hardware, etc.) or in congregation (socializing on the dock), contact with others is almost inevitable. In most regards, however, sailing not only complies with the requirements of safe distancing – it embraces it.

Not that we’re a bunch of hermits, but the fact remains that a great number of sailors took up sailing precisely because it took us away from land and all its problems. (Okay, maybe some of us are seagoing hermits—or at least we inspire hermits.)

As for me, I’m in no rush to get on the water. There will be time for that. The lull in waterfront activity has allowed me to catch up on some long-delayed work projects with my younger son Jake. At present we’re on a brightwork binge, with hatch boards and tillers lined up in the garage (doors wide open, and well-ventilated with fans, of course) awaiting another coat.

For the time being we’re buoyed by another quote to carry me through these days. Something Kenneth Graham said in his famous children's book- The Wind in the Willows. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

If you are a sailor in search of a project, you’ll find many on the Practical Sailor website. A good start is to plug “DIY” into the search box. If you already have a specific project in mind, just enter in the relevant key words. Doing a Google search and including the phrase Practical Sailor also works (searching Practical Sailor varnish, for example, yields a number of hits).

And if you’re still looking for something to do, I’m sure we can come up with something. Feel free to reach out at practicalsailor@belvoir.com if you’re stumped."

Thanks for this contribution from ScuttlebuttSailing.com. For more than 35 years, Practical Sailor has been taking the guesswork out of boat and gear buying with bold, independent boat tests, and product-test reports for serious sailors and boaters. Learn more at https://www.practical-sailor.com Flip 

Watch "What we did last summer- #MoreKidsOnSailboats"!

* Brett and Katie Langolf, with their two daughters, are on a mission to get more kids on sailboats. Most often, they can be found sailing their beloved J/34 IOR classic- called KNEE DEEP- on Lake Erie.


This sailing highlights video shares their 2019 season from San Diego to Annapolis to Mackinac Island and many ports in between. Enjoy! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

#MoreKidOnSailboats! The new calling card for kids on offshore boats

(San Diego, CA)- Brett Langolf, owner of the J/34 IOR version called KNEE DEEP in Cleveland, Ohio, was asked to do a presentation at the U.S. Sailing Leadership Forum regarding "how to get more kids on sailboats" using the new hash-tag #MoreKidsOnSailboats! Here is his latest report:

"Hosted in San Diego this year, the 2020 Forum is the foundation for making things happen in American sailing and we were honored to be invited and speak at this conference. Just like a day on the water, we traveled with the whole crew! The Langolf family was off to San Diego.

Our #MoreKidsOnSailboats began as a fun way to collect and share our kids’ adventures on our J/Boats and has now turned into a national rally cry to grow the sport we all love. It was (and is) very exciting to be on the front line, share our experience and learn from some of the leaders of the sailing industry. Below is what we learned from kids across the country…

Top 10 Ways to Get More Kids on Sailboats:

• “Snacks! Candy” - Set them up with snacks & drinks. Trust us, your adult crew could use some gummy bears also (sour gummy bears, especially).
• "Just Ask Us” - Kids want the opportunity to be a part of a crew.  Skippers need to reach out and set a plan with the child. Be explicit about your crew expectations so the child can be successful.
• “Give me a job!” - Assign the child a buddy on board! As the buddy, encourage the child to ask questions! Nod and smile, even if the kids say something outrageous!
• “Make sailing fun” - Yep, it is fun to win but not at the expense of a tense experience.  Leave the yelling for another day and keep the experience relaxed and positive.
• “Make it safe” - Look for grant opportunities soon from More Kids on Sailboats to outfit your “under 18” crew.
• “Keep it comfortable” - Set the kids and yourself up for success. These extras still weigh less than your beer. They will forget stuff, throw a couple of freebie regatta sunglasses, some sunscreen and hats to the kids.  They love gear!
• “Make us feel valued” - Ask for the kid’s opinion on everything from sail trim/course to music selection.  We aren’t saying you need to heed their opinion but asking it goes a LONG way.
• “Gear us up” - Supply your regular kids with crew gear.  Maybe some one size fits all items like hats.
• “PLEASE STOP YELLING” - This literally takes the wind out of the sails for kids. 
• “Capture it for us” - We are living in the digital world.  The younger generation especially likes to share their experiences with their peers on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc).  Embrace it. Take lots of photos & videos and share everywhere!! This is free advertising for your boat, your club, your crew and the sport.

Watch their cute video highlights reel here on YouTube:

#MoreKidsOnSailboats

That is the "hashtag" created by J/34 IOR owner of KNEE DEEP IV in Cleveland, Ohio- Brett Langolf. Brett and his wife and kids were asked by the U.S. Sailing Leadership Forum 2020 to do a presentation on "How to get more kids sailors involved in sailing" during their annual conference in San Diego, CA.

The Langolf family has been instrumental in getting dozens of kids sailing offshore from their local community, sailing both evening "beer-can races", as well as sailing larger weekend regattas and offshore races up to 290.0nm- the Bayview Mackinac Race on Lake Huron.

According to Langolf, "we had a great sailing industry presentation. What a huge success! And, THANK YOU for the J/Calendars and J/Stickers, they were fantastic....very popular! Here are a couple of videos from the presentation and an overall report. We are working on a written article about key takeaways from the conference."


#MoreKidsOnSailboats @ Sailing Leadership Forum 2020 highlights video


Watch "Getting more kids on board - what every sailboat skipper should know!" Add to Flipboard Magazine.

#MoreKidsOnSailboats- watch this cute sailing video

(Cleveland, OH)- Speaking of kids, the J/34 IOR KNEE DEEP, sailed by a family in Cleveland, OH, is up to their usual fun and games sailing on Lake Erie. And, the kids are important participants on their family sailing team!  Enjoy their latest “pre-season” video from owner Brett Langolf Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Young Girl Skippers J/34 Fast!

(Sandusky, OH)- The J/34 IOR “KNEE DEEP” is at it again, sailing offshore on Lake Erie with kids! Shocking! And, NO video games and NO cell phones! Even more shocking!

As many of you know in the global community of J/Sailors, Brett Langolf makes every attempt to include his young son and daughter on any regatta that he and his wife sail with friends on a classic, super-fast, light-air, IOR-designed, J/34 on Lake Erie.  They do many weekend and “beer can” races with everyone involved.  Every minute spent offshore without your kids texting or gaming is about an hour’s worth of love and communication!

Recently, Brett posted a pic that would have most parents beaming from ear-to-ear with pride.  Said Brett, “here’s my daughter Hadley, 10 yrs old, driving a kite reach last week off the shores of Cedar Point on a “Sunday Funday” race aboard KNEE DEEP.  We all had a blast!” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SOLID GOLD DANCERS Top Legends Regatta

(San Francisco, CA)- The idea was simple and clever; invite your top sailors from your club to create a team that was inclusive of the club membership, from top sailors to women and juniors.  The idea was hatched by Russ Silvestri and friends at St Francis YC in San Francisco to encourage fun and mentorship amongst all member sailors in a fun, festive atmosphere, sailing aboard their fleet of J/22 one-design sailboats.

They called the event “The Legends Regatta of the Kingdom of St. Francis YC”.  Tongue in cheek, of course!  Here was the invitation to StFYC members that were selected as the “Legends” to pick their team of “Knights”:

“I, Jim Kiriakis, the reigning Commodore of St. Francis YC, do hereby invite you, a named and distinguished Lord and Legend of the Kingdom of St. Francis YC, to serve as Captain and to appoint your finest Skipper and Crew to enter into battle in the Legends Regatta of St. Francis YC, celebrating the honor and distinction our Club has enjoyed for four score and ten years.

The Legends Regatta and Crowning will take place on Friday, the 21st day of April in the year 2017. Racing will commence at precisely 1300 hours and no races will commence after 1551, which marks two hours before sunset on that day. The Regatta will be conducted upon the Kingdom’s J/22s with four valiant sailors per team.

On the day of the Battle, all Teams are encouraged to invite a cheering entourage clad in your Team Colors to bear witness to the Battle. The most spirited entourage will reduce their Team’s score by two points! The Kingdom’s finest Jurists will judge the Battle on the water. The Crowning will include a Proclamation announcing your conquest along with a Team photo published in Ye Olde Mainsheet.”

According to Russ Silvestri, “the weather was perfect, the racing on target and for those that stayed for the party, it was a great time! I feel fortunate to be a part of a club that has the willingness to create and try something new. I look forward to next year and the chance to improve upon the regatta!  And, we plan to have more junior sailors and women skippers and crew in the mix!”

As it turned out, there were two women’s teams- the “AMAZONS” and “MORE GIRLS”.  The Amazon’s Legend was John McNeill and their handpicked crew included Pam Healy (skipper), Jody McCormack, Betsy Weiler, and Elizabeth Little.  The More Girls Legend was Cindy Lou Delmas and their crew was comprised of Molly Carapiet (skipper), Molly Vandermoer, Helena Scutt, and Juliana Testa!

In the final tally, it was the SOLID GOLD DANCERS team of Russ Silvestri (skipper), Mario Yovkov, John Collins, Ethan Sargent (12 years old), all hand-picked by Legend Jim Cascino and Russ, that were crowned winners of the inaugural Legends Regatta.  It was pretty clear that Silvestri’s time in the J/22 doing a lot of match-racing and team-racing paid off, with their team winning 4 of 6 races to finish with 7 pts net.

Just behind them, the battle for second and third on the podium had become a three-way battle between three famous StFYC skippers- Paul Cayard, Craig Healy and Sean Svendsen.  Second was determined by a tie-breaker at 18 pts each.  Taking the silver was the HOLM BOYS team that was crewed by a bunch of famous “characters” in StFYC lore.  Legend Doug Holm had selected no less than Paul Cayard (skipper), Steve Marsh, and Norm Davant as the “holmies” to lead the charge.  Indeed, they had a great time!  Much to everyone’s surprise, no one fell overboard from laughing so hard- Norm did not want to be bow man!

The most intimidating team had the most ferocious name- the ELIMINATORS. Led by Legend Terri Anderlini, their crew of Craig Healy (skipper), Chris Smith, Seadon Wijsen, and Chris Trezzo managed to never win a race and, as a result, lost the tie-break to Cayard’s “holmies” team.  Many beers were likely paid out over that betting!  As Sir Silvestri promised, more fun to be had next year!  For more Legends on J/22s Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

The infamous Post-Nup Cup San Francisco!

(San Francisco, CA)- Ashley Perrin and Merfyn Owen celebrated their marriage with their very own “Post-Nup Cup” a week ago on Friday sailing on J/120s on San Francisco Bay.  The casual “regatta” took place before the official wedding reception on Saturday.

Crewed by friends from around the globe and facilitated by the San Francisco YC and PRO Jeff Zarwell, everyone was treated to a beautiful day of sailing on San Francisco Bay. Racing was quite close at times, but luckily, they ended the series tied at 2-2!!

How sweet is that idea!?  The J/Community wishes them fair winds and a fun voyage together forever!   Sailing photo credits- Leslie Richter/ Rockskipper.com Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/30 ZEPHYR Top Fund Raising Sailboat!

(New Orleans, LA)-  A J/30 sailing team from New Orleans, LA is doing good community things!  The New Orlean’s based J/30 Team ZEPHYR was awarded the top fund raising sailing program in the nation after raising $127,000!!

Check out their annual video kicked off by San Francisco Yacht Club’s Rhett Krawitt who is now “GONE WITH CANCER”.

Music “Hold On” by NBC’s The Voice and Zephyr sailor, Terry McDermott, with his band Lotus Crush. #J30 #OD48 #NOYC.org #GoSailing #LLS.

Watch this awesome sailing video of the J/30 ZEPHYR here:  https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8HAuFt6078

Young skipper hauls the mail sailing J/105!

(Stonington, CT)- So what is life like when cruising & day-sailing with family over the Labor Day weekend in New England as a young skipper on a J/105?

Well, here’s an endearing sailing video of 9 year-old Julian Kalehoff at the helm of the J/105 LAURA BEA, surfing from Stonington, CT to Block Island, RI on an absolutely spectacular day, with a bright sunny northwester breeze of 10-15 kts pushing them down the motorway!

“He’s warming up for next year’s Block Island Race Week Around Island Race,” father Max Kalehoff explains. “Julian cannot do this year’s J/105 North Americans at Larchmont YC, since his Mom will not let him miss school!”  Bummer, dude!!

When asked about halfway across their 15nm passage whether he needed “helm relief”, the young captain responded, “Dad, I’m not tired yet. You are on mainsheet! When can I have my peanut butter & jelly sandwich!”  Ha!  Gotta love it, tough kid!  Spoken like a true Captain Bligh in training!

In any event, enjoy this cute sailing video clip on YouTube.com.

FIGAWI Fun & Frolic to Nantucket!

(Nantucket, MA)- The 45th Annual Figawi Race Weekend is one of the top sailing events that takes place on the northeast coast over the bank holiday Memorial day weekend and ranks as one of the largest “pursuit-style” races in the world.  The Figawi Race Weekend kicks off the Cape Cod and Nantucket summer season. Sailors from several states crewed the massive fleet of 220+ sailboats, with over 3,000 sailors and visitors enjoying the sailing and fabulous festivities all weekend long.

After the famous Kickoff Party at Hyannis Yacht Club on Friday evening, the competitors gathered early Saturday morning to head out to the start line. The first boat officially began at 10 am off the Hyannis Port Jetty after the parade of sailboats that took place at 0800 hrs sharp!

Depending on the various conditions, the theory of the Pursuit Race format is that all competitors should reach the Nantucket MO(A) Buoy at around the same time. They finish at the entrance of Nantucket Harbor and parade into Nantucket Boat Basin, bowing and waving to the wildly cheering throngs that have gathered together on the beach at Brant Point Light.

As Stan Grossfeld at the Boston Globe commented, “the Figawi is a salty summer tradition that will always sail onwards.  For local sailors, Figawi is sacred, like Opening Day at Fenway Park. Sailboats trimmed oh-so-tightly seem to float across the water, kicking up a cool, salty spray.

The race’s name has a salty origin. ‘From what I’ve been told,’ said one sailor with a laugh, ‘Figawi is a reference to [someone with a] Bostonian accent... coming out here in the fog and landing in Nantucket and going, ‘Where the [expletive] are we?!’

At times, the sailboats were bunched close enough for the participants to share a sandwich.

‘It was very close,’ said one crew from Duxbury. ‘It was not a day to enjoy a lot of cocktails when you were out on the water. I understand there was a boat that lost a mast. There was a collision right behind us. It gets hairy every once in a while.  But, it’s a blast, and it is a LOT of fun! Especially the partaaays!!’

This year, the headlines went to a couple of fun-loving landlubbers named Gronk and Edelman, who didn’t even race but partied in the Figawi tent. They weren’t alone. After the race, all across the Nantucket Boat Basin, blenders purred and beers popped in a symphony of celebration. On Saturday night, there was a blood-red sunset; by Sunday morning, there were bloodshot eyes, but there was still plenty of laughter.

What’s the best part of the weekend? ‘The friendship, the people,’ said another salty-dog. ‘I mean, come on. I always say, how many summers do we have left?’” And so it goes.

Reveling in the fun and madness were several J/crews that have enjoyed all that Figawi has to offer; especially in the nice breezy passage they had this year.  In PHRF B Division, Ira Perry’s crew on the J/29 SEEFEST took second in class while Kirk Brown’s J/40 JAZZ finished fourth.  Another J/40 took class honors in PHRF E Division, Bill Jones’ SMITTEN.  Then, in PHRF M Division, Brad Butman’s J/28 SHADOWFAX took home the bronze.

In the racing PHRF Spinnaker 1 division, the J’s took three of the top five.  Jimmy Masiero’s J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS placed third, with David Follett’s J/120 GLORY in fourth and Jon Lacks’ J/105 VIVA fifth.  In PHRF Spinnaker 2 division, it was a clean sweep of the top five by the J/105s, with the trio of Joyce & Reservitz & Wagner sailing DARK’N’STORMY (appropriately named for Figawi, eh??) onto the top of the podium, followed by Art Cox’s LYRIC in second, Chris Lund’s WHOMPER in third, Ed Lobo’s WATERWOLF in fourth and Nick Aswad’s CLIO in fifth.  For more FIGAWI Race sailing information

J/111 CHALLWA- Sailnig Peruvian Offshore is a family affair!

(Callao, Peru)- German Fuchs’ J/111 CHALLWA was the smallest boat in the fleet in the Peruvian Offshore Series, but Fuchs and his crew, including his son-in-law and grandsons, took home the biggest prize.

The Peruvian Offshore Series, Peru’s premiere sailing event, is made up of twelve regattas, with one event held each month.  The Fuchs’s J/111 took on a fleet of much larger boats to win the gold medal for the best overall performance.

“Challwa” means fisherman in Quechua, the ancient language of the Andes, and according to Fuchs is the only J/111 in South America. The boat is based at the Peruvian Yacht Club in Lima’s Port of Callao. They were the smallest boat and the only racer/cruiser in the fleet racing against larger specialty boats like the Soto 48R, Grand Soleil 42R, Sydney 46R, Dufour 44P, and others.

“It’s a racing boat and a family boat also. The other boats are all strictly racing boats and larger boats. So, it’s a huge accomplishment for the J/111 to win in that fleet,” says Fuchs.

The format of the regatta is a combination of windward-leeward courses and offshore races. To be competitive, Fuchs called on Quantum’s Kerry Klingler to help optimize the boat for ORC racing. Klingler traveled to Peru to race with Challwa in 2013 Copa del Pacifico held in Paracas, Peru.

The class mainsail for the J/111 has oversized girths, so Klingler designed a smaller mainsail that takes advantage of the ORC rating. Then, they improved the inventory of jibs and added larger spinnakers and specialty sails like the Code 0 and spinnaker staysail. They also made rigging adjustments like removing the headstay furler to reduce weight and provide easy access to the headstay turnbuckle for on-the-fly adjustments to the rig.

“We have developed a very nice set of sails to perform well in the ORC class,” says Fuchs.

Fuchs has been sailing since 1970. “A friend of mine had a sailboat and he invited me to go with him. That lit under me the fire of sailing and I haven’t stopped since,” he says. Now he’s passed on his love of sailing to his children and grandchildren.

He sails Challwa throughout the summer with his wife, children, and grandchildren, and races the boat year round with a crew of eight that includes his son-in-law and two grandsons who are only 13 and 14 years old.

“My oldest grandson is 14 years old and already he’s almost six feet tall. The other one is 13 years old and is very tiny. The tiny one helps on the bow and the other one helps in the cockpit.”

Of his motivation to bring them into sailing, Fuchs says, “I hope the first thing they should learn about sailing is commitment, organization, and hard work.”

Fuchs has a long relationship with J/Boats having helped to build the J/24 and J/105 fleets in South America. Conditions in Peru are generally light, with winds between six and 12 knots, a year-round temperature of 65 degrees, and very calm seas. While there are up to 70 J/24s in Chile alone, Fuchs says most regattas host only around 20 boats. He says sailing is probably the third most popular sport in Peru, after soccer and tennis.

Challwa also won the 2015 Sin Fronteras regatta, which includes boats from Peru, Ecuador, and Chile racing offshore courses up to 50 nautical miles long. In 2014, Fuchs traveled with five other crewmembers from Peru to Port Huron, MI, to race the Bayview Mackinac Race. They chartered Brad Farber’s J/111 Utah temporarily rechristening it Challwa.

Texan HOSS Crowned J/70 Midwinter Champion

(St Petersburg, FL)- After three days of nearly perfect weather and breezes, the forty-six teams could not have been more delighted than to have to sail home early afternoon on Sunday with eight very good races completed.  Said the 2016 QUANTUM J/70 Midwinter Champions, Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard on HOSS, “St Petersburg YC PRO Todd Fedyszyn and the StPYC Race Committee did a wonderful job. It was tricky, very puffy and shifty, even in the bigger breeze. We got a variety of conditions, which is more than anyone can ask for!”  For Tampa Bay, indeed it was nearly “chamber of commerce” conditions, with four races sailed Friday in gorgeous conditions, and two races sailed per day on Saturday and Sunday.

After the racing Saturday, fast out-of-the-box and leading was Allan Terhune’s DAZZLER of Arnold, MD with an impressive tally of 1-3-7-1 for 12 points.  They were just one point ahead of the Forth Worth, Texas duo of Darden/Hillard on HOSS with an equally good scoreline of 3-6-2-2 for 13 pts.  The winning team at the St Pete NOOD Regatta, Will Welles’ SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM from Portsmouth, RI, locked in a solid day, too, with a record of 13-2-1-3 for 19 pts to round out the top three.

The winds for the first day were 10-12 knots with gusts to 15 from the WNW. Terhune dazzled in the opening race, trailed by Geoff Becker and the Darden/Hillard team. Becker transferred up to the top spot in the second contest, as Welles took second and Terhune third. It was Welles’ turn for the victory in race three, ahead of Darden/Hillard and John Brim’s RIMETTE. Terhune secured the day’s lead with a bullet in the final battle. Darden/Hillard again grabbed the silver spot with Welles in the bronze.

The northerly gradient winds held for the second day, for awhile at least.  It was enough to get in two good races before it dropped to virtually nothing on a beautiful clear, sunny day and StPYC PRO Fedyszyn’s crew had to cancel for the day.  Team Darden/Hillard took HOSS to the front of the pack in Saturday’s initial race when winds were about 10-12 knots, tailed by Welles and Kerry Klingler’s MENACE. The Corinthian team on B-SQUARED with Bryan Cameron and Brian Elliott earned the next victory, as Darden/Hillard took second and Klingler again third.  As a result of the day’s racing, HOSS jumped into the lead with their 1-2 finishes on the day, taking an 8-point lead into the finale on Sunday.  In the meantime, Welles’ SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM took over 2nd position and Terhune’s DAZZLER fizzled into a less than dazzling 23-7 daily scoreline to drop into third overall.

With enough local knowledge to make the absolute right call, the St Petersburg YC RC team led by PRO Fedyszyn told the J/70 teams “to get up early and be ready to race at 0930 hours on the dot, or be late to the parade!”  Indeed, the RC boats all took off by 0815 hours on a cool Sunday morning, set the course, and started precisely on-time at 0930.  Fortunately, most boats heeded the call and were blessed to sail two good, but very shifty races in the third day of a dying northerly, finishing the eighth and final race by noon time in about 5 kts of wind from the north.

Closing out their scores with a 2-13 enabled the HOSS team of Darden/ Hillard to become the 2016 Quantum J/70 Midwinter Champions.  It has been quite a ride for this team, having just sailed the J/70 for less than nine months. Darden, a J/80 World Champion, was at the helm with co-owner Hillard, Jonathan McKee and Karl Anderson. “I have a fabulous team,” praised Darden, who has been sailing with Hillard for over 20 years. “We added Jonathan, who is an Olympics Gold medalist, and I’d never sailed with him before the last couple regattas. He’s helped us get up to speed.”

Holding on to second place was Welles’ SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM.  Similarly, Terhune’s crew on DAZZLER sailed consistently enough to take the bronze overall.  Rounding out the top five in the Open Division was Geoff Becker’s USA 25 with 55 pts in fourth place and just 3 pts behind them was John Brim’s RIMETTE with US Sailing Yachtswomen of the Year Steph Roble on-board as tactician.

Winning the Corinthians Division was SNAPROLL, with perhaps the oldest one-two combination in the entire fleet- Bill Ballard and John Jennings- average age 80 yrs old (just kiddin, though not far off)!  Their talented all St Petersburg YC crew (including Collegiate All-American Hillary Noble) sailed to an enormous 11 pt lead.  Taking the silver was Charles Bayer’s team on LIL’GRIZZLY with 120 pts and in third place as the B-SQUARED duo of Bryan Cameron & Brian Elliot sitting on 133 pts.  In fact, B-SQUARED won a tie-breaker over 4th place finisher Tim Molony on JOUST and in fifth position was Alex Meleny’s TRUCKIN’ DY with 150 pts.  For more J/70 Midwinters sailing information

Next stop on the J/70 winter circuit is the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, March 10th to 13th, hosted by the three clubs on Biscayne Bay- Coral Reef YC, Biscayne Bay YC and Coconut Grove SC.  For more Bacardi Miami Sailing week information

J/88 Speedster @ Boston Boat Show!

(Boston, MA)- Get out of the frigid weather and enjoy the warm and friendly environment of the Boston Convention Center, home of the New England Boat Show.  The show continues from February 13th to 21st!  The J/88 family speedster is sitting pretty at her stand #1328, courtesy of Hill & Lowden in Boston, MA.  To make an appointment, please contact George Lowden at ph# 781-631-3313 or email- HillLowden@aol.com.   For more New England Boat Show information.

J/88 Key West sailing video summary
Watch this “home-brew” by Bill Heintz of a variety of drone videos and stills from many of the famous photographers at Quantum Key West Race Week- nicely done!



J/88 Oceanvolt Solar Sailer Video
Watch this sailing video to learn more about the ideas and concepts behind the J/88 Oceanvolt option and how J/Boats pioneered the world’s first “solar sailer” keelboat- a boat that can run all day long on just solar energy!


For more J/88 Oceanvolt sailboat information

J/105 For Nantucket Community Sailing

(Nantucket, MA)- While Nantucket is a wonderful vacation resort, the families who live on the remote island struggle to make ends meet.   According to Diana Brown, President of Nantucket Community Sailing, “our organization was founded to help island children have access to the water that they would otherwise not be able to afford.  We are honored to serve that mission.  Nantucket Community Sailing has dozens of enrollments in our youth programs each summer, 30% of whom are local island children and we give them scholarships to make it affordable to sail.  A third J/105 would be a huge improvement to our youth sailing programs, and also give more Nantucket kids access to the waters surrounding our beautiful island.”

One of the NCS members, Susan Farm, comments that, “NCS currently has two donated J/105s in our keelboat program. Both boats are used for youth sailing programs and this past summer we experienced demand higher than we could support for the program. We also race the boats in a local PHRF series and travel to local regattas. The kids race one boat, and I  leased the second boat with an all female crew (Diane is on the crew). This summer, the kids program took precedence over our use, and we were out of a boat!  But what a nice problem to have. (The boats are also used to take seniors out for leisurely cruises).”


Susan continues to say that, “we had 128 kids enrolled in the one-week J/105 programs on the two NCS J/105s, ranging in age from 9–18.  The programs are at capacity, so the addition of a third boat would allow more children to experience the thrill of big boat sailing. The older children were able to participate in Wednesday night PHRF racing and in three days of PHRF racing during Nantucket Race Week.  The J/105s also compete in the famous FIGAWI Race in the beginning of the summer; they are crewed by members of the Nantucket High School sailing team. Finally, NCS also uses the J/105s for community outreach, specifically with the “Old Salts” program (seniors from the Salt Marsh Center) and the patients and caregivers from PASCON (Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket).

Please contact Diana Brown for further information about the Nantucket Community Sailing program- work ph. 508-228-6600 or email- diana@nantucketsailing.org.  Learn more here on their NCS website

J/97E In Control!

(Newport, RI)- For many, the elegance of sailing with a simple wheel allows maximum cockpit space and comfort, plus allows the kiddies to steer whenever they want to.  Famous for transforming the “feel” and “touch” of wheel-based systems, J/Boats has pushed the envelope for self-aligning rudder bearings so that nothing is sacrificed for that magical touch of the tiller.

The new J/97E features not only the super-comfortable cockpit pioneered by the J/111, but also its amazingly touch-sensitive steering.  Check it all out at the fall boat shows this year- Newport and Annapolis will both have the amazing new, spacious, open, airy J/97E- experience how it brings the “outdoors in”!  Learn more about the NEW J/97E family cruiser/ racer.

Simply Messing About in Boats- the easy way!

Joe Cooper had some interesting observations while experiencing Block Island Race Week this year.  Here are some of his thoughts on how to go sailing easier:

“Value in sailing terms is an interesting concept. The ‘value’ we all get from it is intangible. It is neigh on impossible to put a dollar amount on the sunsets, beautiful days, a week at BIRW with your mates, landfall in Bermuda and so on that make up a pretty normal round of sailing adventures. Or frankly, the emotions we experience looking at a particular boat that moves us. What if you added up all the costs of Race Week and said that cash cost was the value of competing? But that seems to be a fairly rigorous and cold green eyeshade way to look at what sailing gives us. Obviously, there are things in life that have value beyond the cash. Our families, kids and love spring to mind. (In fact, to me my family is priceless.)

I have often remarked on the subject of the cost of sailing, and only slightly in jest that boat owners ought never to total the yearly costs of owning their boats and divide this amount by the hours spent actually using them. If you did, you’d be appalled at the cost per hour that owning a sailboat incurs. I have a vague memory of doing this in 1980 for “Australia” team in the America’s Cup, and it was perhaps $150 an hour (actually sailing), and that was with a volunteer crew paid ten bucks a day all found. I think Larry’s costs per hour are a wee bit higher.

That this dictum - NOT calculating the cost per hour of sailing on your own boat – is being challenged is apparent by the creeping establishment of sailing opportunities that do not require actually owning the boat. Many sailing schools have programs where once you are certified (in the sailing sense, that is…) you can continue to sail by renting their boats. Sail Newport has a pretty thriving business in doing this with their fleet of J/22s. After a brief checkout sail with an instructor, one can rent their boats in three-hour increments (today’s version of “a three-hour tour…”). Ida Lewis Yacht Club has, in summer, a similar scheme using Sail Newport boats one afternoon a week.

I have a mate who is succumbing to age and the financial obligations of owning a boat. When I suggested the Sail Newport option, he wondered how much a membership is…twenty-five bucks for over 65, I found out on my phone. During the week you can, as a member, rent a J/22 for 75 bucks for three hours. This is not quite rental car rates, but close. Yet we generally do not get the same psychic enjoyment from a car rental as from sailing. OK, a week in a Ferrari on the cornice in Monaco may be an exception. But unless you’re going somewhere to sail: Cowes Week, the BVI or the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and are chartering a boat for the event, the actual sailing (time) seems to be only some portion of the value. Then this means there are other elements to the value of sailing. In the case of Block Island Race Week, it’s the camaraderie, the dinners, the parties, The Tent, catching up with old mates, meeting new ones, and of course the Yellow Kittens for the young’uns.

Kenneth Graham was prescient of the value of pottering about in boats when he gave the Water Rat the immortal words about messing about in boats. Just being on a boat, at anchor, on the mooring or in the slip can bring an entirely fresh approach to the day. I have written in earlier columns of the effect that a 60-minute beercan race can have on brushing out the cobwebs and its leverage on attitude adjustment. My wife and I both write, and we are getting close to buying a Wi-Fi hotspot for ourselves. The idea being that we can row out to our boat, on its mooring at third beach in Middletown, and simply sit under the awning and write and research as the whim takes us. Admittedly writing, even Coop’s Corner, instead of gazing up or down the Sakonnet, is close to a Herculean task.

At least in my admittedly whacky worldview of sailing and boats, even working on them has value. Not simply because by doing something myself I can avoid paying the yard and save all that cash (assuming I value my own time at about $10 an hour, since I am about ten percent as effective as a yard at doing things on my boat). But I’d much rather come home dusty, smelling of paint and epoxy, and with stiff, sore shoulders and a bung knee from kneeling and sanding the bottom, or working inside the cabin of my Mini than pay the yard to do it. (To all my boatyard-owning mates…no offence intended.) To me, that is all part of the fun. And fun, of course, is invaluable!”

Thanks to Windcheck and Australian Joe “Coop” Cooper, who stayed in the US after the 1980 America’s Cup where he was the boat captain and sailed as Grinder/Sewer-man on Australia. His whole career has focused on sailing, especially the short-handed aspects of it. He lives in Middletown, RI where he coaches, consults and writes on his blog, joecoopersailing.com, when not paying attention to his wife, teenage son, dog, two cats and several, mainly small, boats.