GREAT LAKES COLLEGE KEELBOAT RACING ANNOUNCEMENT!

(Chicago, IL)- The 2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta will be held September 24th to 26th in Chicago, IL. This annual fall regatta provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to experience offshore keelboat racing with past participating teams coming from college sailing programs in the Midwest and beyond.

Chicago T10 and J/105 fleet members provide the sailboats and are on-board during racing as a safety precaution. The collegiate sailors drive, crew the boat, and manage strategy and tactics. Chicago-area yacht clubs provide facilities, and the fleets provide financial support, participant gifts and awards.

The regatta consists of windward/leeward buoy races on Lake Michigan offshore of Chicago. Teams arrive on Friday and have the opportunity to practice on their assigned boats that afternoon. Race committee attempts as many races as possible all-day Saturday and on Sunday morning. Award ceremonies are Sunday during lunch and teams have the afternoon for travel back to campus.

Past participating college teams have included; Michigan, Michigan State, Miami of Ohio, Hope College, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Grand Valley State, Toledo, Northwestern, St. Mary’s College of Md., Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Ohio State, South Florida, Miami, Baldwin Wallace, Indiana University, Marquette, Cleveland State University, United States Naval Academy, University of South Carolina, Notre Dame, Illinois-Chicago and more.

Past participating Chicago J/105 one-design fleet owners have included; THE ASYLUM, SEALARK, VYTIS, FLYING PIG, GANGBUSTERS, KINSHIP, and more....hopefully many more this year! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

College Sailors in the Virtual World

(Philadelphia, PA)- The Drexel University Club Sailing Team had a pretty good fall season, qualifying for the Mid-Atlantic Fall Championship and putting in a solid team effort in challenging conditions there. The team was really looking good going into the spring season, and then March happened…

COVID-19 hit the US hard. Soon travel was canceled, followed swiftly by, well – everything else, including the entire spring college sailing season. The students were held off campus on an extended spring break, and the team never rigged boats for the year before campus was shut down and the student athletes became digital distance learners.

That could have been the end of the story, but as people were learning all sorts of way to suddenly be digitally social, an idea was formed. What if the Drexel sailors combined video conference hangouts and online virtual sailing?

“At first I thought it would be a good social outlet for my sailors, but as soon as we started, I learned it was actually a valuable teaching tool,” said Coach Craig Priniski.

The team used Virtual Regatta Inshore since it was an established platform with an eSailing World Sailing sanction. The app and website-based eSport also allowed for private races to be held with only the team participating.

“I found out that teaching strategy and tactics using the live video feed and interactive one design fleets was very effective,” noted Priniski. “The platform offered a better way to demonstrate topics like persistent and oscillating shifts, effects of wind shadows from competitors, and even the importance of finding dark water for pressure up the race course.”


The now-scattered team enjoyed the virtual practice sessions, too.

“As a graduating senior, I was very disappointed to have been left out of my last season,” admitted Haley Clemson. “Though it definitely is not the same, and I still wish for the ability to sail a physical boat every day of social distancing, the practices and regatta that we planned through VR inshore are a great way for us to connect as a team and through MAISA when we can’t in person.

“It is very cool that there is a platform where we can still ‘practice’ our sport through all of this, and is a cool way to have the semblance of practice with the team when a real practice is not possible”

The virtual season culminated with the first ever eSailing college regatta, at least that the team has heard of!

The Drexel Open Regatta, which is traditionally sailed on the team’s home waters of the Delaware River, was instead moved to a virtual experience.

A notice was sent out to the Mid-Atlantic Conference’s email list to invite other teams and recent grads to come together for one college regatta on May 16. The regatta was held in various simulated venues around the world and the sailors got to try sailing Stars, J/70s, and even 49ers over a six-race series. A Zoom skippers’ meeting was held, and all participants were invited to ‘stand by’ on Zoom or even chat with their competitors, as appropriate.

The Drexel Open succeeded beyond the original intent of uniting a few local teams. Instead, there were more sailors than the 20 boat races could accommodate. Several Drexel sailors opted to spectate so all could participate. In the end, 26 sailors were in a 20-boat fleet spanning two continents, three countries, and 10 colleges. Patrick Modin, sailing for Kings Point, took top honors for the regatta.

International Drexel student Paula Cabot commented, “I had to move back home to Spain to finish the quarter. It was hard to adjust, but it has been fun to be able to video call with the whole team and play Virtual Regatta. I am really happy that we were able to do the Drexel Open Regatta and hangout with the other teams!”

Drexel Sailing still has a few practices left…. look for them in the Virtual Regatta Inshore custom races around 7 pm ET on Mondays and Thursdays.   Thanks for contribution from Scuttlebutt Sailing News Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CAL Dominates The J/22 Big Sail

STANFORD Wins Varsity Division
(San Francisco, CA)- One of the pillars of college football’s identity is its rivalries. Think UCLA vs. USC, Michigan vs. Ohio State, Alabama vs. Auburn, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin. Other sports have rivalries, but a rivalry shapes the history of the programs involved in a college-football feud.

Winning the rivalry game can salvage a team’s entire season.

The rivalry game between the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal has a 127-year history, and for the 16th year the two sailing teams have joined in, holding The Big Sail each November on the Tuesday before “The Big Game” which this year takes place on Saturday, November 23.

The Big Sail consumes St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA) with bands and cheerleaders from both schools, alongside the membership with deep roots in both schools. For a club perched on the edge of the race course, it is a scene like no other.

The 2019 Big Sail featured five divisions: Varsity, Women’s, Young Alumni, Masters Alumni, and Grandmasters Alumni, and is raced in a fleet of one-design J/22s provided by St. Francis Yacht Club. Each division match-races on short courses for the best two out of three races.

For the student teams, it’s hardly a fair fight as the Bears are a club team compared to the massive varsity team budget at Stanford. But, after Cal won all but the Varsity match, a school fan publication was not above taking a jab at the Cardinal team’s involvement in the college admissions scandal. Aren’t rivalries great?


First, here is Stanford student paper's report:

With a 2-0 win in the Varsity Division, the Stanford sailing team captured its 15th-straight Big Sail win against Cal. The event concludes the sailing team's fall season, and they will start back up in the spring.

Stanford sailing captured the Big Sail trophy for the 15th consecutive year after the varsity boat swept Cal in their best of three races at the St. Francis Yacht club in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cardinal got off to a rocky start at the annual rivalry event. The event is composed of five total divisions: grandmasters alumni, masters alumni, young alumni, women and varsity. The Golden Bears started by sweeping Stanford in the first four divisions. Given that last year the Cardinal beat Cal in every division except for the master’s alumni, the initial few losses at this year’s event may have furrowed many Stanford brows.

However, as they always do, the Cardinal prevailed over the Golden Bears when it mattered most. Behind junior skipper Jack Parkin, junior Victoria Thompson, senior Jacob Rosenberg, and sophomore Wiley Rogers, the Stanford varsity boat handily swept Cal, making the Cardinal victorious in the Big Sail for the 15th consecutive year.

The event marked an exciting end to what has been a successful autumn season for the sailing team. Parkin in particular has become a force to be reckoned with at skipper, as highlighted in the prowess he showed against the Golden Bears on Tuesday. Earlier this month, he also served as skipper of the varsity boat at the Match Race National Championship, an event which he and his crew won.

The sailing team will be back in action this spring when they start racing in the remaining three categories of competition held by the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association. Women’s and men’s single-handed as well as match racing are conducted in the fall, while women’s dinghy, co-ed dinghy and team racing are raced in the spring. Look for Stanford to continue the success it has had this fall when the new season starts after this winter.


Secondly, here is Cal's student paper "tongue-in-cheek" report:

Tuesday marked the first time when the Cal and Stanford Sailing teams have faced each other in a head-to-head match-up since the College Admissions scandal broke earlier this year. An estimated 1,000 spectators, the Cal and Stanford Bands, and the schools’ respective cheerleaders were in attendance for the regatta in front of the St. Francis Yacht Club on San Francisco Bay.

Cal beat Stanford 4–1, with the only loss coming in the Varsity division (current students); and Cal swept the races in the four winning divisions, each in a best-of-three format. The race results, however, are only a part of a larger story—namely, the impact the college admissions scandal has had on the Big Sail and collegiate sailing.

In March, the college admissions scandal was made public, charging 51 individuals with conspiring to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at elite American universities. John Vandemoer, the former head coach of the Stanford Sailing Team, was one of the first coaches to be charged after evidence produced alleged that the team had received more than USD 610,000 in bribes from Rick Singer, the organizer of the scheme. Singer had offered the bribes to Vandemoer in exchange for having his clients—prospective Stanford Students—apply to the University as sailing recruits, significantly increasing their chances of being accepted.

Vandemoer was arrested in March of this year, subsequently fired by the University, and then sentenced on June 12, 2019 to one day in prison for racketeering conspiracy, in addition to a USD 10,000 fine and two years of supervised release. According to the New York Times, Vandemoer now lives at the vacation home of a Stanford University benefactor and coaches privately with his wife at a Club just a few hundred yards from the Stanford Sailing facility in Redwood City. Importantly, Vandemoer did not personally profit from Singer’s donations to the program.

The Big Sail traces its roots back to at least the 1940s, when the event was originally hosted by the Berkeley Yacht Club. While race records are not readily available, the original trophy from that iteration of the series now permanently resides at the Stanford Boathouse, a 16,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility which boasts a multi-story indoor boat garage, locker rooms, laundry facilities, and offices.

The Big Sail regatta is formatted as a series of best-of-three match races. A match race is when one boat from each team goes head-to-head, with rules that are slightly more complex than those of traditional racing. Sailors compete across five divisions: Varsity (current students), Women’s (female Alumni), Young Alumni, Masters, and Grand Masters (all based on year of graduation). Cal has consistently done well in the Alumni divisions. However, Stanford has now won the last 16 consecutive Varsity contests. In national events, Stanford has routinely qualified for the coed national championships, while Cal and other Pac-12 schools qualify on a more sporadic basis.

The recent disparity of Varsity results can be largely explained by the team structures and finances. Sailing is a Varsity sport at Stanford, meaning that the team is completely funded by the school’s $26.5 billion endowment USD, of which the sailing portion was partially contributed to by Singer and Vandemoer’s arrangement.

The Stanford Sailing Team’s budget in 2017 was $182,000 USD, the second highest of any collegiate program nationally (second to Boston College) and more than double that of national championship programs Yale and Georgetown. It is also important to note that this figure does not include equipment and facilities, with the program spending upwards of $120,000 USD on new boats every 5–8 years, giving the Stanford team a considerable advantage over its West Coast competition in terms of equipment. As a result of being well-funded, Stanford is able to recruit the best sailors on the West Coast, as it is currently the only fully-funded program not on the Eastern Seaboard.

The Cal Sailing Team is a student-run organization and is designated a “Club Sport” by the University. Since there is no varsity sailing program supported by the Cal Athletic Department, the Cal Sailing team represents the University as a varsity team at events around the country, including events on the East Coast and in Hawaii. The team is entirely student-led and student-run, with occasional coaching assistance from volunteers who themselves are former collegiate sailors.

The team operates on a budget of less than $10,000 USD annually, and is funded by the students on the team, generous donors, and sponsors such as Berkeley Research Group, when in 2015 the Emeryville-based firm donated a new boat to help compete against Stanford’s 18 new boats. The Cal Sailing team has historically done well against other club teams and there is hope for future improvement, as US Sailing announced in 2018 that it will be opening a cutting-edge Olympic training facility at the Treasure Island Sailing Center—the current Cal Sailing practice venue.

The two teams, while geographically and competitively close are structural and financial opposites. One is a private, heavily bureaucratic institution with generous donors, a high tuition price tag, and a corruptible system seeking to raise significant funding to bring a national championship to a non-revenue generating athletic program. The other program, which is far more common and historically recognizable, is about a group of students with a common passion and the desire to organize and pursue that passion while balancing school, and often multiple forms of employment to support their passion.

The differences in the teams raise the question about the role of collegiate athletics: should athletic programs primarily be vehicles for pursing passions and learning life lessons or programs for refining technical ability and winning championships? They certainly could be utilized to pursue all the above, but to which degree will certainly be a topic of debate for some time to come. Thanks for a special contribution from Craig Leweck/ Scuttlebutt News.  For more The BIG SAIL regatta information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Epic Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta For J/Crews

(Larchmont, NY)- Initially established in the early 1970’s by “The Corinthians” that ran the regatta until 1999, the collegiate offshore regatta was then picked up by Storm Trysail Club. The invitational regatta is held annually out of Larchmont Yacht Club, who is a co-organizer of the event, in addition to the Storm Trysail Club and Foundation.

For the 2019 edition, the STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta was hosted by LYC from October 12th to 13th for forty-eight college teams from across the country and Europe. Of those 48-boats donated by owner/sponsors, fully thirty-nine of them were J/Boats owners (81% of the fleet). In short, it is a J/Boats College Offshore Regatta due to the amazing generosity and passion for sailing from J/Boats owners.

The dozen-boat J/105 class was won by the U.S. Naval Academy team sailing on CONUNDRUM, skippered by Nick Walden with crew of Luke Gillcrist, Sam Hall, Jack King, Zach Medeiros, and Eddie Rankin. Second was Boston University sailing RAVEN, skippered by Stanley Schreyer with crew of Collin Alexander, Jim Collins, Liam Dwyer, Emily Garrard, Matt Hamelsky, and Teo Waalberg. Third place went to Stevens Institute of Technology sailing MAGIC, skippered by Matt Roleke with crew of Aidan McEnroe, Townsend Morey, Mack Totman, Jesse Stevenson, and Alex Wiggins.

The nine-boat J/109 class had close-racing amongst the top five teams. Winning was Jacksonville College on GUARDIAN J, skippered by Telmo Basterra with crew of Sam Baker, Telmo Basterra, Grace Benzal, Logan Brickhouse, Ian Hunter, Jarret Monroe, and Stephen Streater. Second was University of Rhode Island sailing EMOTICON, skippered by Cecilia Schneider with crew of Parker Colantuono, Peter Gunn, AJ Kozaritz, Aidan Naughton, Ryan Palardy, and Chris Pearson. Third place on a tie-breaker was the Virginia Tech University team sailing ZIG ZAG skippered by Linda Lovelace with crew of Gustav Berner, Jack Carroll, Allie Champion, Oscare Johansson, Jackson Livanec, and Reid Shanabrook.

In the J/44 Class, winning the James Bishop Memorial Trophy was the U.S. Naval Academy on MAXINE. Their team was comprised of skipper Hayden Kuzemchak with crew of Kaitlyn Boyle, Brett Eckert, Tim Forman, Zach Krause, Matt Malone, Kevin Navarro, and Phillip Smith.  Second was US Merchant Marine Academy on VAMP, with Ken Luczynski as skipper. Then, rounding out the podium was the Maine Maritime Academy on BREAKAWAY with Taylor Martin on the wheel.

Winning the PHRF Medium Class was the Fordham University Team sailing the J/124 TENEBRAE, with skipper Tucker Hersam with crew of Matt Alfano, Will Dumke, Eddie Harrison, Sam Johnson, Porter Kavle, Declan Lombard, and Scott McKenzie. Third went to Michigan State University sailing the J/112E REVIVER, skippered by Connor Baker with crew of Tim Dickey, Adeline Grootendorst, Brenna Hover, Corinne Nedeau, Charlie Parker, Teddy Prokop, Eva Rossell, Ella Wynsma, and Murphy Wynsma.

Then ten-boat PHRF Small Class was dominated by all J/Teams.  It was a formidable fleet with equally phenomenal competition. The top six boats all finished, essentially, in a massive tie-breaker. The podium was determined on a FOUR-WAY tiebreaker at eight points each! LOL! And fifth was determined on a two-way tiebreaker at nine pts each! Hokey Smokes Bullwinkle, I’m confuzzzed! Winning was Yale University on the J/100 BLACKCOMB with a 7-1 tally for 8 pts, skippered by Emery Wallace with crew of Jacob Asher, Chris Chaumont, Liv Mosnoi, Martin Tipton, and Adam Wolnikowski. Second was University of Toledo on the J/88 YONDER with 1-7 scores for 8 pts, skippered by Ethan Taylor with crew of Brandon Austin, Kaitlin Conner, and Eric Lynch. Third was University of Maryland sailing the J/88 OH JEE with a 6-2 record, skippered by Cole Daitch with crew of Mike Bisson, Chuck Cannon, Natalie Jones, Madelie Mulligan, and Rachel Prucnal.

Thanks to all the J/Boat owners and sailors that made this regatta possible. Lots of fun was had by all by the 400+ college sailors!  For STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta scores  For more STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta Preview

(Larchmont, NY)- Initially established in the early 1970’s by “The Corinthians” who ran the regatta until 1999, the collegiate offshore regatta was then picked up by Storm Trysail Club. The invitational regatta is held annually out of Larchmont Yacht Club, who is a co-organizer of the event in addition to the Storm Trysail Club and Foundation.

For the 2017 regatta, “The Corinthians” transferred to the Storm Trysail Foundation the original four perpetual trophies: “The George G. Crocker Memorial Race Trophy”, “The Edward S. Moore III Memorial Trophy”, “The James C. Jacobson Memorial Trophy”, and “The Foster Tallman Memorial Trophy”. In addition, Larchmont Yacht Club donated two trophies including one belonging to the late Thomas Carroll, a member of Larchmont Yacht Club. The “Paul Hoffmann Trophy”, named for the long-time Storm Trysail member famed for his success on a series of yachts named “Thunderhead”, presented by his son Binky Hoffmann, is given to the team that had the best overall performance. The “Ed du Moulin Trophy”, named for the man who was involved in the management of more America’s Cup campaigns than anyone in the Cup’s history, presented by his son, Storm Trysail Club Past Commodore Richard du Moulin, to the boat owner of the overall regatta winner.

For the 2019 edition, the regatta will be taking place from October 12th to 13th for forty-eight college teams from across the country. Of those 48-boats donated by owner/sponsors, fully thirty-nine of them are J/Boats owners (81% of the fleet). In short, it is a J/Boats College Offshore Regatta due to the amazing generosity and passion for sailing from J/Boats owners.

The J/100 Class includes Kelley James’ TEXAS ROSE- GEORGIA, Tom Moncombie’s SANGUINE- HEC MONTREAL, Mary Bush’s AVOCET- MIAMI OF OHIO, Andrew Hakopian’s GALATRONA- OHIO STATE, and Zack Leonard’s BLACKCOMB- YALE University.

The large J/105 class of a dozen boats includes leading college teams like Stanley Schreyer’s RAVEN- BOSTON UNIVERSITY, Ned Goss’ YOUNG AMERICA- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, and Doug Clark’s GRAY MATTER- US COAST GUARD ACADEMY.

The nine-boat J/109 class has Antoinette Martin’s GROWTH SPURT- GRAND VALLEY COLLEGE, Ken Legler’s FREEDOM- TUFTS UNIVERSITY, Moose McClintock’s EMOTICON- UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, and Natalie Lovelace’s ZIG ZAG- VIRGINIA TECH.

In the J/44 Class, there will be several good teams, such as Taylor Martin’s BREAKAWAY- MAINE MARITIME, Regina Trejo’s PALANTIR V- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, and Ken Luczynski’s VAMP- KINGS POINT USMMA.

The quartet of J/88s include Natalie Jones’ OH JEE- University of Maryland, Emmanuel Bourret’s WHIRLWIND- Polytechnique MONTREAL, and Brian Pribe’s YONDER- University of Toledo.

In the PRHF handicap fleet are Conner Baker’s J/112E REVIVER- MICHIGAN STATE, Tucker Hersam’s J/124 TENEBRAE- FORDHAM University, Patrick Sawyer’s J/133 ANTIDOTE- MICHIGAN TECH, and Geoff Loffredo’s J/92S BLUZER- SUNY STONY BROOK.  For STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta scores.   For more STC Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Gorgeous Sailing for ONE OCEAN MBA'S Regatta & Conference

(Porto Cervo, Italy)-  The 16th edition of the One Ocean MBA's Regatta & Conference, organized by SDA Bocconi School of Management and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) with the partnership of the One Ocean Foundation (OOF), enjoyed two great days of sailing for the 400 students and alumni from the world's most prestigious business schools. The B-school teams experienced three days dedicated to sailing and environmental sustainability.

More than 50 teams representing their respective business schools had two gorgeous days of racing. The Open J/24 Class had 14 teams complete two windward-leeward races daily on board International J/24 one-design class sailboats. Those teams were competing for the MBA's Cup Challenge Trophy.

The business schools taking part in the event were: Cambridge Judge Business School, Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School, ESADE Business School, GOETHE Business School, Harvard Business School, HEC, IE, IESE Business School, IMD, INSEAD, London Business School Simon Male, Manchester Business School, MIP School of Management, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Sauder School of Business, Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, Northwestern’s Kellogg Business School, Univ. of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Yale’s School of Management and SDA BOCCONI School of Management.


The Open J/24 Class was won by the MIP School of Management, winning two of the races. They were followed by the teams from the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management, in second and third places respectively.

Why Future Leaders Need to Face Sustainability Challenges
On Sunday, the event's final day, the Conference “Why Future Leaders Need to Face Sustainability Challenges” was held at the Colonna Resort. Speakers were Andrea Illy, President of illycaffè, and the One Ocean Ambassadors Paul Rose, the explorer, and Maria Cristina Finucci, the artist who founded the Garbage Patch State in 2013.

Giuseppe Soda, Dean of SDA Bocconi, had these words: "I think that this event offers an excellent opportunity for learning because it gives students from the world’s top business schools an occasion for networking. Many of the participants will probably be in top positions in the future and they will have to make decisions that will have to do with environmental sustainability. We have to remember that 'There is no Planet B' and I really believe that events like the One Ocean MBA's Conference and Regatta can offer a framework for making responsible and informed decisions in the participants' private and professional lives."

Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of the YCCS and Executive Vice President of the One Ocean Foundation said: "My congratulations go to the winners of this event and to everyone who participated. I hope that you enjoyed the YCCS hospitality. I think that the location for this event, held for the first time in Costa Smeralda, shows just how important this mission is for us and proves that it's fundamental to promote a culture of environmental sustainability. There is no better audience than the world’s top MBA’s who were here for this event, the potential leaders of tomorrow. I want to thank the SDA Bocconi Business School for supporting the One Ocean Foundation right from the start, ever since the Forum organized in 2017. We are now working together to make a new generation aware of the urgency of protecting our planet."


At the Conference from the left: Maria Cristina Finucci, Paul Rose, Andrea Illy and the moderator Prof. Maurizio Dallocchio, One Ocean MBA's Conference & Regatta 2019.

After the opening greetings, Maria Cristina Finucci spoke at the Conference about her personal professional experience and about her most recent work including her initiative titled “HELP”. She underlined how communicating through emotions is key to sensitizing people regarding pollution and environmental themes.

Paul Rose, the explorer famous for his work with National Geographic, spoke about his passion for nature and for science. "When I was young I thought that the ocean's water could wash away anything as if by magic," he said referring to a time when pollution in the oceans had a different awareness. "But, today we are all more or less aware of pollution and its consequences, we hear talk every day about environmental and ecological disasters and we all are more attuned to the problem. Change is happening. For example, fighting illegal fishing or the establishment of protected marine areas. Personally, I'm an optimist and I think that the changes that are being implemented to preserve nature will help future generations to form an innovative and not old-fashioned outlook towards nature and that outlook will help them make strategic decisions in the years to come."

Andrea Illy, President of illycaffè, presented his company's "Virtuosagricoltura" project that aims at reducing its CO2 emissions. "This project's goal is to make our company completely carbon-free. Step-by-step, within the year 2020 we will develop this research project that we will implement in 2021. We are fooling around with the resources that the planet has given us and it's now time to look for avant-garde solutions that will allow us to make healthy products that are good both for the planet and for the end consumer."

"Knowledge generates change" were the words that the Conference's moderator, the Professor Maurizio Dallocchio, used to close the talks as he underlined the fundamental role that information plays in decision making. In this case, in decision making that has an impact on environmental sustainability.

The MBA's Conference & Regatta is an international sailing event created 16 years ago by the Sailing Club of the SDA Bocconi School of Management. More than 4,000 students and alumni of the Masters in Business Administration have participated in the event to date.  For more MBA Conference & Regatta sailing information

U.S. Naval Academy Wins Great Lakes Intercollegiate Regatta

(Chicago, IL)– The 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta was hosted by the Chicago Corinthian YC in Chicago, IL for a fleet of twenty-two college teams from across the Midwest. The fleet was treated to solid breezes for the two-day weekend regatta. The fleet was split into J/105s and T-10s.

On Saturday, the racing started off in 20-25 kts breezes from the southwest with a very shifty wind off the towering Chicago lakefront. On Sunday, the fleet endured another round of challenging conditions. With the wind out of the west, the breeze started in the 20-25 kts range, but by midday was gusting into the 35 kts range. As a result, only one race was sailed on Sunday.


For the racing on Saturday, the CCYC PRO did not fly flag “K” (which indicates spinnakers not allowed) and instead left that decision up to crews and boat owners. That decision worked well, as competitors collaborated with boat owners and learned about making decisions around how to sail their boats better and safely in strong breezes.

“It was not only an exciting heavy breeze day on the water, but a big learning experience for all who many have never sailed in truly difficult offshore conditions,” said Regatta Co-Chairman Nick Zomer.

In the J/105 fleet, three teams dominated the leaderboard on the first day. Leading the way as the US Naval Academy Team with a 1-3-1-3-1 tally for just 9 pts total. Sailing very consistently with all podium finishes was the University of Michigan “Big Blue” Team with a 2-2-3-1-3 record for 11 pts.  However, they were tied on points with the University of Notre Dame “Fighting Irish” Team. The Fighting Irish rallied the troops and posted a 4-1-2-2-2 tally for 11 pts; that meant they were behind on the countback tie-breaker.


With just one race sailed on Sunday, due to the near-gale weather conditions, the final standings were going to be determined by the final race. In the end, the USNA Midshipmen were unstoppable, posting yet another bullet to take the regatta win. By virtue of their second place, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame took the silver, while the Big Blue team of Michigan took home the bronze with their 3rd place finish.  Follow the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta on Facebook Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Youth J/70 Team Flies @ Charleston Race Week

(Charleston, SC)- A "Public Service Announcement" from a kid- by Lily Flack and friends on a J/70 that sailed in Charleston Race Week. Watch sailing video above for fun and games from the kids in Charleston

Sailing is the most varied and diverse sport, offering something for everyone to enjoy. But for youth sailors, their involvement is often limited to age-based boats and competitions. While these provide tremendous experiences, if that is all they know, it isn’t enough to fully grasp the sport. Or worse, it doesn’t connect with them and they move on.

Sixteen year old Lily Flack has a message for her age group, but first she has a story to share…

"It was the final J/70 race on the last day of Charleston Race Week, and our youth team was on the last downwind leg. We all knew we were towards the front of the fleet, thinking we were maybe top 10 at best.

We gybed out early around the windward mark to clear our breeze from the boats behind us, and while we were still in displacement mode, we saw some big pressure coming up from behind us. I took a look over my shoulder to see the puff was coming fast, prompting the call for Lucas Masciello, our floater, to get the jib out.

I started to count down in my head. Once it got closer, I yelled 3… 2… 1… and had timed the puff perfectly. We were immediately up on a plane and our skipper Gannon Troutman called for weight back to keep the bow out of the water. Jack Solway, our bowman, ran to the back of the boat (while recording the whole thing) to keep us cruising along. Peter Cronin, our spinnaker trimmer, needed an extra hand on the sheet so I jumped on and helped him out.

All of our eyes were locked on the speedometer to watch the numbers climb… 10 knots, 12 knots, 14 knots. At this point, we were all screaming and having such a blast that only one of us realized we had topped out at 16.5 knots in boat speed.

None of us knew a J/70 could go that fast, until then. We later declared after watching the video below that explicit language is allowed over 15 knots of boat speed. Overall, we steadily improved our boat handling and tactical calls throughout the regatta to secure a 5th place finish in the last race of the event. We hope to see more kids join us on the race course for the next J/70 regatta!” Thanks for story from Scuttlebutt Sailing.com. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Stanford Dominates The BIG Sail Regatta!

(San Francisco, CA)- In anticipation of the college football rivalry game on November 17 between the Stanford University Cardinals and the University of California- Berkeley Bears, the 15th annual The BIG Sail was held between the schools on San Francisco Bay. With five divisions competing on a slalom course in J/22s, Stanford took the title by winning four of the five matches. Hosting the event in their matched fleet of J/22s was the St Francis YC.

In the Varsity Division (e.g. “pro’s”), it was a nip and tuck battle.  Each school taking a win in the first two races. However, in the “rubber match” in race 3, it was Stanford all the way home to the finish line to take the victory in this prestigious division.

In the Women’s Alumni Division, it was not the “cat fight” that everyone imagined it might be between two very well-sailed all-women’s teams.  It was all Stanford, taking the division with a 2-0 record.

The Young Alumni Division was no different than the Women’s group. Stanford ran the table on U-Cal again with a 2-0 record.

It was a different story in the Master Alumni Division. This was the only “shining path” to victory seen by the rocket scientists at U-Cal Berkeley, taking their Stanford luddites to task with a 2-0 pasting.

In the end, it was all up to the Grandmasters Alumni Division to determine if U-Cal could save face, the northerners versus the southerners on San Francisco Bay.  It might as well be called “the Civil War”!  As some of these old guys may be old enough to remember what Grandpa told them about those crazy colonialists in the East.  Nevertheless, it was the Stanford Cardinals senior AARP cardholders and collectors of Medicare/ Medicaid that took home all the marbles in this division. Perhaps something to be said for living and going to school in warm, farm country down in south Bay!  For more The BIG Sail regatta information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/24 World Champions Bleeding Edge??

* Pretty cool to see what past J/24 World Champions and College Sailors of the Year are doing recently.

One of them, Terry Hutchinson, is spearheading the AMERICAN MAGIC team in the New York YC’s quest to win back the America’s Cup in foiling monohull 75 footers.

Just this past week, they launched a 1/2 scale model using a heavily customized production 38-footer’s hull and launched it, flying around Narragansett Bay at 25+ kts. Pretty wild to see how the boat actually works.  Watch the “Mule”, as the test boat is called, on this very cool YouTube sailing video here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Fest @ Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta

(Larchmont, NY)- Thirty-six J/Boat owners participated and contributed their boats, in a fleet of 48 total, for the 2018 edition of the Storm Trysail Club and the Larchmont YC annual extravaganza for college sailors- known as the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR). The event has become by the most popular event in all of college sailing, with 45 colleges, universities, and academies gathering together to go racing in one-design classes and offshore boats on western Long Island Sound in the first weekend of October.

What does that mean to the world of sailing?  Simple.  It signals that J/Sailors have PASSION! J/sailors and J/owners have a passion for sailing, a passion for growing the sport of sailing, a passion to include women and youth in the future of sailing at all levels- from beginners to the world’s best at all levels of the sport. For example, consider J/Boat owner’s commitments to this event- 75.0% of the entire fleet- J/105s (12), J/109s (9), J/44s (5), PHRF (10)!

In the one-design classes, the racing was generally close around the windward-leeward race tracks. In the J/44 Commodore James D Bishop Division for USA Service Academies, the winners were the US NAVAL ACADEMY on Bill Ketcham’s MAXINE with an amazing record of 1-1-2-1-4 for 9 pts total.  Silver was the US COAST GUARD ACADEMY on GLORY with a 2-3-4-2-2 tally for 13 pts total.  Rounding out the podium was MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY’s sailing on Chris Lewis’ KENAI with a total of 4-2-3-4-1 for 14 pts.  Of note, the MMASA won a tie-breaker over SUNY MARITIME’s crew on CHARLIE V.

The J/109s were completely outclassed by the TUFTS JUMBO’s sailing on Cory Eaves’ FREEDOM, their 3-1-3-2-2 total for 11 pts simply dominating their class.  Second was the NORTH CAROLINA STATE crew on Mike Sleightholme’s APSARA with a 4-3-1-9-4 tally for 21 pts, winning a tiebreaker.  Losing that tiebreak was the ROCHESTER TECHNOLOGY team on Albrecht Goethe’s HAMBURG with a tally of 1-4-6-7-3.

Not surprisingly in the huge J/105 division, having a lot of offshore talent onboard their crew were the winning COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON crew racing the YOUNG AMERICAN boat- crushing their J/105 one-design class with just straight bullets for the most dominating performance in the entire regatta! Second was VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY on ECHO and third was WEBB INSTITUTE on HOONIGAN.

In PHRF 2 Division, it was FORDHAM UNIVERSITY winning on board Bill Ingraham’s J/24 TENEBRAE with a 1-1-2-1-4 tally for 9 pts total.  Similarly, in PHRF 3 Division, it was VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY simply taking their division “to the cleaners”, winning with a commanding margin of 6 pts due to their 1-1-1-3-4 tally for just 10 pts.  Second was YALE UNIVERSITY’s team on Jon Yoder & Bill Gassman’s J/100 BLACKCOMB.

Thanks to the following individuals for their efforts on behalf of all college sailors:

• Charles Ulmer- Event Chairman- Intercollegiate Regatta
• John Fisher- Chairman- Storm Trysail Foundation
• Howie McMichael- STC IOR Official Photographer

For all STC IOR race results, click here  For more Storm Trysail Club Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SVBG Win Italian Youth J/70 Sailing League!

(Trieste, Italy)- This year the Italian Championship for Club Under 19 was supported by BarcolanaFun and Siram by Veolia.  The local host and organizer of the event in Trieste, Italy was the S.V. Barcola and Grignano and the principal sponsor was Banca Aletti.

For the eighteen crews that participated, the event started off with an AP over A on the first day, with little wind and lots of rain.  Nevertheless, the boys and girls participating in the event, were challenged ashore by the Est Energy SpA to generate as much energy as each team could in a winch-grinding competition to raise money for charity.  All the energy they produced was converted into a donation for the local Burlo Garofolo Hospital in Trieste to benefit their children’s charity!

Following that slow start for sailing, but a big step for benefitting the children’s hospital, the Youth Under 19 teams had a spirited round of races on Sunday to determine the ultimate youth champion sailing on J/70s.  In the end, it was the local youth team on SVBG that won, followed by the 3V SAILING CENTER taking the silver and the ADRIACO YC Youth Team taking the bronze.  In addition, the “Glam Team Award” went to Torre Del Greco Nautical Club, the Youngest Team Award to YC Adriatico, and the Fair Play Award to SVBG.

One of the more entertaining elements of the regatta was to see the SVBG PRO and RC team playing with their new robot buoys- watch them play here (they work!).  Sailing photo credits- Fabio Taccola  Follow the Italian Under 19 J/70 Youth Sailing League here  For more Italian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Class Intercollegiate Offshore Preview

(Larchmont, NY)- The I.O.R. for college sailors wishing to experience offshore racing has been run by Storm Trysail Foundation, in conjunction with the Larchmont Yacht Club, since 2004. The event has grown every year and last year was able to accommodate almost 400 college sailors. Thanks to sponsors, private donations, and the generosity of participating boat owners, Storm Trysail Foundation and Larchmont Yacht Club are able to run this regatta at no cost to the schools' sailing teams!

This year’s event will run from October 6th to 7th sailing on the waters of western Long Island Sound.  Included are one-design fleets of J/105s (12 teams), J/109s (9 crews), & J/44s (5 crews), as well as PHRF handicap fleets.  What has been significant about this event is the extraordinary generosity of J/Boats owners that have given their boats to college teams for free to sail in the event- the only caveat being that an owner-representative is onboard.

Perhaps what is most remarkable is the overwhelming majority of sailboat owners donating their time (and the boat) are J/Boat owners.  The simple breakdown shows that of 49 boats participating, the majority by far are the 35 J/Boats owners (about 71.4% of the fleet).

In the wild conditions of 2017, ranging from moderate winds to pea-soup fog and rain and 20 kts-plus winds on the final day, Boston University took home the overall honors and the “Paul Hoffmann Trophy” in the hotly contested J/105 class on “Young American,” with four bullets and a second place in the second largest class in the regatta. Will they repeat that command performance?  Time will tell.

Perhaps the experience alone is the principal take-away from the event. Erica Vandeveer, Captain of the victorious Virginia Tech squad, is a Behavioral Psychology Major and sees the relevance of big-boat sailing; “Communication is critical to being successful on the race course. We had some challenges, but we were able to talk and work through them to win.”

Juliette Joffre, captain of the Club Voile EDHEC Business School team who came all the way from Lille, France commented, “this is a big, serious and very competitive regatta.”

Marianne Pierres, another member of the EDHEC crew, described how offshore racing is similar to business, “the starts were really exciting, and so was the broach! But, you have to manage and keep calm; you have to understand roles and do your job.”

Juliette continued, “there is a lot of pressure to perform at your best, but I know that the team is much closer now because of this experience.” This was their first time at the IOR, and they had to win an international student regatta in France for the right to come to the IOR with an all-expenses paid trip through a partnership between the Storm Trysail Foundation and the EDHEC Sailing Cup.

In the J/44s, it will again be the service academies racing for seafaring honors- SUNY Maritime, US Coast Guard Academy, Mass Maritime, US Naval Academy, and the US Army Teams.

Thanks to the following individuals for their efforts on behalf of all college sailors:

• Charles Ulmer- Event Chairman- Intercollegiate Regatta
• John Fisher- Chairman- Storm Trysail Foundation
• Howie McMichael- STC IOR Official Photographer

For all STC IOR race results, click here  For more Storm Trysail Club Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

40th J/24 Midwinters Championship Preview

(Miami, FL)- Back in 1978, no one could have ever guessed that 40 years after the inaugural J/24 Midwinters in Key West, Florida that the J/24 class would be going as strong as ever in 2018!  Around the world, the class has demonstrated its appeal to a cross-section of sailors, young and old alike.  Now quite inexpensive, boats can be bought from $5,000 up to $15,000 (depending on your appetite for “fixer-uppers”) and you can be competitive against some of the worlds best sailors in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Chile, United Kingdom, Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Mexico, Japan, Greece and Ireland, to name a few locations where the class has strong local fleets.

This year’s Midwinters is being hosted by Shake-a-Leg in Miami (Coconut Grove), FL.  It’s essentially “40 for 40” (boats & anniversary) and a number of North American, Midwinters and World Champions will be pointing their bows across the starting line on Thursday.  The four-day event goes until Sunday afternoon, sailing on the warm, inviting, choppy waters of Biscayne Bay.

The betting parlors would have a field day trying to handicap this fleet.  Teams are competing from across the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.  Top Americans should be Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM from St Petersburg, FL; Mark Laura’s BABA LOUIE from Seattle, WA; Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET from Washington, DC; Will Welles’ BOGUS from Newport, RI; Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER from Pittsford, NY; Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS from Huntington, NY; Ernesto Mendoza’s MUY MUY from Miami, FL; and Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD from Middletown, NJ.

There are three women’s skippers in the event, including Erica Beck Spencer’s famous SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM from Falmouth, ME; Natalie Harden’s GIGGLES from Austin, TX; and Elaine Haher’s A GOOD HAIR DAY from Atlantic Highlands, NJ.   The Mexican J/24 National Champion should be a contender- Kenneth Porter’s MONSTER FISH.  The Puerto Rican team is Gilberto Rivera’s URAYO from Guaynabo and the Canadian crew Nathan Bresett’s WOODJCHUCK from Belleville, Ontario.  For more 40th J/24 Midwinters sailing information

France Hosting World University Sailing Championship

(Cherbourg, France)- The northwestern French city of Cherbourg will host the world’s finest university sailors for the 2018 FISU World University Sailing Championship from September 1st to 5th, 2018. A maximum of 40 teams will compete in the fleet of twenty matched J/80 one-design sailboats.

Following two very successful events in Ledro, Italy and Perth, Australia, this will be the first ever WUC Sailing event to be held with the fleet racing format. Competitors will race up to six windward-leeward courses a day in the world’s largest artificial harbour.

This racing area will located inside the Rade de Cherbourg (Inside the breakwater in Cherbourg Harbour). This location has successfully staged many national and international yachting championships.

For regatta entries, there will be two classifications: Open and Women.  Crew requirements are the same for both categories- a minimum of 4 persons with a maximum total crew weight of 350kg.

There is a maximum of 2 entries per category for each nation; i.e. each country may enter a maximum of four teams.

Oleg Matytsin, FISU President, had this to say about the event:
“Welcome to Cherbourg, where you will join some of the best student athletes in the world in celebrating the FISU World University Sailing Championship.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) recognizes that just to be here has required many victories, some big and some small. Many of these victories will have brought results that are easy to recognize, like a winning score in a race or in a game. Others are less tangible, like finding the right balance between training and studying. All are equally important.

Our work at FISU is focused on providing opportunities for students– the leaders of tomorrow– to be positively influenced by their experiences of international university sport. Whether a student emerges as a champion, is helping to organize the competitions, or attending in support of a team, we know that they can all learn essential life lessons that cannot be taught in a lecture hall or classroom.

The best athletes are those who bring single-minded determination to what they do. But before, throughout and after the competitions, FISU urges you all to take full advantage of this opportunity– to go home with memories that will last a lifetime, and perhaps even some new friends from faraway places.

By taking part in the FISU World University Sailing Championship, you will be contributing to a record-equalling programme of events across 34 different sports, some of them new to FISU.

None of these events would be possible without the gracious generosity of the hosts, and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the National University Sports Federation of France and the organisers for their excellent efforts.

FISU is also grateful for the ongoing support of the International Sports Federations. Together, we aim to provide the highest level of technical excellence, both on and off the field of play. We remain convinced that the best student athletes deserve nothing less.

I am confident that the World University Championship in Cherbourg will provide you every opportunity to shine, and I wish you a fair and exciting competition!”

FISU events are where “sports meet art, education and culture.” The 2018 WUC Sailing event is certainly prepared to continue this tradition, the 28th edition of the World University Championship series that first got its start in 1963.  For more World University Sailing Championship information. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Défi Voile Etudiant Won by YC Monaco

Défi Voile Etudiant– Pornichet, France- report from YC Monaco.

A steady 10-15 knots all weekend blessed the 25th Défi Voile Etudiant (sailing regatta for students) in Pornichet, Brittany. A total of eighteen teams on J/80s made the trip, including one from the engineering college at the University of Nantes, led by Nicolas Bouchet from the Yacht Club de Monaco.

Throughout the races, he maintained his leading position before finally conceding victory to the Western Brittany University team in the sixth and final race of the event.

It was a promising result for the YC Monaco helmsman.  Bouchet commented, “I felt like I really improved my racing techniques over these two days and loved being at the helm especially on the downwind legs.”

Nicolas Bouchet sailed aboard the J/70 PONANT at this past weekend’s Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse, finishing a remarkable 4th place and winning the Corinthians division with the YC Monaco Youth Team.
https://www.yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/sailing-meeting-for-students/ Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Hot Sailors + Hot Bands + Cold Waters = The Big Sail

(San Francisco, CA)- The weekend of Thanksgiving in America has become what is known as “Rivalry Week” in American college football.  Over time, many events have been created that augment the gathering together of the “tribes” that support each university, whether competing schools have fun in tug-of-wars, go-kart racing, battle of the bands, chili cook-offs, or bocce ball.  All in the name of fun and, for the most part, engaging in a friendly reparte’ with the opposing team and alumni.

In California, the San Francisco Bay region enjoys two of the more prestigious universities in the world- University of California- Berkeley (a.k.a. “Cal”) and Stanford University.  Alumni from both schools, many of whom are members of St Francis YC, decided it would be fun to have an informal, off-beat, regatta at StFYC prior to “the game”.  In recent years, it has been a fun event sailed on StFYC’s J/22’s literally right off the clubs extended waterfront decks. This year, the club hosted the 14th edition of the “Big Sail” with Paul Heineken as chief on-water commentator.

The shoreside entertainment has sometimes eclipsed the hot and heavy action on the water.  As it turns out, this year that was the case.  The “battle of the bands” and the “battle of the cheerleaders” all drew a lot more attention than the “drift-a-thon” that was occurring just off the waterfront.  Watch the entertaining video here- The Pac-12 TV Network showed up for the event and produced a nice highlight of all the hot and heavy action- particularly on shore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx8H7O_hXZE

Nevertheless, the sailing still took place.  The two schools fielded teams in all four categories- Varsity, Young Alumni, Masters Alumni, and Grandmasters Alumni.  Due to the insanely light conditions on a perfectly sunny day, a most unusual scenario for sunny, windy San Francisco Bay, each division was only able to sail one race.  After winning three of the four divisions, Stanford was declared the 2017 winner of the Big Sail with a 3-1 record.  For more Big Sail event and sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.