How Can Keelboat Racing Work with Social Distancing?

(Dublin, Ireland)- Four-time Olympic sailor, Mark Mansfield, a professional sailor, is part of the Key Yachting/ J/UK team representing J/Boats in Ireland. Mark contributed a good perspective on how sailing can take place while enjoying with family and friends.

Fully crewed or shorthanded?
Though there are other options around, family crew and the like, clearly it will be challenging to sail fully crewed for the first couple of months and still keep the required space between each other. The sight of 8 bodies huddled together on the rail while going upwind on a 35-foot cruiser-racer would not only be regarded as unsafe, but irresponsible and would send all the wrong messages.

So, at what crewing levels could racing happen and still keep close to the permitted social distancing levels?

It is possible to specify a max crew level for different sized boats.
Different sized boats have different crewing needs. A J/70, for example, does not need the same crew numbers as a 42-footer. So, what crew numbers would be required on different sized boats. Here is my estimate:

    Up to 26 footers 3 max per boat – Only 2 allowed to sit over the side
    Over 26 foot and up to 31 foot – Max of 4 crew – only 2 allowed to sit over the side
    Over 31 foot and up to 36 foot – Max 5 crew – only 2 allowed to sit over the side
    Over 36 foot and up to 41 foot – Max 6 crew – only 3 allowed to sit over the side
    Over 41 foot and up to 46 foot – Max 7 crew and only 4 allowed to sit over the side

And, so on in 5-foot sized increases.

An amendment to The Notice of Race (NOR) could be inserted for events to make these reduced numbers a requirement, while we still have these restrictions due to COVID 19.

Is this enough crew to race boats with spinnakers?
In the Fastnet Race in 2019, there were 65 entries in the Doublehanded class, ranging from 45 footers, down to 30 footers. Most boats were in the 35-foot size range and used spinnakers. Yes, they all would have autopilots, and that effectively gives you an extra pair of hands doing sail changes. But that still would mean that they would have had two less crew than my crew size thoughts above. Here is how that would look like on specific boats:

J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80?
Three crew could easily handle any of these boats. In fact, two would be just as easy. One is helming and trimming the main, one in the cockpit, and one on the bow. The Bowman stays forward of the shrouds; the cockpit person stays away from the helm, up by the hatch. It won't be all that easy, but 30-foot boats like Etchells have similar-sized sails and normally sail with 3.

J/109, J/109, J/111, J/112E?
Five on any one of these boats is possible. One on the wheel, staying back a bit. One in the cockpit is trimming the mainsheet but sitting well forward. Helm adjusts the traveler or leaves it in the center. One sits in the hatch, or on top of the coach roof. The Jib Trimmer sits out, and during tacks, they pull in the new sheet while the Mainsheet Trimmer has let off the old jib sheet. The Bow person sits out forward of the shrouds; jib trimmer sits out to windward, 2 metres back from the Bowman.

Downwind more room becomes available as both sides of the boat can accommodate the crew. Andrew Craig, Class Captain of the J/109 class in Ireland, says, "the J/109 is well-suited to shorthanded racing with the small jib and plenty of space for a reduced number to spread out. The Asymmetrical Spinnaker requires no pole, which also makes shorthanded use possible in the right conditions".

For more about Mark's perspective on the new world of sailing in the "post-covid-19 world" Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Keeping Sailing & Boating Safe in Days of Social Distancing

(Dublin, Ireland)- Over in the land of lucky leprechauns, our friends in Ireland are always thinking of clever ways around any obstacles that may be thwarting their efforts to enjoy life and sailing.  Recently, the editors at Afloat.ie published some insights in an article titled- "Keeping Sailing & Boating Safe in Days of Social Distancing."

"It's nice to be out there with the wind and the waves and as one letter writer to the Irish Times mentioned when he spotted boats sailing on Dublin Bay this week - 'what a way to isolate!' 

We think the same here at Afloat, but even sailing isn't free of social distancing guidelines and as we have seen, unfortunately, largely because of shoreside issues, the bulk of sailing events around the world have now been cancelled. It is important to recognize the significant impact that the current Coronavirus / COVID-19 crisis is having on sailing clubs across Ireland.

Right now, there are other priorities of the most serious nature, but it's worth mentioning- for sailing's sake- that this Coronavirus is wrecking the 2020 sailing fixture list and much more besides.

It's important for the club network that we salvage as much as we can.

Other sports, such as golf, are finding ways of keeping play going.

We have plenty of unpopulated open water (for example look at our live webcam of Dublin Bay). We have plenty of boats and with today's Spring Equinox (the earliest in 124 years) hundreds of boaters itching to go afloat.

While areas within clubhouses may not be available due to the need for social distancing, the sport remains open and accessible. The lift in of the country's biggest fleet of yachts on Dublin Bay is on track for April. Marinas are open. Club membership plus supporting the cluster of Irish marine services around the coast has never been more important. 

Yacht Club members and sailors and boaters, in general, can still go afloat and enjoy their sailing while staying within the guidelines issued by the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.

So, as organizers prepare to launch the season, is there a way to support them in order to go afloat safely without abandoning the ship, as it were? 

Can there be any activity that rigorously upholds the social distancing guidelines, keeps everyone safe and avoids groups of people in prolonged contact? There has to be more to our fantastic sport than an eSailing National Championships?

Already, North Sails sailmaker Prof O'Connell is reporting a number of clients are changing the way they plan to go sailing: "there's some interest from yacht owners in re-tasking their race boats into family day-sailers to get the family out on the water, conversion of bolt rope race mainsails into luff slid cruising sails, the addition of furler/furling headsails for family cruising."

A quick brainstorm also came up with the following ideas: 

• Solo/ doublehanded keelboat races with white sails/reduced sail?
• Solo/ doublehanded dinghy races with white sails?
• Family/ household crewed races (e.g. can people living in the same household sail on the same boat?)
• Family/ household day cruising?
• Virtual marks/starts to avoid contact among race officials?

Wishful thinking? It may well be. But, getting out on the water is good for both our physical and mental health. We only need two boats to start an informal race or one boat for a day sail. 

So, at Afloat, we're keen to hear any ideas as to how sailing can keep going. But above all else, any suggestion first needs to ensure it is well within social and physical distancing guidelines.

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ZID ART SAILING Win J/70 Sevastopol International Cup

(Sevastopol, Crimea)- The inaugural Sevastopol J/70 International Cup was sailed from the 4th to the 6th of October. The regatta was held in conjunction with the Sevastopol Sailing Week festival.

Eighteen teams from Russia, Serbia and Ireland participated in the first open international regatta in Sevastopol.  Some of the leading teams included, B-TEAM (Russia, Artem Basalkin), M-SAILING–CSKA (Russia, Alexandr Bozhko), MATRYOSHKA (Russia, Natalia Kravez), WILD CARD (Ireland, William Twomey), X-Fit (Russia, Vladimir Chaus), ZID ART Sailing team (Serbia, Zoran Paunovic), GALS (Russia, Sergey Dzhienbaev), DOBRYNYA (Russia, Igor Ignatov), ROSMOSPORT (Russia, Anton Timakov), and BLACK SEA NAVAL School (Russia, Petr Gorkunov). Here are the daily reports how the competition unfolded in a unique format.  The first two days were qualifiers for the top 10 teams. Then, on the final day, the “Gold Medal Races” for ten teams would determine the champion in a winner-take-all finale of three races.

Day 1
The sailing was good on the first day, with twelve total races run (6 for each team) before the close of racing for the day due to lack of sunlight! Leading after the first day was Artem Basalkin’s B-TEAM from Russia. Leading after the first two races was Alexander Bozhko’s M-SAILING CSKA team from Russia, however, they dropped to second place after posting a fourth place in their last race. Third place was a free-for-all, with four teams tied on 22 pts each after their six races.

Four different teams were claiming the third place. PEK: Sport won two races, Zoran Paunovic’s Serbian team on ZID ART SAILING won one and Sergey Dzhienbaev’s GALS also won one. The fourth crew was a top Russian woman sailor- Natalia Kravez- skippering MATRYOSHKA.

Day 2
The second day was full of surprises. The sailors were greeted in the morning with heavy rain that thankfully ended before noon. The Race committee then sent the teams out and ran 10 more races (5 for each team).

M-SAILING- CSKA showed an excellent performance and climbed back into first place back after two victories. B-TEAM has also won two races, but scored 5 extra points and ended the day in second place overall.

ZID ART Sailing team from Serbia beat all rivals after winning three races and ended the day in third place. GALS and X-Fit won one race each and were now fourth and fifth. MATRYOSHKA dropped to sixth place.

Day 3- Medal Race Finale
The final day of racing saw six qualifying races and three medal races. It was the first time the National Sailing League used this format.

After three days of racing, PEK: SPORT closed the Top-10 with two victories. Bill Twomey’s Irish team on WILD CARD finished 9th. The Saint Petersburg Yacht Club Youth Team was in 8th place. ALGA TATARSTAN from Kazan was in 7th place, winning their last race. MATRYOSHKA was three points behind the Top 5.

The final “Medal Races” were unpredictable and spectacular. The final results were calculated by the following method: your place after qualifying races + the sum of the points gained during medal races.

The top five qualifiers were M-SAILING- CSKA in first, ZID ART SAILING in second, B-TEAM third, GALS fourth, and X-FIT fifth.

In the three Medal Races, B-TEAM won two races and GALS won one race. However, ZID ART SAILING was the most consistent team in terms of results, scoring three seconds! The fate of the Cup was decided during the last medal race. B-TEAM won the race, but ZID ART Sailing team won the first Sevastopol J/70 International Cup.  Follow the Sevastopol J/70 International Cup on Facebook here   For more Sevastopol J/70 International Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/109s Top Dun Laoghaire Regatta

(Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)- Ireland’s largest sailing event, the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, came to a gentle close Sunday afternoon after an exciting four days of racing in Dublin Bay with 500 boats and almost 2,500 sailors competing.

A light northerly breeze of six knots allowed organizers to complete nearly all 290 scheduled races with many class titles hanging on the outcome of the final race.

Many of the hottest boats were racing the IRC Coastal class of twenty-eight boats. It was tough competition and J/Teams faired well overall. Taking the silver overall was Peter Dunlop’s J/109 MOJITO, while Nigel Ingram’s J/109 JET STREAM took 4th place. In the IRC B Coastal division, MOJITO won, leading a J/sweep of the podium.  Second was JET STREAM and third was Lindsay Casey & Denis Power’s J/97 WINDJAMMER.

In the Celtic Cup RC35 class, two J/109s swept the top honors. Winning was Pat Kelly’s STORM and taking the silver was Brian & John Hall’s SOMETHING ELSE.

In the IRC Cruiser 0 class of six yachts, Jonathan Anderson’s J/122E EL GRAN SENOR from the Clyde Cruising Club in Scotland started the regatta slowly and closed with a 3rd place average to take 4th in class, just 2 pts off the podium.

The twenty-seven boat IRC Cruiser 1 class was the most competitive and hardest class, especially because sixteen J/109s were vying for summer series offshore honors as well. Not surprisingly, J/Teams swept the top six places. The first five teams were all J/109s. Winning was John Maybury’s JOKER 2, taking the silver was Tim & Richard Goodbody’s WHITE MISCHIEF, the bronze went to Pat Kelly’s STORM, fourth was Cowell Murphy’s OUTRAJEOUS, and fifth was Brian Jones’ JELLY BABY. Taking 6th was the newly launched J/99 JUGGERKNOT 2 sailed by the trio of Andrew Algeo, Richard Knatchbull, & Paul Nolan from Royal Irish YC.

The IRC Cruiser 3 had a gaggle of J/24s. Top team was Steve Atkinson’s BAD in fourth and Flor O’Driscoll’s HARD ON PORT took fifth place.

The fourteen-boat J/80 class experienced a bit of a runaway in the form of Jonathan O’Dowd’s Royal St George YC crew on JABS, winning quite handily with a scoreline that only counted podium finishes for 11 pts net. The race for the balance of the top five was quite spirited as only two points separated them at the conclusion of the regatta.  Tied for second on 22 pts each were Philip Watson’s JAM JAR and Robert Dix’s JEANNIE, with JAM JAR winning the countback.  Fourth place went to Norbert Reilly’s RED CLOUD and fifth was Conall O’Halloran’s JITTERBUG.  Sailing photo credits- David Branigan  For more Dun Laoghaire Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Lead Volvo Cork Week

J/109 JOKER II Wins Beaufort Cup, J’s Sweep IRC 2
(Cork, Ireland)- After over 40 hours of intense racing, Barry Byrne's Irish Defence Forces team, racing J/109 JOKER 2, have successfully defended the Beaufort Cup. Youen Jacob's Baltimore RNLI team, racing J/109 JUGGERKNOT, put the defending champions under serious pressure, taking the gun for the first race on the last day, but finished runner-up by just two points. Simon Coveney's Irish Defence Forces Team, racing JEDI, recovered from a starting penalty in the first race of the day to make a tenacious comeback taking the final podium spot for the Beaufort Cup.

“We’re over the moon, it’s more than we ever dreamed of,” said Byrne. “It’s a tough event to win, especially against the caliber of people we were up against – Olympians, All-Ireland champions and people like Tim Goodbody and other great sailors.”

Watch the Cork Week sailing video highlights here

120 teams from eight different nations competed at Volvo Cork Week, enjoying six days of racing in the Celtic Sea and Cork Harbour on a variety of courses. This year, the biennial regatta organized by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, celebrated 40 years and Volvo Cork Week continued to provide fantastic racing, superb award wining facilities and great fun ashore.

The Beaufort Cup started with the challenging Fastnet Race on Monday 16th July, followed by three days of short-course racing to test the all round ability of the teams. Beaufort Cup entries feature 50% of the crew coming from active personnel in the Armed Forces and Emergency Services. 17 teams were racing from Ireland, Great Britain and the United States of America. The inaugural Beaufort Cup was held as part of the 2016 edition of Volvo Cork Week, Commandant Barry Byrne skippered the Irish Defence Forces to victory, and the team successfully defended their title. As a result, they once again nominate a charity to win €10,000.

“The Beaufort Cup is part of Volvo Cork Week, and any team competing is eligible for the boat of the week,” commented Barry Byrne, the two-time winner. “The Beaufort Cup is challenging, and a test in a real environment of leadership, team work and resilience, which are all values of the services we represent. The inter-services rivalry is very exciting; something special that raises the level of the competition, whilst still keeping the friendly rivalry and banter, which is brilliant. The field really toughened up this year, everyone competing had done their best to raise their game. It is a great fleet and the fastest growing element of Volvo Cork Week.”

Watch the interview of Commandant Barry Byrne on Facebook here.

After five days of racing, the fleet was treated to a thrilling finale for the Beaufort Cup title. After winning the final race to take the title. So what more can we say about Commandant Barry Byrne’s achievement in retaining the trophy?

Well, for one, Byrne and his Irish Defence Force’s team sailing John Maybury’s J/109 JOKER 2 carried off the “Houdini act” more than once. For starters, their campaign to win the Cup started with a come from behind win in the Fastnet Race. Then, they went on through the week to fight off challenges from Youen Jacob with the Baltimore RNLI in Andrew Alegeo’s J/109 JUGGERKNOT, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and his Irish Defence Forces crew on the Irish National Sailing School’s J/109 JEDI.

The pressure was kept up to the very end. With three race sailed yesterday (Friday), Youen Jacob gained a point with a first to Byrne’s second in the first race. But, then Barry Byrne got back in the saddle with first in the second race, while Jacob was fourth.

While the Byrne crew were ninth in the final race, which was won by Tim Goodbody with Simon Coveney second, Youen Jacob was held back to sixth, and Commandant Barry Byrne and his crew had retained the Beaufort Cup only a fortnight after winning the Corinthian Division and taking second overall in the Volvo Round Ireland Race!

So there it goes, Volvo Cork Week 2018. Nail-biting finish to the Beaufort Cup with victory again for Barry Byrne. Roll on 2020 and the Tricentenary!

In the IRC 1 Class, Jonathan Anderson's J/122 El Gran Senor (Clyde Cruising Club) was third. It was a good regatta for the team from the northern waters of Scotland!

Three J/Crews lead a sweep of the IRC 2 Class. Dunlop & Cox's J/109 MOJITO (Pwllheli SC) won the last two races to climb from third to first for a dramatic class win by a single point from Ronan Harris' J/109 JIGAMAREE (Royal Irish YC). Brian & Mary Jones J/109 JELLY BABY (Royal Cork YC) could well have won the class, save a steering problem in the penultimate race, which put the local team back to third, just two points away from victory.

So much attention was focused on the many J/109s in the Beaufort Cup series (with which we conclude this report) that it’s easy to overlook the fact that several others sister-ships were racing as standard entrants in Class 2. This series concluded with a battle for the class overall win between two of them, Ronan Harris’s JIGAMAREE from the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire, and the 2017 ISORA Champion MOJITO (Vicky Cox & Peter Dunlop, Pwllheli SC). In the end, MOJITO got it by a whisker, 14 pts to JIGAMREE’s 15 pts, which in turn was just one point ahead of sister ship JELLY BABY (Brian & Mary Jones, Royal Cork YC).
Sailing photo credits- David Branigan/Oceansport For more pictures and videos from Volvo Cork Week, follow on Facebook here For more CORK Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Kilcullen Irelands Eye J/24 Westerns Champion

(Lough Ree, Ireland)- Ten boats and fifty competitors turned out for the two day event sailed on the gorgeous lake of Lough Ree. Boats came from Howth, Dun Laoghaire, Sligo and Lough Derg in Tipperary; all travelled to Lough Ree Yacht Club (LRYC http://www.lryc.ie/)- the world’s second oldest Yacht Club!!

The on-site crane lifted all ten boats into the lake on Friday evening in perfect summer conditions. As the ten crews set about rigging their craft, the Club staff fired up the BBQ and the scene was set for a very sociable event. As light faded, the crews made their way up to the Club House and settled in to renew old acquaintances and to discuss the challenges of the next two days on the lake.

There was a 9am briefing the following morning. Once the briefing ended, the Race Committee and mark boats set off for the race area that was located north of Athlone, opposite The Hodson Bay Hotel.  Six races were scheduled with four to be held on Saturday and the final two on Sunday.

Lough Ree is the perfect location for an event like this. The J/24 fleet experienced winds in excess of 30 knots on Sunday morning and were still able to race! If this wind strength was experienced on the open sea, there was a good chance that the race would have been abandoned. The four races on Saturday were held in very blustery conditions; southerly winds reached speeds of 22 knots with gusts of 26 knots.

The Principal Race Officer- Vincent Rafter- and his team worked hard to fit in four races on Saturday, conscious that the conditions might deteriorate to a point where racing might be abandoned on Sunday.

A J/24 Class Dinner followed the racing on Saturday for all competitors and the race committee (thanks Liz!). The diners were entertained by the classical Duet of Ellen Gogly on cello and Eva Barry on violin. Their mix of Classical and traditional music soothed the frayed nerves of some very fatigued sailors.

Of the two races planned for Sunday, only one could be held due to deteriorating conditions. Gusts of 35 knots were being recorded and this wind strength can cause structural damage to the boats and potentially injure crew.

There was one stand out performance. The team on board KILCULLEN IRELANDS EYE, helmed by Cillian Dickson, scored five 1st places and finished on an impressive 4 pts net (including one discard)!  A local Lough Ree YC team on board JAVELIN, led by Stan Bradbury (LRYC), finished in 2nd place on 10 points.  Flor O’Driscoll and his team on board HARD ON PORT came in 3rd on 13 points.  Alex Shackleton on board JOHNNY BRAVO finished 4th on 16 points.  And, Ronan Armstrong on CRAZY HORSE from Sligo finished 5th on 17 points.

The Prize Giving took place in the clubhouse shortly after all boats were craned out onto their trailers. All boats were on the road home to their respective home towns by 4pm.

We have two J/24 teams travelling to Plymouth in the UK to compete in the J/24 European Championships, KILCULLEN IRELANDS EYE and JOHNNY BRAVO. The J/24 fleet wishes Cillian and Alex and their crews the best of luck in the event and we will be watching the scores on line– no pressure!!

The J/24 association of Ireland would like to extend their thanks to Waterways Ireland for their Sponsorship of this event.  The next event is the J/24 Nationals in Dun Laorighe on the 2nd to 4th of September. It promises to be a great event and a super way to finish off the J/24 season in Ireland for 2016!   For more Irish J/24 Class sailing information

Ireland Offshore Report

(Dublin, Ireland)- The J/crews in Ireland continue to demonstrate their extraordinary resilience sailing the wild & wooly Irish Sea.  The 2015 season was yet another very successful one for the J clan simply messing around their boats off Dublin, points north and west!  Here’s a report we just received from Maurice O’Connell of North Sails Ireland about how the J/Navy is doing:

“The all-conquering IRC-optimized J/109 fleet in Ireland is showing no signs of releasing it's grip on cruiser-racing in Ireland.

Firstly, the 300 miles offshore classic in June - the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race - was won by Liam Shanahan's J/109 RUTH.  In fact, J/Boats took the top four places overall, triumphing against a super-competitive fleet that included Tony O'Leary's Ker 40 ANTIX.

At the IRC Nationals in beautiful Kinsale on the southcoast in June, J/109's took 1st, 2nd and 4th in the super competitive IRC 1 division- led by John Maybury's JOKER II with quadruple Olympian Mark Mansfield aboard.

The J/109 Irish Championships were held during Volvo Dun Laoghaire Week. 12 boats contested the event under the one-design rules. JOKER II again triumphed after a last minute gate mark selection decision saw them take the title in the dying minutes of the last race from Pat Kelly's STORM II.

It was then out to the west coast in August for the annual WIORA inshore series, hosted by Galway Bay SC. Glenn Cahill's J/109 JOIE DE’VIVRE triumphed against the IRC 1 fleet in Galway Bay.

The annual ISORA offshore series finished in early September in Dublin. This is an offshore season-long series consisting of long day and overnight races across the Irish Sea. J/Boats filled the first five places overall under IRC. RUTH won the series for the second year running, successfully defending her title after a strong challenge from Andrew Hall's J/120 JACKKNIFE and Peter Dunlop's J/109 MOJITO. Liam races with his family and friends and their latest win was celebrated long into the night in the National Yacht club!

The J/24 here continues to attract a loyal championship and IRC following, with the Under-25 "kids" from Howth YC winning the title for the second year running!

The J/80's are continuing to have fabulously close IRC racing on Dublin Bay.

2016 sees a new J112E arriving on our shores and some more J/109’s!  Wow, they are multiplying like wild rabbits over here! Hopefully it will be the best season yet!  Cheers, Big Mo”