Dutch J/22 Championship Preview

(Medemblik, The Netherlands)- The 17th edition of the Open Dutch Sailing Championships, hosted off Medemblik, The Netherlands, will see an enormous flotilla of dinghies (29ers, 49ers, Contenders, Finns, F18s, Lasers) and keelboats such as the J/22, Star, and Yngling.

The event also marks the Open Dutch J/22 Championship for 2019. The lone German team is Thomas Loesch’s GER 1640 with crew of Emmanuoela Filippidi and Lenskaya Ektaerina.  The top Netherlands crews include Suzanne van Iterson’s NED 1223 with crew of Anne Rietveld and Frans Dijcksmeester; Dirk Naj Verdoorn’s NED 1295 with crew of Anneloes Krikhaar, Rosemary & Liselotte Verdoorn; and Merlin Rutten’s NED 1500 with crew of Alexandra Siebels, Floor de Boer, and Janine de Groot.  For more Dutch J/22 Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fast Rolex Fastnet Race

(Cowes, England)- The 605.0nm Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most famous offshore races in the world, saw 340 teams take off from the equally famous Royal Yacht Squadron starting line to begin their epic adventure, fantastic voyage out around the iconic Fastnet Rock Lighthouse.

For all J/Crews, the big decision everyone had been strategizing for days was whether to go inshore or offshore. The debate raged, but very experienced offshore veterans of the race saw it quite clearly and, remarkably, were quite prescient in their forecasting.

Fastnet Race meteorologist Libby Greenhalgh (part of the famous Greenhalgh family that also sails and races the J/92 J'RONIMO) spelled out the options for everyone the afternoon before the start; it turned out she absolutely nailed it. “Over the first night, the crews will have to negotiate a ‘transition zone’ that will see the wind drop before filling in from the southwest. It appears the best option is to go offshore and south (to get to the new gradient pressure first), as always, also dependent on the state of the tide. Faster boats will tend to dig further south towards the Casquets TSS (Transportation Separation Scheme- a ‘no-go’ zone) and will be the most southerly,” continued Greenhalgh. “For everyone else it will be of more rhumb line or just south of the rhumb line route. The good news is that after that scenario unfolds, it becomes straightforward, with a reach across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock. Heading back to the Scilly Isles, it will be southwesterly or WSWerly winds and in pressure that will vary between 15-25 knots according to the timing.”

Even IRC Doublehanded navigator, Henry Bomby, was “spot-on” for the overall race strategy. “I did quite a bit of pre-race analysis and whenever an IRC Three or Four boat does well it is because they just make it through the tidal gate at Portland Bill,” said Bomby. “Normally you are upwind through there, but we’ll be straight line sailing. There appears to be more wind in the south where the transition is also shorter, but then you end up more upwind anyway. So, our route will take us quite close to the Casquets and we’ll be offshore for the transition, then tacking and getting lifted. After the transition, we’ll be fully upwind, pointing at Penzance, but then eventually getting lifted. That will be quite a tricky thing– when you start getting the new breeze filling in. The more west you get, the quicker you’ll get through it, but the chance of sailing extra miles because you overlay is quite high. That will be a critical part of the race. For boats in this size range the crossing of the Celtic Sea will still be a reach but in a more moderate 12-14 knots.”

In the final analysis, the biggest issue the navigators/ strategists faced was, in fact, the transition zone. Those further south and west faired much better than those north. In fact, the further south and west you got, the greater the gain. The winners were all well south of rhumbline when the WSW’er filled in.

In the IRC 1B division, Nick Angel’s J/121 ROCK LOBSTER managed a 7th in class despite not being one of the more southwesterly boats in their division.  The J/121 excelled in the fast, hard-reaching conditions from Fastnet Rock back to the Scilly Isles, past the TSS zones, and into the finish at Plymouth.

Not surprisingly, it was the dynamic French duo of Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine on their J/133 PINTIA that pulled off a very respectable fourth place in IRC 2A division. Frenchman Yves Grosjean’s J/133 JIVARO took 7th, Englishman Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO took eighth, and the French duet of Alain & Marie Catherineau sailed their J/122 LORELEI to ninth place. Notably, the J/133s were the top production cruiser/racers in the most competitive class.

The twin “flying Dutchmen” produced excellent results in IRC 2B division. The two J/122 teams are archrivals, great friends, and are extremely experienced offshore doublehanded racing teams.  The first doublehanded IRC team around Fastnet Rock was the infamous duo of Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre on their J/122E AJETO! They battled on to take second place and add yet more silver to their Fastnet Race trophy collection (having won their class in the past with their J/111!). Finishing close behind them were their friends Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker on their J/11 JUNIQUE/ RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM, taking fourth place!  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/109 Crushes RORC Morgan Cup

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's 110.0nm race to Dieppe for the Morgan Cup started in the Solent on a midsummer's day in superb conditions. The RORC fleet enjoyed a spectacular downwind start off the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, heading east for the English Channel. During the night, the wind evaporated and as high pressure enveloped the race course, competitors were searching for the best of the breeze and tidal conditions. By morning, clear skies and an early sunrise conspired to enhance sea breeze conditions, giving a fantastic downwind finish for the fleet into Dieppe. The slow-down during the night meant that the race to the finish was a close one, with many classes being decided by minutes, even seconds. The 2019 Morgan Cup Race was notable for British yachts which won all seven classes.

William McGough and Christian Jeffrey, racing their J/109 JUST SO in IRC Two Handed, won the 2019 Morgan Cup Race, winning overall in a fleet of 86 yachts racing under the IRC Rating System. McGough and Jeffrey are both corinthian sailors in their 30s, and this is their first season racing Two-Handed.

“We have been sailing together for 11 years with fully crewed teams in RORC races but this is the first time we have won a RORC trophy so we are absolutely delighted,” agreed McGough and Jeffrey, the Two-Handed team racing on JUST SO. “We got one of the best starts along with Bellino and we were going well out of the Solent. Probably the biggest tactical decision that paid off was to go east. If you look at the results of the pack of boats that went that way, they have all done well. When we finished the race, we looked at the boats around us and knew we had done well, but to win overall is amazing! JUST SO will be competing in the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race fully crewed, but this was the last race before we take on the Rolex Fastnet Race Two-Handed.”

In IRC One Class, Sam & Andrew Hall’s J/121 JACKHAMMER missed the podium by a mere 50 seconds, settling for fourth place.

In IRC Two, the 2017 IRC Two Overall Series Champion, Gilles Fournier's J/133 PINTIA took the bronze. Meanwhile, Chris Daniels’ J/122E JUNO placed fifth and Clive Miles J/122 JANGLE was seventh.

The podium for IRC Three was all British yachts, the Royal Navy Association's J/109 JOLLY JACK TAR, skippered by Tom Thicknesse, was third in class for the Morgan Cup.

In IRC Four, the J/109 JUST SO also won against all fully-crewed teams! For more RORC Morgan Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

RORC Morgan Cup Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship continues this weekend with the Morgan Cup. The seventh offshore race of the series will start on Friday 21 June at 7pm from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line. Bound for Dieppe across the English Channel, ninety-five teams have entered the race to the fishing port on the Normandy Coast.

Sailing in the IRC 1 Class of fifteen boats are two J/121s- Samuel Hall’s JACKHAMMER and Nick Angel’s ROCK LOBSTER.

In the huge twenty-seven boat IRC 2 Class are Simon Grier-Jones J/111 SNOW LEOPARD, the famous duo of Gilles Fournier/ Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA, Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO, and Clive Miles’ J/122 JANGLE.

The large twenty-one boat IRC 3 Class features five J/109s (the Royal Air Force’s RED ARROW, Greg Nasmyth’s JARHEAD, the Royal Navy’s JOLLY JACK TAR, Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN, and William Stock/ Andy Oliver’s JENGU) and the doublehanded duo of Tom Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling’s J/105 MOSTLY HARMLESS.

In the twenty-three boat IRC 4 Class is David McGough’s J/109 JUST SO and Paul Lewis’ J/105 RUM N CORK II.  For more RORC Morgan Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Dutch J/22 Winter Series I Report

(Brassermermeer, The Netherlands)- The J/22 class in Europe has exhibited an extraordinary perseverance to hang tough and enjoy the camaraderie that comes with sailing a fun boat that is easy to trailer around the continent.

By far, the most popular J/22 series is hosted by the Dutch J/22 class on the famous Brassermermeer Lake.  Ten boats from France, Germany, and the Netherlands are participating in the 2018/ 2019 Winter Series.

In the first regatta, it was FRA 1444 (Brockerhoof, Michaux, Declercq) that are leading the series on a tie-breaker over the Dutch team of NED 1295 (Liselotte Verdoorn, Jan Dirk, Anneloes Rosemarijn).  Remarkably, these two teams are dominating the top of the leaderboard with a combined six 1sts, six 2nds, and four 3rds.

Third is another Dutch crew on NED 1223, led by woman helm Suzanne van Iterson, with crew of Frans, Suzanne, and Anne. They won the first race, but followed it with a 4-3-2-2-3-5-4 in eight races scored so far.    For more Dutch J/22 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

WV Uitdam Tops Dutch J/70 Sailing League- Act II

(Roermond, The Netherlands)- The first match of the Dutch J/70 Sailing League sailed in Roermond resulted in a number of surprising teams in the top of the ranking. Under difficult conditions with little wind, Watersportvereniging Uitdam performed the most consistently to win the weekend event after sailing just six races for each of the fifteens sailing club teams on Saturday.

Day One
The sailors from WV Uitdam showed their class and immediately took the lead in the rankings on the first day.  Under the guidance of their new and talented skipper, Guido Buwalda, they reached a point total of only 8 points after five flights. Remarkable, because it is only his third time sailing the J/70 and the first time as skipper during an event. Said Buwalda at the end of racing, “this is fun, it is really good racing".

Wietze Zetzema, one of the founders of Team WV Uitdam, adds, ”this is exactly what we stand for as Uitdam, giving a mix of experience and young talent the chance and opportunity to sail in such high level competition. That it works out so well, is only beautiful."

The hosts of the regatta, RR&ZV Maas and Roer were certainly hoping to be in contention for the lead after a strong day of sailing. A penalty in race four meant they did not take the lead after day one. Max Visser, skipper of Maas and Roer, does not hide his enthusiasm for the racing in Roermond, “it is really nice to sail here. The atmosphere is good and it is well organized. It is also nice to put Limburg on the map as a water sport province. There is a lot of nice water in Limburg, but not many people know that. Winning this stage is our goal. We sailed well in Almere, so we be near the top of the league."

WV Almere Centraal, two-time National Champion and winner of the first round at Almere Centraal, had a slightly harder time. After a day of racing they were in fifth place.

Day Two
On Saturday, WV Uitdam took the only victory in the only race they sailed. A 1st place in the 6th flight turned out to be the key to win the regatta; little did anyone anticipate that would be the case. After that flight of races, the wind died completely for the rest of the day.

Day Three
An attempt was made to run two races in the early morning breeze of up to 7 kts.  However, it was impossible to complete the full flight before the wind died off completely.  As a result, WV Uitdam was declared victor of Act II.  Second was the RR&ZV Maas & Roer team, followed by the VW De Twee Provincien club in third.

Team WV Uitdam had a completely new team optimized for the light wind conditions.

"On Friday, we chose to attack with our flyweight crew and immediately took the lead. On Saturday, we had to sail against a number of our direct competitors in the first race and therefore opted for more conservative tactics,” said an elated skipper Jan van Wengerden. A tactic that obviously worked out well for Uitdam.

"It's nice to surprise everyone again. Sometimes, we are not so good at an event and we do not perform well. But, if we do, we are really good enough to compete for victory. We think we had one of the lightest crews this weekend, every downwind run we would gain a few critical meters for tactical advantage at mark roundings. Honestly, if there were over 15 knots of wind we probably would not have won here."

RR&ZV Maas & Roer New Series Leader
As they had in Almere Centraal, the Maas & Roer team again took second place. Thanks to their consistent results, they now took over the overall series lead with a 2-2 tally. They now lead the reigning national champion WV Almere Centraal that has posted a 1-8. Third overall are Jachtclub Scheveningen with a 3-5.
  Follow the Dutch J/70 Sailing League here on Facebook  For more Dutch J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Frostbite Cup Ends On Calm Note

(Naarden, The Netherlands)- With only 4 to 7 kts registering on the anemometer, the Frostbite Cup closed with a calm, quiet partly sunny day of sailing. The light weather last Sunday ensured the field of twenty-four J/80s never got too far apart on the race track. For many, it was a welcome reprieve from the rather cold and blustery winter of sailing.

J'ZUSTER closed in style and took a huge lead in the second race of the day and rounded the top buoy far ahead of the rest.  However, despite their enormous lead, the winner of the weekend was LED2LEASE.

As a result of the movement up and down the standings on the final stage of the series, it was J’ZUSTER that maintained their firm grip on the overall series lead to take home the Frostbite Cup.  Behind them, things changed a bit overall.  Taking second place was OANT SIEN and, as a result of winning the last event, LED2LEASE secured the bronze on the podium.

Sailing on the “Gooimeer” was quite a challenge for all the crews.  The wind can shift dramatically in various places on the water. Tactics are important, but in any case, the field was closely matched and any mistake was immediately punished, and often, very costly.

According to race leader Jørgen Schrier, “You are often forced to blow your start and have to catch up to the fleet.  But then, rounding the top and bottom buoys also produced logjams of boats to gain or lose! The field was very competitive, but fortunately, despite the very tight racing, little or no damage was involved- just bruised egos!”

Of the seven scheduled competition days, only one day could not take place because of ice floes! With six cold, often turbulent days on which to sail, the event organizers can look back with satisfaction at the Frostbite Cup 2017-2018.

"No less than 24 boats appeared at the start. That is unique for the J/80 class in the Netherlands,” said organizer Frans Driessen.  “All active boats have gathered in Naarden. The past few weeks, J/80s have also been brought from abroad and we welcome them in the upcoming matches, such as at the Dutch Championships that we will be sailing in May during the North Sea Regatta. With a big field J/80's on the North Sea ... that will be spectacular!”  Follow the Dutch J/80 class on Facebook here  For more Frostbite Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.