J/133 Patriot Rolex Sydney Hobart Highlights Video

* Australian Jason Close, owner of the J/133 PATRIOT, won his division in the Rolex Sydney Hobart last year- starting on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2019.

Jason's first attempt didn't go so well. However, he saw no alternative but to come back for the 75th race after PATRIOT broke her rudder (a submerged object broke it clean off) and retired from last year’s race.

Originally owned and raced in the USA, this J/133 was the second USA-built boat to be imported into Australia. Her only other Rolex Sydney Hobart was 2010, when owned by Queenslander Tony Love. Their successful outing enabled them to finish 25th overall for second in Division 3. Otherwise, PATRIOT has been lightly raced, used more for cruising.

For our 2019 race, the crew consisted mainly of members of Sandringham Yacht Club members, with four of the sailors either current or ex-international 14-foot skiff sailors.

"We were all very disappointed after striking an object and breaking our rudder last year and we are all keen to see the finish line at Hobart this year," said Close.

Here is a well-done sailing video documentary of that Rolex Sydney Hobart Race victory, giving insights into the race preparation, the importance of crew management, and the crucial process of on-going race navigation and strategies.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/133 Dominates Sydney-Hobart Race Class!

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- Congratulations to Jason Close's Sandringham YC team on the J/133 PATRIOT! They had a remarkable performance in the 2019 ROLEX Sydney-Hobart Race.. winning IRC 5 Class (IRC Overall 9th) and winning ORC 4 Class (ORC Overall 10th).

Jason's team included Lex O'Connor (navigator), Greg Coutts, Jordan Sunkel-Lozel, Stu Shafer, Cathy Furey, Graeme Smith, Pete Chalkley, Brett Averey, Stu Moseley, Andy Mcgrath, and Marissa Chalkley. The crew are members of Sandringham Yacht Club, with four of them having lots of International 14-foot skiff experience.

Clearly, their skiff experiences helped on this fast-reaching race... the J/133 PATRIOT was the only production boat in the top 14 overall; all the rest were flat-out, carbon-fiber racers that were professionally-sailed; TP52s went 1-2-3 (8 total in top 14), and the others were all 62 to 69 feet extreme carbon machines. Not bad company for a 15-year-old boat!


Here is the commentary from owner Jason Close on their race-winning performance:

"Our Rolex Sydney-Hobart campaign started with the Sydney-Gold Coast race in July. We had a good result, placing in both our divisions and we had a good look at our opposition.

Our race plan was to sail at, or as close to, 100% polars for the entire race and leave nothing in the tank.

With our fantastic pre-race routing and forecasting prepared by weather and climate expert Jess Sweeney, we set off confident of a good result.   

After a great start, we exited Sydney Heads with two Farr 40s and were at the front of our division.

The first night consisted of some solid downwind sailing, which the J/133 really excelled in, and it enabled us to put a big break on our division and work through boats 2 or 3 divisions higher!

We found ourselves pretty well match-racing with an extremely well-campaigned Cookson 12 named Sail Exchange. We both pushed each other up the fleet and well into the overall IRC contention.

We had a number of challenging navigational decisions around Gabo Heads, with the strong current, in particular. But, we stuck with our pre-race strategy and made some significant inroads on the fleet.

The next night, we saw 20-25 knots of breeze downwind, with a very confused sea state, but the boat cut through it like butter with the assistance of some high-quality helming by the team... the skiff sailors loved it, diving from trough to trough as long as they could!


The next phase of the race was challenging, with many wind transitions to deal with. We managed to keep the boat moving and got through the wind transitions well. Unfortunately, from our perspective, the TP52 carbon racers at the front of the fleet (all the guys that won their class and overall) did not encounter the light weather that we did, so they all put a fair amount of time on us.

Coming into Storm Bay with the Cookson still hot on our tail, we had another light period before catching a decent sea breeze. Thankfully, the moderate sea breeze carried us through to the finish and allowed us to keep our nose in front of our opposition, at least in our class.  However, that sequence of light patches, getting becalmed, and waiting for the seabreeze to build cost us a shot at the overall title.

To win both ORCI and IRC in our divisions was what we set out to do, and we were extremely happy we achieved this. Nevertheless, to finish 9th IRC Overall and 10th overall in ORCI in a big boat race against fully professional outfits in our production J/133 was nothing short of remarkable. It was a credit to our great team and our awesome boat! This was one for the little guys!!"   Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo  For more Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Reflections on the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- John Murkowski and friends on the J/122E JOYRIDE share their perspective sailing the famous Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race.

JOY RIDE team: John Murkowski, Quill Goldman, Maaike Pen, Bron Miller, Alex Fox, Erik Sjogren, Byron Meseroll, and Robin Slieker

“3 Days, 16 hours and 49 minutes. Sydney Hobart 2018 is in the bag!! Sitting here on a New Years day, finally rested post race, reflecting on this unique experience, there are a few things that stand out for me.

Sydney:
The first time you walk the dock in Sydney the amount of race boats is overwhelming. Joy Ride isn’t a slow boat, but on the dock of Sydney Hobart there are only a dozen boats slower than us and it is clearly apparent when you walk the docks, look at the crazy race boats and talk to their crews. The first time you sail out into Sydney’s harbor, there are boats everywhere with sail races going on up and down the harbor. Coach boats chasing, high speed ferries going everywhere and race crews preparing for the race. The actual start is crazy with three different start lines and 40+ boats in our start, a very favored committee end of the line, 6 helicopters flying overhead, and hundreds of spectator and chase boats surrounding the course.

The race to the Heads goes much faster than you might think. The harbor looks much bigger on TV than it is, despite several areas of dirty air, we won our start, and put a lot of faster boats behind us by the time we passed the South Head.

The Race:
Great first 24 hours of downwind running with the big A3 in 20-25 knots of wind. We lost the tack eye off the sprit during the night and we’re knocked down for a few minutes until the crew got the kite back in and we could repack and launch again off the other tack. By the midnight check in, four boats had retired due to damage. One demasting, one lost rudder, one broken sprit and one ripped out sheave box. The race down the coast was great and we made our safety call upon entering the Bass Straits. If you had told me that we would be becalmed in Bass Straits for 8 hours, I would have never believed you. During the second night, we put 25 boats behind us and felt really good about how we were sailing. Then we sailed into a huge hole and with the advantage of AIS, most of our fleet escaped to the east and we quickly found ourselves back behind. With two high pressure systems separated by a low pressure trough, there was significant instability as we moved from a big Northerly to an even bigger Southerly. We did more sail changes than I can remember trying to get the boat moving and find the new southerly wind. The southerly came in strong with 30-40 knots of wind and with the huge fetch from Antarctica, some significant sea states. The temperature dropped and we all put on our foulies for the first time as waves started breaking over the boat. The third night came and we sailed past the pipes and started to try to find our way into Storm Bay. Turning further right at the famed “Organ Pipes” allowed us to start quartering the sea state and helped empty the cockpit of the cold Antarctica water. We entered Storm Bay before sunrise and passed three more boats. As the sun rose and we entered the river, we were fortunate to find pressure after another 20+ sail changes. We crossed the line early in the morning with the J1 doing 7+ knots.

Hobart:
We crossed the line, got our horn and waited for the escort boat to come out to meet us. We docked and were immediately met with a case of beer from the race committee. As we drank our 6 am beers and walked the dock, it was clear that a lot of sailors had been there for a while and had also enjoyed their beers. In Sydney, the big boats weren’t in the marina, but in Hobart the whole fleet is together and as you walk the dock, Joy Ride looks like a tender for one of the big boats. Hobart’s welcome was overwhelming and with two races finishing together (Sydney Hobart and the Melbourne Hobart), the taste of Tasmania and the race village; there was a great energy at the docks. We cleaned the boat and waited for our hotel rooms to become available. Breakfast and more cleaning and then the rooms were available and we could go rest and get clean. At three and a half days, the race is much more of a sprint than Vic Maui. More like an extra-long Southern Straits race. Definitely a boat of exhausted sailors when we finally tied up.

As I sit in Sydney waiting to fly home, I’m immensely proud of our crew. They put so much effort into preparing the boat and worked so hard during the race. While we always want to win, I don’t have any regrets about our effort and how we did in the race. We sailed our boat 7000 miles from Seattle to do the famous Sydney Hobart. From leaving Elliot Bay to arriving in Hobart, it has been an epic adventure that will be with all of us for the rest of our lives! Four of the crew will be returning the boat on January 6th back to Sydney where she will live until we figure out what the next great adventure will be.

Finally a huge "Thank you" to one and all for the wonderful words of encouragement over the last few weeks. We are overwhelmed by all of your support.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2019 from all onboard Team Joy Ride! Sail safe, go fast and have fun!"

Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Carlo Borlenghi.  Follow the J/122E JOYRIDE Team here on Facebook  Follow Rolex Sydney Hobart Race on Facebook here Add to Flipboard Magazine.

The J/122E JOYRIDE Goes for the ride of a lifetime!

(Sydney, Australia)- Considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world, the 628.0nm Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. A total of eighty-nine yachts participated in the 74th edition of the race.

A trio of J/crews sailed in this year’s event, including the J/133 PATRIOT (Jason Close from Sandringham YC with crew of Lex O’Connor, Jack Fullerton, Jordan Sunkel-Lozell, Marissa Chalkley, Pete Chalkley, Stuart Moseley, Graeme Smith, Alister Greenwood, Cath Furey, & Greg Coutts.  In addition, the J/122 JACKPOT from Sydney was also sailing with crew of Robert Hale, Matt Gooden, Antoine Martin, Michael Westaway, Piergiorgio Merli, Robert Watson, Harry Atkinson, Antonio Zanin, and Mark Goode.

And, then there were the Americans(!).  Sailing in a “bucket list” event for the entire crew, the J/122E JOYRIDE from Seattle, WA was sailed by her owner John Murkowski from Seattle YC, with navigator Bron Miller, and crew of Quill Goldman, Alexander Fox, Maaike Pen, Robin Slieker, Byron Meseroll, Erik Sjogren.

JOY RIDE has been sailing the Pacific Northwest for the past three seasons in both buoy and long distance races. The team consists of US and Canadian sailors. The crew is dedicated to the adventure of sailing, sharing the same passions and race by the catch phrase: “be safe, have fun and go fast!”

When one thinks of serious Corinthian-level offshore ocean racing, four signature events come to mind, namely the Newport Bermuda Race, the Fastnet Race, the Transpac Race and the Sydney Hobart. While these races vary in length from roughly 600 to 2,000-plus nautical miles, they are all time-honored contests that test skippers’ and crews’ abilities to prepare, train and execute as a team, usually in the face of challenging offshore conditions. And, while all four of these races have delivered their share of nasty weather over the years, the Sydney Hobart Race unfurls on the historically roughest patch of water and, as a result, has developed a bit of a matching reputation for nastiness.

That said, it’s tough to beat “The Hobart” when it comes to dramatic race courses, beginning with the race’s iconic Boxing Day start (December 26th) in Sydney Harbor, followed by the long run south along the coast and the crossing of Bass Straight, a place where the seafloor rises much closer to ocean surface, often creating big waves.

Once across Bass Straight, racers pass the iconic “Organ Pipes” at Tasmania’s Cape Raoul, and then make a final push up the Derwent River to the finish line and, depending on when one finishes racing, the start of some well-deserved New Year’s celebrations.

While all participating sailors must negotiate these same conditions and race course challenges, North American sailors have a significantly higher hill to climb, given their antipodean position relative to the starting line. This, in turn, requires a significantly higher level of planning, boat preparation and crew commitment, as well as the confidence to take on an entirely new course and challenge the Aussies at a game that they invented, and which they play at an incredibly high level.

Enter John Murkowski, the owner and skipper of the well-sailed, Seattle-based J/122E JOY RIDE, and the lone American-flagged entry in the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. While Murkowski and JOY RIDE are no strangers on Puget Sound’s sailing scene, they first made international news by winning the Vic-Maui 2018 race on corrected time. Impressive, yes, but even more so given this was Murkowski’s and JOY RIDE’s first Vic-Maui race.

Sound like a familiar challenge?  SAIL-WORLD.com caught up with John prior to the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race.

Joy Ride on her home waters of Puget Sound - photo © Nick Callanan

What was your impetus to travel Down Under and compete in the Sydney-Hobart?

Three years ago, we sat down and outlined a race plan for the program. In addition to our normal local races, we wanted to add a significant challenge event to each year.

Two years ago, that event was the Van Isle 360. The Van Isle is a two-week stage race with a mix of one-day races and multi-day races around Vancouver Island. It has every challenge you would want from racing, with inland island-driven wind, huge currents associated with the meeting of flows around the island and a huge offshore component with three multi-day races on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

After winning the Van Isle, we set our sights on the Vic Maui race from Victoria Canada, to Maui, Hawaii this last July. The spacing of the races allowed us to upgrade the boat to new safety requirements, train the crew and optimize our sailing plan.

The Vic Maui was a 13+ day race for us with unique conditions comprising 10 days of upwind beating (highly unusual wind conditions), large winds and sea states as a tropical storm collided with the normal Pacific high, days of light-wind frustration and a final three days of riding the trade-wind craziness.

We corrected over our competition and became the first boat to ever win both the Van Isle 360 and the Vic Maui races (and hold both titles at the same time as they run in off years). With the boat in Hawaii already it seemed like the best opportunity we would ever have to enter the Sydney Hobart.

Sailing is a big part of the Pacific Northwest [experience] and it feels great to be only the fourth boat from [Seattle] to ever make the effort to get to the Sydney Hobart. It felt like a shame to just sail her back home [from Maui] when there was new water and new adventures waiting farther ahead.

There are other great races to do and we are already to start planning for what will happen after Sydney. We’re beginning to like the idea of shipping the boat to the Atlantic and competing in some of the iconic races available there.

My end goal is to race across the oceans against the best competition available, and to never have to sail the boat back home.

How long have you had the boat, and what other big events have you done with it?

I ordered the boat new four years ago and had it built to my specifications by J/Composites in France. My father and I did the final inspection in their yard and then we had it shipped here to Seattle.

Since then, we have done hundreds of local races with her including the Vic Maui, Van Isle 360, multiple Swiftsures, Southern Straits, Center Sound Series, Winter Sound Series, Around the County etc. We have steadily been able to improve as we have learned the boat, replaced all of the systems with our own and I’m excited to see what this crew can do with her.

Joy Ride on her home waters of Puget Sound - photo © Jan's Marine Photography

Can you tell us about your Sydney Hobart preparations? What, if any modifications did you have to do to the boat to get ready? Any new sails? Also, had you already accomplished a lot of this work before the 2018 Vic-Maui, or has the Sydney Hobart race been an entirely new chapter for the boat?

We rode the boat hard in the Vic Maui and had to spend a month in a yard in Hawaii getting her back to pre-start form. The Vic-Maui is a Cat 0 race and, as such, has additional safety requirements than Sydney Hobart, so the boat is very well-prepared for the race.

There are some different versions of requirements than what we have already met, so we are currently getting her back to race form after the sail from Hawaii to Sydney (more damage). Our sail [inventory] has been very extensive from the start. We did add a new main sail for the Vic-Maui and a new A5 but, otherwise, she has been built to race for several years.

Are you sailing with the same crew that you raced to Hawaii with? Also, what kind of training and crew preparations/safety courses have you guys been doing to get ready for the Boxing Day bash?

We have had the same crew for several years, with dozens and dozens of races together. Half the crew did the sail from Hawaii to Sydney and is there now working on the boat. We have all had our safety-at-sea course, multiple first aid certificates etc. We believe we are well prepared for what is coming; but we’ll see.

Has anyone onboard ever done the race before, or will this be a first-time experience for all involved?

Just like Vic-Maui, we do not have any [crewmembers who] have done the race before. We discussed this at length prior to the Vic-Maui as some of competing boats had 30-40 races under their belts when you combined their crew experience. In the end, we decided that the continuity of the crew trumped the addition of a new crew member with prior race experience.

Joy Ride on the starting line of the 2018 Swiftsure Race - photo © Image courtesy of John Murkowski/Joy Ride Collection

What aspects of the race are you most looking forward to? The start? Bass Strait? The Organ Pipes?

I love the starts of big races. For us around here, the start of Swiftsure every year is the highlight with over a hundred boats, the Canadian Navy (committee boat), bands and crowds on shore etc. I’ve watched every Sydney Hobart race I can, and I’m most looking forward to the entirety of the start and the excitement that comes with that many people, preparation and energy coming together.

What are your personal and team goals for this race?

Joy Ride has always operated on three goals that I learned long ago as a mountain guide: Be Safe, Go Fast, Have Fun.

As long as we stick to those goals in that order, our individual and collective goals will be accomplished. The results will be what they are.

In the mountains it could never be just about the summit as the mountain didn’t always allow you to get there. It was always about the journey and the people you choose to share it with. I think this race like all of our recent races will also be about the journey and the people we get to share it with.

Joy Ride and her bigger J/Boat sister JAM, a J/160, battle for position - photo © Jan's Marine Photography

What are your post-Hobart plans? Will you stick around Oz and do some cruising, or will you and the boat be headed back to Puget Sound?

I have twins due a few weeks after the race and will be flying home ASAP to make sure I’m around for their births. The boat will stay in Sydney until our next race plans are determined. The current plan, assuming the twins are settled down, is to ship the boat [to the UK] in time to compete in the 2019 Fastnet.

Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?

It has been a great experience already with the local race organization being incredibly helpful and accommodating of our transit from Seattle and welcoming us into Sydney. I wasn’t able to participate with my crew in the delivery to Sydney and, as such, haven’t been on my own boat since finishing the Vic-Maui. I’m very much looking forward to being back on the helm with the crew of Joy Ride.
Thanks for the contribution from SAIL-WORLD News.   A few comments from the owner of J/122 "Joyride" prior to the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race   For more Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/88 JIYUU Winning Hobart Offshore Double Series

(Hobart, Tasmania)- The J/88 JIYUU, owned by Peter & Karen Davis, have been sailing their boat in the Hobart Doublehanded series on the Derwent River.  This past weekend, they had an opportunity to sail a 12.0nm race up and down the river in the always tactically demanding conditions on the river- there are some big hills (mountains & cliffs!) that cause amazing cat’s-paws and tornado-like puffs to whirl down the river!  Here is Peter’s report on their most recent adventures:

“We had a great day on the river today. Karen and I have entered JIYUU in the Doublehanded Long Race Series and today was the first race.

Finally, we had a lovely sunny day with a light sea breeze that started at 5 knots and gradually built to about 12 knots- perfect for a short-handed J/88!

The race was a windward and return down the Derwent, finishing through the famous Sydney-Hobart finish line with our new A2 spinnaker on display.

We ended up 2nd across the line boat-for-boat!  In fact, we were only 11 seconds behind the Marten 49 "Tilt" after 3 hours of racing!  Incredible!  As a result, we finished 1st on AMS, and 5th on PHS (the smaller boats ran up behind us with the freshening sea breeze).

This picture was taken by one of Matthew's friends who was the crew on Tilt as we crossed gybes just before the finish line!  Needless to say, they were amazed at our overall performance! Cheers, Peter”  For more J/88 family speedster sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/88 Razzes Offshore Fleet In Taz!

(Hobart, Tasmania)- Australia’s southern-most J/88 has been competing in the Combined Clubs Long Race series out of Hobart, Tasmania, and has recently claimed its first corrected time victory against much larger boats. The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, the Derwent Sailing Squadron and the Bellerive Yacht Club conduct the long race series jointly, with races typically being 30-50 nautical miles in length. There are 28 yachts competing in the mixed fleet, including a Reichel Pugh 66, Marten 49 and Sydney 47.

New J/88 owners Peter and Karen Davis have raced JIYUU in the first 3 races of the season, and have scored results of 9, 3 and 1 on AMS corrected time. The first race down the Dentrecasteaux Channel was a real test for their first outing, with winds reaching 50 knots on the beat back up the river.

“We saw 18 knots on the speedo whilst running down the river under A2,” said Peter, “but unfortunately broached just before the leeward mark which took the edge off the day”.

The second race was a more manageable affair, and a building sea breeze saw the J/88 run up the river under (new) A2 to catch a number of larger boats.

The third race was the highlight, with a lot of spinnaker work, and a delightful sunny day with light winds.

“We found the J/88 kept moving in the lighter breezes, and accelerated rapidly under kite when the breeze came in,” said Peter.  The J/88 finished 12th on line honours, and first overall on corrected time.  For more J/88 sailboat information

J/122 Sailing Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race

(Sydney, Australia)- In less than 39 days, ninety-seven boats from Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Sweden, Germany, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea will be lining up in Sydney Harbour for the 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.  The YouTube video sailing preview can be found here.

One of the competing yachts is the J/122 JACKPOT, skippered by Adrian van Bellen. Their team has been practicing a lot as a work-up to what is famous for being one of the world’s toughest yacht races anywhere. For the past 71 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Australian Open tennis and the cricket tests between Australia and England. No regular annual yachting event in the world attracts such huge media coverage than does the start on Sydney Harbour.

The weather can be benign or treacherous.  In most cases, it is the later.  Like the two current round-the-world record attempts with 130 ft trimarans (one a singlehander, one a fully-crewed team) and the leading boats in the Vendee Globe Race, experienced sailors are well-aware of how quickly forecasts can change in the southern latitudes, particularly in the infamous Bass Straits, the relatively shallow body of water between the southeastern tip of Australia and the northernmost point of Tasmania.  It’s where the southerly flowing Australian current rolling at 2 to 4 kts often meets strong west to southwest winds in the 15-25 kts range, sometimes in the 40-60 kts range!  To say the least, seas can be steep and nasty with the wind on the nose!  A winning combination for a fast, well-sailed J/122, like van Bellen’s experienced crew on JACKPOT.  More news around Christmas-time!  For more Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race sailing information

Ken Read & Jim Clark- Launch 100 Footer Project

(Newport, RI)- Ken Read & Jim Clark- Never heard of them?  Well, one has won SIX J/24 World Championships underneath his belt, amongst a few other notable accomplishments.  The other guy was one of the co-founding partners of SILICON GRAPHICS (super-cool Unix machines) and NETSCAPE (the stuff that helped build the Internet as you know it today, e.g. web browsers & web servers).  Check out this great SAILING WORLD interview with Ken Read, President of North Sails about Jim’s and Kenny’s “most excellent new project for sailing super fast somewhat comfortably without going mad”:

WHAT’S LENGTH GOT TO DO WITH IT?
In the case of Jim Clark’s new ocean racer under construction at Hodgdon Yachts in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, quite a lot, or so says skipper Ken Read. Ken Read’s eyes light up when talking about Jim Clark’s newest ocean-racer project like a child at Christmastime who’s just unwrapped a Red Rider BB gun. The guilty pleasure lies in the fact that this is no ordinary 100-footer (if one can be ordinary). This yacht is designed to be a full-on record-breaker. You name the race or passage—Transat, Transpac, Bermuda, Fastnet, Hobart, to name but five—and it’s likely a target on their project whiteboard.

“This boat is going to be so cool,” says Read, Clark’s skipper and the President of North Sails who has experienced all types of campaigns—from J/24 World championships, to the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race—in his decades-long experience in the sport. “This type of project isn’t for everyone, but it has a cool presence that will hopefully do the sport good, whether you’re a cruiser or a racer.”

Building a 21st century record-breaker is no small feat. It requires a plethora of designers to tank test scale models and run computer simulations, and there’s the “swat team” of boatbuilders to cook the pre-preg carbon-fiber hull and deck structures. All told, upwards of 32 people have contributed some input to the design and build through active participation or consultation. What will set this boat apart, says Read, is power, and lots of it.

The boat will be 100 feet long with a displacement near 30 tons, beam in the mid-20s, and a canting keel that will draw also in the mid-20s.  Read on here, thanks for contribution from Sean McNeill- SAILING WORLD.com

Sydney-Hobart Winner Had J/24 Secret Weapon!

(Hobart, Tasmania)- Congratulations to Rolex Sydney-Hobart Winner VICTOIRE and her skipper/owner Darryl Hodgkinson.  Darryl had a “secret weapon” on-board-- tactician and strategist Sean Kirkjian from the local Sydney Harbour J/24 fleet.  Sean has been known in J/24 World sailing circles for decades; he’s a long-time winner at a National level sailing J/24s in Australia.  Sean recently placed 2nd in the J/24 Australian NSW State Championships (see http://www.j24.com.au/).  Next up for him is the Australian J/24 Nationals this coming weekend hosted by Royal Prince Edward YC in Sydney Harbour!

Hodgkinson, a plastic surgeon from Sydney, bought VICTOIRE as a birthday present to himself and told his wife his goal was a two-year plan to win the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race -- he fast tracked the timeline, succeeding on his first try. This was Hodgkinson’s third go at the race, having competed in 2010 and 2011.

Elated with the win, Hodgkinson said, “This is the culmination of a great campaign, it’s a personal victory and one I share with all sailors who did the race. I feel somewhat humbled to have won.”

The exuberant skipper was quick to praise his mostly amateur crew and put the win down to meticulous planning and preparation. He praised tactician and strategist Sean Kirkjian – a 17-time race veteran – and said, “He’s a wizard, who is just playing ‘ocean chess’ all the time”.  As well he touted Danny McConville (who prepared the boat), Patrick Eadie (the navigator) and their “weather guy” from Perth, Australia.  A great story about how they managed to pull off a surprise win against all the “big boys” which included five Maxi 100’s and two winning Volvo 70’s on the start line with all professional crews.

J/35 Smokin' Down Derwent

(Hobart, Tasmania)- A powerful, hot and smokey northerly wind, bringing heatwave conditions to Hobart, sent the fleet 'smokin' down the Derwent in today's final pre-Christmas Combined Clubs harbour racing series.

The temperature in Hobart peaked at 33 degrees, the north to north-westerly wind averaged 25 knots, gusting to more than 30 knots and more as it funnelled down the river below the Tasman Bridge.

The wooden mast of the 77 year old Derwent class yacht Gnome broke under the pressure and the gusty wind saw some spectacular broaches under spinnaker, including the Farr 40 and a large sportboat that was forced to retire after a mid-river broach as she planed downwind.  The strong breeze contributed to some last day changes in the final point scores for the Combined Clubs pre-Christmas harbour series.

Group 1 ended with three different winners of each of the three handicap categories after two final windward/leeward races today.  Nevertheless, the solid, fast J/35 MEM, skippered by Paul Boutchard, finished with a 2nd and a 4th to win the PHS category with a record of 1-8-1-1-3-3-2-2-4-2 for a net 15 points, ahead of Don Calvert's Castro 40, Intrigue, on 22 points and Darren Clark's Farr 1104, Invincible, on 28 points.  The wins by Paul Bouthard’s J/35 under PHS handicaps was the stand-out performance in the handicap divisions.

The J/35 MEM will always be remembered as the yacht owned by then Sydney-based yachtsman, John Quinn, from which he was tossed overboard when huge waves engulfed the boat in the Tasman Sea during the 1993 Sydney Hobart Race.

Quinn courageously dog-paddled for just short of six hours before being unbelievably heard by a crew member aboard the tanker, Ampol Sorel, before being picked up by fellow competitor, Atara, owned by John Storey. Atara’s crew did all the right things as they headed to Eden and Quinn was able to walk off the yacht unaided.

Quinn sold MEM and she now lives a more sedate life racing on the River Derwent. Quinn returned to ocean racing and the Sydney Hobart, despite his ordeal, but has now retired from the sport and lives of Hobart.

The Combined Clubs post-Christmas harbour series will start on Saturday, 12 January 2013.  Thanks for contribution from Peter Campbell.  For more Derwent Sailing Squadron sailing information

J/Boats @ Australian Boat Shows

For those in the lands Down Under, the current boatshow calendar indicates the J/70 and the J/111 will be on display at the Pittwater Sail Expo and the J/70 will be shown at the Melbourne Show.

For you J enthusiasts hoping to catch a glimpse of the latest, fastest, most fun boats to come out of the J/Design Studio in some time, please be sure to contact Ray Entwistle at YachtSpot at info@yachtspot.com.au for more information.

• Feb 3-5- Melbourne Boat Show- Melbourne, Victoria
• Mar 16-17- Pittwater Sail Expo- Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club

ANOTHER TOY Wins J/24 Tasmanians

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- Held on Sunday 18th March and sailed in what many in the fleet refer to as “J Weather” the 2012 Tasmanian titles where hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in that wonderful city called Hobart.  Five boats contested 4 out of the 5 scheduled races held in near perfect conditions on the River Derwent featuring bright sunshine and 5-10 knot winds.

Looking to defend their 2011 title, the crew of ANOTHER TOY where early favourites and proved to be well deserving of this status winning all 4 races to retain their title.  Owner Greg Rowlings and regatta helm Peter Pangas were pleased with their victory after campaigning the boat strongly all summer which also included winning the Royal Hobart Regatta Lipton Trophy, The Showdown Regatta and finishing equal first (second on count back) for the 2012 Crown Series Regatta.

Having sailed close to ANOTHER TOY all day, Peter Bingham’s STREET CAR finished in 2nd place, having finished 2nd in 3 of out 4 races. Craig Squires' DIVINE MADNESS was a constant performer and finished a well deserved 3rd place.

The newly renamed WHISTLER J (formally DRUMBEAT) was the surprise of the day picking up a second place in race 3 after a near perfect start that saw them lead the fleet approaching the top mark. Helm Jory Linscott, whose star studded crew had never sailed the J/24 before, looked very excited when crossing the line.

Newcomer to the class Martin Pieterse, sailing STORM PETREL with James Anderson at the helm rounded out the fleet and showed moments of speed and close racing, picking up two 4th spot finishes. A pleasing result for a boat and crew that only came together a week prior to the regatta.

The Tasmanian Association would like to thank the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania for hosting the regatta and their continued support for J/24 sailing in the state.  Thanks for the contribution from Jamie Lawrence and Greg Rowlings.    For more J/24 Tasmania (Australia) sailing information

J/24 Sailors Dominate 174th Royal Hobart Regatta

(Hobart, Tasmania)- The Royal Hobart Regatta is second only to Sydney's Australia Day Regatta in longevity, celebrating its 174th anniversary on a perfect late summer's day in the capital of the island State of Tasmania.

Regatta Day has been a public holiday since 1838 when the then Governor, Sir John Franklin, declared it a day of recreation and fun afloat and ashore for the citizens of the then small Hobart Town on the banks of the River Derwent.

Sir John and Lady Franklin led a sail past to the regatta grounds, still used today, and with a benevolent gesture, turned on free beer and food for the populace.

Tasmania's current Governor Mr Peter Underwood AC arrived by water, too, on the historic launch Egeria, but his Government House budget no longer runs to providing drinks and food for the citizens of this city of now some 250,000 people.

Apart the summer of the horrific bushfire of 1967, the Royal Hobart Regatta has been held continuously since 1838, not far behind the Australia Day Regatta which on 26 January this year celebrated 176 years of unbroken continuity.

This year's epochal event saw the 23-boat fleet in perfect sailing conditions, a constant 14-16 knot south-easterly sea-breeze, gusting to 19 knots.  The winner of the historic Lipton Trophy, decided on PHS handicaps, was the smallest boat in the fleet, Greg Rowling's J/24 ANOTHER TOY!  Congratulations to Greg and crew, yet another "David & Goliath" story to add to the J/24's long list of extraordinary achievements.  Thanks for the contribution of Peter Campbell.