Ten Socio-Emotional Benefits of Sailing

By Samantha Yom, Singapore Sailing

There’s something about sailing that makes it quite unlike other sports. More than just skill and strategy, it teaches certain values that shape sailors into the unique athletes that they are.

Yet, we’re often so focused on the physical aspects of sailing that we forget how much we stand to gain from the sport – both socially and emotionally. So here’s a list of the top 10 socio-emotional benefits of sailing.

1. Grit & Determination
You could say that just about any sport offers a lesson on resilience, but sailing is a sport that demands an inner strength far greater than most.

In this sport, it’s sailor versus the elements. Whether you’re a novice experiencing strong winds for the first time or a national sailor met with three-meter high waves in foreign waters, you learn to keep fighting – no matter how uncomfortable it is. Capsize? Just upright your boat and keep sailing.

2. Confidence
Most sailors’ foray into the sport begins with the Optimist. It’s a single-handed boat, which means it’s controlled by a sole sailor. Alone on the boat, sailors – as young as six or seven – are constantly required to make their own decisions. They don’t always make the right ones, but the opportunity to think for themselves helps them grow in self-confidence.  Once you’ve conquered three-meter high waves, you can do almost anything.

3. Teamwork
Though they sail individually, sailors are forced to work together from day one. After all, no one sailor can lift his or her Optimist boat alone. Over time, sailors gradually realize that working together not only helps speed things up, but also allows them to learn more from one another.

4. Friendship
Perhaps one of the most valuable takeaways from sailing is the friendships forged. It’s inevitable that sailors bond with one another during windless days and scary storms. You also get to make new friends with international sailors as well, especially during those international regattas.

5. Sportsmanship
Touched a mark without anyone catching you in the act? Complete your penalty anyway. Sailing is a self-governing sport, which means it’s completely up to sailors to abide by the rules and uphold the fairness of racing. It’s a matter of integrity and sailors learn the importance of playing fair and respecting the rules of the game.
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6. Learning to Lose
In sailing, the conditions are ever-changing. Regattas are held over a few days and every day presents a different sailing condition. As a result, positions are always changing during a regatta – and even during a race itself. Unpredictable conditions also mean that you could go from leading a race to coming in dead last.

You can’t win every single race in sailing, so sailors learn to accept defeat and move on – a particularly important skill since races are held back-to-back.

7. Patience
Whether it’s mastering a sailing maneuver or waiting for the next wind shift, sailing is a test of patience. Sailing maneuvers are so complex that it could take weeks of practice to execute them well, consistently.

8. Responsibility
Sailing is a sport that requires a fair bit of equipment. From bringing your sunglasses, gloves and wind indicator to cleaning your boat before a regatta – sailors learn to take ownership of their equipment from the very start of their sailing journey. They learn to be responsible for their decisions as well – be it a bad tactical decision or a sail setting.

9. Managing Emotions
As we’ve mentioned previously, sailing conditions can be quite unpredictable. It is through experiences of winning and losing that sailors gradually learn to control their emotions. They find ways to deal with their feelings when they’re alone on the boat – the joy, frustration, et cetera. At the end of the day, the best sailors are the ones who are able to best manage their emotions and prevent them from affecting their performance.

10. Discipline
Due to its nature, sailing can be quite a time-consuming sport. It takes up a significant amount of time on the weekends too – precious time that could be spent on school work or with friends. That being said, it builds a sense of discipline in sailors, as they learn to prioritize the little time they have and stay focused.

Summary
And with that, we realize how sailing is not just a sport that keeps you fit, but also one that develops you into a well-rounded individual – something far more important than winning medals. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Sailors Ruling J/Class!

(Newport, RI)- The first ever J/Class World Championship took place this past week in Newport, RI and was hosted by the New York YC Harbour Court. Six of the 140 foot (~ 43 meter) sailing yachts participated in the five day event that saw racing take place on Tuesday in a “Navigators Race” inside Narragansett Bay and the next four days offshore in Rhode Island Sound about 4nm southwest of Castle Hill point.

Not surprisingly, literally every single boat had local talent and local knowledge on board as strategists/ tacticians- virtually all of them were top J/Boats sailors.

Foremost in everyone’s minds were the two brothers aboard Jim Clark’s HANUMAN- Ken Read (steering) and Brad Read (tactician)- if there was ever a combination of sailors that knows the Bay and the Sound well, it would be them- needless to say both are multiple J/24 World Champions. Their world-famous navigator was none other than Stan Honey- he and his wife Sally have also raced J/105s on the West Coast. They also had Chuck Brown on runners, a Caribbean Champion and raced J/24s and J/30s for years- winning a few Rolex St Thomas Regattas along the way.  Despite all the talent on board, they could only muster a second place.

On the winning boat- LIONHEART- they, too, had a Newporter on-board that was also a J/24 World Champion- Anthony Kouton- feeling perhaps a bit out of his element as a Moth World Champion (foiler), too! Plus, they had aboard Bouwwe Beking from the Netherlands- himself having raced on J/105s and J/109s in the Netherlands.

As for the third place boat TOPAZ, they “only” had Tony Rey, Scotty Vogel and Peter Holmberg aboard taking up most of their afterguard, plus running the boat as “Crew Boss” (Scotty).  Peter is from the U.S. Virgin Islands, and has raced J/24s, IC/24s, and J/105s over the years as Caribbean and CORT Champion- in addition to being an expert match-racer.  Tony Rey is from Newport and has also raced at World Championship levels on J/24s, J/70s, J/122s, J/105s and others.  Scotty has also raced a wide variety of boats, including J/24s, J/35s, J/105s, J/109s and J/111s.

RANGER had aboard Andrew Cape from the U.K.- a famous Volvo Ocean Race navigator and also guides the mighty RAMBLER 88 for George David.  He is a two-time Round Island (Isle of Wight) Doublehanded winner on a J/44 sailing on Stu Johnstone's J-HAWK, plus he’s raced quite a few J/24s, J/105s and J/109s in the U.K. over time.

VELSHEDA had some veteran offshore and match-racing team members on board that have raced J/105s and J/80s in various events, such as Tom Dodson, Campbell Field and Don Cowie.

Finally, Tom Siebel’s crew was practically 100% managed by top J sailors from all parts of the world. Growing up in Wilmette, IL, Tom himself sailed J/24s and out West has owned and race J/105s and J/125s on San Francisco Bay! His navigator was Peter Isler- a regular on the SC 70 PYEWACKET for Roy Disney Jr and has raced J/24s, J/80s, J/105s and J/44s.  Tom Whidden was his strategist, the former President of North Sails, a person that has raced on practically all of the earlier J/Boats, including J/24s, J/29s, J/35s, J/41s, J/105s, J/44s, J/160s, etc.  Francesco de’Angelis from Italy was serving as coach, and raced J/24s and recently J/70s for years- including winning a J/24 World Championship in Capri.  Steve Calder from North Sails Canada has also been J/24 Canadian Champion and has raced J/105s, J/109s, J/35s, J/70s in Canada and the USA.  Vince Brun from North Sails San Diego is a J/24 Champion, West Coast J/70 Champion and has raced just about everything in the J/range including J/105s and J/109s. Sailing photo credits- Onne Van der wal/ Sharon Green- Ultimate Sailing/ Carlo Borlenghi. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Russian J/70 Winter Series Announcement

Sponsored by RADIO MONTE CARLO!
(Sochi, Russia)- The winter season is not a reason to stop sailing, that is why the organizers of the new project- “J/70 Winter Series RADIO MONTE CARLO”- will be hosting fleet racing in J/70 one-design class yachts on the Black Sea.  FGBI "South Sports" in Sochi, a leading training center for the majority of the Russian Olympic team, is the organizer and will provide everything the yachtsmen need to participate in the four events from November 2016 to March 2017.

The Sochi Winter Series will be a great opportunity for Russian sailing teams (or Europeans who wish to enjoy some fun training in the sun!) to continue training in the winter, keep in physical shape, develop well-coordinated teamwork, and be fully prepared for the upcoming 2017 Russian National Sailing League.  In fact, the first stage of the League will take place in Sochi in late March, plus all Russian Sailing League events will be sailed in the highly popular J/70 one-design class.  Therefore, training in Sochi all winter long will be very useful to any sailing club wishing to take part in the 2017 Russian sailing league program.

The Winter Series will consist of four stages:

• Stage 1 - November 18-20
• Stage 2 - January 27-29
• Stage 3 - February 24-26
• Finale - March 17-19

The team may enter one (or all stages) of the series, except the Finale. The Finale will include the winners of each stage; nine teams in total will qualify from the first three stages.  If a team “places” in two or more stages, the next best team will qualify to participate in the Finale in March.

The schedule for each weekend follows:

• Friday- orientation/ training program
• Saturday- opening of the regatta, racing day, “Yacht” Dinner for the teams
• Sunday - racing day, regatta awards

Cost of participation: 50,000 rubles (approx. $800.00 USD)- that includes the team entry fee, boat rental, all on-water and social activities (without flight and accommodations).

The first phase starts in November! Reserve soon! For any questions please contact Anna Zenkina- email- a.zenkina@vfps.ru or ph# +7 (916) 993-36-95

If you are contemplating participating, here are Five Reasons to go to Sochi this winter:

1. Everyone’s favorite fleet to sail in Russia- the J/70 speedster!
2. Sochi (https://goo.gl/maps/FatJx79F8TA2)- sail the warm Black Sea, palm trees, an evening yacht dinner along the coast with friends and family.
3. Opportunity to take multiple breaks in the long winter season in a beautiful resort!
4. The most beautiful women & men of the Russian Sailing Federation waiting to serve you!
5. Arrive on Friday, sail-training on Saturday and Sunday- easily fits your work schedule!

For more Russian J/70 Winter Series RADIO MONTE CARLO sailing information.

Sailing Champion Ed Baird Coaching @ Key West

(Key West, FL)- Ed Baird, past J/24 World Champion and America’s Cup Champion, was in Key West Race Week this past week providing participants some perspectives on their race course performance that day.

At 58, Ed Baird’s list of accomplishments began pre-internet, so you have to be of a certain age to know how long he has been dominant in the sport. Ed remains at the pointy end of performance, and this week he is sharing his observations during a nightly ‘show and tell’ at Key West Race Week. It was well-received and very informative for many boats.  Here Ed explained his mission:

“Quantum Sails and Harken asked me to do a daily debrief for the three race courses at the event. Each day we select a course, and I am joined by photographer Keith Brash who brings along an assortment of drones and cameras. Together we try to gather as much interesting footage as possible, and then edit segments that we can share each night with people from those courses.

With the visual presentation, I can provide my observations which hopefully provides the sailors with helpful information. We try to look at the whole course and find things that we think everyone can learn from. This might involve looking at one particular boat and noting their sail trim or pointing out how certain boat handling techniques are impacting performance. With the drone, we can capture starting line situations that are hard for the competitors to otherwise recognize.

It is all very educational, even for me. Sailing is really a lot of fun at Key West and I hope that through these group discussion that people can enjoy the event even more.”

J/Teams Star in "To the Next Challenge" Sailing video

(Jamestown, RI)- EC Helme, owner of the J/92S SPIRIT sailed out of Conanicut YC in Jamestown, recently sent us a nice note.  He commented that, “Steve Caldwell from Quantum Sails said the J/92S SPIRIT (and the J/111 ODYSSEY) were featured prominently in some promotion from Quantum.  On the homepage (http://www.quantumsails.com/) you’ll see a scrolling display of those two images, both of which were taken of us on a Tuesday night race early in the season on Narragansett Bay.  Moreover, they made a nice short video to promote sailing and their business, there are several video clips from the same race that feature the J/92S and the J/111. It’s called ‘To the Next Challenge’”.

Ed Reynolds, a long-time J/Boats sailor and President of Quantum Sails, had this to say about their latest efforts, “As sailors, what's one thing all of us have in common? We relish a challenge. We sail because being on the water inevitably brings new opportunities to learn, grow and experience adventures that change us forever.  At Quantum, we're connected to sailors everywhere by our love of sailing - and our belief that facing a challenge head-on is infinitely rewarding.”  Watch the promo sailing video here- https://www.youtube.com/embed/nye2FBRUFu0?rel=0

Honing Your Game: Using Pros to Get Better in the Offseason

(Annapolis, MD)- Duffy Perkins, a new J/22 owner, shares her story in the October 2015 issue of Spinsheet magazine:

“I like to think I’m a decent crew member. I’m not afraid to aggressively hike out. I always remember who likes mayo on their sandwich, and who thinks the red Gatorade is disgusting. I’ll even run the bow if the bowman is too hungover.

The only thing I won’t do on a boat is drive. If you try to get me to drive, I have multiple elaborate excuses, ranging from insurance issues to a mild concussion I suffered (six years ago, but still). I’ll explain that I’m a nervous hurler.

But, back to being a good crew member: life sometimes gets in the way of your sailing. I got married, we moved from Boston to Annapolis, and within two years we had two kids. My sailing was still happening, but I was rusty.

Knowing that I needed to get my butt back in the game, I contacted Kristen Berry of J/World, asking about options for the early spring sailing circuit, when everyone on the Bay is still wearing socks. He mentioned that he had a spot on a J/70 for Charleston Race Week and told me I’d mesh well with his crew. My husband Trevor found a ride on another J/70 for the regatta, the grandparents agreed to babysit the kids, and we were off.

We drove all night from Annapolis to Charleston, arriving at the J/World dock at promptly 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. My team for the week was Tom Kase, a Canadian sailor, and Wayne Cassady, a J/22 sailor from Kentucky. Kristen was sailing with us, but he wasn’t able to touch the tiller during racing due to J/World protocol.

Both Tom and Wayne were experienced skippers, and I was ready to bang around the 70’s front position for them. But the J/World philosophy involves getting crew members to switch positions during racing, so I would be moving around the boat. I didn’t feel comfortable doing this, so to get some practice, Kristen had us rig the boat and we headed out onto the water.

Charleston Harbor is unique on the East Coast for its somewhat indecipherable currents. Three rivers spill into the harbor; the Wando, the Cooper, and the Ashley. Add in tide, shallows, and wind direction, and you have one of the most schizophrenic bodies of water on the East Coast.

We planned two days of practice before the official regatta, getting used to the boat, the currents, and fine tuning our communication skills. And there’s no better way to work on your communication than to have a man overboard situation.

Winds were above 40 knots, and we had the kite up when we experienced a death roll gybe. I ended up pulling Wayne back into the boat. It was the first time that had ever happened to me, and having a coach present made a significant difference (not that I still wasn’t freaked out).

By the time racing started Friday morning, I felt I could hang on the boat just as well as anyone. But on the race course, it became very obvious just how much time J/70 crews put in to getting their boats dialed down. Kristen reminded me that we had multiple days on the water, but other boats had months, years, even decades of sailing together, getting their communication down, knowing just where their bodies should be positioned on the boat.

Needless to say, once racing started, we weren’t winning the regatta.

The J/World program necessitates that every crew member changes position on the boat after each race. But I felt differently. I wasn’t there to learn to drive. I shouldn’t drive! Insurance! Coma! Nervous hurling over the side!

So I was beyond surprised when Kristen pulled me aside and said, “Duffy, you’re on the helm for the first race tomorrow.” You never want a woman on a boat to ask you to hold her hair, but I did indeed ask Wayne to hold my hair while I hung over the stern and lost everything in my stomach. I pulled him into the boat during the MOB, so it was only fair.

Kristen understood my panic and agreed to be on the main and talk me through the start, which was undoubtedly the most nerve wracking for me. With 40 boats on the line (and 80 on the course), no one is safe, and we saw much more experienced crews getting mixed up with each other (and even the RC boat).

For the first start, Kristen talked me through finding a sliver of a lane near the boat, keeping myself moving while others stalled out and froze. Unfortunately, a general recall brought us all back. I fought back nerves (and my stomach) while we got in sequence for the second start. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as an ‘okay’ start, and as the final seconds ticked off, I felt the whole boat slow and my enthusiasm deplete with it. The boat stalled on the line, and while Kristen never so much as raised his voice, I had so much shouting in my head that I felt lost. He brought me back to the course, getting me settled in and clawing us back into the fleet. “I know you can sail this boat faster than this,” he said to me. But how?

The answer was to get out of my head. Start talking to my jib trimmer Wayne, telling him when I felt pressed or stalled. Talking to my spinnaker trimmer Tom, telling him when I needed to come up for speed and letting him tell me when I needed to soak down. Wayne called the wind, and after our first downwind leg, my husband snapped a picture of me from behind.

Of course, the race has four legs. And in the third leg, the screaming panic in my head became almost unbearable. Kristen was talking to me the whole time, but it wasn’t working. “Enough with this $&*%,” I told him. “I need some tough love!” The look Kristen gave me was one of total astonishment, but then he pounced. He criticized me when I was too low, he yelled “Quit pinching!” when I was too high. Finally, the screaming in my head was silenced, and I was focused solely on the moment.

There’s no comeback story here, if you’re waiting for one. I think we beat one boat that race. But we crossed the line at the back of the fleet, not miles behind anyone. If I were a better skipper, I could have picked off 10 boats easily on the last run. But I’m not a skipper at all.

Finishing the race, we quickly switched positions and Wayne drove one of our best races in the regatta. I felt calm, dialed in, and appreciative of his skill on the helm. As we headed in, he recalled past J/22 regattas. “You get used to the panic feeling,” he said, “but you have to do a lot of it before you get used to it.” Tom sailed the first race of the third day, and as I trimmed his kite, I kept in the back of my mind that it was my turn next on the stick. The wind was down, and we were fighting the tide. Waiting for the second race to happen, we realized the current was heading out at four knots while the wind was pushing at three in the opposite direction. Race committee sent us in.

Sailing in, a big part of me was disappointed that I wasn’t going to have a chance on the helm for the final race. I wanted more time sailing with my team; five days wasn’t nearly enough for what I wanted to accomplish.

That’s the beauty of the J/World course: you realize just how much potential you truly have.

Being a better crew member isn’t about mayo and Gatorade. It’s about racing your sailboat as often as you can, switching positions, dialing down your communication skills, and working with your team until you think and move as one. It takes practice; lots and lots of practice.

So we decided to listen to Wayne’s advice: Trevor and I came back to Annapolis and bought a J/22. I’ve already let J/World know I’m ready for more tough love.”

To up your game before the 2016 sailing season, check out J/World’s programs for CRW, Key West Race Week, and many other regattas here: http://www.jworldannapolis.com.

J/70 Sailing IN China Project!

(Shenzen, China)- Jim Johnstone continues to develop the J/Boats program in China, potentially the world’s largest sailing market with 1.5 billion people who basically all live within an hour of hundreds of lakes suitable for sailing.

Jimmy commented, “here are photos of our new sailing school in Shanghai that is using J/70s. SAILING IN is the only performance sailing school in China and we are currently working on expansion to Shenzhen and Xiamen where we will have new fleets of J/70's and J/80's to work with.

The school has also taken students to many different Chinese events including a distance race around Hainan Island on a 50-footer to the Mayor’s Cup in Qingdao racing across the Straits to Korea. Currently, we have won those events we have participated in, which is exciting for our Chinese students!

Our next student event is racing the Kings Cup in Phuket on TRADER and Langkawi Race week after that.”

J/Fest San Diego Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego YC is proud to host the 20th Anniversary of the J/Fest regatta in Southern California! One design fleets included in the event are J/105s and J/120s.  The racing consists of a Fun Bay Pursuit race on Friday afternoon and windward/leeward courses in the Coronado Roads on Saturday and Sunday.

This year J/Fest San Diego will coincide with the J/70 North American Championship. The social events will be fabulous- a Beer/Food pairing party on Friday evening, a Mexican Fiesta with musical entertainment on Saturday night, and the awards party on Sunday after racing.  JK3 Yachts is proud to sponsor not only the J/70 NAs, but the 20th Anniversary of J/Fest!

Joining the festivities in the J/105 class are Steve Howell’s BLINK!, Dennis Case’s WINGS, the Hurlburt/Driscoll duo on JUICED and Stew Cannon’s J-OK.  The J/120s are out in force, with Ernie Pennell’s MADMEN, Rudy Hasl’s HASL FREE and Peter Zarcades’ MELTEMI hoping to overcome the historical dominance of Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY and Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER.  For more J/Fest San Diego sailing information.

How Sailing Can Save the World!

(San Francisco, CA)- John Arndt, the Editor of Latitude 38 in California and founder of “Summer Sailstice”, often has some thought-provoking perspectives on sailing.  Here’s his latest on why sailing matters and how we can save our “Liferaft Earth”:

“I am always puzzled when I encounter concern about the cost of sailing. As the world becomes increasingly urbanized and technical, I get more concerned about the cost of not sailing.

You can ‘follow’ the Volvo Ocean Race and the America’s Cup, and you can ‘watch’ the virtual wind and ‘see’ the ocean currents, but is that the same as having your hand on the tiller as you try to get around a ledge with an adverse current and fading breeze? No, the only way to understand sailing, and gain an appreciation and respect for our waters, is to actually be on them, and cost needn’t be a hurdle.

Three years ago, my brother bought a Hobie 16 with sails and a trailer for $500 (what’s your cell and cable costs/month?). When my brother and I were sailing it last summer, it started sinking after we flipped it. We hopped a tow from a passing lobster boat, got the boat to shore so we could drain it, and then sailed it back to where we could goop up the holes. Great stories followed!

This year it was my nephew’s turn who sunk the boat when a new leak occurred. But he got the boat back, and later dug out the long crack in the hull deck joint, mixed up some epoxy and relaunched. For those in New England this week, Tuesday was a rainy, nasty day, and he and a friend launched again in big breeze to rip around the bay. What a riot!

Finding a leak, mixing epoxy, launching and rigging a Hobie and sailing in a rain storm … all character and confidence building stuff.

In an era where people are cultivated to lust after image-defining stuff like cars and homes, sailing can look positively cheap. Then, when you account for the stories, experiences, and thrills generated by sailing, its value becomes priceless. And who knows, if our fitness and sanity improved by time on the water, we might even reduce the cost of health care.

With Craigslist filled with affordable boats like the Hobie, the cost of sailing is a good investment. I know my nephew and friend will be lusting for a new Hobie long before a new kitchen appliance, making for an important trend to strengthen the marine industry.

Maybe sailing can save the world. Bringing families together, overcoming obstacles with solutions, and connecting with our environment… all the time giggling and memory-making. Can a body-idling iPad do that?”  Thanks for contribution from Craig Leweck/ Scuttlebutt Newsletter.

J/Fest San Francisco Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2015 J/Fest regatta hosted by St Francis YC has an excellent turnout of fifty boats for their upcoming regatta that will be sailed from April 18 to 19th on San Francisco Bay.  Five one-design J classes are sailing, including J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, J/111s and J/120s.

The enormously popular J/105 class continues to gain new adherents to their fleet after nearly 20 years of sailing on San Francisco Bay. With the 2015 J/105 North American Championships being hosted by StFYC later in September, it is not a coincidence that the top-flight competition has attracted the best teams from across California (north and south).  Multiple fleet champions include Scooter & son Ryan Simmons on BLACKHAWK; Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault-Stone on ARBITRAGE; Jeff Litfin’s MOJO; the trio of Shannon Ryan/ Rolf Kaiser/ Ken Turnbull on DONKEY JACK; and Adam Spiegel on JAM SESSION.

The half-dozen J/111s will include all the top local teams that have enjoyed close one-design racing over the past year.  Depending on conditions, the outcome is less than deterministic amongst this closely-matched fleet.  Needless to say, the betting parlor over/under on the six teams would easily be the hardest group to lay odds on— Dorian McKelvy’s MADMEN, Rich Swanson’s BAD DOG, Nesrin Basoz/ Reuben Rocci’s SWIFT NESS, Roland Vandermeer’s BIG BLAST, Gorkem Ozcelebi’s DOUGLE DIGIT, and Rob Thies’ AEOLUS.

The J/120 fleet has their usual cast of characters participating and, as has been the case in the past, the entire top three is all dependent on “karma”.  OK, this may be a California thing, but it has to be true since seemingly any one team can win at any time.  Look to any one of these teams to be in the hunt- Tom Grennan/ Shane Palmer’s KOOKABURRA; Barry Lewis’ CHANCE; David Halliwill/ Mike O’Callaghan’s PEREGRINE; Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO and Timo Bruck’s TWIST.

As one might expect, the J/24s continue to have fun on San Francisco Bay after 30+ years of thrashing around in the craziest conditions anyone can imagine.  Perhaps the most famous locals are Val Lulevich’s SHUT UP & DRIVE as well as Jasper Van Vliet’s EVIL OCTOPUS, Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR and Mike Whitfield’s TMC RACING.

While the event is still over a year away, there is no question a number of local J/70s are looking at this event as part of their long-term practice for the 2015 J/70 World Championship on San Francisco Bay.  Top local boats include John Brigden’s COOL STORY BRO, Justin Kromelow’s LOOSE LUCY, Chris Andersen’s PERFECT WIFE, Peter Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER and Chris Kostanecki’s JENNIFER.  Sailing photo credits- Pressure-drop.us.  For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information

FREE RaceQs.com 3D Race-tracking & Analysis

J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105, & J/111 avatars!
(San Jose, California)- Relive your sailing adventures with RaceQs' free, 3D, animated race replays. Record one boat or an entire fleet and watch the replay to evaluate your performance in 3D. You don't need any special equipment to get started, just a GPS or a smart phone. Give it a test drive today and change the way you race.

To sail fast, we should learn from our mistakes and gain experience.  Sailboat racing is fun and consistent performance improvement enables you to sail more competitively; perhaps even winning a race! The beauty of this sport is that you can always get better.

Boat owners spend “mucho dinero” each year on sails, electronics and boat improvements in their search for that elusive “edge”. But, they often neglect to address the most critical factors: efficient boat handling, winning tactics, and cohesive crew work.

RaceQs is a set of technology products designed to improve on the “human factor”, while sharing the joy of sailboat racing among the crew, club mates and competitors.

Here is a good example.  Allan Terhune takes us through a recent race aboard his J/70 "Dazzler". He walks us through his tactics and gives some trim tips for the J/70. Allan Terhune is a National and World champion in several classes, and is the Global One Design Director for Quantum Sails. http://raceqs.com/podcast/28-racing-the-j70-with-allan-terhune/

Recent events tracked with RaceQs.com were the J/22 Midwinters, the Quantum J/70 Winter Series and, soon, the Russian J/80 Spring Championship on Lake Garda, Italy in two weeks.  Also, the J/105 class has adopted use of RaceQs, starting with Seattle fleet and followed by Toronto, San Francisco and San Diego.  Get on board now and setup your J/Class event for race-tracking and fun post-race analysis- - it’s always humbling (and a learning experience) to hear one of your top competitors explain a bad race or “not so worthy” tactical moves.  For more RaceQs.com information and App download.

J/80s Win China City Clubs Open Regatta

(Qingdao, China)- The International City Clubs Open Regatta is hosted annually by the Qingdao International Marine Club (QIMC) located at the Qingdao International Sailing Center (the same venue used for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sailing events). Overseeing Jiaozhou Bay, the sailors in the regatta enjoyed what many have said is one of the world’s best yachting and sailing centers ever developed (a $300 million development budget may have helped).

In fact, the sailors in the CCOR enjoyed the amazing hospitality of the host club house along the waterfront.  QIMC was founded in 1999 and has the distinction of being China's only official international sailing club under State General Administration of Sports based in Beijing, capital of China.  What was one of the strong attractions of the club?  The fact that it serves one of the world’s best beers for pennies a pint.  Remember this, the city of Qingdao holds an international beer festival every August where the centerpiece is, of course, the local brew, Tsingtao beer.  Tsingtao Brewery is one of the oldest beer producers in China and was founded in 1903 by German and British merchants. The brewery is still using the original yeast transported from Germany more than 100 years ago- no wonder it’s the number one export beer from China.

Out of the four local J/80s in Qingdao, two sailed in this years CCOR regatta in ORC Handicap Division. Not your normal J/80 regatta since the teams found themselves sailing against a First 40 with a good skipper and two other 50 footers.  Ironically, the rating of the First 40 was only 10 seconds per mile faster then the J/80.  With very inexperienced crews, the J/80s sailed in 10 races with winds ranging from 14 to 30 knots over the 4 days.  The J/80 teams faired well with Jim Johnstone racing the lead boat and the Liuzhou Riviera Yacht Club instructor team racing the second boat.

After 9 races, Johnstone had eight 1sts and one 2nd and the other J/80 had a split of seconds and thirds.  Boat-for-boat Johnstone finished in front of the First 40 four of nine races; that’s quite an accomplishment since they should be much faster.

The last race of the CCOR regatta was a 15nm distance race and the J/80s knew there was no way we were going to have sufficient handicap time on the First 40.  While the First 40 won on handicap, the J/80 sailed by Johnstone finished second overall, thus taking the overall ORC Division win by a significant margin.  Second in ORC class was the Liuzhou Riviera YC team on the other J/80.  Of note, was that Johnstone’s J/80 team beat all of the Far East 26's and the lead Soto 27 boat-for-boat and the Flying Tiger FT10 finished only a few boat-lengths in front when they finished.  Sailing with Johnstone were Jeppe, the J/Boats Asia Qingdao representative doing cockpit, the owner and one of the Liuzhou Members doing bow.
For more City Clubs Open Regatta sailing information

Yachting Cup Clinic and Regatta Experience

(San Diego, CA)- Come on out to the beautiful San Diego Yacht Club for their renowned spring event, Yachting Cup, and race with J/World from April 30th to May 4th.

This year marks the 41st year of San Diego Yacht Club's signature regatta, the Yachting Cup. This premiere regatta brings together competitive fleet and one-design racing at multiple venues in San Diego. This is an excellent warm up for the racing season, so come visit us in beautiful San Diego, then go home ready to take on all comers!

J/World, the Performance Sailing School, will be offering sailors the opportunity to come play (and learn) during this special event.  We will be hosting a three day racing clinic prior to the regatta, which will include boat-handling, sail handling, strategy, tactics, rules, etc. etc...  all the elements which will contribute to a successful regatta.

Then it is test time...  and we have the ultimate test:  a real regatta!  Each of our J/80s will have teams of three students plus one coach per boat.  Everyone aboard will rotate through all the positions while getting the positive insights of one of our renowned J World instructors.

Availability is limited, so reserve your space early ($400 deposit)!  Call 800-910-1101 or visit J/World San Diego website.

Join The Pacific NW J/Rendezvous!

Featuring a "Poker Rally", “Best In Show” and Massive BBQ Hosted by "BBQ Bob"
(Seattle, WA)- Sail Northwest is excited to announce the first ever J/Boats Rendezvous for the Pacific Northwest, scheduled for June 28th, 2014 at the Brownsville Marina.  Bring your cruising boat, bring your day sailor, bring your race boat – bring any J you have sailing in the area (we hope it floats!), we promise that you will have a lot of FUN and get to know much more of the J/Clan— an amazingly diverse, talented and fun-loving group of passionate sailors!  We want YOU in Brownsville! Remember, there are no regatta conflicts! And, because it's summer-time, there are no business or school issues, either!

Boats can begin arriving in Brownsville at 11am Saturday to start the stern-tie line-up inside the breakwater.  The day’s festivities will include a “Poker Rally and “Happy Hour” tours of the attending boats incorporating a “Best In Show” competition done by popular vote.  This will be followed with a talk by industry professionals, then a massive BBQ and potluck side-dish dinner pier side, followed by awards and an evening around the camp fire on the bluff.  Refreshments and the main course for dinner will be provided; you only need to bring a side dish and whatever emergency rations you’ll need (e.g. more refreshments).  For anyone that needs a “racing fix”, the West Sound Sailing Association runs their series finale Brownsville race that day and you are more than welcome to enter if you have that urge.

Please RSVP and get your first two cards for the Poker Rally and/or learn more about the event from the friendly people at Sail Northwest.  Contact Ben (ben@sailnorthwest.com) or Bob (bob@sailnorthwest.com) or just call them at ph# 206-286-1004 and ask what’s on the menu for the BBQ!

Benelux J/22 Winter Regatta

(Braassermeer, Netherlands)- The Benelux J/22 sailors are nothing if not organized and, most importantly, quite passionate about continually improving their experience as J/22 teams.  Their “winter” and “spring” training weekends have produced compelling results over time as teams from the Netherlands and Belgium have placed, or won, in major events like the J/22 Europeans and the J/22 Worlds.  In fact, many teams are keying in on the next J/22 World Championships 2014 to be held in South Africa for the first time!

Stan from the J/22 JABBADABBADOO filed this report for their most recent training weekends:  “Weekend 1- The first training and races of the winter series took place in perfect conditions. On Saturday and Sunday 10-12 kts north and Sunday with 12 to 18 knots. Both days had lovely sunshine and about 17 degrees celsius— not bad!  We looked back at the cold spring on the Braassermeer and the Cooling Down events which had all-or-nothing winds; compared that, this past weekend was simply delicious!

Saturday’s training day was organized by the J/22 Class and Falko Braun. He managed to keep the teams close together despite the different levels of the participating teams. It was an interesting day. A new German team trained with us and was full of enthusiasm about the new insights and boat-handling they learned— they turned out to be a formidable sparring partner to tune with.  We worked on upwind boat speed. For downwind speed, Falko taught all teams to sail with a “free kite.” The wind was perfect for roll-tacking practice. Gybes and even ‘mexican drops’ were practiced.  After lunch and briefing we practiced time-on-distance, a number of starts and two short races . Before we knew it the afternoon was over and we all agreed to debrief in a restaurant in Leiden .

On Sunday, with more wind we focused on sailing many short races.  They were very intense, short laps around the buoys; the races were 30-40 minutes.  XJE had learned the time-on-distance exercise well the day before and took a good start in the first race.  In the second, race we started first but with XJE right next to us. In the last race it was a true match race.  It was very shifty and wind gusts caused considerable spectacle on the short course.  The third start was very nice with all the boats on the line and everyone at luffing at the gun!  Everyone is learning fast!

After several years of just sailing regattas, I am happy to train again, and finally by an external coach to get clues on how to sail better and faster. Falko shook things up for us and forced us to get out of our comfort zone and push the envelope of performance— it brought great satisfaction to see us better develop as a team.

For the second weekend of winter training and competition, the WVB decided this year to sail three races a day and keep the pace going with fast-action.  In short, very intense rounds where boat-handling will keep crews busy even in a winter storm!!  Perhaps most importantly, top Dutch sailor Ronald Veraar will lead the training.  Ronald is a former European champion and current European champion as “Corinthian” in both the J/22 and the M24 classes. That promises a mountain of gold tips!  We look forward to more of this all winter!”   For more J/22 Benelux sailing information

J/70s At J/World Annapolis!

(Annapolis, MD)- Attention all J/70 sailors!  J/World Annapolis is anxiously awaiting the delivery of their J/70 (USA 357) this August and are planning events for the boat in 2013 and 2014.  There is a unique opportunity for new and potential J/70 buyers to “try before they buy” while also getting top level racing and boat-handling coaching as well as experiencing the first  J/70 North American Championship this September.

Beginning Monday, September 23, 2013 J/World Annapolis will be conducting a three day training clinic followed by three days of racing in the 2013 J/70 North American Championship.  This six day racing event is patterned after our “super-week” training program and includes on-board coaching for all six days, three days of pre-event multi-boat training, daily video and still image debriefing and nightly discussions with J/70 sailmakers and local racing experts.

This program is perfect for new and prospective J/70 owners for several reasons.  First and foremost, owners quickly maximize their sailing experience by working through the boat-handling gremlins that can plague self taught teams.

Second, the methodology is easily transferred to crews when clients return to their teams - making the owner's programs stronger. J/World believes well-rounded racing education requires cross-training, and our program will put each client into each of the roles onboard.  During practice and the regatta clients will rotate through each of the roles, gaining valuable experience in every position and valuable knowledge that will help them train their own crews.

Finally, because this will be an “owner crewed” event J/World are creating relationships that make racing fun and create important peer-to-peer networks that strengthen the class.

J/World Annapolis have nearly two decades of experience conducting this style of training program in the J/80 and look forward to bringing their experience and training program to the J/70 class.  In addition to the J/70 North Americans they will be conducting this style of program at Key West Race Week, St Petersburg NOOD, Miami Race Week, Charleston Race Week and Annapolis NOODs.

The J/70 North American six day regatta program is $2,495 per person and includes three days of training, three days of racing, event registration, crew gear and lunch each day.  It is exclusive of travel and lodging.

Please contact them if you have an interest in learning how to sail your J/70 faster and better!  Contact is Kristen Berry at ph# 410-280-2040 (Office) or 410-599-3542 (Cell) or email- kristen@jworldannapolis.com