J/105 J-OK WINS YACHTING CUP OVERALL

 

(San Diego, CA)- The 2021 Yachting Cup, one of San Diego Yacht Club’s most popular signature regattas, was a little smaller in size this year, but it certainly matched the on-the-water spirit of Yachting Cup’s past. While normally hosting nearly 100 boats, the 2021 regatta hosted forty-eight teams, all eager to race and itching for good competition. J/Crews sailed quite well in conditions that varied from postcard-perfect Saturday to a stormy Sunday.  

Day 1- Gorgeous "Shorts & Shades" Sailing

On Saturday, the conditions on both the “far” and “near” ocean courses were shifty at about 225 degrees, seeing sporadic puffs from 5 to 11 knots. The day started with a short postponement while the breeze filled in. 

The conditions were described as perfect for Ed Sanford’s J/111 CREATIVE that finished first in the PHRF-C class at the end of the day. “The conditions were perfect for our 111, especially when it hit around 8-10 knots. However, we did have to steer through the waves, and it was challenging going upwind on port tack,” commented Sanford.


The third race for the PHRF classes finished with a 6-mile race home. “The first and third race for us were pretty much flawless. Coming down the channel in the last race was challenging, but perfect once we got past Ballast Point. The kite was pulling like you couldn’t believe and we just started gaining distance boats in front of us,” said Sanford. 

In the J/105 one-design class, Stewart Cannon’s J-OK stood first with a 2-1-1 tally. Cannon has owned his J/105 J-OK for over 20 years. His crew has been sailing together for some time and they all rely on a full team effort for success. “We really enjoyed ourselves out there,” stated Cannon, while his team chimed in. Crew Ryan Lorence added, “We spent all day going the way we thought it was going to go, and it went the opposite, but luckily we were able to get through. We had to switch gears and change some jibs, but we had a pretty good day.”

Post-racing, competitors were invited to take "to-go" cocktails back to their boats and enjoy live music by Stylus Overhaul. 

Day 2- Tempestuous Finale

It wasn’t exactly a day of smooth sailing on day two. With misty weather and large, choppy ocean swells, teams used to sailing in champagne San Diego were in for a bit of a challenge, especially compared to the previous day's conditions. It seemed while most boats were up to it, a handful were not able to look past the waves and towards success on the horizon by the final race.

Overall 2021 Yachting Cup winner, J-OK, was one of the boats that embraced the ocean and saw the regatta the whole way through. The crew attributes their success this weekend to working together as a team.

“We put together a good team and we have a good boat,” said J-OK Crew Jim Dorsey. “It’s one hundred percent teamwork. It was very tough steering conditions today, and Stewart (Cannon) did an excellent job. Between Jim and Stewart, they really worked it,” added Julie Mitchell, the J-OK Tactician.

Rounding out the J/105 leaderboard was George Scheel's SUN PUFFIN in second, Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK! in third, Donica & Scott Ryder's SANITY in fourth, and Rich Bergmann's ZUNI BEAR in fifth position.


In the PHRF C division, John Laun’s J/120 CAPER did not give up against Ed Sanford’s J/111 CREATIVE in any of the day's races, earning three bullets and putting them ahead by one point.

“It was a fun day with challenging conditions. The boat was set up well for it, and we had more breeze, so it was a little quicker. Our boat really likes 15 knots or more,” started Laun. “The first race stood out the most and set the tone for the day. It showed us that our set up was right. In between the first and second race, we switched jibs to match the wind,” he finished.

Behind the J/120 and J/111 sweeping the top spots in PHRF C division was Chuck Nichols' J/120 CC RIDER in fifth place. 

In the ORC Division scoring, Sanford's J/111 CREATIVE won quite handily, posting five bullets on their way to a runaway victory. 

The PHRF B division saw a few big J's participating. Taking second was Rudy Hasl's J/145 PALAEMON, followed by Ernie Pennell's J/145 MORE MADNESS in fifth and Standish Fleming's J/125 NEREID in sixth place. 

PRO Summer Greene explains Sunday's sailing, “we were averaging about 15 knots the whole day, but the sea state was really bad and made it hard on all the teams. There were a lot of kite catastrophes and messy mark roundings. We were still able to get in three races. About a third of the boats dropped out before the last race, but the lead boats were still there, their boat handling was a bit better, and we thought it was important to get that last race in for them.”

Due to State and County protocols, there was no formal award ceremony. After the racing, awards were announced, and competitors were invited to pick them up at their convenience. 

"Congratulations to all of our first-place finishers. San Diego Yacht Club is proud this year to be able to host our premier regatta of the season: Yachting Cup. A special thanks goes out to the Race Committee for all their hard work, especially on rough days like today. It feels good, during these crazy times, to be back on the water sailing and being able to participate in something that feels fairly normal. We hope everyone will be return for the 2022 Yachting Cup so we can continue to grow this event into something bigger and better,” concluded Chair Patrick Murray.  Sailing photo credits- Mark Albertazzi  For more Yachting Cup sailing information

CHALLENGING NEWPORT 2 ENSENADA RACE

Mother Nature Throws Everything including Kitchen Sink @ Racers!

(Newport Beach, CA)– One hundred three boats started the traditional 125.0nm race to Ensenada; while nineteen did the 14.0nm sprint course to Dana Point, CA; and forty-one chose the course around the Coronado Islands with a finish after 92.0nm in San Diego, CA.

Here is the report from on-board the J/145 KATARA:

"KATARA and sistership J/145 PALAEMON have competed head-to-head numerous times along the California coast and are always well-matched. The two sisters were scheduled to participate in the 2021 N2E Ensenada course when PALAEMON owner Rudy Hasl contacted KATARA owner Roger Gatewood, letting him know that if we switched to the Newport to San Diego course two other J/145s, ANDIAMO 2 and MORE MADNESS, would join us. The chance to race four of these powerhouses against each other head-to-head was a no-brainer! Sign us up, was our response!  

The race started in a pleasant 8-10kt southerly breeze with all four 145s on their light-medium genoas. KATARA took the inside slot and spent the first several hours exchanging leads with PALAEMON, a mile or so further out. As the breeze slowly shifted right KATARA deployed her Tweener sail. While it didn’t buy much, KATARA started ever so slowly edging out with maybe a 0.1kt edge at times. As the breeze continued to decay and slowly shift right KATARA peeled to the A1 and PALAEMON to the A2. 

The breeze continued to decay as the sun set and the 145s approached North Coronado island, a mark of the course. As we approached the rock, KATARA’s navigator noticed that AIS indicated that, after nearly 80.0nm of racing, all four J/145s were inside of a 1.0nm ring of one another! WOW! This was close racing offshore!

The breeze fell off to near 'triple-naughts' (0.00 kts) as the four big J’s struggled to find a path around the rock. KATARA and PALAEMON found small zephyrs of air and slowly escaped to the East side of the rock. The final 12.0nm was a constant battle of KATARA sneaking out a half mile before losing her air and having PALAEMON close the gap again and approach from the rear. Ultimately, KATARA held her lead, finishing just over 8 minutes ahead of their friends on PALAEMON. ANDIAMO 2 and MORE MADNESS were less fortunate with the rock and it’s difficult breeze, finishing some 3 hours later. 

The following evening, PALAEMON's owner/ skipper Rudy Hasl, a San Diego Yacht Club member, hosted what was likely the largest gathering of J/145 sailors ever, organizing a dinner with over 50 guests between the four crews! Much, much fun was had by all....kudo's to Rudy and crew for organizing the group and the shindig at the club! THANK YOU!"

Apparently, KATARA and PALAEMON plan to compete again in the SoCal 300 and hope the other two sisterships join them!


As for the rest of the Newport to Ensenada event, here's how those races went for other J/Teams.  

For the Newport 2 Ensenada course, Viggo Torbensen's J/125 TIME SHAVER took the silver in PHRF A class with Scott Torrance's J/124 FORGIVENESS taking fifth place.  In PHRF B Class, Dave Gorney's J/105 NO COMPROMISE took the bronze. Then, in PHRF C Class, Chuck Bowes' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER placed fourth. 

For the Newport to San Diego race, while the quartet of J/145s were dueling each other, it was Tom Barker's J/65 GOOD CALL that took the silver in PHRF A class. Notably, GOOD CALL lost to an all-carbon Swan 65, mostly stripped out, with all brand-new carbon sails while GOOD CALL enjoyed their on-board 100-bottle wine cooler, five stateroom HVAC system, satellite-connected broadband Wi-Fi, and four stainless-steel slide-out drawers (refrigerator/ freezer) full of food, caviar, champagne, and other yummy things. The off-watch on GOOD CALL is just as popular, perhaps more for some, than sitting on deck on a full-moon night with the moon light dancing across the undulating Pacific swells...hmmmm, tough choice! 


In the PHRF B class, Tom Pollack's J/124 MARISOL took the silver with Mike McCarthy's J/88 BLUE FLASH finishing in fourth place. 

Finally, in the Newport to Dana Point "wind-sprint", it was Charles Brewer's J/124 HEARTBEAT 4 winning, followed by Tom Garrett's youth team on the J/70 SLOOP JOHN B in fourth, and Matt Campbell's J/120 ADIOS in fifth place. 

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NEWPORT 2 ENSENADA RACE PREVIEW

(Newport Beach, CA)– Nearly 170 boats will cross the start line of the 73rd Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, April 23rd off the Balboa Pier. Perhaps the cleverest element of the event is the race organizers- NOSA- have offered three courses to the intrepid adventurers that cannot wait to get out on the open, unrestricted, Pacific Ocean! Talk about "horses for courses", more than two dozen J/Teams are entered in all three ocean "sprints".  The classic race goes from Newport Beach/ Balboa Pier start line to Ensenada, Mexico and that start line has 120 boats doing the 125.0nm passage.  Twenty boats will take the day-race course down to Dana Point (about 25.0nm) and forty boats will take the mid-range course around the Coronado Islands and finish off Point Loma in San Diego.  

A big "thanks" to everyone for good behavior and helping to reduce COVID restrictions. And, an even bigger "thanks" to the Mexican Navy offering landing assistance so that sailors will be able to safely disembark and enjoy Ensenada.

Answering that "siren song" to go offshore seems innate and is a common bond for many sailors. In a 1962 America's Cup dinner given by the Australian Ambassador at the Vanderbilt family's former estate- The Breakers- then USA President John F. Kennedy made some prophetic remarks about that passion on September 14th, 1962. Listen to it here. He explained:

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And, it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came."



Recently, when one person about to sail the race was asked "why sail the N2E", he commented:

"There’s a misconception about yacht racing, boat racing, in that some think it’s stuffy, blue-blazer-boring kind of stuff. But, in reality it's not. Sailing is a fun passion-based hobby, in which everyone has a story about overcoming adversity. Sailing is really about solving problems; things break as boats do and you figure it out. Perhaps the best part? It's sitting with a crew member at the helm in the middle of the night, 30 miles offshore, freezing, talking about life, watching the moon; man taking on machine and nature, the whole thing is magical.”


Sailing the classic N2E course are John Staff's J/111 OBSIDIAN, Scott Torrance's J/124 FORGIVENESS, Dave Gorney's J/105 NO COMPROMISE, Chuck Bowes' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, and Brian Kerr's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN.

Taking the fast-track out and around the Coronado Islands to San Diego is the largest collection of J/145s ever- four of them- including Robert Pace's ANDIAMO 2, Roger Gatewood's KATARA, Ernie Pennell's MORE MADDNESS, and Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON. Joining them will be Tom Pollack's J/124 MARISOL, Dean Stanec's J/130 NIGHT'S WATCH, Derek Gaertner's J/27 PROJECT 53, Fed Hayem's J/46 MISTER J, and Mike McCarthy's J/88 BLUE FLASH. On a PHRF overall handicap basis, that will be one remarkably competitive division!


Another tough collection of J/Crews are sailing the Newport to Dana Point race. Talk about a wind-sprint! Taking a "swing for the fences" in this race are Joaquin Cobelo's J/109 MARIAH, Matt Campbell's J/120 ADIOS, Charles Brewer's J/124 HEARTBEAT 4, Jock McGraw's J/22 TEKEELA, Tom Garrett's youth team on the J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, and the duo of Richard Bennett & David Matthews on the J/92 FIREWATER. 

As pandemic restrictions have been lifted, options for social activities have increased. The annual Yachtsmen’s Luncheon and pre-race dinner at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, albeit without the infamous crowds, are being held. Plans for Sunday’s trophy ceremonies at the festive Hotel Coral and Marina are still being determined, pending the number of revelers, and in coordination with the host city’s guidelines. In light of Ensenada’s restrictions on large gatherings, Sunday afternoon’s awards ceremony, always joyful and celebratory, may be conducted in shifts.  For more Newport 2 Ensenada Race sailing information

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THE CABO RACE EXPERIENCE- J/145 KATARA'S ENTERTAINING LOG

(Newport Beach, CA)- Last Friday, a fleet of eighteen offshore racers headed south from the Newport Harbor Yacht Club starting line set off Newport Beach, CA and they basically flew down the 800.0nm race down the Mexican coastline to the famous beachside resort of Cabo San Lucas at the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula. 

Always a challenging race, this year the fleet was blessed with strong northerly breezes that fluctuated from northwest to northeast and back again. The conditions were epic for the "big boats", Roy Disney's PYEWACKET 70, a former Volvo 70 race boat, shattered the course record set many moons ago by 14 hours! That gives you an idea of how quick the race was for most of the fleet. 

Looking forward to that challenge were two thoroughbreds in the J/Design stable. Racing in ORR Class C were Standish Fleming's J/125 NEREID and Roger Gatewood's J/145 KATARA. For the duration of the race, we received daily reports from KATARA's log...it makes for entertaining reading and insights on what it's like to sail offshore with a full race crew.

Log # 2
Position: 32 53.0N 1117 48W
Speed: 12.8 kts
Distance to go: 748.1nm
Weather: Cool, Sunny. Seas 5-6'
Winds: 298 at 16kts
Sail Package: Tweener

The start occurred at 1300 PDT in a very light (3-6 kts) breeze out of the south. Weird for a downwind race, but we started with the LM Genoa up and started completely close-hauled.

First day is nearly in the books. Bow team Avery and Alex just executed their first offshore headsail peel, bringing us from the Light medium upwind genoa to the reaching Tweener (similar to a code zero). 

We've just put blue watch (Ron, Clay, and Avery) to bed as we anticipate that we will be shifting from the Tweener to the A4 running kite in the next hour to hour and a half. One of our biggest competitors, Horizon (a Santa Cruz 50) is just above us with a kite up and working their way down to us. We'll likely do the same as they get closer, but we're currently working just a little hotter in the hopes that we can maintain more of the gradient pressure that exists just offshore of us at the moment.

Looks like everyone is having a good time. Steve got his first helm time in a race on Katara a few hours ago. Capt. Roger drove us through the start and several hours after that. Liam, Sam, Steve, Ron, and Roger have been our helmsmen so far.

If the forecast holds true, we're in for a pretty wild ride overnight and into tomorrow with breeze in to the 20s and a building sea state.

Hope everyone else at home is warm and dry in their beds - it's looking like it's going to be a little chilly for us out here tonight.

Log # 3
Position: 30 44.13N 117 28.7W
Speed: 14 kts
Distance to go: 625.9nm
Weather: Cold! Seas 5-6'
Winds: 306 at 23kts
Sail Package: A4

It's almost the end of night 1. The crew is still working on getting in to their watch schedule, and I think several (myself included) are quite tired.

Just after sunset we went from our Tweener to our A4 heavy weather running sail. Avery and Alex managed the bow for the maneuver, Steve and Clay worked the mid-deck, Liam and I were on trim, Ron worked the main, and Roger drove. 

There is an area of lower winds speed just inside of us which we've been attempting to avoid. So, at times, we're sailing a much hotter angle than we normally would with this sail. We've got validation in the fact that we can see Horizon, Bretwalda, and several others in our class doing nearly the same thing along our line.

We got distracted last night and no one made dinner, so snacks got hit hard. We'll make sure we've got someone on kitchen duty this evening.

Conditions have been very pleasant, with seas 6-7' and breeze mostly in the teens until just the last few hours where we have seen a build to near 20 kts.

Log # 4
Position: 29 27.2N 115 34.3W
Speed: 12-18++ kts
Distance to go: 532.34nm
Weather: Beautiful day out with a slightly confused 6-8ft sea state.
Winds: 308 at 22kts
Sail Package: A4
 
What a day! Good breeze, cool weather, not too sunny, an acceptable sea state, and one hell of a fast boat. We've enjoyed the day running downhill bouncing between waves where our helmsmen (Roger, Sam, Steve, Ron, Liam, and I) have tried to keep the pointy side forward and the white side up. Earlier this morning we put in our first gybe and started reconnecting with the shore. We were leveraging a further right (320-ish) wind direction than we had seen before which made the port tack more optimal. 

As I am writing this, I heard the loudest of roars from upstairs. Glancing through a port hole, I see an entire universe of white foam go flying by the window as the new deck team (Ron, Clay, and Avery) with captain Roger just laid down a new race record for the boat of 25.8 kts!! Ron sneaked this one out after having had to share the previous 22.8 kts record with Clay and Avery. Later, we were all awakened when our southern "gentleman" Steve was a whoopin' and a holerin' as he was laying down his own record.

Now. Where was I? Right. We're headed to shore. After a few hours on port working our way back to the coast the breeze went left (near 305) again which makes the starboard tack preferred. We executed our second gybe of the trip (a beaut, if we may be so bold) and started heading back offshore.

While not perfect conditions competitively for this boat, we've been sailing extremely well against our polars and our own modeling, and the crew is having an absolute BLAST!

Ron, Clay, and Avery just took the 1400 watch with Roger finishing out the last two hours of his captain watch with them. 

I figure somewhere in the next 10-12 hours we'll be on the hunt for another righty where we can capitalize and head back ashore.

We've got our arrival "betting pool" started. It ranges from a *VERY* optimistic Avery hoping for a 0700 Tuesday arrival (hehe - not gonna happen, kid), to least optimistic old salt Ron guessing at 0400 Wednesday. For SOME reason they wouldn't let the guy with Expedition and all the routing work take his best guess.... The prize is absolutely nothing more than bragging rights, but it's a KATARA tradition.

Log # 5
Position: 28 32.3N 115 19.4W
Speed: 15++ down to 11ish kts
Distance to go: 484.14nm
Weather: A stiffening breeze with a confused 7-9ft sea state.
Winds: 315 degrees, 22 gusting 30kts
Sail Package: keep reading...

Welp....Every great sailboat race comes with its challenges to test sailors' resolve and skill and to keep the thrill of adventure in the game.

About 1 hour ago we were screaming along under our A4 running spinnaker when a wave caught us and caused a roll out. OUCH! Unfortunately, this also "over-shocked" the A4 and we lost both sheets holding it in. An all-hands on deck was called and, in relative short order, the team had recovered the sail.

We're not making much headway with just the Light Medium #1 genoa, as the only other spinnaker we have for these conditions is the A3 reaching kite. Our plan for now is to be conservative overnight reaching under just the genoa and re-evaluate tomorrow morning at day break. Hopefully at that time we can get the Kite back up, as we're currently down over 3.6 kts VMG towards the finish line...UGH!

In other news, there were no injuries and we're currently making dinner - Chili Mac & Cheese - Thanks, Clay! Avery is also whipping up a salad for everyone.

Log # 6
Position: 27 27.1N 115 we.9W
Speed: 10-20 kts depending on waves
Distance to go: 403.4nm
Weather: A stiffening breeze with a confused 7-9ft sea state.
Winds: 315-330 at 18-24 kts
Sail Package: Reaching A3

Now, we're back in this here sailboat race! Just before 2200 hrs, Roger and I did a comprehensive analysis of the forecasts, sea state, and current winds and decided it was time to launch the A3 kite. While not a downwind runner like the A4 that we lost, this sail is FAR superior for this task than our #1 Genoa was. We timed the hoist with a watch change (these are *VERY* big sails) and by 2230 we were under A3 and a full main again. VMC (velocity made good towards our target) jumped by over 5.6kts. We also did a gybe as part of the maneuver and are now working our way back towards the coast.

If the breeze continues to stay left (not exactly what's forecast) then we'll stay on this Port tack as far as it will take us - it's much closer to the finish line than the other board. If the breeze shifts left through the morning and in to the afternoon, then we will gybe out again for a little while to get clear of the peninsula.

Clay and Avery took kitchen duties this evening and we had a freeze-dried chili mac & cheese again dressed up with some fresh cut onions and cheese. Lots and lots of snacks aboard, so no one is going to go hungry.

We lost quite a bit of ground to our competition for the several hours we were running just on the Genoa, but we're slowing making some of that back up according to the tracker we all carry.

The sea state is challenging for our primary drivers, but Ron, Liam, Steve, and Sam are giving it their all and doing excellent.

Hope that the 320-330 TWD holds for us and that we just keep truckin' down range.

Log # 7
Position: 26 27.2N 114 1.3W
Speed: 9-12 kts
Distance to go: 308nm
Weather: Champagne sailing.
Winds: 300-320 at 11-20 kts
Sail Package: Light Air Runner A2 Spinnaker, Spinnaker Staysail, Full Main

Early this morning the breeze decayed enough for us to downshift to our light-air running spinnaker, the A2. Not only did it give us a boost in speed and better angle, but all of us who drove it say it's a heck of a lot easier on the helmsmen.

We're currently the inside boat and we just executed a gybe to get us out and around Lazarro Point. I figure we'll be here for 5-6 hours before gybing back on to Port tack.

Breakfast was home-made pancakes and sausage (thanks, Sam!) and was hugely well received.

Roger and Sam are swapping watches as we speak with Roger taking the 1200-1600 Captain's watch. For the first 2 hours of his watch, he'll have the current deck team of Liam, Alex, and Steve to help him. The off-watch appear all to be asleep which is great, because there's still plenty of fighting and sail wrangling left to be done.

Alex, our last second pick up when one of our crew couldn't get his passport sorted in time (dang Rona), is doing an excellent job on his first offshore adventure. Great attitude and always ready to jump in.

Our other newbs, Avery and Steve, both seem to be excelling and soaking in the experience. I think Steve summed it up just a few minutes ago on deck when we were talking and he goes, "I could get used to this. This is pretty good stuff. Think I might have to do some more of this". You tell em, Steve!

First 24 hours of the race we covered 254.5nm, a really great run for this boat. We'll know what the second 24 looks like in about an hour once we've passed the 48-hour mark.

If you've got any influence with whoever you believe controls the wind, put in an order of a hard Lefty right around our boat for about the next 6 hours that we can capitalize on as a header and make better angle to the finish line.

Latest projections have an arrival of late evening on Tuesday - but we all know how fickle these things can be. We've still got a lot of racing (over 300nm) to do, and almost anything could happen.

Log # 8
Position: 24 52.9n 113 12.2w
Speed: 9-13 kts
Distance to go: 215 nm
Weather: More Champagne sailing.
Winds: 300-320 at 14-19 kts
Sail Package: Light Air Runner A2 Spinnaker, Full Main

Less than 250nm to go! Much of today was extremely enjoyable conditions. Cool and sunny on deck, pleasantly cool and dry down below for crew rest, and champagne sailing. Wind at a great angle with plenty of pressure to keep us moving. We launched the Spinnaker Staysail to compliment the A2 and they worked nicely together most of the day. As the evening came in, we got a little uptick in wind speed as well as a slightly more confused state. We've dropped the Staysail as it's easier to control and recover the spinnaker without it.

Early evening, we made a gybe over to starboard tack to work our way out away from the coast to line up for what we were hoping was a layline right past Lazaro Point. Unfortunately, when we gybed back, we weren't quite clear of the point, and more importantly there was growing concern on the latest forecast models that there was a large hole forming over the point and bay just below it. Our initial routing runs had us cutting through there with minimal impact on pressure and a shorter distance. Now that appears unlikely, we've gybed back over to starboard again for what should only be a 3-5 hours before we'll head back over to port tack to follow the coast around towards the finish. This is the first significant slip of our routing arrival times, now projecting either very very late Tuesday or early sometime in the first few hours of Wednesday.

Dinner was freeze dried sweet and sour pork and it seemed to go over fairly well. We picked up a bunch of bags of pre-made salads as well which have been going well before dinner.

Seems everyone is in their sleep cycle and have been doing well at being on deck ready to go for the start of their watches.

Spinnaker trim teams Clay/Avery, Liam/ALex, and Alex/Steve had been doing their best to keep the kite full in concert with the drivers in what has, at times, been challenging confused seas.

Ron, Sam, Steve, and Liam have done the lion's share of the driving, and I've jumped in 4 or 5 times to get them some rest and a chance to eat.

Roger seems to be enjoying himself, and these are certainly conditions that makes one wish to be on deck.

Speaking of which, I'd rather be up there hanging out with the Blue team (Ron, Clay, Avery) and their 1st half watch captain Roger than down here, so we'll sign off.

Log # 9
Position: 23 47.9N 112 13.0W
Speed: 10-12.5 kts
Distance to go: 136 nm
Weather: Gorgeous sunrise on a clear crisp day.
Winds: 310-325 at 14-19 kts
Sail Package: Light Air Runner A2 Spinnaker, Full Main

Dawn of the last day! And what a gorgeous dawn it is. Roger, Avery, Ron, and Clay have had what most consider to be the coveted watch - the 0600-1000 dawn patrol. They've spent the last hour or so watching a gorgeous sunrise on what's currently a beautiful cool crisp morning.

We're currently in VMG mode (go down wind as fast as possible watching your target wind angle) and we're watching very closely several of the competitors ahead of us. There is a large area of light air that started to develop overnight right off the coast north of Cabo. We gybed out to put a little more distance between us and that and so far, have had steady breeze near 15 kts.

Nereid, the J/125, is a ways ahead of us and closer to shore and the latest position reports indicate she's lost a significant amount of speed. We're currently tracking the same line as the Santa Cruz 50, Horizon (an EXTREMELY well sailed local boat), and are watching anxiously to see any sort of deterioration to their speed. We're using the boats ahead of us as a set of whiskers to help determine when we may want to gybe out again (hey, you get to be up front, but you've gotta share data- Sailing Instruction 2.13.4).

Our arrival time has slipped some due to the expected lighter breeze later today, now looking at something like 0200 tomorrow morning. Still a very quick run down here. When we did the Puerto Vallarta race down here last year at this time, we were less than half way there and nearly completely becalmed.

Sam is whipping up some freeze-dried biscuits and gravy (right, I have no idea how you freeze dry biscuits either.... stand by and we'll update on edibility on the next log) and fresh eggs (from past experience we have determined that freeze-dried eggs are absolutely inedible and aren't even suitable for wild animal consumption).

Log # 10
Position: 23 27.9N 111 37.9W
Speed: 8-10 kts
Distance to go: 99.5 nm
Weather: Gorgeous clear crisp day.
Winds: 290-305 at 10-14 kts
Sail Package: Light Air Runner A2 Spinnaker, Full Main

Welcome Shore Family, to this special "double-digits" edition of the KATARA Log. Just moments ago, we sailed through the 100nm to destination mark and are now officially in the double-digits!

It's been a very pleasant day, but we'd certainly sign up for more breeze if that was an option. There is a very large hole in and around the finish line, and several of the faster boats that were ahead and approaching it this morning struggled to get through. The forecast swears we are supposed to be bringing some breeze with us from behind which would be awesome, but we've spent most of the early morning up to now trying to sort when to gybe out to shift lanes and when to come back in and optimize our VMC (velocity made good on course). It's a fine line, because every step we take outside adds mileage to our distance but sailing too close to the hole and losing pressure is equally as devastating. Looks like we may be in for 2-3 more sets of small hour-long gybes to shift lanes as we get closer. For now, she's light but cooking along.

Breakfast freeze dried biscuits and gravy was met with generally positive reactions, with Liam and Alex seeming to particularly like it. The fresh eggs Sam made for on top were universally appreciated.

We got Clay on the helm for the first time this trip this morning 0900-1000. These are very tricky conditions and we've largely been sticking with our most experienced offshore helmsmen (Ron, Liam, Sam, Steve, and I). Clay did an excellent job and took great coaching from Sam and I who took turns sitting next to him walking him through the maneuvers. Roger, Avery, Alex, and Clay have been largely leading the spinnaker trim team and have been giving it their all to keep us powered up and give the helmsman the options he needs to keep the pressure on.

Looking like a very late-night arrival - somewhere near 0200 PDT perhaps. The crew house starts today, so as long as we can find our way to, and inside, it we'll have a lovely nice dry clean place to lay our heads this evening.

POST-LOG
In the end, thanks to the KATARA team for their daily log of their experience sailing one of the signature offshore races in the Southern California yachting schedule. It's a classic race and challenge for what is largely a "downhill sleigh ride". Despite their 7-8 hours of 3.5 kts VMG under genoa on their third night, the consequence of blowing up their A4 downwind runner, the KATARA team managed a 4th in class, just behind their classmates- Standish Fleming's J/125 NEREID.  For more Cabo Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

GORGEOUS SAN DIEGO NOOD REGATTA

(San Diego, CA)- The first of the famous HELLY HANSEN Sailing World NOOD Regatta series took place last weekend in San Diego, CA. The San Diego Yacht Club was blessed with classic SoCal sailing conditions from March 19th to 21st for the J/24 and J/105 one-design fleets and the North Sails Doublehanded Offshore Race on Saturday.


The always competitive J/105 class saw close racing all weekend-long. Winning in the end was Stew Cannon's J-OK with a very consistent 2-1-2-3-2 tally for 10 pts. Hot on their heels all weekend was George Scheel's SUN PUFFIN with a 1-4-5-2-1 scoreline for 13 pts. Rounding out the podium was Donica & Scott Ryder's SANITY with a 4-3-1-4-3 record for 15 pts.  The balance of the top five included Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK! in fourth place and Scott McDaniel's OFF THE PORCH placed 5th. 

Bill Ramacciotti and Mike Davies J/24 GREENBACK BOOGIE leapfrogged into first place Sunday thanks to two first-place finishes and one second. “We had super-close racing all weekend among our fleet,” said Ramacciotti. “It was so much fun to see us finishing these races within seconds of each other.”


Four of the five J/24s are local to San Diego, and Ramacciotti and Davies have a concerted effort underway to build the class. “We’re not big budget programs and our goal is to keep it accessible and get more people out sailing,” said Ramacciotti. “We are all weekend warriors so to speak with different years of experience and these boats provide the vehicle to help us all continue learning."

They also agreed that the winning strategy today was picking sides. “Calling the line and committing to one side or another was crucial, Ramacciotti said, “but when you sail in San Diego with shifty winds, it really comes down to boatspeed and crew work."

While the GREENBACK BOOGIE crew ended up with four bullets and four deuces for 12 pts to take the J/24 class win, Christian Seidel's CYGNET 2 was certainly in the hunt until the 7th race. At that point, Seidel's crew plunged down the mine shaft, garnering two 4th's to sink their chances of the class win. As a result, the CYGNET 2 team had to settle for the silver with 18 pts. Completing the podium was Brian Dolan's CALAMITY sailed a consistent series with all top four finishes to finish in fourth with 23 pts. 
Sailing photo credits- Mark Albertazzi  For more San Diego NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NHYC CABO RACE PREVIEW

(Newport Beach, CA)- On Friday midday, a fleet of eighteen offshore racers will be pointing their bows across the starting line set by the host Newport Harbor Yacht Club and will soon be headed 800.0nm south from Newport Beach, CA down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It is a famous race, a famous challenge, and anything can happen. Often the most significant decisions are which teams have chosen between hugging the Mexican coastline or heading offshore to steadier winds...it's often a roll of the dice. 

Looking forward to that challenge are two thoroughbreds in the J/Design stable. Racing in ORR Class C are Standish Fleming's J/125 NEREID and Roger Gatewood's J/145 KATARA.  Both are well-prepared, well-sailed boats with strong tactical/ strategic navigational teams on board. Furthermore, both boats have demonstrated the ability to win more than their fair share of silverware as well! With solid breezes forecast from the north, the fleet should have a reasonably quick sleighride down to the famous ocean resort of Cabo San Lucas!  For more Cabo Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

SAN DIEGO NOOD REGATTA PREVIEW

(San Diego, CA)- The first of the famous HELLY HANSEN Sailing World NOOD Regatta series will be taking place in San Diego, CA this coming weekend. San Diego Yacht Club will play host for the event from March 19th to 21st for one-design fleets of J/24s and J/105s and an offshore North Sails Doublehanded Race.

The J/24 class features teams like Brian Dolan's CALAMITY from Tucson, Arizona (the long-distance traveler award!); Christian Seidel's CYGNET 2, Bill Ramacciotti's GREENBACK BOOGIE, Ryan Jurkowski's IRIE, and Dave Wethereit's SUPERDRY.


The always highly-competitive fleet of eight J/105s will see a number of the class stalwarts participating for their first time in over twelve months! Those teams include Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK!, Stew Cannon's J-OK, Scott McDaniel's OFF THE PORCH and Bill Quealy's J RABBIT SLIM. 

Looking forward to the challenge of sailing large boats doublehanded offshore is Stephen Driscoll's J/105 JUICED and Rudy Hasl's J/145 PALAEMON. Should be fun to watch these teams wrestle their boats around the track off Point Loma. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing.com.  For more San Diego NOOD Regatta sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

SAN DIEGO STARTS NOOD 2021 SERIES!

 

(Newport, RI)- For nearly three decades, the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta national series kicked off in St. Petersburg, FL, in February, but a shift in the 2021 calendar will put Southern California sailing front and center with the Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta San Diego, March 19 to 21.

With experienced race management teams at co-hosts San Diego Yacht Club and Coronado Yacht Club, competitive sailors in the region can expect top-quality races on San Diego Bay for the regatta’s smaller boats, as well as the deeper waters off Coronado for larger keelboats. As the first major regatta of the SoCal spring sailing season, the annual event will be a draw for local and visiting teams keen to freshen their skills from the long offseason of 2020.
 
For Helly Hansen, the regatta series’ seven-year title sponsor, the San Diego stop is a welcome beginning to the new sailing year. While the usual after-racing social events will not be held, organizers are keen to provide the best possible experience on the water.
 
“At Helly Hansen we make gear for professionals to feel and stay alive, and that’s also true for all the sailors of the NOOD Regattas,” says Helly Hansen Watersports Marketing Manager, Jenny Daudlin. “While 2020 was a challenging year, Helly has continued to bring along innovative new styles. There were some cool pieces in 2020 that people didn’t get to see, so we’re looking forward to reconnecting with the sailors in different ways and providing them the best gear possible to enjoy their time on the water safely.”
 
One trend that emerged through 2020 was the popularity of day-race formats that require fewer crew members. This movement is also fueled by the expectation of a two-person offshore discipline being added to the 2024 Games. In response to this rising demand for shorthanded races, NOOD Regatta organizers, in partnership with North Sails, added the North Sails Doublehanded Distance Race on Saturday, March 20. This daytime challenge will send competitors racing a variety of boats on one long course spanning San Diego Bay and offshore near Point Loma.


Rudy Hasl, of San Diego, is one of the early registrants for the North Sails Doublehanded Race and says he’s looking forward to skippering his J/145 around the course— with the sole assistance of his long-time bowman, Anthony Garcia.
 
“I’m really glad they’ve added this race to the regatta,” Hasl says. “Doing the typical windward/leeward buoy races all day can be tough on the crew and the sails. So, I like this format, as it offers plenty of excitement for me.”
 
Hasl, 78 years young, raced doublehanded extensively when he lived in the Pacific Northwest. Now a full time SoCal resident, he says San Diego is just as challenging a venue to race, especially a boat the size of his J/145 PALAEMON.  
 
“We’re going to try our best to play it safely and carefully,” Hasl says, noting that he and Garcia will be using specialized sails that are easier for two people to handle. “This is the first time we’ll have doublehanded this particular boat. Anthony is a super bowman because he has his way of checking the lines are run correctly. The boat is set up in a way that I can tail halyards from the back while steering.”
 
Their biggest challenge, he says, may be keeping the boat’s massive spinnaker sail from ever touching the water. “We’ve sailed with it and I have a sense of what’s involved in the process and think we can control the beast,” Hasl says. “The key with doublehanded racing is just doing things slowly and deliberately.”

Joining them in the Doublehanded class is Steve Driscoll's J/105 JUICED!

So far, the two one-design classes are showing good participation. The J/24s have five boats entered and the J/105s are up to a dozen already! Sign up now and join in on the fun!  For more San Diego NOOD Regatta sailing information and registrationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

* Love retro reviews of iconic J/Boats in the sailing world?

 

We will pass along some more in the next few weeks from SAILING ANARCHY.com.  For this first week in January, we have Sailing Anarchy.com founder Scot Tempesta taking you on a tour of the J/145 offshore racer cruiser.

As a quick backgrounder, the J/145 was a "follow-on" design to the famous offshore silver-winning speedster- the J/125. It was created as a request by J/Boats owners (most of whom started with the world-famous J/24) to have a "more comfortable" version of the J/125 for their family, while still having "cruise-ability". 

Well, the specification for the J/145 was a bit O.T.T. (yes, over the top). Like the J/125, it was constructed of a combination of foam core and balsa core with a combination of carbon fiber layers, vacuum-infused in triple layers (outer skin, core, inner skin). That construction specification made for a robust, strong, lightweight, amazingly quick offshore racer/cruiser.

For those who have sailed J/145s, it's an "eye-opening" experience. No one expects what looks like a family cockpit, wheel-steered, cabin with opening ports, sailboat to have a PHRF rating of -15! Seriously?

Another shocker is the interior... a REAL navigation station, a REAL J-shaped galley (offshore friendly), and enough room to sail an offshore crew in seriously comfortable Ritz-Carlton/ Peninsula Hotel comfort fashion (at least by most offshore racer standards!).

Enjoy this YouTube video tour of a nicely appointed J/145 here by Scot Tempesta from Sailing Anarchy.

J/CREWS CELEBRATE SILVERWARE @ HOT RUM SERIES

 

(San Diego, CA)- So, there we were. Hot Rum race 3, watching all the weather and forecasts and guessing how the day was going to unfold. It is "local knowledge" that there is always a nice little "point effect"- light winds accelerating down the east side of Point Loma- that create some artificially significant winds. With that wind in their sails easing them along the first leg of the Hot Rum race course, racers also had the benefit of an outgoing tide (in effect all day) to get them out to Mark 2. The race committee had little confidence the race would even get that far.


Just as the first boats were rounding Mark 2 to begin their downwind sail into the Roads, those light Point Loma winds started to ripple their way east to the otherwise glassy sea that extended way past Mark 3 and Mark 4 deep in the Roads. Over the next hour and a half, boats reached and gybed their way to the bottom of the course in 3 to 5 kts of wind. From there, a two mile beat back to Mark 5 challenged the fleet. There, the RC Signal boat Corinthian sat looking east over the race course, then north, 3 miles up the bay to the course finish. Decision time.


With no certainty of the wind holding (that wasn’t forecast to be there in the first place), and 50% of a very high 5 foot-plus all-day tide ebb still making the final 3 miles to the finish an uphill effort, the RC hoisted the sierra flag (S) and anchored approx. 330 yds south of Mark 5, laying a ‘shorten course’ finish line perpendicular to the course from the previous mark. Their impression at that moment was that unless they shortened the course, up to a third of the fleet would have no hope of finishing even in the current conditions, and half or more wouldn’t make it to the charted finish if there were any deterioration.

The first six boats lined up to cross this new finishing line were predictably all ultralight sleds that can muscle their way through light air with apparent winds and boat speeds fractionally higher than the actual wind speed. The RC understands that the finish might have seemed premature. But, to the mortal seaman and mermaids aboard the other 90 boats still racing, we think it was the correct move.  


Still, no good deed goes unpunished. And, there were two uncomfortable things that the RC still needed to address. First, was to note the boats that missed the “S” finish line. You can reference your Racing Rules of Sailing book inside back cover for the picture of flag “S” (a.k.a. sierra). It identifies RRS 32.2. Reading 32.2 (a) it informs the finishing line “…shall be at a round mark, between the Mark and a staff displaying flag S.“

A few focused sailors, not seeing the S flag, and likely not hearing the Race Committee announce on the race channel VHF 69, sailed on starboard, south of and past the RC signal boat with flag S displayed. They tacked to port and their course took them completely around the signal boat and the finish line. It is frustrating to see this breakdown of understanding, but we always hope that those that were confused by what a RC does can learn from it and be better informed in the future. Trying to "save a race" for many but losing a few that aren’t familiar with flag S is always the trade-off.


Then, there is the scoring. Fun fact. A Hot Rum “shorten course” race has happened twice before, in 2008 and 2009. While rare, it is not unprecedented, and the solution is not untried. First, understand a Pursuit Start - basically boats are given a particular start time based on a formula that estimates boat’s speed around the course relative to other boats. Bigger faster boats "owe" smaller slower boats more time as the course gets longer. And the inverse – less time is owed on a shorter course. In virtual terms, everyone but the first boat to start got a late start for HR3. By shortening the race at mark 5, approx. 3.2nm was cut off the race course. We know how long it took for boats to sail around the 8.7nm course, so we refigured new ‘virtual’ start times based on 8.7nm and added the actual elapsed time to that to generate new ‘virtual’ finish times. Those are found on the Hot Rum race 3 finishes page. The boat finish order is different than you actually may have witnessed. That’s because like a regular PHRF handicap race where you adjust times after the finish, we adjusted times both before AND after.


Shortening course is not easy to do or understand, especially in a unique format like a Pursuit race with all the handicap incentive given at the start. But, it seemed like a better option than leaving 45 boats floating in the channel. Either way, there was a lot of gratitude from most finishers. The Hot Rum, to quote 1981 its creator- Herb Sinnhoffer- “is a fun race and to be able to meet afterwards and make friends”. Given COVID protocols, the "fun race" intent still holds up. It is great that some will work really hard and compete at a high level, while others will just enjoy a nice social sail around the waters of San Diego-- in December! Either way, remember the Race committee is doing its best to honor the intent race, and balance the efforts of those participating.

In the third and final race in the San Diego Yacht Club Hot Rum series, two of the J/145s finished with the same point total for Class I. After count-back, it was Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON and Ernie Pennell’s MORE MADNESS taking 3rd and 4th out of fifteen boats in Class I (the BIG boats!). They were barely beaten by a custom carbon fiber Swan 601 and Pat Disney's custom carbon Andrews 68. 

In the PHRF Overall results for 113 boats, Hasl's J/145 PALAEMON and the custom Swan 601 STARK RAVING MAD finished tied for second place at 30 points each, with the countback going to the Mad-men. Notably, taking fifth place was the other J/145 MORE MADNESS. 


The sailing conditions for Race 3 were very challenging, with winds ranging from under 5 Kts to 10 kts, with shifty winds at the start and steadier winds later in the race. As a result of the decreasing wind conditions, the race was shortened to enable most boats to finish the race.

In other classes, J/Crews faired extremely well. In PHRF 2 Class, it was Chuck Nichols' J/120 CC RIDER that won the first two races handily, but suffered in the lighter going in the third race to post a "down the mine shaft" 9th place.  As a result, the CC RIDERS had to settle for the silver in this year's series. A similar fate befell the J/111 CREATIVE sailed by Ed Sanford. After the first two races with a 5-3 tally, their finale had to count an 18th....dropping like a rock from the top three down to 9th in class. 


The twenty-seven boat PHRF 4 Class was crushed, as usual, by a slew of J-mercenaries. In fact, it was a clean sweep of the top six in class. Not surprisingly, leading the charge and sweeping the podium were top J/105 teams. Winning was Jim Dorsey's J-OK, followed by the Vieregg/ Bermann duo on ZUNI BEAR in second and Jeff Brown's SWEET KAREN in third.  Following them were Chuck Bowers' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER in fourth, George Scheel's J/105 SUN PUFFIN in fifth, and Nico Lindauer’s J/34 IOR beauty MARLEN in sixth place. Notably Lindauer’s J/34 IOR won the last two races quite handily...they suffered from having to count a 28 pt DNC for not sailing the first race. Sailing photo credits- Mark Albertazzi.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information