TOOLE WINS J/22 MATCH RACING QUALIFIER

 

(San Francisco, CA)- St Francis Yacht Club members are witness to a remarkable variety of sail racing, but there is one type of sail racing that is distinct even to the casual observer - the intense head-to-head battle of match racing – right outside the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows of the famous Grill Room and its commanding views over San Francisco Bay. 

By way of background, US Sailing will hold its Match Racing Championship in Long Beach in October, after a series of seven qualifiers around the country.  On May 1-2, 2021, the St. Francis hosted the NorCal qualifier in its fleet of evenly matched J/22s, sailed by teams of four. With identical boats, this was a test of the tactical acumen of the skippers and the boat handling skills of the crew, sorely tested in the high winds of last weekend, gusting over 30 kt.  In fact, crew went overboard on both days during fast maneuvering or in broaches due to the high winds. The bosun boat was busy assisting with equipment repair or replacement, and swapped out one boat due to collision, a reflection of the speed and intensity of match racing on SF Bay.


Over the two days of round-robins, for a total of 12 matches, Team Toole and Team Breault came to the forefront and seemed evenly matched. In the end, Oliver Toole (StFYC) took a one-point victory over Nicole Breault (StFYC), finishing 11-1 compared to her 10-2.  When racing head-to-head they split, with Breault beating Toole on Saturday and the reverse on Sunday. The difference, in the end, was when Jack Barton (representing San Francisco YC) topped Nicole on Saturday.

The big story is that Toole, a two-time All-American sailor from Stanford and a team racing champion, came into the event without match racing experience. However, he and his wife Kelly have sailed together for over ten years and are quite familiar with the City Front and J/22s, having practiced team racing there many times and successfully represented the Club at the Baldwin Cup and Morgan Cup.  In addition to their brother-in-law Jack Ortell at bow, they were bolstered by Olympian Craig Healy on board as trimmer and tactician.  


“Though I graduated from Stanford in 2014, our team has stuck together. We were quite comfortable in the breeze, since our St. Francis group has practiced 4x4 team racing here in these conditions many times in recent years before we left to race elsewhere.  It was terrific having Craig on board with his immense match racing talent, and of course super fun to qualify for the national championship. We’re looking forward to expanding our circle with the right team for Long Beach’s Catalina 37’s, obviously a much bigger boat requiring different skills and some large people.”

Breault commented that, “we had some fresh new faces in this regatta and that bodes well for the match racing scene in California. Quite a few skippers asked me afterwards to set up some sparring sessions so we can keep playing the game and honing our skills!”  Her team consisted of Maggie Bacon (bow), Karen Loutzenheiser (trim), and Molly Carapiet (main/tactics).  

Brock Paquin, representing Cal Maritime, finished third, with crew of Justin Zimna, Kyle Collins, Lukas Kraak.

ANNAPOLIS NOOD A CELEBRATION FOR J/CREWS!

 

J/22 SCOOBY Crowned as Overall Winner!

(Annapolis, MD)- J.R. Maxwell and the crew of the Annapolis-based J/22 SCOOBY were happy with their results Saturday in the big breeze of the 2021 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Annapolis; consistency being the key in the highly tightly competitive 15-boat fleet.


J/22 Overall Winner
And after winning Sunday’s first two races, they were well on their way to winning the regatta. Until the final race. With an over-early start, they were recalled to the line, restarted, and looked up the course to see the work ahead.

“We had to grind back from being second-to-last and finished fifth in that race,” Maxwell says. “Today was all about the puffy conditions so you had to stay in the puffs and that wasn’t always intuitive of where that was going to happen. We figured that over time.”

Like most sailors Maxwell and his team have had limited time sailing over the duration of the pandemic, but were happy to back on the water and racing again together.

“We’re super happy with the win this year,” Maxwell says. “We’ve been sailing this regatta for the better part of a decade and we were ready to get this one this time. We had a regatta last weekend that we won so we were feeling good coming into this weekend.”

With Maxwell on SCOOBY was crew Jim Schmicker and Matt Spencer (with Bryan Pryor sailing on Saturday only) and as winner of the J/22 class they were also selected as the overall winner, earning a berth to compete in the Helly Hansen Caribbean NOOD Championship in October.

Rounding out the top spots in the J/22s were Brad Julian's YARD SAIL in second, Jeff Todd's HOT TODDY in third, Aden King's RIDING DIRTY fourth, and Jake Doyle's ZESTY ENTERPRISE in fifth position. 


J/35 Nail-biter Finale
The J/35s are one of the few legacy classes of the Annapolis NOOD, which has been hosted for more than 30 years by the Annapolis YC (with race committee support by Eastport YC and the Severn Sailing Association) and while the J/35s were smaller in numbers, the battle of the top of the fleet was a big one, with Roger Lant’s ABIENTOT winning the tiebreaker over the perennial champions on James Sagerholm’s AUNT JEAN.

“They are very, very fast upwind so if you let them get away it’s a tough battle after that, so we worked on a strategy to deal with them on the starting line,” said Lant. “We carried out our plan and it went well.”

What was that plan?

“The boat that won the start won the race. They were looking for space on the starting line and we were looking to engage, so yesterday we engaged them fairly hard.”

But after AUNT JEAN won the day’s first two races, Lant had only one option- to win the final race!

“We knew we had to control him at the start, but we also had to win the start, get ahead and get clear. They are such a fast boat upwind, especially in conditions where the racecourse is even like it was today.”

But still, to win also requires good crew work under pressure.

“As skipper, I’m the most fortunate skipper on the course,” Lant says. “I have a core crew that has been sailing together for three year and the skills keep building and today we had some of the most fabulous crew work I’ve ever seen on the boat. Exceptional.”

The balance of the podium and top five included Jim McNeely's MAGGIE in third, Mike Wood's VALHALLA in fourth, and Masci McGonigle's WINDEPENDENT in fifth place. 


J/80 Cliff-hanger Finale
Conor Hayes and Jeff Kirchhoff’s J/80 MORE GOSTOSA, also contributed their win to the flawless crew work of their team, which has had limited sailing over the past years. More than once, says Hayes, it helped them get back places that ultimately impacted the final outcome—they won by a single point.

“The wind was pretty spotty, so it was about finding the pressure and staying in it on the runs,” Hayes says. “It was surprising the current was flooding all day and that was a big factor.”

After the winning the second to last race of the day, Hayes knew the points were extremely close between his team and runner-up Daniel Wittig’s TURBO SLOTH, but he had no idea how close. All he could do for the last race was keep TURBO SLOTH in his wake. That didn’t happen, and it almost went worse.

“We had a tough start in that last race,” Hayes says. “We wanted to start at the pin but got shut out. We were able to tack out immediately onto port and were in phase [with the windshifts] and from there it was a matter of just staying in more wind. It helps to have boatspeed and good crew to be able to get out of bad situations like that.”

The balance of the top five included Tom & Jennifer Kopp's KOPP-OUT (aka The Lasso Way) in third, Mike Hobson's MELTEMI in fourth, and Sarah Alexander's MORE COWBELL in fifth.


J/70 Mind-blowing Finish
Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the winning J/70 USA 419 he co-owns with Jennifer Norwood, had a similar starting experience in the first race of the day and he, too, almost lost the regatta. They were buried in the start and immediately found an escape route.

“We didn’t trust the Velocitek [a GPS-based starting device],” Hutchinson says. “We were poked [close to the line] and I didn’t pull the trigger. The boat on our leebow was about a boat length ahead of us at the start, unfortunately. It was a rookie mistake. When we set up at 40 seconds we were in a good spot, but I felt exposed.”

With the focus of his crew, Scott Nixon, Dan Morris, Gil Hackel, and Jennifer Norwood, they clawed their way back to an eight-place finish in the 40-boat fleet— no small feat— which Hutchinson says ultimately won the regatta for them. Although, they did win the next race and finished second in the last to secure the win by 7 points over John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA.

“Yesterday was a lot of fun because it was breezy,” Hutchinson says. “We weren’t fast in the first race and then when it lightened up, our limited time in the boat didn’t bite us as hard and we were more competitive.


“We were much better today and it’s amazing how hard this racecourse is in Annapolis. The course location was hard because the current was good on the right, but there was pressure [more wind] and shift on the left so you had to balance the two.

“You did not want to be in the middle. In the first race the leader came out of the right, and in the second, the leader came out of the left. Each leg was unique to itself, which kept us on our toes.”

Behind the Hutchinson/Norwood team was John Heaton's EMPEIRIA in second, Rich Witzel's ROWDY third, Doug Rastello's GOOD TO GO fourth, and Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY in fifth place. 

Winning the J/70 Corinthians Division was James Gary's AVACUCHO, followed by Mike McNamara's TEA DANCE SNAKE in second, and Kelly McGlynn's BEARNARCHY in third. 

How did things go down in the other classes?  

North Sails Doublehanded ORC division
Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN took the bronze, with John Bell's J/100 HIWASSEE taking eighth place. 


J/24's Experience a Good'ole Fashioned Butt-whippin'
The ten-boat class may have been a bit surprised that class octogenarian Tony Parker would wake up after his Rip Van Winkle-esque pandemic experience and still remember how to sail a J/24. Well, for those in the know, racing a J/24 for Tony is a bit like riding a bike, having been racing the class since inception in 1978 out of Portland, Maine. Now based in Washington, DC, Parker and his BANGOR PACKET team demonstrated near-perfection, winning all eight of their races.  Having a similar score of mostly seconds, Pete Kassal's SPACEMAN SPIFF team sailed home to an 18 pts tally. They were followed by Pat Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR in third with 25 pts total. 


Shoot-out at Houston's OK Corral for J/105s
The huge, competitive J/105 fleet didn't disappoint with regards to close competition like their colleagues in other classes. However, it was not the home boys that were showing everyone their transom going home. Instead, it was a pair of Texans hailing from Houston's Galveston Bay that topped the leaderboard in a "mano-a-mano" fight to the end.  In the end, Bill Zartler's DEJA VOODOO led fellow Texan Ken Horne's FINAL FINAL by closing with a 2-2 to win with 27 pts. Third was Cedric Lewis & Fredrik Salvesen's MIRAGE with 32 pts, fourth Hugh Bethell's JESTER with 35 pts (winning the last two races somewhat convincingly), and fifth Doug & Amy Stryker's MAYHEM. 


J/30 Triad Trade Podium Finishes To the End
Perhaps the most interesting battle in the one-design classes was amongst the passionate J/30 owners. No one would've guessed beforehand that a trio of boats would monopolize the podium finishes in every race! In short, the main issue was the trade-off of covering one competitor while another "escaped" to do their own thing...often times it was the "escapee" that won the race and beat the other two in their own duel! After six races, it was clear that Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP had a slight edge to win class with a 1-3-1-2-1-2 tally for 10 pts. Taking the silver was Bruce Irvin's SHAMROCK with a 2-1-3-3-2-1 record for 12 pts. Earning a well-deserved bronze medal was Tristan Keen's INFECTIOUS SMILE with a 3-2-2-1-3-3 scoreline for 14 pts!  Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com.  For more Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

SAIL magazine's Lydia Mullan recently wrote an article about America's community sailing centers that are ushering in a new generation of sailors. In most cases, those community sailing centers are making use of inexpensive, easy-to-sail, fun, easy-to-maintain J/22s, J/24s, and J/80s.  Here is the introduction to the story:

"I'm sitting in a yacht club, having dinner with three other members of my crew, all of them men 40 years my senior. They're lamenting the tragic state of sailing. "Look around us:' one of them says, gesturing to the other patrons. "Where are the young people?" Another turns to me, "Why don't people your age sail anymore?" I didn't know it then, but it's a question that I would be asked again and again over the next few years. 

Today, America's yacht clubs, and sailing in general, appear to be experiencing a population crisis. There are many reasons for this. Sailing's reputation for posh exclusivity has gone out of style. 

There's also the question of cost. Based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, on average Millennials (currently ages 25-35) make 20 percent less than their parents did. Women make even less, and women of color even less than that. Finally, there are the many other roadblocks to sailing: social barriers, informational barriers, geographic barriers. Race, sexuality and socioeconomic status are all factors. 

Fortunately, in recent years a solution has quietly begun to take shape in towns and cities across America in the form of a growing number of community sailing centers. 

Currently, US Sailing recognizes about 50 accredited centers. There's no single definition of a community sailing center, but a qualifying factor is that each center owns boats available for use by its members or the general public. This shifts the startup cost away from individuals and lowers the barrier for entry. 

Today's sailing centers often have an outreach and education curriculum, but there are as many different ways to organize these as there are sailing centers. The appeal of this system is obvious. If you can't afford a boat, no problem. You want to sail but don't know anything about boat maintenance? That's fine. Same thing if you have no place to store a boat, need a few lessons to gain confidence or don't have any sailing friends. The list goes on and on. The model works especially for young people. It's no exaggeration to say today's sailing centers are welcoming a whole new generation of sailors from communities that would likely never have otherwise been able to get out on the water. 

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS) in New York (located at Hudson Yards) serves as an excellent example of a program going above and beyond in its efforts to expand water access in its community. Like many community centers, HRCS is young- founded less than 15 years ago by Bill Bahen with four donated Rainbows. Today, the center has many programs, including adult sailing and an adaptive sailing program for veterans utilizing a large fleet of J/24s and J/80s. However, its shining star is a youth program run in conjunction with the New York City school system. Every year, about 200 middle and high schoolers from all five boroughs take part. In addition to learning how to sail, students build boats, and learn about weather, marine sciences, and conservation. And while students receive course credit for these efforts, HRCS takes most pride in teaching life skills like communication and problem solving. 


"I am fond of saying, 'Don't teach sailing, use sailing as a venue to teach other amazing things,"' says HRCS's community sailing director Don Rotzien. "Sailing creates stronger communicators, better leaders, better problem solvers, better neighbors... The benefits go far beyond time on the water. If you can figure out how to sail safely and effectively, you can apply that kind of problem solving to every day you're at work or interacting with people." 

Though the focus is on teaching sailing to develop life skills rather than to create life-long sailors, graduates often find their passion in the program, with alums going on to careers sailing tall ships or working in marine sciences. Some even return to work with HRCS. 

Despite the success of these programs, growing the sport of sailing is no walk in the park. These kinds of organizations face a host of different challenge with little precedent for how to navigate many of them. 

"Every community sailing center has to operate with a startup mindset," says Rotzien, who is also a member of US Sailing's Community Sailing Center Committee. He jokes they're gluttons for punishment, because they're constantly seeking new barriers to whittle away in order to get everyone access. It's a super-human amount of work— partnering with schools, writing grants, doing outreach to under-represented communities, getting waterfront property access, maintaining the fleet of boats, troubleshooting retention issues. 

"We have to fight to get people who don't see themselves in the sport in the door," Rotzien says. 

What follows are just a few of the many great programs out there working to raise the next generation of sailors- click here to view or download the PDF of SAIL's The Kids are Alright! article.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNAPOLIS J/FEST (AKA NOOD REGATTA) PREVIEW

 

(Annapolis, MD)- IF there was ever proof that J/Sailors in general are passionate, enthusiastic sailors, one only needs to look at the astonishing statistics for the 2021 HELLY HANSEN Annapolis NOOD Regatta being hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club from April 30th to May 2nd this coming weekend.  A total of 157 teams are participating, of which 124 of them (79% of the fleet!) are J/Teams sailing J/22s (16), J/24s (10), J/70s (40), J/80s (13), J/30s (13), J/35s (5), J/105s (21), J/111s (7), and 2 in the Doublehanded class. 

The sailors may be treated to a little bit more than what they bargained for in the weather department. As is often the case on the Chesapeake Bay in the springtime, the somewhat unstable weather patterns can dish out rapidly changing sailing conditions. This weekend the NOAA forecasts indicate 15 to 35 kts northwest winds trailing a massive front that is rolling through Thursday evening. Then, the powerful nor ‘westers will diminish into a somewhat benign 8-15 kts Saturday and shifting, backing into the southwest on Sunday at 6-14 kts. No matter what, whatever cobwebs that may have accumulated over the past pandemic year will no doubt get blown out over the horizon in short order!

In the sixteen-boat J/22 class, many of the regional class leaders are in attendance, including Sandy Adzick's HOT TICKET, Jeff Todd's HOT TODDY, Aden King's RIDIN' DIRTY, JR Maxwell's SCOOBY, Brad Julian's YARD SAIL, and Jake Doyle's ZESTY ENTERPRISES. 

The ten-boat J/24 class will feature the four-decade class veteran Tony Parker on his famous BANGOR PACKET along with Pat Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR, Pete Kassal's SPACEMAN SPIFF, and Sam McGuire's BLOW'VIATE. 


The ten-boat J/30 class continues to enjoy its on-going renaissance with many beautifully restored/ reconstructed boats ponying up to the starting like a bunch of ancient thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs. Familiar faces include Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP, Dan Watson's AVITA, Jim McGinnis' BLITZ, Heidi Fritz's SUZIE Q, and Tristan Keen's INFECTIOUS SMILE. 

With just five-boats, the J/35 class will certainly not be lacking for strong competition. A few class veterans will be going at it hammer & tong all weekend. Watch for good battles between Jim Sagerholm's AUNT JEAN, Jim McNeely's MAGGIE, and Roger Lant's ABIENTOT. 


At forty-boats, the J/70s all have their eyes fixated on their upcoming J/70 North American Championship sailing on the same Chesapeake Bay waters in the following two weeks.  Many top teams are in attendance, including Andrew Fisher's BUTTON FLY, John Brigden's COOL STORY BRO from San Francisco, CA; John Heaton's EMPEIRIA from Chicago, IL; Doug Rastello's GOOD TO GO from Newport Beach, CA; Travis Odenbach's HONEYBADGER from Pittsford, NY; Cate Muller-Terhune's MURDER HORNET; Marty McKenna's RARITY; Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY; Sandy Askew's RIMETTE; Brian Keane's SAVASANA; Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX; Bruce Golison's TEN from San Diego, CA; and Terry Hutchinson's USA 419 (yes, the America's Cup guy and J/24 World Champion!). Quite the rogue's gallery of talent preparing for the J/70 NA's as well as the J/70 Worlds later this summer in Long Beach, CA. 

The thirteen-boat J/80 class will certainly have its fair share of top-flight competitors vying for class honors. Amongst the contenders to the leaderboard will be Bert Carp's ELEVEN, Mike Hobson's MELTEMI, Sarah Alexander's MORE COWBELLS, Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK, and Dan Wittig's TURBO SLOTH. 


With their J/105 North American Championship happening in late fall 2021, the twenty-one-boat fleet has most of the local leading teams in attendance, such as Andy Kennedy's BAT IV, John Kircher's CHESSIE, Ben duPont's CTRL ALT DEL, Bill Zartler's DEJA VOODOO, Ken Horne's FINAL FINAL, Cedric Lewis & Fredrik Salvesen's MIRAGE, Don Santa's SANTAS REIGH DEAR, Carl Gitchell's TENACIOUS, and Bill Sutton & Bob Taylor's TRIM.  

Finally, enjoying a tour of the Bay around government markers will be the North Sails Doublehanded Class of ten boats. Hoping to grab some silverware will be John Bells' J/100 HIWASSEE and Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN (a famous class winner in both the Annapolis to Newport Race and the Bermuda Race).  For more Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

GREAT START TO CHESAPEAKE SAILING SEASON

(Annapolis, MD)— The Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta returns to Annapolis, April 30 to May 2, for its 33rd edition, with more than 160 teams expected to race in boats ranging from 20 to 40 feet. The annual spring regatta, which is considered the premiere local sailing event of the year, also serves as the unofficial kickoff for the robust and thriving Annapolis sailing scene.
 
“What I’m hearing is that a lot of sailors have been using the downtime of the pandemic to work on and improve their boats while also going to school with webinars all winter long. They’re keen to apply all that learning to the race course for real,” says Dave Reed from SAILING WORLD, which co-hosts the event with Annapolis Yacht Club and other area yacht clubs. “After a year of so many regatta cancellations, sailors are ready to get back to racing in a big way. The Annapolis NOOD has always been an amazing event, and this year will be no different.”

The Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta series is the largest national sailing circuit, with Annapolis serving as the third event of five, along with regattas in St. Petersburg, Florida, San Diego, Chicago, and Marblehead, Massachusetts. At each regatta, one team is selected as the overall winner, earning a berth at the championship in the British Virgin Islands in late October.


With such national prestige and a reputation for its professional race management, the Annapolis NOOD continues to be a major draw for competitors from all points of Chesapeake Bay and afar. This will be especially true in late April as competitors registered in two of the regatta’s largest classes will be using the event to train for major class championships later in the year. 

The J/70 class, for example, will host its North American Championship in early May in Annapolis and its World Championship in California in August, so organizers expect a high number of professional sailing teams will be in attendance, training and studying the venue’s challenging winds and tides. In addition, the J/111 class (36-foot/seven crew) will host its North American Championship at the NOOD.
 
“We’re especially excited this year,” says competitor Bill Carruth, who races with his wife, Linsley, in the J/105 class. The J/105s will have its North American Championship in Annapolis in October. Their NOOD fleet could have as many as 30 of these 35-footers. “It is a blast to have so many J/105s on the starting line,” Carruth says. “These are good sailors and they know the rules, so we tend to be aggressive, which makes it’s entertaining and exciting.”
 
In all, 11 classes will compete over three days, on race courses set on the waters south of Bay Bridge and immediately outside Annapolis Harbor and the U.S. Naval Academy, which will also field teams across a few classes. Regatta organizers have also added a new competition with the North Sails Doublehanded Distance Race where two-person teams will one day-long endurance race on Saturday, May 1, starting and finishing at entrance of the Harbor.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images   For more Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

FASTNET RACE COURSE RECORD SET BY J/70 SAILOR & J/22 CAY SUPPORTER!?

In the "you won't believe what J/Sailors are doing when not sailing their J's" department, J/70 sailor Peter Cunningham and J/22 Youth sailing program supporter from the Caymans Islands Sailing Club has been exploring a few adventurous, if not extreme, elements on his "bucket list". Recently, his POWERPLAY Team tackled the Fastnet Race course record in his MOD 70 trimaran (a wee-bit different VMG than his J/70!). Here is their report.


Led by Peter Cunningham and skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, the MOD 70 POWERPLAY completed the original Fastnet Course of 595 nautical miles in a new record of 25 hrs 4 mins 18 secs.

“It was kind of ambitious, but the conditions were right, and the team was ready to go,” commented Peter. “The POWERPLAY crew was fantastic. Miles (Seddon) did a brilliant job navigating, we had two wonderful drivers in Ned Collier Wakefield, who set up the boat and runs the program, and the fastest sailor on Earth- Paul Larsen- who drove in some incredibly bad conditions.”

Shortly after midday on Monday 05 April, in a bitterly cold strong northerly wind, POWERPLAY started their Fastnet record attempt crossing the Squadron Line off Cowes, Isle of Wight. 


POWERPLAY made short work of racing to Lands' End and powered across the Celtic Sea at speeds in excess of 30 knots. POWERPLAY rounded the famous Fastnet Lighthouse and raced through the night. On Tuesday 06 April, at 13:42 and 19 seconds BST, POWERPLAY reached the Plymouth Breakwater, where the team celebrated their amazing run of 25 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.

“We didn’t leave much out there, we were pushing really hard and everything aligned,” commented Skipper Wakefield. “I am not going to lie, it was pretty full-on, especially in April with an arctic northerly with snow around. With the apparent wind we saw 50 knots over the deck, and we hit a top speed of just under 40 knots. The lads did a brilliant job, changing sails about every half an hour. It was rough, physical and very cold. As a crew, we have done cumulatively over 50 Fastnet Races, we love the course, and to do it faster than it has been done before is really cool.”


PowerPlay Crew for Fastnet Course Record: Peter Cunningham, Ned Collier Wakefield, Tom Dawson, John Hamilton, Paul Larsen, Jack Trigger, Miles Seddon, Martin Watts.   More about Team POWERPLAY

AWESOME 25TH ANNIVERSARY CHARLESTON RACE WEEK!

(Charleston, SC)- Expectations were high for this year's celebration of the 25th anniversary of Charleston Race Week. Hosted at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, the dozens of volunteers from the Charleston Offshore Racing Association (CORA) delivered in spades after more than a year off. With the added bonus of having the weather Godz cooperate for once, most all fleets were able to fulfill their full schedule of races, with most one-design fleets experiencing ten races after three days of sailing!


The sailors experienced mostly sunny days with southerly winds; with winds varying from southeast to southwest, depending on the degree of cloud cover, and breezes ranging in velocities from 6 to 16 kts. As usual, the mostly ebbing currents of up to 3.5 knots played havoc with laylines both upwind and downwind for many sailors...many boats "doing donuts" after hitting one of the robotic MarkSetBots being used as marks. 

A total of 188 boats in 16 classes were finally able to celebrate the 25th anniversary race week in Charleston, SC. Not surprisingly, passionate J/Sailors across the country couldn't wait for this rendezvous with destiny! Of the 188 boats registered, 103 of them were J/Boats sailors (a stunning 55.0% of the fleet)!  


The regatta featured five one-design J/Classes, including J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/88s, and J/105s.  In addition, there were two “Pursuit-style” sailing divisions for both PHRF and ORC handicap rated boats that included a J/30, J/35, J/109s, J/111s, J/120s, J/121s and a J/122. 

Starting with the biggest fleet in the regatta, the J/70s near runaway winner was Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE. With the red bull billowing broadly on their big white chute, there were most often seen at the front of the fleet, posting seven podium finishes to win with just 24 pts net; quite a feat in this hotly contested fleet! Joel Ronning's CATAPULT returned to their regatta-winning form and gave the Stampeders a good run-for-the-money, but were not able to close the gap fast enough on the last day, taking the silver with 40 pts net. Rounding out the podium was Mike Goldfarb's WAR CANOE, winning two races on their way to earning the bronze with 43 pts net.  The balance of the top five include John Heaton's Chicago team on EMPEIRIA in fourth and Dave Jannetti's VERY ODD in fifth. 

The J/70 Corinthians Division was won by Henry Filter's Napolitan crew on WILD CHILD, followed by Alex Meleny's TRUCKIN in second, and Mike Sabinash's SABOTAGE in third position. 


The large 19-boat J/24 class saw a full-blown duel take place for class honors. In such a classic confrontation, it was the final race that determined the outcome for the two protagonists that are well-known amongst J/24 class veterans- Kirk Reynolds on TYRUS and Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS. After trading off bullets in the first six races, it became a war of attrition to see who would blink last. In the end, it was Reynolds' TYRUS crew that avoided the "send it down the mine shaft" race to win by two points. Glackin's MENTAL FLOSS crew sailed a stellar series, save for their 9th place in race 2 that slowed down their chances for the win. Watching the fireworks taking place all weekend-long from the bleacher seats was Denny Vaughn's HABANERO, themselves winning two races but suffering from inconsistency to settle for the bronze. Rounding out the top five were Chris Stone's VELOCIDAD and Jim Thurlow's FORTITUDE in fourth and fifth, respectively. 


The J/22s were subject to a good'ole butt-whippin' by Justin DaMore's YEM team, counting seven bullets in their scoreline to win with a mere nine points net. An easy second-place performance was earned by Fed Plasecki's CoC 7 team with 17 pts. net. The bronze went to Nathan Bowen's USA 8 team with 29 pts. net. 


A near-dozen J/88s showed up for some of that famous southern hospitality and no one left disappointed. Great sailing, great food, spirited competition across the board. Such was the evenness of the racing that every single boat on the podium had a double-digit race to get discarded, a first to be sure for this class. Sitting in third place after the first day, brothers John & Jordan Leahey's DUTCH from Chicago, IL decided they were ONLY going one-way on day two- "go left young man" was the local advice they heeded in spades. For four straight races, they would start at the port end of the line, check-in with the tour guides at Fort Sumter, stamp their ticket for being the ONLY boat in the left corner, then proceed to the windward mark to rejoin the fleet. A winning formula it was for that day! They were rewarded with three bullets in four races to leap to the front of the fleet at the end of the "moving day" (the second to last day of the regatta). The final day dawned gray and served up the most bizarre wind conditions of the regatta. Not doing themselves any favors, the DUTCH team posted their second-worst race of the regatta with a 9th place. That left the final race to determine who amongst the top three teams would win the regatta. In the end, the DUTCH'ers traded in their "left turn signal" for a "right turn signal" in the finale...and rolled the dice. In short, that strategy worked again..."when in doubt, hit a corner", if not left, then why not right?! LOL. DUTCH won the final race to take class honors by 4 pts. Second went to their arch-nemesis in the hotly-contested J/88 Chicago Fleet- Andy Graff's EXILE. Just three points back, after torpedoing their chances at a class win with a DFL in race 9, was Justin Scagnelli and Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS from the Long Island Sound J/88 fleet. The balance of the top five included Brian O'Malley's BLUE in fourth and Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY in fifth.  


Not surprisingly, the J/105 fleet was treated to a complete "white-washing" by Ken Horne's Houston, TX team on FINAL FINAL. Proving themselves in the 2019 J/105 North American Championship in Marblehead, MA with a second place, Horne's crew continues to post strong performances in the class. After nine bullets in nine races, they elected to not sail the last race and went home. The Schaedler/ Taylor duo on WHISTLER posted eight podium finishes in their final tally to take home the silver. Third was Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL with 35 pts net. The rest of the top five were Joe Pitcavage's SPECTACLE in fourth and Bill McKenzie's RUM FRONT in fifth place. 


The ORC B Offshore division was treated to a podium sweep by three top J/Teams. Winning for the millionth-time was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK with 6 pts net. They were challenged hard by two J/121s. Bob Christoph's LOKI traded bullets with TEAMWORK in a few races, but that was not enough to overcome TEAMWORK's consistency. Both teams tossed 3rds (!) but LOKI had to count one more third to settle for second place. Third was Bill Wiggin's & Ashley Maltempo's WINGS. 


In PHRF A Pursuit Spin division, J/Teams took six of the top eight places. Richard Moore's J/120 KEELFORCE took the silver with Bob Musor's J/130 SCEPTRE earning the bronze. Fourth was John Keenan's J/120 ILLYRIA, sixth Willy Schwenzfeier's J/35 ARROW, seventh Ed Goss' J/36 SOUL, an eighth Bill Hanckel's J/120 EMOCEAN. 


The PHRF B Pursuit Spin division, the Warrior Sailing Team took third place with their J/95 WARRIOR 95, while Mark Swatta's J/30 LAS BRISAS finished fifth. 

Thanks to Quantum Sail Design Group for its team of professionals that did on-site daily weather briefings, discuss tactics and strategy provided on-the-water "live" commentary on all racing circles. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CHARLESTON RACE WEEK PREVIEW- A RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY!

(Charleston, SC)- Starting two weeks later than its traditional schedule the weekend before Easter/ Bank Holiday, the amazingly popular Charleston Race Week will be taking place this weekend from April 8th to 11th at the historically famous venue (Fort Sumter is where the American Civil War started) for a long three-day weekend of sailing on six courses spread around the huge harbor.

The Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina serves as host for the event and the CORA organization provides all logistical and professional race management for the 500+ sailors.  While the on-water racing is fun, fast & furious, it’s the après’ sailing social activities on the beach ashore with loads of rum, beer, southern food, and live music that keeps sailors coming back for more fun-loving memories in the Deep South....NOT this year, sadly enough, due to the pandemic protocols. 

While the party atmosphere that has always been synonymous with Charleston Race Week is not possible in 2021, the focus this year will be on the race course for one of the largest, most popular regattas in North America.

A total of 188 boats in 16 classes are entered following a one-year layoff caused by the pandemic, and finally able to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Charleston, SC.

“When you boil it all down, great racing is the main reason why Charleston Race Week has become such an iconic event,” observes event director Randy Draftz. “After all that has happened over the past year-plus, I think sailors just want to go racing again.

“We have been thrilled by the response from the national sailing community to the return of this great regatta and will be introducing several new features designed to enhance the racing experience.”

While COVID-19 continues to pose a threat throughout the world, social gatherings remain risky with state and local government officials advising against such activity. As a result, there will be no post-race events this year, but Charleston Race Week management is confident social-distancing, mask-wearing and hand-washing will allow for a successful and safe three days of racing.

Not surprisingly, passionate J/Sailors across the country have been anticipating this rendezvous with destiny for well over a year! Of the 188 boats registered, 103 of them are J/Boats sailors (a stunning 55.0% of the fleet)!  
 
The regatta features five one-design J/Classes, including J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/88s, and J/105s.  In addition, there are two “Pursuit-style” sailing divisions for both PHRF and ORC handicap rated boats that includes a J/30, J/35, J/109s, J/111s, J/120s, J/121s and a J/122. 

Starting with the biggest fleet in the regatta, the J/70s will have their hands full negotiating the shoals and currents and wildly shifting breezes on 3/4 mile windward legs (max!).  Despite the challenges, for most J/70 sailors, it is like a big college regatta, but on keelboats. Looking forward to that experience are many top J/70 teams loaded with talent, including Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, John Heaton's EMPEIRIA, Maggie McKillen's MAGATRON, Cate Muller-Terhune's MURDER HORNET, Mike Illbruck's PINTA (with John Kostecki as tactician), Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY, Brian Keane's SAVASANA, Chuck Thompson's SOAK RACING from the United Kingdom, Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE, Ryan McKillen's SURGE, and Buddy Cribb's VICTORY. 

Another large class is the J/24s, which has attracted 21 entries – double the number that attended Charleston Race Week 2019! They will race on Circle 4 along with the J/22 class, which consists almost entirely of junior teams. Notable J/24s teams include Jim Thurlow's FORTITUDE, Taylor Borges' BLIND SQUIRREL, Mike Palazzo's JO MAMMA, Eric Trejo's junior team on the KELLY HOLMES-MOON BOAT GRANT, Chris Jackson's LUCIFER's HAMMER, Aidan Glackin's MENTAL FLOSS, Kirk Reynolds' TYRUS, and Chris Stone's VELOCIDAD. 

The two other J/One-design classes sailing on Circle 3 are the 88s and 105s.  The eleven-boat J/88 class promises to be a very closely-fought amongst a number of the class leaders. Look for these teams to be near the top of the leaderboard over the course of the regatta; Justin Scagnelli's ALBONDIGAS, Iris Vogel's DEVIATION, John & Jordan Leahey's DUTCH, Andy Graff's EXILE, Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY, Rob Ruhlman's SPACEMAN SPIFF, and Tim Wade's WINDSONG. So competitive these teams are that any one of them can have a strong, consistent event and leap to the top of the podium. 

The nine-boat J/105 class is also the largest turnout the class has seen in nearly a decade. The Ladbroke's Betting Parlour on the High Street in Liverpool would have a hard time handicapping this group, as there is a broad cross-section of teams in the mix. Nevertheless, watch for these crews to feature on the leaderboard; Ken Horne's FINAL FINAL (2nd in the 2019 J/105 NA's in Marblehead, MA), Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL, Betsy Pilcher's JOYRIDE, Pete Boland's LONDON CALLING, the trio on RUCKUS (Matt Self/ Russ Smith/ Pat Chisum- e.g. "local home boys"), Bill McKenzie's RUM FRONT, and the "foreigners" from Lake Erie- the Schaedler/ Taylor duo on WHISTLER (yup, same famous boat from the Caribbean)!

As has been the case for many editions of Charleston Race Week, there will be pursuit racing and ORC racing out on the Atlantic Ocean. In the ORC B class of a half-dozen boats are four J/Teams; two J/121s (Bob Christoph's LOKI and Bill Wiggins/ Ashley Maltempo's WINGS), Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK (they hardly need any introduction, do they?), and John Keenan's J/120 ILLYRIA. 

In the Pursuit Spinnaker A Class of eleven boats is Bob Musor's J/130 SCEPTRE, two J/120s (Bill Hanckel's EMOCEAN and Richard Moore's KEELFORCE), Willy Schwenzfeier's J/35 ARROW, John Wrangle's J/105 PALADIN, an Ed Goss' J/36 SOUL. With six J/Crews on the starting line, perhaps there's a chance for a J/sweep? Time will tell. Finally, in Pursuit Spinnaker B Class is Mark Swatta's J/30 LAS BRISAS and Warrior Sailing's J/95 WARRIOR 95 as the lone wolves carrying the J/flag in that fleet. 

To help all participants get back up to speed quickly, Charleston Race Week will be providing TracTrac devices that deliver live tracking using the latest technology. TracTrac is an innovative analytical tool that records each boat’s performance and displays various metrics online in real time.

This marks the first time Charleston Race Week has implemented live tracking on all five courses. The TracTrac device will be included in your registration packet along with an instruction sheet.

In addition to live tracking, Charleston Race Week will also introduce on-course observers to provide expert commentary and analysis. These seasoned professionals will offer interesting insights and observations about various aspects of racing.

Also, Quantum Sail Design Group will have its team of professionals on-site to deliver daily weather briefings, discuss tactics and strategy or answers any other questions sailors might have. Sailing photo credits- Priscilla Parker. For more Charleston Race Week sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

FROSTBITING J/22s at 44.6 DEG. NORTH

Commodore Sean McDermott of Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron shares a video and update:

"As the oldest yacht club in the Americas (since 1837), it's a day at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron to shovel snow, frostbite J/22s, and finish at the fire.

"Our plan was to start our Spring J/22 frostbiting with the first sign of decent weather and, as soon as provincial COVID-19 health regulations eased a little. With a maximum outdoor gathering limit raised to 150 persons, we were given the green light… and then we had a big snowstorm on the day before the start!


Undaunted, teams used the hatch sliders on the J/22s to shovel snow off the decks and out of the cockpits, and soon enough we were good to go! Double windward-leewards in shifty conditions made for a ton of fun on March 20. Now our fingers and toes are collectively crossed that we can run our bi-annual Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race with our friends from Boston Yacht Club."  Enjoy the short YouTube sailing video here  Thanks to our friends at Scuttlebutt Sailing for the round-the-campfire enjoymentAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

BABY DOLL SCREAMS TO J/22 MIDWINTERS WIN

(New Orleans, LA)- For three-straight days, the thirty J/22s that made a giant leap-of-faith to head south and pray (hope!) that weather Gods would cooperate and permit them to enjoy the amazing Southern hospitality offered by the host Southern Yacht Club was ultimately fulfilled. The fleet was treated to a full-on, highly-competitive, nine race series. In the end, it was Glenn Darden's BABY DOLL that screamed to the front of the fleet on the first day of racing and was never severely tested for the duration of the regatta, earning the coveted 2021 J/22 Midwinter Championship crown. Here's how it all went down over those three days.


Day 1- Breezy, Choppy, Cool Day
Besides the sailors, perhaps the most excited person on the first day of racing was Southern Yacht Club's PRO and RC team. With such a solid forecast for breeze all three days, it made their job easy to layout the race course and manage the aggressive fleet. Conditions were breezy and bumpy on Lake Pontchartrain, testing some boats and equipment. Glenn Darden's BABY DOLL mastered the shifts, winning two of three races and placing second in the other for 4 points and the early advantage. Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER bounced back from being over early in race two and added a pair of top three finishes for second place overall (14 points). Casey Lambert’s BLACKBURN MARINE RACING stood three points back in third. Nine total races are planned through Sunday.

Eager teams were greeted with a grey sky, and winds consistently in the mid-teens. Odenbach opened the regatta with a bullet, trailed by Darden and Benz Faget’s FATS (the local hero and super star on Lake Ponchartrain). Darden earned his first victory in the next contest, ahead of Tommy Meric Jr.’s CARNIVAL TIME and Lambert. Following Darden in the day’s final match were Alexander Schwinn’s TILT and Odenbach in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.


Day 2- Classic, Shifty, Lake Racing
After four more races were completed on the second day, making a total of seven to count, only one point separated the leaders heading into the final two races Sunday. 

Day one leader Darden’s BABY DOLL opened Saturday with a pair of bullets but added a 5 and 13 (their discard) for 11 net points. Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER notched all top-three finishes on the day, and now dropping a 10 from Friday, bringing him within a single point of the lead. Lambert’s BLACKBURN MARINE RACING remains in third place with 27 net points. 

The teams enjoyed a brightening day on Lake Pontchartrain in winds averaging 7-10 knots with lighter chop. Darden picked up where he left off the prior day with back-to-back wins (first ahead of Lambert and Odenbach, then again topping Odenbach and Faget’s Fats in the second race). Odenbach took race six for his second victory of the series, followed by Boo Heausler’s REBOUND GIRL and Schwinn’s TILT. Mark Foster’s PRESSURE DROP led the fleet back to shore, as Odenbach placed second allowing him to close in on the overall Championship, and Faget came in third place.


Day 3- Spectacular Sunny Finale
The final day saw a sunny day, mostly breezy and lumpy conditions on Pontchartrain. The Southern YC RC and PRO team knocked out two more races to complete the planned nine-race series.

Darden, of Fort Worth, TX, with crew Marcus Eagan, Jackson Benvenutti, and Sarah Raymond won Sunday's opening race. Odenbach’s HONEYBADER, just one point off the pace at the start of the day, placed seventh. HONEYBADGER stormed back to win the final contest, however, BABY DOLL placed fourth and secured the Championship with 16 net points (Odenbach ended with 20 pts). Lambert’s BLACKBURN MARINE RACING put together a solid weekend for third place (40 points).

Darden’s crew members were all from the New Orleans area. “Marcus and Jackson are wizards of this lake,” said Darden. “(It was) very streaky and shifty all three days. We like the lump with the breeze. We got off the line well, which was probably our key.”

Rounding out the top five were Foster's Corpus Christi, TX team on PRESSURE DROP in fourth place and Schwin's Fort Worth Boat Club team on TILT taking fifth. Sailing photo credits- Chris Howell/ J-22 Class. For more J/22 Midwinter Championship registration & sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.