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.

J/24's CELEBRATE MEXICAN NAVY's 200TH ANNIVERSARY!

(Acapulco, Mexico)- In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Mexican Navy, there was a gala yachting event held in Acapulco, Mexico for this important milestone. 

The Mexican Navy personnel helped transport many of the J/24's from the lake at Valle de Bravo (2 hours west of Mexico City a mile high in the mountains) to Acapulco's harbor at no cost! The Acapulco Yacht Club hosted the event in which a fleet of ninety-six boats participated from different classes.


Sixteen J/24s took advantage of this opportunity to sail the beautiful calm waters of Acapulco Bay from April 20th to the 22nd. The teams enjoyed absolutely amazing sailing conditions all three days. 

There were many social events practicing safe distancing and all the safety requirements for COVID 19, but this did not deter a great week of sailing and much fun for everyone involved!

"We had so much fun that we are seriously considering making this an annual event where all our friends from around the world will be welcome! We hope to see you soon in warm sunny Acapulco Bay," said enthusiastic J/24 owner Leopoldo Farias.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.

2022 J/24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN CORPUS CHRISTI!

(Corpus Christi, TX)- The International J/24 Class Association (IJCA) will hold its 2022 World Championship at Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, Texas USA from July 14th to 22nd, 2022. Due to pandemic-related concerns, the scheduled host for the 2021 Worlds in Mendoza, Argentina will move to a later year. 

Brad Stokes, Regatta Chair, said, “Corpus Christi Yacht Club, host of the 1988, 1982 and 1979 J/24 North American Championships and recipient of the US Sailing St. Petersburg trophy for excellence in race management is pleased to welcome J/24 sailors to experience our favorable wind conditions and our southern hospitality.”

IJCA Chair Will Welles added, “We are very pleased that Corpus Christi will host the 2022 Worlds, and we are hoping that many teams will come and compete in this great sailing venue!”  Sailing photo credits- Priscilla Parker. For more J/24 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

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.

THE EASTER REGATTA

 

(Columbia, SC)- Sailed in J/24s since 1987, THE Easter Regatta has been one of the world’s most popular and enduring J/24 events. It offers an excellent mix of shore side events and world-class competition. Whether you are an amateur team attending your first regatta or a professional team contending for the top prize, you will find something that impels you to return year after year!


The Columbia Sailing Club offers first-class facilities, such as the new Bath House at the beach and camping area! Their “never-leave-the-club” option offers free camping (first-come, first-served), meals every day, and parties galore! The beautiful peninsula and gorgeous beach provide an unparalleled camping experience. Most importantly, the down-home southern hospitality tied everything together. This is the tradition that J/24 competitors have come to know and love. 


The fourteen J/24s were thrilled to be sailing on Lake Murray. Three races were completed, and it was a battle to the wire. Winning by just one point was Chris Stone's VELOCIDAD over Charles Bumgardner USA 555. James Howard's CLASSIC completed the podium. Rounding out the top five was John Hirsch's DAZE OFF in fourth and Fred Wiedeke's CARAMELLA in fifth position.  For more J/24 Easter Regatta sailing information

CHECKMATE CROWNED J/24 VICTORIA STATE CHAMPIONS

(Victoria, Australia)- Recently the Sandringham Yacht Club hosted their annual Victoria States J/24 Championship. The fleet was blessed with gorgeous sunny weather, winds ranging from 4 to 18 kts, the breeze starting northwest and shifting to the southwest on both days. Choppy seas made for difficult steering conditions upwind, with teams making the hard choice of which jib to use in the upper wind ranges- the 150% genoa or the 100% jib. The fleet was unusually over-eager and aggressive on the starting line, with lots of general recalls, restarts, U-flags and even several U-flag DSQs! 

After an eight-race series, it was Brendan Lee's CHECKMATE that consistently powered their way to victory, winning four races and counting only podium finishes to win by a significant margin. Taking the silver was Warren Campbell's J-FORCE, posting all top five finishes for a cumulative score of 22 pts.  The bronze went to Adam Keyes-Tilley's BAILE DE LUNA with 28 pts total. Rounding out the top five were Hugo Ottoway's BRUSCHETTA VI and Warren Slater's JAB in fourth and fifth, respectively.


Winning the PHS handicap division was Darren Cuttsy's JOYRIDE, followed by Richard Taylor's HAYWIRE in second and Chris Ravesi's PANAREA in third position. 

A big thank you to Sandringham YC Race Management and PRO Warren Campbell and the Committee for putting on a fabulous event. Plus, thanks to our contributors, Carina Tomietto, Craig Wiley, Adam Keyes-Tilley. More posts, video and info on the Victoria J/24 Facebook page.  For more Australia J/24 class sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

CUBRIA WINS J/24 CAMPEONATO DEL CENTRO DE LA REPUBLICA

(Lago San Roque, Argentina)- As part of their traditional summer series way "down under", our friends in Argentina love to take their boats to the base of the spectacular snow-capped Andes Mountain range to a gorgeous lake in the foothills known as Lago San Roque. Google map the location. It will blow you away. A visual feast for land-locked sailors, an eye-opener for those accustomed to the wide-open seas. For the "locals", it's just another opportunity to have fun with family and friends, some of them owners of famous local vineyards you may know as the "malbec" varietal.

This year, the occasion was the ninth anniversary of the Campeonato Central hosted by the Club Nautico Cordoba in Villa Carlos Paz in the mountains. How popular is "mountain" sailing to Argentinean J/24 teams?! Well, an amazing twenty teams from across the country showed up for some fun in the sun in the mountains. 


This year the fleet was blessed. There were three days of mild winds from the northeast across the placid waters of Lago San Roque. Seven races were impeccably managed by Race Officer Leo Rivas. In the end, the winner of the event was Nico Cubria's RINA and his crew of Mario Cubria, Guille Aporszegui and Guillermo Bellinotto.

Taking the silver was Javier Moyano's GRAN CARAJO with crew of Hugo Camele, Adrian Berelejs, and Javier Macheu. Third was Ramiro Camilotta's PURA VIDA with team of Carlos Trigo, Pablo Fabre, and Martin Caruso. 

Taking fourth and the top women's team was Trixi Agusti's CARNBURY with team of Lucrecia Arrambide, Rocio Agusti, Candelani Berbenian, and Mariana Felix.  For more Campeonato el Centro de la Republica sailing information  For more Argentinean J/24 sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/105 BREEZIN' BAYOU SMOKES ST PETE NOOD

J/112E's Sweep Doublehanded Class

(St Petersburg, FL)- The Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta was sailed over a three-day weekend last week with simply spectacular sailing conditions on Tampa Bay. Wait a minute, is that a "typo"? Spectacular sailing conditions at St Pete? While having earned an unenviable reputation for having at least one day of any winter regatta spent working on suntans or hiding in the shade, this year's event more than made up for any past sins committed by the weather Godz in the past decade!  


Loving the conditions were not just the sailors, but the St Petersburg Yacht Cub Race Committee team. For three-straight days of racing it was almost a "set it and forget it" race course setup for all race circles. Overall, J/Crews had amazing performances across the board, from one-designs to handicap racing.

In the North Sails Doublehanded Distance Race division, the J/112E's dusted off their class. Winning was Harvey Ford and Tom Mistele's SILVER SURFER, followed by Chris Zibailo's DOPODOMANI. Rounding out the podium was yet another J/team- Tarry Grimsdale and Bill Wingrove's J/35 ROCKET! A sweep to say the least! Yet another J/35- Jose Suarezhoyos' NO WAY JOSE took the bronze in their Cruising World Rally Race. 


The J/24s saw Eammon Delisser's MAIN SQUEEZE never let off fire-walling the gas pedal as they cruised to a mere 10 pts total for the class win; e.g. 10 points in 10 races means all bullets. Doh! So much for eviscerating the locals.  Mike Beattie's DAZE OFF collected a meaningful number of deuces to collect.....drum roll please.... the silver! Kudos to Katie Nelson's YELLOW TAIL team as she collected mostly "treys" to take home the bronze medal. 


By contrast, the relative stratification of the top J/24s teams was not reflected in the J/70 class. After three days of racing, it was the final race on the final day that determined who beat whom.  In the end, it was Matt Braun's ELE that won both the Corinthian Division and the Open Division by one point over Alex Meleney's TRUCKIN. Third was Chris Schoendorf's TAZ just three points back. 


The big winner in the regatta was Stephen Mitcham's J/105 BREEZIN BAYOU, posting nearly all bullets to win their PHRF 2 Class by a big margin. Second was Bob Wetmore's J/29 FAMILY CIRCUS and taking fourth place was George Cussins' J/105 FIRE & ICE. In PHRF 3 Class, Herb Maguire's J/22 HOLY MOLY took fourth place. 


Watch J/105 video in fast trim.

Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ OUTSIDE IMAGES.com.  For more Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.