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.

VARIETY ADDS SPICE TO IDA LEWIS DISTANCE RACE IN AUGUST!

Something for Everyone Offshore and in the Bay!

(Newport, RI)– The 17th edition of the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race, scheduled for August 19th to 21st, literally offers something for every type of big-boat sailor. Not only are there classes for ORC, PHRF (including Cruising Spinnaker) and Double-Handed (Mixed Gender and Open) but also there are Youth and Collegiate challenges. As well, entrants have a choice of racing in either the traditional OFFSHORE distance race, starting on Friday (August 20) and requiring overnight sailing, or the shorter IN BAY distance race, starting and finishing Saturday (August 20). The latter is a holdover from Covid-19 adaptations made last year to accommodate sailors during uncertain times.

“Last year’s inaugural IN BAY distance race was a big hit,” said Event Chair Pat Kennedy, “because it allowed a lot of people to sail who otherwise – due to Covid restrictions – wouldn’t have been able to. On top of that it was not just another buoy race on Narragansett Bay; it was an exciting short distance day race of 33 miles, starting off Fort Adams and heading north around Conanicut and Prudence Islands. That said, the OFFSHORE distance race with its overnight component and long track record is what has made the Ida Lewis Distance Race one of the most iconic events on the East Coast.”


The OFFSHORE distance race starts off historic Fort Adams and finishes in front of the lighthouse that serves as the clubhouse for Ida Lewis Yacht Club, the event’s host. Based on wind and sea conditions, the overnight course is chosen by the Ida Lewis Race Committee just prior to the start and it can be anywhere from 112 to 169 nautical miles. The courses are aptly named for the scenic waypoints and offshore buoys (marks of the course): “Buzzards Bay”, “Point Judith”, “Block Island” and “Montauk”.

“We have been racing the Ida Lewis Distance Race OFFSHORE event since 2013,” said EC Helme (Newport, R.I.), skipper of the J/92 SPIRIT that has twice taken a second in its PHRF class. “Our typical program is really just day racing since the boat is pretty sparse, but the OFFSHORE race is perfect for a smaller boat. It’s a reasonable distance; never too far from a good bailout point; and usually there are boats that are similar enough to us to make it directly competitive. It’s a chance to push ourselves a bit and figure out currents, winds and tactics we don’t normally get to deal with.”


One of the first teams to sign up this year for the OFFSHORE race was Bill Kneller’s (Newport, R.I.) J/109 VENTO SOLARE, which placed third in class last year in the IN BAY race, finishing the course in just over five hours.

“On the first leg from the start off Rose Island to R2 off Brenton Reef it was a spinnaker run,” said Kneller. “Our strategy was simple - sail our own race away from other boats, do transitions methodically with ample time to execute, and constantly change trim to optimize for the ever-changing conditions. The strategy paid off to reach the podium.” 

Youth and Collegiate Challenge
Youth and Collegiate challenges have been popular components of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, encouraging a healthy future for the sport of sailing. With special trophies for each, the challenges are applied to both OFFSHORE and IN BAY racing.

Youth entries must consist of a minimum of two adults (one designated as Captain), and more than 40% of the crew must have reached their 14th birthday but not their 18th birthday prior to August 20, 2021.

Collegiate entries also must consist of a minimum of two adults (one designated as Captain), and more than 40% of the crew shall not reach their 26th birthday prior to August 20, 2021.

Compete for LOTS of Trophies!
Trophies for the Ida Lewis Distance Race OFFSHORE race will be given in ORC, PHRF (Aloha and Coronet divisions), ORC Double-handed and PHRF Cruising Spinnaker classes. Trophies for the IN BAY race will be given in PHRF (Aloha and Coronet divisions), PHRF Double-Handed and PHRF Cruising Spinnaker classes.

GMT Composites Boat of the Year Series
For 2021, the Ida Lewis Distance Race IN BAY race has been included as a qualifying event in the Narragansett Bay Yachting Association’s Boat of the Year series. The trophy for the series – the Narragansett Bay Boat of the Year Trophy sponsored by GMT Composites – is awarded in the Fall to the owner of the boat on Narragansett Bay that has achieved the best overall performance for the season.

For questions, please contact Ida Lewis Distance Race Chairman- Pat Kennedy- email"distancerace@ilyc.org".  For more sailing information on the Ida Lewis Distance Race Add to Flipboard Magazine.

BLOCK ISLAND RACE WEEK UPDATE

(Block Island, RI)- With just under 100 days left until Race Week, 150 teams have already joined Block Island Race Week presented by Margaritaville (seventy are J/Boats = 47%)! This is the highest number of early registrations in over a decade for the biennial Storm Trysail Club event. “We cannot underestimate the motivation for sailors and their families to return to doing what they love together,” says Event Chair Ray Redniss. “With increased vaccine rollouts and lower case numbers, we are cautiously optimistic that our 2021 event will be a great success.”

Still, the race organizers are managing expectations that 2021 won’t be exactly like past Race Weeks. The logistics of hosting a large regatta on an island demands months of preparation and - as one of the first major events to be held among so much uncertainty - a variety of necessary measures to keep sailors, volunteers and local families safe and healthy will be implemented. What those policies look like is still being determined.


“We meet each week as a team and are in constant contact with local businesses, a variety of experts, and our vendors,” says Redniss. “We know our sailors come for the fun, camaraderie, and competition, and our goal is still to deliver all that at the highest level, albeit safely.”

Regards J/Teams participation, so far here are the amazing numbers:

• ORC 2- five J/121s and two J/122s
• J/44 class- seven boats
• J/88 class- five boats
• J/109 class- thirteen boats
• J/105 class- sixteen boats
• PHRF 1- six J/111s and two J/122s (J/111s will get one-design start)
• PHRF 2- a J/99, J/33, J/35
• PHRF 3- a J/24, two J/29s, two J/80s
• PHRF Cruise 1 Spin- a J/120, J/95
• PHRF Cruise 2 Spin- a J/120, J/125, J/133
• PHRF Cruise 3 Spin- a J/29

Racers planning to attend should have already started to make their housing, docking, and ferry arrangements, as we have been notified there are only a few reservations still available. Do not wait to plan ahead for your week away! Come one, come all, and join in on the fun! It promises to be an EPIC Block Island Race Week!  Sailing photo credits- Stephen Cloutier. For more Block Island Race Week sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

SAFE HARBOR RACE WEEKEND ANNOUNCEMENT

 

(Newport, RI)- The inaugural Safe Harbor Race Weekend is a three-day sailing regatta geared toward the enjoyment of boat owners, families, and crew members. Scheduled for August 13th to 15th, sailing will take place on Narragansett Bay.

The goal of the organizers and local marina managers is to provide an event that delivers good sportsmanship, enjoyable competition, and sailing camaraderie over three fun-filled days with racing and exciting shoreside social events at Safe Harbor Marinas in Newport, Portsmouth, and Jamestown, RI. The regatta PRO will be Peter Craig from Boston, MA- yes, the same person that ran so many epic Key West Race Weeks for years.

Social highlights will include an opening Friday evening Coastal New England Dinner on The Point at Safe Harbor New England Boatworks overlooking Narragansett Bay, and a celebratory Talk of the Town Saturday night Crew Party and dinner featuring live music at Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard in the heart of downtown Newport. 

Come one, come all! Sign-up now at the link below. The Notice of Race is already posted.  For more Safe Harbor Race Weekend sailing information

Hot Rum Series Preview

 

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club's incredibly popular Hot Rum Series will be starting on time again on November 7th, 2020. With nearly 100 entries, it proves the event is as popular as ever for Southern Californians, despite living in pandemic times. It's one of the most popular "pursuit style" races in America, where slowest boat starts first hours ahead of the biggest and fastest boats, whoever crosses the line first wins! Starting and finishing just off the western end of Shelter Island, the fleet heads out en-masse through the Point Loma passage to two buoys offshore and return to the same start line to finish the race just off Shelter Island.

Since it is consistently one of the world's largest PHRF "pursuit races", the little boats know they almost always have no chance of winning overall and simply enjoy the parade of beautiful large sailing yachts gliding past them in all their glory. The smallest, slowest boats (J/22s & J/24s) start well over an hour before the biggest boats- the J/145s and J/160s, for example.

In this year's edition, there will be two J/145s- Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON and Ernie Pennell's MORE MADNESS. In addition, participating will be three J/105s- George Scheel's SUN PUFFIN, Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK, and Richard Collins' LUCKY DUCK. Joining them will be Seth Hall's J/124 MARISOL, Ed Sanford's J/111 CREATIVE, Chuck Nichols J/120 CC RIDER, Chuck Bowers's J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, and two J/30s (Tim Lynch's RUFFIAN & Bob Noe's MAD HATTER). Good luck to all on this upcoming event.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information

Welcome Back Regatta A Smashing Success

(Lunenburg, Nova Scotia)- The Lunenburg Yacht Club held the first Welcome Back Regatta on August 21st to 23rd. The regatta had great attendance, all things considered, with just over 200 competitors and 36 boats across five classes. Due to Covid restrictions, the club’s property had a maximum of 250 people on-site, so sailors had to be limited for health safety reasons.

Jennifer Hall was the Regatta Chair and Colin Mann (J/92 owner of POOHSTICKS) was the Regatta PRO.

Winds on day one were 15-25 knots resulting in some boats retiring early. Saturday the racers were treated to a sail past by the 140’ Bluenose II. Sunday saw more manageable 10-15 knot breezes, making for exciting, close sailing. Several classes sailed up to eight races over three days.

PHRF A Class was won by Larry Creaser on the J/100 YOUNG BLOOD, racing extremely well against a fleet of hot 30-footers.


PHRF B Class saw yacht broker Chris Power in the J/29 JAEGER finish second in the 9-boat fleet, just ahead Bernd Hackstein's J/27 BUZZ and Don Williams J/29 PARADIGM SHIFT.

The six-boat J/105 class was won in a complete "whitewash" of the fleet by Rory Macdonald's McMAC; winning seven of eight races and throwing out a 3rd and a 1st to win with all bullets. Surviving that somewhat painful "schooling" was John Sapp's V-TACK and Richard Gerstenberger's AXIS finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

This regatta was the first of its kind in Nova Scotia after Covid restrictions required the annual Chester Race Week to be postponed for the season. Sailing photo credits- Lunenburg YC Commodore- Janet Marie Snair.  For more Welcome Back Regatta information and results.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

We Survived – Some Boats Didn’t…..

Bill Kneller, owner of the J/109 VENTO SOLARE, has this remarkable report about a squall line that hit the Conanicut YC Tuesday evening beer-can series. Bill goes on to explain, "Vento Solare entered the final JYC summer series race with a third place standing.  Weather at the start had winds 8-12 out of the West. It looked like a beautiful night for the race with the potential for some thunderstorms later in the evening.  The crew consisted of Roland on the bow, Eric at mast & tactician, Gardner trimming jib & spin, Mary doing pit & trim, Andrew on main, and Bill on helm.

The West wind required a downwind start since we can’t sail into the land on Jamestown. The course had us sailing across the bay to the Newport harbor entrance buoy G1, back to the R12 buoy off Rose Island, over to the R2 buoy just inside Fort Adams, then to the Jamestown harbor finish line. Vento Solare with its PHRF rating of 75 is the “slowest” boat in the spinnaker A class. All went well, and we were in front of two boats that owed us time after rounding the final mark by Fort Adams on the final leg headed to Jamestown.  Over Jamestown we could see many lightning strikes from dark clouds.  About half way across the bay, sheets of rain were falling and quickly overtook us.  Within 20 seconds of the rain hitting us, the winds rapidly increased.  We immediately attempted to drop the sails but were overtaken by the strong winds and knocked over with the port side spreaders in the water.  Mary was at the port winch and slid under the port lifeline, holding on to anything she could to stay with the boat.   Bill was on the starboard side holding on to the helm to prevent from falling off the boat.  Others held on to anything they could to stay on the boat.  While the boat was on its side, it was very difficult to take actions to get the sails down. 

 

Mainsail Shredded Along the Leech

Mary was able to pull herself back on the boat through the lifelines. While she was doing that, the man overboard “Jon Buoy” deployed. Within a minute, we were able to drop the mainsail, but not before it shredded along the leech.  The jib was furled and the engine started.  Around us we saw three other boats with shredded sails. Over the radio we heard calls for help from boats that lost people overboard.  We relayed radio calls to the Jamestown YC race committee who was trying to account for all competitors. A J/22 had 3 of 4 crew members overboard. Fortunately, they were all recovered safely.  The Alerion 28 Havsflickan was unaccounted for. Later it was reported as sunk, with the crew safely rescued.  A classic Herreshoff S boat met the same fate, with crew safely recovered. We heard reports from Newport harbor of many boats that swamped on their moorings and sunk.


We attempted to hail J/92s Spirit on the radio but heard no reply. Others responded that they had seen Spirit heading back to the marina.  When we returned, there was no sign of Spirit so we hailed others on the VHF to be on the lookout for them.  Well after we returned to the dock, Spirit appeared at the marina.  It turns out the EC Helme had fallen on the VHF remote and broken the connector, making their radio inoperative.  Once they were at the dock, we reported that they were back safe and all accounted for.

In the end, all in the JYC summer series race were accounted for.  The race was officially abandoned and final results remained with Vento Solare in third place for the Spinnaker A class.  Our instruments showed winds in excess of 50 kts during the storm. The resulting damage is a destroyed mainsail, destroyed jib and man overboard buoy requiring servicing, but everyone is safe."


Commenting some more, Bill said, "these were not conditions one would expect for an inshore beer-can race.  We were on our side and saw more than 90 degrees heel as evidenced by some items stored outboard the Nav station cubby that ended on the shelf above the port settee along with the computer mouse that was in a foam holder velcroed to the Nav table.  The keyboard is kept inside the Nav table when underway. Other than that, everything below decks remained where it was supposed to be. All electronics including the Surface Pro 4 computer on a RAM mount running Expedition continued to function.  Later today I will go back and pull the data to see if I can get the actual wind velocity and heel angle.  We had plenty of rain water spray in the companionway hatch, which was pulled all the way aft, but no sea water entered the boat, even though we had lines streaming through the aft facing port lights.  This could have been a real disaster for us if there wasn't enough buoyancy to keep those above the water. I've always felt confident that the J/Boats I've owned can survive challenging conditions - both my previous boat J/30 Rhapsody and now J/109 Vento Solare.

Other J/boats out there were J/120 Salacia, J/92s Spirit, J/80 The Party Tree, J/80 Eagle, J/22 Blues Eraser (had 3 people overboard) and a number of other J/22 & J/24s that I didn't keep track of."  Read the full article here on the J/109 class site

Ida Lewis Distance Race Preview

(Newport, RI)– The Ida Lewis Distance Race scheduled for Saturday, August 15, has a record-breaking 74 entries, indicating how much sailors are itching to compete and embrace any and all event modifications that the pandemic has necessitated. The race, in its 16th year, is hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club and starts off Fort Adams at 11 am. Because of CDC guidelines, the skippers’ meeting – typically held at the Club – will be held on the water at 10:15 a.m. (broadcast on VHF Channel 79A).

“It definitely will not be your normal Ida Lewis Distance Race,” said Event Chair Pat Kennedy. “We have been taking it week-by-week, but we started early on with tailoring the event to family and friends (those who can sail together safely) and keeping our plans flexible.”

To that end, the race starts on a Saturday rather than its traditional start on Friday, and 44 boats in the PHRF Aloha class (for smaller boats with PHRF ratings of 55 and higher), Coronet class (for larger boats with PHRF ratings of 54 and lower) and Cruising Spinnaker class will sail a never-before-offered inshore course that tracks 33 nautical miles around Conanicut, Prudence and Patience Islands. “Those teams will not need to sail overnight, which makes it easier for those forced to sail with a smaller crew,” said Kennedy.

The balance of the fleet– an IRC class with 10 boats and a PHRF Doublehanded class with 20 boat – will each sail one of the race’s four traditional overnight offshore courses. The round-trip courses, ranging in length from 112 to 169 nautical miles, are decided by the Race Committee just prior to the race to best fit the weather conditions expected. With turning marks at Castle Hill, Brenton Reef, Block Island, Montauk Point, Martha’s Vineyard and Buzzards Tower, they incorporate some of New England’s most celebrated cruising grounds.

In the IRC Class of ten boats, three J/Teams will be competing for handicap honors, including Steven Levy's J/121 EAGLE, Dan Heuen's J/122 MOXIEE, and Bob Manchester's J/133 VAMOOSE.

The Doublehanded sailors, comprising the largest class this year with twenty boats, and the largest class of its kind in the history of the race, has two J/Crews sailing, including Tom O’Connell’s J/99 FINALE and the American YC's mixed double youth crew on the J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN.

A half-dozen J's will be sailing inside the Bay on the very popular round-the-islands format, a very scenic tour of the Bay! The nineteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Aloha class has many accomplished teams enrolled, including EC Helme’s J/92 SPIRIT, Bill Kneller’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE, Sam Sylvester's J/29 MEDDLER, and the US Merchant Marine Academy's J/44 VAMP.

The sole J/Team in the eighteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Coronet division will be Mark Nannini's J/120 SALACIA.

This is the 16th running of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, which is for boats 28 feet or longer and is certified as a “Clean Regatta” by the Sailors for the Sea organization. It begins off Fort Adams and ends just inside Newport Harbor where Ida Lewis volunteers can site the finish line from their clubhouse on Lime Rock before greeting each team on the water with a congratulatory bottle of Prosecco.  For more Ida Lewis YC Distance Race information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/105s Prevail in Dave Wall Memorial Race

(Marina del Rey, CA)- In one of the first sanctioned races in Santa Monica Bay in a long time, on June 13th the Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association (PSSA) held its regularly scheduled single/ doublehanded “inverted start” from Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach and back.

The 16.0nm course attracted what must be a recent record of thirty-two entries. The fleet included a pair of J/105s, a pair of J/92s, a J/29 and J/80. The Class 1 Singlehanded class had 12 boats, while the Class 2 Doublehanded class fielded 16 boats.

The fleet was blessed with a somewhat classical SoCal offshore day. Sunny, good breeze, and in the mid-70s F. In consistent wind of 14-16 knots that ranged from a beam reach to close hauled, Dan Murphy and Rob Dekker sailed their J/105 CUCHULAINN to the top of the leaderboard, more than two minutes ahead of their nearest competitor, the J/29 ZULU sailed by owner Caesar Berger and Ronald Augustsson. Just off the pace was the famous J/80 AVET, the duo of Curt Johnson and Paul Burnett took fourth place. Notably, working out their early season kinks to take an 8th place was Brian Kerr and Edwina Gillin's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN. 

Charles Spear in his J/105 TWELVE BAR BLUES finished second amongst the Class 1 Singlehanded boats.  

Edgartown Regatta Announcement

(Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, MA)- The Edgartown Yacht Club’s Big Boat Racing Committee is excited to get started with the 2020 sailing season. The team has been working exceptionally hard over the past nine months to enhance Edgartown Race Weekend for this year, and future years, and is excited to welcome sailors to Martha’s Vineyard this summer.


While Edgartown YC unfortunately had to cancel the buoy racing segment of Edgartown Race Weekend, we will still be hosting the signature event - ‘Round-the-Island (“RTI”) Race on August 1, in addition to the shorter ‘Round-the-Sound Race the same day.


Despite the current situation, registration numbers are robust, drawing teams from all over the East Coast who see ‘RTI as the kick-off to the 2020 racing season. Remember, this is a 60.0nm race that rivals any in the world; such as Round Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, Round Jamestown in Narragansett Bay, Round Hong Kong in China, or Sweden's Gotland Runt race midsummer. 


The entire team is looking forward to good racing this summer. Sailing Photo Credits- Stephen Cloutier. Learn more about the Edgartown Regatta here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Love St Petersburg NOOD Regatta

(St Petersburg, FL)– The season opener for the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta Series (a.k.a. NOODS) — the largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States- was blessed with nice weather conditions, albeit on the light to medium side of the equation on Tampa Bay this year. The St. Petersburg NOOD regatta, organized by Sailing World and hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club, has developed into the one of the largest regattas in Florida, and its 32nd edition saw 185 boats and more than 1,000 professional and amateur sailors converging onto Tampa Bay and the bustling downtown area for racing and fun on the Valentine’s Day weekend on the Bay.

The one-design classes of J/24s, J/70s, and J/88s, saw spirited competition, for the most part. Here is what took place day-by-day on the various race courses.


Day 1- Light and Fickle
Iris Vogel, of New Rochelle, NY, skipper of the J/88 DEVIATION, won her recent J/88 Midwinter Championship and, Friday, on the waters off St. Petersburg, Vogel and her teammates continued their winning streak with a win in the only race of the day. Light winds proved challenging for the race committees and the regatta’s 193 teams racing in 13 different classes.

Vogel came away with the race win, but it wasn’t easy. “We were deep at the first weather mark, but just focused downwind going from puff-to-puff,” Vogel said. “The team did an excellent job coming back to win the race.”

Four of the six J/88s hail from New York and use the St. Petersburg NOOD for winter training. Vogel says the level of competition in the class is very high as a result. “We are an active travel fleet; not to mention every team is well sailed and it’s anyone’s win at each regatta,” Vogel said. “The racing is that close.”


Day 2- Moderate and streaky
David Jannetti, skipper of the J/70 VERY ODD, moved into the top spot on the J/70 leaderboard, which Jannetti credits entirely to his professional crew of Scott Nixon, Patrick Wilson and Danny Lawless.

“These guys really know what they are doing, and I am learning a ton from them,” Jannetti said, of Miami. The St. Petersburg NOOD is Jannetti’s fourth regatta after returning from an eight-year absence from the sport. “I’m sitting in the back [of the boat focused on keeping the yarns upfront flying evenly, and they are changing gears constantly,” Jannetti said. “They’re keeping everything tuned perfectly, working the body weight on the boat and helping me minimize mistakes.”

He credited Nixon for saving the day’s last race after a poor start. “With great tactics and the right windshifts, we still managed to round the top mark in first. I initially thought ‘Oh, where is that throwout,’ but he turned it around.”

Jannetti is looking forward to accelerating the learning curve in tomorrow’s final day of racing, but he is fully aware of the depth of talent at the top of the class. “The other boats will remind you very quickly if you make a mistake,” he said. “My goal is to keep it light, keep it fun and go home with a smile on my face.”


Two junior teams sponsored by Helly Hansen are battling hard in the J/70 fleet. The all-female team, skippered by 17-year-old Heather Kerns, of Apollo Beach, Fla., is made up of high school-aged sailors and say they are “having a blast doing the event with ‘girl power.’” Together for almost four years, they finished third overall in the 2019 J/70 U.S. Youth National Championship, held at the NOOD’s host club, St. Petersburg YC.

Kerns and her team concluded today’s racing on a high note, finishing fourth, which she attributes to them sailing a well-rounded race. “We got a good start and stayed focused on boatspeed and good communication,” Kerns said. “The wind had picked back up and since we are a light team we really focused on de-powering. Everything just came together. It’s fun to show the guys that an all-girls team is competitive; and it’s great to have Helly Hansen supporting us.”


Day 3- Awesome Finale
First-time St. Petersburg NOOD skipper, David Jannetti in the J/70 class, won top honors. With a 1-5 scoreline Sunday, Jannetti and his teammates on VERY ODD, cemented their lead. While they finished fifth in the final race, Jannetti said it was the result of a strategic decision to ensure no surprises from Dave Kerr’s second-place USA 1516. “We were keeping tabs on them and doing a loose cover,” said Jannetti. “While that was our worst finish, it was still the right thing to do.”

Jannetti, of Miami Beach, Fla., said he is already planning his return. “St. Pete is such a fun and vibrant city. We enjoyed great sailing all weekend; and it has been a great way to warm up for next weekend’s J/70 Midwinter Championship.”

Rounding out the podium behind Jannetti and Kerr was the well-traveled Travis Odenbach on his notorious HONEYBADGER. The rest of the top five included Matt Braun's E.L.E. in fourth and Mike Schroff's ELECTRIC PICKLE in fifth place.

Michael Quaid, of Williston, Vt., skipper of the J/24 ICE CUBE is a longtime NOOD competitor, and while his team finished third in 2019, this was his year. “To win feels great,” said Quaid, praising his longtime crew and its light-air sailing skills. “We scored four firsts when it was light, but when the breeze came up like in Saturday’s first race, it was our worst finish [fourth place]. The mid-range conditions today were my favorite; it made for a lot closer racing. It was very tactical and exciting.”

Finishing in second place in the J/24s was Nate Vilardebo's SABOTAGE while third place went LUCIFERS HAMMER. The balance of the top five included Jon Stewart's BREEZE in fourth and Rick Jarchow's TEAM EXIT STRATEGY in fifth position.

Iris Vogel and her team on DEVIATION finished on top of the six-boat J/88 fleet with five first-place and two fifth-place finishes. She said the key to her team’s success was not to panic, especially after a few bad starts. “This fleet is so competitive,” said Vogel, of New Rochelle, NY. “There are no favors in this fleet; all the racing is very close and every little move counts. What saved us was good crew work, making the right calls and keeping our head out of the boat. The conditions were constantly changing all weekend.”


The balance of the J/88 podium saw Andy Graff's Chicago-based crew on EXILE take the silver, with William Purdy's WHIRLWIND taking the bronze. The rest of the top five included Lawrence Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY in fourth and Dave Tufts' GAUCHO in fifth.

In the PHRF handicap classes, the J/Crews nearly swept all the top spots. In PHRF 1 Division, the J/111s did sweep the podium in quite a convincing fashion against their eclectic fleet of a dozen boats. Winning yet again in successive weekends was SPACEMAN SPIFF skippered by Jim Sminchak. The silver went to Ian Hill's SITELLA and third to Doug Curtiss' beautiful black and green WICKED 2.0.


Winning PHRF 2 Division, it was Stephen Mitcham's J/105 BREEZIN BAYOU that set the pace all weekend to take class honors. Third on the podium went to yet another J/105, George Cussins' FIRE & ICE.

The PHRF 3 Division was bracing for yet another onslaught of the dueling J/29s to lay waste to the fleet. While it may have been a touch light airs for that outcome to happen, Ray Mannix's team on the J/29 SEMPER FI continued their annual tradition of collecting silverware in the St Pete NOOD Regatta...for perhaps the 20th time! This time it was silver....losing the regatta as a result of a last race DSQ! Ouch!! Fellow partners in crime, Robert Whetmore's J/29 FAMILY CIRCUS managed a fifth place in this year's edition.

Finally, in Saturday's North Sails Rally- Cruiser Racer Division- it was Jose Suarez-Hoyos' team on the J/35 NO WAY JOSE that managed to sail home after the one long day race with a bronze medal to add to their trophy cave.  Sailing Photo Credits- Paul Todd/Outside Images  For more St Petersburg NOOD Regatta Sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

St Petersburg NOOD Regatta Preview

(St Petersburg, FL)– Everything is shaping up in St. Petersburg, Fla., to kick off a great season opener for the Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta Series — the largest national sailboat racing circuit in the United States. The St. Petersburg NOOD regatta, organized by Sailing World and hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club, has developed into the one of the largest regattas in Florida, and its 32nd edition will see 185 boats and more than 1,000 professional and amateur sailors converging onto Tampa Bay and the bustling downtown area for racing and fun on this Valentine’s Day weekend on Tampa Bay.

The weekend weather forecast is promising to deliver perfect Florida conditions for the sailors representing 27 states and three countries: seasonal temperatures, sunshine and a mix of breezy and moderate winds will challenge the 17 different classes of sailboats racing in either one-design J/24s, J/70s, J/88s, J/111s or PHRF (handicapped). A distance race across Tampa Bay will be held for select classes on Saturday only.

Travis Odenbach, of Pittsfield, NY, returns to St. Petersburg this year to defend his J/70 class win against sixteen other teams, but also another chance to represent St. Petersburg at the series’ season championship invitational, the Helly Hansen Caribbean NOOD Championship Regatta, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands in October.

Odenbach, a professional sailor, has competed in the previous six NOODs and considers the February event a great chance to mix sailing business with pleasure. His goal is twofold: gain valuable training for the J/70 World Championship later this summer in California, as well as enjoy a warm-weather family vacation. “Coming here is a win-win for great sailing and family time. You can’t beat the combo,” he said.

The St. Petersburg NOOD is also a favorite event for Tampa resident Chip Merlin, thanks to the typically gorgeous weather, protected water and ability for Tampa Bay to accommodate so many boats and race courses. “The multiple courses give you that ‘regatta within a regatta’ feeling when sailing, but we get to hang out with all the other fleets at the party after. It’s a great chance to see so many sailing friends in one place,” Merlin said.

Helly Hansen—a global leader in technical sailing apparel with more than 135 years of experience protecting professionals on the water—continues as title sponsor for the elite sailing series for the sixth consecutive year. As part of Helly Hansen’s commitment to the sport, the company will also continue to sponsor two teams of local teens, competing as the Helly Hansen Junior Crew at each stop this year. One crew will be helmed by top woman youth sailor Heather Kerns from the host St Petersburg YC Youth Team. The other crew will have Preston Weaver as skipper, also a member of StPYC's Youth Team.

The J/88 class will feature all the top boats that recently participated in the J/Fest St Pete J/88 Midwinters two weeks ago.  Those crews include the winners- Iris Vogel's DEVIATION- plus other leading teams like Andy Graff's EXILE from Chicago, IL; Jim & Scott Sorbie's LEGACY from Detroit, MI; Lawrence Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY from Mamaroneck, NY; and Dave Tufts' GAUCHO from Rochester, NY.

Similarly, the J/111 class will also have their leading crews from their recent J/Fest St Pete J/111 Midwinters, including Ian Hill's SITELLA from Hampton, VA; Jim Sminchak's SPACEMAN SPIFF from Cleveland, OH; and Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 from Buzzards Bay, MA.

The J/24 class sports a cast of characters from primarily the southeast USA. Those crews include Chris Jackson's LUCIFER'S HAMMER, Nadia Daggett's MUSTACHE RIDE, Seth Rosenthal's NO RULES, and Jonathan Stewart's BREEZE. The lone exception to that group is one team that literally traversed the United States north to south (about 2,300 miles)- Mike Quaid's ICE CUBE from Mallets Bay Boat Club near Burlington, VT!

In the world of PHRF handicap racing, two J/105s from Davis Island YC are racing in PHRF 2 Division; Stephen Mitcham's BREEZIN BAYOU and George Cussins' FIRE & ICE. Then, in PHRF 3 Division, two familiar and hotly competitive J/29 crews will be dueling for class supremacy; Robert Wetmore's FAMILY CIRCUS and Ray Mannix's SEMPER FI. Notably, in the North Sails Rally Racer Cruiser Division will be the Ford/ Mistele duo on the J/112E SILVER SURFER and Jose Suarez-Hoyos on the J/35 NO WAY JOSE!   Sailing Photo Credits- Paul Todd/Outside Images   For more St Petersburg NOOD Regatta Sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Sweep Duwamish Head Race

(Seattle, WA)- The Three Tree Point Yacht Club kicked off the Pacific Northwest offshore sailing season with their incredibly challenging Duwamish Head Race. For the hard-core sailors in the greater Seattle region, the race happens to have a bit of a cult following, with a number of familiar top offshore teams taking up the annual rite of passage of their first offshore race for 2020.

The course is simple enough. Start in a northerly direction between an offshore orange mark and the RC flag on the Des Moines Marina fishing pier, leaving the green navigation buoy to starboard. Proceed to the Duwamish Head Light, leave it to port, then proceed to Blakely Rock Light, leaving it to port. Finish in a southerly direction between offshore orange mark and the RC flag at the end of the Des Moines Pier, keeping the green navigation buoy to port.

In the "big boat" PHRF 2 Division, J/Crews dominated the top four places. Winning was John McPhail's J/160 JAM by just 3 minutes over Ron Holbrook's J/133 CONSTELLATION that took the silver. Not far off the pace and missing the podium by a mere 10 seconds (!) was J. McKay's J/130 FLASH taking a fourth place.

The PHRF 4 Division saw a complete sweep of their class by J/Teams taking the entire top five spots. Winning was Tolga Cezik's J/109 LODOS, followed by Stu Burnell's famous J/109 TANTIVY in second, and Brian White's J/35 GRACE E in third. Rounding out the top five was Dan Wierman's J/35 GREAT WHITE in fourth and Jason Vannice's J/35 ALTAIR in fifth place.

Winning PHRF 6 Division was Matthew Gardner-Brown's J/105 DULCINEA. Taking third place in PHRF 7 Division was Christine Nelson & Paul Grove's J/29 SLICK.

Sail-World.com North American Editor David Schmidt, who lives in the Seattle area, sailed the race with a few friends and here is a summary of his experience racing against the three big J/Boats that dominated PHRF Division 2:

"I was looking for an adventure when I woke up at 0430 hours on Saturday (January 11) for the annual Duwamish Head Race, only to discover that NOAA had issued a small-craft advisory for the section of Puget Sound where our race would be unfurling. While this might have been cause for concern amongst some boats, I count myself incredibly lucky to sail aboard one of the fastest and best-skippered boats in the area and with a crew that defines the word "experienced", so my mind instead turned to thoughts of fast spinnaker rides.

We left the dock at 0645 hours on an unusually high tide that was following several days of hard rain (did I mention that I live in Seattle?) that deposited plenty of logs, branches and other flotsam in the water, so our skipper wisely stationed a rotating staff of crew on the foredeck with a spotlight to search for deadheads (meaning logs, not Grateful Dead fans...the latter were all back in the cockpit, your scribe included). We carefully threaded our way past several big logs and root balls, but even more impressively, the rains that were lashing the Olympic mountains to the West stayed put, giving us a (mostly) dry ride down to our starting line off of the city of Des Moines.

While NOAA might have been hyperbolic with their small-craft advisory forecast, the wind was piping at the starting line, funneling from behind Vashon and Maury islands. We hoisted our trusty J2 and a full main, with our Code-0 on the ready on the deck, knowing that the air would almost certainly lift once we cleared the starting area.

Erik, our intrepid tactical weather expert and an all-around great sailor, smartly advised that there would be an easterly component to the predominantly south-southwest breeze later in the morning, so the afterguard set us up for a low-road lane that proved to be key for several reasons (more later). Better still, we had clear air to hoist and unfurl the Code-0, and to pick and choose our own destiny.

This soon set us up to hoist the A2, and to ratchet up our VMG speed.

Things were flowing perfectly, with the wind, which was blowing at ballpark 12-15 knots, giving us ideal angles for fetching Three Tree Point and Alki Point Lighthouse with minimal gybes.

Our boatspeed was right where it should have been as we cleared Three Tree Point, when the cockpit handheld VHF crackled to life with the two most dreaded words in winter sailboat racing: "Man Overboard! Man Overboard!"

We quickly determined that the vessel in distress was roughly one nautical mile directly in front of us, separated only by the TP52, which had smartly abandoned their high-road tussle.

Instantly, our skipper and crew proved that their seamanship skills are even better their racing skills. The A2 was instantly doused, all eyes ensured that we had no cordage in the water, and the iron Genny roared to life. Paul dropped the throttle hammer, and we charged towards the stricken vessel. Soon, we could see the vessel's crew struggling unsuccessfully to pull their MOB back aboard via their port bow.

While we were a ways away, our friends aboard Sonic (said TP52) were closer and also immediately dropped their sails and motored over to assist. They approached via starboard and transferred some of their biggest guns onto the little cruising-class boat. While I was too far away to see individual faces or rescue tactics, Sonic sails with many strong bodies who wasted zero time in pulling the MOB back aboard. Better still, Jan Anderson, the area's best sailing photographer, was instantly on station with her fast-running RIB and took the MOB back ashore.

Once the situation was clear, we spun our bow, motored back to our pre-MOB-crisis position, and quickly re-hoisted the A2. While there's no question that sailing on Puget Sound in January is playing for keeps with the cold water, we quickly shifted gears from crisis mode to performance sailing mode. I'll admit that it took me a few minutes to shake off the adrenaline rush, but our afterguard afforded themselves no such luxury and instead scanned the waters for the easterly shift that Erik assured us was coming, while calling for the Code-0 to be brought onto deck.

The shift arrived, and we wasted zero time capitalizing on this evolution. The Code-0 was deployed, our VMG spiked, and we soon rounded the marker at Duwamish Head. The J2 made a reappearance as we jib-reached over towards Blake Island. Better still, the heavy-looking rains to our north were staved off by the convergence zone that we were sailing through, and our sails stayed full and at fast angles.

While I've sailed on Puget Sound for over ten years, I've never seen the breeze cooperate so well with a racecourse. A few quick tacks were required to get around Blake Island, but as we started charging back uphill towards the still-distant finishing line, Bates (another fantastic sailor and friend) made the call that we'd be able to fetch the entire leg on starboard tack, provided we could clear Three Tree Point.

We peeled to our J3 as the wind speeds built with the growing white caps. We crossed the finishing line just after 1400 hours to the astonishment of all onboard, as this is a race that we've previously only finished after sunset.

While the racing was fun, the day's highlight came as calls for the A2 resounded once we cleared Three Tree Point for the fourth and final time, our bow aimed for the barn. As soon as we finished jumping the halyard, all crew to piled onto the port quarter as our fun meter started kicking off the day's best metrics. Jake, an accomplished all-around skiff and big-boat sailor, took the helm and promptly posted the day's best number: 18.2 knots.

Regardless of which crew helped make the save, with these kind of winter races, our community of sailors all looks out for each other, providing a broad safety net. At the end of the day, all Puget Sound racing sailors are fortunate to be a part of a community with so many well-sailed boats and safety-minded skippers and crews." Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson.  For more Three Tree Point Yacht Club's Duwamish Head Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Sailors Love San Diego YC Hot Rum Series I

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club's incredibly popular Hot Rum Series started this past weekend for the 133 entries, proving that the event is as popular as ever for southern Californians. Starting and finishing just off the western end of Shelter Island, the fleet heads out en-masse through the Point Loma passage to two buoys offshore and return to the same start line to finish the race. Since it is consistently one of the world's largest PHRF "pursuit races", the little boats know they almost always have no chance of winning overall and simply enjoy the parade of beautiful large sailing yachts gliding past them in all their glory. The smallest, slowest boats (J/22s & J/24s) start well over an hour before the biggest boats- the J/145s and J/160s, for example. 

For the first time in a while, several J/Crews cracked the top five overall, an amazing feat for them! Rick Goebel's J/105 SANITY took second place, while Nico Landuer's J/34 MARLEN took fourth (a beautifully refurbished J/34 IOR boat that is all white and seriously fast in the lighter airs).

In the PHRF 1 class, Rudy Hasl's J/145 PALAEMON placed sixth, while Standish Fleming's J/125 TIMESHAVER settled for seventh. Yet another J/145, Robert Pace's ANDIAMO 2 placed ninth. All boats that placed ahead of these J's were all highly customized boats in the 44 to 60-foot range.

Then, in PHRF 4 class, Rick Goebel's J/105 SANITY won class (garnering his second trophy for the day!), with Nico Lindauer’s J/34 MARLEN in third.  Sixth to eleventh was all J/crews, including Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK! in sixth, Ryan McCrillis' J/80 HAKA in seventh, Tom Garrett's J/70 SLOOP JOHN B in eighth, Chuck Bowers' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER in ninth, Jeff Brown's J/105 SWEET KAREN in tenth, and Dennis Case's J/105 J-OK in eleventh.

Finally, in PHRF 5 class, Tim Lynch's J/30 RUFFIAN took home the bronze for the day. Similarly, in PHRF 6 Cruising class (white sails only), Bill Engle's J/160 LIBRA pulled off the bronze, too. For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Hot Rum Series Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club kicks off its annual Hot Rum Series this coming weekend. The event marks the end of their yearly offshore season for aficionados of sailing across the greater Southern California region. Boats participate from afar as Mexico and San Francisco as the “last hurrah” for the year. Typically, the weather is quite remarkable, with the WNW “sea breezes” kicking in around noontime when the racing starts. The PHRF Pursuit style race means the smallest, slowest boats start first in the lighter winds and head out of the harbor start, past Point Loma, offshore to a triangle buoy race, finishing back in the harbor. Starting later in stronger winds, it is not entirely surprising that the larger boats with their towering rigs often win as the winds filter down over the high peninsula of Point Loma. Nevertheless, it is a fun-loving format, always a picturesque sail sometimes punctuated with giant U.S. Navy nuclear carriers (1,200 feet long) or U.S. Navy 688 Fast Attack Class submarines entering or exiting the harbor with the sailboats keeping clear and maneuvering around them… such fun and frolic on San Diego Harbor!

In the fleet of eighty boats are nineteen J/Teams that range from the J/70s (22 feet) up to the J/145 (47 feet). As has been the case for years, the largest contingent is the J/105s, with leading teams like Dennis Case’s J-OK, Rick Goebel’s SANITY, and Jeff Brown’s SWEET KAREN joining the fun.  In addition, three J/120s are in the mix, such as Janet Mostafa’s BARAKA, John Laun’s CAPER, and Ernie Pennell’s MAD MEN. The balance of the J/Teams include Gene Pitkin’s J/109 GERONIMO, Chuck Bowers’ J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, Tim Lynch’s J/30 RUFFIAN, Fred Hawes’ J/46 ANONA, Tom Garrett’s J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, Rudy Hasl’s J/145 PALAEMON, and Don Fulton’s J/35 BLUE LUNATIC. Sailing photo credits- JOY Sailing.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.