EIGHT BELLS: DAVE PHILIPS

(Newport, RI)- It is with great sadness that J/Boats reports that David M. Philips passed away November 27 at Brightview Commons in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was age 94.

David was a long-time fan of J/Boats since the company first started building J/24s in Warren, RI and setup its world headquarters in Newport, RI. David was THE sailing reporter for the Providence Journal, the principal newspaper for the State of Rhode Island. David became quick friends with Bob and Rod Johnstone, J/Boats' co-founders in the summer of 1977. Dave took great pride in reporting on the success of the J/24 at Block Island Race Week in 1977 and subsequent events later. Dave reported every single day of the first J/24 World Championship in 1979 held in Newport, RI. He interviewed participants, the winner Charlie Scott from Annapolis, MD, and provided great coverage of the event. In later years, David would continue to report on the continued growth of J/Boats and the successes of numerous J/Designs over the next three-plus decades. In fact, Dave was particularly proud of Rhode Islanders that were winning across the USA, Europe, and World Championships- like Ken and Brad Read, Ed "Moose" McClintock, Scott Ferguson, Ed Adams, amongst others too numerous to mention.

After graduating high school in 1944, Dave enlisted in the U.S. Navy and deployed to the Pacific as a meteorologist on an aircraft carrier. Stationed as part of the 8,000-vessel fleet gathered at Ulithi for the invasion of Japan, he and his fellow sailors were relieved to learn of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Following the Japanese surrender he finished his tour of duty in 1946 and returned home to go to college on the GI Bill. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1951 he began his career as a journalist working for publications in Prescott, AZ, Nampa, ID, Wallingford, CT and New Haven, CT before coming to the Providence Journal, where he worked as a sports journalist for 36 years until his retirement.

David loved covering sailing and his coverage of the America’s Cup races in Newport, RI, San Diego, CA and Perth, Australia made the Providence Journal the newspaper of record for following the America’s Cup. Even 20 years after his retirement, a trip to the waterfront always included people recognizing him and coming up to reminisce.

“If you raced sailboats on Narragansett Bay from the 1960s to the 1990s you knew Dave Philips,” recalled Providence Journal colleague Michael Szostak. “If you skippered a 12-meter yacht on Rhode Island Sound during the hey-day of America’s Cup racing in Newport, you knew Dave Philips. If you crewed aboard a boat in the Newport-Bermuda race, you knew Dave Philips.”

Dave served as Chairman of RI Boating Council, held memberships in US Sailing and Narragansett Bay Yachting Association, and worked as a correspondent for Yachting Magazine for 10 years in the 1970s. The Narragansett Bay Yachting Association awarded him the William E. Tripp trophy for making an outstanding contribution to yachting and yacht racing on Narragansett Bay for 36 years.

Known to have quipped, “I’ve covered every sport but ladies wrestling,” his interests ranged well beyond his impressive knowledge of sports statistics and facts. He recalled a vast repertoire of college and university fights songs and could add a song lyric or apt quotation to any conversation. He knew all the songs and cheers for his alma mater, Wesleyan, where he served as Secretary of the Class of 1951 from 1971 until 2019.

His love of singing led him to sing in a cowboy barbershop quartet in Prescott, AZ and later in his church choir at St. Martin’s Church in Providence. Additionally, he possessed an abiding interest in the weather sparked by his naval service as a meteorologist. He faithfully followed The Weather Channel, which may have even preempted ESPN as his favorite. Each year he purchased a Farmer’s Almanac and inserted blank pages to keep track of the actual weather compared to the Almanac’s prediction.

As much as he loved sports, weather and singing, he also loved dogs, especially a series of Miniature Schnauzers. His idea of contentment was a comfortable chair in front of a roaring fire with a dog in his lap.

He is survived by two brothers, Daniel Philips of Pompano Beach, Florida and John Philips of Silver Spring, Maryland, a sister, Caroline Norwood of Emeryville, California and his special friend, Constance Hargreaves and her family of Cranston, RI.

He is also survived by many cousins including, Nancy Burroughs of Peace Dale, RI, Tom Rowe of Middletown, RI, Andy Rowe of Hope, ME, Clark Tyler of McLean, VA, Terry Tyler of Dorset, VT and David Rowe of Northbrook, IL.

Due to COVID restrictions the graveside service at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI will be private. A memorial to celebrate his life will be held next spring or summer. In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent to St. Martin’s Church, 50 Orchard Avenue Providence, RI 02906. 

J/Teams Sweep Stratford Shoal Gearbuster Race

(Greenwich, CT)- Hosted by the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, 2019 marked the 64th edition of this classic 46.0nm race. Run annually, the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend, competitors typically race to Stratford Shoal and back. The nickname "Gearbuster" attests to the usually boisterous weather sailors enjoy in October on Western Long Island Sound. The racing includes fully crewed and double-handed divisions, plus a shorter 19.0nm course for non-spinnaker divisions.

Twenty J/Teams (35.0%) participated in a field of fifty-seven offshore boats in all classes. In virtually every division that had a J/Crew sailing, they either won, podiumed, or swept the podium.

STRATFORD SHOAL RACE
Starting with PHRF 1 Doublehanded Class, J/Crews swept this podium handily. Winning was Barry Purcell’s J/27 LUCIDA by ten minutes corrected over Josh Burack’s J/105 PEREGRINA. Third just SIX seconds astray was Sara & Josh Reisberg’s J/120 ABILYN! That was close racing after 46 nautical miles!

The PHRF 2 Class of eleven boats was won by Bill & Jackie Baxter’s J/111 FIREBALL. Third was Andrew Clark’s J/122 ZIG ZAG. Fifth place went to Steven Levy’s J/121 EAGLE and sixth was Abhijeet Lee’s J/111 VARUNA.

The eleven-boat PHRF 3 Class saw Ken & Drew Hall’s J/88 NEVERMORE taking second place, while Paul Kueffner’s J/36 ECLIPSE placed fourth.

Winning the seven-boat PHRF 4 Class was John Cutting’s J/92 EASY RED. Then, in the six-boat PHRF +1 Class, winning was Arthur Hanlon’s J/112E DAUNTLESS, with David Cielusniak’s J/122 J-CURVE taking the silver.

EATONS NECK RACE
In the shorter Eaton’s Neck Race, taking second in PHRF 6 Class was Jim Reichel’s J/105 SCAPEGOAT, while Jim Farrell’s J/35 SAPPHIRE placed fifth.

In the PHRF 7 Non-spinnaker division, taking second was David Kaplan & Ray Gustin’s J/92 REDLINE. Sixth was the original classic J/24 one-design- the SILVER FOX, skippered by Jasjeet Sood.  For Gearbuster results, please see here   For more “Gearbuster” Stratford Shoal Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Everett Pearson Honored by National Sailing Hall of Fame.

National Sailing Hall of Fame- honors J/Boats builder Everett Pearson
The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced ten people that will make up its 2019 class of inductees. The members of the class of 2019 join seventy-one previously recognized individuals as the NSHOF continues to fulfill its mission by drawing attention and recognition to Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing. One of them includes the founder of Tillotson-Pearson Inc- Everett Pearson, the principal builder of J/Boats for thirty years- from 1977 to 2007.

“We are proud to recognize and celebrate these Inductees and their extraordinary contributions to the sport we love,” said Gus Carlson, President of the NSHOF. “Their accomplishments set them apart, and their stories will inspire sailors for generations to come. Their commitment to excellence embodies the spirit and substance of the National Sailing Hall of Fame.”

After sailors from all corners of the country nominated their choice for induction, a selection committee – made up of representatives from US Sailing, the sailing media, the sailing industry, community sailing, a maritime museum, a previous inductee, and the NSHOF Board– reviewed a wide range of nominations.

Inductees are American citizens, 55 years of age or older, who have made significant impact on the growth and development of the sport in the U.S. in the categories of Sailing, Technical/Design and Contributor (coach, administrator, sailing media).

The 2019 class will be formally celebrated on Saturday, November 9, 2019, with an Induction Ceremony hosted at Seattle Yacht Club, Seattle, Wash. The Induction Weekend has also become notable as a reunion of sailing’s “Who’s Who” as previous inductees join the celebrations to welcome their peers into the Hall of Fame.  For more information on the Inductees Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Farallones Race Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The San Francisco YC and YRA of San Francisco Bay are hosting their annual Farallones Race for both full and shorthanded crews this coming weekend. The 65.0nm sprint from a start inside the Bay out around the infamous Farallones Rocks will see seventy-five teams on the starting line Saturday morning. Ten J/crews are participating in the race from a J/88 up to a J/160.
There are five J/120’s that will be going head-to-head for PHRF class honors, including Timo Bruck’s TWIST, Mike Clarke’s SHENANIGANS, Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO, Sean Mulvihill’s JAMANI, and David Halliwill’s PEREGRINE.  They will be joined by Mario Wijtman’s J/105 J-TRIPPER sailing Doublehanded, Zach Anderson’s J/125 VELVET HAMMER (recent Cal Offshore Week winner), Kevin Mills’ J/36 DAWNS EARLY LIGHT, Steve Gordon’s J/88 INCONCEIVABLE, and Doug McClafin’s J/160 HANA HOU sailing Singlehanded.  For more Farallones Race sailing information  For more San Francisco YC sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Southern Bay Race Week Preview

(Norfolk, VA)- The first week of June marks the opening of the summer season for the southern Chesapeake Bay offshore sailing season.  Hosted by Norfolk Yacht Club, the Southern Bay Race Week is enthusiastically supported by numerous J/Teams in the area for both PHRF Handicap racing and one-design classes.

The half-dozen J/70 class has crews like Arielle Darrow’s all-women’s team on LADY VORTEXES, Rob Gorman’s SURRENDER TO THE FLOE, Scott Dinse’s MARGARITAVILLE, and Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE.

Sailing PHRF Super A Class is Ian Hill’s J/111 SITELLA.  In PHRF A1 Class are Craig Wright’s J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT and two J/36’s (Phil Briggs’ FEATHER and Will Roberts’ REMEDY.

In PHRF B1 Class is Ben Weeks & Michele Cochran’s J/29 RUMBLE from Hampton Yacht Club. In PHRF B2 Class is Rusty Burshell’s J/30 COOL CHANGE. Then, in PHRF C

In the Cruising B Division are John Wandling’s J/28 PISCES and Christian Johnson’s J/24 BLEU BUS from Virginia Beach, VA.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outsideimages.com.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

California Offshore Race Week Series Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2019 California Offshore Race Week is hosted by Encinal Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. Together, they connect three distances races into a full offshore race week series. The series first race is now the fifth major offshore Memorial Day event!

Said one owner that has participated in previous series, “it’s the perfect series of races to kick off summer. Condensed into a tight window to accommodate our busy schedules - we get the chance to experience all of the challenges of too much and too little wind while racing along the picturesque California coast. We are all looking forward to the exhilarating downwind conditions and finishing in the San Diego sun. We’re packing the sunscreen!”

The three events are the following:

• May 25- Spinnaker Cup Race- San Francisco, CA to Monterey
• May 27- Coastal Cup Race- Monterey, CA to Santa Barbara
• May 30- SoCal 300 Race- Santa Barbara, CA to San Diego

The event has proved popular with J/Teams on the Pacific coast. Participating in all three races in both the ORR-A Class and PHRF B Class will be the J/125 VELVET HAMMER, skippered by Zachery Anderson from Richmond YC (note- they are also entered in the 50th Transpac Race).

Sailing just the Spinnaker Cup Race from San Francisco down to Monterrey, CA will be seven J/Crews.  In the PHRF D Class are two J/120s, Timo Bruck’s TWIST and Michael Clarke’s J/120 SHENANIGANS from Richmond YC. In the PHRF E Class are three J/105s (Shafaq Sheikh’s SPARTAN, Chris Kim’s VUJA STAR, and Charlie Abraham’s JAVELIN), Vern Zvoleff’s J/88 RABIAN, and Kevin Mills’ J/36 DAWNS EARLY LIGHT.

Finally, joining the fleet for the SoCal 300 Race are two more high-octane, extremely fast offshore teams.  Sailing in ORR E class are Scott Grealish’s J/121 BLUE FLASH and Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s J/111 LIVE WIRE.  For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

The Eighth Flag- the mystery of St. Croix’s Pirate Legacy- 1493 to 1750!

* Stanford Joines, from St Croix, US Virgin Islands- lost his lovingly maintained J/36 PALADIN in the hurricanes of 2017. 

For years he plied the waters of the Caribbean, sailing many of the major winter regattas on the racing circuit with a crew consisting ONLY of high-school age kids from the islands (mostly St Croix).

For the kids, it was a dream come true, and an opportunity to see a world they never knew existed. Here is his latest progress report on hoping to find a lovable J/105 to be donated to their cause for youth development in St Croix and the Caribbean islands.

Commented Stanford, “we finally have our fiduciary account open at the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development.  As a result, we have a 501c3# for any potential donor (Team Paladin Youth Sailing), learn more about us here.

St. Croix Foundation is in no way a traditional community foundation. While our portfolio does include strategic grant making, the core of our programmatic format is as an operating foundation.  You can learn more about the St. Croix Foundation here.

Also, my book is out on Amazon- “Eighth Flag- the untold story of the Caribbean and the mystery of St. Croix’s Pirate Legacy- 1493 to 1750”!

It is #14 for Caribbean History on Kindle so far, all 5 star ratings!! It is a great summer read.

I found a famous pirate shipwreck, which then took me on journey of discovery, finding many fascinating stories of a Caribbean long forgotten.  As soon as Netflix buys the rights, we'll get a new J/112e!”

You can get Stanford’s book here on Amazon (Kindle or Paperback).

Here is the description of the book:

“Cannibals.  Conquistadors.  Buccaneers.  Pirates.  Visions of cartoon characters dancing around a cauldron with an explorer tied inside. Balboa gazing on the Pacific Ocean.  De Leon and the fountain of youth. Pizarro conquering the Incas. Henry Morgan, in red, drinking spiced rum.  Smoke curling around Blackbeard as his cutlass slashes through the air. … all children's tales that mean nothing.

Today, we do not know who any of these people were, how they came to do what they did, or why they did it.  The struggle for power, freedom, and wealth that shaped the Caribbean for two and a half centuries has, since John Barrie created Peter Pan, been relegated to the same literary section as Barney the Dinosaur; yet, underneath the soil of the modern world, the roots are still there.  I started pulling them up on St. Croix, and the roots led to more roots, and more.  Islands connected, nations connected, and legends came to life.

Officially, St. Croix has flown seven flags over the last 500 years.  Before the American flag and the Danebrog, the Spanish came for gold, the Dutch to trade, the English to raid, and the Knights of St. John to be in charge. The French built a colony only to watch it die of fever.  During all of those years, Pirates, Conquistadors, Freebooters, Filibustiers, Corsairs, Buccaneers- whatever you call them- ruled the Caribbean and called St. Croix home, stealing at sea whether they had 'permission' to do so or not, and paying no attention at all to whatever European flag was flying.  It is time to recognize our eighth flag.  It was black.  This is the untold story of St. Croix and a Caribbean long forgotten.  Come. Sail with me.”  Stan

Farallones Island Race Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- “The Big One” of the season for the offshore racing crowd on San Francisco Bay is now upon us- the fabled Farallones Island Race- fully-crewed teams.  San Francisco YC in Belvedere is hosting the event for the eighty-one entries.  At this stage, it looks like the sailors will be treated to a classic, epic race, with 15-25 kts from the WNW on Saturday.  With the start on an ebb-tide, the outgoing flows through the gate and over the “Potato Patch” will produce enormous breaking waves against the big breeze, challenging the crews on their way out.  By 2:30pm, the tide switches and with it flowing back into the bay, the smoother water should make for an amazingly fast “planing mode” ride back into the Bay!

A veritable navy of J/teams have entered this one-day, but very challenging race that starts just off Alcatraz Island, heads west through the Golden Gate Bridge, round the Farallones rocks, then back into the bay to the start/finish line.  Most boats generally finish by sunset, although in some years that has not been the case.  For the fast boats, it’s a “race to happy hour” at the yacht club bar!

The J/crews range from the classic J/30s up to the magnificent J/44, and from the speedy J/88s up to the J/125 offshore machine.

In the full-crewed division are five of the top J/120s in the Bay area that will be keeping everyone honest with the competitive crews, such as Barry Lewis’ CHANCE, Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO, Timo Bruck’s TWIST, Ton Grennan’s KOOKABURRA, and Sean Mulvihill’s JAMANI.  In addition, Jim Goldberg’s notorious J/109 JUNKYARD DOG’ers will be loving the big slog in big waves out to the rocks, so will Reuben Rocci’s J/111 SWIFT NESS, and Rich Pipkin’s J/125 CAN’T TOUCH THIS.  Hoping for more benign conditions will be Tom Borgstrom’s J/92 HIJINKS, Kevin Mills’ J/36 DAWNS EARLY LIGHT, and the two J/30s entered, Tony Castruccio’s WIND SPEED and Jenny Thompson’s FRICTION LOSS.

In the Doublehanded Division, two J/88’s will be hoping for planing mode on the return leg, Jim Hopp’s WHITE SHADOW and Chris Cartwright’s VENTUS. Another Doublehanded team will be Rick Leute’s J/44 ACEY DEUCY.  For Farallones Race sailing information and results  For Farallones Race event information at San Francisco YC Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Lovin’ Bayfield Race Week!

(Bayfield, WI)- Bayfield Race Week is the centerpiece of the Lake Superior offshore racing season, hosted by the Apostle Islands Station of the Wayzata Yacht Club.  It is a week long festival of sailing on the south shore of Lake Superior, with racing taking place around the spectacular Apostle Islands. The event surrounds the 4th of July, and attracts boats and crews all points of the compass, including: Canada, Florida, Duluth, and the Twin Cities.

To say that it is also a “love fest” for J/sailors would be an understatement.  J/crews have been sailing the event for years and has become a fixture on their calendars once you’ve had the pleasure to experience the fun and camaraderie of the event!  It is truly one of the prettier corners of the sailing world you’ve ever seen, with plush green, pine-treed islands, magnificent tall bluffs, and incredibly clear deep blue waters- a color that could easily mistaken for the azure waters of the Caribbean.

This year, J/Teams won three divisions and took silver in two others- a rather dominating performance by one brand of sailboats!

The Mid-Distance PHRF A group of the big boats was swept by J/crews; these were races around a combination of government marks, islands and set marks- a lot like what you see in the Caribbean race weeks.  Winning was Keith Stauber’s J/35 PAPA GAUCHO II with a 2-4-7-3-2 record for 18 pts.  They also won the “Family Affair Award”.  Second was another J/35, Bob Vander Ploeg’s BOBSLED from Thunder Bay, Ontario with a 4-6-2-2-7 for 21 pts.  Third was David Resch’s J/120 FOREVER YOUNG with a 1-8-3-7-5 tally for 24 pts.  Then, Chris Wells’ J/41 IOR NORTHERN HARRIER from Thunder Bay, Ontario posted a 3-3-5-9-4 for 24 pts, losing the tie-breaker with the J/120 to take fourth place.

In the Mid-Distance PHRF B class, George Johns’ J/80 JAVALINA sailed consistently well with a 1-2-1-5-6 for 15 pts, just one point from first!  Also taking silver was Jim Vaudreuil’s J/109 ZIGZAG in the Buoy Racing PHRF B class, also just missing a class win by one point.

Winning the Jib and Main PHRF class was Edward Alspach’s J/36 RADIO FLYER- a bright, fire-engine red boat that looks great sailing on the lake!  They pretty much crushed their class with four bullets in their 5 races.  Similarly, winning the Sport Boat PHRF class was Erik Wilson’s J/70 FLY 2.0 from Fargo, ND- a long drive away!   Follow Bayfield Race Week on Facebook here   Watch the local Fox 21 News video of the event here   For more Bayfield Race Week scores and sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cleveland Race Week Preview

J/70 & J/22 Great Lakes Championship
(Cleveland, OH)- Cleveland Race Week (CRW) is the largest sailing regatta on Lake Erie and one of the largest on the Great Lakes. The annual event, now celebrating its 37th year, attracts hundreds of boats from across the Great Lakes and beyond. Nationally, Cleveland Race Week ranks as one of the largest sailing events based on number of sailing classes. Building on that eminence, this year’s CRW Regatta will again play host to multiple Regional Championship events.

Founded in 1980, CRW has developed into ten days of racing and special events. Edgewater Yacht Club, which recently celebrated it’s Centennial, is currently undergoing an exciting renovation and will be the host club for this event, scheduled to take place June 15-25th. CRW annually draws over 1,500 national and international participants.

One-design fleets that participate include J/22, J/70, J/24, and J/105 classes.  And, the PHRF Division has nine racing divisions and three JAM divisions.  This year’s event is also the Great Lakes Championship for J/22s and J/70s.

The eleven-boat J/22 fleet from across five states in the northeast and Midwest.  As usual, some of the New York J/22 mafia are in attendance, hoping to lift a few pounds of silver from the podium; those teams include Vic Snyder’s MO’MONEY, John Huebschmann’s ESCAPE, Mark Stuhlmiller’s EUDAIMONIA and David Krystaf’s RUFUS.  From the local Ohio fleet are Tim Roberts’ DEUCE, Rick Raymond’s LONDON FOG, Mike Meaney’s MEANIAC, and Jim Latham’s RAMBLE ON.  From farther afield are teams like Chris Princing’s Michigan crew on EVIL DR PORK CHOP/ AWARD & SPORTS, Scott Gelo’s VENTUS from Annapolis, and Dave McBrier’s VAMANOS/ HARDWARECHIMP.COM.

The eight-boat J/24 fleet has virtually an all-Ohio state contingent battling for local honors as Ohio’s “Top Dog”.  For starters, the spoiler to that party could be John O’Brien’s MOSH PIT from Fishers, IN.  Making he has a hard time getting there will be Steve Hronke’s BLACK & TAN, Mike Palmer’s BOOYAH, Ryan Lashaway’s ESCAPE PLAN, Park McRitchie’s NO B.S., Chris Glynn’s THE MYSTERY MACHINE, and two women skippers- Nancy Zangerle’s TBD and Cathy Graf’s GRAFIX.

The fifteen-boat J/70 fleet has several well-known traveling teams and the locals, representing six states and Canada.  Perhaps the most notable top team is Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS from Alamitos Bay YC in California, the 2016 Pacific Coast Champion.  He will be up against top locals like Trey Sheehan’s HOOLIGAN: FLAT STANLEY RACING, Tod Sackett’s FM, and Lee Sackett’s USA 364.  From Chicago is Jim Prendergast’s USA 167 and from Youngstown is Tim Finkle’s JUNIOR.

The six-boat J/105 class is an all Ohio affair that includes Rick Drucker’s KNOT GUILTY, Steve Mitcham’s BREEZIN BAYOU, Chip Schaffner’s FALL LINE, Lucinda Einhouse’s OVATION, the Uhlir Brothers’ TRIO and Bob Mock’s UNBRIDLED.

In the PHRF Handicap Spinnaker division are 12 J/crews in a fleet of 22 boats- 55% of the fleet! Expected to be at the top of the class are two J/111s- Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF Key West Race Week winning team and Don Hudak’s CAPERS.  They will be chased hard by a plethora of PHRF rocketships (e.g. boats with good ratings), including Chris Mallets’ J/109 SYNCHRONICITY, Tim Yanda’s VIVA LA VIDA, Arne Lillo’s J/29 AQUARIUS, and Mark Saffell’s J/36 PAINKILLER.   In PHRF Non-Spinnaker, Doug Wahl’s J/30 RUBBER SOUL will be taking on the world of 15 boats in his class.  For more Cleveland Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Another Gracious Southern Bay Race Week

(Hampton, VA)- This year’s Southern Bay Race Week, hosted at Hampton YC, ranks as one of the largest regattas on the Chesapeake with 100+ entries. According to many sailors at the regatta, the fact that Hampton YC’s claim to honest-to-goodness awesome southern hospitality is the best, is absolutely spot on!!  If you’ve never been down to the Southern Bay for this event, heed the call of “Y’all come racing!” and sign up for the weekend after Memorial Day 2018! Here is how it all went down for the J/70 and J/24 one-design classes and the very large PHRF contingent.

In the J/70 class, it was Latane Montague’s FULL MONTY that took class honors, with Matt Braun’s E.L.E. in second, followed by Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE in third place.

The J/24s were determined by a tie-break, won by Mike Veraldi’s QUICKY over Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT.  Third, just one point back, was Sam McGuire’s BLOW’VIATE.

In PHRF 2 class, Phil Briggs’ J/36 FEATHER sailed well and took the silver.  His stablemate, another J/36 called REMEDY sailed by Will Roberts, could only muster a 7th place.

In PHRF B1 class, Ben Weeks’ J/29 crushed their class, posting all top three finishes and three 1sts to win by a comfortable margin.

In PHRF B2 class, Rusty Burshell’s J/30 COOL CHANGE snagged the silver while another J/30, Ben Ritger’s BLEW-J took fourth place.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Southern Bay Race Week Preview

(Hampton, VA)- Hampton YC is looking forward to hosting its annual Southern Bay Race Week, and event that is sponsored by Black Seal Cup rum and has become a highly popular social event for the “southern set”- those that call the southern Chesapeake home and even go sailing offshore sometimes off Virginia Beach.  100 boats are looking forward to good sailing and the fun-times on shore, especially for the one-design fleets of J/24s and J/70s and the large collection of PHRF handicap boats.

In the J/70s, the local fleet is out in force and expect the class honors to be fought between Steve Quiriconi’s HOTTY TODDY, Matt Braun’s E.L.E., Latane Montague’s FULL MONTY, Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE and Walter Gnann’s VORTEX.

The J/24s will have a full-on battle for the top five; include several Hamptonites and a foreigner from Unionville.  Those teams include Sam McGuire’s BLOW’VIATE, Mike Veraldi’s QUICKY, Bill Bomar’s RACING TIDE, Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT, and Ray Nugent’s ROCKET J.

Three J/crews are participating in PHRF A2 class, include Don DeLoatch’s J/105 SPECIAL K, and two J/36s- Phil Briggs’ FEATHER and Will Roberts’ J/36 REMEDY.  In PHRF B1 class, the sole J is Ben Weeks’ J/29 RUMBLE.  Two J/30s are sailing in PHRF B2- Ben Ritger’s BLEW-J and Rusty Burshell’s COOL CHANGE.
For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Sweep Harvest Moon Regatta

(Seabrook, TX)- Perhaps one of the most beautiful experiences any offshore sailor can have is to take off from Galveston Bay on an afternoon start, sail out into the Gulf of Mexico and turn left down the shoreline to Port Aransas about 50 nm down the coastline.  In most years, it’s a gentle cruise down the coast under spinnaker with a massive “fall harvest moon” slowly emerging over the ESE horizon, seemingly ready to engulf the entire Earth in its glow.  For those who have sailed this race over the years, it is a mind-bending experience to see the Moon refracting so that it looks like it is the Second Coming of Christ- or some other out-of-body scenario.  Blood orange, giant, and melting across the horizon on the Gulf of Mexico, it’s no wonder that so many people keep coming back for more!

This year, a good weather forecast meant that teams turned out “en’masse” to enjoy the gorgeous overnight sail.  In ORC Spinnaker classes, it was remarkable that both “A” and “B” classes saw total “clean sweeps” by J/Crews!

In ORC Class A, 1st was Jim Liston’s J/120 AEOLUS from Houston YC, 2nd was Albrecht Goethe’s J/46 HAMBURG II from Lakewood YC, 3rd was JD Hill’s J/122 SECOND STAR from Lakewood YC and 6th was Andy Wescoat’s J/109 HARM’s WAY from Galveston Bay Cruising Association!

The scenario was the same for ORC Class B.  But, in this case, it was a sweep of the top five!  1st was John Barnett’s J/105 VICI from Lakewood YC, 2nd was Josh Richline’s J/105 VELOCE from Corpus Christi YC, 3rd was JB Bednar’s J/105 STINGER from Lakewood YC, 4th was John Bell’s J/105 KINDERSPIEL 2 from Corpus Christi YC, and 5th was Jeff Progelhof’s J/36 SENOR MOMENT for Houston YC! An amazing accomplishment for all J/Sailors across the board!  For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information

Great Sailing @ Cleveland Race Week!

J/Teams Sweep Three PHRF Divisions
(Cleveland, OH)- Like they did the weekend before, the Edgewater YC rolled out the red carpet and did a fantastic job of hosting the “Offshore CRW” this past weekend.  The regatta was blessed with four good days of racing with winds ranging from 4 to 20 kts from a variety of directions.  The format was made fun for everyone, mixing up “random leg” offshore buoy racing with finish lines on the inner harbor just outside the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Brown’s football stadium along Cleveland’s picturesque waterfront.  The weekend finished with two days of windward-leeward course, providing each team a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and diversity sailing both offshore and around-the-cans races.

The regatta started off on Thursday with spectacular weather.  After racing, the Edgewater YC hosted their infamous “Ragin' Cajun party,” where they served up spicy, spicy gumbo with Tito's Vodka and Regatta Ginger Beer- a helluva concoction known as an “American Mule” (a.k.a.- it does give you a kick in the proverbial booty!).  On that note, everyone seemed to enjoy the camaraderie and no matter how many American Mules were served, it was pretty clear that a number of J/crews were going to knock it out of the park out on the water!

Exhibit number one- the J/111s swept the podium in PHRC C Class!  Rob Ruhlman’s J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF was 1st, followed by Don Hudak’s CAPERS in 2nd and Jeff Davis & Bob Knestrick’s SHAMROCK in 3rd.  Fourth was the beautifully restored J/39 BLACK SEAL sailed by Seth & Kevin Young.  Tim Yanda’s J/120 VIVA LA VIDA was 6th in class.

J/Teams nearly pulled off the same scenario in PHRF D class.  Winning was Paul Matthews’ J/35 WHITEHAWK with Mark Saffell’s J/36 PAINKILLER in 3rd place.

PHRF E Class saw David Koski’s J/109 USA 77 win class counting just straight bullets in six races!  Second was the duo of Doug Moose & Jim Sminchak racing the brand new J/88 SPACEMAN SPIFF.  Chris Mallett’s J/109 SYNCHRONICITY took 5th place, while Charles & Andrew Drumm’s J/100 D2 took 6th position.

It was an all J/gangsta’s affair in PHRF F class, made up of three J/29s, two J/34 IORs and one J/70!  Quite an eclectic mix of new and old designs from three different decades!  In the end, Brett Langolf’s J/34 IOR KNEE DEEP won class counting all 1sts in their six races that counted (one toss was permitted).  Second was yet another J/34 IOR boat, Dave Krotseng’s BONAFIDE.  Third was Cindy & Tom Einhouse’s J/29 OVATION, followed by John Zelli’s J/70 FREE ENERGY in fourth and Aarne Lillo’s J/29 AQUARIUS in fifth position.

Finally, in PHRF G class, Rich Galaska’s J/30 BREEZIN’ took third position, managing to win the first race of the regatta along the way!

In the J/105 class, Chip Schaffner’s FALL LINE won convincingly, posting six bullets for a final tally of 6 pts.  Sailing fast, but not fast enough to catch FALL LINE, was Robert Mock’s UNBRIDLED, settling for 2nd with 11 pts and Jim Uhlir’s TRIO finished third.   Sailing photo credits- Dave Mathias/ Reaching Leg Photo.   For more Cleveland Race Week sailing information

Southern Bay Race Week Report

(Hampton, VA)- True to form, the Hampton YC did not disappoint the enormous fleet of J/70s, J/24s, and J/PHRF teams during their very special start of summer event- the Southern Bay Race Week.  A number of fleets were near the exhilarating exhaustion point, having completed eleven races over the weekend!  Note to regatta PRO’s, tired sailors are a good thing, that means you’ve done your job good and no one can complain!

Winning the J/70s was Clarke McKinney’s ANTAGONIST, counting all top three races in their eleven race series to win with just 17 pts.  Taking second was Ron Thompson’s FOR SALE with a nearly identical record of top three places to take second place just one point back.  Close, those two were, eh??  Third was Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE with 34 pts, a bit off the pace of the top two, however, having one helluva battle with the next two boats.  Fourth was Matt Braun’s E.L.E. with just 36 pts, and only two more points in arrears in fifth place was Jon Deutsch’s NO QUARTER with 38 pts total.

While their J/70 counterparts had stories within stories in their fleet, the J/24s saw a complete fleet domination by Ron Medlin’s BASH, counting only 1sts and 2nds to win with 12 pts total in 11 races!  Holy White-Wash, Batman!  Surviving the whiplash was Mike Veraldi’s QUICKY in second with 19 pts and Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT (YES!) in third with 26 pts.

In the PHRF Handicap world, it was Craig Wright’s J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT that took second in PHRF A1 class.  In PHRF A2 division, Phil Briggs’ J/36 FEATHER sailed a consistent series to collect the bronze.  They were followed by Don DeLoatch’s J/105 SPECIAL K in sixth and Will Roberts’ J/36 REMEDY in seventh.

Perhaps the big story of the regatta was the awesome domination of PHRF B1 class by Ben Weeks & Michele Cochran’s J/29 RUMBLE, winning class with straight bullets for counters!  Third was Ryan McCrillis’ J/80 HAKA.

In the meantime, the wished for clean sweep of PHRF B2 by J/30s did not come to pass.  Nevertheless, two of them posted strong performances; Rusty Burshell’s COOL CHANGE took the silver while fellow J/30 owner Ben Ritger’s BLEW-J took fourth.

Last, it was Vernon Eberwine’s J/36 SEA STAR that also had a near clean sweep of her PHRF Non-Spin class, winning by just one point after a toss race. Great performances overall by J/teams in all divisions in Hampton!   For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information

Southern Bay Race Week Preview

(Hampton, VA)- Going from strength-to-strength, the Hampton YC and its partners at the southern part of Chesapeake Bay are looking forward to hosting a much bigger fleet of boats in this year’s Southern Bay Race Week regatta that takes place over the June 3rd to 5th weekend.  The J/Boats contingent will provide a large presence due to one-design class starts for J/24s, J/70s, and active participation in the PHRF handicap fleets.

The J/70 class has a fleet of seven boats that includes Ryan Kozoric’s GETMYBOAT, Clarke McKinney’s ANTAGONIST, Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE and Jon Deutsch’s NO QUARTER.

The only woman skipper in the half-dozen boat J/24 class will be Cheryl Marek and her hard-charging crew on WHISKEY GIRL.  They will be mixing it up with teams like Alan Bomar’s ROUNDABOUT and Alex Bolan’s SAMURAI TAKEDOWN.

In the PHRF A1 Class, two 35-foot J cruiser/racers will be working hard to establish supremacy in their ten boat class- Vernon Eberwine’s J/36 SEA STAR and Craig Wright’s J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT.

Four J/Teams will be dueling in the eleven-boat PHRF A2 fleet, including past winner Don DeLoatch on his J/105 SPECIAL K, Phil Briggs’ J/36 FEATHER, Will Roberts’ J/36 REMEDY and Jim Bordeaux’s J/40 SOLSTICE.

The sole J/crew in the eight-boat PHRF B1 group is Ryan McCrillis’ J/80 HAKA.  Finally, a trio of J/30s will be pounding hard on their competitors in PHRF B2 Class; hoping to make it a J/30 sweep of the podium are Jamie Shoemaker & Ron Quinn’s GOES TO ELEVEN, Ben Ritger’s BLEW-J and Rusty Burshell’s COOL CHANGE.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information

BVI Spring Regatta Preview

(Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI)- “This is a fantastic event, with lots of variety in the racing, great race management and wonderful shore-side activities – get involved and enjoy!” – is the sage advice from Rick Wesslund, veteran BVI Spring Regatta competitor. Wesslund, owner/skipper of the J/122 EL OCASO should know as 2016 marks his 9th entry in the competition.

EL OCASO is just one of 108 boats participating in the 45th edition of this iconic Caribbean racing event that takes place from March 30th to April 3rd at the Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola, BVI. Entries come from all corners of the Seven Seas: the US, Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Canada, Ireland, Argentina, Germany and, of course, local sailors from right here in the British Virgin Islands.

Sam Talbot, from New York and owner/skipper of the J/111 SPIKE, also likes to start the party early at BVI Spring Regatta;  “We are always sailing with different crew so we have become pretty efficient at crash courses for various areas of the boat. We plan to put a solid day of practice in before the Nanny Cay Cup race so everybody can get familiar with their position.”

This year Talbot’s upgraded his sail inventory from North 3DLs to 3DIs, and is looking forward to more control with the new sails across a bigger wind range. Nonetheless, equipment aside, he advises newcomers to the event not to take anything too seriously at Spring Regatta, “The banter out on the water is what makes it so much fun!”

With a different race course every day and guaranteed no-two-days-of-racing-the-same sets BVI Spring Regatta apart from other yacht racing events. Fabulous beach parties every evening are the only way to end a perfect day of warm-water Caribbean racing. With a long-time “home” base at Nanny Cay where families can also enjoy all that Tortola and the surrounding islands offer, the event offers something for everyone.

Bob Phillips, Regatta Chairman, has chaired the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival for 19 years so has a pretty good idea how conditions may shape up for the regatta, “We’re looking at 15-20, pretty usual trade winds, maybe a little higher than normal.”

Joining the fun in the CSA Racing 2 class are both Wesslund’s J/122 EL OCASO and Talbot’s J/111 SPIKE.  In addition, Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID from Antigua will be pressing their classmate EL OCASO hard; as will another Antigua boat, Bernard Evan-Wong’s J/120 TEAM TAZ- SUNSET.

While the CSA Racing 2 class looks relatively good from a relative competitiveness standpoint (mostly 36 to 43 footers), the CSA Racing 3 class has to be the most eclectic of them all!  It ranges from a J/24 to fully race-equipped First 40s- a bit of a free-for-all for everyone!  Speaking of which, hoping for lots of reaching against the bigger boats will be Aaron Gardner’s J/24 BRAVISSIMO from the Royal BVI YC.  Joining him is Cynthia Ross & Eduardo Lucas’ J/30 J-DOE and two J/105s- Jon Lipuscek’s DARK STAR from Puerto Rico and Bryan Coon’s SOLSTICE team from New York.

The CSA Performance Cruiser I Class is just “white-sails” only.  It’s about the most perfect class for BVI Regatta, as you “can have your cake and eat it too”!  Sailing double-handed or with an entire family, it’s fun, laid-back and just as challenging as it is for the racing classes.  In this class is a past multiple BVI winner, Stanford Joines’ crew of high-school kids from St Croix- the J/36 PALADIN.  Hoping to work some of that magic, too, will be David Ballantyne’s J/133 JINGS! from Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.

The J/24-mod crews racing on the IC-24s will have fun sailing one-design just off the front of the marina; eleven boats are participating with some amazingly “hot” crews from across the sailing landscape.  For example, Jens Hookanson (Sunfish World Champion and J/24 Champions) from St Croix YC is racing STINGER while Jaime Torres from Puerto Rico (multiple class champion in the Caribbean Circuit) will be racing the familiar SMILE AND WAVE.  For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing information

J/105 DARK STAR Tops St. Croix Regatta

J/36 PALADIN Takes NonSpin with High School Team!
(Christiansted, St Croix, US Virgin Islands)- This past weekend, from November 13th to 15th, the St Croix YC in Christiansted, St Croix unfurled the regatta flags and signaled the start of the Caribbean winter racing season.

The 23rd edition of the regatta included Optimists, with a VISA (Virgin Island Sailing Association) sponsored Optimist clinic on Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday. The Big Boat race on Friday was renamed “Captain Nicks Race” in honor of our founder- Nick Castruccio, who turned 90 this year!  The race for the rum was Saturday and Sunday’s overall winner.

The runaway winner in CSA Spinnaker Class for the Captain Nicks Race Regatta was the J/105 DARK STAR from San Juan, Puerto Rico, skippered by Jonathan Lipuscek from Club Nautico Puerto Rico; they posted the unbeatable scoreline of 1-1-1 for three pts.  Finishing third was Douglas DeReu’s J/24 CRUZAN CONFUSSION, a local boat from Christiansted sailing to a 4-2-3 for 9 pts.  And, in 4th place was another J/24, Dave Tomlison’s EL SHADDAI II with a crew from New Hampshire with a 3-4-4 record for 11 pts. 

The CSA Non-spinnaker Division saw Stanford Joines beautifully refinished J/36 PALADIN participating with a crew of kids from the local St Croix High School in Christiansted.  They perfectly mirrored the record of their friends on the J/105 DARK STAR, also posting three bullets to walk off with class honors.

For the weekend regatta, a similar scenario nearly played out for both divisions.  Again, Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR crew rattled off six bullets in CSA Spinnaker Racing Class to finish with 6 pts, winning their weight in Cruzan Rum as the overall regatta winner!  The J/24s finished 3rd (DeReu’s CRUZAN CONFUSSION) and 6th (Tomlinson’s EL SHADDAI II).  Meanwhile, Stanford’s crew on the J/36 PALADIN repeated their solid performance and won CSA Non-spinnaker to win with four 1sts and two 2nds.

According to Stanford, “the youth crew on the J/24 CRUZAN CONFUSSION with Doug Dereau and skipper Ethan Hanley, were awesome.  The boat that won overall was the J/105 DARK STAR, Jonathan dry sails the boat out of Fajardo with a Teflon bottom, and had several veteran PR sailors on board who have been my friends, and competitors, for years.

PALADIN happened to round the leeward mark almost every race just behind 'Bad Monkey', and we always gained on her on the upwind leg until we turned off for the shorter cruising mark.  It makes me think that if PALADIN had such fancy new sails like ’Monkey’s’ (we were sailing with 9 year old Dacron), was dry sailed with a Teflon bottom, and had a nice new symmetrical spinnaker, PALADIN could win in the racing class!  Maybe just the sails would do it, with good wet/dry sandpaper! (As a teacher down here and a single dad, sails won't happen!)”   Learn more about Stanford’s St Croix junior sailing project here.  For more St Croix Regatta sailing information

More J/36 JAZZ Cruising Stories!

(Plymouth, England)- The J/36 JAZZ is at it again. Norm Curnow was completing their summer-long cruiser-racer series in Plymouth, England.  Here’s what he had to say:

“We were first in the Round Scilly Isles Race, over the water and on handicap!  Plus, we were simply steaming over to the islands, flying actually!

On the way home, we were gently outboard motoring JAZZ.  She has no smelly inboard sense 1982!  She has done more then 50,000 miles since with nothing more than an outboard motor!  She's sailed New York to Caribbean at least 3 times; up and down the Caribbean at least 5 times; gone to Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba; 5 trans-Atlantic’s; 5 Lands End, Bay of Biscay’s to the Mediterranean; at least 5 trans-Mediterranean’s, most of them far has the Greek island of Crete; lots of this was achieved single-handed, including  the trans-Atlantics.  Cheers, Stormin Norman!

J/36 JAZZ Round Island Report!

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The original J/36 #1 JAZZ sailed the Round Island Race in Great Britain this year.  We received this report from her current owner- Norman Curnow- about their recent experience sailing the famous 1,600 boat JP Morgan Round Island Race (round the Isle of Wight):

“We left Plymouth on Thursday before racing on Saturday, covered 130 miles to the Needles on the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight. It was just two of us, Charles and me.  We sailed about 9.5nm out of the way and picked up “Alie” at the marina in Cowes— he’s Charles’ son.

We got to the start line Saturday morning at 0730 hrs.  We went well to windward, passing lots of boats until we got to the Needles.  My crew did not have a lot of kite experience, so we left them in their bags.  Consequently, we lost a lot of time down the back of the island, past St Catherines Point, all the way down to Bembridge Ledge and sailing back through the Forts.

However, it was one very good race had by all three of us!! We finished 379 out of 1579!  Great stuff, eh lads??!!  Not bad for a boat built in 1981 and sailed by its designer Rod Johnstone by the same name- JAZZ!  Stormin’ Norm out!  More stories later.”