ANNAPOLIS NOOD A CELEBRATION FOR J/CREWS!

 

J/22 SCOOBY Crowned as Overall Winner!

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

What was that plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

How did things go down in the other classes?  

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


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


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


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

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

J/70S AND WOMEN J/80 TEAMS INVITED TO COPA DEL REY MAPFRE!

(Copa del Rey, Spain)- The 39th Copa del Rey MAPFRE, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), will be held from 31st July to the 7th of August, 2021. Racing will take place on the Bay of Palma in front of the historic and incredibly picturesque waterfront of the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca. 


For the first time the European J/70 class is invited to participate as well as women's team to sail on supplied J/80s from the local Palma J/80 fleet. Sailing in Palma for most sailors ranks as a "bucket list" event, such is the notoriety of the region for fun in the Mediterranean sun!

Generally, the regatta is nothing short of spectacular. For four straight days, the competitors can expect clear blue skies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with the noon-time sea breezes building from the southwest into the 8 to 15 kts range...at least that's what the local chamber of commerce claims on their brochure! No question, that part of the Med is famous for its remarkable weather in August and is a reason why Palma is notoriously famous amongst the world's "glitterati", with numerous famous super yachts often parked inside the marinas.  Treat yourself to an amazing experience. Click here and learn more about the Copa del Rey MAPFRE.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNAPOLIS J/FEST (AKA NOOD REGATTA) PREVIEW

 

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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

LANDSAIL TYRES J/CUP ANNOUNCEMENT

(Southampton, England)- Key Yachting is delighted to announce the launch of the 2021 Landsail Tyres J/Cup. This will be the first major regatta in England following the proposed final stage of the UK Government roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions.
 
"Landsail Tyres are thrilled to once more be supporting the J-Cup regatta," said Chris Saunders, Landsail UK Brand Manager. "This will be Landsail's seventh regatta and being the first one after Covid restrictions are expected to ease - it is going to be extra special. The J/Boats community always delivers exciting racing, and we can't wait to see who comes out on top this year!"


Hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, well over 50 teams are expected for the exclusive J/Boats regatta. Three one-design classes will be competing including the J/70 Class and J/109 Class. The J/111 Class has the added thrill of competing for the National Championship. A variety of J/Boats crewed by friends and family, as well as professional sailors, will be racing in organized IRC Classes.


The Landsail Tyres J/Cup invites all J/Boats owners and crew to take part in three days of exciting racing in The Solent with daily prize givings. The most coveted award at the Landsail Tyres J/Cup is the J/Cup itself, which will be awarded at the J/Cup 2021 Dinner.
 

“A big thank you to Landsail Tyres for their continued support of the J/Cup, this is going to be a lot of fun,” commented Key Yachting’s Wayne Palmer. “For over 20 years this has been the event that brings the J/Boats family together and that is especially important in the current climate. The Key Yachting team is just as passionate about the regatta as the hundreds of sailors that will be taking part. We are determined to make it a memorable event for everyone involved.”   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PwPictures.com  Event Reporter: Louay Habib

The 2021 Landsail Tyres J/Cup is open for entry. Online registration and race documents including the Notice of Race can be found at YachtScoring.  Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNOUNCING THE SPANISH J/80 SAILING SERIES!

(Barcelona, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 class is considered one of the best in the world; after all, amongst their teams they account for nearly a dozen J/80 World Championships (forget the fact they are several Olympic sailing Medallists amongst them). Building on that strength (a somewhat scary thought for the rest of the world), the Spanish class of more than 145 teams and 1,000+ sailors has created a new summer sailing series that will enable them to pursue their great passion for sailing in all of the most beautiful, iconic sailing venues throughout Spain. 

The Spanish J/80 fleet hopes to get sailors of all ages, women's teams, youth teams and masters together. Clearly, they are a class that adapts to the times and promotes values as important as equality and sustainability amongst their ranks of sailors.

J/80 Spain Sailing Series
The 2021 J80 Spain Sailing Series calendar is made up of two major national events; the Spanish Cup to be held in June at the Real Club Marítimo del Abra and the Spanish J/80 Championship to be held in the waters of Cádiz, specifically at the Real Club Náutico La Linea in September.

In addition to these two national qualifying races in the ranking, one regatta per fleet will be added; Canary, Andalusian, Balearic, Basque, Cantabrian and Galician regattas, such as the Prince of Asturias Trophy and the Princess Alexia Trophy. All these regattas will be the scoring events to make the national ranking. The top ten best of the year will come out of this ranking with their direct pass to the Super Final, the J/80 Sailing Finals!

The Spanish J/80 Super Finals
The top ten teams by ranking at the end of the circuit will go to the Super Final. It will be a competition of champions that will be held for the first time in the month of October. The chosen venue has been the amazing natural amphitheater of Santander, and the host Real Club Maritimo de Santander will undoubtedly offer an extraordinary nautical show!  For more Spanish J/80 Sailing Series regatta informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The KDY (Royal Danish Yacht Club) are hosting the 2021 J/80 World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark. They have already postponed the event once due to covid-19 pandemic issues in Europe. it is now expected to be hosted in July.

"Hygge" (enjoying life's simple pleasures) isn’t everything, but...

As National Geographic so aptly explains it, “Denmark's capital has become the urban overlord of doing things the right way. They call it the happiest city in the world. So, what's the secret? Image-wise, everything in recent years seems to have gone the city's way. The omnipresence of the Danish concept hygge has helped paint it as a place of candlelit good times...”

It certainly has, and it is. But "hygge" isn’t everything. We’d like to add 1) a positive outlook and 2) sailing of course!


Staying positive and moving ahead in our preparations
As many events have been moved into the month of September – lately even the Kiel Week we still believe that the J/80 World Championship in July will be OK. Who knows this may even be the racing season opening event! How is that for at title? We are certainly working hard in order to have all our ducks (and docks) in a row for when you get here. We are confident the J/80 Worlds will be the start of the international racing season here.

There is very strong interest in the regatta as it's an "Open" event. The entries are coming in as well are international requests for rental boats, and in the upcoming weeks you will read more about accommodation and travel arrangements as well as boat rental opportunities and you may even find out why the Spaniards cannot win the trophy – again!

If you have questions, please contact us at email- j80worlds@kdy.dk.  For more J/80 World Championship sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

SUCCESSFUL UNIFI CAPITAL J/80 OFFSHORE REGATTA!

 

(Chennai, India)- The Unifi Capital Offshore Regatta, was held from the 11th to 14th March 2021 with a race between Chennai and Puducherry which are 160 kms apart in the Bay of Bengal in South India. Four J/80 class sail boats competed with teams- INWTC from Indian Navy, EMESA from Indian Army, VCS from Royal Madras Yacht Club and PSA from Pondycherry Sailing Association.

The event was the first offshore Regatta in India complying with OSR Cat 3 requirements and was organized by Royal Madras Yacht Club under the authority of the Yachting Association of India, the apex sailing body. The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy provided support and logistics for a safe event. World renowned sailors consented to participate in the event to get the press and media interested. Commander Abhilash Tomy, the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world in a sailboat and Lt. Cdr Vartika Joshi, the naval officer who captained the all-women team which circumnavigated the globe.

Event organizer Capt. Vivek Shanbhag said that for the first-time satellite trackers were used for continuous coverage. The website was given wide publicity for tracking the race in real-time on smart phones and laptops.


The first leg had VCS leading from the beginning. Over the next 8 hours as the sun was setting, VCS was about 500 meters ahead of INWTC and about 3 kms behind were EMESA leading by a km over PSA. The race was a close reach with calm seas and 10 knots SW winds. Being a new moon, the sky was bright with a million stars and boats had to keep watch over the many fishing boats dotting the seas. In the last 2 kms the winds dropped to 4 knots and VCS was trying to spot the race committee vessel at the finish line among the numerous fishing boats with similar lights. Meantime INWTC hoisted their kite and narrowed the margin and got a slim lead over VCS. By the time VCS hoisted their kite, the winds dropped further, and the boats moved in slow motion with INWTC finishing 3 minutes ahead. Similarly, PSA bringing the rear managed to pip EMESA by a minute at the finish line. After 14 hours racing the finish was an absolute thriller!  

After a good, long nights sleep, the next day saw the fleet prepare to sail the return leg to Chennai. The second leg had a wind change and was 10 knots from NE with the boats sailing a long beat to windward. VCS tacked and headed deep into the sea, with the other three teams hugging the coast. INWTC managed a comfortable lead of about 90 minutes over the next 10 hours and the next three boats finished within 4 minutes of each other! VCS, which was lagging behind by a huge margin of 5 kms, managed to continuously trim their sails and finished second. The last boat took about 16 hours. It was yet another nail-biting finish, an event rarely heard of in offshore racing.

As a result, the cumulative results of the two legs saw INWTC win with two bullets, followed by VCS with two 2nds, and a tie for third place between PSA and EMESA!Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Greetings from Royal Madras Yacht Club- India!

Capt. Vivek Shanbhag, the Vice Commodore of the Royal Madras YC, and passionate J/80 sailor provided us a quick report of what's happening with the nascent J/80 class in India. Commented Capt. Shanbhag:

"The Royal Madras YC was established in 1910, is located inside the Chennai Port, and has been popularizing sailing in South India.

We have a small fleet of five J/80s and I have been actively pushing keelboat sailing for years.

Our sailors have participated at the J/80 Asian Championship in China in 2018 and 2019 having ranked 5th and 4th, respectively. 

We had 3 RMYC teams participating at the J/80 World's 2019 in Spain and it was a very good exposure with overall ranking around 55th in a fleet of 80 boats.

In India, we do not have a J/80 Class Association. We have a total of five J/80s in India and plan to have our J/80 Class Association shortly.

J/80 Offshore Event
Apart from the usual races we conduct, for the first time we are conducting an Offshore event between two cities- Chennai and Puducherry, which are 160 kms apart. The event is from 10th March to 14th March 2021.

With the prevalent winds, it should take us about 24 hours each way. 

We want to scale it up and I have been working hard with different agencies. An Indian Navy vessel will be escorting us, the Indian Coast Guard is giving Search and Rescue coverage, and we can scramble a helicopter in 30 minutes.

Satellite tracking for continuous coverage is also being provided. A log-in id and password will be published and the race can be tracked from anywhere in the world. The AIS is a challenge and expensive, but we should be able to have them too. We are looking forward to a fun and challenging event for our J/80 fleet!Add to Flipboard Magazine.

USA J/80 Class 2021 Regatta Plans

  

(Annapolis, MD)- Ramzi Bannura, President of the J/80 North American Class provided an update on plans for their 2021 class schedule and events:

"Regattas and other boating events were limited throughout last year, but some of us were able to get out and have some fun together on the boats and also compete in a few small events.  

The J/80 NA Class remains strong as ever with a solid, active representation of 100 members since 2019 and we have traced over 250 J/80s throughout North America that we are actively engaging to ensure these owners reap the benefits of our J/80 knowledge base and nearby boat owner camaraderie.  


We maintain a strong representation of J/80 fleets in Annapolis, Austin, NH, Maine, Seattle, Ontario Canada, Hawaii and MA with growing pockets of activity in between. 2021 is expected to begin at a slow pace, but we are nonetheless planning a J/80 North American Championship in Annapolis the first weekend on October 1st to the 3rd, hosted by Eastport Yacht Club.  

We are looking to also support the J-Jamboree on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH in mid-September and we also hope to have a boat or two represent North America at the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark in July, if global travel regulations and logistics allow. We will be using 2021 to build up the momentum for our march toward the J/80 Worlds on October 1-7, 2022 hosted by Sail Newport in Newport, RI.

We will also be hosting the 2022 J/80 North American championships at Sail Newport a week or more before (September 23-25).  We also expect a few other one-design events throughout New England the months before the Worlds event to get everyone warmed up for the big event.
 

The class is excited about the next 18 months and the opportunities to get back on the water and compete together. Updates will continue to be available on www.j80na.com and www.j80worlds2022.com  for Worlds specific details, which is expected to be on line shorty." 

For any class event information, please contact Ramzi Bannura- email- Rbannura@yahoo.com.   For more J/80 one-design class sailboat information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

BLOCK ISLAND RACE WEEK ANNOUNCEMENT

 

(Block Island, RI)- With 81 boats already registered for Storm Trysail Club’s 29th Block Island Race Week presented by Margaritaville; the 2021 edition is shaping up to be one of the biggest turnouts in recent years. J/Boats teams are clearly enthusiastic about getting back out to Block Island and enjoying a week of sailing and camaraderie! Forty-nine J's signed up, where are you?!

So far, here are the highlights for J/Teams. In the one-design classes, there are six J/88s, thirteen J/105s, twelve J/109s, and five J/44s. In the ORC Division are two J/121s. In the PHRF Division are three J/111s, two J/122s, a J/35, a J/33, two J/29s, a J/80, and a J/24. In the PHRF Pursuit Race division is a J/125 and a J/133.

Storm Trysail Club and Margaritaville today announced that for the second time, Margaritaville, the global lifestyle brand known for escapism and fun, will be the presenting sponsor of the 29th edition of Block Island Race Week, one of the largest and most prestigious big boat regattas in the United States. 

“We are elated to be partnering once again with Margaritaville,” says Event Chair, Ray Redniss. “Storm Trysail Club is honored they are continuing to be a part of the iconic tradition that is our 29th Block Island Race Week. Our goals and passions align to create a fun, safe escape for our sailors to kick off their summer.”  Redness added, “This event was founded on the idea that it should be more than just a competitive regatta; there has always been an emphasis on fun, camaraderie and an openness to all kinds of boats and crews.  The vibe that Margaritaville adds to Race Week is a natural fit.”

“As we look to lift spirits in 2021, we are thrilled to bring the Margaritaville state-of-mind back to Block Island Race Week,” shared Tamara Baldanza-Dekker, Chief Marketing Officer at Margaritaville.   

Sailors are encouraged to register and learn more at blockislandraceweek.com. Storm Trysail Club and Margaritaville are committed to putting attendee health and safety at the forefront of the event and are continuously monitoring health guidelines as provided by the CDC and local entities.  Sailing photo credits- Steve Cloutier. "Block Island Steve"   To learn about Margaritaville’s commitment to health, safety and sanitation, please visit us online.   For more Block Island Race Week sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Worlds Announcement!

 

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The Royal Danish Yacht Club is looking forward to hosting the J/80 World Championship in 2021 from July 3rd to 9th, 2021. J/80 sailing is a very fundamental part of the Club.

The event will take place at Rungsted Harbour approximately 15 km north of downtown Copenhagen. This harbour is one of 3 stations that RDYC runs and it is the station where the club have its J/80 fleet. So, J/80 sailing in this part of the Öresund is huge.

The event will be run as a "sustainability regatta"; meaning among other activities, that we will work hard to minimize paper and try to make as much run electronically off solar and wind power.

And, when you are not on the water, there will be a lot of social activities near the harbour. Copenhagen is fantastic in July – just to mention Tivoli, Canal Touring, Elsinore Castle, Nyhavn and Bakken. And, for those not sailing, Copenhagen shopping is world famous. Please come join us and rejoice in sailing again on the gorgeous Baltic Sea! This regatta is an "open" event, so please come one, come all! Danish hospitality is world-famous!  Register your team here on Manage2Sail.com  For more 2021 J/80 World Championship sailing information

"Watership Down Series" Announcement

(Phoenix, Arizona)- This year long regatta has been designed to provide sailors of all skill levels a different approach to utilizing their skills and competition on the water.  Though not a normal part of a Notice of Race, and before diving into the Sailing Instructions, this is meant to give an overview of the event and explain the “why” behind many of its aspects.

• The races will be distance races, therefore, one race per day.
• Registrants will enter as Co-Skipper teams and must share the helm pro-rata.
• Throw-outs, if any, must follow the pro-rata skipper ratio.
• Rating bonuses and penalties will be done on a percentage basis, not a fixed amount, in order to maintain a level playing field across all boats.
• The short-handed aspect goes for competitors and Race Committee, thus the Rabbit Start.
• The short-handed idea goes for both skill and our social distancing guidelines.
• Regarding social distancing, we have noticed, through conversations and social media, that most folks have started hanging out in small, contained groups again, and from what we can tell, most groups resemble their crews.  - The entire crew may not be there, but a partial crew is, thus, the short-handed structure.
• Pay attention to the allowed number of crew per LOA of the boat being sailed as there are both penalties and bonuses related to this.
• Pay attention to the Rabbit changing every race and the rules surrounding the Rabbit.
• Throw-outs come at the very end, so this series will not be decided until the very end.
• Building on this, pay attention to DNCs being registrants plus one, not competitors plus one.
• Understand the age bonuses, both young and old!
• Please note that the team registers, not a boat.  
• The team may race different boats every race per skipper availability, crew availability, etc. 
• If you want to participate but do not have a boat, let us know. We have quite a few!

The underlying idea is simple – come race, different boat, different crew, different helmsman, different approach on any given day.

Victor and his friends at TILLER & KITES have a number of beautifully restored J/24s to sail- all pretty bright pink!  


For more Watership Down Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/CREWS CELEBRATE SILVERWARE @ HOT RUM SERIES

 

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


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


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

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


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

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


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


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

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

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


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

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


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