Ainslie Wins J/70 Frostbite Challenge

(Marstrand, Sweden)- Henri-Lloyd’s new Chairman- Hans Eckerström- wanted to put the new 2020 Henri-Lloyd range to the test. Not the standard factory model and tests, but the kind that would really put the kit through its paces.

The Swedish investor and sailor decided to enter two J/70 teams in the J/70 Frostbite Challenge at Marstrand and have Henri-Lloyd as title sponsor of the event. With just eight hours of sunshine in early December and temperatures hovering around 0 C., surely this would provide the kind of grueling conditions that would test both sailors and their kit to the limits?


For those who haven’t had the pleasure of sailing at Marstrand, the venue is a picturesque island off the west coast of Sweden, with clusters of islets dotted around its coast. Racing usually takes place in the more open water to the west of the town, but the Frostbite Challenge is a bit different. Initiated in 1989 by Stellan Westerdahl, the social side of the racing has always been the focus, with many crews donning Santa Claus beards and great camaraderie between the crews, albeit with a few stronger words when spinnakers ‘brushed’ shrouds and backstays in the confined waters… nothing that a shared drink ashore didn’t resolve though.

Almost a "stadium event", the eight races held over the weekend have the marks tucked up into the harbour and close to the many rocks and headlands. The course was a simple triangle-sausage, but taking straight lines between the buoys is usually impossible, unless your boat has suddenly become amphibious or can straddle pontoons. These natural and man-made obstacles make the racing incredibly fun to watch and many of the locals turn out to enjoy the spectacle.

Hans invited a select group to sail on the two teams. The brand's Chief Technical Advisor is none other than the United Kingdom's Sir Ben Ainslie, so he was naturally one of the helms, sailing together with Peter Gustafsson, who helms the Swedish J/111 BLUR and describes himself as an 'entrepreneur, angel investor and troublemaker', and Henrik Ottosson, Manager at North Sails in Sweden. Hans himself helmed the other boat with INEOS TEAM UK's Ben Cornish, Henri-Lloyd's Ross Partridge and Christian Düring on bow.

The two Henri-Lloyd teams arrived on Friday evening, slightly delayed by heavy snow in Stockholm which closed two of the three runways and delayed flights to Gothenburg later in the day. A precursor of conditions to come? Hans had slow-cooked a chili and the teams quickly settled into the delicious meal while chatting about sailing, participation and flying 75 footers amongst other things. The first of the competitive aspects for the weekend then started with round-the-table ping pong, providing much entertainment and one mobile phone taking on a curved aspect and not being so useful for calls... or anything else for that matter.


Saturday morning dawned with light winds and not a cloud in the sky, but was a cool -2 degrees Celsius. The Henri-Lloyd mid-layers were definitely welcome when rigging the boats and washing the ice off the decks with salt water! It wasn't quite possible to double the hours of sunshine since there are only seven hours of daylight at this time of year in these northern climes. Five races were scheduled with a break for lunch ashore- after all, this is a social regatta!

From the beginning, it was clear the local Swedish teams were well-practiced and weren't holding back. Tomas Skålen's team laid down the marker with a bullet in the first race, with Ben's team fifth and Hans in ninth. The racing was super-tight, and many places could be lost with the slightest error or wind shift. The approach to the windward mark, set right up the harbour channel, was one of the trickiest areas, followed by the reach round the pontoons and past the Södra Strandverket fortress. It was at this corner that Ben's team were caught out by a lack of practice in race two, dropping the spinnaker into the water and tearing it on the keel- not the greatest start to the event!


Hans and his team put it all together beautifully in race four with a well-deserved race victory, showing the fleet a clean set of heels around the race track, and Ben's worry was beginning to grow. While both teams were mid-fleet in the results, Hans was a point ahead of Ben going into the final race of the day and bragging rights were seriously on the line.

Most sailors have learned through the years to never write off Ben during an event; his comeback in the Finn class at the London 2012 Olympics was legendary, and, of course, the famous comeback on Oracle Team USA against Emirates Team New Zealand in the 2013 America's Cup being two of the most famous instances. And, Ben showed his fighting spirit in the final race of the day. Fast off the line, second round the windward mark, and then a quick pair of gybes saw him take the lead, never to be relinquished. Still mid-fleet in the event, but ahead of Hans in the ranking going into Saturday evening. The relief on his face was evident!

Hans and Ben then gave a talk to the sailors and their families at the Villa Maritime in Marstrand. Since the acquisition of Henri-Lloyd, Hans and his team have been incredibly busy planning the iconic brand's future direction and focus. 2019 saw the award-winning Fremantle range released, and Hans explained that 2020 is when Henri-Lloyd fully returns to the market, showcasing and giving the M-PRO range a real-world test at the Frostbite Challenge.

Ben then spoke about INEOS TEAM UK, their first AC75 (which is known in-house as 'The Beast') and how it is more akin to flying a plane than sailing at times, but at the end of the day sailing skills are paramount when racing. The Swedish sailors had many questions for Ben, which he happily answered in this relaxed setting. It was very evident that Ben was hugely enjoying the Frostbite Challenge. The America's Cup is so much about technology and testing the new foiling 75-foot monohulls, meaning that both Ben's (Ainslie and Cornish) have had to let fleet racing take a back seat. The sparkle was in their eyes as they engaged in the tight racing in a one-design fleet. The sailors than settled into a great evening of dinner and chat at the Villa Maritime, followed by another round-the-table ping pong tournament, ahead of the final three races the next day.


Sunday morning dawned with a few clouds in the sky, a freshening breeze and another layer of ice on the pontoons and decks. Points were incredibly close in the J/70 fleet, and pretty much the whole fleet was still in the running. Ben and his team were clearly fired up after the win in the final race on Saturday; a combination of a great start, improved boat handling and good use of lanes took another race win, with Hans and his team in fourth.

The Race Committee, led by Annika Bjurmalm, mixed things up for the final two races of the event, deciding on starboard roundings which led to some 'close calls' throughout - the already tight racing became even tighter! The two Henri-Lloyd teams saw both the front and back of the fleet at various points throughout race seven, with Ben eventually taking fourth and Hans sixth. It was all down to the final race. Magne Klang was tied with Tomas Skålen on 19 points, with Thomas Vigenberg a point behind them, and Ben Ainslie was in fourth on 21; just about as tight as it can get.

Ben and his team shot out of the blocks and led around the course, working well as a team to spot the lanes and opportunities. The question was whether the race win was going to be enough? A third place for Tomas Skålen left them tied on points with Ben, but the three race victories gave Ben and his team the Frostbite Challenge title on countback. Ben can now add this event to an already impressive list of comeback victories.


A huge thanks to Annika and her Race Team, also Marcus Blomberg and all those at Marstrand Segelsällskap (MaSS) for the superb weekend of racing. It's hard to imagine a better setting and more fun way to race in early December. Hans then invited the team back for a traditional Swedish sauna, followed by a dip in the sea for those willing to give it a go. The sauna was hot, the sea less so, but when in Sweden it's important to take part in the local pastimes!

The Henri-Lloyd Frostbite Challenge offered real racing with hugely passionate sailors and showcased various aspects of sailing which stands it apart from other sports; the welcoming nature of sailors around the world, multi-national teams coming together and quickly improving, and how the very top sailors are more than happy to mix it up in local events. This really was the sport of sailing at its very best.

Hans summed it up beautifully saying, "I loved every second of the weekend. It is so great to be able to show friends both new and old the best of Marstrand. I really love the genuine passion for grass root sailing that Ben demonstrated as well as the huge commitment by Marcus Blomberg, Commodore of the local sailing club, to re-establish Marstrand as a premier arena for all kinds of sailing."

Watch the highlights of the J/70 Frostbite Challenge here   For more J/70 Frostbite Challenge Regatta sailing information
   Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Awesome Vaeterchen Frost Regatta

(Hamburg, Germany)- Over a three-day weekend, the Hamburger Segel Club in Hamburg, Germany hosted their annual fall extravaganza on the famously beautiful and quaint Alster Lake. With flat water, shifty breezes, and streaky puffs, it is a tactical nightmare for some and an amazingly entertaining, fun, challenge for others that revel in the wildly erratic sailing conditions.

The 2019 edition had near record entries for this late fall regatta for one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s, and J/70s. The racing was hot, fast, and furious and extremely competitive. No one dominated any of the classes, as each winning team had roller-coaster finishes in the light and fickle winds; only four races were sailed over the two days.

Winning the seventeen-boat J/70 fleet was Gordon Nickel's GER 3 team, posting a 4-1-2-1 for 4 pts net.  Carsten Kemmling's GER 928 managed to overcome an OCS in race 2 to finish with net scores of 2-1-4 for 7 pts net. Then, rounding out the podium was top woman skipper from the host HSC club, Christina Schober's GER 978 with a strong tally of 1-2-7-6 for 9 pts net.  The balance of the top five included Ulf Plessmann's GER 966 with 10 pts in fourth and another top woman skipper from Flensburger Segel Club, Tania Tammling on GER 1416 placed fifth with 12 pts.

In the seventeen-boat J/24 class, it was Jan Kaehler's GER 5281 that took a tie-breaker at 7 pts each over Hauke Kruess's GER 5073. Ascending to the third step on the podium after starting out with a devastating Black Flag in race one was Fabian Damm's GER 5316 with 9 pts, winning two of the races!  The rest of the top five included top woman skipper Lynn Wolgast (Muehlenberger Segel Club) on GER 5266 in fourth place with 13 pts. Then, fifth position went to Stefan Karsunke's (Bayerischer Segel Club) GER 5381 with 17 pts.

The winner of the J/22 class was also determined by a tie-breaker at 7 pts each. Taking the countback win was Andreas Dillmann's GER 1141 with a 1-OCS-1-5 scoreline for 7 pts net. Second was Dagmar Hilcken's GER 1445 that sailed to a 6-3-3-1 score, also for 7 pts. The bronze was also determined by a tie-breaker! That countback went to Tom Loesch's GER 1640 that had a 5-1-6-2 for 8 pts; having to settle for fourth was Tom Lau's GER 1541 with a 3-2-4-3 tally.  Fifth place was taken by Christian Greving's GER 1343 with a 4-6-2-7 scoreline for 12 pts. For more Vaeterchen Frost Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 McFLY wins J/111 Northern Europe Series

The J/111 Northern Europe Series was primarily organized between Royal Southern Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London, England. This year’s Series was sponsored by Sweeney from Holland with individual Regatta prizes sponsored by competing boats on a revolving basis.

Ten J/111’s participated in the series and scoring was based on seven regattas with three race discards; the scoring enabled boats to compete fairly given the calendar pressures many owners and crews were contending with during the summer. It was a great turnout and, in fact, several more boats have indicated they will be participating next in next year’s 2020 racing circuit!

The Mack’s McFLY was the winner of the inaugural J/111 Northern European Series- The “Paul Heys Trophy” was presented at the owner’s awards dinner at the Royal Thames Yacht Club on Tuesday evening.

The Northern European Fleet consists of boats from a variety of countries including Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK amongst others. A new schedule for the 2020 Series was under discussion at the meeting and is due to be confirmed soon. Thanks for the report from J/111 SNOW LEOPARD owner- Simon Grier-Jones. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122 Eclipses U.K. IRC Nationals-

Falmouth Team Takes on Solent Rockstars and Win it all?  Incredibly, that was the case at the 2019 U.K. IRC National Championship when Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 BLACK DOG was crowned the 2019 U.K. IRC National Champions!

The IRC National Championship in Cowes, UK, attracted over 100 boats and twenty-two boats in IRC2, the most competitive  and hottest fleet in the regatta. Stuart Sawyer’s J/122 BLACK DOG scored four bullets in eight races to secure the IRC Performance 40 division win and the Overall IRC title by 15 points. Stuart has been racing with the same team for the better part of nine years, but this was their first time competing in the IRC Nationals. It was an idea that came to him after the Dartmouth Royal Regatta race last year, when Jeremy Smart was onboard calling tactics; “we may have a chance to do well if we keep this up,” Stuart realized.

“It was encouraging racing with Jeremy,” he told us a few days after the IRC Nationals victory. “That planted the seed—maybe this year, we should go a bit further and push ourselves. Jeremy was pleased with how the boat was running, and that was very encouraging. Believing in our boat, and our sails, was all the positivity we needed.”

Stuart was “over the moon” with his crew’s hard work over the course of the weekend, which required every bit of the team’s attention. He grew up racing dinghies with his brother Andrew and windsurfed professionally for many years. In 2007, after a hiatus, he came back to racing sailboats. “I’m a surfer at heart,” says Stuart. “So I like asymmetrical sailing, the A2 is great, you can play all the waves and soak better, it just suits my style of sailing.”

Stuart had a J/97 for three years, and after winning the Nationals, he upgraded to a J/111—where he also won the Vice Admirals Cup and National Championships in his third year. He says the J/122 is a “significantly stiffer boat,” with more displacement, and goes upwind very well. “It doesn’t plane like the J/111, but for a 40-footer it sure can surf and is responsive downwind. The best part about racing J boats is that the layout is mostly the same. The loads are greater as we increased our waterline, but we were able to quickly adapt and connect with the boat as a team.”

Stuart claimed the 2019 title with his long-time team of friends: Mainsail trimmer Garth Weaver, also known as “company secretary” as he handles all the logistics, Roger Ford in the pit, aka the Terrier for pushing everyone to hike harder and never let up; jib trimmer Josh Redgrave, who joined the team when he was 16 years old and now runs the boat; kite trimmer Jonathan ‘JB’ Barnicoat; Tom Redgrave (Josh’s brother), pit #2 for the Nationals and also covered navigation as normal navigator Simon Boote didn’t race; bow was run by Sandy Proctor, who has been sailing with Stuart for 11 years; mast Hans Wehmeyer; and mid-bow/grinder Jack Elsby. Two new crew also joined for the regatta: floater Ruby Dent [daughter of J/111 World Champion Martin Dent]; and tactician and North expert Shane Hughes.

“There is something special about sailing with friends,” says Stuart. “I think that’s why we’ve come so far and done so well over the years. The crew work was spot-on, and we know each other very well. When we get into the moments where we felt slow we are happy to change gears, if we have a bad start or there is an issue we are able to shout ‘reset!’, and everyone knew to work harder to improve boat speed.”

“One of our best moments last weekend was race 2 on the Saturday: we didn’t get off the line well, and we were buried at the start. We were outside the top 15 around the windward mark but we kept working at it, making huge gains on the downwind leg. Shane focused on keeping our air clear and the crew worked the boat really hard to keep fast and deep. We were able to get ourselves ahead of a pack and into a place where our tactician Shane had some freedom to make decisions, and we had a great second beat, a pulled out a 4th in that race. Being able to fight back helped us win overall.”

“It took a lot of time to get the rig right on our 11-year old boat, he adds. We put new rigging on the boat in 2017 when it was refurbished, but we weren’t happy with the set up. Dave Lenz then analyzed some photos and we went about a re-set before Dartmouth last year. I feel our settings now are good and we have found a sweet spot for performance”.

Shane Hughes says it was a pleasure to join this team. “The event went very well for us—better than expected in many ways. We had a lot to figure out, in a very short period. Stuart and the guys were great, very welcoming, and open to taking on a few new ideas and suggestions. The team (other than me) has been together for 9+ years, which makes them quite a cohesive unit. They sail the boat well and know how to get the most out of the boat. So it was easy to step in and add a little extra value to that.”

The effort that the team put in was impressive, Shane continues. “They wanted to get a good result at the event. The whole atmosphere on and off the water helped their performance. I have been lucky enough to sail with some great Cornish sailors in the past, and there is always plenty of banter flying around, which helps create a relaxed and inclusive team culture. There is a good mix of experienced, very keen, and talented younger guys too. It was a fun process and a successful regatta.”

After the regatta, the boat went home to Falmouth, where it will do some local sailing before competing in the Dartmouth Regatta later this summer. No Rolex Fastnet Race for this team! It’s summertime in “the West”, time to relax and chill!   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth  Thanks for this contribution from North Sails U.K.

Rough & Tumble RORC Myth of Malham Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Myth of Malham Race, with 138 boats competing, produced a thrilling racing for the fleet. The race started off light, but in the second half of the 30-hour race, having rounded the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth, the fleet took off on high-speed sleigh-ride in the strong downwind conditions heading back into the Solent.

In IRC Two Class, the J/133 PINTIA, sailed by Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine (FRA) was second by just a mere nine minutes on corrected time. The J/122 JUNO, sailed by Christopher Daniel (GBR) was third. Three other J/doublehanders finished in the top eleven boats; Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE took 8th, Chris Miles’ J/97 HIGH JINKS was 10th, and Jerry Freeman’s J/105 JULIETTE placed 11th.

In IRC Three, the Royal Navy Sailing Association’s J/109 JOLLY JACK TAR took 6th place, while Neil McGrigor’s J/109 was 8th, and Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE was 9th.

In the IRC Two-Handed Class David McGough’s J/109 JUST SO took fourth place, just 18 minutes from taking the bronze on the podium.

The Myth of Malham Race was the fourth of the 2019 RORC Season's Points Championship. As a result, in IRC 2 Class Season Championship, Fournier/ Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA is now leading the class after sailing two races.  Similarly, in the IRC 3 Class Season, Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE is sitting in 5th place and the J/109 MOJO RISIN’ is hanging on to 8th.  Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE is also sitting in 4th for the IRC Two-handed division for the season; just behind them in 6th is Freeman’s J/105 JULIETTE.  For more RORC Myth of Malham sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cold, Windy MAIOR Cup Regatta

(Kiel, Germany)- Hosted by Kieler YC in Kiel-Schilksee, Germany, the MAIOR CUP Regatta took place from May 3rd to 5th in similar cold, wet, windy sailing conditions as did the Bundesliga down in southern Germany. The one-design fleets of J/70s and J/80s were participating in their first major regatta of the season and they were certainly put to the test, straining both boats and humans to the brink of exhaustion.

Day One- Cold, Wet & Wild
On the first day, it was cold in the Kiel Fjord and it blew hard- 20 to 25 kts all day with big seas. As the offshore crews struggled on the long haul outside course, the J/70 and J/80 classes fought close to land.

"Turning right in front of the harbor entrance was quite unusual," said J/80 skipper Martin Menzner. “As a result, we were so far inside, we had smoother water than the guys outside.”

After three races, Menzner’s PIKE crew had a 1-2-1 to be one point ahead of Arne Wilcken’s DIVA. Menzner joked, “Arne is the reason why I've exchanged half of my crew for this year! Thank goodness for my new crew members- Lars Keilwitz and Hannes Renzsch- they worked well with me and our other crew- Nils Berltermann!”

In the J/70 class, Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus’ crew on JINTO (Tobias Strenge, Florian Herrmann, Terje Klockemann) sailed fast and furious, winning the first race and ending the day with a 3-2 to lead the regatta by a point.  Just behind her was Gerd Knospe’s SANNA R in second and Hauke Thilow’s GER 1079 in third.

Day Two- More Demanding Conditions
Although the wind had slowed slightly compared to the start on Friday, the wind was shiftier and puffier, more extreme in fact. Again, the J/70s and J/80s had their course tucked in close to land in flatter water, but the puffs were more extreme!

“Of course, it was important to be in the right place at the right time," said Nils Beltermann, a crewman on Menzner’s PIKE. "We have done well today and are leading, but only by three points!  Our friend DIVA is fast and does not give up!”

In the J/70 class, Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus drove JINTO fast and on to the top of the leaderboard with a strong series of races for the day- a 1-4-2-1-2. She displaced the Berlin crew on SANNA R, dropping them into second.  The big move of the day was Tania Tammling’s all-women crew from Hamburg that sailed ALBIS into third place by the end of the day with a blazing hot 4-2-3-2! Her crew consisted of Kristin Mertner, Carlotta Meewes, Ragna Thonnessen, and Franziska Wilckens.

Day 3- Blessed Sun Shines
Sunday provided the perfect atmosphere for the final day of the regatta; sun, moderate breeze, clear skies, and much warmer temperatures. Smiles all around the docks as people hopped aboard their boats for just two more races to complete the regatta.

"It was very tricky on Sunday," said J/80 class winning skipper Martin Menzner. “We are thankful that we had three very good days of sailing, we sailed well, no dramas, and finished well. My new team was good all-around!“  Taking second in the J/80s was Arne Wilcken’s DIVA and third was Hauke Kruss’ TAK FOR TUREN.

There was a lot of drama in the J/70 class.  Having scored four 1sts in the first eight races, it was anyone’s guess that Knospe’s SANNA R crew could repeat those performances on the final day. In the first race, SANNA R did just that, winning it while JINTO took third, closing to within one point of Charlotte’s team.  However, in the last race, Charlotte sailed fast, stayed out of trouble, and scored a deuce, while SANNA R finished right behind them. As a result, Charlotte and her crew on JINTO jumped for joy, breathing a sigh of relief as they won the regatta with 17 pts net. Knospe’s SANNA R took second with 19 pts net and Tammling’s all-women team on ALBIS took the bronze (also winning the Helga Cup Special Award for best women’s team).

"That was very exciting and close. We actually had a plan to decide what we would do in the penultimate race, but that did not work," said JINTO’s skipper Charlotte Braun-Dullaeus. "Our advantage was that we sailed very consistently, even on Sunday, which was probably the most demanding sailing day. It was really hard to judge some things, especially crossing situations upwind. We’re happy to win and thank my amazing crew!”  Watch a nice sailing highlights video of the MAIOR CUP Regatta here  For more MAIOR CUP Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/88 MAI TAI Swedish Delivery- 865nm!

(Gothenburg, Sweden)- In a bit of a “Throwback Thursday”, the J/88 MAI TAI (now J88.SE) was bought by two Swedes in the Hamble, England in August 2017.  The two excited owners, Jonas Dyberg and Roger Ohlsson, decided they would do a doublehanded delivery back to Goteborg; it was an 865nm delivery in eleven days!

It was an epic adventure. Their delivery track took them from Hamble, across the English Channel to the Netherlands, then up the coast to the opening of the Elbe River in Brunsbuttel, Germany.  Then, they motored up the Nord See Kanal to Kiel, Germany, and then a straight shot north up the Baltic Sea to Gothenburg, Sweden! It was an epic journey and here are the videos to prove it! Top speed was 18.6 kts on their delivery cruise!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PSCQnqDVo

Then, if that wasn’t an adventure enough, Jonas and Roger took their friend Peter Gustafsson from BLUR.SE fame on board to see if they could establish a “speed run” on the windy wavy Baltic Sea in October 9th, 2017!  It was a gorgeous sunny day, with a northerly breeze of 20-30 kts off Vinga, Sweden.  Here is how they went.

https://youtu.be/9nHglNNWM4Y

Dutch J/22 Winter Series I Report

(Brassermermeer, The Netherlands)- The J/22 class in Europe has exhibited an extraordinary perseverance to hang tough and enjoy the camaraderie that comes with sailing a fun boat that is easy to trailer around the continent.

By far, the most popular J/22 series is hosted by the Dutch J/22 class on the famous Brassermermeer Lake.  Ten boats from France, Germany, and the Netherlands are participating in the 2018/ 2019 Winter Series.

In the first regatta, it was FRA 1444 (Brockerhoof, Michaux, Declercq) that are leading the series on a tie-breaker over the Dutch team of NED 1295 (Liselotte Verdoorn, Jan Dirk, Anneloes Rosemarijn).  Remarkably, these two teams are dominating the top of the leaderboard with a combined six 1sts, six 2nds, and four 3rds.

Third is another Dutch crew on NED 1223, led by woman helm Suzanne van Iterson, with crew of Frans, Suzanne, and Anne. They won the first race, but followed it with a 4-3-2-2-3-5-4 in eight races scored so far.    For more Dutch J/22 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122 Podiums RORC Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, immediately after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland was organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and will go down in history as one of the toughest races yet in the quadrennial event.

For the 2018 race, 29 teams with close to 200 professional and Corinthian sailors started the race.  Over a dozen dropped out over the course of time due to boat damage, human damage, or electronics failures.  In fact, the weather forecast was so rough, the RORC reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.  In layman’s terms, that meant that fast reaching/ running boats would enjoy an enormous advantage for 85% of the race.  The normal course is counter-clockwise, going around Britain first to the east, then around Ireland and back to the finish.  The clockwise course meant the fleet sailed in mostly southwesterlies due to a large depression northwest of Ireland- a fast reaching port gybe from southwest Ireland to the northernmost point of the course at Muckle Flugga.

Racing in the IRC 2 Class and the IRC Doublehanded Class was the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker).  For most of the race, they lay in fourth place in both IRC Double and IRC 2.  However, as the race progressed, their perseverance produced gains on their much faster offwind competitors.  And, as things slowed down on the eastern shore of England, heading back down into the English Channel, they made enough gains to ultimately finish 3rd in IRC Doublehanded, 3rd in IRC 2 Division, and 5th IRC Overall!  Considering Revelman & Bakker were sailing a standard factory-built J/122, that is an extraordinary achievement against some of the world’s top professional sailors all in custom and semi-custom modified boats that beat them.  Congratulations to Revelman & Bakker’s tremendous achievement on their J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE Sailing Team!  For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Update

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, directly after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

For the 2018 race, 29 teams with close to 200 professional and Corinthian sailors will be competing. For the past two editions, the weather has been so rough that the RORC has reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.

J/Teams are taking on the challenge. Racing in the IRC 2 Class and the IRC Doublehanded Class is the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker).  They are currently lying in fourth place, just 35nm behind the class leader.

After the start in Cowes, England off the Royal Yacht Squadron’s famous starting line in the Solent, Revelman & Bakker have maintained pace with the top boats in very demanding conditions.  They passed Land’s End off the southwest tip of England, passed by the famous Fastnet Rock, rounded the hellishly rough southwest point of Ireland at Great Skelligh Island Lighthouse and are now headed north to leave Saint Kilda Island to starboard off northwest Scotland.  Next stop thereafter, the infamous Muckle Flugga Lighthouse off the northern end of the Shetland Islands.

There is still a LOT of sailing left in this 1,805nm adventure.  And, the weather is getting worse, as one might expect sailing across the southern parts of the North Sea- a region notorious for freak waves, rapidly worsening depressions, and full on gales instead of a sunny Force 5 day that was forecast!  Things change quickly in those parts and the race is quickly living up to its reputation as a gear-buster, people-buster- so far, eight boats have already dropped out for various reasons (1/3 of the fleet!). In fact, standing in the way of JUNIQUE RAYMARINE is a forecast for a full gale of 30-45 kts of southwesterly winds by Saturday, with 15-20 ft waves predicted in the British MET office shipping forecasts.  For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Doublehanded Crews Sweep North Sea Regatta!

Elsink Dominates J/80s, Holtrop Tops J/22s
(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- The North Sea Regatta completed the “inshore” portion of its ten-day long event.  Hosted by the Jachtclub Scheveningen, the North Sea Regatta is the largest event hosted in the Netherlands each year for a host of one-design classes (like J/22s and J/80s) and offshore ORC/IRC classes.

The event kicked off on May 8th with the Vuurschepen Race, a North Sea Regatta Feeder Race that goes from the starting line off The Hague (Scheveningen) and goes across the North Sea to Harwich in the United Kingdom.  After a two-day layover, the fleet raced back in the RORC North Sea Race from Harwich to The Hague.  After a short breather, all keelboats including the J/22 and J/80 classes sailed from May 18th to 20th, Friday to Sunday on all inshore, round-the-buoy courses.

Day One- May 18th
It was a nice first race day today. The wind was stable with 10 to 12 knots. Three beautiful races could be sailed. With 60 boats on course A divided into 4 classes and 60 boats on course B also divided into 4 classes, it was great racing for all.

Starting the 4 classes directly after each other, occasionally a general recall in between, the sailors had to pay attention not to miss their class’s turn to start. With a current that ran from North to South and the wind coming from the North, it was difficult to exactly time the starting line. In the first race of the event, all the teams had to get used to the circumstances. By the second race, you already notice that it was going a lot better, and the third it was like you had never done otherwise.

Day Two- May 19th
The starting boat for course A left the harbor early to get into position and to assess offshore conditions. The weather was a little gray and little wind, too little to start well and be able to lay out a good race course. The postponement flag (answering pennant) was hoisted. The first start was planned at 10:00. After a long hour of waiting, there was enough wind for to start. The IRC/ORC Two Handed Class started at 11:30 with a coastal race.

Day Three- May 20th
Waking up you had to check whether the boat next to you was still there because of the thick fog, usually a sign of little wind. The starting boat of course A quickly powered outside into the thick fog to assess whether the sailing yachts should go out for the races. Offshore it seemed good, but once all boats were out, it was difficult for the starting boat to find them. After an hour of waiting, a nice coastal course for the IRC/ORC Two-handed Class was laid out and their fleet started at 1100 hrs sharp.  Thereafter, it was impossible to start the other classes since you could not see the finish marks!  So, racing was canceled for the day.

In the ORC/IRC Two-handed Class, it was a sweep of the podium by the leading all-star J/crews!  Winning class was none other than the most famous Dutch two-handed team; Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s J/122E AJETO. Their sistership took the silver, Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE/ RAYMARINE.  Completing the sweep in the bronze position was Wim van Slooten & Jochem Hamstra’s J/109 FIRESTORM!

Afterwards, Robin Verhoef from the J/122E AJETO commented, “A wonderful closure of two weeks great sailing in the North Sea Regatta! For us, it was the 3rd time in a row to win the Dutch Two-handed Championship! In spite of today's fog, we still managed to find all the marks and our fifth race in a row! AJETO is amazing, a great boat!”

In the ORC/IRC 2 Class, it was Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI that took second place.  And, in the ORC Sportboats, Rikst Dijkstra’s J/70 NED 964 placed third in their fifteen-boat class.

In the world of one-designs, it was Auke Holtrop’s NED 1223 that won the J/22 class with crew of Lotte Brasser, Sipke de Man, and Janneke Kampherbeek.  Second was NED 1514, skippered by Jesper Overbeeke with crew of Christiaan Feij, and Michelle Koopmans; it was a struggle for them to overcome a DNF and DSQ.  Third, just one point back, was NED 1295, helmed by Dirk Jan Verdoorn with crew of Rosemarijn Verdoorn, Liselotte Verdoorn, and Kim Bos.

It was Nick Elsink’s J/80 NED 1137 that dominated their class with his crew of Jildau Horst, Pascal Meijer, and Wouter Toornstra.  Second place saw Otte Jan Golverdingen’s NED 838 crew of PP de Vries, Yves de Block, and Hans Edwin de Bruin win a tie-breaker on 17 pts each over Gerwin Jansen’s NED 8905 team of Douwe Broekens, Jolbert van Dijk, and Wouter Sonnema.  Sailing photo credits- Sander van der Borsch
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J/Crews Leading North Sea Regatta

(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- Hosted by the Jachtclub Scheveningen, the North Sea Regatta is the largest event hosted in the Netherlands each year for a host of one-design classes (dinghies, cats, and keelboats like J/22s and J/80s) and offshore ORC/IRC classes.

The event kicked off on May 8th with the Vuurschepen Race, a North Sea Regatta Feeder Race that goes from the starting line off The Hague (Scheveningen) and takes a 3 mark course of 130nm across the North Sea to Harwich in the United Kingdom.  Several J/teams were sailing and almost all had podium finishes!

The “J/All-stars” were in the ORC Two-Handed division.  Winning was Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s J/122E AJETO.  Taking the silver was Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE/ RAYMARINE and 4th was Wim van Slooten & Jochem Hamstra’s J/109 FIRESTORM.

In the ORC 2 division, taking 3rd was Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI and 4th Arjen van Leeuwen’s J/109 JOULE.

After a two-day layover, on the 11th of May, teams representing Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands entered the 181nm North Sea Race; the start was off Harwich, England and finished in Scheveningen, The Netherlands. The race was organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, in association with the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, the East Anglian Offshore Racing Association, and the Yacht Club Scheveningen.

“The race was mostly upwind and reaching, with very few teams getting their spinnakers out of the bag,” commented RORC Racing Manager, Chris Stone. “Conditions conspired to favor the smaller yachts, as the faster boats did not get the breeze that arrived later in the race. Over the course of the season, favorable conditions will average out through the fleet. Well done to the teams that did well, even when the conditions are right for your team, you still have to put in a top performance to win your class, and have a chance of the overall win.”

In the IRC Two-Handed Class, Robin Verhoef & John Van Der Starre's Dutch J/122e AJETO was second, and Wim van Slooten's Dutch J/109 FIRESTORM was third.  Then, 4th were the amazing women duo of Edith Voskamp & Yvonne Beusker’s J/105 PANTHER, finishing 5th behind them were Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE.

“We are very please with our result, as Two-handed racing in Holland has become very popular and very competitive.” commented AJETO’s Robin Verhoef. “Our J/122e was specially built for Two-handed sailing, and we love to sail that way because we don't need any more crew or all the additional equipment and provisions required when more people are on board. We do have systems designed for two-handed racing, and our preparation is always a big part of producing the best performance.”

As a result, the three teams that are dominating the podium for the overall regatta in the ORC Two-handed Division are AJETO on top, followed by JUNIQUE and FIRESTORM.

On the return trip to the Netherlands, the ORC 2 division J/crews had a rough time.  Settling for 5th was Alain Bornet’s JAI ALAI (currently sitting 2nd in class for the overall regatta) and ending up in 9th was Arjen van Leeuwen’s J/109 JOULE.   Follow the North Sea Regatta on Facebook here   For more North Sea Regatta sailing information   RORC North Sea Race information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

North Sea Regatta Preview

(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- Hosted by the Jachtclub Scheveningen, the North Sea Regatta is the largest event hosted in the Netherlands each year for a host of one-design classes (dinghies, cats, and keelboats like J/22s and J/80s) and offshore ORC/IRC classes.

The event kicks off on May 8th with the Vuurschepen Race, a North Sea Regatta Feeder Race that goes from the starting line off The Hague (Scheveningen) and takes a 3 mark course of 130nm across the North Sea to Harwich in the United Kingdom.

After a two-day layover, on the 11th of May, the RORC North Sea Race takes place along a similar route, but with more northerly buoys to pass to make for a 210nm race to Scheveningen.

Thereafter, the ORC/ IRC offshore classes enjoy a series of inshore races from May 18th to 20th.  That is when the regatta also kicks off for the J/22 and J/80 classes.

With seven strong J/crews in sixteen-boat field, it is likely the ORC Two-Handed Class will see the possibility of a sweep of the top honors.  Last year, most major races were won by J/Boat duos.  Leading the charge will be two J/122s, the famous team of John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef on AJETO (2017 Dutch National Double Champion) and Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s JUNIQUE.  Chasing them hard are four J/109s, such as Wim van Slooten & Jochem Hamstra’s FIRESTORM, Paul van der Pol & Adrian Schaml’s YETI, Kees & Camille Mijs’ ARETHUSA, and Abel Blaauw & Sarah Moss’ JIBE.  Hoping to stay in the hunt will be the only all women’s double team- Edith Voskamp & Yvonne Beusker’s familiar black panther painted J/105 called PANTHER!

In the thirty-two boat ORC/ IRC 2 class are four fast J/109s; including Arnout Jorritsma’s MAJIC, Nick Zondervan’s TEAM HEINER 4, Alain Bornet’s JAI ALAI, and Arjen van Leeuwen’s JOULE.

Two J/92s will be battling for class honors in the eight-boat ORC 3 class; Luc Oomen’s JINX and Uco Sonnenberg’s JUNO.

The J/80 class will have a round dozen boats on the starting line for their weekend event.  All the top Dutch boats are present, such as Nick Elsink’s J’ZUSTER, Bernar Holsboer’s JUUL, Otte Jan Golverdingen’s LED2LEASE and Roel Wever’s JOYRIDE.

With the J/22 Europeans conflicting in France, the J/22’s will be seeing an all-Dutch class of seven boats.  Leading crews include Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL, Jesper Overbeeke’s TU DELFT BROACH SJOEFF, Max Groen’s DJINN and Rutger van de Leur’s JUNIOR.  Follow the North Sea Regatta on Facebook here
For more North Sea Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Russian J/70 Sail Training Fun!

(Kaliningrad, Russia)- J/Boats Russia distributor, Dmitry Zaritskiy from Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, sent us a link to a short video based on one of their training sessions this fall.

On board J/70 RUS 1272 were Dmitry Zaritsky, Irina Gorbatyuk, Victor Poluichik, Daria Krysina and Sergey Dimitriev.

Apparently, it was a great training session for this crew!

https://www.facebook.com/dmitry.zaritskiy/videos/10214047276286211/ Add to Flipboard Magazine.

WSV Almere Centraal Lead Dutch J/70 Sailing League

(Aalsmeer, Netherlands)-  The local team of WSV Almere Centraal won the second act of the Dutch J/70 Sailing League on their home waters of the Aalsmeer.  Finishing second was WSV Giesbeek and SZ & WV Uitdam took the bronze. With this result the WSV Almere Centraal team have taken the overall lead in the series, overtaking Jachtclub Scheveningen and holding on to a five point gap over second place SZ & WV Uitdam.

In total, 45 races have been sailed in very different circumstances. There are three more events left in 2017.

The leader of the WSV Almere team, Alex Hoeve, had the following comment, “we had a lot of wind. Occasionally even 20-25 knots. And everybody on our team was fine with that. I saw many exciting matches, and there are many tactical hazards out there! The performance level of all the teams has risen significantly!!”

What was also noticeable for this event was that Jachtclub Scheveningen was struggling in the bigger breezes over the weekend.  They had disappointing results at Aalsmeer, uncharacteristically winning just two races in the fifteen total that they sailed over the two days.  They ended up in fifth place, the principal reason why the fell down to third in the overall series standings.

After a second place at the first event in Almere, the WSV Almere Centraal team is getting their act together. Willem-Jan van Dort is the driving force behind this team. Van Dort has a range of trimming and sailing and brings a lot of experience on board.

"We are extremely pleased. The sailing league level has risen a lot compared with last year. The weather has been exciting this year, great breeze this weekend! It is very close racing. Each race can change your position in the overall rankings very fast! That makes it very fun. The mutual respect and atmosphere between the teams is also very cool.  So, yes, we are very happy and satisfied with our performance this weekend!“

Wik Becker was also new for their team and made an impressive debut. “It was fantastic sailing, of course. The level is very high. I joined a team that was last year’s national champion, so the pressure was also very high. But, I think we are a good team. Clear communication, clear task allocation on board and we evaluate our performance after each race."

Another talented crew member for WSC AC is Yuri Hummel, a world-class Laser sailor that wants to represent the Netherlands in Tokyo at the Olympic Games sailing the Laser. This is his second time around in the sailing league for WSV AC. How did Hummel experience that? He commented on their performance, “This is very cool. The pressure on us, of course, is obvious. WSV AC was champion last year. We have to go well. Last time in Almere, we went well and got second.  And, this time, it's a bit better, first is good!”

The fourth WSV AC crew member, Rinse Ubbink, was front man doing the spinnaker work.  He looks forward to the next round at The Hague on the North Sea. How do you prepare for Scheveningen? "We are well-prepared for big seas and big winds! We are going to train in advance with the team that will be sailing offshore.  We can’t wait!"  Follow the Dutch J/70 Sailing League on Facebook  For more Dutch J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.