FROSTBITING J/22s at 44.6 DEG. NORTH

Commodore Sean McDermott of Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron shares a video and update:

"As the oldest yacht club in the Americas (since 1837), it's a day at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron to shovel snow, frostbite J/22s, and finish at the fire.

"Our plan was to start our Spring J/22 frostbiting with the first sign of decent weather and, as soon as provincial COVID-19 health regulations eased a little. With a maximum outdoor gathering limit raised to 150 persons, we were given the green light… and then we had a big snowstorm on the day before the start!


Undaunted, teams used the hatch sliders on the J/22s to shovel snow off the decks and out of the cockpits, and soon enough we were good to go! Double windward-leewards in shifty conditions made for a ton of fun on March 20. Now our fingers and toes are collectively crossed that we can run our bi-annual Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race with our friends from Boston Yacht Club."  Enjoy the short YouTube sailing video here  Thanks to our friends at Scuttlebutt Sailing for the round-the-campfire enjoymentAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Welcome Back Regatta A Smashing Success

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

J/Teams Sweep Chester Race Week

(Chester/ Halifax, Nova Scotia)- The one-and-a-half dozen J/Teams that were participating in the 2019 edition of Chester Race Week enjoyed good sailing conditions for their long weekend of sailing, with most fleets completing six races in the offshore courses of combined buoy-racing and random-leg offshore racing.

In the PHRF 1 Division, Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION sailed a solid series to take second place.  Another J/120, Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE won the last race to boost their position to fourth in class.

J/Crews swept the top five places in PHRF 2 Division. Leading the pack were two J/100s, Larry Creaser’s YOUNG BLOOD won, followed by Terry McKenna’s DOG PARTY in second.  The next three places were taken by J/35s, with Andrew Childs’ HELOC taking the final bronze spot on the podium, then fourth was Gary Bennett & Rod Johnstone’s J’AI TU in fourth and Than MacDonald’s J-HAWK in fifth place.


Rod Johnstone interview with host Lisa Ross from Sail Halifax Project here.

Similarly, J/Crews swept the top three spots and four of the top five in PHRF 3 Division. Leading the pack was local hotshot Colin Mann on his famous J/92 POOHSTICKS. Second and third were two J/29s, Chris MacDonald’s SCOTCH MIST IV in second and Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT in third.  Fifth went to yet another J/29, Ann Covey’s RUMBLEFISH.

Winning PHRF 4 class was Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER. She was followed by another J/30 in fourth place, Jordan MacNeil’s FLUX.

In the PHRF 3 Inshore class, twin J/29s battled in a bare-knuckled brawl to a tie after seven races, both teams counting only 1sts and 2nds! On countback, it was Jane Fibee’s PAINKILLER that took the gold, with Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES having to settle for the silver. Fourth place went to Don McAlpine’s J/80 HARPOON and fifth to Bernd Hackstein’s J/27 BUZZ.

The PHRF 4 Inshore class saw Karen Fowler’s J/22 CHEAP THRILL take the silver, while fellow J/24 sailor, Steven Countway’s WAVERUNNER.

The one-design J/105 class was treated to a “whitewash” of the fleet, with Sean McDermott & Rory MacDonald’s McMAC winning all seven races and tossing out a 1st to finish with 6 pts net. The balance of the podium was a dog fight for sure, with James Mosher’s MOJO coming out on top of Barry Eisener’s BUZZ by just two points.  Follow Chester Race Week on Facebook here   For more Chester Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Inviting J/Sailors to Marblehead-Halifax Race

(Marblehead, MA)- Plans are moving ahead, and registrations are already building for the 38th biennial Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race on Sunday July 7. The 363.0nm international ocean race will leave Marblehead on July 7 headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“With sixty boats signed up, we have a strong early enrollment and expect to have 80 boats on the starting line," said Vice Commodore David Bows, of the Boston Yacht Club, who is Co-Chairman of the event.

To date fourteen J/Boats (already 25% of the fleet) have signed up to compete and more are expected. “We have always had a strong showing from the J/Boat fleet,” says Tom Mager, Rear Commodore of Boston YC. Mager has entered his J/122 GIGI in this year’s race. It will be his first Halifax Race.

First sailed in 1905, the Marblehead to Halifax Race is the premier ocean race in the northeast. It is co-sponsored by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. Sailors from the United States and Canada will converge on Marblehead over the Fourth of July for a round of social events highlighting the summer racing season.

Race Directors Anne Coulombe and Richard Hinterhoeller plan to configure the starting line so that spectators can view the start of the race from such vantage points as Castle Rock and Crocker Park.  “It worked well in recent years, so we’re hoping the weather will cooperate and we can do it again this year”, they said.  For more Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Eclipse Chester Race Week

(Chester, Nova Scotia)- After three nearly perfect sunny days, sailors brought out their foul weather gear for the fourth and final day of racing at Helly Hansen Chester Race Week 2018. Thick fog, swells and rains that varied from a sprinkling to torrential downpour didn’t dampen enthusiasm at the many start lines.

“It wouldn’t be Chester if we didn’t have these rainy days,” said Patricia Nelder, 2018 chair of on-water activities. “Despite some fog, the fleets were able to get in a few more races to finish the regatta.”

Throughout the week, all four one-design fleets were extremely competitive, moving as one through their courses. It takes an extra edge to lead a fleet where all the boats are essentially identical. Doing exactly that in the J/105 class was Sean McDermott and Rory MacDonald’s McMAC, winning the class counting all bullets in five of six races.  Counting virtually all 2nds was Jim Mosher’s MOJO to take the silver with 10 pts in 5 races.  And, rounding out the podium was Barry Eisner’s BUZZ with 13 pts.

The Inshore 1 Class was simply dominated by an enormous J/Navy.  Leading the sweep of the top five were all J/29s!  Jane Filbee’s PAINKILLER marked the first time a woman skipper/ owner topped the class.  Second was Chris MacDonald’s SCOTCH MIST IV (a previous regatta winner), third went to Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT, fourth to Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES, and fifth was Scott Covey’s RUMBLEFISH.

Dominating all four Distance Classes were J/Crews!  Winning Distance 1 Class was Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION.  Another J/120, Rick Calder’s BRILLIANCE took fourth.

Andrew Childs’ J/35 HELOC led a sweep of Distance 2 Class.  Second was Larry Creaser’s J/100 YOUNGBLOOD, third went to Rod Johnstone (yes, the designer) and Gary Bennett’s J/35 J’AI TU.  The balance of the top five included Thane MacDonald’s J/35 J-HAWK in 4th and Peter Traves’ J/35 CRACKERJACK in 5th position.

Distance 3 Class saw long-time J/92 veteran Colin Mann again wins his class on the famous POOHSTICKS.  Then, in Distance 4 Class, Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER marked yet another win by a woman skipper/ owner; and at that, winning with all firsts as counters!  Taking fourth was Jordan MacNeil’s J/30 FLUX.

Sailing Video highlights of each day-
Day 1- https://www.facebook.com/ChesterRaceWeek/videos/2227312080837134/
Day 2- https://www.facebook.com/ChesterRaceWeek/videos/2793308284028926/
Day 3- https://www.facebook.com/ChesterRaceWeek/videos/1069576573211802/
Day 4- https://www.facebook.com/ChesterRaceWeek/videos/1517346938367338/

For more Chester Race Week sailing information, follow here on Facebook Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Blustery Chester Race Week!

(Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)- Rain, cold and expected gusts of 30-plus knots per hour held back some Chester Race Week fleets, but others headed out on the water to finish their races on the fourth and final day of the regatta.  The event provided four days of racing on August 16 to 19 in the picturesque and historic seaside Village of Chester, Nova Scotia.

In addition, the event is famous for its onshore entertainment, food and parties.  For starters, four great food trucks were on the grounds for all four days giving all lots of options for tasty eats, drinks, and hot coffee.  Then, the entertainment schedule was full all four days; the “Hopping Penguins” opened and closed the event on Wednesday and Saturday! Then the group “Party Boots” will be on Thursday and on Friday and, in addition, they had one of Atlantic Canada’s finest party bands “Asia & NuGruv!”  Sounds exhausting!

The weather had some spectacular days and some ugly ones.  The fleets included one-design racing for J/70s, J/24s, and J/29s as well as offshore PHRF fleets. Winning the J/70s was Graeme Carr’s JOYRIDIN’ with, literally, all 1sts in 12 races!  Lying second was Kim Gibson’s SEE’YA and third was Peggy Bethune’s POINT EIGHT.

In the J/24s, it was Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE that won with all 1sts and 2nds.  Second was Jon Reid’s BARELY LEGAL and third place went to Caroline Muselet’s CODFATHER.

The large 8-boat J/29 fleet saw Scott Covey’s RUMBLEFISH take the title with three wins in six races.  Second was Jane Fibee’s PAINKILLER, winning the last race and amassing 15 pts in six races.  Third was Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT with 17 pts.

In the world of PHRF handicap racing, winning PHRF 1 was Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION.  In fact, there were four J/120s sailing in the class.  Ron Stewart’s J/120 SLICE took 5th place.  In PHRF 2 class, three J/35s dominated the top five.  Winning was Andrew Childs’ HELOC with Thane McDonald’s J-HAWK in 2nd and Rod Johnstone & Gary Bennett’s J’AI TU in 5th.  Winning PHRF 3 class was Terry McKenna’s J/100 DOG PARTY, followed by Colin Mann’s J/92 POOHSTICKS; rounding out the top five were Richard Gerstenberger’s J/105 AXIS in 4th and James Mosher’s J/105 MOJO in 5th place. Finally, in PHRF 4 class was yet another J/crew winning- Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.  For more Chester Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fast, Record-breaking Marblehead to Halifax Race

(Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)– A fleet of 75 boats crossed the starting line off Marblehead Harbor and set a 353nm course to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The skies were fair and winds out of the southwest, averaging 10 knots to start the 2017 biennial edition of the Marblehead-to-Halifax regatta that dates to 1905.  “The competitors were forcing each other up to the starting line, so I am predicting 363 miles of head-to-head competition,” said Anne Coulomb, of the Boston Yacht Club, co-director of the race. The fleet started near Halfway Rock and head west toward the shore, turning south just off Marblehead Neck, before turning again at Tinkers Rock, to then set a course for Halifax, 363 nautical miles away!

The Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race began in 1905. It has been held every other year, except during war time. The event is sponsored by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. It caps a full weekend of Independence Day festivities in Marblehead which includes 4th of July fireworks, the Marblehead Arts Festival and the harbor illumination.

The 363-mile journey is billed as the “grand daddy” of ocean races. It was inaugurated in 1905, one year before another East Coast classic, the Newport Bermuda Race. The Marblehead to Halifax race originally ran as an occasional, informal competition between sailors from the Boston and Eastern Yacht Clubs in Marblehead and the New York Yacht Club. In 1939, it was established as a biennial event, on years when the race to Bermuda isn’t scheduled.

In the early races, most crews needed five days to reach Halifax, the coastal capital of Nova Scotia. Today, a former top J/24 sailor, Paul McDowell and friends on board the 68 ft Prospector, set a new course record of 28 hrs 28 min 50 sec!!

Just under 20 hours behind them, the J/44 KENIA from Houston, TX, finished in 47 hrs 43 min 26 sec to win class honors in the IRC 2 Class!

In ORR 3 Class, Fred Allardyce’s J/40 MISTY placed 4th, completing the track in 53 hrs 1 min 4 secs!  Though completing the course over 3 hours faster, veteran Halifax Race skipper Brad Willauer and his crew on the J/46 BREEZING UP could not overcome their handicap deficit to their class mates and ended up 6th in class on handicap.  Similarly, Will Passano’s J/37 CARINA finished behind the J/40 on elapsed time and was 9th on handicap.

The eleven-boat PHRF 2 Division nearly saw a clean sweep by J/crews.  Winning was Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE, followed by Jim Praley’s J/120 SHINNECOCK in 3rd, Gardner Grant’s J/120 ALIBI in 4th, Jeff Eberle’s J/130 CILISTA in 6th, Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION in 7th, Kris Kristiansen’s J/130 SAGA in 9th and Keith Amirault’s J/130 DRAGONFLY in 10th.

In the twelve-boat PHRF 3 Division, Eliot Shanabrook’s J/109 HAFA ADAI captured the bronze, while Evan Petley-Jones’s J/35 HARRIER placed 6th.  Follow the Marblehead to Halifax Race on Facebook here  For more Marblehead to Halifax Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/120 Sail-training Tips for Marblehead-Halifax Race

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- For the J/120 DEVIATION- practice, practice, practice- that is how it’s done to win the Marblehead to Halifax Race! Thanks for this story from Kathy Large/ Sailing photos by Tim Wilkes.com.

Stuart McCrea and his crew on the J/120 DEVIATION had a big year in 2016. And, there is a lot of hardware to show for their efforts. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron team won the trophy for the best results for a Canadian boat in the Newport-Bermuda Race, also winning the first ever J/120 class at Chester Race Week and the Prince of Wales trophy at RNSYS. And, Stuart was recognized by both Sail Nova Scotia and Sail Canada as Canada’s “2016 Offshore Sailor of the Year.”

So, that will be a hard act to follow. But McCrea is taking the same approach as he did last year– getting his boat and his crew ready by focusing on preparation. “Your best performance is directly linked to the preparation of the yacht and its crew,” according to McCrea. “This is one aspect of our sport that is most taken for granted, as some boats and their crews believe just showing up will mean success.”

“Like the NHL, NBA, and other sports, time is spent practicing plays, scenarios, and strengthening team work to improve a team’s success. And while most of the time, our sport has us sailing during the day, hopefully under a nice sea breeze and sunshine, ocean racing adds the complexities of sailing at night and or sailing in weather most wouldn’t leave the dock for.”

McCrea’s own preparation includes years of training and competing, starting when he joined the Squadron as a ten year old. He graduated from dinghies after competing in provincial and North American championships. His experience in keelboats includes at least a dozen Marblehead to Halifax races. This will be the second as a boat owner.

Starting at the end of April, he gets the boat out and the crew together, and they spend time practicing tactics. Like the old chestnut about how a musician can get to Carnegie Hall, winning at sailing for McCrea means practice, practice and more practices. He will plan for 30-mile stints, using the time to test sails to find out which works best in which condition. Man overboard drills are also important to McCrea. “I don’t take it lightly. Everyone needs to practice this. Just think about trying to find a crew member in the dark when the boat is going 10 or 12 knots. It would be very hard.”

His regular crew includes Mathew Christie as tactician, Jason and India White, Geoff Dalzell, Robert Maclean, Cameron Fraser and Dr. Sean Christie. Others who regularly take part, depending on the race are Giles Oland, Jonathan Ladha, and Stuart MacIntosh.

McCrea is not shy to look for expert help, either. “Last year we were able to have Andreas Josenhans and Sandy MacMillan on board for a day.” Josenhans and MacMillan are decorated Nova Scotia sailors who are world champions and Olympians who both work in different roles with North Sails.

“We were learning to understand what the boat is capable of and how to shift gears,” McCrea said. “Things happen very quickly when you are racing. If you don’t practice ahead of time, you won’t be ready to handle the circumstances when they come up. Doing these drills well in advance of the race is simply good seamanship, providing an advantage over other boats that aren’t prepared. I mean the last thing you want to do is be searching around below for a needed part as a fast approaching squall hits, or worst case trying to find the ditch bag as you and the boat are being tossed around,” says McCrea.

McCrea does focus on the safety requirements for ocean racing and makes a careful inventory and assessment of the gear needed to make sure the boat is safe. Plus he says it is crucial to review the rules and regulations of your rating organization. “Navigation and tactics come a bit later, when all the other things are tuned up.”

As the shakedown practices continue, McCrea starts thinking forward to the race and the tactics needed to win. “There is a large debate about whether you should go inshore at night, stay east or west of the rhumb line or try to grab the thermolift along the coast of Nova Scotia. Most of my success has come from staying close to the rhumb line. We have also noticed out in the Gulf of Maine there is a pushing and settling of the current that can cause some trouble.”

DEVIATION has all the latest equipment to help make those tactical decisions – satellite phone, a weather service that provides faxes and grib files plus the software that helps choose the optimum routing.

McCrea breaks the Marblehead to Halifax race into three important segments. "The first one is how to handle the start in Marblehead, offshore or inshore route, which will depend on the conditions of the day."

Then he says the next big strategy decision involves Brazil Rock (the shoal that sits off the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia). “I have never gone inside the Rock but I have heard lots of stories of people doing this. Your arrival time at Brazil Rock will make or break your race. I am afraid a lot of people don’t understand the Bay of Fundy tides. They are a lot bigger than what you have experienced anywhere else. It all comes down to timing.”

The Bay of Fundy tides are generally recognized as the most extreme in the world. In Southwestern Nova Scotia, the height of the tide is 3.5 metres (11 ft). Depending on the wind conditions, when the tide is flooding into the Bay, a boat can be sucked north or west towards the Bay of Fundy. Especially if there is little to no wind to power the boat, the crew will have no choice but to sit and wait for the tide to turn to get back into the race.

“There is one last part of the race that I have found can be decisive,” says McCrea. “There’s a transition zone just inside Chebucto Head as you are approaching Halifax Harbour. I have seen the race won and lost there a number of times. Back in 2015, we came in on a tight close-hauled course running 12-14 knots with 20 knots of apparent wind. Then we gybed at Halifax Bravo (a light buoy). And then we spent several hours and five separate sail changes trying to coax the boat in by Chebucto Head. When we finally got moving, we managed to overtake a couple of boats but we felt like we had lost our advantage. In the end, DEVIATION was 12th in line honours and if you look at the results, a large number of boats came in after us in the next three hours, so quite a few others went through that same scenario.”

Apart from race tactics, McCrea also emphasizes to be prepared for all kinds of possible weather conditions and temperatures. Most people expect cool temperatures and fog along the coast of Nova Scotia. But McCrea also recalls a period of hours that Deviation and many other boats were becalmed on a sunny day in the Gulf of Maine during the last race. “There was no way to escape the sun on a day like that.” He also gives priority to planning for quality food and lots of smaller meals plus drinking lots of water. "I have found it very important to have smaller and more frequent meals to help people deal with the mental fatigue that comes during a long race."

A couple of other quick tips from McCrea:

• Watch out for fishing boats while you are in the Yarmouth and south shore area. AIS is very important because there is a lot of commercial traffic in these waters and they don’t always follow the rules – gross tonnage is the rule they use!
• Rest is paramount for the crew before the race. “I have a curfew on Saturday in Marblehead…the party is always great but I aim for me and my crew to be in bed by 10 pm. Especially if the weather gets bumpy, everyone needs that extra sleep.”

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Marblehead to Halifax Race Announcement

(Marblehead, MA)- A competitive international fleet of boats will be at the starting line July 9 to begin the Marblehead to Halifax ocean race. The 363-mile race, which dates back to 1905, is billed as the “granddaddy of ocean races.”

Seventy-three boats have already signed up with two months of registration to go. “We are excited about the strength of the entries so far,” said Jennie Aspinall, Vice Commodore of the Boston Yacht Club and co-chair of the race. “Sixteen of the entrants will be defending one of more podium finishes from 2015.”

Several J/teams with impressive records have already signed up; including at least three J/120s- Gardner Grant’s ALIBI, Jim Praley’s SHINNECOCK, and Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION (read their story on preparation below in J/Community section).  Others are Chris Lewis’ J/44 KENAI from Houston, TX; Brad Willauer’s J/46 BREEZING UP from Scarborough, ME; and Phil Helmes’ J/133 FAST COMPANY III from Marblehead, MA.
The event is a cooperative venture of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and the Boston Yacht Club of Marblehead. Title sponsor is the Steele Auto Group of Canada with USA supporting sponsors: Gill, Marblehead Bank, Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty and BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Among the current 73 entries, 34 are first timers, 17 are second timers and there are four entrants who have only missed two races since 1997. Richard Hinterhoeller of RNSYS, Co-Director, says one of those racing has entered every Marblehead to Halifax since 1997. The Marblehead to Halifax race will cap off a week of Fourth of July celebrations in the picturesque ocean side community. The Boston Yacht club will host a round of parties and receptions throughout the event.   Sailing photo credits- Craig Davis  For more Marblehead to Halifax Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

A Family Sailing Offshore- Like Winslow Homer!

(Prouts Neck, Maine)- Brad Willauer lives in Prouts Neck and is the current Vice Commodore of the Cruising Club of America.  He is one of the more experienced veterans of the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race.  He has been participating since he was a teenager, usually working the foredeck on someone else’s boat.  Now, after participating in MHOR at least ten times, he will be skipper of his own crew for the first time in this event in July.  And he has a few strategies in mind that have proven successful in other offshore races.

Willauer purchased his first boat large enough to participate in the race in preparation for his retirement from the financial industry back in 2004. Since then, he has been cruising and racing for extended periods of time in the Caribbean each winter including participation in the Newport to Bermuda, and the Marion Bermuda Races.  BREEZING UP, a J/46, is back in New England and he plans to be on the start line of the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race 2017 with a family crew.

The Willauer’s take it as a matter of pride their ten-member crew is “all in the family”.

“They are all good sailors and well-experienced.  Four of them are members of the Cruising Club of America and we also have a couple who are licensed coast guard captains,” said Brad.  Willauer’s own sailing resume includes racing in the Caribbean, Transatlantic (Bermuda to Spain) and cruising in the Mediterranean, Thailand and British Columbia.

His crew includes his children Ben and Tori Willauer, a son-in-law, Tony Fitch, nephew Charlie Willauer and his three sons Cory Cramer, Charlie Willauer Jr, and Pete Willauer plus nephew Langley Willauer and his daughter Nora.  The Willauer’s claimed podium finishes in four Newport to Bermuda races including first in the Cruiser division in last year’s race.  The dedication to making sailing a family experience has also won the Willauer’s the William Glenn Family Participation trophy in the Newport to Bermuda Race on two occasions.

Willauer believes the younger crew know the most about the boat and the technology on board and they are eager to do more sail changes, which is why he likes a mix of ages on board.  “They know everything!”

His own confidence about the boat and its capabilities are strong.  He lived aboard BREEZING UP for extended periods of cruising in the Caribbean, so he is confident to make the call about which sails should be up and what boat speed they can hit, depending on the conditions.

“We have a lot of fun, we have a great time together.  Our family is close in general, anyway.  They all work hard.  They don’t drink anything and they pay attention!”

Willauer has adopted a practice that no doubt makes everyone sit up and pay attention.  All crew members steer the boat with the helm changing every half hour!!  “This practice makes for a happy ship.”
He says he remembers sitting on the rails of other people’s boats in 10 or 12 prior Bermuda Races, knowing him and other younger sailors on board could likely do a better job than the old guard, who often held onto the helm for long periods of time.

“Finding the groove is a special skill, keeping her in the groove requires intense concentration,” according to Willauer. “That’s why everyone knows they should only speak to the driver on business, no chatting.”

“Some are better than others in handling the job, but we don’t make note of that in any way.”  He admits some severe conditions cause him to alter this routine– such as driving with a chute on the upper limits of apparent wind or near gale conditions.

Another tried and true strategy- they all share the cooking, including the skipper.  They have all learned how to cook for offshore sailing for one simple reason:  “Good food is important for morale,” says Willauer.

It isn’t just this generation of the Willauer’s that devote their time to sailing.  “Sailing is what we did as kids.  My older brother Peter and my father were very good sailors and I learned from them.”

His brother Peter competed in national championships and later founded the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine.   The family has a deep connection to the summer community at Prouts Neck, Maine where his great-great uncle, Winslow Homer, had his painting studio.  BREEZING UP is Willauer’s third boat named in honor of Homer’s famous painting.  “Breezing Up” is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, which describes it as “one of the best-known and most beloved artistic images of life in nineteenth-century America."

The Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race is a 363-nautical mile offshore race sponsored by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.  The 37th biennial race starts in Marblehead on Sunday, July 9th following a course across the Gulf of Maine and along the coast of Nova Scotia to Halifax.

One of Brad Willauer’s memories of past Marblehead to Halifax races involves some winning insight by his brother Peter.

“He won the race with a boat called MADCAP. He realized that he could pick up a thermal along the shore of Nova Scotia.  There was a high-pressure system and most of the fleet was flopping around with no wind.  For about 60-80 miles, he sailed close to the Nova Scotia shore and that extra bit of wind made the difference.”

“I have great memories of my visits to Halifax, especially early on, crewing on Salmagal III, a boat built by Arthur B. Homer, the chairman of Bethlehem Steel.  “I have really fond memories of going down into the Arm and receiving the warm hospitality from people like Sally Norwood, once we came ashore.  I didn’t get to stay long in those days… I would usually head to the airport for the first flight back to Boston.  But the reception was really terrific!” In earlier times, individual Squadron members volunteered to act as hosts to each arriving crew.

The fog used to be extremely challenging, especially coming into the finish line at night.

“One memory I have is from the 1970’s.  I was working on navigation and we were coming in to finish in thick fog at night.  We had the spinnaker up for the last ten miles and were making between 8 and 9 knots.  There was no radar on the boat but we knew where we were going. We had passed Chebucto Head.  In those days, we were running exact courses and timing with a stop watch. But the noise was tremendous so we decided we needed to douse the chute so we could slow down the boat and hear the signal that we had actually finished the course.  And in fact, that’s what happened, we slide across the line and we heard the signal boat, but it wouldn’t have happened without pulling down that sail.  Modern navigation makes all these things so much easier!”  Thanks for the contribution from Kathy Large.  For more Marblehead to Halifax Race information. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race Announcement

(Marblehead, MA)- Registration is now open for the biennial Marblehead to Halifax Ocean race July 9.  “With more than 1,500 ‘likes’ on Facebook we are excited about the early interest,” said Jennie Aspinall, Vice Commodore-elect of the Boston Yacht Club and chair of the 2017 event. “We are looking forward to a full fleet of competitors at the starting line in July,” she continued.

The 363-nautical mile Marblehead to Halifax is one of the oldest races on the eastern seaboard. It began in 1905 and has continued every other year except during wartime. It is cosponsored by the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax. Major support comes from the Steele Auto Group of Nova Scotia.

“Marblehead is the idyllic place for the start of this race,” Aspinall declares. “There will be a round of parties and social events throughout the weekend before starting the race.”  The race has been a popular one for J/sailors across the northeastern seaboard, with class and overall wins taken by some over the course of time- J/35s, J/40s, J/44s, J/120s, J/111s all have garnered silverware in this famous race.  For more Marblehead Halifax Race registration and sailing information

Challenging Chester Race Week

(Chester, Nova Scotia)– Sailors are a resilient lot– they race hard when conditions allow, and when they don’t. After hours on the course looking for wind, Chester Race Week organizers finally cancelled races for Bravo, Delta, and One Design fleets, sending wind-weary sailors back to shore on the final day of Chester Race Week. The only fleets to get races on the final day were Alpha and Bluenose.

“This was a tough week for everybody, weather wise,” said Chief Principal Race Officer Brian Todd. “Huge thanks to our race Course PRO's– Ken Legler, Oliver Bone, and Daniel Conrad– and their mark boat crews who all worked so hard to ensure the best racing possible given the challenging, constantly changing conditions. In the end, that’s why we had to cancel some courses.”

The regatta did not start out that way.  It was quite the opposite end of the spectrum.  With nearly gale force winds in the first two days, there were plenty of broken boats (sails, masts, etc) that forced retirements and, in fact, so much wind that some boats didn’t even venture forth to go sailing.  With breezes hitting 30+ kts, many of the J/Teams reveled in the conditions and took full advantage of it.  Later in the week, as the breezes subsided and went all for naught on the last day, you would’ve been hard pressed to find sailors that didn’t enjoy the breadth of weather thrown at them!  “It sure beats fog and no wind” was a familiar perspective!

Winning the J/35 class was Andrew Child’s HELOC with a scoreline punctuated by all 1sts & 2nds.  Not far behind was Thane MacDonald’s J-HAWK with 9 pts and closing out the podium in third place was the dynamic duo of Gary Bennett & designer Rod Johnstone on J’AI TU.

The J/120 Class, Stu McCrea’s DEVIATION taking class honors with nearly all bullets to count in their six-race/ one toss series.  Taking second was Ron Stewart’s SLICE from Stratford, Prince Edward Island; they were followed by Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE, just one point back.

Similarly, the J/29s enjoyed very tight racing between the top three boats.  At the end of the five race series, Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT and Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES were tied on points at 6.5 pt each, with PARADIGM SHIFT taking the tie-breaker.  Third only three points back was Paul Dexter’s PAINKILLER.

The large J/24 class saw a runaway, taking their “Get out of jail free” card and running around the table like no won was there!  Winning 6 of 8 races, Dave Wedlake’s BARELY LEGAL dominated class, winning by 7 pts.  Chasing them hard around the course and even taking a win off BARELY LEGAL was Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE, ultimately finishing in 2nd place with 15 pts.  Third was Ross Romney’s RUSH HOUR with 21 pts.

Over in the PHRF handicap world, on the Bravo 1 Class, it was Bruce Moore’s lovely J/30 RATTLE & HUM that was first JBoat and 4th in class.  Second J/crew and 5th in class was Bill Adams’ J/70 RE-DEMPTION, sixth was Dale Robertson’s J/80 GOAT WHISPERER, 7th place was Jesleine Baker’s JUST ADD WATER, and 8th was Sam Lamey’s J/27 INCORRIGIBLE.

The Alpha 3 Class saw local hotshot Colin Mann sail his J/92 POOHSTICKS onto the top of the leaderboard after closing their six race series with four bullets in a row!  Second was Rory Macdonald’s J/105 McMAC, 5th place was Jim Mosher’s J/105 MOJO, and 6th was Richard Gerstenberger’s AXIS.

The J/88 DEEP BIGHT, with Jim Snair as skipper, was sailing in perhaps the most mixed, bizarre combination of boats in the entire regatta- from two large Beneteau cruisers down to a Viper 830 and Fareast 28R!  In the end, Snair’s J/88 placed fourth.  Sailing photo credit- Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com.   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

Chester Race Week Update

(Chester, Nova Scotia)- Four days, four courses, sixteen fleets, 33 trophies, 123 sailboats, and 1,200 sailors!  No question, Chester Race Week is Canada’s largest annual keelboat regatta!  So far this week, Chester YC has seen strong winds and heavy seas for the start of the regatta.

According to Rod Johnstone, sailing on Gary Bennett’s J/35 J’AI TU, “The first day at CRW on the "alpha" course provided picture perfect race conditions with 15-20 knot SW winds for our J/35 class. Two great race courses were set by PRO Ken Legler (the Tufts University Sailing Team Head Coach). The conditions were definitely challenging for us on J’AI TU, with mostly an eager young crew new to "big boat" sailing with an old guy on both ends of the boat- Arturo Pilar and me. The first race was a 4-leg W/L with 1.2 mile legs. Thane MacDonald and his crew on J-HAWK were launched at the start and never looked back. We were tightly bunched at the first windward mark with three others and finished within seconds of the third and fifth place boats.

Race two was a middle distance race around the Islands of about 15nm.  We barely led after a 2.7 mile beat, but were quickly passed on the long run around Great Tancook Island by Andrew Child's HELOC, whose crew proved adept at changing headsails during the race. After a long jib reach into the Bay, a four-mile beat then a run to the finish rewarded those who changed down to #3 jib on the beat. Having enough beef on the rail helped too!”  Andrew Child’s HELOC is tied for first with Thane MacDonald’s J-HAWK with Ann Petley-Jones’ HARRIER in third.  Currently, sitting fourth is the Bennett/Johnstone crew.

So far, in the PHRF Alpha 3 class, Rory Macdonald’s J/105 McMAC is leading with Colin Mann’s J/92 POOHSTICKS in third place.  In the J/120 class, Ron Stewart’s SLICE from Stratford, Prince Edward Island is atop the fleet, followed by Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE and Stu McCrea’s DEVIATION.

Over on the Bravo Course area, it is a three-way tie for first place between Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES, Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT and Chris MacDonald’s SCOTCH MIST IV in the closely fought J/29 one-design class.  In the PHRF ToT division, the J/70 RE-DEMPTION (Bill Adams) is sitting in third place.  Finally, in the J/24 one-design class, David Wedlake’s BARELY LEGAL is atop the leaderboard with Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE in second and Nick Hamblin’s JAMMING in third place.

There is a lot more racing still to go in this fun event off Chester’s gorgeous archipelago of islands and pine-tree studded shorelines!   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/Teams Sweep Chester Race Week

(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- Somehow, the sailors that participate in Nova Scotia’s Chester Race Week (located in a beautiful bay just south of Halifax) make the most of whatever Mother Nature dishes out to them.  Some year’s the sailing conditions are spectacular, others grey and rainy, yet others grey, foggy and drizzly, such is the nature of the beast way, way “down east” off the chilly North Atlantic.  This year, it was a bit of grey mixed with breeze.

Despite the less than photogenic weather, the J/Teams reveled in the challenging breezes and cleaned house in several divisions.  In the bigger boat class, the J/120 DEVIATION sailed by Stu McCrea won class Alpha 2 with straight bullets!  Their sistership BRILLIANCE skippered by Richard Calder sailed to 4th on a tie-breaker and in 5th place was another J/120- Ross Leighton’s BLACK PEARL.

J/Teams took four of the top five places in Alpha 3 class.  Leading the way was long-time veteran, Colin Mann’s J/92 POOHSTICKS with a blistering scorelines of 2-1-1 for 4 pts.  Andrew Childs’ J/35 took second with 10 pts.  Taking 4th on a tie-breaker was Rory Macdonald’s J/105 McMAC sitting on 12 pts.  Then, fifth was the team of Gary Bennett & designer Rod Johnstone sailing the J/35 J’AI TU.

Following the same theme as their sisterships, the massive fleet of J/29s took on the J/70s and J/80s in Bravo B1 class.  It was the J/29s that eclipsed their stablemates with a sweep of the top five.  First was Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES, followed by Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT in 2nd, Jim Snair’s J(2.2) in 3rd, Scott Covey’s RUMBLEFISH in 4th and Chris MacDonald’s SCOTCH MIST IV in 5th.

The J/30s and J/27s sailed in Bravo B2 class.  It was Jordan MacNeil’s J/30 FLUX taking class honors with Sam Lamey’s J/27 INCORRIGIBLE in 4th position.

In the Non-Spinnaker classes, the J/44 AKUBRA sailed by Reginald Goodday took 3rd in her class.  Then, the J/24s had a good seven-boat turnout with Ian Dawson’s LIGHTNING McQUEEN taking five 1sts to easily win their class by 9 pts.  Second was Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE with 22 pts, just one point ahead of Nick Hamblin’s JAMMING in third place.  The rest of the top five was Will Nauss’ WAVERUNNER in 4th and Ross Romney’s RUSH HOUR in 5th.   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/120s Sweep Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- This year’s Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race, co-sponsored by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, won’t go down in the record books as the fastest race on record.  However, it certainly goes down as yet another challenging navigational race for those who love to work on tactics and strategy that is changing dramatically as the race progresses.

Not soon after the start, the racers hit a period of very light winds in the Gulf of Maine on Monday afternoon. The wind then picked up at noon today (Tuesday) and the fleet started picking up speed.

IRC 2 class saw Scott Miller’s J/122 RESOLUTE sail well but fall victim to a lightish mid-section of the race to take 6th in class (full crew) and take second overall in the Doublehanded IRC Class with team mate Gregg Carville. In the ORR Class, Fred Madeira’s J/44 RESOLUTE finished 5th overall.

In the PHRF division, the two J/111s finished in 3rd and 4th in PHRF 1 class, with Marcel Cote’s SURVENANT leading the way over classmate Jonathan Green’s EAGLES DARE.  The two J/130s finished side-by-side with Kris Kristiansen’s SAGA taking 6th and Jeff Eberle’s CILISTA finishing 7th.

The big story of the race was the performance of several classic offshore racing J’s in PHRF 2 class, with a sweep of the top six places.  Topping everyone was Gardner Grant’s J/120 ALIBI taking class honors followed by Eliot Shanabrook’s J/109 HAFA ADAI in second and Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION in third.  The next three places were occupied by J/120s with James Chen’s CHAOTIC FLUX in 4th, Jim Praley’s SHINNECOCK in 5th and Ross Leighton’s BLACK PEARL in 6th.   Finally, in PHRF 3 class the J/35 HARRIER skippered by Evan Petley-Jones placed 5th in class.  Sailing photo credits  For more Marblehead to Halifax Race sailing information

Canada Celebrating Its Sailors!

(Toronto, Ontario)- Canada was recently celebrating some of its best sailors.  Remarkably (or alarmingly, depending on how you see it all), a number of Canada’s beloved “brothers in arms” were all top J/24 alumni of some form or another over the past decade or three.  You can include in that group Andy Roy, Terry McLaughlin, Greg Tawastjerna, “Bean Pole” (Terry Neilson) and a number of other characters we should mention but may not.

Nevertheless, October marks the time of year where Canadians celebrate good harvest and fortune followed by the ever so popular Halloween, the single night of the year when candy hoarding and unusual attire are encouraged. Amidst all the seasonal traditions included some outstanding showcases by their Canadian sailors.

Olympic silver medalist Mike Wolfs continues to draw attention to his ever-growing resume of sailing success including the latest achievement of 1st place at the J/80 World Championships in Annapolis. The Star Medallist crewed on SAVASANA with helm Brian Keane, Stu McNay & Ron Weed, edging out the competitive 30-boat fleet.

The Laser Masters World Championships was hosted in Hyeres, France with 500 entrants in four different age divisions. The Canadian contingent took the event by storm with top ten performances in each highly competitive division including Peterborough native and North American Laser class President Andy Roy, who ultimately finished second!

What they all forgot, was that Terry McLaughlin just won the J/105 North Americans and taking second was another native son, Greg Tawastjerna who was tactician for Calgary, Alberta native Rick Goebel sailing his J/105 SANITY!

Glorious Chester Race Week!

J/Teams Love Sunny, Perfect Weather
(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- As can often happen way, way Down East, it’s always a bit of a “roll-of-the-dice” whether you have a week of foggy dew and no wind or a simply spectacular stretch of weather that seems to make for an endless, perfect summer!  Somehow, the sailors in this year’s Chester Race Week just south of Halifax, Nova Scotia were treated to one of their best sailing weeks in recent memory.

As a consequence of being blessed by the best that Mother Nature can deliver, one of the best “social/ party” race weeks on the North American calendar went off without a hitch and with many J/Teams collecting way more than their fair share of silverware.  In addition, the Canadian J/24s were simultaneously hosting their 2014 Canadian Nationals.

Starting from the first day, the week got off to a great start. According to One-Design Course Race Officer Brian Todd, sailors were treated to near-perfect conditions, “we had excellent winds, 8-11 knots, and racing was tight, and fun. My race committee team was fantastic, constantly adjusting the course to make it perfect for the sailors.”  After the first day of racing, Lunenburg YC’s John Whynacht on the J/24 STICKY FINGERS took the class lead, never to relinquish it for the rest of the regatta!

For many of the J/Teams, the second day of racing was thrilling and challenging!  For other fleets, too much wind and waves forced cancellation of races and for others it also meant lots of broken rigging or torn sails. PRO Liz Shaw said that while conditions were challenging, and the incidents heartbreaking to watch, the high winds made for some exciting racing. “On heavy air days like today, the adrenaline is a little higher. It’s not about who has the fastest, lightest boat, it’s about who is mentally and physically prepared to sail in tougher conditions. Sailors are pushed to their limits and you can really see their tactical brains at work. It’s pure excitement,” commented Shaw.

After the rough and tumble second day, the breeze lightened up for the third day of racing.  Starting out with a wee bit of clouds, rain and no wind, the harbor postponement was finally lifted as the sun poked through and a nice breeze built for the afternoon.  Most fleets managed to get in at least one race and fleets like the J/24s managed to get in two before the breeze died.  For the J/24s, it was becoming apparent that Whynacht’s STICKY FINGERS was in a class of their own, posting two more top three scores.

Mother Nature again delivered in spades on the final day. Conditions were great with a nice, steady southwest seabreeze, and winds of 15-20 knots. Most courses ended up finishing in a short rain squall under black skies and rainy, blustery conditions. But, it passed quickly and blue skies returned in time for trophy presentations.

“Today was a fantastic end to a great week of sailing,” said Liz Shaw, principal race officer, Chester Race Week 2014. “The racing was incredibly close and exciting, with a number of classes decided by mere seconds on the last race.  All in all, Chester Race Week was an incredible event. There were a lot of standout moments over the past few days in weather and competition, and sailors were mentally and physically pushed to their limits. Our new web-based regatta management system, YachtScoring.com, delivered results faster and more accurately than ever before.”

J/Teams reveled in the wide variety of conditions, especially the teams sailing the PHRF Distance races, random-leg courses selected before the start of each day’s race.  In PHRF A1, the J/120s cleaned house, taking 1st and 2nd.  Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE and Dwayne Smithers’ ADIOS tied on points at ten apiece, with the tie-breaker going to BRILLIANCE.  Fourth in class was Paul Rafuse’s J/109 WISC.

In PHRF A2 were a trio of J/35s that customarily do quite well in class.  However, this year the top banana was Thane MacDonald’s J-HAWK, top J/35 but only 7th in class.

In the nearly all J/Boats PHRF A3 class, it was “local hero” Colin Mann winning with his J/92 POOH STICKS, followed by Sean McDermott’s J/105 McMAC in 2nd and Jim Snair’s J/88 PLAYMATE in 3rd.  In fact, the J/88s took three of the top five spots, Dave Connolly’s J/88 CRAZY EIGHTS in 4th and Terry Mckenna’s DOG PARTY in 5th.

PHRF A4 class was also determined on a tie-breaker, with Chris MacDonald’s J/29 SCOTCH MIST IV taking class honors.

On Course Bravo were the PHRF Buoy Racing fleets.  In PHRF B1, the fleet was treated to a “schooling” by the J/29 SILVER WOMAN skippered by Andrew Childs; nine bullets in 11 races gave them a 14 pt lead over fellow J/29 sailor Don Williams on PARADIGM SHIFT.  Fourth and fifth, respectively, were also taken by J/29s-- Erin & Carlisle Norwood’s FAVOURITE CHILD and Paul Dexter’s PAINKILLER.

The PHRF B2 class had two J/30s sail well to take two spots on the podium.  Jordan MacNeil’s J/30 FLUX was second and Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER was third.

Finally, the Canadian J/24 Nationals were won in a landslide victory by Whynacht’s STICKY FINGERS.  Scoring four 1sts and four 2nds, their final tally of 19 pts meant they won by 7 pts.  While local knowledge was certainly helpful for Lunenberg’s Whynacht, Toronto sailor Nick Jako also managed to post all top five scores sailing TAZ for a total of 26 pts, just enough to hold onto second. Another Halifax “local”, Greg Blunden steering ADRENALINE RUSH, snagged third. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com  For more Chester Race Week sailing information