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

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


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

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

GRUPO GARATU Triumphs @ Copa del Rey

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- A class win at the famous Copa del Rey MAPFRE, the Mediterranean’s annual summer showcase regatta, can elude even some of sailing’s top teams for many years. Others seem able to impose themselves year on year in their chosen classes. Nevertheless, the 132 boat, 11 division, 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE closed today with the battles finally settled for the ultra-competitive J/80 one-design class.

Following the recent J/80 World Championship that took place on Spain’s northwest resort in Getxo (Bilbao), the Herbalife J/80 fleet were more than prepared to compete in the 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE. Coming back to Palma to race were several J/80 World Champions in the gorgeous waters and Bay of Palma.

"The Copa del Rey MAPFRE and the J/80 World Championship are the two big events on our sailing calendar,” explains Iker Almandoz, skipper of GRUPO GARATU. “The J/80 World Championship was tough, but for this event, we are going to make a few modifications that we believe can greatly improve our performance. I will be handing over helm to Eric Brezellec (third in the World Championship with COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE) and I will be tactician on board.” That team turned out to be the winning combination for the regatta.

As defenders of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE title, Marc de Antonio’s crew on BRIBON MOVISTAR were fully aware that a third consecutive victory would be no easy task.

Similarly, José Arqueta’s BIOBIZZ returned to the Mediterranean regatta after a well-earned fifth place in the J/80 World Championship, alongside Ignacio Camino’s SOLINTAL team who were sixth. In short, for such a small fleet, the competition was truly world-class.

After six races, it was Juan Vasquez’s GRUPO GARATU that took the J/80 class win with all podium finishes. In fact, they won with three 1sts and three 2nds for a remarkably dominating win over other J/80 World Champions.  Second was another J/80 World Champions- Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON MOVISTAR with a tally of three 2nds and three 3rds! Remarkable that synchronicity between the top two boats. In a full-on battle for the final spot on the podium were two formidable competitors; Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez’s SOLINTAL and Russia’s Alexei Semenov and Spain’s Toni Cruz on NEW TERRITORIES. In the end, it was SOLITAL’s crew that sealed the deal in the final race.

The 38th Copa del Rey MAPFRE was organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Real Federación Española de Vela (Spanish Royal Sailing Federation), and was sponsored by MAPFRE.  For more MAPFRE Copa del Rey Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NRV Tops SAILING Champions League- Qualifier I

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- Norddeutscher Regatta Verein from Germany took advantage of sensational sailing conditions in Palma de Mallorca to win the first of three qualifiers in season six of the SAILING Champions League. The top eight finishing clubs from Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Finland secured a place at the Final in St Moritz, Switzerland later this summer.

It was the first time the SAILING Champions League has visited the beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca, a mecca for grand prix sailing. Hosted by Club Nàutic S’Arenal, the sailors from 26 yacht clubs and 16 nations loved the stellar racing conditions along the waterfront.  Racing off the beach front resorts gave spectators front row seats on the incredibly fast and tight competition that took place over four days.

Florian Haufe, who skippered Norddeutscher Regatta Verein to victory in the dreamy chamber of commerce sunny and breezy conditions, commented: “We just had four days with perfect sailing conditions, really close races and very tough competition. I have a great team to sail with. It was our goal to secure a place at the SAILNG Champions League Final in St Moritz this August and we made it!” Haufe’s NRV crew included David Heitzig, Miklas Meyer, and Dorian Heitzing.

The top eight finishing teams in Palma secured a place at the Final in St Moritz, Switzerland from 15 to 18 August 2019. The eight qualified clubs are:

1. Norddeutscher Regatta Verein- Germany
2. Club Nautique de Versoix- Switzerland
3. Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub- Denmark
4. Société Nautique de Genève- Switzerland
5. Kaløvig Bådelaug- Denmark
6. WSV Almere Centraal- The Netherlands
7. Frederikshavn Sejlklub- Denmark
8. Brändö Seglare- Finland

The racing was hard fought all the way to the finish, with the 9th place finisher, Württembergischer Yacht-Club from Germany just missing out on a qualifying place by 1.6 points.

The Palma regatta was the first of three SAILING Champions League Qualifiers, with the second event due to be hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, from 23 to 26 May. A few weeks later it’s on to St Petersburg, Russia, from 4 to 7 July for the third and concluding Qualifier before the grand final in August.

SAP Sailing Analytics provided 24/7 statistics and data for sailors, fans, spectators and media like GPS tracking, real-time analysis, and a live leaderboard combined with 2D visualization. You can find all results here on the SAP Sailing Analytics site: http://scl2019-qualifier1.sapsailing.com!

Watch this fun, entertaining 2019 SAILING Champions League highlights video here on YouTube:

For more SAILING CHAMPIONS League sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Spectacular PalmaVela Regatta

J/97E Dominates ORC Class, Big Battle in J/80s
(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The first major offshore sailing event on the Mediterranean calendar took place this past weekend- the 16th edition of Sail Racing PalmaVela.  Organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the regatta for 124 teams from 23 countries was held from the 8th to 12th of May. The sailors were treated to four spectacular days of sailing on the beautiful Bay of Palma.

In the ORC 2 Class, the Frenchman Olivier Parchet & Russian Andrey Kochnev’s joined forces on the J/122 NOISY OYSTER to take fifth place with a 4-3-5-5-4 record for 16 pts. Then, in the ORC 4 Class, Englishman Scott Beattie’s J/97E JUST THE JOB completely cleaned house, so to speak, sweeping the class with a record of all 1sts to count for 4 pts net!

Sailing nearly as dominating in the J/80 one-design class was Miquel Pujadas & Helena Alegre’s ATILA, they won counting six 1sts and two 2nds for 10 pts net! However, the big battle took place just behind them for the balance of the top five.  In the end, it was Kristyn Gills’ COOPER RIGGING that placed second with 17.5 pts net, Jason Beaver’s NAUTIPAINTS was third with 24.5 pts net, 4th was Pablo Mellino’s Spanish crew on ALOJA with 27 pts net, and 5th was Andrew Cheetham’s British crew on CONFERMA with 34 pts net.

What was fascinating to observe in the lead up to the TP52 Super Series was how many of the top teams were led by former (and current) J/Owners and J/Sailing alumni.  Here is the breakdown of top J/sailors dominating the TP52 class:

1st- Ed Baird (J/24 World Champion) steering Doug Devos’ QUANTUM RACING (J/44 Great Lakes Champion/ Chicago-Mac Race winners). The same team has included Terry Hutchinson as skipper/ tactician (J/24 World Champion and now spearheading the New York YC America’s Cup campaign).
2nd- Harm Muller Spreer’s PLATOON- from Germany- J/70s
3rd- Alberto Roemmer’s AZZURA- from Italy- J/24s
4th- Takashi Okura’s SLED- from Japan- J/24s in Japan and J/70s in the USA
6th- Hasso Plattner & daughter Kristina Plattner’s PHOENIX- from Germany- J/24, J/105, J/125
7th- Vladimir Liubomirov’s BRONENOSEC- from Russia with USA tactician Morgan Larson- J/24s
9th- Tony Langley’s GLADIATOR- UK- J/24s in England

Sailing photo credits- Nico Martinez.  For more PalmaVela Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Palma SAILING Champions League- Qualifier I

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- This weekend, the SAILING Champions League will kick off in Palma de Mallorca. It's the premiere for Club Nautic Arenal Mallorca as the host club with a fleet of a dozen J/70 one-design sailboats.  The racing promises to be simply spectacular, as they will be racing on the same Bay of Palma as the “big boat” PalmaVela Regatta.

There will be twenty-seven teams from across Europe that will be racing in the unique “sailing league” format that was pioneered by the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga five years ago.  Teams that are sailing in the event include Austria (YC Hard), Denmark (Kongelig Dansk YC, Kalovig Badelaug, Frederikshavn Sejlklub), Finland (Nylandska Jaktklubben, Brando Seglare), France (Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf, Club de Voile de Saint Quentin), Germany (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, Wurttembergischer YC), Italy (Aeronautica Militare, Societa Canottieri Garda Salo), Lithuania (RS280 Club, Gergo Vejo Klubas, Sailing Club Greitis), Netherlands (WV Almere Centraal, Jachtclub Scheveningen), Norway (Moss Seilforening), Portugal (Clube de Vela de Lagos), Russia (Leviathan Sailing Team), Slovenia (JK MIPC, PD Morska Vidra), Spain (Club Nautic de Arenal), Sweden (Goteborg Kungliga Segelsallskap), Switzerland (Societe Nautique Geneve, Club Nautique de Versoix), and the United Kingdom (Royal Thames YC).

Like America’s recent very famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby with a $3.0 million dollar purse for the winner, “room at the mark" (or, fence) will be critical in such tight, hot racing action on 15-20 minutes double windward-leeward racing!  The handicappers at Ladbrokes UK will likely be trying to figure out which “horses” in this battle are going to qualify for the finale in September.  Based on past performance, there is no question these teams should be a factor at the top of the leaderboard:

• Societe Nautique Geneve- Guillaume Girod, Nicolas Anklin, Benoit Lagneux
• Moss Seilforening- Karl-Einar Jensen, Joern Erik Rudd, Paal Einar Berntsen, Roger Larsen
• WV Almere Centraal- John den Engelsman, Rob van Burik, Rinse Ubbink, Willem Jan van Dort
• Norddeutscher Regatta Verein- Florian Haufe, David Heitzig, Miklas Meyer, Dorian Heitzing
• Club de Voile Saint-Aubin Elbeuf- Sylvian Escurat, Juliete Dubreuil, Clement Margueray, Emilien Polaert
• KDY Royal Danish YC- Henrik Jensen, Henning Lambertsen, Niels Gramkow, Thomas Hartrig

Watch this fun, entertaining 2019 SAILING Champions League promotional video here on YouTube.
For more SAILING CHAMPIONS League sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

PalmaVela Regatta Preview

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The countdown begins for the first major offshore sailing event on the Mediterranean calendar. The 16th edition of Sail Racing PalmaVela begins on Thursday, with 124 teams from 23 countries. Organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the regatta will be held from the 8th to 12th of May. Four days of pure racing action on the simply spectacular Bay of Palma will decide the winners; the forecast for sun, wind, clear skies looks no less amazing.

A number of enthusiastic J/sailors will be participating from across Europe and the Mediterranean.  Perhaps, the most competitive class in the event will be the J/80s and it looks to be a latter day remake of the Spanish armada against the British main.  The Spanish teams include Dmitry Bishayev’s ROSHAMBO, Csaba Szentpetery’s ALOJA, Kristyn Gills’ NAUTIPAINTS, and Miquel Pujadas-Corro’s ATILA.  Showing up to this battle from Great Britain are COOPER RIGGING/ JOTAJUERGA and Andrew Cheetham’s CONFERMA/ NOW4.

In the world of ORC handicap racing are at least four fleets. In ORC 2 Class will be Olivier Parchet & Andrey Kochnev’s French team on the J/122 NOISY OYSTER. In ORC 4 Class will be Scott Beattie’s British crew on the J/97E JUST THE JOB.  For more PalmaVela Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 OPERA SEASON Wins Palma Vela

(Palma Majorca, Spain)- The 15th edition of the Sail Racing PalmaVela ended on a high note after four days of racing.  The sailors experienced the entire spectrum of wind intensities between just two and more than 20 knots, days in full sun and others under heavy rain, but always with the common denominator of exciting competition in the bay of Palma. 132 boats of 26 nationalities fought for glory, including a J/80 class with sailors from Spain, Germany, and United Kingdom.

The final day saw a gentle, challenging breeze on a gorgeous sunny day on the Bay of Palma.  The pressure of performing in the fluky, shifty winds determined which teams collected the winners' trophies at this traditional Mediterranean season opener.

For the J/80 class, that meant the German skipper, Thomas Bscher (on Pedro Mari’s J/80 OPERA SEASON), would finish with an almost perfect championship scoreline!  They won the last two races to add to their 1sts in the first four races to close with just 9 pts net, six points clear of the next boat. Second and third, respectively, were taken by two German teams, Sebastian Allebrodt’s MNEMONIC and Kristyn Gills’ JOTA JUERGA.

The 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela was organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, with the sponsorship of Sail Racing, the institutional sponsorship of the Balearic Government and the City Council of Palma, and with the collaboration of the Balearic Sailing Federation, Club Náutic S'Arenal and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands.  For more J/80 PalmaVela sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 OPERA SEASON Wins Palma Vela

(Palma Majorca, Spain)- The 15th edition of the Sail Racing PalmaVela ended on a high note after four days of racing.  The sailors experienced the entire spectrum of wind intensities between just two and more than 20 knots, days in full sun and others under heavy rain, but always with the common denominator of exciting competition in the bay of Palma. 132 boats of 26 nationalities fought for glory, including a J/80 class with sailors from Spain, Germany, and United Kingdom.

The final day saw a gentle, challenging breeze on a gorgeous sunny day on the Bay of Palma.  The pressure of performing in the fluky, shifty winds determined which teams collected the winners' trophies at this traditional Mediterranean season opener.

For the J/80 class, that meant the German skipper, Thomas Bscher (on Pedro Mari’s J/80 OPERA SEASON), would finish with an almost perfect championship scoreline!  They won the last two races to add to their 1sts in the first four races to close with just 9 pts net, six points clear of the next boat. Second and third, respectively, were taken by two German teams, Sebastian Allebrodt’s MNEMONIC and Kristyn Gills’ JOTA JUERGA.

The 15th Sail Racing PalmaVela was organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, with the sponsorship of Sail Racing, the institutional sponsorship of the Balearic Government and the City Council of Palma, and with the collaboration of the Balearic Sailing Federation, Club Náutic S'Arenal and the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands.  For more J/80 PalmaVela sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/97E Crushes PalmaVela Regatta

J/80 Youth Teams Love Sailing Palma!
(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- About 130 boats filled the bay to sail PalmaVela off the fabulous island of Palma Mallorca.  Unique for this year’s event was the introduction of two youth sailing teams that were participating in the J/80 class.  The host club, Real Club Nautica Palma, and fleet sponsors provided two J/80s for their RCNP Youth Sailing program.  The teams were coached by the club’s sailing director.

On the first day of sailing, the wind was slow to settle down, but it allowed sailing for all classes.  The fleet was blessed with nice sailing conditions all day long, with sunny skies and nice onshore breezes.  In the J/80s, the initial leader after posting a 3-1-1 tally was the local youth crew on OPERA SEASON, coached by Pedro Marí.

Mari was coaching both youth teams- OPERA SEASON and TEAM RCNP, the only female team in the entire regatta. All of them are sailors of the Real Club Nautico de Palma (RCNP) and have experience in national, European or world sailing dinghy. Their sporting commitments in their respective classes prevent them from participating in offshore keelboat competitions, except when the PalmaVela arrives and the opportunity arises to join the team!

The J/80 OPERA SEASON was provided by club partner Thomas Bscher, owner of the Wally 100 "Open Season" and the other J/80 was provided by RCNP partner Martín Aizcorbe; both gentlemen were thrilled to help with the training of young talents within RCNP on one-design offshore keelboats.

The crew of OPERA SEASON included Jordi Lladó (Optimist), Ramiro Foguet (Laser), Sion Rosselló and Arturo Madero (420). The Team RCNP crew had several outstanding women sailing athletes, including Maria Bover, Lala Akrich, Giulietta Lang, Tess Provenzal and Mar Ferragut; all of them are top 420 class skippers and crews!

Manu Fraga, sporting director of the Real Club Nautico de Palma, explains that the aim of both projects is to bring the offshore keelboat racing to the young sailors of the team, so that they know what it is like to sail aboard larger boats where, as a minimum, they are required to have four crew members.

"Although it is all still the same sport of sailing, there are dramatically different experiences and it is important the club offers these opportunities to our youth sailors! We are fortunate to have two generous supporters, Thomas Bscher and Martin Aizcorbe, to provide us their J/80 class sailboats," explains Mr Fraga.

Pedro Marí, coach of 420s at RCNP and coach of "Opera Season", has already been in charge of several of these projects. All his youth sailors, except Ramiro Foguet, are new. "We try to make the sailors rotate, to try different positions and roles in each race, they are fast learners on how to make the J/80 sail better,“ says Marí.

The second day of competition provided excellent conditions that allowed the fleet to complete the planned sailing schedule for all fleets. In the J/80 fleet, the day’s sailing produced a new leader in the form of the CODE ZERO team; they had a perfect day of 1-1-1!  Notably, in ORC 2 Class, Scott Beattie’s J/97E was easily leading their class after two days of racing.

The last day of competition of at PalmaVela was intense and even dramatic, with victories (and defeats) decided in-extremis in several classes. Five of them were played on a single card in a coastal format, while the rest took the time to play two or even three windward-leeward types.  In the ORC 2 Class, it was the J/97E JUST SO, sailed by Scott Beattie, which won counting all 1sts for a dramatic win in one of the toughest ORC classes at PalmaVela!

Beattie commented on their performance, “we have a good crew, a good boat and it is a credit to everyone on team, plus we had a bit of luck. If we do not do it right, it's our fault. We have won here twice, and we are looking forward to the Copa del Rey. The boat is rated as the slowest in the fleet, going well at 8-12 knots and flat sea, but when it blows more than 15 knots, the big boats begin to perform a little better."

The J/80 class saw Thomas Rudewald's CODE ZERO with seven 1sts in nine races!  Taking third was the RCNP Youth team coached by Pedro Mai.  Third was Gerhard Henssen and Braunschmidt Inken’s JOTA JUERGA.  Rounding out the top five was Miquel Pujadas and Miquel Corro’s ATILA in 4th and the all-women’s crew on TEAM RCNP skippered by Maria Bover Guerrero took 5th place (just 4 pts out of 3rd!).  A great showing for the women’s team comprised of 420 sailors!   Youth J/80 sailing videos at Palma Vela   For more Palma Vela Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

POLAROID TRESSIS Eclipses J/80 Copa del Rey

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- For the fifth consecutive year, the J/80s sailed the Copa del Rey Regatta in Palma Mallorca, hosted by Real Club Nautico de Palma.  The nineteen-boat fleet enjoyed spirited competition in the typically gorgeous weather offered up on Palma’s azure blue semi-circular bay.

The fleet enjoyed twelve races over their four-day series.  A surprise winner topped the overall standings after very tight racing, Daniel de la Pedraja’s ONO POLAROID TRESSIS from Real Club Marina Santander.  Their five 1sts and two 2nds permitted them to sit out the last race and still win on 30 pts net.

Left gasping for air in the vacuum left behind the speedy POLAROID team were several Spanish J/80 World Champions!  Taking second was the trio of Rafael Esposito, Pepequin Orbaneja and Javier Padron Torrent sailing MARBELLA TEAM with 37 pts net.  Regatta sponsor’s HERBALIFE TEAM, sailed by Alex Diaz and Jesus Amaliach from Real Club Nautico Palma, took third overall with 41 pts net.  The balance of the top five was made up of two World Champions; Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON-MOVISTAR take 4th place and Jose Maria van der Ploeg’s NAUTICA WATCHES place 5th.

Of note, a fleet of Italian J/80s participated in the event, bringing along their “joi’d’vivre”, their top team was Giacomo Loro Piana’s MARY J in 11th, followed by Massimo Rama’s JENIALE in 13th and Franco Loro Piana’s JAMMING in 15th.  The Loro Piana family are members of the famous Italian fashion house by the same name, sailing for YC Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo.  For more Copa del Rey sailing information

J/80 Copa del Rey Preview

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- Twenty J/80 teams will compete for the fifth consecutive year in the Copa del Rey Regatta in Palma Mallorca.   The J/80’s debuted at the regatta in Palma in 2011 and since then, the class has been a fixture on the pontoons of the Real Club Nautico de Palma during each edition.

The list of teams includes many that sailed in the recent J/80 World Championships in Kiel, Germany.  Top amongst those teams will be several podium finishers at past World Championships.  Any one of these teams have the potential to win the regatta, including Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON MOVISTAR; José Maria Van der Ploeg’s NAUTICA WATCHES (winner in 2011, second in 2012 and third in 2014); Carlos Martinez’s AKEWUELE (winner in 2012, second in 2014 and third in 2013); and Javier Aguado’s OXITAL/ PEUGEOT (second in 2011).

After demonstrating excellent performance in the cold waters off Kiel, where he led the provisional standings during the first four days of racing, there is no question that de Antonio’s BRIBON MOVISTAR do not want to become the bridesmaid again and are hoping to improve on their fourth place in the 2014 Copa del Rey regatta.  He knows his rivals will not make that achievement easy, “the conditions in the Bay of Palma will be totally different from the Worlds in Kiel and the level of competition is extremely high," says de Antonio.

In addition to the strong Spanish teams in attendance, four teams have traveled from Italy to participate in the awesome, sun-soaked sailing offered by the Bay of Palma.  Leading the way for the Italians is Massimo Rama’s JENIALE and he is joined by Giacomo Loro’s MARY J, Nicola Savoini’s NITE and Lorenzo Cerretelli’s NOVITAHOME.COM.  The two candidates for “longest distance” traveled would have to be Sweden’s Thomas Rudewald sailing PALOMA BLANCA as well as Argentina’s Luis Rosad skippering WUAKI.TV.

The regatta program provides for a maximum of 12 windward/leeward races between Monday, August 3, and Saturday, August 8th.   For more Copa del Rey sailing information

BRIBON MOVISTAR Glitters @ Palmavela

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- After three days of light to moderate airs on the gorgeous bay that encircles Palma Mallorca, the extremely competitive J/80 class that sailed the GAASTRA Palmavela Regatta hosted by Real Club Nautico de Palma had a repeat champion- Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON—MOVISTAR from Real Club Nautico de Barcelona.

On the first day of sailing, the fleet raced in a south-westerly breeze between 5 and 10 knots.  BRIBON-MOVISTAR began the day by defending the title with three victories out of three possible. That allowed them to return to shore four points ahead of their nearest rival, José Maria Van der Ploeg’s J/80 World Champion team on NAUTICA WATCHES (2-2-4) and eight over Pedro Mari’s OPERA SEASON (5-4-2).

For their second day of sailing, the wind took a while to show up, but it managed to propel the fleet with speeds between 5 to 20 knots by late afternoon.  The one-design classes were able to complete the three races scheduled for the day.

In J/80s, it was almost a perfect day for BRIBON-MOVISTAR again, collecting a 1-1-3 for a total of six victories out of seven possible. The defending champions discards their third in today’s last race, and leads over nearest rival, Van der Ploeg’s NAUTICA WATCHES by eight points. Two points behind them continued to be Marí’s OPERA SEASON with a 4-4-1.

The final day again saw relatively light, uncharacteristic breezes for Palma, but sufficient for the J/80 class to have another three races.  After a total of nine races, the BRIBON-MOVISTAR team closed with a 1-1-2 to win with an imposing seven of nine possible victories!  Second place went to Van der Ploeg’s crew on NAUTICA WATCHES with 22 pts.  Just three points back after a close battle was Javier Chacartegui’s crew on HM-HOTELS with 25 pts.  Mari’s crew on OPERA SEASON fell off the pace and dropped to fourth overall after closing with a 3-5-5.  Taking fifth overall was Jose Carlos Frau’s BUFETE FRAU from CN Arenal.  The top foreign team was the German team on JOY TOY sailed by Gerd Henssen and Inken Braunschmidt in 10th place.   For more Gaastra Palmavela sailing information

Palmavela Preview

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The Gaastra PalmaVela regatta will celebrate its twelfth edition with a multi-coloured fleet, consolidating its international status as the Mediterranean’s first big boat sailing event of the season.  117 boats from 16 different nationalities will be hosted by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, where flags will be flown from Germany, Antigua, Spain, France, Holland, Hong Kong, England, Ireland, British Virgin Islands, Italy, Monaco, Portugal, Russian, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States.

The Gaastra PalmaVela Regatta was first held in 2004 as an ambitious project to “convert Palma into the Mediterranean capital of sailing”, explains Manuel Fraga. Eleven years later, the regatta has established itself as the principal kick-off event of the offshore keelboat season in the Mediterranean.

“The key word is adaptation”, adds Fraga, “There are a lot of regattas on the calendar, but in the last decade Gaastra PalmaVela has managed to continue filling the spectacular Bay of Palma de Mallorca with boats and sails in springtime”.

The racing programme of Gaastra PalmaVela 2015 will alternate coastal racing with windward/leeward races throughout the four days. J sailors will be participating in J/80 one-designs as well as in the ORC handicap classes.

A number of top Spanish and German teams are sailing as part of their preparations for the upcoming J/80 World Championship in Kiel, Germany.  Champion sailors like Marc de Antonio from Barcelona will be skippering BRIBON-MOVISTAR and his team will be up against fierce competitors like Javier Chacartegui Cirerol on HM HOTELS, Sebastian Allebrodt on MNEMONIC and World Champion Jose Marie van der Ploeg on NAUTICA WATCHES.  One Swedish team will be on the line- Tom Bscher’s OPERA SEASON- TEAM RCNP.  And, two German teams should be in the hunt as well- Dirk Euler’s LIMMAT EXPRESS and Inken Braunschmidt’s JOY TOY.

The large ORC Offshore Division will have to contend with Juan Carlos Sanchis’ J/92S CAFE DEL MAR from CNS Antonio.  For more Gaastra Palmavela sailing information

J/36 Sunset Cruising- Sailing The Med!

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- Norm Curnow’s J/36 JAZZ from the United Kingdom continues its adventures across the Mediterranean.  Like Stan Joine’s perspective above, Norm has been a big fan of his J/36 after sailing her for several tens of thousands of miles both single-handed and double-handed.  Here’s a quick update from Norm:

“Things that make a cruiser-racer worthwhile even after 35 years of sailing my J/36:


Sunset traveling home after a visit to Crete










The kevlar jib after 50-plus knots of wind














Trophies won in one of the good seasons












At rest at the top of the Straits of Messina








Once again in Palma Majorca off Spain









Finally, were it all started in the USA as Rod Johnstone’s JAZZ.  We won the trophy for the most traveled boat in 2014 at my local sailing club- Saltash Sailing Club! Fantastic!”

J/36 JAZZ Sailing Cruising Saga Continues

(Palma Majorca, Spain)- The J/36 JAZZ continues her experiences three decades after she left Stonington/ Newport- it was originally Rod Johnstone’s boat for summer-fun sailing in 1983.  Her current owner from the United Kingdom, Norm Curnow shared this recent update:

“I must share something with you and fellow J/sailors around the world about my trip back from Crete, where I got caught up in a squall of  37-50 kts!!

As some of you know, I have sailed many thousands of miles in my sailing years- 100,000nm plus!!  So, I left Majorca early just as the light lit the sky, no wind, motoring about 6 kts along the north of the island.  Two to three hours out, I am now passing Dragonero.  Still no wind.  But then, there it is! Off with the engine, out with kevlar jib and already had carbon main up with full battens!  Mistral in clear air??  Maybe.  Time to roll!

JAZZ soon had her skirts up, 6-7 kts and going great, then 9-10 kts no problem.  Hello!  Looks dark over on the horizon, SE wind blowing now, then from NNE.  Going along nicely.

Onward another 5 miles.  Then, bang! The boat was healing to her gunwales under the water.  I dumped the main.  Got to get that jib in. Pulled like hell, can't move the thing.  Too much wind.  Then it starts, lumps of sail start flying, kevlar about 6 inches square.  Oh no!!  Forget the jib, save the main. Pulling it down.

The next problem. Hail as big as marbles, starts striking me on the back of hand, every strike was like breaking bones. I grab the dinghy floor that I cover my gas (petrol) tanks with; I slide down into the sole of the cockpit, still dumping the mainsheet! Modern man’s version of comfort while in Hell!

The pain is unbelievable.  I'm feeling sick, still dumping the mainsheet, got to save that main.  Thank goodness, the autopilot is steering well; dipping the boom ever so often.  This is about the worst condition I've ever been in.

I slowly get myself out of the cramped cockpit.  I roll in the jib, the only thing left was the clew-reinforced part of the sail and the luff and foot cords.  It had taken at least a third of the sail.  Main was OK, only the 4th batten poked through and disappeared in the wind.  What did I do next? Swore and cursed and motored to San Antonio 50 miles away! More on this story soon!”