ANNAPOLIS NOOD A CELEBRATION FOR J/CREWS!

 

J/22 SCOOBY Crowned as Overall Winner!

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

What was that plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

How did things go down in the other classes?  

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


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


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


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

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

CHALLENGING NEWPORT 2 ENSENADA RACE

Mother Nature Throws Everything including Kitchen Sink @ Racers!

(Newport Beach, CA)– One hundred three boats started the traditional 125.0nm race to Ensenada; while nineteen did the 14.0nm sprint course to Dana Point, CA; and forty-one chose the course around the Coronado Islands with a finish after 92.0nm in San Diego, CA.

Here is the report from on-board the J/145 KATARA:

"KATARA and sistership J/145 PALAEMON have competed head-to-head numerous times along the California coast and are always well-matched. The two sisters were scheduled to participate in the 2021 N2E Ensenada course when PALAEMON owner Rudy Hasl contacted KATARA owner Roger Gatewood, letting him know that if we switched to the Newport to San Diego course two other J/145s, ANDIAMO 2 and MORE MADNESS, would join us. The chance to race four of these powerhouses against each other head-to-head was a no-brainer! Sign us up, was our response!  

The race started in a pleasant 8-10kt southerly breeze with all four 145s on their light-medium genoas. KATARA took the inside slot and spent the first several hours exchanging leads with PALAEMON, a mile or so further out. As the breeze slowly shifted right KATARA deployed her Tweener sail. While it didn’t buy much, KATARA started ever so slowly edging out with maybe a 0.1kt edge at times. As the breeze continued to decay and slowly shift right KATARA peeled to the A1 and PALAEMON to the A2. 

The breeze continued to decay as the sun set and the 145s approached North Coronado island, a mark of the course. As we approached the rock, KATARA’s navigator noticed that AIS indicated that, after nearly 80.0nm of racing, all four J/145s were inside of a 1.0nm ring of one another! WOW! This was close racing offshore!

The breeze fell off to near 'triple-naughts' (0.00 kts) as the four big J’s struggled to find a path around the rock. KATARA and PALAEMON found small zephyrs of air and slowly escaped to the East side of the rock. The final 12.0nm was a constant battle of KATARA sneaking out a half mile before losing her air and having PALAEMON close the gap again and approach from the rear. Ultimately, KATARA held her lead, finishing just over 8 minutes ahead of their friends on PALAEMON. ANDIAMO 2 and MORE MADNESS were less fortunate with the rock and it’s difficult breeze, finishing some 3 hours later. 

The following evening, PALAEMON's owner/ skipper Rudy Hasl, a San Diego Yacht Club member, hosted what was likely the largest gathering of J/145 sailors ever, organizing a dinner with over 50 guests between the four crews! Much, much fun was had by all....kudo's to Rudy and crew for organizing the group and the shindig at the club! THANK YOU!"

Apparently, KATARA and PALAEMON plan to compete again in the SoCal 300 and hope the other two sisterships join them!


As for the rest of the Newport to Ensenada event, here's how those races went for other J/Teams.  

For the Newport 2 Ensenada course, Viggo Torbensen's J/125 TIME SHAVER took the silver in PHRF A class with Scott Torrance's J/124 FORGIVENESS taking fifth place.  In PHRF B Class, Dave Gorney's J/105 NO COMPROMISE took the bronze. Then, in PHRF C Class, Chuck Bowes' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER placed fourth. 

For the Newport to San Diego race, while the quartet of J/145s were dueling each other, it was Tom Barker's J/65 GOOD CALL that took the silver in PHRF A class. Notably, GOOD CALL lost to an all-carbon Swan 65, mostly stripped out, with all brand-new carbon sails while GOOD CALL enjoyed their on-board 100-bottle wine cooler, five stateroom HVAC system, satellite-connected broadband Wi-Fi, and four stainless-steel slide-out drawers (refrigerator/ freezer) full of food, caviar, champagne, and other yummy things. The off-watch on GOOD CALL is just as popular, perhaps more for some, than sitting on deck on a full-moon night with the moon light dancing across the undulating Pacific swells...hmmmm, tough choice! 


In the PHRF B class, Tom Pollack's J/124 MARISOL took the silver with Mike McCarthy's J/88 BLUE FLASH finishing in fourth place. 

Finally, in the Newport to Dana Point "wind-sprint", it was Charles Brewer's J/124 HEARTBEAT 4 winning, followed by Tom Garrett's youth team on the J/70 SLOOP JOHN B in fourth, and Matt Campbell's J/120 ADIOS in fifth place. 

On social media, follow all the action on these links:
Facebook- Facebook.com/newporttoensenada
Instagram- Instagram.com/newport_to_ensenada
Twitter- Twitter.com/newsfromnosa
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GREAT LAKES COLLEGE KEELBOAT RACING ANNOUNCEMENT!

(Chicago, IL)- The 2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta will be held September 24th to 26th in Chicago, IL. This annual fall regatta provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to experience offshore keelboat racing with past participating teams coming from college sailing programs in the Midwest and beyond.

Chicago T10 and J/105 fleet members provide the sailboats and are on-board during racing as a safety precaution. The collegiate sailors drive, crew the boat, and manage strategy and tactics. Chicago-area yacht clubs provide facilities, and the fleets provide financial support, participant gifts and awards.

The regatta consists of windward/leeward buoy races on Lake Michigan offshore of Chicago. Teams arrive on Friday and have the opportunity to practice on their assigned boats that afternoon. Race committee attempts as many races as possible all-day Saturday and on Sunday morning. Award ceremonies are Sunday during lunch and teams have the afternoon for travel back to campus.

Past participating college teams have included; Michigan, Michigan State, Miami of Ohio, Hope College, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Grand Valley State, Toledo, Northwestern, St. Mary’s College of Md., Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Ohio State, South Florida, Miami, Baldwin Wallace, Indiana University, Marquette, Cleveland State University, United States Naval Academy, University of South Carolina, Notre Dame, Illinois-Chicago and more.

Past participating Chicago J/105 one-design fleet owners have included; THE ASYLUM, SEALARK, VYTIS, FLYING PIG, GANGBUSTERS, KINSHIP, and more....hopefully many more this year! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NEWPORT 2 ENSENADA RACE PREVIEW

(Newport Beach, CA)– Nearly 170 boats will cross the start line of the 73rd Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, April 23rd off the Balboa Pier. Perhaps the cleverest element of the event is the race organizers- NOSA- have offered three courses to the intrepid adventurers that cannot wait to get out on the open, unrestricted, Pacific Ocean! Talk about "horses for courses", more than two dozen J/Teams are entered in all three ocean "sprints".  The classic race goes from Newport Beach/ Balboa Pier start line to Ensenada, Mexico and that start line has 120 boats doing the 125.0nm passage.  Twenty boats will take the day-race course down to Dana Point (about 25.0nm) and forty boats will take the mid-range course around the Coronado Islands and finish off Point Loma in San Diego.  

A big "thanks" to everyone for good behavior and helping to reduce COVID restrictions. And, an even bigger "thanks" to the Mexican Navy offering landing assistance so that sailors will be able to safely disembark and enjoy Ensenada.

Answering that "siren song" to go offshore seems innate and is a common bond for many sailors. In a 1962 America's Cup dinner given by the Australian Ambassador at the Vanderbilt family's former estate- The Breakers- then USA President John F. Kennedy made some prophetic remarks about that passion on September 14th, 1962. Listen to it here. He explained:

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And, it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came."



Recently, when one person about to sail the race was asked "why sail the N2E", he commented:

"There’s a misconception about yacht racing, boat racing, in that some think it’s stuffy, blue-blazer-boring kind of stuff. But, in reality it's not. Sailing is a fun passion-based hobby, in which everyone has a story about overcoming adversity. Sailing is really about solving problems; things break as boats do and you figure it out. Perhaps the best part? It's sitting with a crew member at the helm in the middle of the night, 30 miles offshore, freezing, talking about life, watching the moon; man taking on machine and nature, the whole thing is magical.”


Sailing the classic N2E course are John Staff's J/111 OBSIDIAN, Scott Torrance's J/124 FORGIVENESS, Dave Gorney's J/105 NO COMPROMISE, Chuck Bowes' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, and Brian Kerr's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN.

Taking the fast-track out and around the Coronado Islands to San Diego is the largest collection of J/145s ever- four of them- including Robert Pace's ANDIAMO 2, Roger Gatewood's KATARA, Ernie Pennell's MORE MADDNESS, and Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON. Joining them will be Tom Pollack's J/124 MARISOL, Dean Stanec's J/130 NIGHT'S WATCH, Derek Gaertner's J/27 PROJECT 53, Fed Hayem's J/46 MISTER J, and Mike McCarthy's J/88 BLUE FLASH. On a PHRF overall handicap basis, that will be one remarkably competitive division!


Another tough collection of J/Crews are sailing the Newport to Dana Point race. Talk about a wind-sprint! Taking a "swing for the fences" in this race are Joaquin Cobelo's J/109 MARIAH, Matt Campbell's J/120 ADIOS, Charles Brewer's J/124 HEARTBEAT 4, Jock McGraw's J/22 TEKEELA, Tom Garrett's youth team on the J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, and the duo of Richard Bennett & David Matthews on the J/92 FIREWATER. 

As pandemic restrictions have been lifted, options for social activities have increased. The annual Yachtsmen’s Luncheon and pre-race dinner at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, albeit without the infamous crowds, are being held. Plans for Sunday’s trophy ceremonies at the festive Hotel Coral and Marina are still being determined, pending the number of revelers, and in coordination with the host city’s guidelines. In light of Ensenada’s restrictions on large gatherings, Sunday afternoon’s awards ceremony, always joyful and celebratory, may be conducted in shifts.  For more Newport 2 Ensenada Race sailing information

On social media, follow all the action on these links:
Facebook.com/newporttoensenada
Instagram.com/newport_to_ensenada
Twitter.com/newsfromnosa
 Add to Flipboard Magazine.

2022 J/24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN CORPUS CHRISTI!

(Corpus Christi, TX)- The International J/24 Class Association (IJCA) will hold its 2022 World Championship at Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, Texas USA from July 14th to 22nd, 2022. Due to pandemic-related concerns, the scheduled host for the 2021 Worlds in Mendoza, Argentina will move to a later year. 

Brad Stokes, Regatta Chair, said, “Corpus Christi Yacht Club, host of the 1988, 1982 and 1979 J/24 North American Championships and recipient of the US Sailing St. Petersburg trophy for excellence in race management is pleased to welcome J/24 sailors to experience our favorable wind conditions and our southern hospitality.”

IJCA Chair Will Welles added, “We are very pleased that Corpus Christi will host the 2022 Worlds, and we are hoping that many teams will come and compete in this great sailing venue!”  Sailing photo credits- Priscilla Parker. For more J/24 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

AWESOME 25TH ANNIVERSARY CHARLESTON RACE WEEK!

(Charleston, SC)- Expectations were high for this year's celebration of the 25th anniversary of Charleston Race Week. Hosted at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, the dozens of volunteers from the Charleston Offshore Racing Association (CORA) delivered in spades after more than a year off. With the added bonus of having the weather Godz cooperate for once, most all fleets were able to fulfill their full schedule of races, with most one-design fleets experiencing ten races after three days of sailing!


The sailors experienced mostly sunny days with southerly winds; with winds varying from southeast to southwest, depending on the degree of cloud cover, and breezes ranging in velocities from 6 to 16 kts. As usual, the mostly ebbing currents of up to 3.5 knots played havoc with laylines both upwind and downwind for many sailors...many boats "doing donuts" after hitting one of the robotic MarkSetBots being used as marks. 

A total of 188 boats in 16 classes were finally able to celebrate the 25th anniversary race week in Charleston, SC. Not surprisingly, passionate J/Sailors across the country couldn't wait for this rendezvous with destiny! Of the 188 boats registered, 103 of them were J/Boats sailors (a stunning 55.0% of the fleet)!  


The regatta featured five one-design J/Classes, including J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/88s, and J/105s.  In addition, there were two “Pursuit-style” sailing divisions for both PHRF and ORC handicap rated boats that included a J/30, J/35, J/109s, J/111s, J/120s, J/121s and a J/122. 

Starting with the biggest fleet in the regatta, the J/70s near runaway winner was Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE. With the red bull billowing broadly on their big white chute, there were most often seen at the front of the fleet, posting seven podium finishes to win with just 24 pts net; quite a feat in this hotly contested fleet! Joel Ronning's CATAPULT returned to their regatta-winning form and gave the Stampeders a good run-for-the-money, but were not able to close the gap fast enough on the last day, taking the silver with 40 pts net. Rounding out the podium was Mike Goldfarb's WAR CANOE, winning two races on their way to earning the bronze with 43 pts net.  The balance of the top five include John Heaton's Chicago team on EMPEIRIA in fourth and Dave Jannetti's VERY ODD in fifth. 

The J/70 Corinthians Division was won by Henry Filter's Napolitan crew on WILD CHILD, followed by Alex Meleny's TRUCKIN in second, and Mike Sabinash's SABOTAGE in third position. 


The large 19-boat J/24 class saw a full-blown duel take place for class honors. In such a classic confrontation, it was the final race that determined the outcome for the two protagonists that are well-known amongst J/24 class veterans- Kirk Reynolds on TYRUS and Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS. After trading off bullets in the first six races, it became a war of attrition to see who would blink last. In the end, it was Reynolds' TYRUS crew that avoided the "send it down the mine shaft" race to win by two points. Glackin's MENTAL FLOSS crew sailed a stellar series, save for their 9th place in race 2 that slowed down their chances for the win. Watching the fireworks taking place all weekend-long from the bleacher seats was Denny Vaughn's HABANERO, themselves winning two races but suffering from inconsistency to settle for the bronze. Rounding out the top five were Chris Stone's VELOCIDAD and Jim Thurlow's FORTITUDE in fourth and fifth, respectively. 


The J/22s were subject to a good'ole butt-whippin' by Justin DaMore's YEM team, counting seven bullets in their scoreline to win with a mere nine points net. An easy second-place performance was earned by Fed Plasecki's CoC 7 team with 17 pts. net. The bronze went to Nathan Bowen's USA 8 team with 29 pts. net. 


A near-dozen J/88s showed up for some of that famous southern hospitality and no one left disappointed. Great sailing, great food, spirited competition across the board. Such was the evenness of the racing that every single boat on the podium had a double-digit race to get discarded, a first to be sure for this class. Sitting in third place after the first day, brothers John & Jordan Leahey's DUTCH from Chicago, IL decided they were ONLY going one-way on day two- "go left young man" was the local advice they heeded in spades. For four straight races, they would start at the port end of the line, check-in with the tour guides at Fort Sumter, stamp their ticket for being the ONLY boat in the left corner, then proceed to the windward mark to rejoin the fleet. A winning formula it was for that day! They were rewarded with three bullets in four races to leap to the front of the fleet at the end of the "moving day" (the second to last day of the regatta). The final day dawned gray and served up the most bizarre wind conditions of the regatta. Not doing themselves any favors, the DUTCH team posted their second-worst race of the regatta with a 9th place. That left the final race to determine who amongst the top three teams would win the regatta. In the end, the DUTCH'ers traded in their "left turn signal" for a "right turn signal" in the finale...and rolled the dice. In short, that strategy worked again..."when in doubt, hit a corner", if not left, then why not right?! LOL. DUTCH won the final race to take class honors by 4 pts. Second went to their arch-nemesis in the hotly-contested J/88 Chicago Fleet- Andy Graff's EXILE. Just three points back, after torpedoing their chances at a class win with a DFL in race 9, was Justin Scagnelli and Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS from the Long Island Sound J/88 fleet. The balance of the top five included Brian O'Malley's BLUE in fourth and Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY in fifth.  


Not surprisingly, the J/105 fleet was treated to a complete "white-washing" by Ken Horne's Houston, TX team on FINAL FINAL. Proving themselves in the 2019 J/105 North American Championship in Marblehead, MA with a second place, Horne's crew continues to post strong performances in the class. After nine bullets in nine races, they elected to not sail the last race and went home. The Schaedler/ Taylor duo on WHISTLER posted eight podium finishes in their final tally to take home the silver. Third was Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL with 35 pts net. The rest of the top five were Joe Pitcavage's SPECTACLE in fourth and Bill McKenzie's RUM FRONT in fifth place. 


The ORC B Offshore division was treated to a podium sweep by three top J/Teams. Winning for the millionth-time was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK with 6 pts net. They were challenged hard by two J/121s. Bob Christoph's LOKI traded bullets with TEAMWORK in a few races, but that was not enough to overcome TEAMWORK's consistency. Both teams tossed 3rds (!) but LOKI had to count one more third to settle for second place. Third was Bill Wiggin's & Ashley Maltempo's WINGS. 


In PHRF A Pursuit Spin division, J/Teams took six of the top eight places. Richard Moore's J/120 KEELFORCE took the silver with Bob Musor's J/130 SCEPTRE earning the bronze. Fourth was John Keenan's J/120 ILLYRIA, sixth Willy Schwenzfeier's J/35 ARROW, seventh Ed Goss' J/36 SOUL, an eighth Bill Hanckel's J/120 EMOCEAN. 


The PHRF B Pursuit Spin division, the Warrior Sailing Team took third place with their J/95 WARRIOR 95, while Mark Swatta's J/30 LAS BRISAS finished fifth. 

Thanks to Quantum Sail Design Group for its team of professionals that did on-site daily weather briefings, discuss tactics and strategy provided on-the-water "live" commentary on all racing circles. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNOUNCING THE SPANISH J/80 SAILING SERIES!

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

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

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

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

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

ST. THOMAS INTERNATIONAL REGATTA PREVIEW

(St. Thomas, USVI)- The starting horn is set to sound on the 2021 St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR) March 26th to 28th, launching three days of keen competition in one of the world’s top yacht racing destinations. Board members of the host St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) and STIR organizers have worked diligently and with strong support from the United States Virgin Islands Departments of Tourism and Health to plan a best of both worlds event. That is, highly competitive yacht racing with COVID-19 protocols in place on land and sea to protect the health and safety of sailors and island residents alike. The warm-up distance-style Round the Rocks Race on March 25th adds another great way for sailors to socially-distance at sea. Register for both at stthomasinternationalregatta.com

“It is our pleasure to welcome participants attending this year’s St. Thomas International Regatta. I commend the St. Thomas Yacht Club for ensuring that COVID-19 protocols are in place so competitors and spectators can safely enjoy the action both on and off our waters. We encourage everyone to comply with the Territory’s safety measures as they navigate our islands, experience our beautiful waters, rich history and culture, and the warmth of our people,” says Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of Tourism, U.S. Virgin Islands.

COVID-Safety Top of Mind
Sound COVID-19 protocols implemented by the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands have kept infection rates low. Key among these is that every traveler, age 5 and older, entering the territory by air or sea, is required to use the USVI Travel Screening Portal and submit a COVID-19 test result before travel. Upon arrival, social distancing is the rule and, in most businesses, ‘No Mask, No Service’ is in force.

At STIR, social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand sanitization stations are among COVID-19 protocols. On the water, crews in boats such as the one-design IC24 are limited to three this year, and bigger boat classes will remain in social bubbles throughout the regatta. 

Who’s Racing
The big boat CSA Racing Class entries include LIQUID, the perpetually podium-placing J/122 raced by Antigua’s Pamala Baldwin; and for their first time, Marco Teixidor's Puerto Rican team on the J/111 CACHONDO. 

The largest class in STIR 2021 will be the One-Design IC-24s (the modified Caribbean J/24) with 20 entries. Because of their familiarity with J/24s, a number of American teams are headed down to the Caribbean for fun and frolic! Those teams include Chicago, Illinois’ Joe Hummel; his wife and friends will charter the IC-24 ROUNDABOUT from the St. Thomas Sailing Center (STSC) to race.

“My wife and I are avid sailors on Lake Michigan. In the off-season, we try to get out sailing and typically visit St. Pete in February and the Caribbean in March. Four of us will be racing, and since the crew is limited to 3 this year, we’ll be rotating one off each day. Given the 2 feet of snow and freezing temperatures at home, you can imagine how much we’re looking forward to sailing and enjoying USVI and in particular STYC.”

Two other teams from the Chicago area will be joining them; including Jarrett Altmin on SOUL SHINE and Jay Butler's BLACK PEARL from Oak Park, IL. 

The STYC and STIR organizers thank the USVI Department of Tourism; Michelob Ultra, Stoli, Bacardi, and Milagro distributed by West Indies Company; and several other sponsors organizers look forward to announcing shortly. Sailing photo credits- Ingrid Abery/ STIR  For more St Thomas International Regatta sailing information

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J/70 BACARDI INVITATIONAL PREVIEW

(Miami, FL)- This coming weekend, the Bacardi Invitational for the J/70 class takes place on Miami's Biscayne Bay, hosted by the Shake-A-Leg Foundation, with race management conducted by the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.

The twenty-four boat J/70 fleet has multiple teams with impressive pedigrees in this highly competitive class. Past J/70 World Champion Joel Ronning on CATAPULT has to be a front runner with back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2018, although he dropped to 4th last year. 

In 2020 and 2019, Ryan McKillen and his team on SURGE had to settle for second place and will hope to improve upon that this year. Their target is firmly in sight, with a win at the recent Bacardi Winter Series 2, with new crew on board in the form of Olympian Lucas Calabrese, who may be the component to secure an upgrade. 

Always sitting high up the leader board is Brian Keane and his SAVASANA team. He previously placed 7th and 3rd as well as securing top five finishes at the J/70 Worlds. 

Pamela Rose and her team on ROSEBUD have been steadily advancing up the leader board, rounding out Bacardi Winter Series 2 in 3rd place, and clearly have the skill to stake their claim on the podium. 

During the Bacardi Cup there will be a special tribute to honor the life and legacy of James ‘Ding’ Schoonmaker who passed away on January 19, 2021. It was the special friendship between Ding, Tito Argamasilla Bacardi, and Frank Zagarino who in 1962 brought the Bacardi Cup to Miami from Cuba, thus saving this unique and special regatta.  For more Bacardi J/70 Invitational Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.