J/105s Prevail in Dave Wall Memorial Race

(Marina del Rey, CA)- In one of the first sanctioned races in Santa Monica Bay in a long time, on June 13th the Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association (PSSA) held its regularly scheduled single/ doublehanded “inverted start” from Marina Del Rey to Redondo Beach and back.

The 16.0nm course attracted what must be a recent record of thirty-two entries. The fleet included a pair of J/105s, a pair of J/92s, a J/29 and J/80. The Class 1 Singlehanded class had 12 boats, while the Class 2 Doublehanded class fielded 16 boats.

The fleet was blessed with a somewhat classical SoCal offshore day. Sunny, good breeze, and in the mid-70s F. In consistent wind of 14-16 knots that ranged from a beam reach to close hauled, Dan Murphy and Rob Dekker sailed their J/105 CUCHULAINN to the top of the leaderboard, more than two minutes ahead of their nearest competitor, the J/29 ZULU sailed by owner Caesar Berger and Ronald Augustsson. Just off the pace was the famous J/80 AVET, the duo of Curt Johnson and Paul Burnett took fourth place. Notably, working out their early season kinks to take an 8th place was Brian Kerr and Edwina Gillin's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN. 

Charles Spear in his J/105 TWELVE BAR BLUES finished second amongst the Class 1 Singlehanded boats.  

Supporting Doublehanded Sailing Growth

(London, United Kingdom)- World Sailing has established a dedicated section for doublehanded offshore sailing to support the growth and interest in this segment of the sport.

Following the selection of a Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat Event at Paris 2024, event numbers for doublehanded offshore events in One-Design boats and handicap racing have increased.

The dedicated section on Sailing.org provides information on Paris 2024, as well as a list of doublehanded offshore events that will be regularly updated. A section on equipment is also included.

To encourage focus on the discipline of offshore sailing itself rather than on specific equipment, the Paris 2024 Olympic Equipment will be selected relatively close to the event.

The broad discipline of doublehanded offshore sailing, which includes all doublehanded events over 50 miles in length, with no gender restrictions, and sailed one-design or under any rating system (e.g. ORC, IRC, or regional systems) can guide sailors to focus their preparation efforts on the required skills to succeed. Skills such as seamanship, navigation, weather prediction, route selection, boat-handling and, of course, fast sailing.

The 2024 Mixed Keelboat Offshore Event will be a representation of this discipline. A very specific, one-race, mixed-gender, one-design, supplied-equipment, event with a specified duration.

In recent weeks and months, a 2024 Offshore Equipment Working Party, that brings together members of the Equipment Committee and Oceanic and Offshore Committee, have been in consultation with manufacturers of offshore boats. The Working Party is developing a set of criteria in consultation with the industry both for the Paris 2024 Olympic event and for the qualification events.

An initial draft of the criteria will be made public and accessible when available here.

Towards the end of 2019, World Sailing issued a Request for Information to engage manufacturers and classes in the discussions around the equipment. World Sailing received 12 responses from manufacturers and designers who provided information on initial proposals. The principal brand represented, fully one-fourth of the dozen recommended, were J/Boats- the J/88, J/99, and J/105.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the manufacturers all met World Sailing collectively via a video conference. Discussions centered around opportunities for all fleets, how World Sailing can help all manufacturers thrive and increase events, as well as emphasizing the importance of equipment equalization and the one-design aspect for the Paris 2024 Olympic event to ensure the focus remains on the skills of the sailor.

The discussion was positively received by all manufacturers as they underlined their commitment to ensuring the continued growth of the discipline. The criteria for suitable Equipment for the Olympic Offshore Event will be published no later than 31 December 2020 and the Equipment will be selected no later than 31 December 2023.

Promoters of sailing circuits, training camps, and event organizers seeking to incorporate doublehanded offshore events are invited to contact World Sailing to contribute to the promotion of this exciting and fast-growing discipline. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Singlehanded Challenge Launches in China

The dream of sailing a singlehanded boat across the China Sea started back in 2015. “Hualian”, as he is known, dreamed of sailing a J/80 sailboat specially equipped to handle the challenges of sailing offshore for 1,600 nm (about 3,000 km). No one has done it before and, in China, such challenges are seen in the same light as other famous Chinese climbers getting to the top of the world’s tallest mountain- Mount Everest at 29,029 feet tall.

Hualian’s first two attempts in 2019 were not completed. In the first attempt, he exclaims, “I experienced 30 knots sustained winds and very low temperature of minus 5 degrees (that’s very cold with wind chill!). I hang up the fishing net, so to speak, and I give up, as the conditions were getting dangerous. The second attempt was just before the late fall. However, because I experienced failure of my main power generation and navigation equipment, I had to stop sailing before the end of the first 24 hours. So, sadly and unfortunately, I had to give up, again.

After more than a year of preparation, Hualian plans to start again from Qingdao at around 10:00 am on October 16, 2019, driving the his J/80 WHITE WAVE all the way south to the beautiful island of Sanya (China’s version of America’s Hawaii).

The challenge is strictly in accordance with the standards of Solo and Non-stop in the international maritime industry. During this period, he will not stop at any port and will not accept any material help from the outside world. There will be no replenishment and no security team will follow. Hualian will be alone on the 1,600 nm (about 3,000 km) voyage, avoiding the ubiquitous fishing nets and the busy ships on the Chinese sea, while managing himself and the ships at all times.

Because it is difficult and dangerous, this level of challenge has not been completed in China, and it is worth exploring and making progress.

Singlehanded sailing does not stop at the China Sea! Follow the J/80 WHITE WAVE as part of championing the Extreme Challenge Environmental Protection project.  Follow the J/80 WHITE WAVE on YB Tracking here 24x7 on his 1,600 nm voyage Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/121 Offshore Speedster Winning Silverware Worldwide!

(Newport, RI)- The 2019 offshore racing season continues to see J/121 teams developing their knowledge regards sailing techniques for maximizing their offshore speed potential in a variety of conditions across the Pacific Ocean, the Bass Strait/ Tasman Sea, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean. That knowledge has been leading many J/121 owners to several amazing trophy-winning performances across the world.

Most recently, Scott Grealish’s team from Portland, Oregon sailed BLUE FLASH to 1st Division 6 in the 50th Transpac Race and earned the prestigious Navigator’s Trophy. BLUE FLASH took off in the first flight of starters from Los Angeles, California to Honolulu, Hawaii and won their class outright by over 2 1/2 hours corrected time, racing under the ORR handicap system. Winds ranged from 10 to 20 kts from the NE to ESE under the Pacific High as they raced across the 2,225.0nm race track at speeds up to 22.5 kts! Scott reported the boat had plenty of “grip” and felt in full control flying down the huge Pacific swells.

In much flatter, choppier waters on the Great Lakes, the newly launched J/121 LOKI from Charlevoix, Michigan sailed both “Mac Races”- the famous Chicago-Mackinac and the Bayview-Mackinac- and collected a gold and bronze medal for their efforts! The two races could not have been any more different; Chicago was 85% 0-10 kts (upwind & downwind) and 15% 15-25 kts (reaching), while Bayview was the converse with 80% 15-25 kts (upwind) and 20% 6-12 kts (reaching/ downwind).

In the Chicago-Mackinac Race, LOKI had set a furious pace in the constantly changing winds from their start on Saturday afternoon until Sunday midday. The winds started SW, shifted NE, then NW, back to SE and dying. 24 hours into the race, LOKI was leading class and overall until around noon Sunday. At that point, LOKI “parked” for nearly five hours, going just a few miles. Behind them, mid-fleeters and tail-enders did an “end around”. The most extreme examples saw smaller J’s leading the much faster, more powerful J/121 LOKI into the Manitous by midnight Sunday (165.0nm into the race)- a J/105, J/111, and J/109! How bizarre is that? In the end, LOKI scrambled their way back to a 3rd in class!

Segue to the Bayview Mac one weekend later. On the redemption path, LOKI was determined to bury their top competitors, including the Chicago-Mackinac Overall winner- the 1D35 Turbo Chico 2. That movie did not take long to unfold. Fresh off their start, LOKI simply took off on port tack headed for the first mark off Cove Island; reaching the turning point over 5.0nm in front of their class. Not soon after heading for the Mac finish line, the front rolled in from the WNW and LOKI proceeded to tack on the shifts in 20-25 kts TWS, steadily opening up their lead. By the finish, LOKI opened up a 12.0nm lead on Chico 2 and the rest of the fleet, winning class comfortably with a 2 hour margin over the next boat.

Scott Campbell’s J/121 RIVA raced two huge offshore events in the Pacific Northwest and collected silverware in both. Sailing conditions ranged from drifting to 40 kts plus.  RIVA won the 193.0nm Oregon Offshore Race from Astoria, OR (opening of the notoriously dangerous Columbia River) to Victoria, BC, Canada. Then, RIVA sailed the 487.0nm Van Isle 360 Race- a 10-day, nine-leg, event- that circumnavigates the spectacular Vancouver Island in some of the most treacherous waters in the world- that effort earned them the silver medal!

In addition to the Transpac Race, Grealish’s BLUE FLASH sailed both the Ensenada Race and the Cabo San Lucas Race. Their inaugural race was the 800.nm Cabo Race- going from Newport Beach, CA to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (the tip of the Baja Peninsula). That was quite a “shake-down cruise”, certainly not for the faint of heart! Sail-testing and boatspeed analysis was the order of the day. After two days, they were dueling with the J/125 for the class and overall lead. However, the wind went flat, disappeared, and BLUE FLASH was too far outside, dropping to 5th ORR 3 Class in the end. For the 125.0nm Ensenada Race- from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico- BLUE FLASH sailed in light 0-10.0 kts TWS and all Code Zero/ A1 spinnaker sailing conditions for the entire race, ultimately taking 2nd in ULDB B Class- a great test of the J/121’s light air performance.

In February, a new J/121 sailed her inaugural event in the Geelong Festival of Sails, off Geelong/ Melbourne, Australia. Mark Nicholson’s J/121 JAVELIN sailed in the offshore AMS Cruising Division. Three races and over 100.0nm of sailing later offshore, JAVELIN won her first major offshore event in winds ranging from 6 to 20 kts!  Earlier, JAVELIN won the 2018 Offshore Winter Series hosted by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, Australia. The ORCV Winter Series is a series of 5 passage races of varying distances, from medium distance races around fixed marks at the top end of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne to several longer distance passage races to popular destinations- such as Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron (BYS), Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC), and Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club (HBYC).

Sailing double-handed, David Southwell’s J/121 ALCHEMY won the 100.0nm Ida Lewis Distance Race PHRF Doublehanded Class, starting/ finishing off Newport, RI and sailing around an ocean triangle in Rhode Island Sound; winds were mostly SE to SW in the 6 to 15 kts range, sailing a balanced beat/ reach/ run with just about “all the laundry” the duo could hoist- J2, J4, Code Zero, A1, A2!

If J/News readers recall, Don Nicholson’s J/121 APOLLO first major ocean race was the famous 635.0nm Newport to Bermuda Race. Blessed with good fortune, solid navigation and well-executed strategy, they managed to win their Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division class and finish 6th overall.  An amazing performance considering the magnitude of variables and weather decisions necessary to stand atop the podium in the professional Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division! The first two days of the race were light, drifting conditions. Then, for the last 24 hours, APOLLO set their Code Zero and J4 jib as a staysail and sailed away from their competition, winning the race, literally, in one day and just over 160.0nm of sailing in the slowly building WSW breeze of 5 to 14 kts TWS.

Are you ready to have fun offshore? Ready to race an amazingly easy-to-sail offshore 41-footer?! Give one a try today and go for a test sail!  For more J/121 Offshore speedster sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J’s Cruise Sweden’s Midsummer Solo Challenge

(Marstrand, Sweden)- Back in December 2017, a group of sailors gathered together and decided to create the Midsummer Solo Challenge, a 123.0nm race from Marstrand around the northwestern archipelago of Sweden.  Here is the report from Peter Gustafsson sailing the famous J/11 BLUR.SE.

“This year it felt like it was real.

The idea behind Midsummer Solo Challenge was formulated at a meeting in December 2017, and last year was a test of the format.

This year there were nearly 80 boats registered; including long-distance sailors from Estonia and Switzerland. And it also felt that the breadth of experience was larger, from those who never raced to those who have singlehanded for 35 years.

It also felt like everyone took the event as a personal challenge to finish. That it was not a race, but a personal challenge where everyone is following their own conditions and ambitions. In my report, it may sound like a contest, but it's just my way of fooling myself into pushing myself to the limit and doing the sailing challenge that is not really necessary.

Most boats arrived on Thursday and were seen at the pier in front of the famous Carlsten's fortress.

We had a nice dinner that evening that ended with a review of safety, rules and a solid weather briefing by Erik Nordborg.

The forecasts showed moderate southern winds during Friday, which would decrease during the afternoon/ evening to become very light and varied during the night. Saturday morning the wind would increase again from the east.

As last year, the boats were divided into classes based on LOA, where the smaller boats started first. It became a fast start with TWD of 130-150, and I took it carefully with the slightly smaller A3 spinnaker.

It was beautiful sailing between the islands and we made quick progress going north.

At Måseskär, the wind had eased a lot from the start of 7-8 m/s, and it seemed to be pure southerly up towards Lysekil, so I switched to A2 before I stepped north. Surprisingly, it was a smooth replacement, but still difficult.

Now, the wind rose again, and there was some gusts into the 9 m/s range. Suddenly, I had a hard time fetching the passage towards Islandsberg.  So, I had to take the A2 down after a couple of broaches, and then put it back up. That was very tiresome.

There were other ways through the archipelago, but I didn't feel at all sure about these. Here I should have done my homework, because I was not going to chance it with the big A2 (155 m2) in almost 10 m/s!

Then the southerly kicked in again going up to Lysekil. But, as the wind again got lighter, I passed many boats.

After rounding the top mark in the north, it was first upwind and then reaching as I headed back south. I had both Code 0 and J0, and I had a lot to do on the front deck. But, the wind increased and I went fast with just the jib. So, I decided to save on my strength. Even here, I felt a little worried about the right choice. Nevertheless, I didn't seem to lose anything to the boats behind which I always had on AIS tracking. I also had a look at my friend Jonas Dyberg on the J/88.se to see which choice he and others made.

After Hållö, the big A2-gennaker was up again. It kept me in the middle of the course when the wind had now started to back even further. When it died, I didn't want to be on any edge east or west. In fact, quite a few of the boats ahead had chosen to go further west, and there was certainly more power there for a while. But, not for long.

Very true, the wind died on the way into the Fjällbaka archipelago. I had actually intended to take the western approach to Testholmen, but then I saw that some boats had wind inside.

I switched to A3 spinnaker to be able to sail higher, and tossed my lot among those boats going up the inside to the east.

Also, I had some stops, getting becalmed in some place, but I came through quite OK.

After a while, I lost patience. The theory was that the weather would fill in from the south, so I put up the A3 again and switched to the J1, even though Ramskär was NNW from where we were.

And, thankfully, I found some type of wind that was extremely sheared (I sailed TWA 155 with gennaker). I had something that the others who were 5 km. to the east did not have. Here I passed the J/88.se.

Now, it was only two more boats that were ahead on the track. And, still a long way home.

But, just like last year, the wind died again. For a long time, I drove straight west with 0.8 knots current. Very frustrating. And, you didn't dare to sleep either.

Then a little wind filled in from the east, as promised. And, I could go from J0 to A3 at the approach to Väderöarna.

I tried to balance a desire to go further east into the archipelago and sail quickly south towards the next mark.

At Hållö, there was too much wind, and a little too tight angle for the gennaker. Up with the jib, which felt OK when it blew 6-7 m/s, but not when it got lighter on occasion.

I then got my Code Zero up and aimed straight at Trubaduren.

I really wanted to be the fastest boat around the track and watched the distance to the finish.

After Hätteberget, there was a short cross in to the bay at Strandverket. Good with wind, very hot and a wind that twisted between TWD 60 and 80 degrees.

In the end, I was the fastest around on my J/111 BLUR.SE, which everyone expected.

But, I am most satisfied with the fact that I sailed extremely actively throughout the race, I was good at decision-making when things happened with the weather and I tried to avoid big, tragic mistakes that would cost a lot of distance. It is a mental game, a physical game, a strategic game. It is tough!

I think we have managed to create a more intense and beautiful variant of the Silverrudder Race in Denmark and I hope that more will discover this form of sailing in the future. It's not as difficult as you think. And the feeling is also much better than you thought before you tried it.”

As a result, the J/111 BLUR.SE not only won overall, but also the “big boat” class. Winning the “Mid-size” class was Dyberg’s J/88 J/88.SE.  Watch the J/88.SE sailing video on YouTube  Here are J/111 BLUR.SE highlights from 2018   Follow the Midsummer Solo Race here on Facebook   For more Midsummer Solo sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Lovely Singlehanded Farallones Race

(San Francisco, CA)- It is not often that one can use the term “benign” or “lovely” when one thinks of sailing out past the Golden Gate Bridge, into the teeth of big Pacific storm swells that often break massively on the notorious “Potato Patch”, a giant shoal offshore or the Farallones “rocks”. However, the 2019 edition of the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s Singlehanded Farallones Race was in fact “lovely” and, as one sailor described it, “easily one of the most pleasant sails out and back that I can remember; even southeast Farallones Rock was looking benign!”

Ex-J/92 racer Robert Johnston went on to say, “on the return inbound to San Francisco Bay, it was all about keeping the apparent wind on the beam. I wasn't sure I could do it in the 7-10 kts TWS we had coming back - sailing the rhumbline put TWA at least 150. I flew an old J/105 kite and was able to keep AWA at 100-120 and sail straight from the island back to the Gate. Of course, the lighter ULDBs cleaned up in that stuff.”

In the PHRF Spin 5 Class, skipper of the J/105 VUJA STAR- Chris Kim- excitedly hopped onto the podium for the bronze, just 2 minutes shy on corrected time from taking the silver. Meanwhile, while Tracy Rogers’ J/120 HOKULANI took 4th and fellow 120 owner- Sean Mulvihill- placed 5th, just over 6 minutes back on corrected handicap time.  For more Singlehanded Farallones Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Sailors Love Three Bridge Fiasco Race

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2019 edition of the infamous Three Bridge Fiasco will go down in the history books as one of the nicest and most benign races in recent memory- sunny skies, gentle northeast winds of 4 to 12 kts, warm 72 F temps!  With the event taking place in January on San Francisco Bay, anything can happen in the middle of winter with massive storms piling into the Pacific coast from the Gulf of Alaska, dumping rain and chilly temperatures on the competitors, blowing a gale.  Or, it can be lightish northerlies/ easterlies with chilly winds, a constant mist and rain, and 100% cloud cover.

The Singlehanded Sailing Society welcomed a fleet of 334 boats that were entered as singlehanded or doublehanded teams, most were sailing doublehanded. It is believed the race, a 21.0nm dash around three “marks”, is considered the largest shorthanded sailing event in the world.

The race track couldn’t be more picturesque or unique.  Starting off Golden Gate YC on the south shore of the Bay (next to St Francis YC), the sailors can choose which direction to go- clockwise or counter-clockwise.  The marks are Blackaller Buoy near the south pylon of the Golden Gate Bridge at the westward opening of the Bay, around Red Rock Island near the Richmond/ San Rafael Bridge in north Bay, and around the Bay Bridge by rounding Treasure & Yerba Buena Islands.  Since the race is a reverse start (pursuit) race, the start time for each boat is based on its PHRF rating, with slowest boats starting first at 0900 hrs and the fastest at -102 starting 2 hours later!

Eighty-eight J/Crews participated in this year’s race (26.0% of the total fleet!), a record number of J/sailors!  They sailed in one-design classes (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/105, J/120) and in PHRF handicap divisions. A LOT of pickle dishes (silverware) were collected by these intrepid adventurers!

ONE-DESIGN CLASSES
In the seven-boat J/22 class, it was the famous J/105 racing couple that took one-design honors- Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault sailing TOM ALLEN; crossing at 15:01:23.  Second was Owen Lahr and Connell Phillipps’ YANG at 15:07:08 and third place went to David James and Roy Haslup’s FRITZ JEWETT at 15:12:39.

The eight-boat J/24 class saw a decisive leader in their class, with Deke Klatt and Claudia Gottstein’s JADED crossing the line at 14:21:41, a solid 45 minutes ahead of the next J/24!  Taking the silver was Val Lulevich and Alex Schultink’s infamous SHUT UP AND DRIVE crossing at 15:04:03, followed in third by Randy Rasicot and Mays Dickey’s FLIGHT getting home at 15:09:35.

The five-boat J/70 class saw a runaway winner, with Peter and Drake Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER taking class honors crossing at 14:12:39, nearly an hour ahead of the next boat.  Davis King and David Sharp/s ALLONS-Y was second home at 15:06:43 and crossing third in a near dead-heat at 15:06:51 was David Fried and Paul Schroeder’s SON OF A SON.

There was an enormous turnout for the J/105s, with eighteen boats showing up on the starting line headed every which way! The winner, again, went to a CCW team.  Will and Jayden Benedict’s ADVANTAGE 3 easily won, crossing at 13:47:58. Chasing them hard on the CCW option was Chris Kim and Carl Plant’s VUJA STAR, finishing just under five minutes behind at 13:52:29.  First CW team was Morgan and Jordan Paxhia’s STILL PINCHIN with a finish time of 14:12:59- a 20-minute delta to the CCW boats!  Read about the whale of a tale collision with Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION below.

The big boys sailing in the six-boat J/120 class saw one boat dominate by nearly an hour over their not-so-lucky classmates. Steve Madeira and Jeff Lawson sailed the big green MR MAGOO over the horizon, finishing at 14:16:15 off GGYC. Second home at 15:02:42 was Timo Bruck and Rich Hudnut’s TWIST and third on the podium was Tom Grennan and Herb Kleekamp’s KOOKABURRA crossing the line at 15:06:37.

PHRF CLASSES
Class 2- Singlehanded Spin PHRF 108 and Under class- was won in convincing fashion by Jim Hopp’s J/88 WHITE SHADOW, finishing at 14:36:41, 23 minutes ahead of the next boat in class!

Class 6- Doublehanded Non-Spin PHRF class- saw two J/Duos do well.  Taking the silver was William Mohr and Mark Townsend’s J/124 SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, crossing at 14:49:19.  Meanwhile, Steve and Eli Gordon’s J/88 INCONCEIVABLE placed sixth, finishing at 15:05:47.

Class 8- Doublehanded Spin PHRF 111-159 class- saw Gregg Wrisley and Craig Collins’ J/80 PK take fifth place, crossing at 14:50:04.

Class 20- Doublehanded SF Bay 30 class- was nearly swept by J/Sailors.  Winning was Alex Huang and Jeff Bruton’s J/29 L20, crossing at 13:55:59.  Second was Luther Izmirian and Ken Brown’s J/32 PARADIGM finishing at 14:58:29 and then fourth was John Riley and Larry Weinhoff’s J/32 LA DOLCE VITA crossing at 15:05:55.

Class 21- Singlehanded Spin class- saw Ralph Morganstern’s J/30 GEODESIC take fourth place, finishing at 15:46:35.

A Clockwise Perspective- from Robert Johnston
“After studying the wind forecast and currents, several of us singlehanders planned to go CCW (partly to avoid traffic).

But, on my way to the course and right up until my approach to the start, I kept looking over towards Treasure Island/ Yerba Buena Island and it looked very light. I also observed the majority of the Moore 24's and Express 27's (where many of the best sailors are) going “clockwise” to Blackaller first, so that's what I did. Of course, my friends, who went CCW, probably beat me- I know at least one that did, by a half-hour!

I got a good start and had a nice close reach down to Blackaller, finding a decent gap to get around the mark. Then, I made my second mistake. Lots of boats risked the remaining ebb and sailed towards the north tower of Golden Gate Bridge. Many had been swept out the Gate last year. But, it must have been flooding well at the north end.

I took a more conservative route and headed towards Angel Island. Going south of the island looked like light air, so I planned to tack across to the entrance to Raccoon Strait - the pressure looked good up the west side of Angel Island. This worked out well but I got caught in a huge hole near Pt. Stuart. I'd beaten the boats that sailed the farther distance, but then I had to watch most of them pass by while I was stuck in the wind hole. Once I got moving again, I had a decent sail through the Strait and up to Red Rock.

The NE wind was strange up there. Boats to the east were on starboard tack in good breeze, sailing high enough to round from the east side. The boats to the west were on port tack in lighter breeze. Trying to cross over to the east was disastrous - there was a transition zone in the middle (probably from the island's wind shadow) that trapped many boats, including me. So I lost a few more boats before getting across into the better breeze and getting around. Then many of us got trapped again trying to get away from the island. It was also still ebbing up there, which wasn't in the forecast. We've seen this in other years due to runoff.

I hoisted right away and enjoyed a tight spinnaker reach all the way down and around Treasure/ Yerba Buena Islands. The puffs put the boat on the edge and I actually dialed up once near SH Shoal light. The boat was pressed pretty hard just then, with the main a bit over-sheeted. I wanted to see where the edge was, and there was just enough breeze to find out.

Rounding Yerba Buena Island was tricky. Many boats took a wide lane to avoid its wind shadow but there was a narrow band of breeze up closer to the island. I saw a couple boats with spinnys still up, moving right on through. I followed them and passed a bunch of boats.

Then, the spinny came down and we all fought the flood as we tacked back up towards Pier 39. There were lots of boats doing this and frequent crossing issues. As a singlehander, I chose to duck several times when I could have pressed my rights- it just wasn't worth all the angst, possible crash tacks, extra grinding etc. This is where the Three Bridge is getting old for me: Far too many double-handers who are better able to play that game.

Once around Pier 39, it was a fast close reach to the finish with the jib on a rail lead. I finished just after 1500.

Conclusion: We were racing sailboats on a sunny day, with breeze, in January, on San Francisco Bay! What's not to like? I never put on a jacket. I finished the race and there were still quite a few boats behind me!!”

Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault- J/22 winners
“We had a reverse order start at Golden Gate YC in either direction. Nicole and I chartered a J/22 from St. Francis YC.

We decided that based on tide, we would go clockwise. We won our fleet. However, Will Benedict in his dad’s J/105 ADVANTAGE 3 went counter-clockwise and crushed; they finished way ahead of everyone!

Course length was 21 miles, winds were light, around 6-8 kts from the Northeast. We started late in the ebb tide, which then turned into a light flood tide, making it hard to get around Treasure Island. Some boats, like Scott Sellers in his J/70 1FA, reported losing 70 places there! We passed at least that many boats by cutting inside them along the southeast corner. But, then we lost around 20 of those as the big boats caught up and passed us. The winning move there for us on the J/22 was to get to the city front near the ferry building and short tack the docks in a substantial early ebb, hugging the shore all the way back to the finish line at Golden Gate YC.”

A Whale of a Tale
A pair of racers in the Bay Area's popular Three Bridge Fiasco race were left rudderless after a collision with a whale in the middle of the San Francisco Bay on Saturday.

Adam Spiegel, a technology CFO in San Francisco, and his partner had been roughly an hour into the 334-boat race around the Bay's three central bridges before the incident occurred. They'd rounded one the race's marks up by Fort Point and were heading across Bay toward the Richmond-San Rafael bridge when JAM SESSION, their J/105 sailboat, abruptly came to a stop.

"All of a sudden it felt like we'd ran aground," Spiegel told SFGATE.

A second or two later, Spiegel said, there was another thud, followed by another thud. Then, the pair heard a loud, cracking noise and what sounded like a splintering sound.

After that, a gray whale, which Spiegel estimated to be at least 25 feet long, surfaced next to them. Spiegel couldn't see any blood in the water or damage to the whale, but they wondered if the whale was going to "come after" them like Moby Dick!

Then, they wondered if their boat was going to sink. They figured out they'd lost partial steerage and couldn't get back safely on their own.

Spiegel and his partner contacted the dockmaster of the St. Francis Yacht Club, they came out in a powerboat to rescue the pair and tow them back safely.

The boat's rudder was dislodged and the underside of the boat was scraped up by the whale, Spiegel said.

It's still not clear what injuries the whale sustained. Ship collisions are a frequent cause of death for whales along the California coast.  Here is the story on SFGate.com

Brandon Mercer- new J/24 sailor
“It was a first for the Three Bridge Fiasco for me! First time on WOOF. First time doublehanding a J/24 in a race. First time meeting the skipper. We clicked! Awesome stuff!

We finished fourth in our fleet!  22 nautical miles in 5 hours 43 minutes!

The crazy part? Like over 300 boats and you can start in any direction and round the bridges in any direction. Huge fleets sailing head on into one another, with just 1-2 people on boats to look at the traffic. Lots of fiberglass touching some years. This year less of a fiasco because we had solid wind and WOOF’s team planned a smart route taking into account tides by each hour.

Sailed from before dawn, finished at incredible time of 3:14 PM in the afternoon, and back at dock and buttoned up before sunset!”  For more Three Bridge Fiasco sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NEW! J/99 Short-handed Offshore Speedster!

(Newport, RI)- J/Boats and J/Composites are pleased to announce the new J/99, a 9.9 meter (32.6’) crew-friendly, offshore-capable speedster currently under development at J/Composites in Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

The J/99 is the newest addition to the J/Sport range, combining headroom and comfortable interior accommodation with the tiller-driven responsiveness of a sport boat. The sail and deck plan are optimized for easy handling with fewer crew, and incorporate the latest developments from the award-winning J/121 and the new Offshore Sailing World champion J/112E. The interior features twin aft cabins, a proper sit-down forward facing nav station, an L-shaped galley, and a private forward head with sail locker.

Now more than ever, sailors are attracted to adventure-filled, signature events (Fastnet, Middle Sea, Chicago-Mac, etc.) where straight-line speed, sail handling, strategy and weather routing are all equally put to the test. The J/99 is designed to excel in these events (both fully crewed and short-handed) while delivering the exhilarating, family-friendly experience the J Sport range is known for.

“The J/99 opens up a wide range of sailing possibilities,” commented designer Alan Johnstone. “The versatile sail plan, balanced hull form and efficient cockpit will work as well for short-handed offshore sailing as for weekend sailing with friends. The J/99 packs a lot of performance and versatility into a manageable size and budget.” For more J/99 Offshore Speedster sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Sweden Midsummer Solo Challenge a Success!

(Stockholm, Sweden)- Without a doubt, Swedish offshore sailor and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Peter Gustafsson, is always thinking, always dreaming, always innovating, wondering how to do things better in business as well as indulging in his favorite pastime- sailing his J/111 BLUR.SE.

Recently, Peter had yet another spasm of inspiration, commenting, “we have a crazy new side project, to start a solo archipelago race through Bohuslän. 125 nm with no rules.  We managed to fill 60 slots within 24 hours of announcing the race! 48 boats started, 15 finished (due to light winds and two nights at sea).  Nevertheless, the first edition of Midsummer Solo Challenge lived up to expectations. Remember, that far north in Scandinavia, it is “sunset twilight” all night long, the sun never fully sets!

Here is Peter’s commentary on the race from aboard his beloved J/111 BLUR.SE:

“How about 50 solo sailors completing a 125 nm course through one of the world's most beautiful archipelagos, in the middle of the light and warm Swedish summer night?

When the initiative was launched six months ago, the initial 50 spots filled up within 24 hours. We’ve seen the popularity of similar races, like the Danish Silverrudder, but a true archipelago race for solo sailors is something new.

On Thursday evening, 48 skippers met for a three course dinner and a weather briefing promising light to moderate winds from south... and lots of sunshine! Administration was kept to a minimum, and everyone just had to put a signature on a list to verify that they intended to take part.

A few of us had a final beer, but then everyone wandered off to their boats to prepare for the challenge ahead.

Friday morning, the mini class (boats from 18 to 25 feet) stated at 10:00 in 4-8 knots of wind from SW. With a mix of downwind sails set, the group set off to the north. As the second group started an hour later, the first wrestled with some major decisions; inshore through the small straights and through the picturesque fishing village of Gullholmen, or the westerly route close to Käringön and the landmark lighthouse of Måseskär. Inshore is shorter, but offshore you can catch a current pushing you north at 2 knots. One of many decisions to be made in the coming 24-48 hours.

Leif Jägerbrand in his Seascape 24, loved the conditions, took the shortest route and quickly extended his lead.

At 13:00 the bigger boats left Marstrand, trying to hunt down the smaller boats ahead. J/111 Blur with Peter Gustafsson was expected to be the fastest boat, and showed pace and set of offshore before hoisting his huge 155 sqm gennaker.

Late afternoon, the different classes started to mix, gybing through the islands ticking of Lysekil, Hållö, Smögen and many of the anchorages where people spend their summer vacation. It’s easy to spend 4-5 weeks cruising here and each night find a new amazing spot to anchor.  It was a strange feeling to cover the same distance in a day.

When the sun set, the leading boats were leaving Fjällbacka and aimed for the northern mark of Ramskär. The wind became even lighter, and some struggled to keep their boats going. It is always a special feeling to turn the boat around and sail towards the finish. But knowing it would be 15-30 hours of light upwind sailing and adverse current everyone understood the meaning of the word ”challenge”.

The first three boats, the Seascape 24, Jonas Dyberg in his J/88 and J/111 Blur stayed in the archipelago to avoid the current. Short tacking south, they reached the finish late afternoon. The smaller boats had a duel where the Seascape had to give in to the J/88 after leading the way for almost 30 hours. Blur crossed the line within the hour to post the fastest time around the course with 27 hours 35 minutes and 3 seconds.  Second was Dyberg’s J/88.

But that didn’t really matter. No winner was announced; no awards were handed out and the important thing was to prove to yourself that you could do it. And naturally to receive the t-shirts with ”FINISHER” printed at the back.

The three finishers had dinner, wondering if anyone else would make it. The wind had slowly died and many boats were parked with the finish in sight. Another bunch where anchored or drifting at Måseskär, as every attempt to get past just resulted in being pushed back by the current.

Would the skippers have the patience and endurance to hang in there and wait for the morning breeze? Later Saturday night, a few boats trickled in, managing to cross the line.  Early morning, a few more, and after 46 hours Staffan Cederlöf closed the gate in his red Compis 28 Retro Balloon.

All in all, 15 boats of the 48 that started, managed to complete the Midsummer Solo Challenge. And as always, it came down to grit and sheer will. It wouldn’t be surprising to see all of them, and quite a few more, back next year to challenge themselves again.

Enjoy this entertaining J/88 sailing video from Jonas Dyberg
https://youtu.be/GSTO0kPmqUU

The story and results in Swedish: http://www.blur.se/2018/06/11/midsummer-solo-challenge-2018/

For more information about the Midsummer Challenge Race- please contact Peter Gustafsson- M: +46 733 304000 / E: peter@blur.se Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Three Bridge Fiasco Lives Up To Its Name

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2018 Three Bridge Fiasco on January 28 lived up to its name, with a number of adjectives that can be tossed in for good measure, such as chaos, anchoring, ripping ebb, light air and determination. This was classic winter sailing on San Francisco Bay.

For many, it was the impromptu voyage out under the Golden Gate Bridge when the currents overwhelmed hull speed after rounding Blackaller and attempting to cross the river. For others, it was a day of setting the hook and waiting; either for stronger wind or less current. Or both.

But, the one thing this edition will be remembered for is the extremely small percentage of finishers, just four boats out of the 359 registered singlehanded and doublehanded teams managed to get around the course before the 7:00 PM witching hour bell struck!! A record that hopefully won’t be repeated again!

The 21.67 nm course is defined by the Golden Gate, Richmond, and Bay Bridges, with adjacent marks that the fleet must round, but in any order and direction.  The three course marks are: 

• YRA 16 (“Blackaller” a yellow cylinder 0.2 nm east of Fort Point),
• Red Rock, and
• Yerba Buena Island.

Boats shall round all three marks in any order and in either direction they wish.

The counter-clockwise course was predestined for the winners, finding enough wind to clear the starting line and made tracks for the west edge of Treasure Island, where they found a nice counter current allowing them to make progress upstream until just under the bridge where the wind died and the current was relentless.

There they played the puffs, advancing the anchor when possible then holding till the next round. Said the winners, “we set the hook 3 times and moved maybe 50 feet in between each set!”

A miracle, short term switch in wind direction allowed the duo to escape the Yerba Buena wind hole and work their way back up the east side with kite pulling them all the way to the north end of Treasure Island.

The wind would subside, die, then refill and allow them to work their way up to Red Rock in a NW wind that they rounded about 3:00 PM, set the kite and rode her back to Raccoon Strait.

“The wind backed off there, but we were able to ride the current to Pt Stuart and then found some westerly, enough to make progress against the building flood to Blackaller, where the wind switched south and eased.” They managed to finish in daylight at 17:25:30.

A trio of boats, including the J/24 FLIGHT, with Randall Rasicot & Rosanne Scholl, all worked their way towards Red Rock well in advance of the rest of the fleet. And, things looked remarkably in their favor. Until the wind died. The light westerly they had enjoyed from 11:00 am on, took a 1:30 pm siesta before staging a northerly comeback, where it jumped to 10-plus knots for an hour and 1/2, allowing them, and a handful of Raccoon Strait Refugees a shot of getting around Red Rock, set kites and boogie towards Treasure Island/ Yerba Buena.  They were the only other finishers.

The fleet included large one-design double-handed fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s.  Thanks to Erik Simonson from Pressure-drop.us for story and images. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

“A Single-purpose, Tightly-Focused, Mile-Cruncher- the J/121!”

(Lymington, England)- The new J/121 has been created to allow fast, simple sailing for those who want to spend their time tackling classic ocean races (quickly) as well as local beer can races… and not chasing down a large crew.

Four decades ago a sleek, flush-deck keel boat appeared in the summer race circuits around New England and turned heads with both its looks and its speed around the race courses. Fractional-rigged with a large genoa and balanced sailplan, the J/24 was an instant hit; within a few short years fleets were appearing all over the US and elsewhere, with the top names in the sport enhancing the competition among rival sailmakers fighting for their share of a fast-growing new market for sails.

The newest offering from J/Boats, the J/121, is both a logical extension of other performance designs they have built over the years but also a significant departure for the company. The J/120 brought sprit-boat sailing to the 40ft range two decades ago, and more recently the J/122 brought a more modern and IRC-friendly design to the same size range. Both, however, assumed a full crew of 8-10 people would race onboard, with the sailing systems and interior accommodation arranged accordingly.

While many of us remember the J/24 era clearly, and are still struck by how many J/24s are still out there racing, what people may not remember is that designer Rod Johnstone was not just interested in performance when he drew and built his iconic little design, but also had in mind that this was a boat that could help encourage family sailing. Yes, the J/24 was envisioned to get the family out together on the water, even sleep aboard with its modest but livable accommodation. It was not uncommon in these early days to have crew staying aboard while racing at class regattas…

Times may have changed, but the J/Boats philosophy has not, which is why literally thousands of boats across dozens of different models have been sold under the family brand name – always with one overriding consideration in every design: will this boat be suitable for sailing with family and friends?

“Whether it’s day sailing, buoy racing, long-distance cruising or offshore racing, the family fun characteristic is very much in the J/Boat DNA,” said Jeff Johnstone, company president. He should know: Jeff is one of several second generation Johnstone’s to carry on the family business. Rod’s son Alan has taken on the designing of J/Boats, including the J/121, and Jeff and Alan’s cousin Stuart is active in marketing and also publishes the weekly  J/Newsletter.

Like other global brands, J/Boats’ success is founded on staying in close touch with their customers as they move through the sport. The product line has therefore evolved to remain relevant to their large, well-documented customer base, as well as attracting newcomers with the company’s latest ideas……  Read the rest of the article here at Seahorse magazine website. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/32 COURAGE- the passage was cool!

(Sakonnet River, Rhode Island, United States of America)-  Bob Kowalski- proud owner of the J/32 COURAGE provided us a quick synopsis of his “courageous” passage down to the islands (Caribbean) in the fall of 2017.  Here is Bob’s commentary:

“So, I soloed COURAGE, my lovely J/32, from Sakonnet Point (the east side of Aquidneck Island/ Newport, RI) to Brewers Bay, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands through two storms; yeah, two of them!

One was real fun, and I did over 200 miles in a day going 10+ knots for a good amount of time until a lower started to fray. Amazing boat, yup, she’s ‘just a cruiser’, says your Uncle Rod. Not! She flies!

The other storm, not so fun!  Heaved-to for over 24 hours.  I call it “the magic storm”.  With every wave, a thousand bucks disappeared off the deck!!  OMFG, it was crazy.  Never seen ‘nuthin like it!

But, I’m thinking that I am feeling pretty good about myself, almost beating my chest. Pulled into Nanny Cay to do the repairs next to a J/35 called SUNDAY.  Very nice Dutch couple.  They have sailed around the world on SUNDAY; done two Atlantic crossings and their boat survived Hurricane Irma. But, she looks PERFECT!  I’m humbled. Can learn a lot from this Dutch couple on their J/35, so cool!

Oh, BTW, I did the trip- 1,500+ nautical miles- in 10 days. I’m wondering, do I get a “throw-out” for the 24 hours when I heaved-to?  Can I subtract that and call it 9 days for my passage?  Haha!

Thought you guys would like to hear about it.  Amazing boat!  Awesome cruiser!  Thank you Al and Rod, keep up the great work!” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/121 "Open Course” Racing Announcement

(Newport, RI)- The breadth of sailing experience within the first wave of J/121 owners is quite impressive, and so it comes as no surprise that several have already set their sights on signature offshore events for 2018. Six of the first 10 boats will be East Coast USA based, and we’re pleased to outline the preliminary 2018 J/121 Event Schedule.

Open Course Racing
The J/121 is striking such a chord with sailors seeking high performance offshore sailing with half the normal size crew, we created a new racing format we’re calling “Open Course Racing”. The idea is to expand the typical W/L closed course racing into distance day racing with more course variety, less athletic boat-handling, and built-in scoring incentives for winning individual legs. The Open Course concept is growing and we’re currently engaging with event organizers to help introduce this format for future regattas.

J/121 Class Rules apply the best practices from years of one-design management and condensed them into an easy-to-read document that underlines the design mandate of the J/121 –a 40’ speedster that can be day raced or distance sailed by a short- handed crew. A few highlights:

• Five sail inventory– one main, two jibs, and two spinnakers. The two jibs and Code 0 on furlers.
• Corinthian crew with limit of one Group 3 sailor.
• A target crew weight max of 1,050lbs (same as the J/105 Class) to encourage crews of 5-6 sailors.
• In races over 25 miles, multiple crew can drive.

Proposed 2018 J/121 Event Schedule:

• Lauderdale to Key West Race (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
• Miami to Cuba Race (Miami, FL)
• Palm Beach to Charleston Race Week (Charleston, SC)

Northeast circuit

• May 12-13   J/121 Spring Invitational (Newport, RI)
• May 26-28   FIGAWI Race Weekend (Nantucket, MA)
• Jun 9-10     New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta (Newport, RI)
• Jun 15        Newport to Bermuda Race (Newport RI)
• Jun 22        Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Annual Regatta (Hamilton, Bermuda)
• Jul 12-15    Rolex New York Yacht Club Race Week (Newport RI)
• Jul 20-22    Edgartown Race Weekend (Edgartown, MA)
• Aug 17        Ida Lewis Distance Race (Newport, RI)
• Aug 31        Stamford-Vineyard Race (Stamford, CT)

For more J/121 Offshore Speedster sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Another Glorious 3 Bridge Fiasco

J/Crews Collecting More Pickle Dishes!
(San Francisco, CA)- The 362 entries in the Singlehanded Sailing Society's 2017 edition of the Three Bridge Fiasco had more wind than predicted; except when they had none at all. One of the factors that makes the race a real “fiasco” is that the crews, all singlehanded and doublehanded, must choose which way to start and finish and which direction to sail around the three marks: Blackaller Buoy near the Golden Gate Bridge, Red Rock just south of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and Yerba Buena Island in the middle of the Bay Bridge.

The clockwise pack had a restart when the wind died north of Treasure Island.  Fortunately, the current on this patch of water was mellow, though at least one boat dropped an anchor.

Kame Richards, a local sailmaker and highly successful racer, offered some advice about strategy at the skippers' meeting on Wednesday. "If you go clockwise you're statistically in an okay group," he commented. Probably 95% of the racers went clockwise on Saturday, but this year it was the contrarians who finished first. "The tidebooks are going to be wrong," stated Richards. "The tides will not be normal.” He was right on that score. It wasn't so simple as flood turning to ebb. Rip currents abounded. The velocity of rushing water in some places was unusual on the Bay. Patches of meringue and weird whirlpools popped up in seemingly random places, all adding to the day's challenges.

With so little breeze and such strong currents, the starboard rounding of Yerba Buena was far trickier than the much earlier port rounding of it by the CCW boats had been. Some boats were dragged into the island and ran aground, others piled up into a buoy tender docked at the Coast Guard station there.

Some of the clockwise crews had fretted about typically light air at Red Rock and the flood turning to ebb, so they went straight to Red Rock after the start, leaving Blackaller Buoy for last. (As it turned out, there was plenty of breeze at Red Rock, though the ebb did start early there).   In the late afternoon, this group shot toward the Golden Gate Bridge on a river of 4- to 5-knot ebb. Turning toward shore, they found an equivalent back eddy of flood surrounding their last mark. As Kame explained: "When it's ebbing very hard, all the water can't fit under the Golden Gate Bridge. Some of it hits Fort Point and gets bounced back along the City-front." (Thanks to LATITUDE 38 for intro).

Despite the often-challenging conditions, it was Tony Castruccio’s J/30 WIND SPEED that won Class 1- Singlehanded Monohull overall, plus winning class!  Just behind him, finishing 5th overall in class was the J/24 IRISH BLESSING sailed by Chad Peddy!  In the Class 2 Singlehanded Spin division, the J/88 WHITE SHADOW sailed by Jim Hopp took home the silver, followed by Todd Olsen’s J/92S WINDTRIP INFINITY in third.

In the Doublehanded world, there were several notable performances.  In Class 10 Double Non-Spin, the J/124 SPIRIT OF FREEDOM sailed by Bill Mohr & Reid Rankin placed 4th, while another stablemate, the J/88 INCONCEIVABLE sailed by Steven & Zach Gordon took fifth position.

Winning Class 11 Double Spin was the J/125 CAN’T TOUCH THIS sailed by Rich Pipkin & Mary McGrath.  Just off the pace in 6th place was Howard Turner & Jay Crum’s J/111 SYMMETRY.  Also, in the top ten in this class were Doug Bailey & Brian Capehart’s J/105 AKULA in 8th and James Goldberg & Lana Chang’s J/109 JUNKYARD DOG in 10th place.

In the large J/105 Double class, winning was Chris Kim & Mike Lazarro’s VUJA STAR.  Nearly a half hour behind them in 2nd was Adam Spiegel & Chris Tholstrup’s JAM SESSION, with William Woodruff & Mike Weinman’s RUSSIAN ROULETTE in 3rd, John Robison & Simon James’ LIGHTWAVE in 4th and Phil Laby & Matt Skafel’s GODOT in 5th position.

The highly competitive J/22 Double class saw local rock star Russ Silvestri & John Bonds sailing StFYC’s TOM ALLEN to the top of the heap.  Next was Gerard Sheridan & Halsey Richartz’s SAMBA PA TI in 2nd with Mike Menninger & Ben Lezin’s GOOD in 3rd place.

The J/24 Double class saw old rivalries continue, this time with Darren Cumming & Loren Moore’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR winning, followed by Val Lulevich & Mark Humberstone’s SHUT UP & DRIVE.

The Double SF Bay 30 class was one of the closest fought finishes in the entire fleet between three J/32s and two J/30s.  Winning was Luther & Robert Izmirian’s J/32  PARADIGM, just 2:28 ahead of 2nd place finishers, Jenny Thompson & Chris Jensen’s J/30 FRICTION LOSS.  Third was yet another J/30 only 1:18 further back, Peter Jermyn & Curt Brown’s IONE.  Fourth was Lewis Lanier & Galen Loving’s J/32 STRATOCASTER and fifth was John Riley & Larry Weinhoff’s J/32 LA DOLCE VITA.

At the top of the Double J/70 class was Morgan & Jordan Paxhia’s PENNY PINCHER with a narrow 3min lead over Davis King & Tim Anto’s ALLONS-Y.  Taking third was Fabio Maino & Felice Bonardi’s SCILLA and 4th, only 17sec back was Scott Sellers & Geoff McDonald’s 1FA!  Sailing photos- Erik Simonson / www.pressure-drop.us  For more Three Bridge Fiasco sailing information

J/Sailors Leading Vendee Globe!?

(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)-  It’s all “glam” at the front of the fleet.   The phrase 'the rich get richer' has rarely been more fitting than when describing the current state of the Vendée Globe fleet in the third week of the solo round the world race.  Experienced J/sailors at the top include race leader Alex Thomson (HUGO BOSS), Morgan Lagravière (SAFRAN), and now up into 7th place- Jeane-Pierre Dick’s St MICHEL-BIRBACK.

The gap between the seven frontrunners and the 21 skippers trying desperately to keep up with them has turned from a gully into a chasm.  Life could not be much better for those at the head of the fleet; with winds of more than 30 knots transforming their 60ft IMOCA yachts into waterborne rockets blasting southeast at top speed. The frontrunners, led by Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss who had the biggest 24 hour tally of 492.4 nm, are due to arrive at the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of South Africa and the gateway to the Southern Ocean, on Friday, four days ahead of schedule.

Nevertheless, while the rich get richer, it stands that the poor get poorer. And those in the middle of the Vendee Globe fleet are among the hardest up, snared by the St Helena High with little sign of her relinquishing her grip.  Continue to follow these intrepid adventurers on the high seas here.

J/121 Project Update #3

(Newport, RI)- The J/121 hull plug is taking shape at Symmetrix Composite Tooling in Bristol, RI as the Poseidon 5-Axis milling machine performs its first “pass” this week.

Next week the foam hull form, supported by its steel backbone frame, will be reinforced with glass/epoxy before a thick epoxy milling paste is applied over the hull surface. Once the milling paste is cured, the Poseidon will perform a second and final precision machining operation to take the hull to its final surface. This is followed by a multi-stage sanding process to achieve 800 grit finish and a final buffing to a mirror shine. Just in time for the Happy Holidays! One big 40 ft present from Santa for passionate, offshore J/sailors!  You can watch this fascinating process here on J/Boats YouTube page.
For more J/121 Offshore speedster sailing information

J/Sailors Leading Vendee Globe

(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- The 25,000nm “sprint” around the world, The Vendee Globe, started on Sunday, November 6th from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.  The Vendée Globe is the hardest and most famous sailing race in the world. Nicknamed the “Everest of the Seas”, it involves sailing around the world alone, without stopping and without assistance, setting sail from and finishing in Les Sables d’Olonne, after rounding the three legendary capes: The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, Cape Leeuwin in Southern Australia and the infamous Cape Horn at the tip of South America. They therefore have to sail twice in the North and South Atlantic – on the way down and on the way back – and sail clockwise around Antarctica by crossing the Indian Ocean and the huge Pacific.

Twenty-nine skippers are sailing the race.  It looks like a one-design race for the top foiling boats.  And, not too surprisingly, at least three J/sailors are amongst the leaders- Alex Thomson’s HUGO BOSS, Jean-Pierre Dick’s ST MICHEL-VIRBAC and Morgan Lagravière’s SAFRAN.  All three are sailing the newest “foiling” IMOCA 60s!

HUGO BOSS
Alex grew up sailing in the United Kingdom on the South Coast and for years could be seen racing on a variety of J’s, fine-tuning his one-design and offshore skills on J/24s, J/80s, and J/109s. Alex is not just someone who dives off the top of a mast in his best suit (although it takes skill to dive 29 metres while moving) for the PR requirements of his sponsor- Hugo Boss. That picture was seen around the world on Internet, but Alex has greater sporting ambitions: he wants to become the first British winner of the Vendée Globe.

He does indeed have what it takes with a foiling boat built by Green Marine in England. In the last race (3rd in 2012/2013), Alex Thomson showed everyone that he could make it to the podium with a second-hand boat. He is often shown as an example of what can be done with an older boat by his peers.

But this was not the only moment of glory along the way for Alex, who can boast an exciting past. This fan of speed grew up on the South coast of England and back in 1999 became the youngest sailor to win the crewed race around the world, the Clipper Round The World Race, which he achieved at the age of 25. Forced out of the Vendée Globe twice in 2004 and 2008, this is now but a distant memory. Alex is a phenomenon, able to push back his personal limits and those of his boat. Just like when he smashed the solo Atlantic crossing record or sailing double-handed came in second in the Barcelona World Race. The British sailor is certainly determined and very experienced. Like Vincent Riou and Bertrand de Broc, this will be his fourth attempt when he lines up at the start of the Everest of the Seas. He really wants this one to be the big one. He is certainly up there with the favorites. One day, a non-French sailor will indeed win the Vendée Globe. Alex Thomson may be the man to do it.

ST MICHEL-VIRBAC
Jean-Pierre was famous for racing hard, fast and aggressively in J/24s for nearly 20 years, racing across France and the U.K., nearly winning a J/24 Europeans one year.  JP also has had experience racing in the highly competitive J/80 class in France.  According to JP, “If you try hard enough, one day it will pay off!”

The tall fair-haired sailor has everything going for him: loyal partners, plenty of talent, always charming and friendly, a lot of experience… This will be his fourth attempt at the Everest of the seas. On two occasions out of his four attempts, he was so close to the podium. Jean-Pierre Dick has shown he is the master of double-handed sailing. He has won both of the big double-handed races: the Transat Jacques Vabre on three occasions in 2003, 2005 and 2011 and the Barcelona World Race twice, in 2008 and 2011.

Sailor of the year in 2011, the sailor originally from Nice has a rather different background from the others. A postgraduate from the elite HEC school, he is a qualified vet and at the start of his career, Jean-Pierre seemed more interested in racing around the buoys, even winning the Tour de France in 2001!   But, he went on to become a real ocean racer, capable of sailing solo around the world.

SAFRAN
Young Morgan had been sailing all season in the French J/80 championship against many of the best one-design sailors in France.  That focus and experience has been paying off so far in the race.

Could Morgan repeat the success of a certain François Gabart?  He could win the Vendée Globe on his first attempt while not yet 30. Like Gabart, Lagravière will be setting out around the world on a new generation boat designed to win. Like Gabart, the skipper of Safran cut his teeth in dinghy and then Olympic series sailing, before a brief and yet successful time in the Figaro circuit, where he made it to the podium twice in three seasons in the very demanding Solitaire race.

Just as at ease around the buoys as offshore, Lagravière was confident about handing in his application in the selection process in 2013 to replace Marc Guillemot, a post that was sought after by some of the major names in ocean racing.  But, it was Morgan who got the job and took up the helm of the new SAFRAN. A dream come true for this lover of extreme sports, who spends most of his time out on the water. It is not uncommon to see him kitesurfing or racing a J/80, foiler Moth, paddle boarding or windsurfing in Quiberon Bay. As he goes from one type of machine to another, it is above all because he enjoys it, but it is also a good way to build up your skills to be used on other boats, including of course, the 60-foot IMOCA.

It all happened very quickly for this sailor, originally from Reunion Island, who had no hesitation at the age of 17 of leaving the island to take up an education in sport and sailing and then to become a professional. Unlike François Gabart and Armel Le Cléac’h, the two who led the way in the last Vendée Globe, Morgan Lagravière has not trained as an engineer. He admits he is less of a scientist and does things more by feeling and intuition when sailing. Morgan is a very methodical worker. Practically a rookie in the IMOCA circuit, he is very friendly and open ashore, Lagravière becomes a killer out on the sea. He will set out with the intention of being up there with the frontrunners.

Follow these sailors here on their epic battle racing around the planet.