CALYPSO VICTORIOUS @ J/70 UK GRAND SLAM I

 

(Warsash, England)- Twenty-three teams competed in Round One of the J/70 UK Grand Slam Series. The event was organized by the Warsash Sailing Club as part of the Warsash Spring Championships 2021.

Calascione & Peters racing CALYPSO took the first victory in the seven-event series, scoring three wins out of seven races held in brisk and beautiful conditions on The Solent.

Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT (still the defending J/70 World Champion) recovered from a Black Flag DSQ to post consistent results, but fell short by a single point to finish second. Nick Phillips’ CHAOTIC scored a hat trick of bullets in the final three races snatching third place, ahead of Graham Clapp’s JEEPSTER and Martin Dent’s JELVIS (a J/111 World Champion).


Notable performances included Simon Patterson’s STANDFAST, Jonnie Goodwin’s HARLEQUIN and Charles Thompson’s BRUTUS. The mid-fleet peloton is always a competitive arena in the J/70 Class with three teams tied on points after seven races. Duncan McCarthy’s team came out on top on countback from J/70 stalwart Patrick Liardet, racing COSMIC, and a new team in the J/70 Class, Tony Dickin’s EXCESS.
For more United Kingdom J/70 Class sailing information

J'S BUZZING BANK HOLIDAY SERIES IN U.K.

 

J/109 Wins RORC Doublehanded Offshore, J/120 Screams to a Win!

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Solent was buzzing with activity over the May Bank Holiday with well over one hundred keel boats taking part in racing. Inshore and offshore races organized the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Junior Offshore Group (JOG), attracted no less than 27 J/Boats, and they were very much in the chocolates.

RORC Doublehanded Offshore
The RORC ran their first overnight doublehanded race this year, a 91-mile marathon which was to last over 17 hours. Starting from the Squadron Line the fleet raced upwind to the east. After exiting The Solent, they were off the breeze for a spinnaker run along the South Coast of the Isle of Wight. After passing The Needles, a broad reach into Poole Bay was followed by a harden up to finish at North Head.

Mike Yates’ J/109 JAGO, racing with Eivind Boymo-Malm, was the winner, beating Sam White & Sam North racing Mzungu by just 12 seconds after time correction! RORC Yacht of the Year for 2021 Jangada was third. The big win was made even more special by the fact that of the 29 teams taking part, the competition included Solo Round the World sailors, Figarist, Olympic Medallist and World Champions.


“It was a very complex race, with many sail changes and tactical decisions from beginning to end,” commented JAGO's Mike Yates. “A big cloud at the Nab Tower caused a split in the fleet and we just managed to hold our kite. Our jib top was very effective on the southside of the island and the decision to go offshore at St Catherines worked well with a breeze filling in from the southwest. We also just made several tidal gates in the latter part of the race. We are delighted to win and all credit to Elvind, two-handed racing is heavily reliant on teamwork, so he deserves just as much praise.”

RORC Inshore Race
The RORC fully-crewed inshore race was essentially a 24-mile windward-leeward from the Squadron Line to Bembridge Ledge and back. The impressive fleet included professionally sailed FAST40+ yachts and an IRC optimized TP52 plus an array of performance race boats, built for the IRC rule. However, the breeze built during the latter part of the race, giving an advantage to the smaller boats. Ross Bowdler’s J/80 JUSTIFY, was second in an impressive fleet.

“A big thank you to the RORC for the race,” commented J/80 JUSTIFY’s Bowdler. “It is so cool to race against the big boats and get a great result.” JUSTIFY will be at the Landsail Tyres J-Cup confirmed Ross. “We did our first J-Cup last year and really loved it. The atmosphere is just great because we get to race against other J/Boats. This year it looks like we will be able to party, and I can tell you we have no problem with our rating in that department!”

JOG Sopranino Race
Fourteen J/Boats took part in Salcombe Gin Sopranino Race on Saturday May 1st organized by JOG (Junior Offshore Group). The 48-mile course was also essentially a windward-leeward from Cowes to Owers and return. 


Stuart Lawrence’s J/120 SCREAM 2 took Line Honours in the 58-boat fleet winning IRC One and placing second overall. IRC Class Two was dominated by J/Teams, with the top six teams all racing models of the J/Family. IRC 2 was won by David McGough’s J/109 JUST SO. Second was Chris Burleigh’s J/109 JYBE TALKIN' and third was Gordon Craigen’s J/105 JACANA. Tom Hayhoe and Natalie Jobling, racing J/105 MOSTLY HARMLESS was third in the Doublehanded Class.

A substantial number of J/Crews will be racing in the first big regatta of the season for the Royal Southern Yacht Club. The May Regatta will be held this weekend, 8-9 May. 26 J's have already entered including ten J/70s for a new style Sprint Series. An armada of J/Teams is expected for the Landsail Tyres J-Cup which will be held 24-26 June. Online entry is open and, with the planned relaxation in restrictions, the band is booked for the first big party of the summer!  For more RORC offshore sailing information

RORC SPRING SERIES OFFSHORE RACE PREVIEW

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- After a year and a half of disruptions to offshore racing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Royal Ocean Racing Club is delighted to confirm an overnight race for Offshore and Two-Handed teams starting on May 1st.
 
The combined entry list for May 1st has a fleet of 48 yachts, including all the top Two-Handed boats from the inshore RORC Spring Series. For crewed entries, the RORC Spring Series will conclude this weekend. Michael O'Donnell’s J/121 DARKWOOD is just two points behind the leaders, currently holding down the bronze step on the podium. 
 
“Safety always comes first; it is just too early to run an overnight race for fully crewed teams. However, when the club offered to run an offshore race for Two-Handed teams, the response was an overwhelming!” commented RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone. “Details of the course for IRC Two-Handed will be determined by the weather, but our intention is to set an overnight race, taking the Two-Handed fleet out of the Solent. For crewed teams racing under IRC, the final race of the Spring Series will be inshore with a target time of 6-8 hours.”

Racing for their first time this spring are a few top offshore doublehanded teams that may prove to be the "dark horses" in the racing that has been dominated by the smaller 30-34 foot boats. They include Clive Miles & Will Ayliffe's J/122 JANGLE, Simon Harris & Dan Laws J/112E J'OUVERT, Deborah Blair & Tim Long's J/88 TIGRIS, and Mike Yates' J/109 JAGO. It would be a shocker to the UK two-handed offshore community if these yet untested teams sweep the podium! Stranger things have happened, time will tell.  

The RORC fleet is scheduled to start racing from the Squadron Line Cowes from 10:00 BST on Saturday 1st May.  For more RORC Spring Series sailing information. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

BACK TO RACING FOR J/70 UK CLASS

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The J/70 UK Class is looking forward to an exciting season of racing for 2021. Following the UK Government announcement of the roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions in England and following guidance from the RYA. The J/70 UK Class will have some coronavirus protocols in place, and we are planning a full season of racing from April through to October.

The 2021 J/70 UK Grand Slam Series will feature seven events with the best four to count, the J/70 UK Nationals will be a non-discard event and Grand Slam winners will be in both the Corinthian and Open Classes. Seven clubs will be hosting the J/70 UK Class: Warsash SC, Royal Thames YC, Royal Southern YC, Parkstone YC, Cowes CC, Royal Yacht Squadron, and the Hamble River SC.
 
The 2021 UK Grand Slam Series is expected to be the UK J/70 Class Qualifying Series for the 2022 J/70 World Championships in Monaco. Further details on the 2022 Worlds and UK Qualifying are expected from the J/70 International Class  
 
Charles Thompson’s BRUTUS will be defending their win in the Corinthian Class for the J/70 UK Nationals and J/70 UK Grand Slam Series.
 
“I am sure I speak for everyone involved that it is fantastic to be looking forward to a full season of racing in the J/70 UK Class,” commented Charles Thompson. “Also, the training events organized by Marshall King are a great initiative, and the new sprint series is also designed to improve performance right through the fleet.”

The J/70 UK Sprint Series is a new and exciting edition to the 2021 calendar. Two days of weekend racing, hosted by the Royal Southern YC, will run from May through to September. With five short, sharp races per day, the series is designed to test raw speed and boat handling. The Sprint Series will also allow on the water coaching to add another dimension to the racing.
 
J/70 UK Class Chairman Paul Ward commented: “We are looking forward to welcoming all of the J70 fleet for this new race series format where the focus will be on improving our racing and sharing knowledge with all of the fleet. Working together to enjoy our racing and time on the water. “
 
With the J/70 UK Class craving to get out on the water, a big turn-out is expected for all of the events. 
Follow J/70 U.K. Class on Facebook here   For more J/70 UK Class information, including boat charter opportunitiesAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

A Tribute to dear friend Bob "the Fish" Fisher

 

Your publisher/ editor of J/News has known "Fish" since 1981, sailing together in the SORC that year on a J/36 called BLUE BAYOU. Decades later, we sailed again on J/105s in the Master's Regatta in both San Francisco and San Diego, CA. Since the inception of the J/24 in the United Kingdom, Fish was always a big fan and supporter of J/Boats; having raced one himself out of Royal Lymington YC. Here are some funny, happy memories of his lasting legacy in yachting.

Like many others in the sailing world that have been touched by "Fish's" passion and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing, I'm sad to see him go. So many fun, happy memories of sailing with him and enjoying a beverage or two at famous watering holes around the world. Perhaps, the most hilarious one being the "Silver Cloud" karaoke bar on Lombard St. in San Francisco (http://silvercloudsf.com/)! It was Fish's self-declared favorite bar ever! No question, mutual friend Phil Lawrence can attest to those fun times!

I first met Fish in 1981. The owner of the J/36 BLUE BAYOU (Dick Johnson from the US Virgin Islands) wanted to race his boat in the 1981 SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit). The ring leader was another character- Mark Ploch from Clearwater, FL. Mark helped organize the team and managed to convince both Bob Fisher and Tim Jeffery (cub reporter at the time and much later Chief Communications Director for Larry Ellison's ORACLE USA America's Cup program) to not only crew but provide race-by-race updates of our exploits as well as the other famous offshore racing yachts of the time (all IOR boats). Both Fish and Tim had never sailed the famous SORC offshore series before, so it took them little convincing to make the trip!

There were several memorable moments in that 1981 SORC series.  

The first was having Bob and Tim as roommates at the local seedy hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Imagine this picture for a moment, waking up at 5:00am in the morning, both Bob and Tim would get up with t-shirts and underwear on (yes, true story), get onto their Radio Shack TRS-80 pocket computers (see below), hook up the modem to the telephone line, and send their stories back to Yachts & Yachting editors and various British newspapers. Hilarious! Young Stu J. (23 yrs old) at the time gave them endless grief for the whole process. It may have helped that we all had few too many at the famous St Petersburg YC bar the night before; that was when I first learned about Fish's penchant for regaling all within earshot of all kinds of crazy stories that had most everyone dying with laughter!


The second and third most epic events took place as the result of one race- the epic St Petersburg to Fort Lauderdale Race. Just 465.0 nm down around the bottom of the Florida Keys, leaving the Rebecca Shoals buoy to port, then head north with the fast-flowing Gulf Stream to the finish off the Ft. Lauderdale sea buoy. 

So, the day dawned with a gorgeous bright sunny day with the Southwest wind blowing a solid 15-20 kts for the start. The wave pattern was truly bizarre, as it can be on Tampa Bay; it was a very steep 2-3 foot "chop" that made our 36-footer bounce around like a cork...a bad thing for weak stomachs or hungover sailors. The first casualty, amazingly enough, was Mark Ploch...running back to the stern rail to leeward and losing his breakfast.  Not long after it was Fish's turn. Then Tim, and the rest of the crew; except me, the lone survivor of the entire crew. That would work against me later. 

After a bit of clean-up, off to starting line. Mark was on the helm, we took off on port tack at the start, fetching the Egmont Key sea buoy, our first left turn on the race track. By the time we got there, the strong Southwester was starting to die off, as predicted by NOAA at the time. The forecast was for a very strong, classic cold front to drop across the Gulf of Mexico with northwesterly breezes starting at 15 to 25 kts, then building! Ouch! Sure enough, while fetching Rebecca Shoals buoy about 40.0nm out, it's pitch black, the wind swung around quickly before the front.
 

We dropped the headsail, quickly put up the 1.5 oz heavy spinnaker, and took off on starboard gybe, hitting 10-13 kts constantly. Just before we got to Rebecca Shoals buoy, lightning bolts blazing across the skies behind us, we could see (even at night) another line of breeze headed towards us from the northwest (thanks to all that lightning). Mark and I looked at each other wondering what would happen next. We decided to gybe earlier than we expected, pulling it off without too much trouble in 25 kts of breeze (remember, these were end-to-end pole gybes using lazy guys, flying the spinnaker off the sheets). Then, the s**t hit the fan. The first puff hit around 30 kts, taking us flying past Rebecca around 15-16 kts boatspeed. Halfway down the 12.0 nm leg before we turned left for Lauderdale, the next puff hit around 40 kts. The J/36 just about lifted out of the water-- I think we topped 21.6 kts. At that point, Mark and I felt that was enough stress on everyone. Using the lazy guy to leeward, we did a simultaneous blow the guy to port, winch in the lazy guy to pull the spinnaker behind the main and blow the first 20 feet of the halyard. Thankfully, it worked. 

Next up was putting up a #4 jib. That took place without too much trouble. Though it took a few minutes, it probably didn't matter since we were planing under main alone. Then, it was up the Keys on a port tack reach, slowly edging out into the northerly-flowing Gulf Stream. 

By early morning, as the sun rose off to the East over the Bahamas, the conditions were horrific. With such a fast-moving front, the breeze was due north by the time we got into the heart of the Gulf Stream. Waves were steep and breaking, often up to 12 ft high, with no backs behind them, just a cliff. So, steering proved to be quite a challenge to avoid launching the boat going upwind in 25-35 kts, gusting 40, reefed main and #4 jib flying. 

Around 10:00 am, our electronics and Loran GPS went out. Not good! We had to start the engine to charge the batteries. Click, click, click. Nothing happened. Mark and I spoke and we realized we had an air lock in the fuel flow. Ouch. That was no easy fix. In short, Mark "volunteered" me to help bleed the system in the bowels of the boat to get fuel flow (everyone else was still battling fatigue from early sea sickness). So, unhooking the hose from the engine, and sucking diesel into the hose to ensure we had fuel flow, spitting it out into a bucket. Then, flipping the valves on the diesel, and thankfully firing that damn diesel engine to work. Needless to say, we made it to Lauderdale in one piece. And, the party that ensued in Lauderdale, later in Miami, and later again in Nassau, Bahamas was even better. We all survived to tell the story. Trust me, Fish and Tim never forgot that experience.

Later in life, I didn't run into Fish again until I went over to the UK and Europe to start J/Boats Europe in 1990. The first person I called for advice was Fish, of course. Because of him, I ended up in Lymington, Hampshire. For those "in the know", Lymington is a sleepy little town on the western end of the Solent that is home to many of the UK's leading sailors. The most amusing part of that experience was having Fish sail with me on my J/44 J/HAWK on evening "beer-can races" off the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. As he often reminded me, our near-shore mark roundings were often an exercise in "plowing" through the mud/silt in order to continue the race...or, sometimes not!

A decade+plus later, I saw Fish and friends in Valencia for the America's Cup. I was there for three weeks. Fun and games as always, after "work" (if you could call it that), going to their favorite pub just off the traffic circle near the bases with characters like Peter Montgomery (New Zealand), Tim Jeffery (then ORACLE Communications Director), and Angus Phillips from the Washington Post. 


After getting back to the USA, it wasn't until the summer of 2007 when I get an email from Fish asking if I'd participate with him and friend Phil Lawrence, sailing the International Masters Regatta on J/105s, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. That was a no brainer, the answer was "yes", of course. To make a long-story short, we had a fantastic time. Perhaps the most entertaining part was a nightly swing by what became our favorite watering-hole, the famous karaoke bar called "Silver Cloud" on Lombard St. We sailed together again in 2008. Thereafter, the world economy tanked in 2009-2010, so the Master's regatta was canceled.

Working with its founder, Don Trask, the San Diego YC offered to restart the event in the sunny, warm, friendly waters of southern California. After all, San Diego is the favorite retirement community for the "old guard" of the US Navy- plenty of Admiral-level types in the neighborhood. The idea was enthusiastically received with the support of St. Francis YC themselves. 


Sure enough, I got another invitation from Fish in 2013 to sail and rub elbows with some of the world's sailing glitterati. Fish was in his element, of course, relishing the chance to see dozens of his friends he'd written about for years- like Dennis Conner, Don Trask, Vince Brun, etc. 

We sailed together for three straight years from 2013 to 2015, each regatta presenting its unique challenges and chances to catch up with sailing friends from around the world.  


Bob's crew- L-R: Brent Draney, Stu Johnstone, Julia Johnstone, Fish, Phil Lawrence

Again, sitting on the wide-open decks of San Diego YC in the evening, Fish reflected for a moment, "you know, I've sailed a lot of regattas. But, this one has to be the most fun I've ever had. Great people, great club, great crew!" We toast and clink glasses to yet another day of fun with the Fish doing what he loved best, sailing with friends and enjoying the moment. That's what he loved to do most.


2014 participants- L-R: Chuck Nichols, Augie Diaz, Jon Andron, Dennis Durgan, Jon Wright, Tom Ehman, Gary Jobson, Bob Fisher, Dick Enersen, Don Martin, Don Trask, Bob Munro.

When Fish was sailing the Masters, his competitors read like a "who's who" of yacht racing, many of whom were subjects of Fish's columns over time in the British yachting press. Those sailors included Hans Fogh, Don Trask, Ron Holland, Rod Johnstone, David Irish, Stan & Sally Honey, Augie Diaz, Gary Jobson, Tom Ehman, Dick Enersen, Malin Burnham, John Kilroy, Bill Menninger, Doug Rastello, Dick Tillman, Robert Mosbacher, and John Jennings, just to name a few.

We will miss Fish, to be sure. But, his infectious, enthusiastic fun-loving spirit is imbued in all of us. That was his special gift to all that enjoyed his friendship. Sail on my friend, see you someday soon.

Sailing photo credits Bronny Daniels/ Cynthia Sinclair  Donations in Bob Fisher’s memory are welcomed to the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation.  Messages are welcome on Bob Fisher’s Facebook page
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Hamble Winter Series Week IV Report

 

(Hamble, England)- The Hamble River Sailing Club worked with local and national authorities in the United Kingdom to ensure that sailing events could take place on the Southampton Water and the infamous Solent while adhering to the covid-19 pandemic guidelines.  As a result, they were able to start up their annual Hamble Winter Series, albeit with a bit of a delay. Here is the latest report from Trevor Pountain and thanks to Paul Wyeth for sailing photos.

"This week should have seen the culmination of the Hamble One-Design Championships, with racing on both Saturday and Sunday. However, the Weather Gods, or Storm Barbara as they were called last week, had other ideas. It was clear for several days in advance, that Saturday would be a complete non-starter. So, competitors were given an early cancellation on Friday lunchtime. With a well-known and respected online weather predictor giving 17-23 knots average, but gusts of 28-33 knots for the Sunday, the Race Team gave another early cancellation on the Saturday to prevent teams travelling and boats being launched.


The Forecast was not bad enough to trouble the IRC Classes, so Peter Bateson took the fleet to the vicinity of "Hamblewinterseries.com buoy" for a probable start area. The wind was moving between WSW and W, but was otherwise as expected. By 1000 hours it had gone south and dropped to 2-4 knots. There was much head scratching on the committee boat, and the competitors who had braved thunder and hail stones on the way to the start area, began to frantically adjust their rig settings and look for lighter headsails. With Windycator v2 showing 25 knots from the SW everywhere but the Bramble plateau the PRO decided to wait.

After half an hour, the wind was still light and from the south, so Peter Bateson decide it was better for the fleet to do something rather than sit around waiting. New courses were quickly designed to deal with the southerly starting breeze, but with the later legs ready for the expected southwesterly. 

IRC 1 Class and IRC 2 Class got away at 1110 hrs and 1120 hrs, still in shifty, very light airs from the south. IRC 3 Class departed at 1130 hrs, with a building breeze of 10 knots. 

IRC 1 Class were near the third mark at West Knoll when the "proper" breeze returned (10-15 knots) from the SW. IRC 2 yachts were half way from the first mark (East Knoll) to the second, with spinnakers up, when the wind switched from very little from the S (coming from Cowes) to 15+ knots from the NW (direct from Southampton) and several boats had a minute or two bearing off in the direction of Portsmouth before they could drop their kites and get onto the beat, which the leg had become. IRC 3 started on a beat which turned into a fetch, but at least the second leg became another beat! The rest of the race was more-or-less beats and spinnaker runs, as intended!


Big wind shifts nearly always have a snakes and ladders effect on the positions, and so it was in IRC 2 Class. Simon Perry's J/019 JIRAFFE got caught up in the pin end melee, leaving Mike & Susie Yates J/109 JAGO in clear air mid-line, alongside Gavin Howe's J/88 TIGRIS and Rob Cotterill J/109 MOJO RISIN. 

In the end, it was the Yates' JAGO taking line honors and extending their lead for the series with a cumulative 2-1-1 tally for 4 pts and a near-unassailable lead on the fleet. However, "no one is counting their chickens before they hatch", so to speak.  Perry's JIRAFFE team got smoked and ended up taking a 6th place to drop off their "death match" with the JAGO team...now posting 11 pts.  Sailing the most consistently is Gavin Howe's J/88 TIGRIS, hanging onto third overall with the series with a 4th place, for a total of 11 pts. Yet another J/crew sits on fourth for the series, Mark Stevens' J/105 JACANA with a 4-2-7 tally for 13 pts. 

In IRC 3, the amazing Greenhalgh family continues to hang in there. Though they had a disappointing 6th place this past weekend, their series tally of 6-1-6 for 13 pts keeps them in the hunt at the top of the leaderboard. While currently sitting in third place, no one doubts they have the talent and the desire to jump to the top of the class. 

The Key Yachting Prosecco and Chocolates were enjoyed by all the winners, not just Susie Yates.

Next week is the mid series break, and when the fleet returns on November 8th for the real winter bit of the series.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth  For more Hamble Winter Series sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

EAT SLEEP J REPEAT Wins U.K. J/70 One-Design Championship

 

(Hamble, United Kingdom)- The J/70 Class had a cracking weekend of racing at their U.K. J/70 One-Design Championships, organized by the Hamble River Sailing Club. Beautiful winter conditions with a solid northwesterly breeze produced some electric action for the J/70 UK Class, competing in Round 4 of the J/70 UK Grand Slam Series.


Twenty J/70 teams enjoyed six races over two days. J/70 Open World Champion, Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, won the regatta. But it was far from easy with seconds deciding every race. The UK National Champion, Graham Clapp’s JEEPSTER, was second. JEEPSTER were in red hot form scoring no lower than fifth. Calascione & Peters racing CALYPSO won the last race to claim third. Martin Dent’s JELVIS won the penultimate race but was just a point off the podium in fourth. Nick Phillips’ CHAOTIC continues to impress as one of the exciting new teams in the class, winning Race 3 on the way to a regatta finish in fifth.


“The competition in the class is just getting stronger and stronger,” commented Paul Ward (pictured below). “The established teams are very hard to beat, and we have some outstanding sailors coming into the class. The first day of the regatta we had thrilling conditions, fully on the step, planing mode all day! The second day was more shifty and lighter air, so everyone was roughly the same speed and tactics really came into play. Well done to the Hamble River Sailing Club for giving the class a fantastic weekend’s racing.”


While there was no official Corinthian Class, there was a ding-dong battle for the top Corinthians boat. Doug Struth’s DSP came out on top, just two points ahead of the UK National Corinthian Champion, Charles Thompson’s BRUTUS. Corinthian World Champion Marshall King, on the stick of SOAK RACING, finished just a point behind Brutus.


A warm welcome to two new J/70 teams racing this weekend; Stuart Bethell’s JM7 and James Howells’ LIGHTFOOT. Also, John Greenland’s newly acquired J/70 WOOF!

The J/70 UK Grand Slam Series continues with Round 5 and the conclusion of the HRSC One-Design Championships, 24-25 October. Sailing photo credits- Paul  Wyeth/ PWPictures.com.  For more UK J/70 Class sailing information

Hamble Winter Series Report

 

(Hamble, England)- The Hamble River Sailing Club worked with local and national authorities in the United Kingdom to ensure that sailing events could take place on the Southampton Water and the infamous Solent while adhering to the covid-19 pandemic guidelines.  As a result, they were able to start up their annual Hamble Winter Series, albeit with a bit of a delay. Here are the quick reports for J/Sailors around the world. 


Saturday saw the start of racing for the two days of the Hamble IRC Autumn Championship. Fifty-eight teams went out over the weekend, including a twenty-five strong Class 1, who were also battling for the Hamble Star Trophy for the best" Big Boat." That world-renowned photographer from the Isle of Wight, Paul Wyeth, declared it was "The best turn out all season."

Conditions looked tricky for all concerned from the forecast’s light winds from the NE on Saturday and three fifths of sod all on the Sunday. The CV Condor went to East Knoll to start Race 1 on Saturday and laid a couple of windward marks and a couple of leeward marks to allow for the predicted shift in the wind.


This turned out to be the best breeze of the weekend and the 25 strong IRC 1 fleet had a great first race and finished in a big bunch with the top four separated by only 1 minute 30 seconds on corrected time.  Michael O'Donnell's J/121 DARKWOOD was second. 

In IRC 2, the battles between the two J/109's of Simon Perry and Mike & Susie Yates, were quickly re-joined. Mike & Susie's JAGO made the most of the first beat by staying south of the North Channel. They arrived at the windward mark first only to be interrupted by a wine glass, in the spinnaker that is, not the cockpit. This meant they spent some time going down tide allowing Simon Perry's JIRAFFE to slip through and gain control of the race. JIRAFFE finished 1st.

The failing breeze meant that only Class 1 managed to finish the second race on Saturday.


As already stated, the forecast for Sunday did not look positive. PRO Peter Bateson was determined to give it a go, if at all possible, and his Saturday night WhatsApp enthused "We are going to try. It only needs a couple more knots of breeze and we'll get some racing." The Race Team went out on time and at 09.13 the message was "We currently have 4-5 knots of breeze from the North. Suggest boats come out and join us." Peter set up a short 0.8-mile course of loops to keep the fleet close for the expected failing breeze, not to mention the start of the spring tide ripping in the wrong direction. As it turned out every class was shortened by radio Amendment 3, which allowed at least some of them to have a race.

IRC 1 spoiled the plan to get everyone away quickly, by forcing a general recall. "A crucial loss of 10 minutes!" was the only printable comment from those classes waiting patiently behind them. The upshot of this was that in IRC 3, only four boats managed to finish. David Greenhalgh's J/92 J'RONIMO finished a comfortable first. J'RONIMO managed third overall due to 13 retirements on the last race.

In IRC 2, Race 3 started with the J/109s JIRAFFE, JAGO and one other boat OCS. Although this call by the Race Team was hotly disputed on JAGO, they duly returned with JIRAFFE and set about recovering the situation. They repeated their tactics from the first race, this time without any spinnaker trouble and came home first.  Mark Stevens J/105 JACANA was second and JIRAFFE was third. 

With the benefit of going first, eventually, IRC 1 with their greater speed managed to get 16 boats to the amended finish. The overall positions for the IRC 1 Autumn Championship saw Cornel Riklin's J/111 JITTERBUG take third place!

Peter Bateson and the Race Team are to be congratulated in getting three races run in such trying conditions.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth    For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/112E Wins Class 2 @ U.K. IRC Nationals!

 

(Cowes, IOW, England)- Mid-September it may be, but conditions for the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 2020 IRC championships felt more like June last weekend, with shorts and T-shirts conditions and allowing a full schedule of racing to be laid on by PRO Stuart Childerley and his team. The event concluded Sunday with two windward-leeward races on the central-eastern Solent in more variable and generally lighter winds than on Friday or Saturday.

The hardest fought victory across the three classes was that of 2012 winner David Franks aboard his J/112E LEON. They had been handicapped with Franks only coming out of COVID-19 isolation on Friday; maths not working in their favor from the event’s mandatory crew number reduction rules (for social distancing), but mainly from being one of the lowest rated boats in IRC Two and having to find lanes and constantly fight their way up through the fleet. On the plus side the Leon crew had sailed together previously this year. 

Franks commented on the regatta, saying “it has been fabulous, a very good event, well organized. It was lovely to see so many boats out on the Solent.”

“Normally we do well in the light, despite the fact that we are the smallest boat,” continued LEON's Franks. “Today the wind’s velocity was going up and down and was all over the place in direction, so it was hard to know what was going on. It was very challenging, a lot of work.”

In the IRC 3 Division, the Royal Air Force Sailing Association team on their J/109 RED ARROW managed a few good races on the final day to finish 4th in class. Posting nearly all 5th's, Ross Bowdler's J/80 JUSTIFY ended up finishing fifth place, surprise-surprise! 

Joining the UK IRC Nationals fleet on Saturday and Sunday were the twenty-two entries for the IRC Two-Handed Nationals.  After a four-race series, Mike Yates' J/109 JAGO sailed a consistent 2-5-6-2 series to end up tied for second place on 9 pts total, but losing the tiebreaker on countback to settle for the bronze.  After a disastrous second race, Bruce Huber's J/112E XANABOO posted a 4-10-2-4.5 tally to secure fifth place, a great performance for their first outing of the year! Other J's in the top 10 included Stephen Roberts' J/105 JIN TONIC in 7th and David Greenhalgh's J/92 J'RONIMO in 9th place.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth   For more UK IRC Nationals sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Gorgeous Landsail Tyres J-Cup UK Regatta!

 

(Cowes, England)- Fifty J/Boats have entered the Landsail Tyres J-Cup and the sizable fleet had a thrilling start to the three-day regatta with a fresh south-westerly breeze gusting over 25 knots. The RORC Race Team, led by PRO Stuart Childerley, completed one race for all classes before the tide changed, stirring up an already agitated Solent. Class winners on the opening day were Gavin Howe’s J/88 Tigris, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’Ronimo, Tony & Sally Mack’s J/111 McFly, Simon Perry’s J/109 Jiraffe and Paul Ward’s J/70 Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat.

In IRC One, three former J-Cup winners filled the podium for the first race of the regatta. Gavin Howe’s J/88 Tigris won by just 22 seconds on corrected time from David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/88 J-Dream. Chaz Ivill’s J/112E Davanti Tyres was third.

“I am delighted with the team’s performance today,” commented Gavin Howe. “The race was very competitive. In the conditions we decided not to hoist are spinnaker on the downwind leg and J-Dream decided to go for it and passed us. However, Tigris fought back to win, which was delightful.”

In IRC Two, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’Ronimo reveled in the conditions to take line honours and the race win after time correction by nearly three minutes. Nick Munday’s J/97 Induljence was second and Becky Walford’s J/92 Brenda’s J was third.

Volvo Ocean Race sailor Libby Greenhalgh is navigator and tactician for her father driving J’Ronimo. “We went for an early reef on J’Ronimo and sailed the course that suited our boat rather than following the fleet,” she commented. “Our overall strategy was to minimize tacks and race in flat water, rather than use the tide.”

In the J/111 Class, Tony & Sally Mack’s McFly opened their defense of the J/111 UK National Championship with a solid performance taking the race win. Chris Jones’ Journeymaker II was second and Tim Tolcher’s Raging Bull 2 was third.

In the J/109 Class, also their UK National Championship, Simon Perry’s Jiraffe was today’s race winner. Mike & Susie Yates’ Jago was second and David Richards’ Jumping Jellyfish was third.


Paul Ward’s Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat won a high-speed encounter in the J/70 Class. Nick Phillips racing RTYC Charter boat Chaotic, only racing in a J/70 for the second time, was runner up. Tim Collins racing EV Experts was third.

The daily prize givings were held at the RORC Clubhouse. Dividing the fleet for social distancing, the J Boat family enjoyed complimentary pasta and a bottle beer and applauded today’s prize winners. Racing continues tomorrow, Friday 4th September, with lighter winds forecast for the Landsail Tyres J-Cup.

Key Yachting and the Royal Ocean Racing Club have been hard at work to maintain safety of all involved, both ashore and afloat. The sailing instructions include details of COVID-19 procedures. There is also a no spinnaker/gennaker wind limit designed to work with reduced crew numbers. All Competitors are welcome at the RORC Cowes clubhouse during the event.
 
The most coveted award at the Landsail Tyres J-Cup is the J-Cup itself, which will be awarded at the Prize Giving Dinner on Saturday 5th September.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth   For more J/Cup UK Regatta sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

RORC IRC Nationals Update

 

(Cowes, IOW, England)- The central Solent delivered on the opening day of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s IRC National Championship. The westerly wind started off light, but built to a solid 18 knots, the September sun even putting in an appearance, as the three-class fleet progressed through two windward-leeward races and one round the cans.

Despite it being so late in the year, for many competitors this is their first event of 2020 thanks to the hiatus caused by the pandemic. For some this meant blowing the cobwebs away after a year away from sailing. The challenge has further increased as to improve social distancing on board, crews are only permitted to sail with 80% of their usual number.

In IRC 2 Class, Michael O'Donnell's J/121 DARKWOOD took the final round the cans race. At the end of play (and subject to a protest), DARKWOOD leads on countback from David Franks’ J/112E LEON.


Franks only came out of isolation today and will race LEON tomorrow. Today his tactician Graham Sunderland helmed. The IRC Nationals is their second outing of the year but as a team Franks and Sunderland have continued to race their beloved Etchells this summer. Unfortunately, the maths of the crew reduction has not worked in their favour and they are sailing with six rather than nine. Nonetheless, they are enjoying it and are coming to terms with their new roles.

As to the conditions, the Winning Tides co-author Graham Sunderland stated, “it was tough. It was never really up the middle and you weren’t certain if it was right or left. The left was high risk and the right was stable but average. It was a difficult race track.”

Racing resumes Saturday, when another three races are scheduled for the IRC Nationals in what the forecast indicates will be similar conditions to today. The event will also double in size with the start of the IRC Two-Handed National Championship which will run alongside for the remainder of the event.  For more UK IRC Nationals sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

RORC Offshore Series Updates

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As with other major offshore events, the window of opportunity to get back to racing on the Seven Seas depends on jurisdiction and where the races start and end. For the race management team at RORC, the varying rules and jurisdictions are particularly vexing when conducting races between the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, and The Netherlands.  Here are some of the latest updates.

IRC National Championship - move to September confirmed
The RORC Committee have confirmed the move of the IRC National Championships from its scheduled June time slot to September 11th to13th, Friday to Sunday. The move sees the IRC Nationals being run together with the IRC Double-Handed National Championship scheduled for the same weekend.

IRC Rating Director Dr Jason Smithwick commented, "The later schedule is a good result for the IRC fleet and allows us the best chance of giving them a top-level event with sailing in good conditions."

Channel Race & L'Île d'Ouessant Race
The Club now turns its attention to August and the traditional Channel Race and the quadrennial favorite of the L'Île d'Ouessant Race (or Ushant race), where it is hoped club racing can begin again.

RORC Racing Manager Chris Stone discusses some of the complexities and considerations in getting racing under way, "we are working to provide information as early as possible for all races, with a view to giving members and competitors an update about races no later than 30 days (4 weeks) before the scheduled race date. We will continue to ensure these updates come as early as possible to limit the disruption to those competing. There are many areas to monitor and consider, including the safety of the RORC staff and volunteers before we simply set off and go racing."

"With the cancellation of the July events, we now look more seriously at the Channel Race and the L'Île d'Ouessant Race," continues Stone. "Will Government regulations allow yachts to sail fully crewed? Current social distancing measures make it difficult for that to happen safely. Regulations also currently don't permit people to stay away from their primary residence, so we eagerly await some changes before overnight races can return to normal. There is also more serious border and immigration issues that need to be resolved. At present, sailing into foreign waters in a recreational capacity is against regulations. But, potentially, there may also be some quarantine issues to consider going forward. And lastly, we need to be extremely aware of the situation with our search and rescue authorities and examine their willingness to have events start up again. They are, after all, crucial to our sport, especially in maintaining the safety of all those competing."

Stone further noted, "we appreciate that it must be terribly frustrating watching the season go by from land. We feel the same and would like to ensure all our competitors that we are doing everything within our power to get us back to racing as quickly and as safely as possible."  Sailing Photo Credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com.  For more RORC Offshore event sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Big Breeze for Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series Opening Weekend

(Warsash, England)- Brisk conditions of force 5-6 from the SSW greeted the hardy people who ventured out on Sunday 15 March for the start of the new season. Having reviewed the forecast, an early decision was taken to postpone the Combined Sportboat Class by an hour to allow the expected wind to moderate a little from the early morning predicted 20 gusting 30 knots, but still give everyone a chance for three races.

The conditions clearly suited Simon Cavy in the J/70 JUST4PLAY who took line honours in all three races, as well as winning them on IRC corrected time in the IRC Sportboat Class.


As it turned out, the wind stayed at 18-20 knots with regular gusts well into the mid-20s, which gave lots of opportunity for exciting downwind legs, but surprisingly few entertaining broaches.

Black Group enjoyed some long beats and runs or reached from the start near Goodall Roofing buoy. The windward mark for most classes was the newly named Team O Marine mark on the Ryde Middle bank, and from there the boats surfed down to Lee-on-the-Solent and back to the Ryde Middle a couple of times, before finishing just NE of the North Channel at Hamble Yacht Services buoy. Race Officer Peter Bateson noted that at 10-12 miles, the races were deliberately set a little shorter than usual, as seemed right for the blustery conditions in the first race of the season. Elapsed times ranged from 1.5 to just under 2 hours.


In IRC 2 Class, Chas Ivill's J/112E DAVANTI TYRES was the winner, baulked slightly by shipping on the last run across the North Channel, but holding her lead nevertheless. Gavin Howe's J/88 TIGRIS pulled off a fourth place in the demanding conditions.

As a precaution in view of the spread of Covid-19 virus, the daily prize-giving was postponed to avoid a gathering at Warsash Sailing Club. The prizes for the day's winners have been put aside for handing over later on.

The Series continues next Sunday 22nd March, so long as the RYA and government advice continues to be that it is sensible to do so; and the two Spring Championship weekends are on 18-19th and 25-26th April.

For more Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Beautiful 3rd Weekend @ Hamble Winter Series

(Hamble, England)- The famous Hamble Winter Series continued on the Solent and Southampton Water, hosted by the Hamble Sailing Club. The classes include IRC handicap as well as one-design fleets of J/70s in southern United Kingdom. This past weekend marked the third weekend of sailing in beautiful fall weather conditions.

The Hamble One-design Championship was sailed on both the Saturday and Sunday of Week 3. PRO Ian Bullock, set up station in the vicinity of William buoy for the Saturday starts to take advantage of the WSW airstream. The J/70’s sailed a series of windward/leeward courses in the bright sunshine and steadily increasing breeze. The Race Team, with Ian Sumner, guesting as Time Keeper, on his annual return to the Solent, managed to get four races completed just in case the weather for the next day was not so helpful. As the wind built throughout the day, all the fleets began to surf and plane down the waves.

Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT showed very quickly why he was the current J/70 World Champion with four bullets on Saturday.

Sunday arrived and this time, although sunny, the wind was from the ENE and decidedly chilly. Everyone was now very happy that only two races were needed to finish the series. Mike Foster was PRO and he placed the start near East Knoll, with the windward mark off the Hill Head shore. Once again, the pressure slowly built, so that when Paul Wyeth appeared to take the pictures, the teams were parting the waves and creating impressive water features.

Having missed the first weekend, Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT was unable to feature on the overall podium. Marshall King’s SOAK RACING, took the J/70 Championship with 14 points, followed by Tim Collins’ EV EXPERTS in second with 24 pts and Simon Cavey’s JUST 4 PLAY in third with 37 pts.

The IRC boats in the main HYS Hamble Winter Series were taken to Goodall Roofing (40), to battle it out for the Key Yachting day prizes (wine and chocolates) for the first race. The second race started around the "Ryde Middles” and went NE to Fastnet Insurance or East Bramble (depending on your size), then back towards the Isle of Wight, before heading NE to the Lee on the Solent shore, returning to South Ryde Middle and appropriately to a finish off Hamble Yacht Services.

In the IRC 1 Division, race 1 saw the J/112E DAVANTI TYRES take second. Then, DAVANTI TYRES took the win in race two, followed by Paul Griffith’s J/111 JAGERBOMB.

In IRC 2 Division, Simon Perry’s J/109 JIRAFFE continued her winning ways with two first places. "We just kept our nose clean,” said a crewmember. Gavin Howe’s J/88 TIGRIS was also literally in the Key Yachting chocolates with a fourth and a second. Sitting in third for the series is John Smart’s J/109 JUKEBOX to round out a current clean sweep of the class podium for J/Crews.

Continuing to extend their lead in the J/88 class scoring is Howe’s TIGRIS, with Dirk van Beek’s SABRIEL JR in second 4 pts back, and Tim Tolcher’s RAGING BULL in third yet another 4 pts in arrears.

Next week is Race Week 4 of the HYS Hamble Winter Series and the culmination of the Hamble Big Boat Championship.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com   For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.