J/133 JACANA Wins off Cape Town

(Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa)- In the southern hemisphere, most sailors are familiar with the extensive one-design and offshore racing taking place in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand). However, an active offshore fleet continues to enjoy the often-spectacular conditions sailors experience off the famous landmark known as the Cape of Good Hope. In fact, there are more than a dozen J/teams sailing those waters ranging from J/24s to J/27s, J/30s to J/105s, and even a J/133.

Recently, the J/133 Team HOLLARD JACANA (owned by the trio of David Munro, Patrick Holloway, and Neil Gregory) was the overall winner of the Class 1 Division in the 2019 Fling Regatta, the first amateur team to win in five years.

Patrick commented on their performance, “racing was incredibly close, as was the overall result. Our crew had one 1st, three 2nds, a 3rd and a 4th in the six-race regatta, for a total of 10 points, after a one-race discard. The regatta was sailed in Table Bay over the weekend of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd February 2019.

The event was the third and penultimate round of the Western Province Inshore Championships, which the team continues to lead. Previously, we won the False Bay Spring Regatta (September 2018) and finished 2nd in Table Bay Race Week (December 2018) by the narrowest of margins on a tie break.” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Ullman Sails Names Skip Novak As Sailing Ambassador!

(Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)- Recently, a good friend from back in our Midwest days (e.g. as kids growing up sailing off Chicago and Wisconsin’s various lakes), was named to be the Ullman Sails “Sailing Ambassador”- his name is Skip Novak.  For starters, kudos to Skip and to Dave Ullman and friends at Ullman Sails for bringing Skip on board to help promote the experience of sailing worldwide and educate people on the importance of eco-friendly life-styles and environmentally-friendly programs.

Skip has sailed just about everywhere, starting with dinghies in Chicago, then a Chicago-Mac Race, then a Whitbread Race on the Swan 65 KINGS LEGEND (with a beloved, now long lost, friend- Greg Tuxworth), then some J/24 stuff here and there with friends, a few Cowes Race Weeks, now adventuring in a 70 foot schooner/ketch called PELAGIC II (funded by mostly Chicago sailing friends) and based out of Tierra del Fuego doing charters/ eco-adventures!  Read on! Skip is a great person and the ultimate sailing ambassador for anyone; plus he was recently honored with the prestigious Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America for his many years of cruising and exploring the Antarctic.  Read more about Skip’s interview and background here.  Thanks for contribution from Ullman Sails/ Newport Beach.

Enright's Team ALVIMEDICA Sailing VOR Leg 1

(Alicante, Spain)- Charlie Enright and Team ALVIMEDICA  have started the Volvo Ocean Race off Alicante, Spain and they are now five days into their first 6,500+nm Leg #1.  They successfully navigated the Straits of Gibraltar and, needless to say, they are enjoying a real one-design race with dramatic swings taking place nearly hourly as the duel with the six other contenders for the race lead.  They’ve gone from 1st to 5th, then back to 1st more times than you can remember.  Epic, drama-filled days, creating enormous anxieties for the navigators making new “calls” just about every hour (often less!). 

It’s turning into a mind-numbing game of nerves as each crew “bobs & weaves” through the fleet and whatever the wind Gods deliver to them as they play gybing angles downwind off the coast of Africa.  For many, it’s been a maddeningly frustrating start to the race as they are now past the Canary Islands and sailing on a southwest course along the African coastline towards their next mark off Recife, Brazil.  Unlike the last race, this time the whole fleet took the “classic” trading ship route down along the coast of Africa before going hunting for the offshore tradewinds.  Also sailing fast is the J/80 superstar sailor from Spain, Iker Martinez on MAPFRE and J/24 ace Ian Walker from Great Britain leading Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing!   Follow the Volvo 65s racing “J/One—Design style” around the world here on the live tracker.

South Africa Tops International YC Challenge

(New York, NY)- Last weekend, nineteen teams of amateur sailors from 14 nations sailed in the Sixth Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge in absolutely gorgeous sailing conditions on the Hudson River, right next to the famous Statue of Liberty. The races took place in Manhattan YC’s bright red J/24s; races were started off their famous floating clubhouse, the Sparkman & Stephens designed “Honorable William Wall”, anchored in New York Harbor just north of Ellis Island.

Winning the regatta with considerable ease was the Royal Cape Yacht Club from Capetown, South Africa.  How did the South African team do it? By sailing fast and smart and avoiding any un-necessary mistakes.  This dark horse was a well-practiced team, all used to sailing big waves and even bigger winds off the tip of Capetown; a place renowned for nasty gales, chilly winds, and “jumping great white sharks” feeding on innocent little seals off the infamous Shark Island (often seen getting “big air” right in the middle of some of their race courses)!  Needless to say, not much was going to intimidate this team of one-design and offshore sailors.

The South Africans arrived to the regatta without fanfare and at the Opening Ceremony, described themselves as the “most humble” team at the regatta. They told the story about how they scraped together funds for their 36 hour flight to New York City by soliciting donations. They were surprised by the many generous sources that collectively made their participation possible. Despite their challenges, they easily led the regatta after sailing three races on the first day- posting a 5-2-1.  Not a bad score considering none of them had ever sailed on the Hudson River before!  Over the next two days, they never slowed down, adding a 7-2-2-1-2 to close the regatta with 15 pts net and win by a stellar margin of 5 pts.

Starting out in second after the first day were the Royal Danish Yacht Club team from Denmark.  They managed to post very consistent scores of 4-4-2-2-3-4-8-1 for 20 pts net to secure a firm grasp on the silver overall.

Third place and the balance of the top five saw just about every team experience some amazingly bad races; as the Aussies often say, “we sent it down the mine shaft!”  After day one, the Manhattan YC #2 team was third with a 1-9-3, but then disappeared into the abyss on day two with an epochal record of 17-13-8 to take themselves out of contention (hmmm, rumor had it they were showing some of their newfound foreign friends a good time Friday night in downtown Manhattan until twilight?).

Howth YC from Howth, Ireland, a hotbed of J/24 activity in that island nation and recent host of the J/24 Worlds, also started out strong with a 2-6-7-5, temporarily holding onto third place after four races.  Then, they bombed two races, gathering a 17-3-18-3 to drop themselves into fifth overall.

Third was taken by the Swiss team from Lake Geneva, sailing for the Cercle de la Voile de la Societe Nautique de Geneve.  They started out with an astonishingly humble record of 9-1-12-10, but then closed with a flourish, posting a 4-1-3-10 for a total of 38 pts net.  They narrowly beat out another team of dinghy and one-design sailors from Bermuda’s Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.  The Bermuda team also had a slow start, amassing a disappointing 3-16-8-12 in the first four races to firmly secure a mid-fleet position.  Nevertheless, like their Swiss counterparts, they pulled themselves up by their collective bootstraps and reeled off a 1-6-4-5 in the last four races for 39 pts net, just missing the podium by one point!   For more sailing photos- DC IYC Facebook page & credits- Scot Surbeck  For more Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge sailing information

J/22 Worlds Preview

(Deneysville, South Africa)- The J/22 World Championships are about to take place for the first time in class history in South Africa from April 26 to May 3rd. The South African J/22 class is hosting the event at the Vaal Dam situated in the Northern Free State Province. The Deneysville Aquatic Club, in the small village of Deneysville on the Free State side of the dam, will be the privileged co-host the social events. The regatta centre and base for the fleet will be at Manten Marina, also situated in the village of Deneysville. The amazing facilities at this marina will provide all the necessary amenities for docking of all participating J/22’s. All the clubs, bed and breakfast accommodations and residents have promised to make this a memorable event for the sailors, families and friends in the regatta.

The host club- Deneysville A.C.- renowned for its hospitality and is pulling out all the stops to co-host the event. The full-time catering facilities in the club house will provide the sailors plenty of food and beverage throughout the event. They also offer campsite accommodation to all the competitors on the club grounds. Alternatively, excellent camping facilities are also offered at Lake Deneysville Yacht Club with much larger camping space.

The weather forecast for both sailing and camping looks absolutely stunning!  Sunny skies, starry nights for an entire week with temperatures ranging into low 70s F in the daytime and high 40s at night.  Winds are forecast to range from 5-12 kts all week for SW-NW and from NE-SE quadrants. Check out the daily forecasts here- http://bit.ly/1nGiv7a

The turn-out for the event has been nothing if not enormous for this corner of the world- forty-one teams are sailing with representatives from all over South Africa, the Cayman Islands and Germany.  Many familiar names from the South African J/22 class are sailing, those who’ve been in the top five in past events like the provincial and national championships, such as LAUGH A MINUTE (John Bruckmann), MAJIC (Jessica Lenz), US’N’J (Graham Baker), AMTEC RACING (Marcello Marica and Amtec’s Mike Hayton), CELL C (Richard Weiderhold), SHAMBLES (Shellee Nel), ULLMAN SAILS (Craig Millar), and Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA.

The German J/22 Class is well represented with one of their top teams, Svend Hartog sailing TRICKY DICKY.  And, the top Cayman Islands team, Mike & Simon Farrington, will be racing TWO STROKE.  While all these teams are certainly familiar faces to many in the J/22 S.A. world, there are certain to be some spoilers in the crowd who rise to the occasion and walk off with a pile of silverware.   For more J/22 World Championship sailing information

J/22 World Championship Announcement

(Deneysville, South Africa)- The South African J/22 class is proudly hosting the J/22 World Championships at the Vaal Dam situated in the Northern Free State Province, from April 26th to May 2nd. The Deneysville Aquatic Club, in the small village of Deneysville on the Free State side of the dam, will be the privileged co-host for the social events. The regatta centre and base the world championship fleet will be at Manten Marina, also situated in the village of Deneysville. The amazing facilities at this marina will provide all the necessary equipment to accommodate all the participating J/22’s. There are many clubs, bed & breakfast, and lodge accommodations available around the beautiful lake.

During the month of April, the J/22 class will be hosting a “Festival of Sailing.” Over the Easter weekend, the J/22 South African National Championships will be held from the 18th to 21st April. The week following is the J/22 World’s starting on April 26th.

The host club, D.A.C., is renowned for its hospitality and is pulling out all the stops to co-host the event. The full-time catering facilities in the club house will keep the sailors fed and hydrated throughout the event. They will offer campsite accommodation to all the competitors on the club grounds. Alternative, excellent camping facilities at Lake Deneysville Yacht club offer a much larger camping space if you need to spread out.

Deneysville’s thriving tourism industry offer a wide variety of Bed & Breakfast accommodation as well as self-catering and Guest House type accommodation. A list of enthusiastic service providers will be available for any enquiries.

Charter boats- where and how to get them? It’s not too late to join us!  The J/22 class is currently 52 boats strong in South Africa with the majority of the boats sailed regularly. The class has worked with owners who are not participating in the event to make their boats available for charter.  BTW, the charter fee is affordable!  The class will be managing this process for the owners and competitors to be sure the boats are in race-ready condition and the owners are confident all will be done to look after their boat and keep their minds at rest.   Regatta registration can be done by email- “Chairman@J22.co.za”.  For complete regatta information, please visit http://www.j22.co.za

LAUGH A MINUTE Wins J/22 Mpumalanga Provincials

(Mpumalanga, South Africa)-  The Amtec J22 Mpumalanga Provincials has become a regatta enjoyed by all the top sailors in the J/22 class in South Africa. Fourteen J/22’s entered with many happy to travel to the event, six entries from TYC, four from the Vaal clubs, three local entries and the J chairman from VLC.

Weather conditions were critical as sailing instructions required a minimum of 4 races to constitute a series and this was needed in two days. Friday’s weather looked bleak for sailing but Saturday proved far better for the 11.00 start. With a nip in the air and a breeze of 3-8 Knots coming from the NNW the shore was a buzz of activity as fourteen yachts prepared for racing.  Five slick races were sailed Saturday with the last race finishing by 1730 hrs.

From the first race the competitive nature of the fleet combined with the skills on each yacht gave an indication of what was to come. In the first race 42 seconds separated the local entry LAUGH A MINUTE and TYC entry of US'N’J for a 1st with SHAMBLES 55 seconds later in 3rd. The young newcomer to the fleet Marcello Marica, skipper on JUICE with Amtec’s Mike Hayton showed his potential with a 5th 38 seconds between 1st and 2nd.

In Race 2 saw MAJIC- Jessica Lenz and crew move from 6th (subsequently her discard) to 2nd and then she repeated this result in Race 3. JUICE had their best result, a 4th in the series.

JAYWALKER on the other hand did not have a good 3rd race. On the 1st leg they wandered off into the dam onto the way to Steve’s place! They appeared totally lost and confused but claims he saw some wind shift from there!  HAKAHANA also lost valuable places going off to the "game reserve" side of the course on the last leg of the race (must have thought this was the “Kruger” park) only to realise they were way off course as the Blue flag on bridge was flying and the finish line was open. A valuable lesson to all crew don’t forget to count laps and watch the flags.

Race 4 saw a turnaround for CELL-C who had had a few challenges in the previous races. Let’s say CELL-C, including others, had perfected the 360/720 penalty. A 1st in the next 2 races improved their overall position and they certainly went home hoping for wind on Sunday.

Great to see Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA showing his potential with a 6th in this race but never far off the pace. Surprisingly the Race Officer, Mario Scalco, never needed to bring out a black flag.  But, his team had to be organized and quick-witted to deal with the close finishes in each race.

A beautiful clear blue sky as well as two perfectly rigged brand new Optimists greeted sailors on Sunday at breakfast. That is another story to be told at future regattas. At the first sign of possible wind boats were rigged but despite two valiant attempts at starting races it was not to be. At 1400 hrs the final signal was sounded.

The winner, LAUGH A MINUTE- John Brookman/ Dave Martinson and Ayshia Genloud had a convincing win with a net 8 points. CELL-C, disappointed with the lack of wind, finished 2nd overall with US'N'J finishing 3rd.

The hospitality, fantastic improvements and renovations to the Witbank Yacht and Aquatic Club, great racing organisation and ideal sailing waters all contributed to a memorable regatta that I am sure will see many J boats returning in 2014.   For more J/22 South Africa sailing information

J/111 Flies in Capetown Mid-Summer Fling!

(Capetown, South Africa)- While those north of the Equator are still fighting old Mother Winter, the intrepid sailors of Capetown are having a ball sailing in balmy breezes and slightly "cool" waters-- the stuff Great White Sharks love to swim in chasing yummy brown seals!  Yikes!  Even though the infamous Shark Island is just offshore with various Great Whites leaping 10-15 ft into the air while vying for their "aerial shark world chumping-ship", the sailors are blissfully ignorant about it and go their separate ways, planing down massively long slopes of fast-moving South Atlantic storm swells at a zillion miles per hour!

Having great fun in the Royal Cape YC's Mid-Summer Fling Regatta was the new J/111 TENACITY sailed by Erol Stern and Rob Meek.  With their magnificent "purple people eater" asymmetric spinnaker straining hard at the end of its dyneema "leash", the TENACITY gang certainly had their fair share of full-on screaming planes down the huge swells in the high teens!  In the end, their team managed to pull off a third overall in IRC Division I!  A bit off the pace but having just as much fun was the J/105 PANTS ON FIRE sailed by Dwayne Assis and Paul Thompson, managed a third in the final and extremely windy last race-- gusts over 30 kts!!

In Division I Racing, the J/27 HILl BILLY sailed by Peter Hill sailed well to finish 6th in their grouping, loving in particular the last heavy air day.  In Division II, the J/22 ESCAPE RACING TEAM sailed by Rob Tanner also enjoyed their racing over the course of the series.

If you're ever down in the South African region, be sure to stop by the Royal Cape YC in the shadows of the enchanting Table Mountain.  The Club hosts important sailing events including South Africa's premier keelboat regattas. The Cape to Rio and South Atlantic Races have been hosted by Royal Cape Yacht Club since inception in 1971. Other international events have included the Whitbread Race, the BT Global Challenge, The BOC Around Alone Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Hong Kong Challenge, to name but a few. Down the centuries, the Southern tip of the African continent, has extended a welcome to seafarers, gaining for the city and the RCYC the soubriquet- "The Tavern of the Seas"!!  Sailing Photo Credits- Onne Vanderal.com.    For more Capetown Mid-Summer Fling sailing information

J/133 Smokes Capetown Race

(Capetown, South Africa)- Every year, the Royal Capetown YC hosts the highly popular Dia de Portugal- Explore the Bay Pursuit Race.  Like their American and European counterparts, the slow boats on handicap ratings start first and the bigger faster boats start last, first to the finish line wins!

This year, sixty boats entered and the J/Fleet overall had some great performances.  Tops amongst the J/Teams was the J/133 DHL SPEED OF YELLOW sailed by Patrick Holloway, walking off with the MERCANTILE BANK TROPHY for winning Division I and the ORLANDO DE ALMEIDA FLOATING TROPHY for winning the entire pursuit race overall!

Other teams that sailed well were the J/105 PANTS ON FIRE finishing 6th, the J/120 NALEDI finishing 8th, the J/27 HILL BILLY in 24th and the J/27 PURE MAGIC in 28th.   For more Dia de Portugal sailing information

PHANTOM Smokes J/22 South African Nationals

(Deneysville, South Africa)- The South African J/22 fleet continue to have good times and the near record turnout of thirty-one J/22s for their annual South African Nationals is a strong indicator of the fun-loving time their having with their boats.  Host club Deneysville Aquatic Club put on a good show and managed to start twelves races for one of the more memorable championships in recent years.

While starting off a bit slow, Andrea Giovannini's team on PHANTOM lived up to their name and snuck out of the weeds in the shallows to  smoke the fleet over the next ten races.  Overcoming a 9-9 in the first two races Andrea and crew counted four 1sts and two 2nds in their scoreline to win with just 33 pts overall, ten pts clear of their next competitor.  Behind them it was a good-ole-fashioned rugby sevens match for rest of the top five with teams running up and down the finish ladder like a roller-coaster.  Surviving the scuffle and snagging second overall was Craig Millar's team on JALAPENO, getting "hot" when they had to in the last race to overcome some bungled races earlier in the series (like an 8-7-14) to get the silver.  Third was Ewald Sternagel's funky balsa-finished clear hull called HAKAHANA, really losing out the opportunity to win the regatta after starting so strongly with a 2-1-2-6 to be leading after four races.  Ewald's crew must've blown a gasket towards the end as their accumulated DSQ-6-8-6 in the last four races dropped them out of contention and into third place on the podium.  Rounding out the top five were Richard Weiderhodlt's CELL C in fourth and Rob Wilcox's VOODOO in fifth.   For more J/22 South African Nationals sailing information

Baker Cooks J/22 Mpumalanga Championships

(Mpumalanga, South Africa)-  The start of the season long J/22 South African Championship series begins in Mpumalanga.  Hosted by Witbank Yachting and Aquatics Club, the twenty sailing teams were in for yet another treat by this fine South African sailing club.  The sailors were happy to get in a total of six races with one discard over the weekend regatta.

Sailing near the top of their form were Graham Baker and crew of Shaun Gurnell and Barry Gurnell, just roasting the fleet on their J/22 US'N'J with an extremely consistent 2-3-2-5-2 score for a net of 9 pts, winning the regatta without ever winning a race.   They kindly left daily first trophies for all their friends!  Giving them a run-for-the-money was Ewald Sternhagel and team of Devon Matthews and Ron Gurnell taking that crazy-looking clear gelcoat "balsa patchwork" boat called HAKAHANA to a scoreline of 4-1-6-3-3 for a net of 11 pts, good enough for second place.  Were it not for some serious, serious "brain fades", the team on SHAMBLES somewhat lived up to their namesake, with Shelly Nell and crew Anton Nel and Tyron Smith banging out a roller-coaster ride  of a 3-8-1-1-9 for a net of 13 pts!  Fourth was Luke Wagner and crew Steven Wagner and Tim Dugguid on BLUE JAY with a 1-11-7-10-4 for a net of 22 pts in fourth.  They beat out on a tie-breaker, the LAUGH A MINUTE team guided by John Bruckman and crew (Dave Martenson and Aysha Genloud) with a 16-4-4-2-12 tally for a net of 22 pts, too.  For more J/22 South Africa sailing information

J Sailors Love Club Mykonos Offshore Race

(Capetown, South Africa)- In another one of those "what's not to like" categories, the gorgeous Club Mykonos Resort just north of Capetown hosts an offshore race every year that has been a favorite of SA sailors over time.  This relatively easy downwind dash between Cape Town and Saldanha Bay some 65 nm up the west coast, pulls the biggest fleet of boats in South Africa each year, including a fleet of Hobie Tigers. It's a downhill blast most of the way as the fleet runs with the "Cape Doctor" to the tranquil waters of the World Heritage site of the Langebaan Lagoon and the local version of a transplanted Greek village - casino et al- a.k.a. Club Mykonos.

Race organizers set the fleet off (which numbered 107 boats this year) in four rolling starts by division from 0830 and pulls the plug at midnight for the slower boats. The distance race is split into three sections with a gate boat just past the halfway mark.

The following day a 25 nm pursuit race is held in and around Saldanha Bay and Langebaan followed by a "Mother of a Party", courtesy of generous sponsors.  It's a pretty cool event with some scantily clad girls passing icy cold champagne to finishers. Having the famous South African "Silver Falcon Aerobatic Team" overhead on arrival is not too shabby either.  And, the whole thing gets filmed for national TV. Organizers from Royal Cape Yacht Club and Club Mykonos got the entire event spot on. It's interesting to note how some events work whilst others fade into obscurity. With this one, the race chairman, Hylton Hale, has the pragmatic approach and common sense to listen to what the sailors want. FUN!!

At the end of the day, J sailors involved in the mix ranged from J/27s up to a J/133.  The J/133 SPEED OF YELLOW sailed by Patrick Holloway got 5th IRC Class in the Pursuit Race.  The J/27 HILLBILLY skippered by Peter Hill was 4th Division 2 class, 3rd in Pursuit Race.  And, stablemate J/27 PURE MAGIC sailed by the infamous Allan Taylor managed a 6th Division 2 class.  Finally, the J/120 NALEDI led by the redoubtably fast and fun-loving Felix Scheder-Bieschlin escaped with a 5th Division I in the Pursuit Race!   Sailing photo credits- Trevor Wilkins  For more Club Mykonos Race sailing information

J/105 Loving South Africa's Southerly Busters!

(Capetown, South Africa)- It seems that a bunch of fun-loving sailors in South Africa decided that some of the bigger J's might be good offshore boats for the gear-busting conditions often seen of the tip of South Africa.  In recent years, both a J/105 and a J/133 have shown up on the local racing scene and have been enjoying themselves often as leaders of the pack.  We recently got a heart-warming note from one of our J/105 owners, Dwayne Assis, proud owner of J/105 #591 called PANTS ON FIRE!  Here's Dwayne's story:

"Hi J/Team- By the way here are some images of my J/105 PANTS ON FIRE and another J/133 JACANA participating in Simon’s Town’s Spring Regatta in South Africa in September 2011.

My crew of 3 and I sailed the J/105 from Cape Town round Cape Point (my first rounding) in very pleasant weather (thank goodness) a few days before the regatta.  First J/105 rounding the notorious Cape of Storms? I certainly think so!

We competed in a return race from Simon’s Town to Cape Town after the Spring Regatta and completed the course in 6 hours 16 min beating into a mild South-easterly to the Point and enjoying a marvelous run all the way to Cape Tow-- broaching spectacularly under masthead A2 on the finish line as the South-easterly wind crept up to 35 kts! We finished 4th on club handicap behind the J/133 (1st) an Archambault 35 (2nd) and a Beneteau 44.7 (3rd) beating a Simonis 42, Farr 40, Lavranos 52 and some others.

Coming up on February 24-25 is the annual downwind dash from Cape Town to the huge, wildly luxurious Mykonos resort in Langebaan Lagoon some 60nm north of Cape Town.  Last year’s race attracted over 100 entries!  It's fun!  Pictured here is how they start to promote the regatta, my oh my!

Keep up to date with the event and the Royal Cape Yacht Club sailing scene at http://www.rcyc.co.za.  Please note, our resident photographer Trevor Wilkins has a sailing photo collection here.

Regards from Sunny South Africa!  Dwayne"

J/22s Getting Busy Sailing In South Africa!

(Capetown, South Africa)- The 2011 sailing season was a very busy and active one for the J/22 class in South Africa.  Like their J/Sailing comrades in J/22s and J/80s in Europe, this was also a "vintage year" for the J/22s racing in some of South Africa's most spectacular sailing venues- lakes, oceans, bays.

The four main regattas held each year are the J/22 Nationals, Mpumalanga Championship, Northwest Championships and Interclub Youth Championships.  Here are the reports from each event.

Amtec J/22 Nationals
The Nationals officially opened at a cocktail party hosted by the sponsor Amtec where Mike Hayton drew the winner of the new Amtec branded main sail won by Werner Hautmann on MOONSHADOW. Dave Rushton, having arrived from Durban announced that racing would begin at 0900 the following day, and those having sailed with Dave as the Race Officer knew he would be ready to start at 9 sharp if the winds were in his favour. The wind was in his favour so it was all systems go in wind of 18 knots for 5 slick and well run races.

HAKAHANA now skippered by Ewald Sternagel, crew Steven and Donavan Kruger set the pace from the start always in sight of the top positions. Their worst results were a 6th, 8th and 9th so with 2 discards this made them the boat to watch. AFTER DARK sailed by Jessica Lenz and her crew of Lara Wood and Herbie Karolis were placed 2nd in the first race and continued to be seen in the top finishers with a final place of 7th.  CELL C had only 2 “bad days at the office” during the whole regatta in the 8th and 13th race finishing 21, races they would probably rather forget.  US'N'J had a good first day racing with 2 firsts, their worst result being an 8th that day. VOODOO, the PYC entry skippered by Luke Wagner, crew J George and Siya Vato took their first in the 4th race. Paul Thompson (who became synonymous with his scarf) on ALPHA ROMEO managed a 1st and two 3rd’s his worst result being a 15th for the day. Tired and wind swept, some more than others, all 24 boats were very happy to head for home in the late afternoon to enjoy some liquid refreshments!

Thursday saw another early start with great races in good winds. The results made it evident that any one of the top 6 boats could be a winner depending on what transpired in the two remaining days. Dave Rushton pushed the races as the forecast was that the winds would decrease with little or nothing forecast for Saturday. The close and competitive racing heard several shouts, of varying degrees of insistence and volume, for water, starboard boat, windward boat keep clear and all the other regularly used terms used in similar circumstances. The protest committee dealt with the infringements quickly and efficiently but this still did not show a clear cut winner.

Friday racing was just as hard and competitive with the anticipation of no sailing on Saturday due to the weather forecast. Remarkably, just one more race was squeezed in by the Race Officer.

It was great to see PAGURO back on the water with Dirk Manten, Dylan Emmett and JJ van Niekerk who finished 4th overall. Local knowledge was a much debated advantage but the local J/22 LAUGH A MINUTE finished in 6th place. All the junior sailors showed their commitment and determination to make their presence known. It was great to see the juniors Oliver Cribb on JAY WALKER, Alice Martin on JAY BEE, Jolene Tofts on BLUE JAY and JABBERWOCKY sailed by the locals Steffan Botha, Donovan Martinson and Devan Mathews on the water. These are our J/22 champions of the future.

With a total of 14 races with two discards the deserved winner was HAKAHANA (4 wins, three 2nds) skippered by Ewald Sternagel crew Steve and Donovan Kruger.  Second was Graham Baker on US'N'J with Sean and Barry Gurnell, third on the podium was Richard Wiederholdt with Greg Plunkett and Rob Edwards.  Our sincere thanks to all the Witbank Aquatic Club and the dedicated team who worked all hours of the day and night to make it the event it was.  Mike Hayton of Amtec without whose sponsorship and love of sailing made it a regatta never to be forgotten and hard to beat.

Mpumalunga Championships
From 10h00 on Easter Friday the grounds of Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club became a hive of activity in preparation for the Amtec J22 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships.  Life was made easier for the registration team as most of the information had been collected prior to the event.  Witbank Yacht Club had pulled out all the stops with the facilities and infrastructure ensuring a well run and organised event.  With boats and crew prepared, the winners of the Amtec sponsored spinnaker, the team on PAGURO IV, knew that their chances had just improved.

The first race on Saturday started with winds of 8-10 knots, an organised RC had a course laid and a prompt start for the fleet of 21 J/22's commenced at 11h00. No one boat held the first place consecutively as the competition was close and fierce. In the first three races a maximum of 8 minutes separated the first and last boats. A quick turnaround between races ensured that a total of 6 races were completed.

The Durban entry, VOODOO skippered by Luke Wagner and crewed by Jean and Siya showed they were a team to be reckoned with achieving two firsts, two seconds, a third and a fourth. The steady wind which calmed slightly after three races did nothing to deter the boat skippered and crewed by the Youth team. They were as competitive as their experienced senior counterparts as proved by Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA rounding the mark first in the 6th race and ultimately finishing 7th. As the sound signals for the 6th race were heard there were some tired bodies but the focus was ever present with five minutes separating the first and last boat.

Sunday saw a lighter breeze but four evenly matched races completed the regatta on 10 total races! Prize-giving acknowledged Donavan Kruger, with his team of Jared, Steven Kruger and Justin Botha being the first placed Youth skipper. Third place saw US'N'J skippered by Graham Baker with Barry and Shaun Gurnell with 28 points, second VOODOO with Luke and his team with 25 points and first place to Richard Weiderholdt on CELL C with his team of Greg Plunkett and Rob Edwards on 18 points. Special thanks went to Mike Hayton of Amtec for his sponsorship, time and effort as well as all Witbank Yacht Club ensuring a fantastic regatta was held by all.

InterClub Youth Championships
The Aruba Networks 2011 J/22 Interclub Youth Championship was well-attended with nine teams all sailing an incredibly competitive regatta, sailing seven races with one discard.

At the end, it was hard to hold back the HAKAHANA team from TYC, sailed by Oliver Cribb, Riccardo Suttner-Scalco and Rudi van Velzen.  Their record of 1-3-1-1-3-1-5 for a net of 10 pts was hard to beat.  Behind Oliver and crew it was a tight battle for 2nd and 3rd, with three boats all in a virtual tie for second.  Winning the tie-breaker and finishing second was Megan Eccleston skippering JOKER TOO with her crew of Jacob Bester, Zak Bester and Tyrone Smith to a 3-4-2-7-6-3-1 record for 19 pts.  Third was Donovan Kruger on US'N'J sailing with crew Jared Kuger, Alex Nicolakos and Jolene Tolfs to a 2-2-3-4-2-9-6 record for 19 pts.   Watch out for these teams in the future, they're sailing fast and furious and know how to get a J/22 around the course smartly.  Perhaps some of them may sail in the J/22 Worlds in Crouesty, France next year?

NW Championships
The TYC's NW Champs saw an excellent field of twenty entries sailing in both Gold and Silver Fleets.  All four race sailed were scored as counters for the regatta, no toss races.

It seemed that Team HAKAHANA were on a roll as Donovan Kruger's team managed to win this regatta with three 1sts and a 6th!  Second was John Bruckman's LAUGH A MINUTE with a 3-2-3-3 for 11 pts.  Third was Graham Baker's US'N'J with a 1-3-14-2 for 20 pts, they were feeling the pain of an OCS in the third race-- otherwise they'd been in the running to win against their buddies sailing HAKAHANA!  For more South African sailing information.

AMTEC J/22 Mpumalanga Provincial Champs

 
(Mpumalanga, South Africa)- What to do on an Easter Weekend in South Africa? Go sailing no matter what "Mum" says!  From 1000 hours on Easter Friday, the grounds of Witbank Yacht & Aquatic Club became a hive of activity in frantic and hyper-kinetic preparation for the Amtec J/22 Mpumalanga Provincial Championships.  Life was made easier for the registration team as most of the information had been collected prior to the event. Thank goodness since we had a HUGE turn-out twenty-one boats!

Witbank Yacht Club had pulled out all the stops with the facilities and infrastructure ensuring a well run and organised event. With boats and crew prepared, the winners of the Amtec sponsored spinnaker, the team on PAGURO IV, knew that their chances had just improved. The first race on Saturday started with winds of 8-10 knots, an organised bridge committee had a course laid and a prompt start for the fleet of 21 J/22's commenced at 1100. No one boat held the first place consecutively as the competition was close and fierce. In the first three races a maximum of 8 minutes separated the first and last boats. A quick turnaround between races ensured that a total of 6 races were completed. The Durban entry, VOODOO skippered by Luke Wagner and crewed by Jean and Siya showed that they were a team to be reckoned with achieving two firsts, two seconds, a third and a fourth. The steady wind which calmed slightly after three races did nothing to deter the boat skippered and crewed by the Youth team. They were as competitive as their experienced senior counterparts as proved by Donovan Kruger on HAKAHANA rounding the mark first in the 6th race and ultimately finishing 7th. As the sound signals for the 6th race were heard there were some tired bodies but the focus was ever present with five minutes separating the first and last boat. Sunday saw a lighter breeze but four evenly matched races completed the regatta on 10.

The land crew worked extremely hard getting all J22's out of the water in preparation for the J/22 Amtec Nationals scrutineering. Prize-giving acknowledged Donavan Kruger, with his team of Jared, Steven Kruger and Justin Botha being the first placed youth skipper. Third place saw US'N'J skippered by Graham Baker with Barry and Shaun Gurnell with 28 points, second VOODOO with Luke and his team with 25 points and first place to Richard Weiderholdt on CELL C with his team of Greg Plunkett and Rob Edwards on 18 points. Special thanks went to Mike Hayton of Amtec for his sponsorship, time and effort as well as all Witbank Yacht Club ensuring a fantastic regatta was held by all.   For more J/22 Mpumalanga Provincial sailing information