Sailing as a Family- A Perspective for Today's Brave New World

(Traverse City, MI)- Now is the perfect time to re-prioritize sailing with your family. Most of the summer camps are canceled and you're probably not running around to 10 different activities a week; but you are probably itching to get out of the house and spend some time with your family doing something you love. If ever there was a summer to prioritize time on the water or get your kids to love sailing as much as you, it's this one. Quantum's Jason Currie put together his tips for successful family sailing based on years on the water with his own family. Sailing with your family can be rewarding and create lasting memories. The key is to redefine your idea of the perfect sailing day to accommodate everyone on board. Like all things in parenting, sailing with your kids takes patience and effort, but the reward is always worth it.

Time on the water is the perfect place for families to reconnect with each other. Sailing can be a great way to experience the great outdoors by sea, but proper planning is essential. To keep the kids, and even mom and dad, wanting to come back for more, we’ve put together some simple tips to make that special time together fun, enjoyable, and safe.

Check the weather
Keep an eye on the weather forecast. If you’ve lived in an area for quite some time, you will develop a sense for the weather. Weather forecasts become more accurate and reliable as the day gets closer, but always keep an eye on it, even after leaving the dock. Places like Annapolis, Maryland, for example, often experience summertime storm cells in the late afternoon which, may last only 15 to 30 minutes, but can be severe, and definitely enough to frighten the family away from the boat for good. There are some very good Doppler radar apps that are excellent for keeping an eye on things while on the water. Remember that while a 3 to 5-foot chop might seem like nothing to you, to a small child it could be scary and off-putting. Keep their perspective in mind.

Preparation
Have the boat cleaned, prepared, and ready to go. Shop ahead of time to stock up on extra food, drinks, and supplies. Make sure there is a first aid kit that contains band aids and any medication that might be handy for life’s little emergencies. Also, get as many tasks done beforehand as you can.  

Pack plenty
If you’re planning an overnighter, remember it’s just like camping but on the water, which means it can get cooler at night. Don’t hold back on sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. Always bring extra fleece and clothes. Remember the sunscreen and bug repellent, especially if it’s the middle of summer, and don’t forget a full propane tank to cook that fantastic breakfast!

What to bring for the kids
The age of the kids will determine what you should bring. Pack their favorite snacks and toys. Barbie, Matchbox cars, a deck of cards, UNO, coloring books and crayons, and even Silly Putty can make the day fun for your little sailors. If your children are under the age of 5, consider bringing an iPad or DVD player to curb that possible meltdown. Most of us would prefer to leave said devices on shore, but this may be just the thing to keep everything in check while you and your spouse enjoy the sunset with a cool beverage.

If the kids are older than 5, definitely disconnect and ditch the devices! Show them all the joys of being on the water. If you anchor, bring the fishing rod and dinghy and let them set off on their own. For a child this can be the experience which gives way to a feeling of great independence.

Show them the ropes
Your family is your crew, so give them meaningful jobs. Let them steer the boat, show them how to hoist the sails, and teach them how to anchor. Give a lesson on channel markers, navigation, and the correct way to pass another vessel. There’s a heap to learn onboard, and it can be fun for all.

Consider your attitude
We wear off on our kids in many ways, so it’s important to keep your attitude in check. If you have a can-do attitude, your kids will too. If you are fearful or negative, your kids will sense this and follow suit. Children observe and absorb everything, and they participate largely by taking cues from mom and Dad. This matters even more onboard, where you are together and in close quarters for most of the time.

Invest in a GoPro!
What better way to capture your family getaway than with a GoPro. The older kids will have a heap of fun putting together a montage of your weekend getaway and the experience they had, both onboard and in the water.

Safety
It goes without saying: when the family is together on the water, they must be safe. Lifejackets for the kids are mandatory. For toddlers, consider installing lifeline netting and lee cloths. If you are the only one who truly knows how to operate the engine, teach your spouse and older children the procedure on startup and running, because, if something happens to you, another member of the family must be able to take control. Click here for some quick safety tips and reminders.

Keep it fun
Above all, your time on the boat together is about having fun. If you’re new to it, start out with a short-day sail and gradually move into overnight trips. Don’t rush it. If your kids are young and are done sailing after just an hour, consider heading to anchorage to swim or back to the dock.

Most importantly, don’t think of a shorter sail as a failure. Even if you end up back at the dock earlier than planned, do some fun kid things around the marina. Fish, look for stones, swim if it’s hot, play in the dinghy, order pizza, the list is endless! Eat on board and then walk into town for ice cream. You still had a day on the water. You still had a day as a family. You still had fun outside. And most importantly, your kids will want to come back! Find the positives and celebrate your success. This is your redefined sailing day and what a wonderful day it can be.  Thanks for this contribution from Quantum Sail's Jason Currie. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Keeping Sailing Healthy and Well

(Park City, UT)- We admit to having digital fatigue. During the coronavirus pandemic, the go-to solution to remain connected was to create video content, but there are only so many how-to topics we can consume. Enough already!

Sailors want to sail, and while most regions have some form of health restriction impacting the sport, making adjustments to activate participation is the function of every sailing organization.

For those waiting to return to their normal competition schedule, they will be waiting too long as the season is on and people want to get on the water. Sailing is about reacting to the conditions, so let’s react!

That’s the game plan at Park City Sailing Association (https://sailpc.org/), located 32 miles southeast of downtown Salt Lake City at an elevation of 7,000 feet (yes, over a mile high!) amid some of Utah’s great ski resorts.

Ken Block provides the update:
"So much of today’s sailing news is either stories of the past or an announcement of a regatta cancellation. Here on the Jordanelle Reservoir, just outside of Park City, sailing is growing at a record rate. This is our 13th season and 13 may be our lucky number.

As the month of May started, members began to use the club’s J/22s the moment the boats hit the frigid mountain water. Families that had been quarantined at home since mid- March found an opportunity to have a safe family activity under the ski slopes of Deer Valley. The club boats are each equipped with “Sani-Kits” to allow members to sanitize the cockpits to adhere to County regulations.

The entire team at Park City Sailing offers encouragement to the countless clubs that are facing some difficult challenges this year. Let us all work to keeping sailing healthy and well."  Thanks for contribution from Scuttlebutt Sailing News Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Let's Go Sailing @ Sail Newport!

(Newport, RI)- After a long winter, made longer by the pandemic, Sail Newport's J/22 sailboats are on the water and ready to rent! We are thankful to have the "green light" from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to resume rentals, but of course, within guidelines to keep our staff and customers safe.

Here’s how it will work: 

• Per the State of Rhode Island DEM regulations, all individuals for a boat rental must be from the same household and be R.I. residents (Unless you can document your required 14-day Quarantine per R.I Exec. Order. This will likely only be until June 1 - bear with us!)
• The boats are available seven days a week for three-hour rentals by appointment only
• (Absolutely no walk-ins at this time)
• We have twelve boats in the water
• Make an appointment by calling the Sail Newport Dock Office at (401) 849-8385
• All rentals must be paid in full at the time of the reservation, we will take your card number over the telephone
• If we are unable to provide a boat because of weather conditions, or, if the sailor does not pass a checkout, we will issue a refund

Please know that the rental start times will be a bit different than previous seasons. We appreciate your cooperation, patience and understanding as we vary arrival times to respect social distancing.


Full House J/22 Racing Series: June 9 - June 30
Sail Newport will be hosting a "household-only" J/22 spinnaker series on Tuesday nights and non-spinnaker series on Wednesday nights during the month of June in our fleet of J/22s to kick-off the 2020 regatta season. Racing will begin at 6pm between Rose and Goat Island with multiple races planned each night.  We anticipate a full fleet of 12 boats for each series, so sign up today to save your spot!

Narragansett Bay is our greatest natural resource, and there’s no better way to enjoy the water than sailing a J/22 on a beautiful day.

Kim Hapgood, Program Director.  Call for Reservation: 401-849-8385.  For more Sail Newport J/22 rental information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

#MoreKidsOnSailboats

That is the "hashtag" created by J/34 IOR owner of KNEE DEEP IV in Cleveland, Ohio- Brett Langolf. Brett and his wife and kids were asked by the U.S. Sailing Leadership Forum 2020 to do a presentation on "How to get more kids sailors involved in sailing" during their annual conference in San Diego, CA.

The Langolf family has been instrumental in getting dozens of kids sailing offshore from their local community, sailing both evening "beer-can races", as well as sailing larger weekend regattas and offshore races up to 290.0nm- the Bayview Mackinac Race on Lake Huron.

According to Langolf, "we had a great sailing industry presentation. What a huge success! And, THANK YOU for the J/Calendars and J/Stickers, they were fantastic....very popular! Here are a couple of videos from the presentation and an overall report. We are working on a written article about key takeaways from the conference."


#MoreKidsOnSailboats @ Sailing Leadership Forum 2020 highlights video


Watch "Getting more kids on board - what every sailboat skipper should know!" Add to Flipboard Magazine.

France Hosting World University Sailing Championship

(Cherbourg, France)- The northwestern French city of Cherbourg will host the world’s finest university sailors for the 2018 FISU World University Sailing Championship from September 1st to 5th, 2018. A maximum of 40 teams will compete in the fleet of twenty matched J/80 one-design sailboats.

Following two very successful events in Ledro, Italy and Perth, Australia, this will be the first ever WUC Sailing event to be held with the fleet racing format. Competitors will race up to six windward-leeward courses a day in the world’s largest artificial harbour.

This racing area will located inside the Rade de Cherbourg (Inside the breakwater in Cherbourg Harbour). This location has successfully staged many national and international yachting championships.

For regatta entries, there will be two classifications: Open and Women.  Crew requirements are the same for both categories- a minimum of 4 persons with a maximum total crew weight of 350kg.

There is a maximum of 2 entries per category for each nation; i.e. each country may enter a maximum of four teams.

Oleg Matytsin, FISU President, had this to say about the event:
“Welcome to Cherbourg, where you will join some of the best student athletes in the world in celebrating the FISU World University Sailing Championship.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU) recognizes that just to be here has required many victories, some big and some small. Many of these victories will have brought results that are easy to recognize, like a winning score in a race or in a game. Others are less tangible, like finding the right balance between training and studying. All are equally important.

Our work at FISU is focused on providing opportunities for students– the leaders of tomorrow– to be positively influenced by their experiences of international university sport. Whether a student emerges as a champion, is helping to organize the competitions, or attending in support of a team, we know that they can all learn essential life lessons that cannot be taught in a lecture hall or classroom.

The best athletes are those who bring single-minded determination to what they do. But before, throughout and after the competitions, FISU urges you all to take full advantage of this opportunity– to go home with memories that will last a lifetime, and perhaps even some new friends from faraway places.

By taking part in the FISU World University Sailing Championship, you will be contributing to a record-equalling programme of events across 34 different sports, some of them new to FISU.

None of these events would be possible without the gracious generosity of the hosts, and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the National University Sports Federation of France and the organisers for their excellent efforts.

FISU is also grateful for the ongoing support of the International Sports Federations. Together, we aim to provide the highest level of technical excellence, both on and off the field of play. We remain convinced that the best student athletes deserve nothing less.

I am confident that the World University Championship in Cherbourg will provide you every opportunity to shine, and I wish you a fair and exciting competition!”

FISU events are where “sports meet art, education and culture.” The 2018 WUC Sailing event is certainly prepared to continue this tradition, the 28th edition of the World University Championship series that first got its start in 1963.  For more World University Sailing Championship information. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Défi Voile Etudiant Won by YC Monaco

Défi Voile Etudiant– Pornichet, France- report from YC Monaco.

A steady 10-15 knots all weekend blessed the 25th Défi Voile Etudiant (sailing regatta for students) in Pornichet, Brittany. A total of eighteen teams on J/80s made the trip, including one from the engineering college at the University of Nantes, led by Nicolas Bouchet from the Yacht Club de Monaco.

Throughout the races, he maintained his leading position before finally conceding victory to the Western Brittany University team in the sixth and final race of the event.

It was a promising result for the YC Monaco helmsman.  Bouchet commented, “I felt like I really improved my racing techniques over these two days and loved being at the helm especially on the downwind legs.”

Nicolas Bouchet sailed aboard the J/70 PONANT at this past weekend’s Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse, finishing a remarkable 4th place and winning the Corinthians division with the YC Monaco Youth Team.
https://www.yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/sailing-meeting-for-students/ Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Building Your Sailing Tribe

(Chicago, IL)- Building Your Sailing Tribe- an outline on how to build fleets of sailboats  by Deborah Bennett Elfers

"I’ve written before about fleet building, and what I’ve found to be the most important strategies in being able to be successful in that work. But it wasn’t until I read Seth Godin’s book, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, that I could envision a compelling and simple way to communicate to others what has helped my fleet grow and thrive. And so, because of Seth’s book, I’m hereafter choosing to refer to the work we do as “Building Your Sailing Tribe.” You’ll soon see why.

To begin, Seth believes that here are just two simple things one needs in order to create a tribe:

1. A shared interest, and
2. A way to communicate.

If you have both of these, you’re well on your way to launching your sailing tribe. Obviously, the shared interest in this case is sailing, so that’s a given. Half of your work is done for you before you even start! But what is often missing is the second requirement: an effective way for the sailing tribe to communicate — and without the connections that this communication affords, your tribe won’t be able to flourish.

But you can’t stop there, because there’s another important ingredient you need, as well: a leader. Here’s what Seth thinks about tribe leadership, and why a good leader is essential:

• A leader can transform the tribe’s shared interest into a passionate goal,
• Provide effective communications tools for its members, and
• Leverage the success of the tribe to help it grow and attract new members.

Let’s look further at these recommendations, and at how they might be applied to doing the work of building a fleet. What are the things we can do to plant the seeds, and nurture them, so that our sailing tribe can succeed and grow? Here are some strategies I’ve found to be effective:

• A regular newsletter during the sailing season, and others sprinkled throughout the year with tips and tricks for getting ready for the season ahead.
• Gathering the tribe after racing, for kudos on a job well done, a debrief for “on-the-water” happenings and rules learning, and just plain getting to know one another.
• Building a shared passion around things like getting ready together to participate in a National Championship or area regatta – everyone helps each other to be as successful as they can be, because it benefits the tribe (not to mention making the fleet’s racing that much more satisfying).
• Connect and inspire your tribe members – through one-on-one conversations, and leading by example. Tribe members will follow your lead and take on some of this work themselves. It takes a village, as they say.
• Create pride and enthusiasm among the fleet for contributing to the success of the sailing tribe – this is what leveraging the success of your tribe looks like. People want to be part of a successful team, and new members will want to join the tribe you’ve built.
• Create the culture you want and stick to the messaging – in a sailing tribe, this is especially important in a sport where self-policing and sportsmanship are expected. Understand what you can’t compromise on.
• Believe in your sailing tribe, and, as the leader, never fail to demonstrate your commitment to the tribe and its mission.
• Be ready when it comes time to let others lead and innovate – no one can stay at the helm too long; new ideas and outlooks are what keep things fresh and exciting.

Every single one of these strategies will positively influence your tribe, and, taken together they will have a huge impact on its growth and connectivity. None of them is especially difficult, though they do require a consistent dose of time and commitment. Start small and branch out – it’s a lot of these smaller actions, accomplished over time, that will provide your tribe with the big pay-off.

As I write this, I’ve recently handed off the leadership of our fleet to two wonderful new leaders, and I know that their ideas and excitement are going to benefit us all. It’s been my absolute joy to do this work, and to have helped people come together to build our amazing community of sailors. Our sailing tribe remains in good hands – and I, for one, can’t wait to see what great things will happen!"

Author: Deborah Bennett Elfers was practically born on a boat, though on a working lobster boat rather than a sailboat. But now she is all about sailing and shares her random musings about things like falling in love with a boat, building a fleet, learning to become a winner, and the beauty of sailing classic boats on legendary Buzzards Bay on her blog – Take the Tiller.

J/24 Tiller & Kites Program Launched In Arizona!

(Lake Pleasant, Arizona)- a new sailing program as described by Juan Mari.

“Based on our commitment to be your direct access to sailing solutions and with the goal of providing the highest level of customer support, MAURI PRO SAILING is pleased to announce that it has selected Tiller and Kites as it representative and On-The-Water technical support for Lake Pleasant and other areas in Arizona.

Tiller & Kites will be operating under the umbrella of Mauri Pro Sailing as ‘Mauri Pro Sailing– Arizona’ while remaining as an independent International Yacht Training accredited sailing school and a sailboat services, repair and reconditioning facility for the Phoenix area.

This new partnership will allow us to provide Arizona sailors with a more personalized service and technical support, as well as a physical location where to go and discuss about how to improve your deck layout, better tune your rig, or simply talk all about sailboats; in addition to picking up all your www.mauriprosailing.com purchases if needed.

Victor Felice, Juan Mauri and all the Mauri Pro Sailing team are excited to start this road together and to provide unique consumer experience, both online and directly at your boat.”

About Mauri Pro Sailing: it is an international group of companies dedicated to provide sailing technical support and to supply sailboat parts and sailing clothing to sailors around the world. With offices in 5 different countries and an infrastructure for global logistics, Mauri Pro Sailing drives on, becoming the global and sailor’s sailing store.  For more Tiller & Kites Program sailing information

For more information, please contact Victor Felice/ Tiller and Kites at email-victor@tillerankites.com or website- http://www.tillerandkites.com.  Also, you can contact Juan Mauri/ Mauri Pro Sailing at email- juan@mauriprosailing.com or website-  http://www.mauriprosailing.com Add to Flipboard Magazine.

USA J/24 Class Enabling Young Sailors!

(St Petersburg, FL)- The US J/24 Class Association has awarded the first-annual “Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Scholarship Boat” to students from the University of South Florida Sailing Team.

The crew members— Brendan Feeney (helm), Sean Cornell (tactician), Mikey Treblecock (primary trimmer/alternate skipper), Scott Ewing (primary trimmer), Orrin Starr (secondary trimmer/pit), Andrew “Ty” Baird (bow) and Alex Smith (bow)—will be campaigning the boat in 2017 through early 2018.

The program is named in honor of Kelly Holmes-Moon, a long-time supporter of the J/24 Class Association who served as US Class President and as the Copyright Holder’s Representative.

The program encourages talented young sailors to gain first-hand experience racing within the J/24 Class of one-design sailboats at virtually no cost. Dave Eggleton donated the first boat, USA 423, to the program, providing the Scholarship Boat recipients with the experience to escalate their level of competitiveness and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world.

This summer, the program recipients will be racing at Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club in Cold Spring Harbor, NY, where they plan to participate in club and fleet events. During the school months, the boat will be located at St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, FL. They will consistently train during the week, as SPYC is only a few minutes from their USF campus, and they will practice during the Club’s Friday Night Series and local regatta circuit.

Feeney and his crew have an ambitious projected regatta schedule, including the J/24 North American Championship, Mayors Cup/Valcour Race, J/24 Northeast Championship, Marblehead NOOD, CamAm Challenge, East Coast Championship and more in early 2018.

The team is in need of contributions to help fund their campaign. To find out how you can help, e-mail director@j24class.org.

The application process for the 2018/ 2019 Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program will begin in February 2018.  Here are the 2017 Scholarship Boat member biographies:

Brendan Feeney- from Jacksonville, FL, is a junior majoring in Finance. He is a starting member of the University of South Florida nationally ranked Coed Sailing Team and a member of the school’s #1 nationally ranked offshore team. Feeney had the honor of representing Team USA last year at the 2016 Western Hemisphere and Orient Championships in Cabo Frio, Brazil. He recently began training in the 470 Olympic Class, placing second at the 2016 470 Nationals, as well as finishing as the third US team at the 2017 ISAF World Sailing Miami (US Sailing Team Sperry Selection Trials).

Sean Cornell- from Centerport, NY, is a sophomore at USF and a member of the Coed Sailing Team. He began sailing Optimists at age seven and also has competitive youth sailing experience in 420s. Cornell later transitioned beyond dinghy sailing into numerous Classes and boats, focusing specifically on small keelboat fleet and match racing. He has experience at the helm, but also excels as tactician. Cornell was elected as an underclassman captain during his freshman year, and this year stepped into a role as the team’s A-Skipper. His college sailing goals include: the All-American award and a Match Racing National Championship.

Mikey Treblecock- from Cleveland, OH, is a senior and co-captain on the USF dinghy and offshore sailing teams. He developed the offshore sailing team in the fall of 2015, which has grown to compete in every collegiate offshore regatta throughout the year. The USF Offshore Team completed the 2016 season by winning the Kennedy Cup, awarded annually to the collegiate keelboat national champions. Treblecock is predominantly at the helm for the college offshore events, however most of his sailing experience has involved crew positions.

Scott Ewing- from Miami, FL, is a member of the USF Sailing team in St. Petersburg, FL. As an engineering major, he regularly finds himself on the USF Tampa Campus. He grew up sailing Optimists out of Coral Reef Yacht Club, one of the top youth teams in the country. After a successful youth career, he transitioned into the Skiff Class. Here he found himself as one of the top 49er sailors in the world, representing the US on a number of occasions. Ewing is a 49er National Champion and North American Champion. This summer, he will be representing Oracle’s Team USA Youth Program at the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

Orrin Starr- from Block Island, RI, is a sophomore at USF. He sails dinghies most of the time with USF, and has also been a significant part of developing the school’s offshore team into being the current #1 ranked offshore team in the country. Starr has become heavily involved in the J/70 Class, regularly competing as a trimmer on the circuit, including a Worlds campaign as shore crew.

Andrew “Ty” Baird- from St. Petersburg, FL, has been a life-long sailor, involved in the sport on many different levels. Baird has competed in anything from an Optimist to a 49er and many other boats like the Melges 32 or the Navy 44. He looks forward to getting more involved with keelboats.

Alex Smith- from Sayville, NY, started sailing at the age of six pulling in the backstays and barber haulers for his father. He began sailing 420s, Vanguard 15s and Lasers on Long Island’s junior sailing circuit, and soon began running the pit on a Melges 24 when he was 17. Smith has continued to grow in the successful Melges 24 program as the spinnaker trimmer for the previous two seasons. In college, he has been a four-year member of the varsity team competing at venues throughout the eastern seaboard. Smith served as a student-athlete mentor and a two-year co-captain of the team. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

USF Wins Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta

(Charleston, SC)- Nine universities from across the U.S. competed in the Southern Collegiate Offshore Regatta, held February 11-12 in Charleston, SC. Held in keelboats using PHRF, the 7-race series was won by University of South Florida. The competition was staged in a fleet of donated boats randomly assigned to the nine teams with racing inside Charleston Harbor on medium-distance courses.

The University of South Florida team won on the J/105 JOYRIDE with an amazing record of 5-1-2-1-4-1-2 for just 16 pts total.  Not far off the pace in third place were the College of Charleston racing the J/120 ILLYRIA with an extremely consistent scoreline of 3-2-3-2-2-2 for 24 pts total, losing a tie-breaker for the silver based on 1st’s against another team. Securing 5th position on the J/105 SKIMMER was the Vanderbilt University team with a total of 43 pts. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

U.S. J/70 Youth Champs Update

Win a FREE J/70 for your Sailing Club!
(Newport, RI)- The first annual U.S. J/70 Youth Championship will take place concurrent with the J/FEST New England Regatta from August 11th to 13th on beautiful Narragansett Bay.  The event will be hosted by the famous crew at SAIL NEWPORT, Newport, Rhode Island and hosted at their extraordinary facility at Fort Adams State Park.

Interest has been strong from various youth teams across the country; with crews already gearing up for the J/70 Midwinters in St Petersburg, FL, hosted by St Petersburg YC and also the Helly Hansen San Diego NOOD Regatta, hosted by San Diego YC in San Diego, CA.

The goal of this event is to help develop and build leading-edge junior keelboat sailing programs across America.  The winning club of this event will get "free” usage of a fully equipped International J/70 one-design class sailboat, with sails and trailer, provided "free of charge” by J/Boats, to the winning sailing club and its membership for twelve months.

The U.S. J/70 Youth Championship (USJYC) is open to eleven (11) Youth Teams representing US Sailing recognized Sailing Clubs or Organizations.  Sailing clubs may enter more than one youth team per event, but may only qualify one team for the USJYC championship in Newport, RI.

The 11 Youth Teams will compete on eleven brand new J/70 Class sailboats with class sails (main, jib, spinnaker) that comply with J/70 Class rules.  The boats will be identically rigged and tuned at “base settings” that are recommended by the sailmaker.

In order to qualify for the eleven slots, youth teams must qualify for entry by being the top scoring Youth Team in the J/70 Class at one of the following Regattas:

• Feb 24-26    J/70 Midwinters- St. Petersburg, FL
• Mar 09-11    Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Miami, FL
• Mar 17-19    Helly Hansen San Diego NOOD- San Diego, CA
• Apr 20-23    Sperry Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
• May 05-07    Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD- Annapolis, MD
• Jun 03-04    Cedar Point One-Design Regatta- Cedar Pt, CT
• Jun 09-11    Helly Hansen Chicago NOOD- Chicago, IL
• Jun 16-18    J/70 Great Lakes- Cleveland, OH
• Jul 07-09     The Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
• Jul 15-16     St. Francis Sportboat Regatta- San Francisco, CA
• Jul 27-30     Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD- Marblehead, MA

Here is the USJYC Notice of Race.  For more U.S. J/70 Youth Championship information, please contact J/Boats at “info@jboats.com” or refer to the website- http://www.jboats.com/j70-youth-championship

J/88 Chicago-Mackinac- “Veni, vidi, vici”!

(Chicago, IL)- Read about how Scott & Sean Grealish from Portland, Oregon came, saw and conquered the Chicago-Mac race sailing their beautiful navy blue colored J/88- BLUE FLASH.  Here is Scott’s report:

“You never what you're going to get for weather in Chicago, except that if you don't like it just wait a few hours and it will change. In each of the seven days before the start our GRIB downloads were giving us a different forecast, with everything between drifters and breeze, sun and rain, and all compass points getting a fair shot at bringing wind to carry the crew of J/88 BLUE FLASH north on their first Chicago Mackinac race.

But if looking forward is unpredictable, so too is looking back. What will our team of two experienced" (older) and three teenaged sailors remember in 20 years about our "dream" Mac? It might be the attack of the moths at Grey's Reef in the fog, while ghosting under the Code Zero making wind speed at 2.8 knots.  Or, maybe the inches of rain (per minute!) that gave new meaning to "letterbox" drop as the waterfall created by our loose footed main found the gap in my foulies, setting up the next 24 hours as an epically wet Mac Race for me personally (a sentiment shared by most of the fleet!). Surely, we won't forget the dramatic and perfectly executed rescue by the team of "City Girl" who took on all 10 crew from the sinking, rudderless One Design 48 in the Manitou Passage, under gusty 25+ conditions (photo here at right).

For myself, a Chicago native returning home from the West Coast after 30 years to sail again in fresh water, I think the memories will be more of feelings than moments. There's the feeling of closing your eyes laying on a lumpy code zero in wet clothes after 38 hours awake, not really awake or asleep, just "taking a break". The feeling of accomplishment just sweating the details to make the start (and I mean literally drenched in sweat in the hot, humid and windless harbor getting the boat together). The feeling of having the support of so many: Pack the boat up for the Mac? SDBoatworks! Add XM weather for the thunderstorms, expedition, Sat phone, second battery? Artie Means! Trailer 2,000+ miles and put her together again? Ken Cox (Uship) and the guys at Crowleys! Replacing the kite we blew out in time for the Mac? Kerry Poe at North Sails Oregon!

The feeling of being home again, with my entire extended family sailing out of Belmont (thank you Chicago YC!) in the days before the race, remembering my father who gave me the greatest gift ever letting me find my own way in his old Cal 28 as a teen roaming all over Lake Michigan. The feeling of pride in our teenage crew who met the challenges with the energy and enthusiasm only reserved for the youth. Imagine this: 20+ sail changes, peeling kites, iterating from zeros to jibs to kites and round again? Sure! Sleeping on the rail in the pouring rain? No problem! Dodging thunderstorms all night surrounded by such intense lightning the mast was literally buzzing with static temporarily "frying" our wind instruments? Scary! But ready for that "letterbox" and all sail down! Surviving on bars, trail mix, Gatorade and freeze dried "food"? "Anyone else hungry?" " You just ate!" " Yeah, but...". Teenaged boys.

The greatest feeling? How about surfing for much of the race, often 15+ knots without a single wipeout, nor a missed gybe? The J/88 is an incredible offshore boat!

But what about our crew? Amazing! What else is there to say when you can hand over the helm to someone like my longtime friend Kerry Poe (North Sails Oregon) in 20­ to 25 kts with the big kite up and you just know he's going to make the boat go faster!

Not a missed gybe? Yeah, seriously. Our Portland-based kids included John Ped, heading to MIT next year, but "owning" the bow here and now! His right hand man was my nephew Nick DelGuidice, recruited days before the race, sailing the Mac as literally his first time on a sailboat!! Iron stomach as our "cook", handy with a fire extinguisher (OK, so the Jetboil setup was my bad, but hey who knew the overhead would be so fire resistant without a liner?), and able to memorize and copy moves at a glance on the fly (not the classic "see one, do one, teach one" but more "do one, do two, ask later what the heck we just did"). And, how about my own son Sean? The youngest crew, and soon to be part of Oakcliff Sailing in their Offshore program, he was truly my right hand man. A versatile sailor, he drove and navigated, during the race and in the weeks prior learned tons about Expedition software, weather, routing, polars, sail charts and more. Most important, he kept us just conservative enough that first night in the squally thunderstorms to stay in touch with eventual second placed J/88 Rambler who challenged us the entire race, yet avoid any drama.

Speaking of dramatic, how cool was it to be 12 hours into the 300 mile long Mac and still be sailing with all three J/88s, Rambler, Blue Flash, and Slot Machine in a row (photo at right)! Only the BBQ on Mac Island after the race beat that moment, as that is a fun group of sailors that know how to sail hard and throw a killer after party!!!

The last word on my 2016 Mac has to go to the boat itself. Almost two years ago, I bought my J/88 thinking mostly about sailing with family for fun. Fast forward, and we have quickly had to clear more space on our mantle piece over the fireplace with wins in the Rum Runner and two Newport Ensenada Races, seconds in the Spinnaker Cup, Islands Race, and California Offshore Week, and now the big section win in the Mac! Knowing fully well my own limitations as a racing sailor only reinforces my belief that I've been lucky to race with terrific crew on a terrific boat!

The J/88 is slippery in the light and wicked fast once it hits 18+ kts TWS. It's just big enough to sail offshore, yet small enough to trailer behind a pickup. Our favorite strategy (besides sail fast fast in the right direction) so far is going upwind at 55mph (highway VMG is good stuff!) and downwind at 15 knots offshore! We've been fortunate enough to sail for wins, yet everything is small enough that we can take youth out and introduce them to offshore racing without worrying about the loads and safety issues. What more can I ask from a boat? Just that it keeps bringing us those great memories!”

Giving Back to Veterans- Learn to Love Sailing!

(Annapolis, MD)-  War veterans of all stripes all around the world in the Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force face countless struggles in life.  Sailing provides an amazing platform for “team building”, “team recognition”, “love & friendship”. 

In the UK, there are examples like the RAF Benevolent Fund Sailing Program- its most visible programs being the J/109 and J/70 programs- like Simon Ling’s J/70 RAF SPITFIRE program.  Or, the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER program.

Then, there are great Police and Navy programs in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, to name a few, that are sailing on J/24, J/80s and J/105s.  Have you ever visited Antarctica via Porto Williams, Chile or Ushuaia, Argentina?  Chances are your “safety officers” and “coast guard” are none other than Chilean/ Argentinean navy officers that have trained in J/24s as part of learning “the sea”!!

In the USA, there are a number of such programs, including the Warrior Sailing Program and others.  Here is another one to consider. . .

Veterans find camaraderie at Annapolis Sailing Clinic— When Marine Corps veteran Hector Cardona heard about a sailing clinic designed to assist veterans as they transition to civilian life, he said he couldn’t sign up quickly enough, even though he had never sailed.

Cardona was among eight veterans, transitioning service members and wounded warriors who participated in the nonprofit Valhalla Sailing Project’s first two-day clinic to teach veterans the fundamentals of sailing and racing, held on the Chesapeake Bay here June 25-26.

“I’ve lost a lot of friends to suicide,” Cardona said, explaining that he came to the sailing clinic in his quest to find activities veterans can learn to do together.

It’s difficult for veterans to re-enter the civilian sector when the one relationship they crave is missing: the brotherhood of their battle buddies, said Marine Corps combat veteran Mike Wood, Valhalla’s executive director.

Valhalla assists military veterans by filling the need for a squad atmosphere through formations of four-person crews to sail and race as teams, Wood said, noting the organization is operated by combat veterans who are sailboat racers.

Wood said he believes the veteran suicide rate is a reflection of that missing squad system. “We hope to get them back in a core group,” he said of Valhalla’s goal to put veterans in the integrated teamwork and social atmosphere of sailing.

Learning to sail and race as a crew member, Wood said, prompts similar emotions service members experience as members of the military’s brotherhood in arms. “You rely on each other [in battle],” he said. “With sailing, everyone has a job … and you have to know everyone’s job if you have to step in as needed. And you learn to excel.”

And as with military missions, sailing success is based on communication and being able to predict each crew member’s actions to “execute the job successfully, which almost mirrors a squad,” he said.

“It also gives them names in their Rolodex to call” when something in life goes awry, Wood added. The organization, he said, is developing crews to keep veterans together to build the core structure and camaraderie they’re so used to relying upon.

As new members are introduced to the clinic, Wood said, the veteran-sailor crews will mentor the new recruits. Sailing is a year-round activity, and racing begins in the fall when the wind picks up, he added.

“With repetition come the pursuit of perfection,” Wood said. “Service members are dialed into perfection. They figure out what went wrong and fix the problem for the next mission.”

Cardona said he related to feeling alone without his squad, and he, too, emphasized the importance of “knowing your role so you do it automatically and successfully.”

After a brief introductory classroom session, the veterans gathered into two groups of four-person crews, and with an instructor on both sailboats, all eight veterans -- experienced or not -- took the helm while their new crewmates fell into position and assumed other duties in first morning session.

Following a barbecue social with 30 volunteers and Valhalla staff, the crews gathered for more class instruction and were back on the water, honing skills quickly.

“By the end of the clinic, it was like these vets have been sailing together for years,” Wood said in a Facebook post. “The bonding, camaraderie and skill they displayed was astounding. To top it off, some of the vets have secured spots on race boats in Annapolis!”  Wood said he was proud of what the veterans accomplished in just two days.

“And, I am beyond excited to hear that they all want to continue building their skills and become one of the premier racing crews in the area,” he added.   Thanks for the contribution from Terri Moon Cronk

Giving Back to the Sport You Love- Sailing!

(Annapolis, MD)-  Juniors Learn Big Boat Safety and Skills with the help of J/Boats owners in the Chesapeake Bay.

As the first week of summer program sailing started throughout the region, 18 students from throughout the Chesapeake and as far away as New York came to Annapolis YC to learn about Big Boat safety and skills at the Junior Safety at Sea Seminar, conducted by members of the Chesapeake Station of the Storm Trysail Club.

This program, started in 2002 by the Storm Trysail Foundation in memory of Jamie Boeckel, is pledged to educate junior sailors on the proper methods and equipment used for efficient and safe big boat and offshore sailing.

The day’s introductory remarks by noted yachting journalist Angus Phillips included fresh news of how a junior crew on board the 41-foot High Noon crossed the finish line in the 635-mile Newport-Bermuda Race as the second-fastest monohull behind the massive 100-foot Comanche. This was quite a feat, and worthy to note that these juniors were also trained in the Storm Trysail program.

A morning of class room training on principles conducted by Dobbs Davis was followed by hands-on dockside demonstrations led by Peter Sarelas on fire extinguisher and flare use, as well as inflation of a full-size life raft. Crews were then formed to adjourn to four boats for an afternoon of practical training on three J/105’s – Art Libby’s DOG HOUSE, Pen Alexander’s MORE COWBELLS, and Angelo Guarino’s CRESCENDO – as well as Jim Praley’s J/120 SHINNECOCK.

On board instruction on boat and sail handling, as well as practicing Crew Overboard drills, were led by coaches Pete Carrico, Brad Cole, Woody Brumfield, Art Libby, Andy Hughes, Angus Phillips, Elliott Oldak, and Ross Dierdorff. After two hours of sailing and training, the four teams raced on a simple one-lap course that had to include performing a Crew Overboard drill before finishing...More Cowbell won both races.

After returning to the dock and over pizza served at the debrief, each team elected their own ‘most-improved’ crew member to receive a hardcover edition of Jim Kilroy’s KIALOA US-1: Dare to Win, in Business, in Sailing, in Life, courtesy of Trice Kilroy and the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Another interesting note from the debrief: when asked what was the most important principle among several taught this day, the most common answer was communication and its importance at building team work. Coming from this group of Opti, Laser and 420 sailors, this bodes well for the future of big boat sailing.   For more information on Junior Safety at Sea seminars... click here.

Honing Your Game: Using Pros to Get Better in the Offseason

(Annapolis, MD)- Duffy Perkins, a new J/22 owner, shares her story in the October 2015 issue of Spinsheet magazine:

“I like to think I’m a decent crew member. I’m not afraid to aggressively hike out. I always remember who likes mayo on their sandwich, and who thinks the red Gatorade is disgusting. I’ll even run the bow if the bowman is too hungover.

The only thing I won’t do on a boat is drive. If you try to get me to drive, I have multiple elaborate excuses, ranging from insurance issues to a mild concussion I suffered (six years ago, but still). I’ll explain that I’m a nervous hurler.

But, back to being a good crew member: life sometimes gets in the way of your sailing. I got married, we moved from Boston to Annapolis, and within two years we had two kids. My sailing was still happening, but I was rusty.

Knowing that I needed to get my butt back in the game, I contacted Kristen Berry of J/World, asking about options for the early spring sailing circuit, when everyone on the Bay is still wearing socks. He mentioned that he had a spot on a J/70 for Charleston Race Week and told me I’d mesh well with his crew. My husband Trevor found a ride on another J/70 for the regatta, the grandparents agreed to babysit the kids, and we were off.

We drove all night from Annapolis to Charleston, arriving at the J/World dock at promptly 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. My team for the week was Tom Kase, a Canadian sailor, and Wayne Cassady, a J/22 sailor from Kentucky. Kristen was sailing with us, but he wasn’t able to touch the tiller during racing due to J/World protocol.

Both Tom and Wayne were experienced skippers, and I was ready to bang around the 70’s front position for them. But the J/World philosophy involves getting crew members to switch positions during racing, so I would be moving around the boat. I didn’t feel comfortable doing this, so to get some practice, Kristen had us rig the boat and we headed out onto the water.

Charleston Harbor is unique on the East Coast for its somewhat indecipherable currents. Three rivers spill into the harbor; the Wando, the Cooper, and the Ashley. Add in tide, shallows, and wind direction, and you have one of the most schizophrenic bodies of water on the East Coast.

We planned two days of practice before the official regatta, getting used to the boat, the currents, and fine tuning our communication skills. And there’s no better way to work on your communication than to have a man overboard situation.

Winds were above 40 knots, and we had the kite up when we experienced a death roll gybe. I ended up pulling Wayne back into the boat. It was the first time that had ever happened to me, and having a coach present made a significant difference (not that I still wasn’t freaked out).

By the time racing started Friday morning, I felt I could hang on the boat just as well as anyone. But on the race course, it became very obvious just how much time J/70 crews put in to getting their boats dialed down. Kristen reminded me that we had multiple days on the water, but other boats had months, years, even decades of sailing together, getting their communication down, knowing just where their bodies should be positioned on the boat.

Needless to say, once racing started, we weren’t winning the regatta.

The J/World program necessitates that every crew member changes position on the boat after each race. But I felt differently. I wasn’t there to learn to drive. I shouldn’t drive! Insurance! Coma! Nervous hurling over the side!

So I was beyond surprised when Kristen pulled me aside and said, “Duffy, you’re on the helm for the first race tomorrow.” You never want a woman on a boat to ask you to hold her hair, but I did indeed ask Wayne to hold my hair while I hung over the stern and lost everything in my stomach. I pulled him into the boat during the MOB, so it was only fair.

Kristen understood my panic and agreed to be on the main and talk me through the start, which was undoubtedly the most nerve wracking for me. With 40 boats on the line (and 80 on the course), no one is safe, and we saw much more experienced crews getting mixed up with each other (and even the RC boat).

For the first start, Kristen talked me through finding a sliver of a lane near the boat, keeping myself moving while others stalled out and froze. Unfortunately, a general recall brought us all back. I fought back nerves (and my stomach) while we got in sequence for the second start. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as an ‘okay’ start, and as the final seconds ticked off, I felt the whole boat slow and my enthusiasm deplete with it. The boat stalled on the line, and while Kristen never so much as raised his voice, I had so much shouting in my head that I felt lost. He brought me back to the course, getting me settled in and clawing us back into the fleet. “I know you can sail this boat faster than this,” he said to me. But how?

The answer was to get out of my head. Start talking to my jib trimmer Wayne, telling him when I felt pressed or stalled. Talking to my spinnaker trimmer Tom, telling him when I needed to come up for speed and letting him tell me when I needed to soak down. Wayne called the wind, and after our first downwind leg, my husband snapped a picture of me from behind.

Of course, the race has four legs. And in the third leg, the screaming panic in my head became almost unbearable. Kristen was talking to me the whole time, but it wasn’t working. “Enough with this $&*%,” I told him. “I need some tough love!” The look Kristen gave me was one of total astonishment, but then he pounced. He criticized me when I was too low, he yelled “Quit pinching!” when I was too high. Finally, the screaming in my head was silenced, and I was focused solely on the moment.

There’s no comeback story here, if you’re waiting for one. I think we beat one boat that race. But we crossed the line at the back of the fleet, not miles behind anyone. If I were a better skipper, I could have picked off 10 boats easily on the last run. But I’m not a skipper at all.

Finishing the race, we quickly switched positions and Wayne drove one of our best races in the regatta. I felt calm, dialed in, and appreciative of his skill on the helm. As we headed in, he recalled past J/22 regattas. “You get used to the panic feeling,” he said, “but you have to do a lot of it before you get used to it.” Tom sailed the first race of the third day, and as I trimmed his kite, I kept in the back of my mind that it was my turn next on the stick. The wind was down, and we were fighting the tide. Waiting for the second race to happen, we realized the current was heading out at four knots while the wind was pushing at three in the opposite direction. Race committee sent us in.

Sailing in, a big part of me was disappointed that I wasn’t going to have a chance on the helm for the final race. I wanted more time sailing with my team; five days wasn’t nearly enough for what I wanted to accomplish.

That’s the beauty of the J/World course: you realize just how much potential you truly have.

Being a better crew member isn’t about mayo and Gatorade. It’s about racing your sailboat as often as you can, switching positions, dialing down your communication skills, and working with your team until you think and move as one. It takes practice; lots and lots of practice.

So we decided to listen to Wayne’s advice: Trevor and I came back to Annapolis and bought a J/22. I’ve already let J/World know I’m ready for more tough love.”

To up your game before the 2016 sailing season, check out J/World’s programs for CRW, Key West Race Week, and many other regattas here: http://www.jworldannapolis.com.

J/105 For Nantucket Community Sailing

(Nantucket, MA)- While Nantucket is a wonderful vacation resort, the families who live on the remote island struggle to make ends meet.   According to Diana Brown, President of Nantucket Community Sailing, “our organization was founded to help island children have access to the water that they would otherwise not be able to afford.  We are honored to serve that mission.  Nantucket Community Sailing has dozens of enrollments in our youth programs each summer, 30% of whom are local island children and we give them scholarships to make it affordable to sail.  A third J/105 would be a huge improvement to our youth sailing programs, and also give more Nantucket kids access to the waters surrounding our beautiful island.”

One of the NCS members, Susan Farm, comments that, “NCS currently has two donated J/105s in our keelboat program. Both boats are used for youth sailing programs and this past summer we experienced demand higher than we could support for the program. We also race the boats in a local PHRF series and travel to local regattas. The kids race one boat, and I  leased the second boat with an all female crew (Diane is on the crew). This summer, the kids program took precedence over our use, and we were out of a boat!  But what a nice problem to have. (The boats are also used to take seniors out for leisurely cruises).”


Susan continues to say that, “we had 128 kids enrolled in the one-week J/105 programs on the two NCS J/105s, ranging in age from 9–18.  The programs are at capacity, so the addition of a third boat would allow more children to experience the thrill of big boat sailing. The older children were able to participate in Wednesday night PHRF racing and in three days of PHRF racing during Nantucket Race Week.  The J/105s also compete in the famous FIGAWI Race in the beginning of the summer; they are crewed by members of the Nantucket High School sailing team. Finally, NCS also uses the J/105s for community outreach, specifically with the “Old Salts” program (seniors from the Salt Marsh Center) and the patients and caregivers from PASCON (Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket).

Please contact Diana Brown for further information about the Nantucket Community Sailing program- work ph. 508-228-6600 or email- diana@nantucketsailing.org.  Learn more here on their NCS website

Singapore Strikes Sailing Gold!

Win Asian Games J/80 Match Race!
(Incheon, Korea)- Singapore's sailors bagged their third gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games after the J/80 Match Racing team beat South Korea 2-0 in a best-of-three final on Wednesday afternoon.

The five-man crew of Maximilian Soh, Andrew Paul Chan, Russell Kan, Christopher Lim, and Justin Wong had reached the final after winning 15 of their 16 match races in the nine-team round robin preliminary stage. They then beat Malaysia 3-0 in a best-of-five final.

Commenting on the team’s performance in Incheon, Dr Ben Tan, President of the Singapore Sailing Federation said, “Our sailors were up against the big boys of Asia, such as China, Korea, Japan, and they did Singapore proud. The hard work of our sailors and the attention to detail of the support team brought us this excellent set of results. Singapore Sailing will continue to build on our breadth and depth so that we can continue to deliver for Singapore.”

Singapore's sailors now have three golds, two silvers, and two bronzes so far at the on-going Asian Games. The results of Match Race Finals were: 1st Singapore, 2nd Republic of Korea, 3rd Japan and 4th Malaysia.

Thanks must also go out to Red Dragon Yachts, the International J/80 One-design builder in China for their fantastic support and ensuring the delivery of new, evenly-matched J/80s for the regatta!  Thanks for contribution from Chua Siang Yee.   For more J/80 Asian Games sailing information

College Students Ready to Sail in France

J/80 largest and most popular fleet
(Les Sables d’Olonne)- Originally created by 3 students from the French Business School EDHEC in 1968, the EDHEC Sailing Cup is now organized by 50 students and has become the leading student sporting event in Europe. Older than the Vendée Globe or the Volvo Ocean Race, the EDHEC Sailing Cup has always been a leader in the student top-level regattas. This year, the largest student regatta in the world comes back for its 46th edition in the mythic Port Olona, Les Sables d’Olonne, on the French Atlantic coast, from April 25 to May 3, 2014.

Since its creation, the organization has been trying to promote sailing beyond the limits of the yachting world: the Land Trophy, the Sand trophy, and the Air Trophy, have been created to enable our sailor participants’ friends to join them in this adventure.

This year again, the EDHEC Committee are welcoming sailors from all over the world to participate alongside the anticipated 3,000 students representing 22 countries. All will brave the Atlantic Ocean and are, hopefully, up the challenge of a 180-boat-fleet competition in Port Olona!

The USA will be the most represented foreign country with five teams with most of them sailing in the chartered J/80s. It will be the third participation for University of Chicago, with first time teams from Drexel University, Tufts (2 teams) and Georgetown. Canada will have two teams: University of Laval and HEC Montréal.

The crew from HEC Lausanne in Switzerland are the defending champions, last year winning the 100% Student and the International Ranking. “This year, the goal is to keep the two titles,” said Valentin Bovey, former skipper and now tactician of the crew.

Among the favorites are HEC Lausanne, Georgetown, Tufts, University of Chicago, Kedge Business School, EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, respectively winner and second of the Student Yacht World Cup) and the Rzeszow University of Technology Sailing Team (winner of the student sailing championship in Poland).  For more EDHEC sailing information