J/88 AND J/122 TRIUMPH @ PORT STEPHENS REGATTA

 

(Port Stephens, NSW, Australia)- The Sail Port Stephens 2021 Regatta was held 19-25 April with the Port Stephens Trophy Event held 23-25 April with 130 keelboats and 50 trailerables and off-the-beach classes enjoying the mild-Autumn conditions. 

Sail Port Stephens goal is to give competitors the best possible on and off water regatta experience in one of the east coast’s finest sailing destinations, a little over 2 hours north of Sydney by car or an easy 90.0nm day sail.  The Port Stephens slogan is "Incredible By Nature"! And, if you love pristine beaches, crystal blue waters, spectacular sunsets over the nearby ranges and great sailing conditions then this is the place to be.

Two particularly outstanding results for the three-day event were the J/88 JOJI and J/122 JACKPOT, both winning their class convincingly.  Mark Wharton’s J/88 JOJI winning 1-1-2 in their 26 boat Division 3 fleet.  Rob Hale’s J/122 JACKPOT with 12-2-2 scores in their 22 boat Division 1 fleet.

Friday, the fleet looked spectacular as they headed offshore from Port Stephens under spinnaker, rounded the offshore islands then headed to the mark off Fingal Bay’s white sandy beach. A westerly of around 12-14 knots stayed for their course.  Saturday was the Broughton Island Passage Race with light and variable breezes and a few DNF’s, but there was no stopping the J’s.  Sunday, the South Westerly breeze returned for the final day of the regatta being an inshore W/L race.  Reports from Mark (J/88 JOJI) and Rob (J/122 JACKPOT) are below:

J/88 JOJI:
“It was J/88 JOJI’s second Sail Port Stephens Regatta, its first in 2019 when the fleets got smashed by a 40-knot southerly squall in the last race. Not a fun moment or one to repeat. So this year’s breeze and weather conditions were just what the race organizers  ordered. It was a record fleet of 130 boats spread across a number of varied divisions. The racing was serious but lots of fun too with some close quarter starts and tense top mark roundings.

JOJI went into all races knowing who the local boats were, as local knowledge was key to master the currents and breeze shifts. The size of JOJI relative to the Division 3 fleet meant that it was essential to get a clear air start. Lucky for us, all three starts were good and so we managed to break away from the main fleet to chase down the fast locals.


The first 2 races were passage races out offshore around the Islands and made for terrific asymmetrical spinnaker sailing. The 3rd race, an up and down with two marks top and bottom to give the 60 or so boats room at either end.

JOJI’s handicap wins in the first two races didn’t separate the field very much “points wise” and going into the last race four boats were within a couple of points of each other. The pressure was on.

The 3rd race started in similar fashion, close quarters, downwind start, gybing onto port on the line and positioning for clear air again. And, also keeping the local gun boat within reach. JOJI’s superior speed upwind along with some great crew work on the tacks meant we knocked off the “boat to beat” and he eventually got buried in amongst the bigger boats. JOJI maintained its clear air lead and took line honors and 2nd on handicap and winning the series by a clear 16 points.

A great result for JOJI and its crew!“


J/122 JACKPOT:
Sydney-based J/122 JACKPOT lived up to her name again with a convincing win at Sail Port Stephens regatta over the weekend. The result is even more impressive as this is the first time JACKPOT has competed in the ever-growing Sail Port Stephens regatta. 

“It’s a very different sailing area to our beloved harbor, with much more navigational effort required for the shallows, channel markers, wind shifts, and tidal effects than we are used to,” said Rob.  

At 40ft, JACKPOT was at the smaller end of the impressive 22 boat competitive fleet including Farr 52, Dehler 46, First45’s, McConaghy 47, first 47’s, and an X43 to name a few.

Rob Hale commented, “the first race was very light with plenty of shifts and tidal influence, we were a bit rusty, but still managed a 12th. Being one of the smallest boats in the fleet, we had to re-think our start line tactics which helped us come back with vengeance in race 2 with a hard fought second place. Race three was inshore, but again we managed a second place totaling 16 points for this three-race regatta, a clear 4 points ahead of our closest competitor.


It’s such a good feeling when you know you are at the smaller end of the fleet, but finish with the top four boats crossing the line and look back thinking that was another great race.

Port Stephens is a beautiful and scenic place to race, and we will be back to defend our title in 2022. We would like to thank our competitors for keeping us on our toes, Port Stephens Race organizers, and of course, our trusty crew for a great event.”

Sailing Photo Credits: J/122 Jackpot photos by D Edmiston.  J/88 Joji photos by Sail Port Stephens.

J/111 BRISBANE TO GLADSTONE RACE REPORT

(Brisbane, Australia)- The past Easter Weekend, the J/111 BLACK DOG sailed the Brisbane to Gladstone Race in near gale sailing conditions. Here is their report from owner/skipper Rodger Vinton.   

"The 73rd Brisbane to Gladstone (B2G) yacht race started on Good Friday 2 April at midday. The course is 308.0nm long and starts in Brisbane (Queensland) in Moreton Bay, going to a turning mark off Redcliffe pier; before heading across the bay to Moreton Island then exiting the bay through the NW shipping channel. The course then runs past the Sunshine Coast, keeping Fraser Island to port, leaving Lady Elliot Island to port and then going across what is affectionately known as “the paddock” to Gladstone. The last 15.0nm is a trip up the shipping channel to finish off at the Gladstone Yacht Club.

There are many divisions in this race, including Vintage through to Modern yachts, competing in cruising and/or racing divisions. The boats range from 10.3 to the 30.48 metres Black Jack (100 ft Maxi). There were 37 boats that started the 2021 race, including the J/111 Black Dog with 7 crew skippered by Rodger Vinton.

The forecast was for southeasterly winds of 25-30 knots for the start and then building as the day went on with expected gusts of up to 35 knots and large confused seas off Breaksea at the northern tip of Fraser Island.  We started with full main and 3.5 jib and ended up a few minutes late for the start re-running reef lines.

Just after the start we put up the A3 kite but it was too shy, so we changed down to the 3.5 jib and then we were off passing the fleet. The upside of a slow start was that we did get to see most of the other boats.

Once in the shipping channel we were able to hoist the A3 kite again and in the bigger gusts we hit 20 knots boat speed. At NW4 beacon we were going to drop the kite but a gust of 30+knots hit and we broached. It took a while to get the kite back onboard and then up went the 3.5 jib again. 

At dusk we put the first reef in and sailed at about 150 AWA running down the large quartering swells. Dark rain clouds would come through and the wind speed would increase, occasionally hitting 40 knots. After Breaksea we jibed onto port to our next mark Lady Elliot Island and then after we reached Lady Elliot Island the wind dropped slightly with top gusts of only 25 knots. We put the A3 up again. This lasted about half an hour before the wind speed built and the A3 was reduced to tapes. 

We carried on under reefed main and the 3.5 jib until the finish. The top boat speed we recorded was 24 knots under reefed main and 3.5 jib as we surfed down big seas and we also saw a top wind speed of 41 knots. During the night we were smashed by a big wave and it hit one of the crew with such force that her PFD auto inflated with a bang and set the strobe light off. The look of shock on her face was priceless and we then had to use one of the spare PFDs for the rest of the race. Now we know what happens to an auto PFD and why you need to carry spares.

Our experience with our first B2G race in 2018 was that in heavy weather no one eats much, so we took a lot of finger-food that could be eaten on the rail. We ate things like salad rolls, BBQ sausages, home-made pies, fruit, biscuits, lollies, trail mix, chocolate, and Doc’s rice pudding. Seasickness impacted a few crew, but was managed with the appropriate meds. All of our crew finished the race in one piece and our mascot toy dog SALTY survived, too – just a bit wet. Other boats and crew were not so lucky – there were 11 DNF’s including most of the favorites for line honours and IRC, with a couple of crew injuries including one needing to be air-lifted off in a medical evacuation.

We crossed the line in 6th place after 32 hours and 12 mins, we won the line honors trophy for a yacht under 37 feet and came 2nd in Division Two on both IRC and PHRF. A great result for our J/111!

The boat went very well, with all three people on helm enjoying the challenge of the ride. The only boat damage sustained was one A3 kite and the broken toilet lid. If only we’d not been a few minutes late for the start. Oh well, next time!"Add to Flipboard Magazine.

VAMOS CROWNED J/70 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONS!

(Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)- This past fortnight, the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on the southern isthmus of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne hosted the 2021 Australian J/70 National Championship. Plenty of fun and games and great sailing was had by all that were more than happy to get sailing on the water again. 

For those "not in-the-know", Australia and their counterparts in the Antipodes "down under" (New Zealand) were one of the first few nation-states in the world to battle the pandemic aggressively (with incredible contact-tracing processes) to enable their countries to be the first to live a new "near-normal" lifestyle.

Here is the report from a three-time dinghy World Champion and top woman sailor- Nickie Douglass- a.k.a. "Sailor Girl". 

"With two strong days of racing down in the 2021 J/70 Australian Championship, the weather served up testing conditions for the racing crews and Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron race management team on the third and final day.

In what could be deemed the most challenging, yet exciting race of the series, race seven was a battle from start to finish. With the course set at 160 degrees, and the south-easter blowing directly from the club with the outgoing current, the shifts, which came in waves of pressure, were significant.


Reg Lord, defending National Champion and his team on JUNO were first to identify a left-hand shift during the start sequence, and popped at the pin cleanly as the gun went. Current regatta leader, Tim Ryan and his crew on VAMOS were just off their hip, and second-placed CELESTIAL were to windward of them, but opted to tack onto port shortly after starting, as did Karyn Gojnich and her team on THE JACKAL.

The next pressure line came from the right, and CELESTIAL and THE JACKAL looked to be making the most of the pivoting course. The local teams of JUMPIN' JACK FLASH, and the all-female team on SPIKE, and the only NSW Corinthians, MAYBE J were able to slip up the middle of the course while those on the left were left flailing in easing pressure.

The rounding at the first mark of the course, and the second gates were the same, with CELESTIAL leading from JUMPIN' JACK FLASH, SPIKE, MAYBE J, and THE JACKAL


On the second circuit rounding the cans, a pod of dolphins joined in with the racing, making for a happy distraction for crews while trying to connect the dots with the fickle pressure.

CELESTIAL skipper Sam Haynes and his crew of David Chapman, Johnny Warren and Locky Pryor continued to lead around the final mark, but it was the local heroes on JUMPIN' JACK FLASH who stole the gun on the line thanks to the final puff coming more from the west to push them over the line.

Laura Harding and her all-female youth team on SPIKE from Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron rounded out the podium finishing in their best place of the regatta so far.

The results also meant that Tim Ryan on VAMOS and his crew who had been sailing a near perfect regatta, would have to sail in the final race 8 to secure their win over the closing team of Celestial.


After a lengthy delay under AP, the breeze finally settled once again at 165 degrees, and the J/70 fleet for the first time of the regatta saw a change in the course, from a two-lap windward leeward to a three-lapper.

VAMOS triggered at exactly the right time at the pin to lead off the line, with the second-placed team of CELESTIAL right on their hip. VAMOS had their eyes on the prize and kept themselves in between CELESTIAL and the next mark, and the local team JOUST 70, skippered by Rod Warren slipped through to take the lead around the first and second marks of the course.

CELESTIAL opted to split from VAMOS, and took the left-hand turn at the bottom gate, while JOUST 70 ahead of them, then VAMOS at the same time as CELESTIAL, and then the youth all-female team on SPIKE all opted for the right-hand turn.

The next phase of the breeze came from the left, forcing CELESTIAL back to fourth, dashing their hopes of a chance to take the title.

The commanding VAMOS team of Rob Greenhalgh, Charlie Gundy and Jess Grimes, led by skipper Tim Ryan took the lead up the second beat and were not challenged for the remaining two laps. They crossed the finish line to take their sixth race win of the series, and the overall championship with a race to spare.

Rod Warren's JOUST 70 with Aaron Cole, Tim Smith and Ollie Vanderslot took second place, with Laura Harding and the all-female youth team on SPIKE backing up their race 7 performance with another third place.


With the Championship and runner-up positions already decided, VAMOS and CELESTIAL opted to head back to the beach for the final race of the series to allow the teams on JUNO skippered by Reg Lord, and THE JACKAL, skippered by Karyn Gojnich to battle it out for the final podium position.

JUNO opted to cover THE JACKAL in the pre-start forcing them to the right hand side with an early port tack duck off the line.

With the easing breeze, and the outgoing current, the top mark was a mess, with multiple crews doing turns for nipping the first mark of the course.

JUNO took command of the race, and took the win, securing third place in the overall Championship for the defending champion Reg Lord, and his crew of Tom Grimes, Murray Jones and James Hodgson.

Local team JO JO ZIP skippered by Ian Cooper with Neil Taylor, John Lindholm, Dean Taylor and Callum Burns had the best race of their series finishing in second.

Michael Nash, Peter Nash, John Watson, Garth Davies and Maria Nash on MAYBE J finished third to secure the Corinthian Division for 2021.

Laura Harding, Ella Grimshaw, Daisy Laing, Hannah Danks and Harriette Singh finished in sixth, to not only take the boat of the day bragging rights, but the Youth Division for 2021.

Karyn Gojnich, Sara Ladd, Ewa Lindelof and Kyle Dodds on SPIKE finished in fourth place to secure fourth overall in the championship and the Female Division for 2021.


1st Overall, Vamos (l-r) Charlie Gundy, Rob Greenhalgh, Jess Grimes, Tim Ryan, Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS 


Ladies Division winner Karyn Gojnich with Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS


Corinthian Division Winner, Michael Nash with Matt McCarthy, Vice Commodore BYS

Sailing photo and story credits- Nic Douglass / www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com / http://www.nicdouglass.orgAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122’S CONTINUE OFFSHORE DOMINATION IN AUSTRALIA

 

(Sydney, Australia)- Our friends "Down Under" have been enjoying sailing their J/122s for the past few seasons. For the 2020/ 2021 summer season from October to April, the J/122s are, yet again, throwing down the gauntlet against their fellow offshore competitors both on the eastern and western coastlines of Australia. Here's the latest report from Ray Entwistle, the J/Australia distributor.

"In Queensland on the east coast of Australia, J/122 JAVELIN skippered by Sally Crowley, won the Kingfisher Bay Night race, sailed on Moreton Bay off Brisbane.

There were 21 entries overall for the approximately six-hour race, with JAVELIN 1st in IRC class and 1st in AMS class.

Sally commented on her performance, “JAVELIN enjoyed a magnificent afternoon and evening of sailing in Race 3 of the Kingfisher Bay night series. The forecast for 10-15 kt easterlies was mostly accurate and made for a comfortable race.

Following a bit if excitement at the start, we set off on a work around the bottom of Mud Island and across to the Moreton Island Sandhills yellow buoy. We rounded in the leading group, then settled in for the 14.0 nm run to North Reef, off Scarborough. Without the favored kite for the conditions (blown during the last race) we couldn’t run the angles we would have liked and gave away some time to the symmetrical boats, but "ciest'la'vie".

A lovely sunset accompanied us heading south to Brisbane Rhodes and a spectacular moonrise welcomed us around the Coffee Pots and back to the start/finish.

Thanks as always to the race control volunteers for allowing us to compete in this wonderful series.“

The series consists of four afternoon/evening passage races, designed to be reasonably challenging and are a lead up to the Brisbane to Gladstone race. They are held each month from October through to February and sponsored by Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island, Queensland (Qld). Organized by Wynnum Manly Sailing Club with support of Royal Qld Yacht Club, Qld Cruising Yacht Club and Moreton Bay Boat Club. 


Meanwhile, over on the west coast in Perth, the J/122 JOSS is continuing her impeccable race record.

Saturday was Ocean Racing WA’s (ORWA) first race in the New Year, organized by Hillarys Yacht Club, the 41.0 nm “Pot of Gold” from Fremantle around Rottnest Island and finish at Hillarys.  

After 5.5 hours of racing JOSS was 1st Division 1 IRC against a great fleet of 40 footers; the King 40 “Checkmate” was 2nd, Farr 395 “Giddy Up” 3rd, and the J/122 LITHIUM was 4th (LITHIUM also won on PHS Handicap).

The sail back to Fremantle on Sunday was a Hillarys Yacht Club event. While a smaller fleet, JOSS was 1st IRC combined fleet & took line honours after a great duel with “Alfresco” (a Bakewell 39 pure racing boat) and “Surfer Rosa” (a Pogo 12.50).  For more J/122 offshore cruiser racer sailing information

J/99 Scores More Stunning Victories in Australia

 

(Sydney, Australia)- The J/99 JEDI scored another stunning trifecta win racing offshore out of Royal Prince Alfred YC in Pittwater, near Sydney. The top mark was 8nm offshore, conditions were light 5-10 knots ESE. JEDI was one of two boats sailing doublehanded in the combined 18-boat fleet. JEDI finished 1st overall combined Div 1 and 2 fleets in ORC, and 1st ORC and IRC in Div 2. Remarkably, the J/99 was the smallest boat by far and still beating fully crewed 40+ footers on the water.

Delighted with their performance, skipper Ray Entwistle said, ”we've been lucky enough to experience the J/99 in many different wind and sea states and the results have been just as impressive. The first race in 8-15 knots and lumpy seaway, second race in 15-25 knots and very rough seaway, third race in light conditions and fairly flat seas. The J/99 has performed outstandingly well in this wide range of conditions, is incredibly easy to manage, and a real joy to sail.”  Learn more about the J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster hereAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

CONVICTS REVENGE Wins J/24 NSW Champs

 

(Pittwater, Sydney, Australia)- The Australian J/24 NSW Championships was hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Pittwater from October 31st to November 1st on the gorgeous Sydney Harbour. Ten entries participated, but Paul Donnelly's CALYPSO suffered a trailer-related incident and did not compete (it’s a long story but a good one…. ask Paul about it when you’ve got a few minutes to spare).

Those regular boats who chose not to compete missed out on a great event, notwithstanding the weather which threw everything at us from warm and sunny to thunder and lightning and at times LOTS of rain! The venue and facilities were excellent, lots of hardstand space, cranes, a very professional race crew and helpful, welcoming staff. COVID Rules were obviously in place and restricted social activities a little, but it all ran very well.

The RPYC PRO Stephen Merrington managed to get all 6 heats run on a difficult stormy weekend when a lot of other club racing around Sydney was cancelled.

Saturday started with a Northeasterly breeze around 10 kts, but later shifted southerly. Two races had to be abandoned halfway through which was unfortunate (especially for Steve Wright's TINTO, leading both times), but that’s sailing!


Steve Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE won Race 1, followed by TINTO and Clinton Hood's EL FIDELDO. Then, Race 2 was won by Dave West's ACE from John Crawford's INNAMINCKA and David McKay's STAMPED URGENT. Another race was started, but then the storm closed in and competitors were sent home in the pouring rain.

With the forecast for an early southerly expected to get up to 30 kts, hopes were not high for much sailing on Sunday. But, we were fortunate to get all four races run, in a wind moving from SW to S and increasing from 8-10 kt to well over 20 kts.

Wright's TINTO won Race 3 after a poor first leg, coming from 4th at the last mark to the final margin of 24 seconds from Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE and West's ACE. Race 4 went to Crawford's INNAMINCKA from CONVICTS REVENGE and ACE. 

With the strengthening wind, all boats we were on jibs for Race 5. This race had the closest finish of the series, with the first five finishing in 6 seconds!! ACE taking first from INNAMINCKA, then TINTO. 

The final race was getting tough with the strong and gusty Southerly really testing everyone. CONVICTS REVENGE got the better of ACE in a tight tactical battle up the second work to win, with TINTO taking third.

Racing overall was very tight and competitive, with most finishing within 2 or 3 minutes each race. However, there were no protests and no (bad) collisions, so a good weekend all round. 


Congratulations to Quigley's CONVICTS REVENGE team that won the series on a tiebreaker/ countback from West's ACE team on 10 points. Wright's TINTO rounded out the podium with the bronze medal. The balance of the top five included Crawford's INNAMINCKA in fourth and McKay's STAMPED URGENT in fifth position. 

OVANGA DELTA Wins PHS
The handicap-based PHS sub-division results gave the win to woman skipper Janette Syme's OKAVANGO DELTA crew. Second was Marc Tromp's WATERBORNE AGAIN and third went to Clinton Hood's EL FIDELDO. 

A "Resilience Prize" was awarded to Steve Arnold's SAILMATES. Competing in their first State Champs, they finished every race and flew a kite on every run. Well done!

Finally, special “Thanks” to Bryce at Infinity Rigging, and Shane at Doyle Sails who donated prizes for the event. Please support these locally owned businesses where you can. Thanks for this contribution from Stephen Wright.  For more Australian J/24 Class sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Australian J/99 Continues Doublehanded Success!

 

(Sydney Harbour, Australia)- The Australian J/99 JEDI proves again how much fun you can have racing two-up against significantly bigger boats up to 48ft, and some with 12 or more crew, even in gnarly offshore conditions. Read on about a woman's perspective sailing in the doublehanded Olympic-like format. Thanks to Sandra Entwistle for her report.

"We’ve been practicing two-handed racing in our J/99 while joining in with fully-crewed fleet from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) Short Offshore Point Score (SOPS) series.  While Ray and I have sailed together for many years, we haven’t seriously raced two-handed since 2008 when we owned our J/109 Sweet Chariot.  

Rather than putting together a story from last weekend’s SOPS race, I thought I’d share my thoughts on preparing for and racing two-up.  By no means am I a professional sailor or have any aspiration to enter the Olympics, I’m just keen to get out there and enjoy sailing.  The J/99 is perfect for us as she can be easily sailed by two, large enough to race fully crewed plus has enough creature comforts down below for some family cruising.


Actually, in all honesty, I prefer racing two-up as I get to do a bit of everything – from tactics to jib trim to kite trim to steering and all the tasks to make that happen. Paradoxically, I find it less stressful with just two on board, the reason being that we ensure we are organized and prepared for what’s going to happen next, I know what Ray is going to do and vice versa.

In relation to racing 2-up last weekend, the RPAYC SOPS races start at the entrance of Pittwater and head offshore.  This week’s race was up to a mark laid off First Point, starboard rounding and back into Pittwater.  Our J/99 is the smallest boat in the fleet by far, with most of the fleet in the 40-50ft range, it was quite funny listening to each of the yachts call in with their huge crew numbers prior to the start (some with a dozen crew or more) and then little JEDI just 2-up. The forecast was 10-15kn NE and building to 20-25kn NE later in the day.  The seas were a confused mess as we had a strong southerly the day prior then wind over tide – the waves were quite big and random with no backs.  

Prior to the start we were undecided on whether to use the J4 due to the building forecast or the J2 due to the lumpy seas and actual wind which was about 12kn.  We hooked up the J2, but typically about 5 mins before the start the wind picked up and we should have used the J4.  With no time to change jibs we put a reef in the main and the J/99 was perfectly balanced for the beat.  She was exceptionally dry even as we came pounding off the waves, a real credit to J/Boats designer Alan Johnstone.  We chose to use hanks on our jibs as it means the jibs can be easily hoisted and dropped without the need to go on the bow.  Others prefer furlers.  Another option we are seeing more of are reefing jibs, and if we had one, we would have made use of it.

The positioning of the winches makes the J/99 a cinch to tack on my own.  I cross sheet the jib sheets so it can be trimmed from the high side, plus the J/99 has powerful in-haulers and jib cars so is super easy to power up/ depower the jib.  Ray has the backstay, main traveler, main sheet and fine tune (and tiller!) all to hand, he calls the tack and around we go.  In the gusts Ray was mostly just playing the traveler and backstay while helming. There is lots of purchase so is very manageable.

After nearly 2 hours upwind we neared the top mark, shook out the reef and prepared for the kite run – now the fun would start!   Normally as we approach the top mark, I would rig the kite during the last tack in, but the seas were so rough that for safety we decided to wait until we rounded.  So, around the mark we went, I eased the jib sheet, grabbed the kite, ran forward and hooked it all up.  As part of our prep, we had the sheets, tack line and halyard ready on the starboard side and all to hand.  Pulled the tack of the kite to the end of the sprit, Ray had the kite sheet loaded ready, hoisted the kite and I raced back to grab the kite sheet.  We immediately got a gust and scooted down the swell doing about 17 kts – woo hoo!  The J/99 is so stiff and balanced, at no time were we out of control or concerned. Speed is your friend when going downwind as there is less sheet loading. I cross-sheeted the kite sheet to trim from the high side (the primary winches are set slightly aft on the J/99 so can also easily be reached by the helmsman if needed).  The jib was still up, so I released the halyard from the clutch which dropped easily on hanks.  With hindsight, we could have left the jib up and will practice with that another day.

The ride back to Pittwater was a real joy, just surfing the swell and having a blast with dolphins playing by our side.  The vang is led aft to both sides of the cabin top so can be reached while trimming the kite if needed.  Gybing an asymmetric kite is simple, just let one sheet off and pull on the other – no need to go on the bow.  Ray times the turn in co-ordination with me pulling on the new sheet.

The next challenge was to find the finish boat and plan for the kite drop.  The finish boat was quite close in to the shore which didn’t leave much room for a bear away to drop the kite.  Again, we planned ahead and decided to drop the kite about 150m early to ensure we would have the room to not hit Australia! LOL!  We opted for a letterbox drop where the kite is dropped between the mainsail and boom and down the main hatch. That technique is by far the safest, easiest spinnaker drop for any shorthanded sailing team. 

All in all, we had a great day and finished 2nd ORC in Div 2 and 3rd ORC overall combined fleets.  We were really pleased with the result given the seaway, size of the competition and against fully crewed boats, the J/99 punches way above her weight!

In summary, the points to remember are to plan ahead, be prepared and communication.  Safety always comes first; we always wear our lifejackets offshore and have the other safety equipment all to hand and ready to deploy.  Being a husband and wife team, the two rules we stick by which would apply to any two-handed team is that any mistake is a shared mistake (for example a bad call on tactics) and what happens on the water stays on the water!  Two-handed racing is a lot of fun, so give it a go!"  Thanks for this contribution by Sandra Entwistle. Sailing photo credits- Rob at RPAYC.

J/99 JEDI Scores a Trifecta!

 

(Sydney Harbour, Australia)- Entering their first double-handed race, husband and wife team Ray and Sandra Entwistle on their new J/99 JEDI scored a stunning trifecta win on IRC, ORC and PHS competing with the fully crewed mixed fleet in the Short Offshore race. More amazingly, at 32.6′ the J/99 was the smallest boat in the fleet by some margin. The J/99 was placed in Division 2, the combined fleet comprised yachts up to 47ft.

The course was a 20-mile offshore race starting from the heads at Pittwater and beating NE up to a laid mark off the headland known as First Point (just south of Terrigal) and spinnaker return via a turning mark finishing near Mackerel Beach back in Pittwater. Both divisions started together (comprising 20 yachts) which made for an interesting start! It was a lumpy seaway with winds NNE varying from 8-15 knots but dying towards the finish.

Ray commented, “We knew we were in good shape when we rounded the top mark with some of the 40+ footers then stayed in touch with them downwind. The J/99 is so easy to sail, perfectly balanced, highly versatile and comfortable.  She was also very dry considering the lumpy seaway and simply carved her way through the swell.  The race was tactically challenging as we had to keep out of as much dirty air as possible with so many larger boats around us.  We popped the A2 for the return run, Sandra cross sheeted the kite sheets and enjoyed the ride home, gybing a couple of times to clear the Barrenjoey mark. As we neared the entrance to Pittwater, we gybed a bit early as we didn’t want to get tangled up with one of the 40-footers. So, unfortunately came a little too close to Barrenjoey headland and into less breeze. Fortunately, we made the most of every little puff to soak down to the finish, with a final gybe to cross the line.”

RPAYC also published the results for the combined Div 1 and 2 fleets – all the Div 1 boats were also fully crewed and included some very high profile race competition. In addition to winning Div 2, the double-handed J/99 finished 4th overall on ORC and IRC in the combined results and missed out by 3rd by only 13 seconds to the Farr 40, Farr45 and XP44.

We wish to thank Sailing Director Nick Elliot and his team at RPAYC for all their effort in promoting and encouraging shorthanded sailing and we hope this result goes some way to proving you can have an enormous amount of fast fun with the simplicity of just two crew.  

We dedicate this race to our dear friend Joe Millward (who passed recently) and his family who introduced me to sailing many years ago when I was a youngster.   Sailing photo credits- RPAYC
For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

"G'day From Down Under!"

 

(Sydney Harbour, Sydney, Australia)- We got a fun, enthusiastic report from yet another J/Boat owner from our friends Down Under. In this case, it was from Carl Braden sailing his gorgeous navy-blue J/109 BLUE SKY.

Braden commented, "last weekend delivered a fantastic coastal sailing day with southerly winds for the Sydney Harbour to Lion Island and return race, some 33.0nm distance with forty-one boats across two crewed divisions, as well as a doublehanded division.

Two J/109s were sailing in Division 2. On BLUE SKY, we finished 5th less than 1 1/2 minutes behind 2nd on corrected time based on a 6 1/4-hour race, with the other 109- SWEET CHARIOT coming in 11th, crossing closely behind us.

It was near perfect sailing conditions, with fast Code-zero reaching heading north, with a close-hauled bash heading back to Sydney.  Everyone was happy to be out of COVID lockdown to be enjoying sunny skies on the coastal run up and back to Lion Island. Fantastic day! And, we love our J/109!"Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/133 Patriot Rolex Sydney Hobart Highlights Video

* Australian Jason Close, owner of the J/133 PATRIOT, won his division in the Rolex Sydney Hobart last year- starting on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2019.

Jason's first attempt didn't go so well. However, he saw no alternative but to come back for the 75th race after PATRIOT broke her rudder (a submerged object broke it clean off) and retired from last year’s race.

Originally owned and raced in the USA, this J/133 was the second USA-built boat to be imported into Australia. Her only other Rolex Sydney Hobart was 2010, when owned by Queenslander Tony Love. Their successful outing enabled them to finish 25th overall for second in Division 3. Otherwise, PATRIOT has been lightly raced, used more for cruising.

For our 2019 race, the crew consisted mainly of members of Sandringham Yacht Club members, with four of the sailors either current or ex-international 14-foot skiff sailors.

"We were all very disappointed after striking an object and breaking our rudder last year and we are all keen to see the finish line at Hobart this year," said Close.

Here is a well-done sailing video documentary of that Rolex Sydney Hobart Race victory, giving insights into the race preparation, the importance of crew management, and the crucial process of on-going race navigation and strategies.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Sweep Queensland Surf to City Race

(Southport, Australia)- The annual Surf to City Yacht Race from Southport on the Gold Coast to Sandgate in Brisbane started on Saturday, February 1st.

There are two fleets for this race, an inshore fleet going inside Stradbroke Island, and an offshore fleet sailing a 100.0nm course up the seaward side of Stradbroke Island, Moreton Island, around Cape Moreton and back into Moreton Bay. Rodger Vinton's J/111 BLACK DOG and James & Sally Crowley's J/122 JAVELIN competed in the 100.0nm offshore course.

At 1000 hrs the race started in 4 knots of breeze that built during the day. Most boats started under Code 0 before the breeze shifted further north, that meant a change to headsail and tacking up the shoreline of Stradbroke to stay out of the current; astonishingly, there were FORTY-TWO tacks recorded on the J/111 BLACK DOG.


Then, it was a long, tight starboard lay to Cape Moreton before turning the corner across the top of Moreton Island to the entrance of the bay at NE2. From there, the course took the fleet on a spinnaker run along past Tangalooma via a series of shoals and channels which are a challenge in the dark. Finally, turning to the southwest at Cowan Cowan for the 14 miles to the finish line, the fleet saw the wind gradually fading and rotating further north. As luck would have it, the wind shifted to the northwest about 1 mile from the finish line! Who knew that J/Boats asymmetrics can double as a headsail! The net result was the J/122 JAVELIN taking IRC handicap honors with the J/111 BLACK DOG taking the silver...good on ya, good show mates! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CHECKMATE Crowned 2020 Australian J/24 National Champion

(The Spit, Mosman, NSW, Australia)- The 2020 Australian J/24 Championship was sailed over four days of racing in a variety of sailing conditions.  Race Officer Steve Tucker and the Middle Harbor Yacht Club Race Management Team completed the full schedule of twelve races with two days of north-easterly winds and two days of cooler southerly breezes on Sydney Harbour. It was a closely-fought battle for the top of the leaderboard, but in the end, it was the 2019 J/24 Australian Champion that managed to defend their title in 2020- Brendan Lee's team on CHECKMATE from Sandringham, Victoria. Here is how it all went down for the sixteen teams in the four-day, twelve-race, two-discards regatta.


Day 1- Light and Shifting
The first day saw racing on The Sound of Sydney Harbour in a light south-easterly that became moderate in the afternoon. It was a gentle start to four days of racing, with wind strength and temperature forecast to rise as the event progressed.

In the first race of the day, Lee's CHECKMATE was third behind Steve Wright’s TINTO (Cronulla SC), the runner-up for last year’s championship, but thirty seconds ahead was Middle Harbour sailor John Crawford and the crew of INNAMINCKA.  In race two, CHECKMATE took a narrow win from David West’s Ace (MHYC) and TINTO was third.

For the final race, Race Officer Steve Tucker signaled for three laps of the windward-leeward course running from south of Cannae Point out through the Sydney Heads, where the breeze held steady around 130 degrees throughout the afternoon and kept the fleet clear of the ferry lanes. David McKay’s STAMPED URGENT, the Cronulla team who placed third at the 2019 Nationals, were first home ahead of Simon Grain’s JET (Sandringham YC) and CHECKMATE.

At the end of day one, CHECKMATE led the series score by 3 points with TINTO (Steve Wright) second and INNAMINCKA (John Crawford) tied for third with STAMPED URGENT (David McKay).


Day 2- Moderate and Pretty Day
As the morning southerly slowly turned east, and then northeast, and freshened, the smoke haze cleared over Sydney Harbour to provide some good racing conditions. The MHYC race management team set a course between Middle Head and North Head for another three races.

Race 4 was completed in an unsettled breeze with TINTO the winner by 11 seconds from CHECKMATE and VORTEX. The breeze had increased slightly for Race 5 but it was still fluky close to the top mark. STAMPED URGENT made the best of the conditions to finish ahead of Middle Harbour’s David West on ACE and TINTO in third.

Race Officer Steve Tucker “tweaked” the course for Race 6, but there was some excitement on the start line with a number of boats making contact.  CALYPSO (Paul Donnelly / RMYC) and PHOENIX (Joanna Lecka / CYCA) both suffered damage; with PHOENIX later sinking on Clontarf Beach within sight of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club marina!  The boat was eventually re-floated and hoped to be back for the following day (nothing a lot of epoxy cannot fix!).  Back on The Sound this afternoon, TINTO claimed another win, this time ahead of Warren Slater’s JAB and CHECKMATE.

Two wins for the TINTO crew moved them to the top of the series table, one point ahead of CHECKMATE and eight points clear of the top local boat  ACE.


Day 3- HOT and Great Breeze
With the mercury rising to the mid-thirties C (that's HOT!), humidity around 40% and the breeze topping 20 knots, it was an exhausting third day for the sailors.

Three windward-leeward races were completed on a course set between the Sow & Pigs Reef and North Head with an axis of 025 degrees for the first two. INNAMINCKA was fast out of the blocks, claiming their second win of the series in Race 7 ahead of STAMPED URGENT and CHECKMATE. The breeze freshened to 18 knots in Race 8 and TINTO was back at the front, leading STAMPED URGENT and CHECKMATE to the line. For the final race of the day, the breeze had backed to 015 degrees and was 20-plus knots.  Grain'S JET crew loved the conditions and scored their first win, with TINTO in second and INNAMINCKA third. 

After nine races, TINTO had a four point lead over CHECKMATE in the championship series score; meanwhile STAMPED URGENT was another seven points adrift in third.


Day 4- Epic Finale!
The final trio of races on the fourth day started in a moderate to fresh southerly with the course moved out of The Sound and set between Obelisk Bay and Neilson Park in search of flatter water. Shockingly, regatta leader TINTO posted their two worst results in races 10 and 11 (an 8th & 7th), handing the series lead on a silver platter to the CHECKMATE crew that had posted another steady 2-1 tally. In short, with just one race left, the CHECKMATE could have DNF'd the race and went home delirious with their good fortune and celebrating with a few dozen "tinnies"; however, that was not the case. The story gets better, or worse, depending on which boat you were on.

With the wind building to 20-25 knots, things got very interesting for the final Race 12. It took two General Recalls before the last race got underway. After getting completely flumoxed and frazzled in the first two races to give away the Championship, the TINTO team managed to collide with the Committee Boat in the final pre-start...adding insult too injury, as one might say. As a result, they were slow off the line and 11th at the first leeward rounding, half-way through the W2 course.  Meanwhile, CHECKMATE was having issues of their own! At the same half-race leeward gate, they managed put their spinnaker in the water (yes, a full-on shrimping mates!), and the resulting tangle caused them to retire and take a DNF! Meanwhile, STAMPED URGENT, the boat placed third in the series, was following INNAMINCKA in the lead at the first leeward rounding, and held on to post a handy second. A shocking outcome to all, to say the least! It was a "rumble in the jungle" in the blustery finale, the final tally showed a much closer finish and a complete re-shuffling of the leaderboard as a result of several fiascos in that last race!


At the conclusion of four day’s racing, Brendan Lee and the CHECKMATE crew of Daniel Abbas, Daniel Cave, Will Shears, Keren Reynolds and Belinda Christie were declared the Australian J/24 Champions for 2020.  While CHECKMATE was able to drop their DNF score and finish on 25 points, Steve Wright’s TINTO had a disappointing day posting 8-8-7 to slide back from series leader into third place behind McKay’s STAMPED URGENT.

MHYC’s Vice Commodore of Racing, Geoff Charters, presented the J/24 National Championship awards and J/24 Australia Class President Ron Thomson presented the Handicap Prizes. First on handicap was PHOENIX (Joanna Lecka), second BAILE DE LUNA (Adam Keyes-Tilley) and third KAOTIC (Geoff Pearson).  A special award was made to David McKay for an incredible effort getting the sunken PHOENIX back on the race track the following day.

While there were no red flags on the final day, the protest committee were kept busy with eight protests and hearings held on each of the first three days. It took two hearings to unravel the facts of the start line incident in Race 6 involving four boats which saw two with significant damage and one sinking at Clontarf Beach before reaching the safety of the MHYC Marina.

Many thanks to the Middle Harbour Yacht Club race management volunteers, the protest panel and NSW J24 Association volunteers for enabling the Championships to run so smoothly, and to Marg Fraser-Martin for the great photography.  For more J/24 Australian National Championship sailing information: Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/133 Dominates Sydney-Hobart Race Class!

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- Congratulations to Jason Close's Sandringham YC team on the J/133 PATRIOT! They had a remarkable performance in the 2019 ROLEX Sydney-Hobart Race.. winning IRC 5 Class (IRC Overall 9th) and winning ORC 4 Class (ORC Overall 10th).

Jason's team included Lex O'Connor (navigator), Greg Coutts, Jordan Sunkel-Lozel, Stu Shafer, Cathy Furey, Graeme Smith, Pete Chalkley, Brett Averey, Stu Moseley, Andy Mcgrath, and Marissa Chalkley. The crew are members of Sandringham Yacht Club, with four of them having lots of International 14-foot skiff experience.

Clearly, their skiff experiences helped on this fast-reaching race... the J/133 PATRIOT was the only production boat in the top 14 overall; all the rest were flat-out, carbon-fiber racers that were professionally-sailed; TP52s went 1-2-3 (8 total in top 14), and the others were all 62 to 69 feet extreme carbon machines. Not bad company for a 15-year-old boat!


Here is the commentary from owner Jason Close on their race-winning performance:

"Our Rolex Sydney-Hobart campaign started with the Sydney-Gold Coast race in July. We had a good result, placing in both our divisions and we had a good look at our opposition.

Our race plan was to sail at, or as close to, 100% polars for the entire race and leave nothing in the tank.

With our fantastic pre-race routing and forecasting prepared by weather and climate expert Jess Sweeney, we set off confident of a good result.   

After a great start, we exited Sydney Heads with two Farr 40s and were at the front of our division.

The first night consisted of some solid downwind sailing, which the J/133 really excelled in, and it enabled us to put a big break on our division and work through boats 2 or 3 divisions higher!

We found ourselves pretty well match-racing with an extremely well-campaigned Cookson 12 named Sail Exchange. We both pushed each other up the fleet and well into the overall IRC contention.

We had a number of challenging navigational decisions around Gabo Heads, with the strong current, in particular. But, we stuck with our pre-race strategy and made some significant inroads on the fleet.

The next night, we saw 20-25 knots of breeze downwind, with a very confused sea state, but the boat cut through it like butter with the assistance of some high-quality helming by the team... the skiff sailors loved it, diving from trough to trough as long as they could!


The next phase of the race was challenging, with many wind transitions to deal with. We managed to keep the boat moving and got through the wind transitions well. Unfortunately, from our perspective, the TP52 carbon racers at the front of the fleet (all the guys that won their class and overall) did not encounter the light weather that we did, so they all put a fair amount of time on us.

Coming into Storm Bay with the Cookson still hot on our tail, we had another light period before catching a decent sea breeze. Thankfully, the moderate sea breeze carried us through to the finish and allowed us to keep our nose in front of our opposition, at least in our class.  However, that sequence of light patches, getting becalmed, and waiting for the seabreeze to build cost us a shot at the overall title.

To win both ORCI and IRC in our divisions was what we set out to do, and we were extremely happy we achieved this. Nevertheless, to finish 9th IRC Overall and 10th overall in ORCI in a big boat race against fully professional outfits in our production J/133 was nothing short of remarkable. It was a credit to our great team and our awesome boat! This was one for the little guys!!"   Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo  For more Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.