SAVASANA Wins Davis Island Winter Series Overall

KEY PLAYER Takes Act 3 on Tiebreak with PINTA
(Tampa, FL)- Forty-eight J/70 teams qualified to win the 2019-20 J/70 Winter Series, requiring them to compete with the same boat and skipper in two of the three events held in Tampa, Florida. For the third consecutive year, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA is Series Champion.  Keane’s crew included Nic Baird, Christian Koules, and Conner Harding. The Corinthian Division Series was won by Peter Firey’s PHOENIX with team of Timothy Mangus, Michael McNamara, Ray Wulff, and Eric Mentzell.


Fifty teams competed in the final event on February 8-9 which saw perfect sailing conditions all weekend, with winds of 8 to 15 knots, clear blue skies, and temperatures in the 70s. After seven races, it was clear there was going to be a battle for the top of the podium. In the streaky, shifty offshore breezes in the upper part of Tampa Bay, it was a 100% Corinthian team on Eddie Keller's KEY PLAYER fighting off a very professional German team led by Mike Illbruck on PINTA. By winning the last race, Illbruck's super-star crew on PINTA (John Kostecki, Patrick Wilson, and Chris Stocke) put themselves into a tie at 41 points each with Keller's team on KEY PLAYER (Wade Waddell, Chris Keller, and Peter Lynn). KEY PLAYER took the win on countback. Rounding out the podium was Josh Goldman's team on BUILDING A (Al Terhune, Cate Terhune, and Francisco Lobato).  The balance of the top five included the overall series winner- Keane's SAVASANA- in fourth place and the Italian team of ENJOY 1.0 taking fifth place (Carlo Tomelleri, Pietro De Luca, Daniele De Luca, and Alberto Taddei).


Remarkably, the winner of the "Open Division" was also the winner of the Corinthians Division- Keller's KEY PLAYER. Second went to the Argentinean team on JUICY- Francisco Van Avermaete, Geronimo Galvan, Carlos Lacchini, and Rafael De Martis. Third was Tod Sackett's FM with crew of Jeff Haase, Ted Pinkerton, and John Rampe.

For the J/70 Davis Island Winter Series (best 2 of 3 regattas), Keane's SAVASANA won, followed by Goldman's BUILDING A in second and Will Welles' BRIBONA in third.  The rest of the top five included Darby Smith's AFRICA in fourth and John Koten's PLANET CLAIRE in fifth position.

The Corinthians Division series winner was Firey's PHOENIX, followed by Bob Willis' RIP RULLAH in second and Tod Sackett's FM in third place.  For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Davis Island Winter Series III Preview

(Tampa, FL)- The third and final regatta of the J/70 Davis Island Winter Series is taking place this coming weekend. An all-star cast of fifty-one boats will be assembled on the choppy waters of Tampa Bay to vie for both regatta and series awards. The Davis Island Yacht Club Race Committee team and PRO are hoping the forecasted weather conditions give them enough breeze on Saturday; after the frontal system passes overnight, Sunday looks to be a nearly perfect day- sunny, 60s, 8-14 kts from the northwest.

Will Brian Keane’s SAVASANA sail another solid, conservative regatta to maintain his lead in the overall ranking and become crowned the J/70 Winter Series Champion for the first time? T.B.D. as they say! Keane's crew will again have to contend with top crews like Darby Smith’s AFRICA, Mark Foster and Travis Odenbach on HONEYBADGER, a top Italian crew on ENJOY 1.0 skippered by Carlo Tomelleri, Rob Britts HOT MESS, a top Argentinean team on JUICY skippered by Francisco Van Avermaete, Kevin Downey's MR PITIFUL (with Willem van Waay as mainsheet/ tactician), a top German TP52 owner/ skipper- Mike Illbruck's PINTA with J/70 World Champion crew John Kostecki, and Buddy Cribb's VICTORY.  For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Franco's 3 BALL JT Smokes J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II

(Tampa, FL)- Fresh off their winter holidays, fifty-three J/70 teams savored spectacular conditions on Tampa Bay for the middle part of the 2019-2020 J/70 Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida. With record high temperatures in Tampa, winds were ripping on Saturday, starting at a sustained 16 knots with gusts in the 20s. Four races were completed, as the wind slowly backed off. Sunday saw about 8 knots, dying throughout the day, when two more races took place.

Reveling in the spectacular sailing conditions was Jack Franco’s 3 BALL JT. His all-star cast of Bill Hardesty, Alec Anderson and Rob Lindley, ruled the six races, posting five bullets and an eighth for just 5 net points. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA placed second on the weekend with 26 points, but leads the overall ranking (with the final of the Series to come). Darby Smith’s AFRICA took a second in Sunday’s final contest, moving her into third for the weekend with 28 points. Rounding out the top five was a tiebreaker at 31 pts each, winning the countback was the duo of Mark Foster and Travis Odenbach on HONEYBADGER while the duo of Josh Goldman and Allen Terhune took the fifth.

Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH Team of Matt Clark, Michael Whitford and Patrick Hitchins, topped the 23-boat Corinthian division. They were followed by Peter Firey's PHOENIX in second and Tod Sackett's FM in third.

Each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 leads the "Porch Series', which includes a North Sails debrief. Mike Marshall was this week’s coach. Practice races were run, followed by a debrief and prizes. The Series concludes February 7-9.  For more Davis Island Winter Series sailing information

J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II Preview

(Tampa, FL)- Fresh off their winter holidays, who will it be that gets themselves back into the groove first and sails consistently enough to leap to the top of the leaderboard in the second act of the Davis Island Yacht Club J/70 Winter Series?  Will it be Brian Keane's SAVASANA that won the first regatta? Or, will it be other teams from the top of the leaderboard back in December like Will Welle's BRIBONA, John & Marisa Koten's PLANET CLAIRE, or Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE?

One thing is for sure, the competition from January 10th to 12th is heating up considerably since a number of teams that sailed the Bacardi Miami J/70 Winter Series in December will be joining the Tampa regatta. That means, the 48 boats from act one at the DIYC series will be seeing 7 new crews from across Florida's Everglades Swamp. Yes, making that brave trek on I-75 across the infamous "Alligator Alley" will be fresh faces like Joel Ronning's World Championship team on CATAPULT and the dynamic duo of Jack Franco and Bill Hardesty on 3 BALL JT-- neither one of these crews are "shrinking violets"! Quite the contrary, do not be surprised to see both of these teams vying for the top spots on the podium when the smoke clears on Sunday afternoon!  For more Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Keane's SAVASANA Draws First Blood at J/70 Davis Island Winter Series

(Tampa, FL)- Eight years ago when the J/70 was taking the sailing world by storm, Joe Colling and Mike Dawson came up with the idea of an affordable winter series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. The concept was three two-day events, where owners could leave their boats with the mast up all winter. Competitors are scored for each weekend as an individual event, and also an overall winner is crowned at the end of the three-weekend series. Mike sold the idea to Davis Island Yacht Club, and the club cleared out the dry sail area to make it happen. This weekend, December 6-9, will mark the start of the seventh year of the series with nearly 50 boats on the starting line.

Davis Island Yacht Club has proved to be the perfect host; from providing breakfast every race day…to the keg at the dock at the end of racing. The post-race chalk talks have become a staple for the competitors who are looking for an edge on the competition.

Although Tampa conditions can sometimes be a challenge, the race management and volunteers have always made the best out of the two-day format. Mike Dawson was the PRO for that first year, and then Judy Hanlon jumped in and managed the racecourse until last year. This winter, the club has recruited Chip Till to manage the PRO duties. Chip has extensive familiarity with the J/70 and will deliver the competitors the big fleet experience they are looking for.

From the Class’ perspective, this event supports the long-term commitment to an affordable winter option accessible to everyone. The Class thanks DIYC member Kat Malone, who has been the brains of the Series’ event management from day one.

For the first event of the 2019/ 2020 Davis Island Winter Series that took place this past weekend, forty-six teams made it to the starting line. With Saturday's racing canceled due to no wind, it was all or nothing for the teams no Sunday.  Three races were completed Sunday in winds of 8-10 knots on Tampa Bay. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA team (Nic Baird, Mack Bryan, & Conner Harding) posted all seconds for 6 points to top both the Open and the 19-boat Corinthian division. Will Welles’ BRIBONA crew (Steve Liebel, Colleen Walsh, & Judah Rubin) held second place with a record of 5-6-3 for 14 points. Rounding out the podium in the bronze medal position was John and Marissa Koten’s PLANET CLAIRE with crew of Zeke Horowitz and Mike Coe; posting a 4-7-8 for 19 pts total. 

The balance of the top five included Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club in 4th place with a 1-8-12 for 21 pts; his "all-star" crew included Victor Diaz-De Leon, Chris Stocke, and John Wallace.  Fifth place went to Buddy Cribb's VICTORY team (Barr Batzer, Scott Ewing, & Griener Hobbs) with a tally of 6-4-15 for 25 pts. total.

Race winners were Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE, Mark Foster’s HONEYBADGER and Darby Smith-Long’s AFRICA.

In the Corinthians Division, beside Keane's SAVASANA winning both Open and Corinthians titles, taking second place was Peter Firey's PHOENIX team (Tim Mangus, Eric Mentzell,& Sean Nunes) from Annapolis Yacht Club, and bringing home the bronze was Frank McNamara's CHINOOK crew (Paula Grasberger, Rick Guardia, & Rick Myers) from Eastern Yacht Club. A total of eighteen teams qualified to sail as Corinthians.

Each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 hosts the "Porch Series", including a North Sails debrief. Jackson Benvenutti was this week’s coach. Practice races were run, followed by a debrief and prizes. The Series continues January 10-12 and February 7-9. Photos are available on the USA J/70 Class Facebook page.
For complete scores of DIYC Winter Series I Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Dominate Tampa Bay to Ft. Myers Race

(Fort Myers, FL)- The 2019 Tampa Bay to Ft. Myers Race included 30 teams for the 100.0nm coastal course along on the Gulf of Mexico.  Hosted by the ever-welcoming Davis Island Yacht Club, the race dates back to 1946; it starts inside Tampa Bay just off the Davis Island YC in Hillsborough Bay and the fleet heads southwest out underneath the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, leaving Passage Key to port, and a straight blast down the coast to the finish off Ft Myers/ San Carlos Bay inlet buoy.  It was a fast race this year, with most boats finishing in just over 13 hrs of racing- about a 7.5 kts average!

In the thirteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Class, the J/Teams led a near sweep of the to five slots.  Winning was George Cussins’ J/105 FIRE & ICE by over four minutes to Roger Gatewood’s J/42 SHAZAAM! in second place. Fourth was Harvey Ford’s new J/112E SILVER SURFER, and fifth place went to David Arata’s J/105 JHAWK!  In the PHRF Racer-Cruiser Class, Renee Ben-Avraham’s J/30 THERAPY took the silver medal.  For more Tampa Bay to Ft Myers Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANGEL OF HARLEM Dominates J/24 Rodeo

(Tampa, FL)- As spring winds down on Tampa Bay, it also marks the occasion for one of the last regattas of the long winter for the J/24 class that sails out of Davis Island Yacht Club. Nine teams registered to participate in last weekend’s J/24 Rodeo Regatta.

The fleet was blessed with good weather, good winds, and a good Davis Island YC Race Committee that managed to snap off five races over the two-day event.

In the end, it was local hero Robby Brown teamed up with Mark Liebel on their infamous ANGEL OF HARLEM that stole the show, accumulating three 1sts and two 3rds to handily win the Rodeo with just six pts net.  Taking second was the duo of Jason Chavez and John Poulson on LONGSHOT, also counting only podium finishes in their final scores for 9 pts net.

Third place was determined on a tie-breaker at 11 pts each. Winning the countback was Seth Rosenthal’s Youth Team on SABOTAGE over AJ Grzybowski’s SHIMMER.  Rounding out the top five was the DIYC Youth Team on YELLOWTAIL.  For more J/24 Rodeo Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/24 Midwinters XXXXI Championship Preview

(Tampa, FL)- The 41st J/24 Midwinter Championship is being hosted from March 1st to 3rd, 2019 by Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida.  The thirty-two boat fleet comes from across the USA, Canada, and Japan.

After hosting the three event J/70 Winter Series, the DIYC Race Committee and PRO have become a well-oiled machine, providing good start lines, effective courses, and a fast pace to keep the sailors busy. The J/24s can expect more of their good race management this coming weekend and sail up to four, or even five, races per day given the flat water of upper Tampa Bay and shifty winds.

Several World, North American, and Midwinter Champions will be using the Midwinters as their first major training regatta for 2019.  Many of the seasoned veterans are sailing in this year’s J/24 World Championship that will be held at Coral Reef YC and raced on Biscayne Bay in late October. Those teams include Mark Laura’s BABA LOUIE from Seattle, WA; Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET from Washington, DC; Al Constants’ BLITZ from Seawanhaka YC in New York; Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR from Port Credit YC in Mississauga, Ontario; John Mollicone and Tim Healey’s HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI; Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER from Rochester YC in New York; Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM from St Petersburg, FL; Erica Beck Spencer’s SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM from Portland, ME; Todd Fedyszyn’s SPOONY TACTICS from St Petersburg, FL; and Carter White’s YouREGATTA from Portland, ME.  For more J/24 Midwinter Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SAVASANA Wins Davis Island J/70 Finale & Overall Series

(Tampa, FL)- Forty-nine J/70 teams qualified to win the 2018-2019 J/70 Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club by competing with the same boat and skipper in at least two of the three events in Tampa, Florida.  Brian Keane’s SAVASANA repeated as Series Champion, including a commanding performance at the final stage February 9-10 with four bullets in seven races. The finale for the Corinthian division was narrowly won by Eddie Keller’s team on KEY PLAYER, nipping Bob Willis’s RIP RULLAH (by one point).

Gorgeous Act III Weekend
The weather for the weekend was considered by many Davis Island Winter series veterans as perhaps the “best ever”.  Saturday’s racing started off virtually on-time on an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day, with winds of 13-20 kts out of the NNE (30-40 deg). It was apparent the shifty, offshore breezes often favored playing the fleet left of middle and, in particular, staying left at the top of the course. Quickly figuring out that formula was Brian Keane’s SAVASANA team that included College Sailor of the Year Thomas Barrows as his tactician.  SAVASANA won the first three races, leaving the fleet in their dust as they planed away downwind in a cloud of spray.  However, by the fourth race of the day, most of the top crews had seen what they were doing tactically and strategically, and SAVASANA had to claw their way back into 6th place to be the leader at the conclusion of racing on Saturday; they were the only boat to post all single digit scores in four races.  Hot on their heels all day were Will Welles’ NEW WAVE from Newport, RI and Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA.

Sunday dawned with great promise, but as the “locals” all know, any frontal weather system generating northeasterly winds on sunny days often dies out quickly on the second or third day. The forecast was for 10-15 kt winds from the ENE (65-90 deg.), it didn’t last long.  While the first race was fun and exciting, including a combination of planing puffs, wing-on-wing VMG’ing, and even light VMG modes, the next two races started to see massive holes materialize in the middle of the course.  Starting out where they left off on the first day, Keane’s SAVASANA won the first race, then closed with a 6-5 to win Act III of the DIYC Winter Series and also take the Overall Prize for winning the series.

Behind Keane, it was a battle for the balance of the podium between Downey’s MR PITIFUL and Welles’ NEW WAVE.  However, it appeared the “die was cast” after the first race of the day when Welles posted an 8th to Downey’s 22nd.  Then, Welles closed with two bullets to cement their hold on second place, while Downey’s crew posted a 2-3 to also secure the bronze.  Rounding out the top five were John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA from Wilmette, IL in fourth place, sailing with North Sails’ Tim Healey, and Doug Clark’s POLAR from the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT sailing his best regatta of the series by taking 5th place.

In the Corinthians Division, Keller’s KEY PLAYER won, followed by Willis’ RIP RULLAH in second, and the Mexican team from Puerto Vallarta taking third- Fernando Perez’s BLACK MAMBA.

Close Battle for Overall Championship Series
In the Overall “Open” Division, SAVASANA won with a 3-1 tally for 4 pts. However, the balance of the podium was determined on a tie-breaker at 7 points each, with local DIYC sailor Greiner Hobbs posting a 2-5 to win the tie-break over Downey’s MR PITIFUL that had scored a 4-3!  Taking fourth was Welles’ NEW WAVE with a 6-2 for 8 pts, while Clark’s POLAR scored a 5-5 for 10 pts to take fifth position.

In the Corinthians Overall Championship, Willis’ RIP RULLAH won by a small margin, posting a 6-8 for 14 pts.  Keller’s KEY PLAYER had an 11-7 tally for 18 pts to take the silver, while Peter Bowe’s TEA DANCE SNAKE posted 29-17 for 46 pts to take the bronze.  For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Davis Island J/70 Winter Series III Preview

(Tampa, FL)- In the third and final regatta of the J/70 Davis Island Winter Series, fifty-five J/70 teams are hoping to sail in the forecasted winds of 10-20 kts from the northeast this coming weekend. Should that happen, that would more than make up for the fact that in the two previous events there was only one good day of racing both times; ironically both on Saturday, with Sunday being washouts for either no wind or storms.

Who will ultimately triumph in the 2018-2019 edition of the DIYC J/70 series?  It is all up for grabs, that is for certain.  Teams only have to count all races in their two best regattas.  Given the somewhat “yo-yo” scorelines for most teams in the first two events, virtually anything can happen for the overall standings.  Current leaders include Travis Odenbach’s B-SQUARED team; Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Houston, TX; Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA; and local Tampa rock stars on Greiner Hobbs’ DARK HORSE.

In the Corinthians Division, Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY and Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH appear to be significant players to remain at the top of the leaderboard after the battlefields clear over the weekend.  For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CATAPULT Wins J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II

(Tampa, FL)- Fifty-five J/70 teams traveled to Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida for the middle weekend of the 2018-2019 J/70 Winter Series. Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT took the victory with 24 points in five races over the two days.

The weekend started off with great promise from a weather perspective.  Friday was the SAIL22 “Off the Porch Series” that never fully materialized.  An impending frontal system with forecasts for rain, thunder, squalls and gusts to 35 kts did, in fact, roll in around 2:00pm, upsetting the scheduled clinic. Anticipating the storms, many teams opted to get out early to get in some practice.

Saturday dawned with clearing skies and strong, puffy, northwest winds of 12 to 23 kts, just as forecast.  Not wasting any time, the DIYC Race Committee, PRO, and mark boat teams set out to get racing rolling on time at 10:00am.  After a few general recalls, racing commenced for what turned out to be a glorious day of sailing on northern Tampa Bay (a.k.a. Henderson Bay) just south of the pretty skyline of Tampa. The RC/PRO team managed to run four races in very tactically challenging conditions.  With 20-30 degree windshifts on each leg of the course and massive wind holes and wind streaks, it was easy for teams to gain/lose 10-15 boats per leg!

At the end of Saturday’s racing, Travis Odenbach’s B-SQUARED team led the fleet with scores of 1-3-1-4 for 9 pts.  Just one point back on the leaderboard were two heavyweight J/70 teams tied at 10 pts each, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT with a 5-2-3-1 record, while Brian Keane’s SAVASANA posted a 3-1-5-2 tally. Interestingly, Ronning fell ill with food poisoning on Saturday morning and did not skipper his boat. Instead, the team scrambled quickly and recruited crewman Chris Stocke’s fiancé from St Petersburg- Wendy Reuss- to step in and skipper the boat for the day; she guided them to a remarkable outcome for someone that had never sailed, much less skippered, a J/70 before!

Sunday dawned light and fluky from the northeast, again as forecast. After several aborted attempts to get a race going, the DIYC RC/PRO team managed to get a race off that will simply go down in the record books as perhaps the worst light air race imaginable. With winds ranging from 0 to 5 kts (e.g. below the J/70 Class minimum recommended wind speed), and shifting 30 to 60 degrees, and very spotty and very streaky (teams were often seen sailing downwind, at the same angle, on opposite gybes); it was not surprising to see dramatic swings in the final race standings.

For the one and only race sailed on Sunday, the runaway winner was Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, sailing with a star-studded crew of Tim Healy, and brothers Jay & Jody Lutz (all three are World Champions in various classes). They started at the port end of the line, hooked into a private wind streak, and simply sailed away from the fleet to win by a Texas mile! Not far behind them in 2nd place was Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA- also sailing with a star-studded crew that included World Champion and North American Champions in his crew- Brian Thomas and Willem van Waay.

As a result of the last race, the now happy and healthy Joel Ronning skippered CATAPULT into a “come from behind” victory on the last downwind leg to post a 13th and win the regatta with 24 points.  The final run, with 0-3 kts of wind, was so sketchy, so streaky, so full of holes, that it was anyone’s game to win. Rounding the last mark, Keane’s SAVASANA was at the top of the fleet, winning the regatta, and leading both B-SQUARED and CATAPULT by over 20 boats. However, “lady luck” was not on their side, falling into a giant hole (more like a vacuum), while his erstwhile competitors gybed away in the middle of the course and sailed around them. In the final tally, CATAPULT won, then Odenbach’s B-SQUARED finished 20th to take 2nd with 29 pts, while the hapless crew on SAVASANA posted a gut-wrenching 22nd to drop into 3rd place on the podium with 33 pts total.

Rounding out the top five were Downey’s MR PITIFUL in 4th place and Greiner Hobbs’ DARK HORSE in 5th place.

In the Corinthians Division, Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY won, followed by Eddie Keller’s and Billy Lynn’s KEY PLAYER in second, and Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH in third place. Sailing photo credits- Phil Pape Photography
For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II sailing information. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II Preview

(Tampa, FL)- Will the Russian BOGATYRS be coming back again to defend their title after winning the first event back in December? Or, will the prospect of elevated levels of competition in the new year spook them as they beat a retreat back to less competitive classes?  Time will tell!

Forty-seven teams competed in the first event in early December.  It was gorgeous the first day, but a massive frontal system rolled through on the Sunday and eliminated any chances of sailing.  The forecast for this weekend’s event looks significantly more promising.  While a front is scheduled to move through from Friday to Saturday, the southerly winds shifting into the northerly quadrants on Sunday at least promise a full slate of racing for both days.

While Igor Rytov's Russian BOGATYRS earned the overall victory, Greiner Hobbs' DARK HORSE was second, and Doug Strebel's BLACK RIVER RACING was third. In the face of daunting new competition, can they repeat that performance?  Or, will a new “dark horse” emerge and beat everyone round the track to the finish?

On that note, several new teams will be in the mix, like World Champion Joel Ronning on CATAPULT from Wayzata, MN; Bill Draheim’s PONY from Rush Creek YC in Dallas, TX; Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Boston, MA; and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club in Ft Worth, TX.   For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series II sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Davis Island J/70 Winter Series Preview

(Tampa, FL)- Like its counterpart in Monte Carlo, Monaco, the Davis Island YC has been running its winter series since the inception of the International J/70 class.  It has been a popular series from the beginning for J/70 sailors across America; this year at least 50 entries will be participating in one of the three events.

One of the most popular elements of the regatta is that all sailors are treated to an on-going “seminar/ training” program every day, held Friday afternoon before the regatta starts.  As an “upside down” club, the coolest part of DIYC is the fleet congregates upstairs around a massive central bar that is surrounded by an enormous covered porch.  With giant 60” plus TV screens everywhere in the ceilings, it is a multimedia extravaganza that is all turned over to sailing when needed (of course, football takes precedence at certain times of the day!). Many famous sailmakers from DOYLE, NORTH, QUANTUM and ULMAN Sails have contributed to the post-race de-briefs that include white board sessions as well as video/ photo analysis.

Not surprisingly, many J/70 crews look forward to participating in the DIYC J/70 Winter Series because it is a great training program for the skippers and crews. There are many top J/70 teams from across the country that are participating again this year. Some of those teams include; Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Texas, Andrew Fisher’s BUTTON FLY from New York, Rob Britts’ HOT MESS from Tampa, Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, Will Welles’ NEW WAVE from Florida, Doug Clark’s POLAR for US Coast Guard, Bill Draheim from Texas, and Kevin Morgan’s WILD CARD from Rochester. Notably, there is a well-attended fleet of thirteen Corinthians teams.

The one major variable for the weekend’s racing will be Winter Storm Grace that is battering the USA’s West Coast on Thursday and is due to swing south across the Texas Panhandle region and across the top of the Gulf of Mexico Saturday evening and Sunday midday. Forecasts for Friday and Saturday show great breezes from the ESE feeding that frontal system; but Sunday may see anywhere from 15 to 35 knot winds from 6am to 1pm. Sailing on Sunday T.B.D.  For more Davis Island YC J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

King Harbor YC Crowned U.S. J/70 Youth Champs

(St Petersburg, FL)- The 2018 U.S. J/70 Youth Championship, hosted by St Petersburg YC in St Petersburg, FL, concluded with a total of twenty-one races over the three days for the seven youth teams from across America. The teams enjoyed the short-course “stadium-style” racing of 20 minutes per race, sailing the StPYC’s perfectly-matched fleet of J/70’s just off the beautiful St Petersburg city waterfront.  Winning the event in a convincing fashion was the King Harbor YC Youth Team (Kyle Collins, Brock Paquin, River Paquin, and Justin Zmina).

The regatta was blessed with a remarkable weather pattern that lasted the entire weekend.  As the northeastern region of the USA was blasted by its first winter storm, paralyzing major cities like New York, the southeast region of the continent-spanning frontal system provided nice N to NE breezes for four straight days with gorgeous sunny skies.  Here is how it all went down over the weekend.

Day One
The St. Petersburg YC welcomed the teams at the 8:30am Captain’s meeting and, facing winds gusting to 25 kts at 7:00am, Regatta Chairman and PRO Todd Fedyszyn wisely postponed for one hour. With a forecast of NNE winds of 15-20 kts diminishing to 6-15 kts by day’s end, the teams were blessed with a perfectly sunny, cool day, with not a cloud in the sky. As a result, the teams sailed a fast-paced series of ten races of about 20 minutes each, finishing by 4:00pm.

Starting off with a 2-1-1-1, there was no question the team from King Harbor YC (Kyle Collins, Brock Paquin, River Paquin, and Justin Zmina) in Los Angeles, CA were determined to set a high bar for the rest of the top youth keelboat teams from across the country. A few lapses in concentration in races 5 and 7 were their only blemish on a record that closed with three bullets to lead the fleet with 16 pts total.

Their arch-nemesis all day long was the Chicago YC team headed by Ray Groble and crew of Bridgette Groble, Remington King, and Jack Hemmelgarn.  While emphatically winning the first race, the Chicago team accumulated six more 2nds in the ten races to comfortably hold on to second place.

Sitting in third was Little Traverse YC skippered by the top woman skipper Merideth Moran and her team of Ellie Wagner, Molly Matthews, Luke Baker, and Jack Miller (pictured below).

Day Two
Based on the weather forecast that indicated a brisk north/ northeaster of 8-12 kts in the morning would diminish to 3-5 kts by mid-afternoon, the StPYC PRO Todd Fedyszyn immediately sent the teams out to start promptly at 10:00am in the morning. The stated goal for the day was to get in at least seven races.  In the end, the amazing RC and mark set boat teams managed to pump out eight races before the wind diminished to below the 4-5 kts threshold at 3:00pm.

Starting off where they left off the first day, King Harbor YC Youth Team’s won the first race of the day in what only could be described as a “horizon job”, despite the short course.  Thereafter, they accumulated five more 1sts in the eight races to extend their lead in the championship by 21 pts.

Jumping into second place with an amazingly consistent day was the Little Traverse YC Youth Team with top woman skipper Merideth Moran.  They posted five 2nds in those eight races and had a total of 58 pts by day’s end.

Not having one of their better days was Chicago YC Youth Team’s skipper Ray Groble. In the shifty, variable conditions, they started off with a promising 3-2-3 in the first three races. But, then the wheels fell of their shopping trolley, posting a tough 6-6-2-6-5 record for their last four races to drop back into third on the leaderboard, 8 pts off the pace from second place.

Day Three
Given that the enormous front that first hit on Thursday was losing a lot of steam, it was not surprising to see the forecast for Sunday’s racing was indicating even lighter winds. The morning dawned grey with overcast skies, with winds again ranging from 30 to 45 deg, light from the NNE at 4-7 kts. The StPYC PRO wisely scheduled a half-hour earlier start time of 9:30am with the goal of completing at least two races. In the end, three races were run for a total of 21 races in three days!

The sailing was tough on the tacticians, as the puffs were streaky and spotty across the race track.  Mastering the day was Merideth Moran’s Little Traverse YC team, winning two of the races and adding a 2nd to win the day by a large margin.  Also, showing vast improvement since their first day was South Carolina YC’s youth team (Matthew Monts, Bradlee Anderson, Colin Meidler, James Thurlow, and Bobby Soares), posting an equally impressive 3-2-2 in their final races to take 2nd for the day!  Having their toughest day of the regatta was Ray Groble’s Chicago YC Youth Team, having to contend with a PMS, a mark rounding foul, and another PMS, resulting in a 7-7-7 tally.

In the end, King Harbor YC’s youth team sailed an amazing event, closing out their finale with a 1-4-3 to win by a 17-point margin; that record included fourteen bullets in the 21 races!  Taking the silver was Little Traverse YC’s youth team, garnering the best record of the fleet in the last five races (2-2-2-1-1).  And, despite their miserable last day, the Chicago YC team had sailed such a strong event in the previous two days that they managed to hold on to the bronze medal on the podium! Sailing photo credits- Chris Howell/ J/70 Class.  For more U.S. J/70 Youth Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SAVASANA Wins Quantum J/70 Winter Series

FLOJITO 3JT Wins Finale
(Tampa, FL)- Fifty-nine J/70 teams qualified to win the 2017-2018 Quantum J/70 Winter Series at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida by competing in at least two of the three weekends with the same boat and skipper. The popular Quantum J/70 Winter Series spans three weekends of racing between early December and February, allowing participants to store their boats onsite for a reasonable fee. Additionally, on each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 and North U combined forces for the so-called “Porch Series” to offer practice races and coaching immediately off the beach in front of the club.

Following the first two breezy, cold regattas, conditions this past Saturday and Sunday were characterized by sunshine, record high temperatures and light winds on Tampa Bay. In fact, conditions were such that only one race was held on Saturday morning before it turned into a “glass out”. The racing was then postponed ashore, with crews sitting on the beach or on the huge porch on the second floor, awaiting for breeze. Sadly, it never happened, leading to an “AP over A” cancellation of racing for the day.  Wisely, the DIYC PRO moved the start time an hour earlier on Sunday to take advantage of the wind forecasts; a good move since the sailors enjoyed three solid races for the day.

After four races were completed, Jack Franco’s considerably talented crew on FLOJITO 3JT won the final segment of the Series with a blistering scoreline of 7-1-1-5 for 14 pts.  This was Franco’s first major regatta win with Bill Hardesty (main/tactics) and Al Terhune (jib/spin) on the crew (note to self- both guys are World Champions).  Taking second for the regatta was San Diego’s Bennet Greenwald, steering PERSEVERANCE to their best performance in recent months, posting a steady 3-3-9-4 for 19 pts.  Just one point back in third place with another steady tally of 5-6-6-3 for 20 pts was Brian Keane’s SAVASANA.

As a result of the finishes in the finale, Keane’s SAVASANA earned the overall Quantum J/70 Winter Series victory by virtue of a tie-breaker at 4 pts each with Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE.  The countback saw SAVASANA’s best 2-of-3 counters of 1-3 beat PERSEVERANCE’s 2-2. Similarly, there was a 3-way tie-break at 9 pts each for the final spot on the podium between Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE, Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING, and Jack Franco’s FLOJITO #JT.  STAMPEDE took that count-back with a 3-6 over POWERPLAY’s 4-5 and Franco’s 8-1.

For the Corinthians Division, it was clear the refugees from the frozen tundras of Chicago could not wait to head south and set a blistering pace in the hot waters of Tampa Bay (well, hotter than Lake Michigan, for sure!).  Handily winning the final event was Sarah Renz’s team on BERTEAU GROUP, posting a 10-22-10-8 to close out with 50 pts, and, as a result, winning the coveted Quantum J/70 Winter Series Corinthians Division.  Second in the division was Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH with 62 pts and rounding out the podium in third was Nancy Glover’s WINTERWIND with Mark Foster on the helm.  Ironically, the finish positions in the final regatta also reflected the overall winter series results.  For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Quantum J/70 Winter Series Preview

(Tampa, FL)- For the third and final event of the 2017-2018 Quantum J/70 Winter Series, the weather Godz are promising a “tour’de’force” for weather.  Apparently, the Tampa Chamber of Commerce ordered (or bribed) the local weather prognosticators to let everyone know that Florida will deliver on it’s “postcard perfect” reputation as a winter haven for all those frozen “snowbirds” from up North.  Mostly sunny skies, 60s F at night, 80s F in the day- what could possibly go wrong with that forecast?  Perhaps, not bringing enough sunscreen and avoiding looking like a burnt rock lobster?  With massive cold fronts whistling across the American Midwest, it appears all they are doing is sucking the warm Gulf of Mexico air to the north/northeast; the winds are predicted to be in the southerly quadrant all weekend, starting on Friday, and flowing warm & gently at 8-12 kts.

Considering that a record fleet of sixty-plus boats is registered, such a forecast must be a good thing.  Many of the top boats in the USA J/70 class are participating.  The question on everyone’s mind will be- can Joel Ronning’s formidable crew on CATAPULT pull it off this year and actually win the series?? Time will tell.

Making sure that Ronning will have to fight for every inch around the race track will be teams like Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Boston, MA (winner of the first event in December); Darby & Jud Smith’s (daughter/father) AFRICA team from Marblehead, MA: Jack Franco’s FLOJITO 3 JT from Houston, TX; Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA; Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE from Greenwich, CT; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA; Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING from the Cayman Islands; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Palm Beach, FL; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI; and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Forth Worth, TX.

The Corinthians Division has ten boats with strong contenders within the group, including past Winter Series winner Rob Britts on HOT MESS from the host club- Davis Island YC.  Other contenders in the division could be two teams from Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA (hosts of this year’s J/70 Worlds)- Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK and Nancy Glover’s WINTERWIND.  For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information Flip

CATAPULT Vaults To J/70 Winter Series Win

(Tampa, FL)– Fifty-three J/70 teams traveled to Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida for the middle weekend of the 2017-2018 Quantum J/70 Winter Series. Chilly, but sunny conditions, greeted the crews, with winds that ranged from 8-10 knot breezes on Saturday to 16+ knots on Sunday.  The DIYC PRO/ RC team, yet again, did wonderful job to complete three races each day… much to the delight of all the sailors on the water seeking to escape the deep freeze, sub-zero temperatures not that far north of the race course!

Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT topped the fleet with 9 net points, dropping a fifth in Saturday’s last contest and otherwise keeping all top three finishes. Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE took second place with 20 points. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, who won the first weekend of the Series in December, was just one point back in third.

No question, this event marked the beginning for a number of teams as their “training regattas” leading up to the 2018 J/70 World Championship that will be sailed in Marblehead, MA, hosted by Eastern YC in September 2018.  For example, Ronning’s team included his 2016 World Championship tactician- John “JK” Kostecki from San Francisco, CA.  John is a past J/24 World Champion and America’s Cup tactician- considered one of the world’s best.  That’s for starters.

Given that SAVASANA’s Brian Keane, himself a College All-American, College Singlehanded Champion, J/80 & J/105 Champion, and has America’s top USA Olympic 49er skipper Stu McNay as his mainsheet/ tactician, it’s not surprising the competition is tough.

But, who is “Mr Pitiful”??  Seriously, a wildcard from the Northwest?? NOT!! Such is the talent in the Pacific Northwest.  Brothers Jonathan and Charlie McKee, both World Champions and Olympic Medallists in their own right in various classes, have often gotten blown-out in local racing by such local Seattle talents like Kevin Downey and friends such as the Buchan family (John, Carl, etc).

Yes, it is a remarkably smart and talented group of sailors in Puget Sound. J/24 sailors can reference world-class talents like Mark Laura (a USA J/24 National Champion) and Keith Whittemore- the 2017 European Champion on Lake Balaton in Hungary! In other words, despite sailing in flat water, no wind, and eternal mists gently wafting over Puget Sound or Lake Washington, they are not hacks.  Quite the contrary, easily some of the world's most formidable competitors!

Of note, rounding out the top five in this event was Peter Cunningham from the Cayman Islands, sailing POWERPLAY RACING team into a strong close of a 9-4-5 in the 53-boat fleet. Not bad for a 70+ year old skipper amongst some of the world’s best sailors!

The 22-boat Corinthian division was topped by Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH.  As a result of winning race 2, they held on to that euphoric finish position in this talented fleet to finish 10th overall.  Second was Nancy Glover’s crew on WINTER WIND, skippered by a good friend of hers, the famous Corpus Christi sailor- Mark Foster. Third in the division was Frank McNamara’s ever-consistent CHINOOK.

Each Friday of the Series, SAIL22 and North U combined forces for the “Porch Series” to offer practice races and coaching. Racing concludes at Davis Island Yacht Club on February 9-11. For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Quantum J/70 Winter Series Act II Preview

(Tampa, FL)- Looking forward to a warm, sunny winter break for those north of the “Mason-Dixon Line” will be dozens of J/70 sailors that will be happy “escapees” from the crazy winter weather; especially those that can travel Friday down to Tampa from the northeast coast that have experienced what amounts to a “winter hurricane”.

Imagine that, winter storm “Grayson” starts off Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday, drops to a near record “low” pressure of 28.02 inches (about 955 millibars- way deeper than most tropical hurricanes), races up the eastern coastline, expands in size from the Bahamas Banks to north of Labrador (a breadth of 2,500+ miles), and lays waste to all maritime related states and provinces of North America.  Right now, heading down to Florida’s sunny southwest coast is lookin’ pretty good to those J/70 sailors!

Will Brian Keane’s Boston-based SAVASANA crew actually dig out and escape from the northeast in time to defend their first regatta win in the Quantum J/70 Winter Series?  No question, all those from the south are hoping they arrive late, dazed, and confused from shoveling too much snow!

Hoping to challenge the SAVASANA team over the January 6th to 7th weekend on Tampa Bay, an event hosted by the Davis Island YC, are at least a dozen strong crews.  Those crews that may possibly challenge their hegemony on the race track might be Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Texas; Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT from Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota; Jacko Franco’s FLOJITO 3 JT from Texas; Rob Britts’ HOT MESS from the local club (past Corinthian’s winner); Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT from California; Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, Washington; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, California; Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING from Cayman Islands; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI; and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Texas.

In the Corinthians Division, only the good Lord knows how this division will play out over the weekend and much depends on weather conditions. There are several very competitive crews from across the spectrum that will factor at the top of the leaderboard, such as Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY (last year’s winners), Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK, Rob Britts’ HOT MESS, Forbes Durdin’s MOJITO, and Al Poindexter’s USA 241 from Houston.  For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Kullman Dominant @ Quantum J/70 Winter Series I

(Tampa, FL)- Fifty-four J/70 teams traveled to Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida for the first event of the 2016-2017 Quantum J/70 Winter Series on December 10th and 11th.  Basking in sunshine and breeze between 10-18 knots for seven races, Marty Kullman and Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND finished strong with three straight bullets to secure the weekend victory with 13 points.

It was a tough fleet and the forecasted breezes, surprise surprise, actually filled in on the notoriously fickle Tampa Bay for most of the weekend.  The Davis Island YC’s PRO took full advantage of their good fortune, pumping out seven quick races with speed and surgical precisions.  The sailors were enthusiastic, raced hard, and virtually every mark rounding, as has become customary in tight J/70 class racing, saw teams living with “snakes & ladders” mark rounding positions every race.

There were several “storybook” performances in this event, notable for yet another top woman skipper’s performance, but also for the number of new faces from across the American landscape that finished at the top of the leaderboard.  Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE crew from Fort Worth, TX was the only team to sail all top 7 races to take 2nd overall.  The top women helm was Darby Smith’s AFRICA from Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA, taking third overall.  A Chicago-based team that sails on Lake Michigan took fourth place, Mike Whitford’s RIP RULLAH from Columbia YC.  Then, David Kerr’s crew from Edgewater YC in Cleveland, OH took fifth position.

The winner of the “Old Man of the Sea” Award (top skipper over 60) at the 2016 J/70 Worlds in San Francisco, CA, the Cayman Islands Sailing Club’s Peter Cunningham, sailed his POWERPLAY into 11th overall in the talented fleet, posting a 3rd in one race Saturday and a 2nd in the last race Sunday!

The 23-boat Corinthian division was topped by Andrew Loe’s TBD from Seattle YC with 84 pts.  Second was Bryan Cameron’s B-SQUARED from Sayville YC and third was Rob Britts’ HOT MESS from host Davis Island YC.  The balance of the top five included Andrew Fisher’s BUTTON FLY in 4th and Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK in 5th.

The next events for the Quantum J/70 Winter Series are January 7-8, 2017 and the finale is February 4-5, 2017.   For more Quantum J/70 Winter series sailing information