CALYPSO VICTORIOUS @ J/70 UK GRAND SLAM I

 

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

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

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


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

TOOLE WINS J/22 MATCH RACING QUALIFIER

 

(San Francisco, CA)- St Francis Yacht Club members are witness to a remarkable variety of sail racing, but there is one type of sail racing that is distinct even to the casual observer - the intense head-to-head battle of match racing – right outside the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows of the famous Grill Room and its commanding views over San Francisco Bay. 

By way of background, US Sailing will hold its Match Racing Championship in Long Beach in October, after a series of seven qualifiers around the country.  On May 1-2, 2021, the St. Francis hosted the NorCal qualifier in its fleet of evenly matched J/22s, sailed by teams of four. With identical boats, this was a test of the tactical acumen of the skippers and the boat handling skills of the crew, sorely tested in the high winds of last weekend, gusting over 30 kt.  In fact, crew went overboard on both days during fast maneuvering or in broaches due to the high winds. The bosun boat was busy assisting with equipment repair or replacement, and swapped out one boat due to collision, a reflection of the speed and intensity of match racing on SF Bay.


Over the two days of round-robins, for a total of 12 matches, Team Toole and Team Breault came to the forefront and seemed evenly matched. In the end, Oliver Toole (StFYC) took a one-point victory over Nicole Breault (StFYC), finishing 11-1 compared to her 10-2.  When racing head-to-head they split, with Breault beating Toole on Saturday and the reverse on Sunday. The difference, in the end, was when Jack Barton (representing San Francisco YC) topped Nicole on Saturday.

The big story is that Toole, a two-time All-American sailor from Stanford and a team racing champion, came into the event without match racing experience. However, he and his wife Kelly have sailed together for over ten years and are quite familiar with the City Front and J/22s, having practiced team racing there many times and successfully represented the Club at the Baldwin Cup and Morgan Cup.  In addition to their brother-in-law Jack Ortell at bow, they were bolstered by Olympian Craig Healy on board as trimmer and tactician.  


“Though I graduated from Stanford in 2014, our team has stuck together. We were quite comfortable in the breeze, since our St. Francis group has practiced 4x4 team racing here in these conditions many times in recent years before we left to race elsewhere.  It was terrific having Craig on board with his immense match racing talent, and of course super fun to qualify for the national championship. We’re looking forward to expanding our circle with the right team for Long Beach’s Catalina 37’s, obviously a much bigger boat requiring different skills and some large people.”

Breault commented that, “we had some fresh new faces in this regatta and that bodes well for the match racing scene in California. Quite a few skippers asked me afterwards to set up some sparring sessions so we can keep playing the game and honing our skills!”  Her team consisted of Maggie Bacon (bow), Karen Loutzenheiser (trim), and Molly Carapiet (main/tactics).  

Brock Paquin, representing Cal Maritime, finished third, with crew of Justin Zimna, Kyle Collins, Lukas Kraak.

J/70 North American Championship Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- A preview of the 2021 J/70 North American Championship took place last weekend during the Annapolis NOOD Regatta, sailing on the choppy, cols waters of Chesapeake Bay.  While nowhere near the sixty boats entered for this weekend's event, it will be interesting to see how last week's leaderboard fair against a deeply talent-laden fleet. Having "practiced" well last weekend, the host Annapolis Yacht Club will be looking forward to providing a solid four-days of sailing with up to a dozen races sailed. 

Who's the odds-on favorite to be one of those at the top of the leaderboard? None other than a local "home-boy", past J/24 World Champion and America's Cup Champion Terry Hutchinson from Annapolis, MD. Last weekend, Terry, co-owner Jenn Norwood, tactician Scott Nixon, Gil Hackel, and Dan Morris sailed USA 419 in challenging weather conditions, with massive breezes and currents, and they managed to eclipse many top J/70 teams...much to their surprise.  

However, as experienced sailors as they are, Hutchinson/ Norwood are under no illusions the J/70 N.A.'s will see the competitiveness level rise several notches. Needless to say, it's truly a "rogue's roost" of Olympic, World, and European champions taking aim at their competitors to be "top dog" by the time the dust clears on the racetrack. A highlight of those teams may include John Evans' AIRPLANE, Josh Becker's AWKWARD TURTLE, Dan Goldberg's BAZINGA, Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, John Brigden's COOL STORY BRO, John Heaton's EMPEIRIA, Doug Rastello's GOOD TO GO, Travis Odenbach's HONEYBADGER, Trey Sheehan's HOOLIGAN: FLAT STANLEY RACING, Chris Kostanecki's JENNIFER, Alex McPhail's NESSUNA, Steve Benjamin's REGGAE SHARK, Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY, Peter Barrett's RESET, Rich Witzel's ROWDY, John Brim's RIMETTE, Brian Keane's SAVASANA, Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE, Ryan McKillen's SURGE, Bruce Golison's  TEN, Dave Jannetti's VERY ODD, Buddy Cribb's VICTORY, and Mike Goldfarb's WAR CANOE.

Racing starts on Wednesday of next week and concludes on Saturday, with up to three races per day scheduled.  For more J/70 North American Championship sailing information

ANNAPOLIS NOOD A CELEBRATION FOR J/CREWS!

 

J/22 SCOOBY Crowned as Overall Winner!

(Annapolis, MD)- J.R. Maxwell and the crew of the Annapolis-based J/22 SCOOBY were happy with their results Saturday in the big breeze of the 2021 Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta Annapolis; consistency being the key in the highly tightly competitive 15-boat fleet.


J/22 Overall Winner
And after winning Sunday’s first two races, they were well on their way to winning the regatta. Until the final race. With an over-early start, they were recalled to the line, restarted, and looked up the course to see the work ahead.

“We had to grind back from being second-to-last and finished fifth in that race,” Maxwell says. “Today was all about the puffy conditions so you had to stay in the puffs and that wasn’t always intuitive of where that was going to happen. We figured that over time.”

Like most sailors Maxwell and his team have had limited time sailing over the duration of the pandemic, but were happy to back on the water and racing again together.

“We’re super happy with the win this year,” Maxwell says. “We’ve been sailing this regatta for the better part of a decade and we were ready to get this one this time. We had a regatta last weekend that we won so we were feeling good coming into this weekend.”

With Maxwell on SCOOBY was crew Jim Schmicker and Matt Spencer (with Bryan Pryor sailing on Saturday only) and as winner of the J/22 class they were also selected as the overall winner, earning a berth to compete in the Helly Hansen Caribbean NOOD Championship in October.

Rounding out the top spots in the J/22s were Brad Julian's YARD SAIL in second, Jeff Todd's HOT TODDY in third, Aden King's RIDING DIRTY fourth, and Jake Doyle's ZESTY ENTERPRISE in fifth position. 


J/35 Nail-biter Finale
The J/35s are one of the few legacy classes of the Annapolis NOOD, which has been hosted for more than 30 years by the Annapolis YC (with race committee support by Eastport YC and the Severn Sailing Association) and while the J/35s were smaller in numbers, the battle of the top of the fleet was a big one, with Roger Lant’s ABIENTOT winning the tiebreaker over the perennial champions on James Sagerholm’s AUNT JEAN.

“They are very, very fast upwind so if you let them get away it’s a tough battle after that, so we worked on a strategy to deal with them on the starting line,” said Lant. “We carried out our plan and it went well.”

What was that plan?

“The boat that won the start won the race. They were looking for space on the starting line and we were looking to engage, so yesterday we engaged them fairly hard.”

But after AUNT JEAN won the day’s first two races, Lant had only one option- to win the final race!

“We knew we had to control him at the start, but we also had to win the start, get ahead and get clear. They are such a fast boat upwind, especially in conditions where the racecourse is even like it was today.”

But still, to win also requires good crew work under pressure.

“As skipper, I’m the most fortunate skipper on the course,” Lant says. “I have a core crew that has been sailing together for three year and the skills keep building and today we had some of the most fabulous crew work I’ve ever seen on the boat. Exceptional.”

The balance of the podium and top five included Jim McNeely's MAGGIE in third, Mike Wood's VALHALLA in fourth, and Masci McGonigle's WINDEPENDENT in fifth place. 


J/80 Cliff-hanger Finale
Conor Hayes and Jeff Kirchhoff’s J/80 MORE GOSTOSA, also contributed their win to the flawless crew work of their team, which has had limited sailing over the past years. More than once, says Hayes, it helped them get back places that ultimately impacted the final outcome—they won by a single point.

“The wind was pretty spotty, so it was about finding the pressure and staying in it on the runs,” Hayes says. “It was surprising the current was flooding all day and that was a big factor.”

After the winning the second to last race of the day, Hayes knew the points were extremely close between his team and runner-up Daniel Wittig’s TURBO SLOTH, but he had no idea how close. All he could do for the last race was keep TURBO SLOTH in his wake. That didn’t happen, and it almost went worse.

“We had a tough start in that last race,” Hayes says. “We wanted to start at the pin but got shut out. We were able to tack out immediately onto port and were in phase [with the windshifts] and from there it was a matter of just staying in more wind. It helps to have boatspeed and good crew to be able to get out of bad situations like that.”

The balance of the top five included Tom & Jennifer Kopp's KOPP-OUT (aka The Lasso Way) in third, Mike Hobson's MELTEMI in fourth, and Sarah Alexander's MORE COWBELL in fifth.


J/70 Mind-blowing Finish
Terry Hutchinson, skipper of the winning J/70 USA 419 he co-owns with Jennifer Norwood, had a similar starting experience in the first race of the day and he, too, almost lost the regatta. They were buried in the start and immediately found an escape route.

“We didn’t trust the Velocitek [a GPS-based starting device],” Hutchinson says. “We were poked [close to the line] and I didn’t pull the trigger. The boat on our leebow was about a boat length ahead of us at the start, unfortunately. It was a rookie mistake. When we set up at 40 seconds we were in a good spot, but I felt exposed.”

With the focus of his crew, Scott Nixon, Dan Morris, Gil Hackel, and Jennifer Norwood, they clawed their way back to an eight-place finish in the 40-boat fleet— no small feat— which Hutchinson says ultimately won the regatta for them. Although, they did win the next race and finished second in the last to secure the win by 7 points over John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA.

“Yesterday was a lot of fun because it was breezy,” Hutchinson says. “We weren’t fast in the first race and then when it lightened up, our limited time in the boat didn’t bite us as hard and we were more competitive.


“We were much better today and it’s amazing how hard this racecourse is in Annapolis. The course location was hard because the current was good on the right, but there was pressure [more wind] and shift on the left so you had to balance the two.

“You did not want to be in the middle. In the first race the leader came out of the right, and in the second, the leader came out of the left. Each leg was unique to itself, which kept us on our toes.”

Behind the Hutchinson/Norwood team was John Heaton's EMPEIRIA in second, Rich Witzel's ROWDY third, Doug Rastello's GOOD TO GO fourth, and Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY in fifth place. 

Winning the J/70 Corinthians Division was James Gary's AVACUCHO, followed by Mike McNamara's TEA DANCE SNAKE in second, and Kelly McGlynn's BEARNARCHY in third. 

How did things go down in the other classes?  

North Sails Doublehanded ORC division
Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN took the bronze, with John Bell's J/100 HIWASSEE taking eighth place. 


J/24's Experience a Good'ole Fashioned Butt-whippin'
The ten-boat class may have been a bit surprised that class octogenarian Tony Parker would wake up after his Rip Van Winkle-esque pandemic experience and still remember how to sail a J/24. Well, for those in the know, racing a J/24 for Tony is a bit like riding a bike, having been racing the class since inception in 1978 out of Portland, Maine. Now based in Washington, DC, Parker and his BANGOR PACKET team demonstrated near-perfection, winning all eight of their races.  Having a similar score of mostly seconds, Pete Kassal's SPACEMAN SPIFF team sailed home to an 18 pts tally. They were followed by Pat Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR in third with 25 pts total. 


Shoot-out at Houston's OK Corral for J/105s
The huge, competitive J/105 fleet didn't disappoint with regards to close competition like their colleagues in other classes. However, it was not the home boys that were showing everyone their transom going home. Instead, it was a pair of Texans hailing from Houston's Galveston Bay that topped the leaderboard in a "mano-a-mano" fight to the end.  In the end, Bill Zartler's DEJA VOODOO led fellow Texan Ken Horne's FINAL FINAL by closing with a 2-2 to win with 27 pts. Third was Cedric Lewis & Fredrik Salvesen's MIRAGE with 32 pts, fourth Hugh Bethell's JESTER with 35 pts (winning the last two races somewhat convincingly), and fifth Doug & Amy Stryker's MAYHEM. 


J/30 Triad Trade Podium Finishes To the End
Perhaps the most interesting battle in the one-design classes was amongst the passionate J/30 owners. No one would've guessed beforehand that a trio of boats would monopolize the podium finishes in every race! In short, the main issue was the trade-off of covering one competitor while another "escaped" to do their own thing...often times it was the "escapee" that won the race and beat the other two in their own duel! After six races, it was clear that Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP had a slight edge to win class with a 1-3-1-2-1-2 tally for 10 pts. Taking the silver was Bruce Irvin's SHAMROCK with a 2-1-3-3-2-1 record for 12 pts. Earning a well-deserved bronze medal was Tristan Keen's INFECTIOUS SMILE with a 3-2-2-1-3-3 scoreline for 14 pts!  Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com.  For more Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information

NEGRONI TOPS REGATTA SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR

 

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- One of the most important regattas on the evolving Argentinean J/70 regatta calendar is the San Isidro Labrador Trophy hosted by Club Nautico San Isidro along the Rio de La Plata. Such was the passion and desire of the Argentinean sailors to get rolling on the waters again within the state's pandemic guidelines that twenty-eight boats registered to participate in the event- a record turnout for any J/70 regatta in Argentina!  

Over the course of the weekend regatta, the two protagonists that battled for class supremacy ended up with a fearsome battle in the last race to determine who would beat who. In a classic regatta scenario, Paolo Cosentino's NEGRONI team from Yacht Club Argentino (P. Pruden, P. Consentino, and L. Carissimi) won the first race and posted a 6-4-1 in the next three races to be the leader without throw-outs, but a loser with a throwout. With one more race in the cards, Alejandro Irigoyen's BUTANTAN team (J. Fregonese, L. Cerrato, and G. Martinez) had a disastrous first race 14th, but managed to get their act together and reeled off a 1-1-2 in the next three races. As a result, with a good fifth and final race, they could toss their 14th to win the regatta.  As one might expect, the scenario was not lost on Cosentino's NEGRONI team. With a fifth race started on Sunday, the NEGRONI team simply match-raced BUTANTAN into the bottom of the fleet, forcing them into an 11th place finish. As a result, NEGRONI won with 12 net points with BUTANTAN having to settle for second place with 15 pts net. 


While the top two teams were dueling for supremacy on the high seas, the battle for the final step on the podium, in fact for the top five, was nothing short of an epic 15-round battle in the boxing ring. Emerging from that four-boat, wildly swinging, race-to-race fortunes was the Silva family's aptly named MERCENARIO 6, skippered by top woman helm Martina Silva. They took the bronze medal on the podium on a count-back tiebreaker at 25 pts each over Van Avermaete’s SI QUERIDA. One point back was the Gwozdz & Herman-Suarez's BACHAJO in fifth place.  For more Argentina J/70 Class sailing information

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!

SAIL magazine's Lydia Mullan recently wrote an article about America's community sailing centers that are ushering in a new generation of sailors. In most cases, those community sailing centers are making use of inexpensive, easy-to-sail, fun, easy-to-maintain J/22s, J/24s, and J/80s.  Here is the introduction to the story:

"I'm sitting in a yacht club, having dinner with three other members of my crew, all of them men 40 years my senior. They're lamenting the tragic state of sailing. "Look around us:' one of them says, gesturing to the other patrons. "Where are the young people?" Another turns to me, "Why don't people your age sail anymore?" I didn't know it then, but it's a question that I would be asked again and again over the next few years. 

Today, America's yacht clubs, and sailing in general, appear to be experiencing a population crisis. There are many reasons for this. Sailing's reputation for posh exclusivity has gone out of style. 

There's also the question of cost. Based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, on average Millennials (currently ages 25-35) make 20 percent less than their parents did. Women make even less, and women of color even less than that. Finally, there are the many other roadblocks to sailing: social barriers, informational barriers, geographic barriers. Race, sexuality and socioeconomic status are all factors. 

Fortunately, in recent years a solution has quietly begun to take shape in towns and cities across America in the form of a growing number of community sailing centers. 

Currently, US Sailing recognizes about 50 accredited centers. There's no single definition of a community sailing center, but a qualifying factor is that each center owns boats available for use by its members or the general public. This shifts the startup cost away from individuals and lowers the barrier for entry. 

Today's sailing centers often have an outreach and education curriculum, but there are as many different ways to organize these as there are sailing centers. The appeal of this system is obvious. If you can't afford a boat, no problem. You want to sail but don't know anything about boat maintenance? That's fine. Same thing if you have no place to store a boat, need a few lessons to gain confidence or don't have any sailing friends. The list goes on and on. The model works especially for young people. It's no exaggeration to say today's sailing centers are welcoming a whole new generation of sailors from communities that would likely never have otherwise been able to get out on the water. 

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS) in New York (located at Hudson Yards) serves as an excellent example of a program going above and beyond in its efforts to expand water access in its community. Like many community centers, HRCS is young- founded less than 15 years ago by Bill Bahen with four donated Rainbows. Today, the center has many programs, including adult sailing and an adaptive sailing program for veterans utilizing a large fleet of J/24s and J/80s. However, its shining star is a youth program run in conjunction with the New York City school system. Every year, about 200 middle and high schoolers from all five boroughs take part. In addition to learning how to sail, students build boats, and learn about weather, marine sciences, and conservation. And while students receive course credit for these efforts, HRCS takes most pride in teaching life skills like communication and problem solving. 


"I am fond of saying, 'Don't teach sailing, use sailing as a venue to teach other amazing things,"' says HRCS's community sailing director Don Rotzien. "Sailing creates stronger communicators, better leaders, better problem solvers, better neighbors... The benefits go far beyond time on the water. If you can figure out how to sail safely and effectively, you can apply that kind of problem solving to every day you're at work or interacting with people." 

Though the focus is on teaching sailing to develop life skills rather than to create life-long sailors, graduates often find their passion in the program, with alums going on to careers sailing tall ships or working in marine sciences. Some even return to work with HRCS. 

Despite the success of these programs, growing the sport of sailing is no walk in the park. These kinds of organizations face a host of different challenge with little precedent for how to navigate many of them. 

"Every community sailing center has to operate with a startup mindset," says Rotzien, who is also a member of US Sailing's Community Sailing Center Committee. He jokes they're gluttons for punishment, because they're constantly seeking new barriers to whittle away in order to get everyone access. It's a super-human amount of work— partnering with schools, writing grants, doing outreach to under-represented communities, getting waterfront property access, maintaining the fleet of boats, troubleshooting retention issues. 

"We have to fight to get people who don't see themselves in the sport in the door," Rotzien says. 

What follows are just a few of the many great programs out there working to raise the next generation of sailors- click here to view or download the PDF of SAIL's The Kids are Alright! article.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SPRING SPRANG ON LONG ISLAND SOUND

(Rye, New York)- The first weekend of the 2021 American Yacht Club Spring Regatta on April 24-25 had over 50 boats entered in the One Design, PHRF, and ORC classes to compete in Rye, NY.

Racing began with a light, variable wind on day one, but the breeze built significantly as the day progressed. The Race Committee was able to complete four races for the Short Course ORC and J/44 classes, and one distance race for the Coastal Racing course, which included PHRF, Doublehanded, and Mixed Doublehanded classes.

Day two began with a wet and chilly morning, but the rain tapered off just in time for the start of the first race. The day proved to be somewhat more challenging for everyone, with 50-degree wind shifts combined with dramatic changes in wind velocity and direction.

All the races were conducted by Principal Race Officers John (“Tinker”) Myles on the East Course, and Commodore Nicholas Everett on the South Course, along with their respective Race Committee teams.

Amongst the five-boat J/44 class, it was past New York Yacht Club Commodore Bill Ketcham's familiar navy-blue MAXINE that leads the series by just one point with finishes of 3-1-4-1-1-3 for 9 pts. Just behind them is Don & Dick Rave's RESOLUTE with a 1-3-2-2-2-4 tally for 10 pts. Lying third is Tom Blackwell's BREAKAWAY with a 2-4-1-4-3-1 record for 14 pts. 

The PHRF Coastal Division saw a near clean sweep of the top ten by J/Crews. Sweeping the podium were Cory Eaves' J/109 FREEDOM in first, Bob Schwartz's J/109 NORDLYS in second, and Steve Levy's J/121 EAGLE in third!  Finishing fifth was Jim Weil & EJ Haskell's J/92 VIXEN, and seventh was Jason Viseltear's J/80 UPSETTER.

The J/88 one-design class saw Iris Vogel's DEVIATION press the pedal-to-the-metal and firewall it all the way around the race track, winning the first three races on Saturday and completing the weekend on Sunday with a 2-3-1 for 6 pts net! Behind her it was a full-on duel between Larry Cutler & Andrew Weiss' ONE TOO MANY and Justin Scagnelli & Tim Price's ALBONDIGAS. Just one point separates the two after six races. 

The always-competitive J/105 class of seven boats saw tight racing amongst the top three boats. Currently leading by two points is Paul Beaudin's LOU LOU, followed by David Willis' SOLUTION in second, and just two points further back is Gareth Lester's ECHO. 

In the J/70 one-design class, it's Jean Marc Papin's PEN SEGAL leading after winning five races, with Ben Hunt's NO NAME in second with 10 pts and Gibbons Sinclair's HALF MINE II in third place. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70S AND WOMEN J/80 TEAMS INVITED TO COPA DEL REY MAPFRE!

(Copa del Rey, Spain)- The 39th Copa del Rey MAPFRE, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), will be held from 31st July to the 7th of August, 2021. Racing will take place on the Bay of Palma in front of the historic and incredibly picturesque waterfront of the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca. 


For the first time the European J/70 class is invited to participate as well as women's team to sail on supplied J/80s from the local Palma J/80 fleet. Sailing in Palma for most sailors ranks as a "bucket list" event, such is the notoriety of the region for fun in the Mediterranean sun!

Generally, the regatta is nothing short of spectacular. For four straight days, the competitors can expect clear blue skies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with the noon-time sea breezes building from the southwest into the 8 to 15 kts range...at least that's what the local chamber of commerce claims on their brochure! No question, that part of the Med is famous for its remarkable weather in August and is a reason why Palma is notoriously famous amongst the world's "glitterati", with numerous famous super yachts often parked inside the marinas.  Treat yourself to an amazing experience. Click here and learn more about the Copa del Rey MAPFRE.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/24's CELEBRATE MEXICAN NAVY's 200TH ANNIVERSARY!

(Acapulco, Mexico)- In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Mexican Navy, there was a gala yachting event held in Acapulco, Mexico for this important milestone. 

The Mexican Navy personnel helped transport many of the J/24's from the lake at Valle de Bravo (2 hours west of Mexico City a mile high in the mountains) to Acapulco's harbor at no cost! The Acapulco Yacht Club hosted the event in which a fleet of ninety-six boats participated from different classes.


Sixteen J/24s took advantage of this opportunity to sail the beautiful calm waters of Acapulco Bay from April 20th to the 22nd. The teams enjoyed absolutely amazing sailing conditions all three days. 

There were many social events practicing safe distancing and all the safety requirements for COVID 19, but this did not deter a great week of sailing and much fun for everyone involved!

"We had so much fun that we are seriously considering making this an annual event where all our friends from around the world will be welcome! We hope to see you soon in warm sunny Acapulco Bay," said enthusiastic J/24 owner Leopoldo Farias.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANNAPOLIS J/FEST (AKA NOOD REGATTA) PREVIEW

 

(Annapolis, MD)- IF there was ever proof that J/Sailors in general are passionate, enthusiastic sailors, one only needs to look at the astonishing statistics for the 2021 HELLY HANSEN Annapolis NOOD Regatta being hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club from April 30th to May 2nd this coming weekend.  A total of 157 teams are participating, of which 124 of them (79% of the fleet!) are J/Teams sailing J/22s (16), J/24s (10), J/70s (40), J/80s (13), J/30s (13), J/35s (5), J/105s (21), J/111s (7), and 2 in the Doublehanded class. 

The sailors may be treated to a little bit more than what they bargained for in the weather department. As is often the case on the Chesapeake Bay in the springtime, the somewhat unstable weather patterns can dish out rapidly changing sailing conditions. This weekend the NOAA forecasts indicate 15 to 35 kts northwest winds trailing a massive front that is rolling through Thursday evening. Then, the powerful nor ‘westers will diminish into a somewhat benign 8-15 kts Saturday and shifting, backing into the southwest on Sunday at 6-14 kts. No matter what, whatever cobwebs that may have accumulated over the past pandemic year will no doubt get blown out over the horizon in short order!

In the sixteen-boat J/22 class, many of the regional class leaders are in attendance, including Sandy Adzick's HOT TICKET, Jeff Todd's HOT TODDY, Aden King's RIDIN' DIRTY, JR Maxwell's SCOOBY, Brad Julian's YARD SAIL, and Jake Doyle's ZESTY ENTERPRISES. 

The ten-boat J/24 class will feature the four-decade class veteran Tony Parker on his famous BANGOR PACKET along with Pat Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR, Pete Kassal's SPACEMAN SPIFF, and Sam McGuire's BLOW'VIATE. 


The ten-boat J/30 class continues to enjoy its on-going renaissance with many beautifully restored/ reconstructed boats ponying up to the starting like a bunch of ancient thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs. Familiar faces include Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP, Dan Watson's AVITA, Jim McGinnis' BLITZ, Heidi Fritz's SUZIE Q, and Tristan Keen's INFECTIOUS SMILE. 

With just five-boats, the J/35 class will certainly not be lacking for strong competition. A few class veterans will be going at it hammer & tong all weekend. Watch for good battles between Jim Sagerholm's AUNT JEAN, Jim McNeely's MAGGIE, and Roger Lant's ABIENTOT. 


At forty-boats, the J/70s all have their eyes fixated on their upcoming J/70 North American Championship sailing on the same Chesapeake Bay waters in the following two weeks.  Many top teams are in attendance, including Andrew Fisher's BUTTON FLY, John Brigden's COOL STORY BRO from San Francisco, CA; John Heaton's EMPEIRIA from Chicago, IL; Doug Rastello's GOOD TO GO from Newport Beach, CA; Travis Odenbach's HONEYBADGER from Pittsford, NY; Cate Muller-Terhune's MURDER HORNET; Marty McKenna's RARITY; Peter Duncan's RELATIVE OBSCURITY; Sandy Askew's RIMETTE; Brian Keane's SAVASANA; Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX; Bruce Golison's TEN from San Diego, CA; and Terry Hutchinson's USA 419 (yes, the America's Cup guy and J/24 World Champion!). Quite the rogue's gallery of talent preparing for the J/70 NA's as well as the J/70 Worlds later this summer in Long Beach, CA. 

The thirteen-boat J/80 class will certainly have its fair share of top-flight competitors vying for class honors. Amongst the contenders to the leaderboard will be Bert Carp's ELEVEN, Mike Hobson's MELTEMI, Sarah Alexander's MORE COWBELLS, Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK, and Dan Wittig's TURBO SLOTH. 


With their J/105 North American Championship happening in late fall 2021, the twenty-one-boat fleet has most of the local leading teams in attendance, such as Andy Kennedy's BAT IV, John Kircher's CHESSIE, Ben duPont's CTRL ALT DEL, Bill Zartler's DEJA VOODOO, Ken Horne's FINAL FINAL, Cedric Lewis & Fredrik Salvesen's MIRAGE, Don Santa's SANTAS REIGH DEAR, Carl Gitchell's TENACIOUS, and Bill Sutton & Bob Taylor's TRIM.  

Finally, enjoying a tour of the Bay around government markers will be the North Sails Doublehanded Class of ten boats. Hoping to grab some silverware will be John Bells' J/100 HIWASSEE and Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN (a famous class winner in both the Annapolis to Newport Race and the Bermuda Race).  For more Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

GREAT LAKES COLLEGE KEELBOAT RACING ANNOUNCEMENT!

(Chicago, IL)- The 2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta will be held September 24th to 26th in Chicago, IL. This annual fall regatta provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to experience offshore keelboat racing with past participating teams coming from college sailing programs in the Midwest and beyond.

Chicago T10 and J/105 fleet members provide the sailboats and are on-board during racing as a safety precaution. The collegiate sailors drive, crew the boat, and manage strategy and tactics. Chicago-area yacht clubs provide facilities, and the fleets provide financial support, participant gifts and awards.

The regatta consists of windward/leeward buoy races on Lake Michigan offshore of Chicago. Teams arrive on Friday and have the opportunity to practice on their assigned boats that afternoon. Race committee attempts as many races as possible all-day Saturday and on Sunday morning. Award ceremonies are Sunday during lunch and teams have the afternoon for travel back to campus.

Past participating college teams have included; Michigan, Michigan State, Miami of Ohio, Hope College, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Grand Valley State, Toledo, Northwestern, St. Mary’s College of Md., Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Ohio State, South Florida, Miami, Baldwin Wallace, Indiana University, Marquette, Cleveland State University, United States Naval Academy, University of South Carolina, Notre Dame, Illinois-Chicago and more.

Past participating Chicago J/105 one-design fleet owners have included; THE ASYLUM, SEALARK, VYTIS, FLYING PIG, GANGBUSTERS, KINSHIP, and more....hopefully many more this year! Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SAVE OUR SEAS (AND LAKES) WITH ROBOTIC MARKS?

USA pioneer MarkSetBot and their colleagues in Switzerland- WaterSportsMarks- were celebrating Earth Day along with many regatta organizers that hope to take advantage of such ground-breaking technology. 

There's no better day to make a commitment to running clean, sustainable regattas than to consider the use of robotic marks for at least the port end of the starting line and for the windward mark, the two most "changeable" marks on a race course.  

A true test of the MarkSetBot solution was at this year's Charleston Race Week. With winds hitting 19 kts and currents traversing the courses at 3.5 kts, it was probably the most severe test yet of the robotic mark's capabilities.  A huge "bonus" was that NO ONE could carry away the mark by hooking the ground tackle on their keels-- a common site in year's past sailing on Charleston Harbor. This resulted not only in reduced anxiety for nervous skippers, but also dramatically reduced logistical burdens on the PRO's regards having to cancel and restart races!


In partnership with SAILORS FOR THE SEA and 11th HOUR RACING, our MarkSetBot friends had this to say on improving good practices regards our environmental impact:

"We're committed to fostering sustainable practices on and off the water. Here are our favorite ways to make an impact at your next event. If you're looking for more ideas or to become a certified Clean Regatta, check out our friends at Sailors for the Sea (you can even earn Clean Regatta status by using our Bots!).

• Eliminate single-use items like plastic water bottles, straws, bags, and dinnerware.
• Host a beach, marina, or boatyard clean-up in conjunction with your regatta.
• Ensure proper waste bin placement and signage to educate participants on composting and recycling and divert food waste from landfills.
• Use paperless event management, including use of whiteboards, online regatta management systems, or email to share regatta information and results.
• Spread the word about your sustainability initiatives and why a Clean Regatta is important to you. Your work might inspire someone else to make an impact.             

Bonus Tip! Use MarkSetBot robotic buoys to set and adjust the course. Simple and efficient, robotic marks eliminate the need for seabed destructive anchors and fossil-fuel-burning power boats whose sole purposes are moving around marks. At the end of the race day, they can even be charged via solar power.

MarkSetBot has been recognized by Sailors for the Sea, World Sailing, and 11th Hour Racing as an impactful way to make your regatta more sustainable. Plus, robotic marks make on-the-course social distancing easier by drastically reducing the number of people needed to set the course.  Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NEWPORT 2 ENSENADA RACE PREVIEW

(Newport Beach, CA)– Nearly 170 boats will cross the start line of the 73rd Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, April 23rd off the Balboa Pier. Perhaps the cleverest element of the event is the race organizers- NOSA- have offered three courses to the intrepid adventurers that cannot wait to get out on the open, unrestricted, Pacific Ocean! Talk about "horses for courses", more than two dozen J/Teams are entered in all three ocean "sprints".  The classic race goes from Newport Beach/ Balboa Pier start line to Ensenada, Mexico and that start line has 120 boats doing the 125.0nm passage.  Twenty boats will take the day-race course down to Dana Point (about 25.0nm) and forty boats will take the mid-range course around the Coronado Islands and finish off Point Loma in San Diego.  

A big "thanks" to everyone for good behavior and helping to reduce COVID restrictions. And, an even bigger "thanks" to the Mexican Navy offering landing assistance so that sailors will be able to safely disembark and enjoy Ensenada.

Answering that "siren song" to go offshore seems innate and is a common bond for many sailors. In a 1962 America's Cup dinner given by the Australian Ambassador at the Vanderbilt family's former estate- The Breakers- then USA President John F. Kennedy made some prophetic remarks about that passion on September 14th, 1962. Listen to it here. He explained:

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And, it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came."



Recently, when one person about to sail the race was asked "why sail the N2E", he commented:

"There’s a misconception about yacht racing, boat racing, in that some think it’s stuffy, blue-blazer-boring kind of stuff. But, in reality it's not. Sailing is a fun passion-based hobby, in which everyone has a story about overcoming adversity. Sailing is really about solving problems; things break as boats do and you figure it out. Perhaps the best part? It's sitting with a crew member at the helm in the middle of the night, 30 miles offshore, freezing, talking about life, watching the moon; man taking on machine and nature, the whole thing is magical.”


Sailing the classic N2E course are John Staff's J/111 OBSIDIAN, Scott Torrance's J/124 FORGIVENESS, Dave Gorney's J/105 NO COMPROMISE, Chuck Bowes' J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, and Brian Kerr's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN.

Taking the fast-track out and around the Coronado Islands to San Diego is the largest collection of J/145s ever- four of them- including Robert Pace's ANDIAMO 2, Roger Gatewood's KATARA, Ernie Pennell's MORE MADDNESS, and Rudy Hasl's PALAEMON. Joining them will be Tom Pollack's J/124 MARISOL, Dean Stanec's J/130 NIGHT'S WATCH, Derek Gaertner's J/27 PROJECT 53, Fed Hayem's J/46 MISTER J, and Mike McCarthy's J/88 BLUE FLASH. On a PHRF overall handicap basis, that will be one remarkably competitive division!


Another tough collection of J/Crews are sailing the Newport to Dana Point race. Talk about a wind-sprint! Taking a "swing for the fences" in this race are Joaquin Cobelo's J/109 MARIAH, Matt Campbell's J/120 ADIOS, Charles Brewer's J/124 HEARTBEAT 4, Jock McGraw's J/22 TEKEELA, Tom Garrett's youth team on the J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, and the duo of Richard Bennett & David Matthews on the J/92 FIREWATER. 

As pandemic restrictions have been lifted, options for social activities have increased. The annual Yachtsmen’s Luncheon and pre-race dinner at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, albeit without the infamous crowds, are being held. Plans for Sunday’s trophy ceremonies at the festive Hotel Coral and Marina are still being determined, pending the number of revelers, and in coordination with the host city’s guidelines. In light of Ensenada’s restrictions on large gatherings, Sunday afternoon’s awards ceremony, always joyful and celebratory, may be conducted in shifts.  For more Newport 2 Ensenada Race sailing information

On social media, follow all the action on these links:
Facebook.com/newporttoensenada
Instagram.com/newport_to_ensenada
Twitter.com/newsfromnosa
 Add to Flipboard Magazine.

LANDSAIL TYRES J/CUP ANNOUNCEMENT

(Southampton, England)- Key Yachting is delighted to announce the launch of the 2021 Landsail Tyres J/Cup. This will be the first major regatta in England following the proposed final stage of the UK Government roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions.
 
"Landsail Tyres are thrilled to once more be supporting the J-Cup regatta," said Chris Saunders, Landsail UK Brand Manager. "This will be Landsail's seventh regatta and being the first one after Covid restrictions are expected to ease - it is going to be extra special. The J/Boats community always delivers exciting racing, and we can't wait to see who comes out on top this year!"


Hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, well over 50 teams are expected for the exclusive J/Boats regatta. Three one-design classes will be competing including the J/70 Class and J/109 Class. The J/111 Class has the added thrill of competing for the National Championship. A variety of J/Boats crewed by friends and family, as well as professional sailors, will be racing in organized IRC Classes.


The Landsail Tyres J/Cup invites all J/Boats owners and crew to take part in three days of exciting racing in The Solent with daily prize givings. The most coveted award at the Landsail Tyres J/Cup is the J/Cup itself, which will be awarded at the J/Cup 2021 Dinner.
 

“A big thank you to Landsail Tyres for their continued support of the J/Cup, this is going to be a lot of fun,” commented Key Yachting’s Wayne Palmer. “For over 20 years this has been the event that brings the J/Boats family together and that is especially important in the current climate. The Key Yachting team is just as passionate about the regatta as the hundreds of sailors that will be taking part. We are determined to make it a memorable event for everyone involved.”   Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PwPictures.com  Event Reporter: Louay Habib

The 2021 Landsail Tyres J/Cup is open for entry. Online registration and race documents including the Notice of Race can be found at YachtScoring.  Add to Flipboard Magazine.