Dazzling Quantum J/70 Winter Series Finale

 
(Tampa, Florida)- The weather forecast certainly looked promising, with 10-15 kts Northeast on Friday, veering East 6-10 kts Saturday, and veering further Southeast on Sunday at 5-9 kts.  However, as the J/70 sailors have all learned by now, such rosy forecasts, no matter how good, are no guarantees on Tampa Bay.

This past weekend marked the third and final “act” of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series, hosted by Davis Island YC.  The fleet of 47 boats was ready to chase Marty Kullman’s NEW WAVE, the leader after the two previous Quantum J/70 Winter Series events in December and January. 

The event turned into a flat water, light air regatta of three races.  Saturday’s conditions started in 10-12 knots from the Northeast in Race 1, but the race was sailed in 5-6 knots with righty puffs and 4-knot lulls.  Race 2 wind strength was variable with 4 to 8 knots of breeze.  On Sunday, during race 3, the fleet sailed in 4-6 knots from the Southeast in fluky conditions, but no particular bias to one side of the course.  The AP flag was flown after Sunday morning’s race, ultimately resulting in fleet motoring home after a two-hour wait for the wind to fill.

Learning a few lessons from his first major regatta of the year at the Key West J/70 Midwinters, Allan Terhune and company aboard the mighty DAZZLER blinded the fleet with two bullets and a 6th to win with 8 pts total.  Also benefitting from flashes of brilliance and practice at Key West was second place finisher Cole Allsopp and crew on MOXIE, sailing the most consistent scoreline with a 4-3-3 for 10 pts.  Perhaps in the same category of “practice made good in Key West”, Tim Molony’s crew on JOUST had some good races in the Midwinters, but lacked consistency.  In Tampa, he found the conditions to his liking and managed a 9-4-5 for 18 pts to round out the podium in third place.

The balance of the top five included local hotshot Rob Britts on HOT MESS, not only winning Corinthians Overall for the Quantum Winter Series, but also winning Corinthians in the Q-3 regatta.  Taking 2nd in Corinthians in Q-3 was Henry Brauer on SCAMP and his able-bodied crew from Marblehead, MA (which included Tufts Jumbo classmate Stewart Neff).  Third Corinthian was David Koski’s SOUL.

Despite a 7th place finish in Q-3, Marty Kullman’s NEW WAVE secured the overall win for the 2014-2015 Quantum J/70 Winter Series.

The next three J/70 events on the winter circuit are: (1) St Pete NOODS, (2) Miami Sailing Week in March, and (3) Charleston Race Week in April.   For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information

J/111s- Practice Like You Race

(Annapolis, MD)- Scott Nixon, from Quantum Sails, brings you the perspective of sailing aboard the Quantum Key West Race Week regatta winner MY SHARONA.  Here is his commentary:

"I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to sail with a George Gamble and his J/111 team from Pensacola, FL on MY SHARONA at this year's Quantum Key West Race Week. This was the first KWRW where the J/111's had a one-design start; it was also the first J/111 Midwinter Championship. This event, along with the looming J/111 World Championships in Newport, RI, set the stage for a great start to 2015 for this exciting class.

This was my first J/111 regatta so I was the rookie on board. George Gamble selected a great, fun team from the Pensacola YC including his teenage son Kyle who was our man in the middle who kept the team motivated on the rail all week. The MY SHARONA team has put a lot of miles on their boat the past few years including a few races along the Gulf Coast of Florida and a race all the way to Mexico. They have also done a lot of local PHRF racing and even drove the boat out to the Great Lakes the last two years for the J/111 North Americans. When George decided to get me on board we knew a weakness would be time in the boat together so we set a goal of trying to get as much quality practice time in as possible in preparation for the Worlds in early June.

Doing the Pre-Regatta Homework
Working with the great team at Quantum Sails, my pre-regatta homework was not too hard. I started with our sail designer Kerry Klingler, who has done all of our J/111 sail designs that have won the last two North Americans. We discussed the standard class inventory and suggested wind ranges for the class sails. George ordered a new light jib and A1.5 light spinnaker for the event.

After ordering the sails, I spoke with Quantum's J/111 speed doctor Wally Cross (two-time NA Champ and European Champ in the J/111). He walked me through the rig set up, rake numbers, pre bend, mast butt locations and the full Quantum tuning guide for our class sails. We felt we had a grasp on the setup but needed a way to confirm this in KW.  Who better to talk with than the winner of Key West last year!

I called Nick Turney who does tactics and helps run the great SPACEMAN SPIFF programs. He was a wealth of information on sailing the boat. Nick discussed the importance of sailing the J/111 to targets upwind and downwind and to really keep an eye on the target TWA off the breeze. Nick runs Quantum Cleveland, a recent addition to the Quantum network, so both of us were new to the Quantum J/111 sail program and setup. We decided the best way to get up to speed was to team up and train together before racing started, and to also tune up each morning on race day to make sure we felt fast before the start.

“Practicing Like You Race”
This homework really paid off for our teams during the week. We trained very hard for three full days before racing started on Monday. I don't think I was too popular with our team the first few days as we spent a solid six hours on the water each practice day! We would leave the dock each morning with our training partner and do a long, downwind tune followed by a long, upwind tune. At times we would stop and chat on the VHF to make sure the slower boat could adjust settings to match the faster boat.

The teams hiked hard and practiced like we were racing. After tuning, Spaceman's coach boat would run some practice starts and shore races where other J/111's would jump on with us. This gave us great, real-time racing situations to work on together as a team. Starting, close lee-bows, ducks and layline positioning were just some of the maneuvers we were forced to perfect. All of the J/111's would head in for a late afternoon cocktail after the short races but I made the unpopular decision to stay on the water "just a little while longer!"

Perfecting Maneuvers with “Hot Laps”
I introduced our team to “hot laps,” which are simple windward-leeward laps where the marks are very close together so you just have time to set the spinnaker, gybe and then take it down before the leeward rounding sends you back around again. Our first few laps did not go very well, as they rarely do! Everyone was tired and struggling to find their role individually for all these quick maneuvers. But after pushing hard and digging deep our team started to gel. We did three days of hard training, but the sweat and bruises were all worth it. After the training sessions we headed into the regatta with the confidence to pull off any maneuver required. The credit has to go to the team on board as everyone embraced the long, hard practice sessions and improved a massive amount in a very short time.

Heading out for race day one, our goals were to be safe and stay in the top four of each race. George and our bowman Derrick Riddle did a fantastic job of getting us off the line and we were able to sail each race the way we wanted. The week was fairly light so we were extremely fast with our new Quantum class light jib that we used all but the last day, which was over 15 knots.

Using Crew Weight to Help Steer the Boat
We also had great speed off the wind with the new A1.5 class spinnaker that we used in 11 knots and under. With clean starts and good speed, we were able to just stay ahead of the clumps of boats to make good decisions on which side to protect upwind. George focused solely on driving the boat at target speed and angle and the crew constantly moved their weight to keep us at the target heel angle upwind and downwind. This made my job easier as we tried to sail by ourselves in clear air and toward the next expected shift. This strategy worked well all week as we only had two races out of the top two and were able to win five of the ten races. The class was tight at each rounding, so having good sets, gybes and spinnaker drops perfected by our team during training really helped us stay out of trouble all week and kept the pressure on the boats around us.

As a team, we worked really hard all week to focus on our own individual jobs and come together as a group. It was great to see the team get better each day and come away from this regatta with a ton of knowledge to build on as we head to the next events in preparation for the Worlds this summer. I was very impressed with our team all week as they used two GoPros to record our races. They religiously watched them each night at our dinner/ debriefs to implement ways on improving their onboard roles.

Top Lessons Learned
Here are the top five things we learned in Key West about sailing the J/111 in a tight, one design fleet:

1. The boats take a while to build speed, so hitting the line at full speed and target angle are key.

2. Don't be afraid to in-haul the jib off the line to hold a lane or sail in a slightly higher mode, especially in light winds under 15 TWS with the light jib. On the flip side, don't hesitate to ease the in-hauler when you want to sail fast or in bow-down mode for tactical reasons.

3. Having the crew hike hard upwind on the rail allows the trimmers to keep the leeches tight and keep power in the boat longer. Hike hard out of tacks and off the starting line to hit target speed faster.

4. Downwind, the stock J/111 class polars published by J/Boats are very good! We sailed to them all week with regards to target boat speed and target true wind angle.

5. Off the wind, use crew weight to help steer the boat, especially in over 11 knots with the A2 runner up. Hike the boat to windward to bear off and weight to leeward the helmsman head up. This helps minimize rudder movement so you can remain fast.

Thanks again to George and the MY SHARONA team for an outstanding attitude and effort in Key West. Also special thanks to Nick Turney on SPACEMAN SPIFF and Wally Cross on UTAH for sharing J/111 tips and tuning with us on the water. The Quantum sails and set-up were very fast and easy to do. Q teams were 1,2,3 and 4! We all improved each day and had fun on shore sharing war stories at the tent and on Duvall Street. We are really looking forward to the next J/111 one design start this spring at Charleston Race Week. Hope to see you on the water soon."  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com and Alan Clark/ Photoboat.com.

Herman Crowned Chilean J/70 Champion

(Lago Panguipulli, Chile)- From February 7th to 8th, the 2nd annual J/70 Chilean Nationals took place on Panguipulli Lake,  800 miles south of Santiago in the spectacular “lakes district” of southern Chile. The championship was sponsored by Santander Bank as a major class sponsor and Sony Xperia and the regatta was hosted at the beautiful clubhouse on the Puyumen Peninsula (the same location as last year).

An incredibly competitive fleet of nine boats included many good teams with skippers like: Matias Seguel & Per Von Appen (former J/24 sailor), Pablo Herman (famous Lightning sailor), Pablo Amunategui & Juan Eduardo Reid (Soto 40 skippers) and other renowned Chilean skippers such as Walter Astorga, Jorge González, Jorge Lama and Carlos Vergara.

The racing was incredibly close with weather mark and leeward mark rounding’s strongly contested by groups of boats, often the last shift determining places in the last few boat lengths to the mark.  Over the two-day weekend, four of the six scheduled races were sailed.

On the first day, the fleet enjoyed good winds from the southwest of 10-14kts. Racing was very close, with Rodrigo Solar’s BLACK JACK XPERIA (skippered by Pablo Amunategui) taking the lead over Nicolas Ibañez’s CAROLINA (with Pablo Herman on the helm).  Third was Juan Eduardo Reid and fourth Per Von Appen. At the end of the day, the point scores were quite close;  Amunategui 7 pts, Herman 8 pts and Reid 10 pts.

Sunday’s sailing conditions started out very unstable and by 4:30pm the wind was finally good enough to start the one and only race of the day. Pablo Herman and his team took the lead from the very beginning followed by Carlos Vergara, Jorge Gonzalez and Juan Reid.  On the second windward leg, all locals went left and Herman, Reid and Amunategui (in 6th place) took the right side of the course.

At the middle of the 2nd windward leg, the wind on the left side of the course started to die and the right kept getting stronger. At the windward mark Herman rounded 1st, Reid 2nd and Amunategui 3rd, giving the lead of the championship to Pablo Herman, Felipe “Pipe" Herman, Martin Costa (North Sails Argentina) and Roberto Caneo.

After the summer holiday, the fleet moves to Algarrobo, 90km due west of Santiago, during the year for races between March and December.  Sailing photo credits- Bernie Grez.

McKinnon Starts Paralympic Sailing Campaign

(Boston, MA)- Maureen McKinnon first began sailing on J/22's and J/24's in Marblehead, Massachusetts. After an unfortunate accident that left her physically as a paraplegic, she maintained her passion as a sailor and wished to get back out on the water again. 

Not soon after, she discovered the Paralympic circuit and special boats she could sail.  Ultimately, she teamed up with Nick Scandone to sail a SKUD 18 (a mini-sportboat type boat).  After a lot of trials and tribulations, they not only won the US Paralympic Sailing Trials with straight bullets, but they won the Olympic Gold Medal in the 2008 Qingdao Olympics in China!  Sadly, six months later, her teammate, Nick, passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Maureen is now on a new mission.  Having overcome such difficult life experiences, she’s continued to sail a variety of boats.  She’s even sailed on J/105s as the middle person/ pit in local Marblehead beer-can races.  Perhaps some “J” sailors may wish to help her in her goal to again represent the USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.

Maureen commented that, “I have continued to sail part-time on the Paralympic circuit over the past 6 years since our Gold medal win in China. In November 2014, I began practicing with a talented college sailor from San Diego, California and I am back in the SKUD18!

We have just returned from a World Cup event, our first racing together as a team. My new teammate, Ryan Porteous, and I secured the second place SKUD 18 spot on the Sperry Top Sider US Sailing Team, one year prior to the upcoming Paralympic team selection for Rio Games 2016. We are just two points behind the other US team.

The US Paralympic Sailing Team has a long history of Paralympic medal achievement in the 3 sailing disciplines. Since the sport's inception in 1996, the US has won 3 Bronze, 3 Silver and one Gold for our country. We are very proud to make the US Sailing Team in this critical year, just before the 2016 Rio Games in Brazil.

It will take a lot of practice, training days, good regatta performances and public support over the next year to win the US Trials.  The Marblehead community (especially the sailing community) really got behind us for my last bid in 2008.  I hope to rally up the support we need to bring MORE gold back to our proud sailing community! The Olympic stipends provided to serious Rio campaigners falls well short of the fundraising needs of any team.

Our schedule will include two expensive overseas regattas and two boat charters for this year. We also have 4 local New England regattas (Newport & New York), and we are hoping to be granted a SKUD 18 start line for the 126th  Marblehead Race Week this summer.” Here’s a biography/ backgrounder of Maureen on the US Sailing Team site.  If you wish to help her efforts, please contact Maureen McKinnon’s email- mcktucker@gmail.com

SAILING Champions League Growing Dramatically!

(Hamburg, Germany)- Europe is mad about the J/70 sailing leagues! Only two years after the start of the innovative sailing league format in Germany (the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga) and the kickoff of the SAILING Champions League in October 2014 in Copenhagen, many new countries are following Denmark in 2015 and are establishing their own sailing club competitions: Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Great Britain in Europe, as well as America.  A brief summary of developments in each country follows.

Italy
After the Italian FIV (Italian Sailing Association) organizers requested to host the 2015 SCL at the first SAILING Champions League in Copenhagen, it was clear there would be a national sailing league in the South of Europe.

The FIV’s sailing league will start in February. Two to three events are planned with perfect sailing regions set in Trieste, Genoa, Naples and Porto Cervo. Ten to twelve clubs will be among the pioneers in the first season. The Italians plan to use J/70s for most of the events. “We wanted to participate in the SAILING Champions League, because we support the vision and the mission 100%”, explains Roberto Emanuele de Felice of FIV.

The FIV plan to host the SCL Finals from September 17 to 19 at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda on Sardinia.

The Netherlands
The Dutch Sailing League, called “Eredivisie Zeilen”, also started planning their sailing league after the prelude in Copenhagen. Their organization is managed by the Royal Netherlands Yachting Union together with an event organizer.

At their three events, they will be sailing J/70s in a spring and autumn series.  “For the Eredivisie Zeilen, 15 clubs have confirmed their participation. But I am sure, even more would like to participate”, said Rob Franken from the Netherlands Sailing Federation.

Russia
The Russians already started planning their first 2015 sailing league season in the fall of 2014. At a test event in September, the format, the J/70s and “live” broadcasting were thoroughly tested.  The Russian sailing league has the backing of the Russian Sailing Federation, utilizing a fleet of 10 J/70s. No expense was spared in their “test event” for multimedia and social media- the “live” HD video from the J/70s, from videographers ashore and from a helicopter was quite remarkable. Even the GPS system aboard each boat was tested.  For 2015, the Russians have planned five events.

Sweden
Swedish Sailing Federation will establish its national sailing league, “Allsvenskan”, with 18 participating clubs in three regattas.  The events will be sailed in a fleet of J/70s at Saltsjöbaden close to Stockholm (in May), Malmö in the South (in August) and Stenungsund (in September). “We want to make our clubs stronger by establishing the ‘Swedish Sailing League’ and make the sailing sport more popular and attractive for the age range between 18 and 30.  We are also pleased to have the Swedish POSTCODE Lottery as our lead partner″, said Peter Gustafsson of BLUR.SE sailing fame.

Stefan Rahm, SSF's Managing Director, had this to say regards the exciting development of the sailing league in Sweden:

“The clubs are central to the sport of sailing. Kids often first start in sailing school, then practice and sail dinghies, and later sail the family boat. But, racing takes place almost always as an individual sailor or as part of a 2-3 person individual team on your own boat.  However, in many other sports you are competing for your club in regional or national competitions. Shouldn’t that be the case in sailing, too?

Based on the experience from other countries that have sailing leagues, it’s clear the club ‘feeling’ is strengthened. Club members get enthusiastic and more involved in putting together teams.  The members help the team train, create training opportunities, acquire sponsors and promote them in the local news media.  Juniors, Olympic sailors and old seasoned sailors gather together to defend the club's colors.

The sailing will also be simple and accessible in J/70s provided by the Allsvenskan.  Moreover, it seems the media have a better understanding of the sailing and format— especially since there is “live” updates on standings race-by-race.

It's incredibly exciting that we finally have a national race series between clubs in Sweden. A series that will naturally determine Sweden's best sailing club, but will also drive more activity in the clubs and, thereby, increase the accessibility of our sport. The latter is a goal that we share with our main partners Swedish Postcode Lottery.”  More information about the “Allsvenskan” of the Swedish Sailing Association here.

Switzerland
For the start of the Swiss Sailing League, two regattas are planned: in April at Lake Thun and in October at Lake Constance. Founding members of the SSL are the Yacht Club Kreuzlingen, Lake Thun Yacht Club and Swiss Sailing (the Swiss Sailing Association). 31 clubs throughout the country have requested to participate in the Swiss Sailing League in their fleet of six J/70s. The first 18 participants will be announced in February 2015.  Like their colleagues in Germany and Denmark, they plan to extend the format and establish a 2nd league.  For 2016, they’re expecting to host five regattas.

“If the top three team of our Swiss Sailing League are qualifying for the SAILING Champions League, it is of course more attractive for the top Swiss sailors to participate in the national league – especially because of the international perspective”, explains Felix Somm, project leader of the Swiss SSL.  For more Swiss Sailing League information.

United Kingdom
For 2015, the British Royal Yachting Association is planning several test events in Portland Harbour and Cowes, Isle of Wight.  With support from the Royal Yacht Squadron and The Royal Thames Yacht Club (the only British club that raced in the SAILING Champions League in Copenhagen), their collective fleet of a dozen J/70s is the likely platform for the test events.

Austria
The Austrian Sailing Federation project leader, Rudi Hoeller, first visited his German colleagues in 2013 to get information about the new sailing format and what was required to establish a national sailing league in Austria.  Two promotional events are planned for 2015 to present the sailing league format to the public.  “We formed a Segel-Bundesliga GmbH according to the German model and the organizational committee and the hosting clubs are also set. There will be at least four regattas in 2016”, said Hoeller.

USA
America had already started planning their sailing league following the German model a year ago. The German project leader, Benjamin Klatzka, was one of the first persons to advance the German Sailing League concept.  In August 2015, the “Premiere Sailing League” will start with four regional qualifier regattas (North-Chicago, South-New Orleans, East-Newport, West-San Francisco) for 72 clubs. The best 16 US clubs – four per region – will then compete against each other at the “Premiere Sailing League National Championships” in Annapolis, Maryland in October. They will be sailing on J/70 boats with a crew of four.  A test event is taking place in late spring this year to promote the format to sailors, clubs, sponsors and the hosting clubs.   Please find a list with all National Sailing League events here.

New England Boat Show Time!

Go Now!  Better Than Home In a Blizzard!
(Boston, MA)- The boat show is located at Boston’s enormous waterfront Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and will be featuring the J/88.  The show runs from February 14th to 22nd.

Make sure to keep your loved ones in mind for Valentine’s Day!  What better gift from the heart than a J/88 or J/70 wrapped in a giant red bow with roses!  Also, tell them that "Stu" sent you and it's worth a "free beer"!

Ask J/Boat Dealers Rich Hill or George Lowden how you can make that happen, contact them at ph# 781-631-3313 or email- hilllowden@aol.com.   For more New England Boat Show information.

Volvo Ocean Race- The Charlie Enright Update

(Sanya, Hainan, China)- Charlie has been a world-class J/24 sailor from Newport, Rhode Island and has assembled an all-star cast of sailors to power TEAM ALVIMEDICA in the 2014-2015 VOLVO OCEAN RACE.  After the third leg, Charlie had a chance to provide some perspectives on what amounts to a “giant J/24 one-design race” across oceans.

After winning the first In-Port race, TEAM ALVIMEDICA felt ready for the Volvo Ocean Race to begin, but legs one and two would show them otherwise. So the team got to work, assessing their onboard operations and looked hard at how other boats were set-up.  Improving throughout the race is vital for success, and TEAM ALVIMEDICA took a positive step by finishing third in leg three from Abu Dhabi to Sanya. Scuttlebutt Newsletter Editor, Craig Leweck, checks in with Charlie for an update on their progress:

SN: To what do you attribute your progress?

CE: It really is a lot of small things, but for starters, my relationship with our navigator Will Oxley is definitely strengthening. We’re learning how to play off each other, what our strengths and weaknesses are, how best to allocate our time. It is important that we can be decisive when needed, and this leg showed that for us.

Along the Pakistani Coast, we didn’t have a problem breaking from the group and being the first guys to lead offshore, which proved to be a good move on the fleet. When in the Malacca Strait, we caught ourselves confidently leading in directions as opposed to just hedging, which was a healthy change. Going out of Singapore we positioned ourselves amid the fleet so we could sail a mode that we think is one of our strengths upwind and breeze. And then when short tacking along Vietnamese coast, we again made gains in a situation where a leg ago I don’t think we would have fared nearly as well..

Our progress is due to the systems now in place, the allocation of resources, the way we managed the watch system, the stack… everything. We went in with a battle plan and we were able to execute it with efficiency and confidence.

SN: Good decision making is usually a result of being fast? Or, not?

CE: I think it’s very situation-dependent. We still have our speed issues in light air running, and tend to slip back when the conditions don’t suit our strengths. But nobody’s fast as Dongfeng in under 13 knots with the A3, which is what allowed them to jump ahead into their own weather to win leg three. We can also learn from Brunel which is quite good with the masthead zero, and Abu Dhabi is very well-rounded and perpetually fast, which allows them to execute conservative tactics.

SN: Which team are you most curious about?

CE: Right now you’d have to say Dongfeng. They break the most stuff….are they pushing the hardest? Is it the certain set-ups they have? I think everybody is most curious about what they have going on.

SN: Each team is required to use the Automatic Identification System (AIS), how can this help with boat speed improvement?

CE: It certainly doesn’t hurt, but all it really tells you is whether you’re fast or slow. As long as we are within range of another boat (8-10 miles), we can use AIS to remain in touch to measure performance, but then it is on us to sort out the reasons for speed differences.

If you’re going upwind in 18 knots and you’re gaining on everybody, then you know you got a good mode and should record those settings. Just the same, if you’re going downwind with the A3 and you’re slow, then that’s where you got to put in your time. That’s where you’ve got to figure it out. AIS will tell us another boat’s direction and speed, but not what sails they are using, where their stack is, how their tanks are filled, etc.

SN:  Nevertheless, making progress must feel good?

CE:  Our strength right now is stable sailing and this past leg had pretty light conditions, so posting our best finish result in conditions that are not our strength is very positive. There were times along the Indian coast when we were hemorrhaging miles all the way south, so the light air running is an area we must work on. But by grinding it out and staying in touch, we gave ourselves the opportunity to make some pretty good navigational and tactical decisions as we got to some of the various features of the latter part of the leg, and by doing those things confidently is what helped us separate ourselves towards the end of it. But we still have a lot of work to do.

The tag line of this race for us is everybody has to deal with the same variables. It’s the one-design system and the shared maintenance boatyard concept. Everybody is given the same tools and everybody is racing on the same course. So despite the elements of randomness, and leg three had a lot of randomness, it’s random for everybody and each team takes a turn at getting kicked. And despite the conditions, the boats that sailed the best, finished the best in this particular leg regardless of what the obstacles were. But we want to consistently be one of those boats.

SN:  You mention elements of randomness… can you share some of the randomness you encountered on leg three.

CE:  Short-tacking up the Vietnamese coast, you look west and you’d see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “Okay, that makes sense, that’s land.” And then you’d look to the east and you see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “There’s that many fisherman out here? That is absolutely insane.” And we saw a mother ship with these guys floating in what looked like a basket with an oar, and they were all fishing. We’re bombing along at 12 knots and these floaters have only a flashlight to defend themselves. I think for us, that’s scary because it’s like, “What can I do for this guy if I hit him?”

But the biggest concern was the commercial traffic, the heavy metal. A big merchant ship that’s going 20 knots in the Malacca Strait, and we’re drifting at .5 knots and unable to get them on the radio. That makes it hard for me to sleep. Running over a fishing net, yeah, that’s annoying. There’s so many of them, everyone’s going to have their turn.

All in all, the course was pretty crazy, so for all the teams to get through unscathed is pretty remarkable.

Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition – the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. The fourth leg, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand (5,264 nm), begins Feb. 8 with an ETA of Feb. 25- Mar. 5. Volvo Ocean Race website here.

Longest J/70 delivery yet?

(Sydney, Australia)-   Maybe.  Sydney to Fremantle is only 2,485 miles driving!!  But, the distance from Bristol, Rhode Island to Sydney is over 11,000 miles!  Total J/70 traveling distance before it’s first sail?!  13,485 miles minimum, no wrong turns!  Here is the story from Malcolm, her new owner:

“What I got for Christmas and how it became the most travelled J/70 in the world??

It all started when I met Rod from VicSail WA (the J/Boats Western Australia dealer) at the Mandurah Boat show where he had the first J/70 in Western Australia on display. I had done my research on the J/70 and, after seeing it, ordered one!

As it happened Rod & Tony of Vicsail Yachts WA’s Sydney colleague, Ray from Yachtspot, had placed an order for two and the second one had no name against it.  So, it became mine!  With a promise of delivery before Christmas!

However, the odds began to stack against the J/Boat guys in Australia. The J/70s left the Port of New York on time but the freighter ran into problems in Jeddah and was delayed by several days.  This delay impacted the arrival time in Singapore to the point the container had to be trans-shipped and placed on another freighter from Singapore.

The original delivery time into Sydney of the 2nd December was now in serious doubt.  Fate struck again when the ship was delayed in Brisbane, Australia but it finally arrived in Sydney on the 12th December.  Sweet!  Still plenty of time!  Or, so we thought.  Then, a strike by the Stevedores in Port Botany!  Good Lord, now another few days of delays and my Christmas boat in jeopardy once more.

The J/70s finally trucked from Port Botany to Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club to be un-packed on 17th December and this is when the service from the J/Boat guys really kicked in. They were now finally in control of the boats.

I spoke to Tony and he advised, ‘No worries Malcolm, we will have your boat un-packed, keel fitted, prepped for the journey and on a waiting trailer today (Wednesday the 17th).  We are meeting Ray at the “Big Galah” on Friday the 18th and he said his own J/70 can wait until he returns.’

The “Big Galah” for the non-Australians amongst you is the name of a famous landmark featuring a giant model of a “galah” 8.5 meters high and situated halfway between Perth in Western Australia and Sydney on the east coast.  Tony, Rod and Ray made this amazing trip of 2,100 km each in 2 days and met with my boat at the Big Galah on Friday 19th December. Tony & Rod delivered my J/70 to Royal Perth Yacht Club on Sunday 20th December after its memorable journey from the USA, and an even more incredible delivery of over 4,200 km across Australia!  Amazing!

Thanks to the combined efforts of the J/Boats Team in Australia, my new J/70 arrived in time for Christmas as they promised!  Thanks a million, Malcolm”

Recent reports from Malcolm is that he’s one incredibly happy guy!  Loves the boat, especially since it’s about the only sport boat in Fremantle that can handle the daily 20-30 kts TWS!  Malcolm has promised some “amazing video” soon!

The 25th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta

(Melbourne, Australia)- For all women sailors north, south, east and west, you may want to consider hop-scotching your way Down Under to an amazing event celebrating their Silver Anniversary!  The Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in Melbourne is hosting the 25th Australia Women’s Keelboat Regatta from June 6th to 8th, 2015 and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever! With teams coming from across Australia and from around the world, the fleet is already shaping up to be a competitive one.

The “Hyper Girls” (centre in the pic above) have taken this J/24 out more than once before, proving their boat is very competitive in this fleet.  So, if you are a local at Sandy why not get your boats up the bay? Looks like there may also be a crew from Manhattan, New York coming!  Which means if you are from Sydney or Adelaide, you really are coming from just around the corner. Boats may be available to use from the Sandy fleet, too!

If you are a woman sailor and would like to get involved, or if you are a boat owner who would like to donate your boat to a team, please contact RMYS Sailing Coordinator- Allicia Rae – awkr@rmys.com.au   For more Australia Women’s Keelboat Regatta sailing information

Want to go sailing with girls before AWKR?  Well then, you should definitely try the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series!  The YV Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series (PPWCS) 2015 marks the third series which combines the existing “signature” women’s events from the five keelboat clubs at the top of the bay into one event and will be contested on the waters of Port Phillip from February to May 2015.
Check out the Port Phillip Women’s Championship details here.

Finally, why not sail the opening race of the PPWC and enjoy the party for the Jennifer Goldsmith Trophy!?  This is the traditional “Lady Skippers Race” and has been a feature on the sailing calendar at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron for many years.  This is the first race in the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series and, as always, there are going to be some gorgeous prizes thanks to the Goldsmith Family.

Traditionally the race is open to any yacht as long as it is “skippered” by a woman.  She can have a crew of all men, a mixed crew or a crew of all women, but the boat must be helmed throughout the whole of the race by a woman.  Entry for the 2015 Jennifer Goldsmith Perpetual Trophy is now open. You can read the NOR and enter here.   For more Australian J/24 Fleet sailing information.

New England Boat Show!

(Boston, MA)- The boat show is located at Boston’s enormous waterfront Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and will be featuring the J/88.  The show runs from February 14th to 22nd.

Make sure to keep your loved ones in mind for Valentine’s Day!  What better gift from the heart than a J/88 or J/70 wrapped in a giant red bow with roses!

Ask J/Boat Dealers Rich Hill or George Lowden how you can make that happen, contact them at ph# 781-631-3313 or email- hilllowden@aol.com.   For more New England Boat Show information.