The PAPPARAZZI Flash Wirth Munroe Race!

(Palm Beach, FL)- The 60th Annual Wirth Munroe Memorial Miami to Palm Beach Race, a 70nm sprint up the Gulf Stream from Miami to Palm Beach, was sailed on Friday, December 2, 2016. The Sailfish Club of Florida welcomed a new co-sponsor, the Storm Trysail Club, to this legendary event and the race returned to it’s historical starting line off Miami, FL.

An approaching cold front confounded the weather forecasters, but the fleet was able to start with light NW winds and rain showers but with a good heading taking them out to the Gulf Stream.  At mid-day, the fleet, while spread out, sailed into a windless hole with a choppy sea while drifting north at 4 kts. Once the front cleared the predicted North-northeaster filled in at 15-20 kts and the race began again with boats tacking north to remain in the Stream before exiting on the starboard lay line to the finish.

Once berthed at The Sailfish Club of Florida the sailors enjoyed the Club’s renowned welcoming reception and awards dinner. A special award was presented to the crew of “Grey Poupon” for catching and landing the largest fish while racing, a 15 lb. bonito!!  This was appropriate since the long-time sponsor of this race is a fishing club!!  Absolutely, bloody, brilliant!  Next year, the J/Crew that lands the largest “big kahuna” will get a free Apple iPad!

In the seventeen-boat fleet was a trio of J/sailors in the PHRF classes, from a J/30 up to a J/160.  In the end, they all had fun; some more than others! Don Lasky’s J/30 PAPARAZZI has been sailing this race for years from Ft. Lauderdale and ended up 2nd and 3rd in class in past races. This year, with a longer course, 60 miles starting in Miami, they finally won their class and PHRF overall!! And, this was in an “old J/30”, never considered a fast boat (?!). The Wirth Munroe Race rewards navigational skill besides sailing skill.  Well, unlike “fake news”, Don’s crew are “real” people and dropped the hammer on their “gulf streamer” racing friends!  Congrats to them!  For more Wirth Munroe Invitational Race sailing information

2017 J/70 Europeans Announcement

(Hamble, England)- The Royal Southern Yacht Club (RSrnYC) is proud to be hosting the 2017 J/70 European Championships from Saturday 3rd to Friday 9th June, in conjunction with the J/70 UK Class Association.

The Club completed the Prince Philip Yacht Haven, opened by our Patron, the Duke of Edinburgh, in 2015. This, and its associated waterside deck, has greatly enhanced our walk-ashore and entertaining facilities, ideal for this major Championship. Karen Henderson-Williams, Commodore of the RSrnYC, said “Hosting such major Championships is a rewarding challenge for the RSrnYC and its members. We are looking forward to showing the J/70 competitors some great hospitality in our wonderfully enhanced facilities.”

After two days of registration and measurement inspections racing commences on Monday 5th June, with an opportunity for competitors to sail a practice race, then the Championships run Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th June. The Championships provide a great opportunity for teams to prepare for the 2017 World Championships in Italy later in September. We expect a large entry list, with significant interest from Europeans and North America sailors. If required, the event will have a qualifying and final series, with the option for two race course areas.

RSrnYC’s PRO Stuart Childerley commented, “The intention is to run eleven Championship races. We are preparing for a large fleet and I am sure the sailors will find racing on the Hillhead Plateau area of the Central Solent challenging and fun. The Solent in June can be a stunning championship venue.”

Commenting on behalf of the J/70 UK Class Association, Ian Wilson said, “The Championships will stimulate the growth of the UK based fleet further, and we are very pleased to have a major championship being held in the UK, ahead of hosting the Worlds in 2019.“

The Hamble-based Club has published the Notice of Race (NoR), and it is available for download here, along with other related information. Additional information and support is available from the Royal Southern Yacht Club Sailing Office - Tel: +44 (0)23 8045 0302 or Email: sailing@royal-southern.co.uk
For more J/70 European Championship sailing information

J/70s & J/105s Dominate Hot Rum Series

(San Diego, CA)- The third race, and grand finale, for the San Diego YC’s famous Hot Rum Series took place on December 3rd.  Blessed with the third weekend of breeze, the sailors enjoyed the joy ride out the San Diego Harbor Channel, past Point Loma, around the sea buoys and back to the frenetic finish line just off the tip of Shelter Island.  Taking home lots of silverware were Rick Goebel’s J/105 SANITY in PHRF Class 3 and Fabian Gomez-Ibarra’s J/70 VAGAZO in PHRF Class 4.

The series was not without some drama during the middle race.  Apparently, Goebel’s SANITY was approaching the end of the San Diego Harbor channel leading their class and in the hunt for a top five finish in the race.

However, as they tacked onto port to head for home and a hoped for win, they looked up to see the mast falling off dramatically to leeward like a wet noodle.  Reacting instinctively, skipper Goebel spun the boat back onto starboard tack to save the mast.  Immediately, one of the crew noticed the upper tang of the port upper shroud had let go and headed up the rig on the spinnaker halyard.  With sails luffing, he reconnected the shroud tang (after another crew spun-off the turnbuckle) and Goebel’s crew was able to resume sailing on port tack towards the finish.  It was a lucky reaction by the quick-thinking SANITY crew.  As a result, they lost the potential to win the entire Hot Rum Race series overall, but still managed to win the 36-boat PHRF Class 3 with a 1-5-2 scoreline for 8 pts.  Taking third in their class was Dennis Case’s J/105 WINGS with an 11-3-1 tally for 15 pts.  Rounding out the top five as Erostino Dagfish’s J/105 VIGGEN in 5th place with a 4-16-3 score.

The 33-boat PHRF 2 class saw John Laun’s J/120 CAPER sail better and better to close the series with a 14-3-4 for 21 points and 2nd place.  The next J/120s were Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY in 10th and Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER in 11th.  Twelfth was Tim Harmon’s J/124 CIRRUS and fifteenth was Doug Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA.  

The fast-sailing crews on J/70s dominated the 19-boat PHRF 4 class.  Top of the leaderboard was Gomez-Ibarra’s VAGAZO with an amazing scorecard of 1-1-2 for 4 pts.  Taking second on a tie-break was Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR with a 5-3-4 for 12 pts.  Fourth was Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU with a 4-6-3 for 13 pts. Close racing in the top five!  Sailing photo credits- San Diego YC/ Cynthia Synclair.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information

Order the 2017 "J" Sailing Calendar Today!

(Newport, RI)- A sailing calendar is a great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew.  Order yours today and get it in time for the New Year!

For 2017, we have created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world.  Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places.

The 2017 sailing calendar features J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/105s, J/111s, J/112E and J/65 sailing in many of the worlds most popular sailing areas- Cowes, Newport, San Francisco Bay, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Monaco and French Polynesia in the Pacific!  See the gorgeous photo gallery and order your 2017 J/Sailing Calendar here.

Quantum J/70 Winter Series I Preview

(Tampa, FL)- The 2016/ 2017 edition of the third Quantum J/70 Winter Series continues to grow in popularity with sailors from across America, Canada, and even the Caribbean!  The “sailingest yacht club in the south”, the Davis Island YC, is again proud to host the enormous contingent of J/sailors descending upon them for racing the weekend of December 10th to 11th.  There are fifty-five entries, with 28 Corinthian crews and 27 open division teams.

With a massive cold snap about to hit the continental U.S. with a Siberian high pressure system sweeping south with temperatures in the low 30s F for northern Florida (!), no question the “snow birds” heading south have to be pretty happy!  The crews have to be excited that Tampa Bay’s forecast-  sunny, warm 60-70’s F northeaster at 10-16 kts on Saturday and more sun with ESE winds of 5-10 kts on Sunday!

The Corinthians division continues to grow and increase in competitiveness.  Returning champion Robb Britts’ HOT MESS from the host DIYC will be hoping to duplicate that feat again.  His team’s challenge will be to maintain good form and pace against a number of hot crews that have jumped into the frying pan to have some fun down south this winter.  Some of those crews include Ed Austin’s CHINOOK, Henry Brauer’s RASCAL, Jon Pollak’s MONKEY BUSINESS, Bryan Cameron’s B-SQUARED, Stu McCrea’s GONE, Holly Graf’s SPICE, and Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS.  Of note, is that the US Coast Guard Academy is fielding a team from New London, CT, spearheaded by coach Doug Clark sailing with a crew of USCG cadets.

Not surprisingly, the Open division will have a number of top crews that should be near the top of the leaderboard for the series.  Amongst those crews are Doug Strebel and Jay Lutz combining together again on the famous BLACK RIVER RACING from Texas; Chuck Corbishley’s LATE LIFE CRISIS, Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX; Leif Sigmond’s NORBOY from Chicago; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Fisher’s Island/ Palm Beach; Al Terhune’s DAZZLER from Annapolis; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport; John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA from Chicago; Darby Smith’s AFRICA from Marblehead; Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY from the Cayman Islands; and Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Beverly.  For more Quantum J/70 Winter series sailing information

4th Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series Update

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- For the first time in the Principality of Monaco, four classes will be sharing the race area for the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series this weekend, 9-11 December. For three days, J/70s and M20s will be racing alongside the new generation foiling GC32 catamarans and the spectacular one-design M32 catamarans. With some 300 sailors from 12 nationalities expected, these regattas organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco, in collaboration with clothing supplier SLAM and first instigated by Valentin Zavadnikov, have become major events on the winter calendar.

For their second meeting of the season, a 27-strong international fleet of J/70s from 11 nationalities. Winner at November’s meeting, YCM member Ludovico Fassitelli’s JUNDA has his sights set on repeating his performance to consolidate his position at the top of the championship.  Chasing them hard will be Russia’s top women skipper- Valeria Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE; Turkey’s Emir Icgoren on AMEERA JET; Italy’s Mario Beraha on SASHA GREY; and famous Italian offshore and America’s Cup sailor- Vincenzo Onorato on MASCALZONE LATINO/ MOBY.

To complete this full-on sailing weekend, fluid and appendages specialist, Martin Fisher, the man behind the GC32 and head of the design team for the French America’s Cup challenger, will be unveiling the latest advances in foil development at a maritime conference on Saturday 10th December at 6:30pm in the YCM Meeting Room (Quay level).  For more YC Monaco Winter Sportsboat Series sailing information

The Healing Powers of Sailing!

(Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA)- Travis Lund, Executive Director at Treasure Island Sailing Center (TISC), offers an example of how sailing J/24s (and dinghies) on San Francisco Bay can provide a helpful distraction to life.  He comments,

“I’m often asked what the TISC is or what we do here in San Francisco, CA. I’ll admit it is sometimes difficult to accurately describe what a youth-driven sailing center does and harder yet to transmit why my staff and I are so dedicated to the mission of TISC.

For most of us who sail, we typically don’t ponder how sailing has affected our lives…we just know it has. Most of us seldom think about what our lives would be like if we never learned to or had the enjoyment of sailing.

Growing up in a small industrial town of 23,000 people in Northern Michigan, there were few entertainment options. I really didn’t know much else other than playing in the water in the summer and playing in the snow in the winter. My parents owned a small sailboat and I somehow found ways to sail and race and eventually got good at it.

I have been able to make a living at it for most of my life, and yet I still find it difficult to articulate how and why it has become so important to whom I am. I think the best way to answer this question is to envision my life without it. And, I cannot.

However, a recent event has helped provide some clarity.

On November 9th, TISC ran a recruitment event to help our Envision Academy Sailing Team (EAST) gain new members. Envision Academy (EA) is a tuition free charter high school in downtown Oakland whose population is mostly underserved.

About a year and a half ago, with the help of Anthony Sandberg, owner of OCSC Sailing, we formed a sailing team for this school. With the financial support of the St. Francis Sailing Foundation, we’ve been providing boats, transportation and instructors for the team at no cost to the students and their families. The current team is all upper level students and we wanted to bolster the team numbers.

We had the day planned for weeks and didn’t really think about the actual date as we had enough on our plates to simply organize the event. But the morning of the event, I received a call from EA’s Athletic Director, Coach Henry, to inform me that he was going to do what he could to get the kids on the bus as quickly as he could. As it was the day after the U.S. national and local elections, the school was in a state of pandemonium.

He explained that kids were looking like they were leaving school, that parents were coming to pick their kids up, and that helicopters were flying overhead in wake of what might be either protests or riots later in the day. He warned me that we would not have the 42 kids we had hoped for, and that I should prepare the staff for what might be a sullen, scared or confused group of kids.

Anthony Sandberg chipped in and we chartered a bus to bring what became 27 freshmen and sophomore students out for a 3-hour introductory sail. As they arrived it was clear that Henry’s call was right.

What should have been an excited, frenzied group of 14 and 15 year olds was replaced with some very quiet and reserved children while others were wrought with anger. The regular team was also there, and was also visibly distraught. We provided the kids with pizza and snacks, and they were feeling a bit better when they hit the water.

Before EA’s arrival we had launched four J/24s and as many RS Ventures. We had several volunteers who were instructed to show the kids a good time, introduce them to sailing, and relay their experiences with sailing. I had prepared everyone for what might be the attitude of the group and so everyone was a bit on edge. While the EA student body is very diverse, our staff and volunteers were not, and I was concerned how the day might play out.

Once the kids got into life jackets and began to load onto the boats something unexpected happened. Faces went from frowns to looks of interest and investigation. The loud and frank talk of the election results turned to questions and quiet.

We loaded kids one by one onto the boats and off they went. There were four girls who stayed together, all wearing Hijabs. I have never seen anyone wear one while sailing and was surprised when these girls were completely unaffected by the wind and more affected by the sail.

I hopped into our chase boat and went out on Clipper Cove with our Program Manager to take pictures. What we saw as we went from boat to boat brightened our day. The kids’ demeanor had changed.

Right there before our eyes in the span of a few moments these kids, all of them, were either engaged with their coach, dipping their hands in the water or sitting on the decks with the wind in their faces looking skyward.

They marveled at the older EA students who were practicing around buoys in their FJ’s for an upcoming regatta. We could tell many of them were envious. As we went from boat to boat the kids each took a turn giving us their best pose or goofy look, each one trying to outdo the other.

Eventually the kids came in and switched boats from keelboat to dinghy and vice versa after a very short break. During this second sail, I radioed the coaches and volunteers to come in. I had received another call from Coach Henry who now informed me that I had better get the kids back a bit early as some streets near the school were being closed due to protesting!  We could not imagine, nor believe, that some adults were behaving like impetuous, petulant teenagers!  God, help us!!

While I hastened the boats back to the dock, it was difficult to organize the group to leave. They needed to get a group photo (several really, with different poses and funny looks) and were chatting up their coaches and my staff. The mood and the voices were boisterous, giddy and loud; like kids. Before they left, 22 out of the 27 signed up as being interested to join the sailing team!

While I do not know what they went home to, I do know that while they were here, for those brief moments on the water, they were at peace. And not just them, all the staff and volunteers became one group, united for a purpose and connected by the water and the sport of sailing.

That is what we do at Treasure Island Sailing Club! And, while I still have a difficult time describing how sailing has affected my own life, I can tell you it has, it does, and so long as I’m in this position and likely still breathing, it will! I hope in some small way that day that it affected these kids, too. I think it did!”

If you would like to learn more about or support Treasure Island Sailing Center on San Francisco Bay, visit http://www.tisailing.org.   Thanks for contribution from Travis Lund and Scuttlebutt.

Mystic Seaport Museum- America & Sea Award video

(Mystic, CT)- Mystic Seaport Marine Museum’s “American & The Sea Award” that was awarded to J/Boats’ co-founders (Bob & Rod Johnstone) has been produced as a beautiful HD video presentation.  You can watch the YouTube video here.

Presented annually by Mystic Seaport since 2006, the "America & The Sea Award" recognizes an individual or organization whose contributions to the history, arts, business or sciences of the sea best exemplify the American spirit and character.

Mystic Seaport presented its prestigious award to the brother’s Johnstone on Saturday, October 22 at a gala black-tie dinner held in their honor at the Museum. The gala was the first and only dinner held in the Collins Gallery in the new Thompson Exhibition Building, prior to its on-going use to display upcoming marine exhibits.

“Over the past 39 years, the Johnstone family and their company have influenced American yachting and sport of sailing in incomparable ways. They have established a record of accomplishment that few will ever challenge, and they have instilled in countless Americans a passion for enjoying time on the water with family and good friends aboard good boats,” said Steve White, President of Mystic Seaport. “For these reasons and many more, Mystic Seaport is proud to bestow its America & The Sea Award to Bob and Rod Johnstone – co-founders of J/Boats.”  Learn more about J/Boats here.   Learn more about Mystic Seaport Museum "America and the Sea Award" here.

Stadium Sailing: Re-defining Sailboat Racing

(Grosse Pointe, MI)- Sailmaking professional and Grosse Point Yacht Club Sailing Director Wally Cross shares his plan for changing the way we view the sport of sailing.  Wally has been coordinating with Ben Klatzka, founder of the Premiere Sailing League USA, to help jump-start broad-based participation in one-design keelboat racing for Corinthian yacht club members.  This past fall, Grosse Pointe YC co-hosted their first “test event” for the “college-style” sailing league program using their fleet of J/70 class sailboats; all participants considered it an enormous success.  Here is Wally’s commentary on what he considers to be THE evolution of sailboat racing for kids, parents, families and friends.

“Ben and I have been discussing this concept of sailing in front of sailing clubs for two years. His business is the Premier Sailing League. His goal is to provide boats around the country in specific yachting venues, and create live entertainment in a ‘stadium sailing’ environment that has never been realized for the sport in America. The goal is to have regional yacht club challenges and eventually crown a national champion.

This past September, we decided to try a stadium sailing concept event at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. We had ten J/70’s from the Detroit area divided into four divisions; the goal was a four-hour schedule with a total of 18 races. Each team sailed during half the schedule to complete their nine races, splitting time on the water with time ashore spectating. On the dock, we had a grill and bar set up for spectators and participants (a very popular place to be!).

With so many demands on our time with family, work and competing sports, it is my belief that our passion for any sport can only be justified for a shorter period of time than what it takes to do the conventional sailboat race.

I always thought 18 holes of golf would be the maximum time we could set aside for a sport, yet even with that four to five hour time frame, golf is struggling with participation rates due to the various elements required to play; their challenges are similar to sailing- total travel time, actual play time, and the cost involved.

Stadium sailing is set up to be a four-hour experience, yet participate for half that time.  More importantly, the stadium-style event creates a far better ratio of actual sailing/ racing time to your total hours invested!  Compare that to the normal day of racing from your home yacht club or on the road for a travel event! That is one of the key goals – to maximize actual racing time relative to the entire time devoted to sailing for a given day or weekend.

The sailors are the ‘actors’ on the water and, then, the ‘ambassadors’ on land. We asked the participants to mix in with the audience to explain what is happening on the water, so there is a natural synergy that evolves both onshore and on the water. Coincidentally, this interaction naturally helps grow the sport! It is a byproduct of the stadium concept that fosters more participation for a sport that has been challenged to grow!

To sail the 18 races, each race had to be between 11 and 13 minutes. There is no down time and practicing is not allowed. Once the first flight completed the three races, the next group had to be ready to go without any gap in time, thus helping to maximize the actual race time for the sailors.

The course had three movable buoys that provided a windward-leeward course. The start, finish and leeward gate are all the same. The race is four legs and each leg is less than four minutes. The starting sequence is a 3-minute control box on shore (just like college racing) and a judge for the line sits in a RIB with a loudhailer.  We also followed the boats and whistled/ flagged the teams for any fouls. The penalty was a 360-degree turn or a last place finish for that race.  Fouling was not an option if you wanted to do well!

This style of sailing places a premium on quick tactical decisions and boat-handling skills and, consequently, focuses participants on rapidly improving their game!

The sailors faced many more strategic/ tactical situations in one day, than they would in a traditional 2-3 race day regatta!  The goal was to make racing quick, easy and decisive, so you provide instant gratification for all competitors and virtually continuous action for the spectators.

In order to run 18 races in four hours, the marks had to move a lot. The wind speed and direction directly affect the time the fleet takes to sail the course, so the marks have to adjust fast!  Based on the first lap time, the windward mark was either increased or decreased in distance.

To facilitate mark movement, Grosse Point YC is working with a buoy manufacturer that expects to produce a motorized mark that can be controlled with a smart phone. The mark will lock into a GPS setting, unless changed by the ‘course manager.’ On top of each buoy will be a Go-Pro style video camera that can wirelessly transmit images back to the sailing center. As a result, one person can adjust the course constantly for wind direction and speed; the goal is to keep the time close to 11 minutes and the course true to the wind.

We have plans for three events next summer with each event concluding with awards, but at the end of the three event series we will have a grand prize that will be awarded to the top three overall finishers. All the awards will be items the sailors can use to improve their performance.  Here is GPYC’s 2017 sailing league schedule:

• May 20 – concurrent with Great Lakes Boating Festival
• June 24 – concurrent with Great Lakes USODA Optimist Regatta
• September 16 – Grand Championship Finals

We plan to sell sponsor branding on the moving marks, along the sailing wall (the pier in front of the club), on our new sailing center (located on-the-water), and on the asymmetrical spinnakers.  As the concept takes off, we anticipate strong sponsorship interest as well as significant growth in spectator attendance.

It is important to note that sponsors will get VIP treatment for seating and food/beverage service. The GPYC’s sailing center will allow spectators to watch the racing from a balcony looking over the water and race course area (just 50 yards away!), plus we plan to add bleacher seating for better viewing.”

To learn more about Grosse Pointe YC’s sailing league plans for 2017, please contact Wally Cross at phone# 313-640-7014 or email- gpycsailing@gpyc.org.  And, for Premiere Sailing League USA information, contact Ben Klatzka at phone# 617-480-8775 or email- benjaminklatzka@hotmail.com.

Hamble Winter Series Penultimate Report

(Hamble, Great Britain)- Despite awaking to biblical rain showers, and the best efforts of winter Storm Angus to obliterate the proceedings on the infamous Solent, the braver souls in the Hamble Winter Series fleet ventured forth onto the high seas and were rewarded with truly champagne sailing!

The HRSC PRO and regatta management team were quietly confident that the high winds seen the night before would moderate in time and, true to form, the wind dropped to a west to northwesterly of 10 knots by the end of the day's racing – leading much of the fleet to do hurried headsail changes before the final beat!

It was a cold day on the Solent and kudos to the race volunteers who braved the chill in RIBS and committee boats to run some great racing.  Moreover, the racing was certainly close!

In IRC 2 class, the suspense and anxiety are arising to epic proportions.  In the last race, Simon Perry’s J/109 JIRAFFE won with their principal competitor, the Elan 37 ELAIINE, posting a 4th place.  That means Perry’s JIRAFFE is just two points astray of winning the overall Winter Series title for IRC 2!  The second J/109 continues to be Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN and the third is Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN.

With one race left to sail, it is Robin Stevenson's J/92S UPSTART that leads the class by 2.5 points, having given up one more point over the weekend on their lead by finishing 4th (a counter).  Fellow J/92 sailor David Greenhalgh knocked it out of the park on J’RONIMO, winning the 12th race handily over their enormous fleet to hang on to 4th overall.  Now in 5th place is Annie & Andy Howe’s J/97E BLACKJACK II, just 3.5 pts back.

In the J/88 class it was Kirsty & David Apthorp’s crew on J-DREAM that won Sunday's race, finishing comfortably ahead of Gavin Howe's TIGRIS and Richard Cooper's JONGLEUR. That leaves J-DREAM six points clear of second overall, Paul Ward's EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, themselves one point clear of TIGRIS.  Rounding out the top five, Tim Tolcher’s RAGING BULL is fourth, just 2.5 pts clear of Paul & Marie-Claude Heys’ JENGA in fifth place.

Crews could not believe their luck and swapped tall tales of floods and gales once back ashore for the prize-giving at HRSC, supported this week by the J/88 class, which supplied bottles of champagne to day prize winners. Special prizes this week went to the J/88 JONGLEUR for the best start of the day.
Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ pwpictures.com and Hamo Thornycroft  For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information