J's Racing Solo Offshore English Series

J/122s and J/105 Lead First Event!

(Hamble, England)- Irish skipper Paddy Cronin sailing Rod Knowles's J/105 JULIETTE won the out and return races respectively with port hoist spinnakers the whole way from Solent to Poole and a beat from start to finish on the return to be leading IRC2 Class.  In fact, JULIETTE won the IRC Overall in the Solent to Poole leg. 

Seemingly becoming another top choice of short-handed sailors is the J/122.  The near-winner of last years 2009 OSTAR, Rob Craigie's J/122 JBELLINO, was first boat to finish on both legs, setting the pace and beating out a well-sailed open Class 40 called Sunguard Front Arena both times.  JBELLINO garnered a 1-1 score to be leading IRC1 Class and just behind her is David Cule's J/122 MINT JULIP with a 2-3 tally to be second in IRC1.

The Coastal series is a brand new event for the Solo Offshore Racing Club and the first two races to Poole to Solent and back were specifically designed to attract new skippers and give the more experienced shorter races to hone their techniques early in the season.

Nineteen spinnakers set off from Royal Thames towards Poole at 0830 on Saturday 8 May in an eight knot northeasterly breeze. Most of the fleet took the North Channel and rhumb line straight to the finish off Poole, a shy reach only easing for the last mile. The tighter angle from Hurst to the finishing line suited the asymmetric boats, especially Cronin's J/105 JULIETTE and the two J/122s, JBELLINO and MINT JULIP.

Tides meant a welcome late start at 1130 on Sunday into ten knots northeasterly for the return beat to windward.  At the start, the majority of the fleet struggled to cross the line on starboard. Tidal atlas said less tide inshore so some boats went up the shore, but the main fleet was tacking up the rhumb line.  About half way up to Hurst the wind backed for quite some time which lifted the boats further offshore on to a lay line for Hurst and meant the inshore boats had to free off.  Through Hurst Castle "straits" the two J/122s were in the top three and when the wind increased to 14+ knots Rob Craigie's JBELLINO powered ahead and took line honors again as she did Saturday.  Their next race is to Weymouth and back 9 & 11 July.    For more Solo Offshore Racing information  

J's Dominate Edlu Distance Race

J/133 SIREN SONG and J/122 PATRIOT Crush Fleet

(Larchmont, NY)- It was a not the best of forecasts for this past weekend's Edlu Distance Race on Long Island Sound.  Cool temperatures, rain, fog, clearing then blowing a gale.  Not your typical glam day on the Sound.  Nevertheless, the forecast didn't deter the enthusiastic fleet from getting out to the starting line early in fog and rain to get down the track in this 64 mile race.  At it turns out, the fleet was severely tested when the forecasters were right (for once) and the weather magically transformed into a 30-40 knot gale with plenty of sun and spray-- "jumping condo's on Long Island  Sound" with single/double-reefed mains and small jibs?  It really did turn into a glam day, a challenging one at that!

In IRC1, the J/133s dominated their class, taking 1-2-3 overall.  First was Tom Carroll's well-sailed SIREN SONG, followed by Ron Richman's ANTIDOTE and Jan Smeets' BACCHANAL. These three boats were virtually unstoppable as they powered to windward in the big breeze and waves to punish the rest of their competitors.

In the Double-handed PHRF class, Sandy Weill's J/122 PATRIOT won in pretty convincing fashion in the blustery conditions.  Just behind him were two J/105s, Kevin Grainger's GUMPTION3 in third and Peter Rugg's beautiful green JADED in fourth- both managed to beat home a lot of larger boats.  Both sailboats, the J/105 and the J/122 are proving to be hard sailboats to beat when racing short-handed-- as sailors in the UK and Europe learned a long time ago sailing various J's offshore, the forgiving nature of their hull shapes and the fact that you can sail them "in the groove" longer than most sailboats means you're always going fast no matter what the conditions on all points of sail- uphill or downhill.

The 55th edition of the Edlu Race has a history of adopting to the times.  As Rick Lyall, owner of the J/109 STORM said last year, "it's our first big event.  The Edlu is a short distance race of approximately 32 miles from Larchmont to 11B north of Eatons Neck and back, and does not require the intense crew work of around-the-buoys regattas. It's just the right length for a fun day on the water." To further develop the race, many sailors wanted to include double-handed racing.  Rich du Moulin said, "double-handed racing is growing in popularity. When the U.S went into IRC, we convinced the IRC leaders to allow an owner to hold two certificates at one time on the same IRC boat with the second certificate dedicated to double-handed racing. On my boat, that certificate can only be used for double-handing. The rating is based on a smaller jib and that makes the boat easier to handle. One of our goals is to encourage people to come out and race whether they want to double-hand or sail fully crewed, or go back and forth between the two as I do."  Yet another good idea for expanding participation in the sport of sailing.   For more Edlu Race information     For more photos of the race- Alan Clark-Photoboat.com  Photo credits above:  Howie McMichael   

J/80 UK National Championship

Ian Atkins' BOATS.COM Triumphant

(Cardiff, Wales, UK)-  The Tacktick Suunto J/80 UK National Championship was hosted by the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club and was presided over by PRO David Cairncross. The fleet were greeted by more breeze on Saturday morning than they had enjoyed over the previous two days of the Championship; a blustery 15 to 23 knots blowing from the cold North East. Going in to the final day only seven points separated the top three at the Championship; BOATS.COM, ELLE S'APPELLE and PURPLE HAZE.

Race Seven was won by JUST DO IT, helmed by Terry Palmer. Having mastered their downwind big breeze sailing at the Spi Ouest Regatta at Easter (alongside 92 other J/80s) the JUST DO IT squad had been hoping for something a little more fruity than on the previous two days, and were duly rewarded. Tom Phipps and Kelvin Matthews sailing for the British Keelboat Academy finished second and Ian Atkins took third place in BOATS.COM.

Having had a couple of frustrating days at the Championship, Kelvin Matthews, sailing with Tom Phipps for the British Keelboat Academy, went on the record on Friday when he said 'We've not yet put in our best performance at this event'. Delighting in the heavier breeze, British Keelboat Academy duly went out on Saturday morning and nailed the second race, Race Eight of the series. In second place was STEP TOE (one of the four boats entered by the charity Toe in The Water) and Ian Atkins settled for a safe third, enough to win him and his team from BOATS.COM the Tacktick Suunto J/80 UK National Championship with a race to spare. Nice one all; Ian Atkins on Helm, Rob Lark on Tactics, Dan Brown on Trim and Karen Schwerdt on 'Pit and making everything happen'.  The final race of the championship, Race Nine, was also won by BOATS.COM; a fitting finish to a consistent and impressive campaign.  The final results saw Ian Atkins team on BOATS.COM sailing to only sixteen points, followed by Thor Askeland's ELLE S'APPELLE with twenty five points and lying third was Scott Cole sailing PURPLE HAZE just eight points back.

It was heartwarming to see the teams sailing for TOE IN THE WATER charity do so well, with three of the four teams finishing in the top ten.  The TITW charity aims to encourage and rehabilitate injured servicemen and women through the sport of sailing.  The "top Toe" was STEP TOE in sixth, followed by LITTLE TOE in eighth and TIP TOE in ninth-- good show there gang!   For J/80 UK Nationals info      Photo credits- Tim Wright  

Royal Thames YC's Cumberland Cup Race J/80s

(London, England) The international battle for the honour of winning the world's oldest yachting trophy - dating back to 1775 and established some 76 years before the America's Cup - will be hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club on May 12-16.  The Cumberland Cup is the UK's only regularly-held international two-boat team racing event in keelboats, and the only event to take place in the capital-- sailing on J/80s!  Team racing with four boats, two-on-two, makes for some spectacular  sailing-- last place loses!

This year the event is supported by the Royal Thames Yacht Club corporate partner, the luxury Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet, and has attracted entries from clubs as far afield as Australia, Germany, Ireland, Monaco, New Zealand, USA as well as the UK.

Held every two years, the 2010 race takes place at Queen Mary Sailing Club, which is situated on one of London's largest reservoirs, conveniently close to London's Heathrow Airport for the arrival of the international crews.

The eight teams - representing the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Western Australia; a combined Norddeutsche Regatta Verein & Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee representing Germany; Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club of New Zealand; Royal St George Yacht Club, Ireland; Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans, USA; Yacht Club de Monaco, as well as a team from the host club, Royal Thames Yacht Club - will battle for the honour of winning the Cumberland Cup in the Royal Thames Yacht Club's fleet of identical J/80 One-Design sailboats- Europe's fastest growing one-design keelboat.

The Cumberland Cup was established in 1775 when the Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III, put up a silver cup for a race on the River Thames and formed the Cumberland Fleet.  This remains the alternative name for the Royal Thames Yacht Club, which is based at Knightsbridge.  For more Cumberland Cup sailing / regatta information  

Gorgeous Sailing World Seattle NOOD Regatta!

J/24, J/105 & J/109 One-Designs Racing

Organizers of the third annual Seattle NOOD regatta are hoping this year's event differs from last year's in one key way - more wind. Last year's National Offshore One-Design Regatta (NOOD) in Seattle was hampered by light winds over three days of racing, prompting some races to be canceled. This year's  NOOD is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, May 14 to 16, on Shilshole Bay. "I'm praying for more wind than what we had last year", regatta chief George Brengle said on Monday. "I'm looking at the forecast and it looks like a carbon copy of last year's".

Northwest racers, familiar with the regions variable conditions, simply take it all in stride.  As many of them say, "if it ain't happenin' on the water, there's always the beer tent-- why do you think we have the world's best micro-breweries?!"  Enough said.  J/24s area gearing up for their North American Championships next week at Seattle's Corinthian YC.  A strong contingent of experienced J/24 sailors have assembled to sail their J/24 Western Regional Championship.  Amongst the teams sailing are Mike Whitfield on TMC RACING from San Francisco, CA, Scott Milne from Seattle, WA on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH, and Pat Toole on THREE BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara, CA.  It's already clear who'll win the Long-Distance Award, Hidetuki Miyagawa from the Wakayama Sailing Club in Wakayama, Japan-- they're taking this regatta seriously!  Other J One-Design classes have a good turnout, including seven J/105s and six J/109s.   For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta info.  Photo credit- Tim Wilkes.  

BoatUS Santa Maria Cup Preview- Girls Rule!

(Eastport, MD)- Eastport Yacht Club and BoatUS will host a slate of the world-class female sailors on June 2-5 in Annapolis, Maryland, at the 2010 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup racing aboard the local fleet of matched J/22s. The roster is comprised of many of the top-ranked international skippers, including three teams representing France, four teams from the USA, two Brazilian entries and a Canadian team. All competitors are campaigning for spots on 2012 Olympic teams and the BoatUS Santa Maria Cup is part of the training and ranking process.  For more Santa Maria Cup sailing information.

Team captains and their home country are:
- Claire Leroy (France): Ranked 1st in the world and defending champion and two-time match racing World Champion (2007 and 2008).
- Anne-Claire Le Berre (France): Ranked 6th in the world.
- Julie Bossard (France): Ranked 7th in the world.
- Anna Tunnicliffe (USA): Ranked 10th in the world, Tunnicliffe is an Olympic gold medalist (Beijing 2008) and 2009 International Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year
- Genny Tulloch (USA): Ranked 14th in the world and three-time collegiate all-American, Tulloch was selected in 2007 as the only female team member of MORNING LIGHT, the boat featured in the Roy Disney sponsored documentary film.
- Sally Barkow (USA): Ranked 17th in the world and an Olympian (Beijing 2008), Barkow is past Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and three-time winner of the BoatUS Santa Maria Cup.
- Juliana Senfft (Brazil): Ranked 25th in the world.
- Maegan Ruhlman (USA): Ranked 60th in the world and winner of the 2010 Sundance Cup, Ruhlman is a local 'Naptown favorite.
- Sarah Bury (Canada): Ranked 68th in the world.
- Raquelhora Aimone (Brazil): Ranked 79th in the world.  

Bermuda Race Week- High School J/24 Team

* Lance Fraser - Bermuda J/24 sailor, aspiring 16 year old racer still in high school, wrote an entertaining blog during Bermuda Race Week (note to Ken Read- he wants to race on PUMA!):

"We went into the week with a goal of top 3, but after the first day, we realized we could win the J/24 fleet.  Everything had fallen into place leading up to Race Week and we couldn’t wait to start sailing Sunday morning.

Thanks to RBYC, RHADC and BJCA our entry fee was covered as we are a group of students, all 16 years of age. Trevor Boyce (New Wave) lent us some sails and Jorge Chiapparro helped us get spoRHADiC race- ready.

Day one started with a bang. Erin (Tim Lynch) had an amazing first upwind leg and took a huge lead around the first mark. We passed them on the next upwind leg and continued to duke it out right until the finish with only a couple of feet between us, with Erin coming out on top. It was a tough loss for us.

The second race was also very close as we finished in second just ahead of Erin. We ended the day tied for 1st place with 4 points.

Monday was tougher and we ended the day with a 2nd, 3rd, and a 7th leaving us in second place. In the last race we had our only horrible start and could not recover. This is evidence of the top-rate competition we faced throughout the week; one mistake and you’re out of it. Our crew work and chemistry was great - when we were doing well; but when we got 7th there were a lot of unhappy people onboard, including myself.  It was a long sail back to the club.

One tends to forget about Trevor Boyce, Bermuda’s top J/24 sailor, when he’s not dominant. When I was asked how Trevor did on the second day, I responded, “not that good. He didn’t have a good day, again.’ Well, looking at the results, he got a 1st, 3rd, and 4th. I would happily have traded my results with his that day! And day three he returned with 3 bullets! He was unbeatable and I have to give him and his crew credit for working very hard and going incredibly fast in the heavier wind. We just couldn’t keep up. A 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, were good enough to keep us in the hunt going into the lay day.

On Wednesday we had to go to school and there were a lot of people rubbing it in our faces Tuesday night at the party.

Thursday we came back rested and ready to go. The first race we took 2nd to Trevor, which was not quite what we wanted. We were also protested by the Canadian boat. Thanks to the advice received from seasoned Bermudians in other fleets and the fact that we were right, we came out of the protest victorious and kept the 2nd. The second race of the day was the biggest eye sore of our entire week. We went around the first leeward mark in first, and the next mark in last! I had tried to cover the entire fleet and of course, it didn’t work. I got caught in the middle and watched everyone sail by me. I was not at all happy with myself when we finished in 7th and I had only myself to blame. We rebounded in the next race with a convincing bullet, our first of race week, which provided a big boost for us mentally. We had led four of the first five races at one point or another and until now had not yet finished first.

That put us tied for second, 3 points out of first. With Trevor 3 points ahead of us, and the wind blowing about 15 knots, it was not easy to come back. Unfortunately, Tim Lynch (Erin) was unable to skipper the final day and was replaced by Rickki Hornet. I knew I had to put a boat between us and Trevor in both of the last two races to win the regatta. In the first race I had Trevor beaten, but there was no other boat between us. I also couldn’t let Erin pass us.  I gambled and let Trevor go to the right, and myself to the ‘Lucky Left.’  Not so lucky this time.  Trevor passed us and we settled for a third in the race and second in the regatta.

Going into the final race, we had 1 point on Erin, and New Wave had deservedly won the regatta. We had a little fun on the downwind with Erin, securing 2nd place in the regatta, a finish with which we were extremely pleased.

There are so many people to thank for putting this regatta together. Jay Hooper and his team ran a fabulous regatta on the water. Of all the race committee’s I’ve seen locally and internationally, Jay runs the best; Race Week was no different.

In addition to those already mentioned, I wish to thank our coach Luis Chiapparro, who sadly is no longer on the island, for teaching us how to sail and race. He was the biggest and best role model for me, and there’s no way I would be where I am today without him.  Also, full credit is due my crew, James Anfossi, Jason and Jordan Saints and Catalina Sposato.

Whoever picked up our spinnaker pole out of the water in the last race, THANK YOU, too!"  Read more about Bermuda Race Week events.  

J/80 SW NOOD Champion- Terry Flynn Interview

* Terry Flynn- a past J/80 World Champion had a great time in the recent SW Annapolis NOOD Regatta, in particular since he had long-time Texas friend Mark Foster sailing with him (a former 470 Champion with Mark Ploch and J/24 Champion, too).  Sailing World's Mike Lovett interviewed Terry, read on below:

With a first-time crew, Terry Flynn won the J/80 class—and the overall prize—at the 2010 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.  As the J/80 freight train rolls northward on its USA Tour, bound for the World Championships in Newport, R.I., in October, the class just keeps picking up steam. The 36-boat fleet at the 2010 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD was the largest of the regatta's 16 divisions, and, arguably, the most competitive.

Over the course of eight races, four boats posted first-place finishes; Houston native Terry Flynn had just one bullet in his scoreline, but his team sailed with enough consistency to win both the division and the overall prize, which includes an invitation to compete in the NOOD Championship in the B.V.I. in November.

The Annapolis NOOD was the first time Flynn had sailed with his crew of David Whelan, Mark Foster, and Charlie Snyder, but the Quantum sailmaker had no trouble getting everyone on the same page. "Too many times, when it's your first time sailing together as a crew, everybody's real quiet the first race of the regatta, and you do terrible," says Flynn. "We made an effort to say, 'You start giving input, and if we don't want to hear it, we'll tell you."

With Foster and Snyder feeding information to Whelan, the tactician, Flynn was able to concentrate on steering the boat through the light wind and mixed-up chop on Chesapeake Bay. "I didn't do anything but drive," he says. "I put my head down, concentrated on keeping the boat moving, and listened to what they wanted me to do. I very rarely got involved in the tactical end of things. I'm pretty good at listening, and they're pretty good a putting me where we need to be.

"It's important for everyone on board to give feedback," continues Flynn. "I've been on boats where the tactician doesn't really share the information, he just kind of tells the skipper when to tack. But I think it's important that the skipper know the thought process. That way, it's not like, 'Why are we doing this?'"

Refined communication, uncharacteristically good starts—"I historically have terrible starts," says Flynn—and close attention to changes in wind speed propelled Flynn's team to victory. And, apparently, word is spreading that the affable Texan is a fun guy with whom to sail. "I've already had a few people come up and tell me they want to go to the B.V.I. to crew with me," he says.

Between now and November, Flynn will be competing in the J/80 North American Championships, the aforementioned Worlds, and the J/22 North American Championship. So there's a good chance that, by the time he hops aboard that Sunsail 39 in Tortola, Flynn could have a few more feathers in his cap—and a few more eager crew members.   More SW NOOD Regatta coverage.  

J/24 Champion Ed Baird Skippering LUNA ROSSA

* Ed Baird - Back on the helm with LUNA ROSSA for AC34? Like the Ken Read's, Terry Hutchinson's, Chris Larson's, Dave Curtis', Maurizio Santa Cruz's of the world, winning the World Championship in a one-design class like the J/24 is terrific training for sailors wishing to succeed at world-class levels offshore and around the cans.  There is NO substitute for starting with world-class one-design dinghy sailing, then jumping into world-class one-design keelboat sailing to learn what it takes to prepare boats, fine-tune the sails, practice perfect boat-handling and motivate the crew to work as a cohesive team with the ultimate goal in mind of sailing to win.  Few practicioners know how to do it well consistently.  Ben Ainslie comes to mind as a good example of a next generation sailor that is learning the art and science of it quite well.  Amongst the "old guard", Ed Baird is certainly amongst the best.  Ed was at the helm when the Alinghi team won the 32nd America's Cup in 2007, which led to him being honored that year as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Last week it was announced that the Italian fashion house PRADA was returning to the America's Cup scene, where team owner Patrizio Bertelli - a three-time America's Cup campaigner - had reassembled the LUNA ROSSA team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in La Maddalena, Sardinia next month.  Read more about Ed's interview and current sailing plans on Scuttlebutt.  

J/133 Wins Singlehanded Guadalupe Island Race

(Marina del Rey, CA)- Gil Maguire sailed his J/133 TENACITY singlehanded on the 600 mile Guadalupe Island Race.  Here is a good long look at one man's perspective on some shorthanded offshore racing...

"The Guadalupe Island Race is run every other year in late March by the Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association, and has both single and doublehanded classes. The race is about 600 miles long and goes from Marina del Rey, past Catalina Island, past San Clemente Island, 300 miles due south to and around Mexico’s Guadalupe Island which is about 125 miles west of the Baja peninsula, and then back, 300 miles uphill, slogging to windward, to the finish line at Catalina Harbor on Catalina Island. Guadalupe Island is about 22 miles long and quite high (4500 feet or so). It is known for its elephant seal colonies and as a breeding ground for great white sharks. Most of the great white footage you see on TV is shot off of Guadalupe’s eastern shore.

The race is mostly outside the protection of the Southern California bight so it can get very windy with gales and very large seas not unusual at this time of the year. So you can have a great run down to the island but a brutal beat back. Unlike the other, longer Mexico races, the Guadalupe Island race requires participants to race back, against the wind and swells. To that extent, it is a more complete test of a boat and its crew’s seamanship skills, requiring vessels and crews to demonstrate their ability to windward as well as their downwind sled capabilities. While the slog back can be uncomfortable, it is tactically and physically challenging and has the advantage of finishing the race at or near one’s home port without the need to feed and house crew in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta, or pay for a delivery crew to get the boat home, often several weeks later.

I tried to do the race singlehanded two years ago in Tenacity, our J/133, but had to drop out when I lost my autopilot and electronics about halfway down to the island. I was looking forward to doing it this year before my advancing age began to take a bigger toll."  Read more about Gil's sailing experience on Sailing Anarchy.