Key West- Day Two

Gorgeous Bombay Sapphire Water Colors 
(Key West, FL)- It's not often that you sail in Key West Race Week and experience an equally spectacular second day in a row.  The forecasters for the first time in years seemed to have gotten the first two days of wind/weather conditions right.  Today's sailing was again postcard conditions- sunny, puffy white clouds scudding across the sky, simply spectacular "bombay sapphire blue waters", ESE winds blowing just 10 to 14 knots steady, with mildly oscillating-persistent shifts moving further SE all day long.

In a replay of the first day of racing, there were enough holes in the wind and shifts to both the right and left that no one single "formula" carried the day tactically.  In fact,  depending on the upwind and downwind legs, you could go left or right and make significant gains.  What was prevalent were enormous wind streaks, if you could hook into them downwind, the gains were significant.  Upwind it was a bit of a casino, or perhaps "Russian Roulette" for some boats.

Perhaps the best thing that took place for the fleet was that the two-race per day program starting an hour later than in the past was tossed out the window.  After giving up a chance to have three races in superb conditions on Monday, the decision was made to start the fleet an hour earlier (the old time) and get in three races.  Good call!  All three courses got in three very good races and the fleet was still in by 1630 hours.

For the J/80s, it was incredibly tight racing with numerous position changes as they sought to divine the what the wind Gods were throwing at them during the course of the day.  Rising to the challenge was the Glenn Darden/ Reese Hillard team on LE TIGRE, knocking out a strong 1-3-1 to be leading the fleet with only eight points!  Sailing strongly are the SAIL Best Around Buoys Team, Ryan Glaze and the Scott's from the famous lake yacht club, Rush Crush YC, in Dallas, Texas.  Their 6-7-2 has kept them in contention for 20 points overall, but they have five teams breathing down their backs only three points behind them, collectively.  Lying third is Mikael Lindqvist on ROCAD RACING from Sweden, his steady 4-4-6 kept them in contention for a total of 23 points.  Fourth and fifth are tied with Chris and Liz Chadwick on CHURCH KEY leading the tie-break with a 2-2-5 record today for 26 pts and Ron Buzil on VAYU 2 with a 5-5-7 for 26 pts.  Lurking just behind them are two very strong teams, including John Storck Jr on RUMOR in 6th with 27 pts and Brian Keane on SAVASANA with 30 pts.

In the PHRF One Division, the competition continues to heat up amongst the leaders.  Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK continues to lead the fleet with a 3-3-1 for ten points.  However, the winner of the day was Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH with an excellent showing of 2-1-2 for a total of fifteen points to climb into third position.  Just behind in fourth with a 6-4-4 is Paul Stahlberg's J/111 MENTAL for a total of nineteen points.  Fifth is Doug Curtiss' J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a steady 5-5-5 for twenty-three points total.

Within the J/Division, TEAMWORK is leading with seven points.  Sweetser's RUSH leapt into second place after today's excellent showing for a total of twelve points. Stahlberg's MENTAL is third with fifteen points, Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 is fourth and Gary Weisberg's J/109 HEAT WAVE is fifth with twenty-six points.

In the PHRF Two Division, Gerrit Schulze sailed strongly on the J/105 MAX POWER to stay in the top five, a 5-4-4 fourth place.  Ed Palm's J/95 STILL CRAZY is hanging in for sixth place and Dave Whealon's J/80 BOND---JAMES BOND are enjoying themselves and hanging in the top ten.

Making up for some of their magic they've showed in past Key West weeks, Jim Bishop and crew on the IRC Modified J/44 WHITE GOLD got a second in the second race of the day and are in a horse race for second place, just four points out.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- http://www.timwilkes.com

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com

J/27 Lake Ontario Championships!

* J/27 Lake Ontario Championships on August 11-12!  If you've got a classic fast & fun J/27 (or wanna get one), then be sure to consider sailing in the J/27 Lake Ontario's!  The Oakville Yacht Squadron (www.oysqn.com) will be hosting the J/27 Lake Ontario Championship Regatta as part of it's annual Mercedes-Benz Oakville Regatta this coming August 11th & 12th, 2012.

In attendance will be the four local J/27s, plus they are expecting between 4 to 6 other boats from the rest of the Lake Ontario/Fleet.

If there are any boats still out there who have an interest in attending, and have any questions or need any assistance, please drop an e-Mail to J/27 Ontario Class Guru- Andrew Riem- email- andrew_riem@hotmail.com

J/30 Class Continues Healthy Growth

* The J/30 Class continues its healthy growth over the past few years.  Credit the "Bill & Dave Show" for making it happen, keeping the J/30 gang organized, having fun and, most importantly, keeping it all in perspective.  Apparently 75 "official class members" agree!  Wonderful stuff.  It's also a model for ANY J/Class organization to keep their members involved, informed and enjoying what you love to do the most-- "simply messing around in boats" and sharing it with family and friends (sure helps that they're fun boats to sail, too!).  Here are some excerpts from Bill & Dave's 2012 New Year's Welcome message to the J/30 Class:

"The word 'camaraderie' means: Mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together.  We are very proud of our class as we have developed a sailing leadership image over the years. We have overcome our differences of opinions through various levels of diverse thinking. Across the nation, we have developed a lot of lifelong friends in our class. We are thankful to have the best people with a focus of family.  With a goal to keep the costs of our sport low, let’s work together to produce a class built on the basic foundations of sportsmanship and camaraderie. We are like a softball league on water. As the economic times improve and the new sailing season begins, give yourself a pat on the back for creating a world in which we compete, laugh, collaborate and succeed on and off of the water.

After reading Nicholas Hayes book Saving Sailing, it's clear that we need more families sailing together. Let’s host more junior regattas and act as mentors to younger sailors.  The J/30 is a perfect boat to help Save Sailing."

Perhaps one of the best things a class can do is provide "recognition awards" for how various individuals contribute to the "cause".  This year's J/30 President's Recognition Awards go to:
 - North Americans– David McConaughly- with Hampton based crew aboard WHITE BOAT
 - Newest Member to Finish Top 5 at NAs– Whitney Kent- with TEAM RAFIKI from Milwaukee, WI
 - Media– Molly Winans- for coverage of multiple J/30 events in Spinsheet Magazine.
 - Funniest Video– Bob Rutsch- watch this video- pretty darn amusing.
 - Sailor Recruitment– Vic Farmer- who created a youth sailing program in Naples
 - Training Videos– Vic Farmer – check many of them out on the J/30 forum
 - Innovative Story– Dell Todd – check out his story on the J/30 website
If you would like to recognize a J/30 class member for accomplishment visit this forum thread.

Key West- Day One

Classic, Chamber of Commerce Conditions 
(Key West, FL)- The 25th Edition of Key West Race Week started off with yet another fabulous day of sailing for the 100+ competitors on the three race-courses.  The weekend of practicing before-hand were simply, perfect sailing days, with northerly winds filling in behind a fast disappearing cold front going out over the Bahamas.  The forecast for Monday to Wednesday has been for the northerly winds clocking into the easterly quadrants, ending up SE over 72 hours with winds blowing from 15-22 knots, sunshine and "torn-cotton" puffy white clouds whisking across the horizon.

For Monday's racing across the board, all boats saw wind directions in the 35-40 degree range and slowing moving in an oscillating-persistent shift further east so that most courses saw winds in the 70 degree plus range at the end of the day.

On the Division 1 course, IRC 3 Class has Jim Bishop's modified IRC J/44 WHITE GOLD dueling for class leadership against a very strong boat fleet.  Currently, WHITE GOLD lies in fourth with a 4-3.

The J/80 one-design class has a very competitive nineteen boat class, with a group of Texans leading the pack.  Like last year, the star for the day was past World/ North American / Key West Champion Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard sailing EL TIGRE to a 1-2.  Lying second is the SAIL BAB/ TEAM GRINGO gang from Dallas, Texas, skippered by Ryan Glaze and crew with a 2-3, obviously relishing the 16-22 knot breezes.  Third to sixth are all tied with nine points!  Third is the Swedish Champion team ROCAD RACING with Mikael Lindqvist sailing to an 8-1.  However, it was only a mistake finishing the first race while leading at the time that cost ROCAD RACING double-bullets!  Fourth lies Mike Sudofsky on BOB DYLAN with a 3-6, fifth is Rob Buzil VAYU 2 with a 5-4 and sixth is Brian Keane on SAVASANA with a 4-5.

In the new PHRF/ J-Class Division,  there are many well-sailed boats in the fleet.  On the PHRF Time-on-Distance side of the equation the J's are all at the top of the leader board.  Robin Team's Key West Champion crew on the J/122 TEAMWORK sailed two solid races to earn a well-deserved 2-1 for 3 pts.  Just behind in third  is Paul Stahlberg's J/111 MENTAL with a 3-2, fourth is Doug Curtiss' J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a 4-4 and fifth is past Key West Champion Bill Sweetser on the J/109 RUSH with a 5-5.

In the J-Class Time-on-Time scoring, TEAMWORK is winning with a 1-1, with MENTAL in second with a 2-2, WICKED 2.0 in third with a 3-3, RUSH in fourth with a 4-4 and Mike Kirkman's team from Detroit on their J/120 HOT TICKET in fifth with a 5-5.

The PHRF Two class has a J/105, J/95 and J/80 racing standard Time-on-Distance handicap.  Gerrit Schulze on the J/105 MAX POWER currently lie third in class with a 4-3.  Ed and Justin Palm sailing the J/95 STILL CRAZY are in seventh with a 7-7.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- http://www.timwilkes.com

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com

25th Key West Race Week

Big J/80 Class, Cool New PHRF J/Class
(Key West, FL)- While the world has not seen the best of times, nor the worst of times in the past few years, what has remained a constant, nearly magnetic attraction to the sailing world has ben the annual midwinter pilgrimage to Key West to sail Race Week.  Many top teams from the Americas as well as from Asia and Europe attend the event for a bacchanalian sailing feast for a week in January that most describe as "tropical sailing conditions" in spectacular azure-blue sailing waters around the reefs of the Gulf Stream and the Florida Keys.  Sunsets and the "green flash" are signature events that put an exclamation mark not only on the day's sailing, but usher in evening festivities that perhaps only can be best described as "epic" and "off-the-wall"!  After all, that's what Key West is renowned for down at the bottom (or beginning) of the famous Route 1 roadway that goes from Key West to Easport, Maine.

One of the features of this year's 25th Key West is the very welcomed sponsorship and support from Quantum Sails, whose headquarters in the Great American Midwest belies the subtle, laid back, but competitive approach they have to supporting their sailors, their teams and their customers.  "We recognize that Key West Race Week is the flagship regatta in this country and has been for well over two decades," Quantum President Ed Reynolds said. "This has been reinforced by many people we've spoken with both here and abroad. Even with the smaller fleet sizes of recent years, this midwinter, big-boat regatta is very important to North American and international sailboat racing. We would like to see it continue and are committed to supporting the regatta during this transition period."

SAIL Magazine's Best Around the Buoys competition is another regatta highlight-- a remarkable "award" for the team that qualifies to sail in a supplied boat with sponsors J/BOATS, NORTH SAILS, HARKEN and others.  The aim is to grow sailing at a grass-roots level with both one-design and PHRF competition- growing awareness that sailing can be fun with family and friends.  This year, the SAIL BAB sailors from Dallas, Texas will be racing a J/80 one-design against some of the top teams in the country.

Yet another special feature of this year's 25th Anniversary is the creation of a J/Class.  It's quite a turn-out of some of the top J/Teams that have raced Key West over the past few years.  At the top of the food chain in PHRF 1/ J-Class is the J/122 TEAMWORK- Robin Team from Lexington, NC- these guys have done it all, won Lauderdale-Key West and Key West IRC Class and will always be a team in contention at the end of a week long series like Key West.  A new team from Detroit is the J/120 HOT TICKET sailed by Bob Kirkman from Bayview YC in Detroit, Michigan-- no shrinking violets this crowd is, having beaten all other multiple Chicago/Bayview Mac Champions to the finish line in the 2011 version of the races.  More new faces to the Key West crowd include the J/111 trio, including the J/111 WICKED 2.0 sailed by Doug Curtiss from Buzzards Bay (he sailed his J/124 in Key West last year); the J/111 MENTAL sailed by Paul Stahlberg from Chicago YC (a very fun-loving crew); and the J/111 WARLOCK skippered by Tom Hickey from Newfoundland YC, St John's, NB, Canada (a fast-rising team from near the Arctic Circle and the cool Northwest Passage).  If this fleet wasn't' tough enough, you only need to toss in two well-sailed J/109s, like a past J/109 North American Champion and Key West Champion, Bill Sweetser's RUSH from Annapolis YC in Annapolis, MD; he's accompanied by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA sailing his J/109 HEATWAVE in Key West for the first time.

The J/80s are sailing their J/80 Midwinter Championships, the 19 boat turnout makes them the biggest class for Key West-- quite a remarkable achievement over the course of time!  In addition to the SAIL BAB Team (which must feel like they're getting fed to the sharks), you will find the J/80s led by World Champions like LE TIGRE- Glenn Darden from Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX and Swedish Champion ROCAD RACING sailed by Mikael Lindqvist from KSSS (Royal Swedish YC).  Plus, you have multiple Key West J/105 Champion Brian Keane on SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA and J/80 North American Champions John Storck and family on RUMOR from Storm Trysail Club in New York rounding out the leaders.  Finally, toss in Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO from Fort Worth Boat Club and he's sure to be a factor amongst the leaders so long as he doesn't argue with his boom!

The PHRF 2 Class have ten boats participating. It will be a competitive fleet with two J's flying the flag and leading the fleet home (we hope)- the J/105 MAX POWER sailed by Gerrit Schulze from Cape May, NY and the J/95 STILL CRAZY sailed by Ed Palm from Grosse Pointe, MI and Naples, FL.  For more QUANTUM SAILS Key West Race Week Sailing information

Lauderdale-Key West Race Preview

(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- This perennial winter favorite of offshore sailors always throws the fleet a curveball, no matter how good the forecast looks prior to the start of the race.  One would think a simple 160 nm race from Fort Lauderdale, headed south down the Florida shoreline, keeping that right-turn signal blinking as you make your way around all the reef buoys, staying out of the fast-flowing northbound Gulf Stream, to finish off the Truman Annex Navy Base at Key West would not have too many surprises!  Well, if you know anything about "The Hobart" Race that is, essentially, a coastal race down the Australian shoreline, turn left to cross the Bass Straits (a short hop), then cruise down the Tazzie shoreline to the finish knows better.  Even the most defined race courses in terms of their natural boundaries can throw the fleet massive curve balls.  Such is the case in this year's classic Key West Race Week "feeder event", the Lauderdale to Key West Race sponsored by the Storm Trysail Club and the SORC with help from Lauderdale YC.

The original forecast was for an upwind race only as the wind is predicted to start off from the south and clock around to the southwest and west as both the front and the race progress . "This race is always a Navigator's race and changing weather patterns make it an even greater challenge", says Race Committee Chairman Joel Bowie. 

With nearly 50 entries headed for the starting line, the early starters in the race saw a tough uphill slog into 20-25 knots southerly winds down to Miami Beach/ Key Biscayne and the first major turning point of Fowey Rocks.  But, the front is already dying- as it nearly always does when it hits that massive 85 F degree thermal wall called "the Gulf Stream".  However, with a fast-dissipating front and waning breezes clocking NW, then N, then NE, there was still promise for spectacular moonlit nights of racing under spinnakers, watching the dolphin contrails of phosphorescence criss-crossing your wake and knifing upwards pass your bow in dramatic fashion.  Time will tell.

What is unique about the Lauderdale Race among offshore races is that it's sailed within cell phone range the entire race!  Race competitors are permitted to do just about any type of communicating they want, including updating Facebook pages, Twittering away to any friends worldwide-- enabling them to compete for a prize for "Best On-Water Reporting"!! With technology, the folks living vicariously through these sailors can be along for the ride!

Amongst the J/Sailors that love this annual challenge, you'll find a bunch of tough, but fun-loving, hombres sailing PHRF A.  Leading the pack may be Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK (2011 Lauderdale Race Champion) along with a trio of J/120s- Frank Kern's globe-girdling champion from Detroit, the famous yacht CARINTHIA; fellow Detroiter Bob Kirkman sailing HOT TICKET (yet another Great Lakes Champion tearing up Florida/ Bahamas offshore waters); and Bill Terry's well-traveled TAMPA GIRL.  Lone wolf, but perhaps the toughest of the lot may be David Bond's gang aboard crimson red J/105 LOKI sailing in PHRF B.

An interesting side-note, SAILING WORLD's Stuart Streuli is sailing aboard Robin Team's TEAMWORK- learning how to race, navigate, drink beer, avoid the reefs, avoid the Gulf Stream, employ race-winning strategies while sailing fast-- all at the same time!  Imagine that!  It should be an interesting report at some time in the spring- look for it in Sailing World here- http://www.sailingworld.com.   Sailing photo credits- Imagesbymarco.com and John Payne photos.com   For more Lauderdale Key West Race sailing information.

J/109 University Student Wins "J.O.G." Trophy

* Southampton University Student Wins Prestigious Sailing Trophy- Will McGough (age 22), while studying for his finals in Aeronautical Engineering, also achieved sailing success with JOG (Junior Offshore Group) this year. Will was awarded the “Youth Challenge Trophy” when JOG held its prize-giving recently in Southampton. The prize is awarded to a participant under 25, for sailing ability, commitment to offshore racing and Corinthian spirit.

Will races aboard the J/109 JUST SO with his Mum and Dad, Mary and David McGough. During the summer JUST SO won races from Cowes to Dartmouth and St Peter Port as well as from Cherbourg to Cowes and was second overall in the series. Furthermore she was placed 2nd in JOG’s 60th anniversary regatta in Falmouth.

Will is clearly on a winning streak and he has also found himself a job, albeit he hopes this will not interfere with his sailing in 2012! Mary and David, on the other hand, are looking forward to Will’s pending financial contributions towards JUST SO’s running costs!

Musor's J/130 SCEPTRE Cruising Fast!

* Bob Musor sails his J/130 SCEPTRE just about everywhere on the West Coast of America, from California to Mexico on multiple occasions.  Who can blame him?  Gorgeous sailing, gorgeous waters, dolphins and whales swimming everywhere in the Baja, tasty fishing and so forth.  We wanted to share Bob's Happy New Year note to us:

"Happy New Year!  Stuart et al. I was cleaning out my email and came across this little video of my J/130 SCEPTRE rolling a 44 foot boat during the 2009 Baja Haha cruising race down the coast.  We were about 40 miles off the coast of Baja and about 100 miles NW of Cabo St. Lucas.

As a long time J-Boat owner (32 years and counting), I read your newsletter each week and enjoy watching the evolution of J-Boats and the new group of sailors coming up.

There is more to J-Boats than buoy racing and "Fast Cruising" is certainly among the fun things one can do with a J-Boat.  Best wishes to you and the J/Family in the New Year!

Fair Winds and following seas-  Bob Musor- J130 #25 Sceptre"

Watch the YouTube video here of Bob's fast sailing adventure off Mexico

J/29 Panama City- Celebrating New Years!

* New Year's notes and wishes are always nice to receive, especially when it's a family of J/Sailors enjoying their boat on New Year's Day itself!  I must admit, I'm jealous.  On New Year's Day in Newport, RI we had a gorgeous, but very cool day-- one intrepid cat boat did make it out for a quick tour of Newport Harbor, perhaps fueled we might imagine by some deliciously hot toddies or hot rum ciders!  In this case, we got a cute note from Allen Rives sailing his J/29 in Florida.  Said Allen, "Here we are on our J/29 SUPER DUCK sailing on St. Andrews Bay, Panama City, FL on New Years Day 2012!  Wish you'all were here!  Best Wishes in 2012!"  We love to get these notes and photos, please send more of them to us at "editor@jboats.com".  :)

J-Team's Haul the Silver in Winter Series

J/97 "YACHT OF THE SERIES" & J/80 "SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES"!
(The Solent, Hamble, England)- The GHWS is one of the most hotly fought regatta series in the UK with an entry list that puts it right at the forefront of competitive sailing. There are of course many reasons for this. For starters, it’s an extremely well managed event, run by an experienced and intuitive race management team. The courses are varied and challenging, and the racing is tight and competitive. It also enjoys strong sponsor and volunteer support. All in all it’s a fabulous series in which to compete at any level, but to win it… well that’s really something!

The series prize-giving for the Garmin Hamble Winter Series took place on the 10th of December at Hamble River Sailing Club and the Class winners and podium finishers were all in attendance as one would expect, to collect their prizes. Racing took place across eight classes in the main IRC series including a J/109 one-design class and then there were four additional classes for the J/109s, the J/80s and other sportsboats on the two ‘Autumn Championship’ weekends. As usual, the J/Boat entry list for the series was both strong and successful.

In the main IRC series, raced over eight Sundays, David Ballantine’s J/133 JINGS achieved a creditable third place overall; a great result to round off his first full year in the boat. Chaz Ivill took the helm of the J/111 JENGA VI and finished second in IRC 1. Ivan Trotman and his J/122 JOULOU were placed fourth in the same class. Fourteen J/109s raced as a one-design class on a level rating basis and Richard and Valerie Griffiths veritably romped into the top slot with OUTRAJEOUS clocking up just ten points to count across the ten races sailed. David and Mary McGough’s JUST SO slammed in a second place in the J/109s and Paul Griffiths was third with JAGERBOMB. J/97s and J/92s raced in IRC 3 and Mike and Jamie Holmes J/97 JIKA-JIKA won the class convincingly, accruing just eight points to count at the end of the series-- some might call that "a schooling" on how to race the Solent!

The Autumn Championship was a nail-biter for the J/80 Class. Sailed over two weekends in October, Rob Larke’s J2X was leading the fleet by a single point after the first weekend, but let things slip on the second weekend. At the end of the fourteen race series, Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul’s J.A.T emerged victorious. J2X settled for second, just three points behind and Thor Askeland took third in ELLE S'APPELLE.  The J/109s also raced at the Autumn Championship and once again it was OUTRAJEOUS which emerged victorious. Steven Tapper’s STALKER finished in second place and Jody Windmiller’s J2EAU took third.

So it was a bunch of very happy J Boat owners at the prize-giving. However, after the series silverware was presented, there were still the two main prizes to be awarded: YACHT OF THE SERIES and SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES.  Race Director Jamie Wilkinson explained that these prizes are awarded at the discretion of the race management team to the two boats which in their opinion put in the most impressive performance across all classes. He made the point that the standard of competition at the Garmin Hamble Winter Series is always top-flight and he also reminded the assembled crowd that the sheer number of entries each year means that any single race win is an achievement of which one should be extremely pleased: to actually win YACHT OF THE SERIES is a major accolade. Mike and Jamie Holmes scoreline in the J/97 JIKA-JIKA included eight bullets! IRC 3 was considered one of the most competitive classes in the series and Mike, Jamie and the crew of JIKA-JIKA were deserving (and extremely proud) winners of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series YACHT OF THE SERIES.  Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul never once finished outside the top two in any of the fourteen races they sailed in their J/80 J.A.T. and the class was 22 boats strong! The Garmin Hamble Winter Series SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES was awarded to Phil, Kevin and the crew on J.A.T.: delighted and proud winners.  For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information