J/80 Sailor Brian Keane Wins Championship of Champions

(Columbia, SC)– The 2013 edition of the Championship of Champions, hosted by Columbia Sailing Club, came down to a dramatic conclusion Sunday. It took all 16 races to determine this year's winner of the Jack Brown Trophy. Three teams were in legitimate contention going into today's final two races; remarkably, virtually every leading team was comprised of top J/Boats sailors.

Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) and crew Steve Hunt (San Diego, Calif.) and Victor Diaz De Leon had a three point lead over Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.) and crew mates Will and Laura Jeffers (Tarpon Springs, Fla.). Skip Dieball (Toledo, Ohio) and crew Tom Starck (Avon Lake, Ohio) and Abby Freeman (Vermilion, Ohio) were seven points back in third place.

Race 15 Sunday morning featured winds out of the west at 5 to 8 knots. The Race Committee shortened the course for the upwind finish. The race was won by Lee Sackett (Cleveland, Ohio), followed by Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, Fla.) in second, Alison in third, and Keane in fourth. Dieball placed 13th. Heading into the final race of the regatta, Keane had a four point lead over Alison, and Dieball was 11 points behind.  Dieball went on to win Race 16, followed by Keane and Starck.

Keane won the regatta by 10 points over Dieball and Alison. Dieball won the tie-breaker to take second place. Keane was representing the J/80 class, as the 2012 J/80 North American Champion. Despite not winning any races this week, Keane finished in the top three on seven occasions through 16 races. He placed outside the top six just twice.

"We had never raced Lightnings before, so it took us a while to get comfortable," said Keane. "We had to learn how to accelerate, make tactical maneuvers, and the cadence of the wind. It's a testament to this great event that allowed us to compete at a high level. The boats were similar, which took away some of the advantage that the Lightning sailors here had. Also, with the event being held on a lake, it put the emphasis on reading the wind and tactical positioning. It's not all about sailing fast."

US Sailing’s Championship of Champions is recognized as one of the more unique adult racing events in the country. All helmsmen qualified for this event by winning a 2012 or 2013 one-design class National, North American, or World Championship. Helmsmen and their crew were tested in Lightnings over three days of racing on Lake Murray.  For more US Sailing Championship of Champions sailing info

“The Commodores” Crowned Masters of the Universe!

(San Diego, CA)- This year’s J/105 International Masters Championship was sailed on San Diego Harbor and hosted by the San Diego YC.  The eleven teams that participated were again treated to near perfect “Chamber of Commerce” weather conditions, with each morning starting out with the proverbial “marine layer” (e.g. fog) and clearing by the noon starting time for yet another WNW 8-12 kts sea breeze with plenty of sunshine.  As many of the teams had learned from previous years sailing in the harbor race course off the spectacular San Diego city waterfront, going left seemed to pay off about 85% of the time!

Taking advantage of that “local knowledge” were none other than “The Commodores” (not the famous singing group!)  sailing on Chuck Nichols’s team from San Diego YC.  With a trio of SDYC Staff Commodores aboard, it was hard to imagine how they ever made decisions going around the race track; nevertheless Nichols’s team surely knew the local formula for the harbor as they amassed a nearly un-assailable lead after the first day of racing, winning three races, taking three seconds and finishing with a total of 40 pts in eleven races to take the overall 2013 crown as the "master of masters"!  Second was past Masters Champion John Jennings from St Petersburg, FL.  Jennings had StPYC fellow member Mark Ploch sailing with him and after a slow start on the first day, gave chase to “the commodores” and finished just eight points back with 48 total for the event.  After an even slower start than Jennings, J/105 designer Rod Johnstone (sailing with son Jeff J) from Stonington, CT’s Wadawanuck YC sailed the best last day of any team, tallying a 1-3-1-9 to finish with 53 pts to leap into third place overall.

Rounding out the top five for the regatta were St Francis YC Staff Commodore Bruce Munro’s team taking fourth overall and yet another StFYC member, Jon Andron and crew, taking fifth by virtue of winning a tie-breaker over last year’s Masters Champion— Dennis Case of San Diego YC.

Of note was the commendable first year’s performance by Sally Honey, the past two-time 505 World Champion, sailing with her husband Stan Honey and fellow Yale Sailing Team alumni Peter Isler.  Had it not been for one unfortunate altercation at the windward mark in race two, the Honey’s were contenders for the top three after five races.  As many master sailors have learned sailing in such a talented fleet, the Honey’s realized it’s quite difficult to maintain a high-average finish in the tricky, shifty weather patterns of San Diego harbor.

While the sailing saw plenty of action and blistering hot competition, the on-shore social festivities are perhaps the highlight of the regatta and why many Masters enjoy coming back every year to catch up with one another and, hopefully, meet some news ones that have joined the “almost over-the-hill gang”.  Again, local San Diego YC host and Chairman for the event, Jeff Brown and his lovely wife, did a fabulous job organizing and managing the logistics and volunteers for all participants.  Jan Dekker (owner of the J/105 AIRBOSS) did a fantastic job looking after all twelve J/105’s, thankfully donated by their proud owners for the event.  As past regatta founder and chairman for years, St Francis YC’s Don Trask, noted that he was quite proud to have the event in the capable hands of San Diego YC’s team of sailors and volunteers and was hoping that he might again be “invited” back next year!   SDYC J/105 Masters sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels (www.joysailing.com) and Bob Betancourt   For more J/105 Masters International Regatta sailing information

Crumps Trump J/80 ECC’s

(Annapolis, MD)- The local J/80 fleet in Annapolis hosted their 2013 J/80 East Coast Championship in conjunction with Eastport YC, seventeen boats participated with several top J/80 teams in attendance.  The regatta took place for three days over the 25th to 27th of October weekend.

On the J/World J/80, Dave Manheimer’s FLYING HORSES crew Logan Ashcroft described the conditions as “insanely fun and somewhat crazy.  We had top wind speeds of steady 20-25 kts, topping at 28 kts.  On one of our downwind legs, the top speed was 15.6 kts!!”  According to Ken Bartlett, crew on the same team, “it was some of the best J/80 racing in a long time due to the excellent breezes on the Chesapeake Bay!”

Reveling in the rough, gorgeous conditions on the Bay was Will & Marie Crump’s team on "R80".  With two 2nds as their worst races in eight total sailed, the balance of six 1sts was good enough for a mere 10 pts total!  Their near perfect domination was only marred by losing two races to second place finishers John White on USA 1162, who counted four 3rds in their total score of 23 pts.  The third place team was Chris Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY, finishing with 34 pts total.  Rounding out the top five was Clarke McKinney’s COLD BEER FRIDAY NIGHT with 39 pts in fourth and Ken Mangano’s MANGO in fifth with 51 pts.
For more J/80 East Coast Championships sailing information

Singapore Team Crowned Liuzhou China Rivers Champions

China Team, Holland, India & Guangzhou Team Complete Top Five
(Liuzhou, Guangxi, China)- What a fabulous weekend racing in Liuzhou for the 2013 Liuzhou China Rivers Regatta.  26 teams competed over 4 days of racing in the Liu River in Liuzhou, Guangxi Province, China.  We had competitors from Japan, India, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and of course China competing.  The conditions could not have been better with a challenging shifty winds ranging with an average breeze of about 10 knots most of the weekend.

People ask why we like sailing so much.  When you look at the field of racers we had the women drivers, men drivers, rich and poor, and the oldest sailor was 84 years old and the youngest was only 18.  What other sport can this diverse group compete on an equal playing field?  There are very few.  That is why sailing is such an awesome sport.

With 14 J/80's and 26 teams we split the teams into two equal fleets of 13 per fleet.  For two days and 6 races per fleet the teams raced qualifying races to then be split into a Gold and Silver fleet.

One year ago Jim Johnstone came to Liuzhou to help strengthen the sailing skills in Liuzhou.  After training several racing teams two of the teams were driven by Liuzhou drivers.  Last year there were no local racers in Liuzhou.  One of the drivers was driving for the Sanya team and he had competed in two other events as a driver in his life.  The other, this was his first time driving in an event.  Both managed to qualify for the Gold fleet after the qualifying rounds against a strong fleet which was pretty amazing with such little experience racing.  In just this one year we have gone from 5 sailors in Liuzhou to over 200 actively interested in bettering their skills on a weekly bases in this beautiful river.

22 year old Ayesha Lobo from India surprised many with a very strong start by the Indian team who came to China for the first time to compete in this event.  The India team had just received the first two J/80's in India this past summer and the team has had some practice in the boat.  They were also smart to come a few days early to spend some time on the water practicing in the river.  Ocean sailing and river sailing can be very different.  The biggest difference is the ocean has big waves and steady breeze where as the rivers have challenging changing winds and small waves.  Boat speed and boat handling can make a very big difference.  It was obvious that the practice paid off for the India team as they finished the qualifying races in first place in their fleet.

Martin Hingst from Holland racing the Gaastra Sails Team was also very strong in the other fleet.  You don't always have to win the races but being consistently in the top part of the fleet and sailing smart were be advantages for Martin.  

Other Notable teams in the Qualifying Round were the Singapore Team who had won this event in 2012 and the China Team who is involved with the Americas Cup for China and competes in many of the different Keel boat events in China and abroad.

Sailing is a lifestyle, many come for different reasons, it could be the competition to see who is better or it could be the fun of meeting people from other cities and countries that love the same sport.  It was very obvious that this group liked to have fun and have fun together.  With the fleet split into A fleet and B fleet with A sailing in the mornings and B sailing in the afternoons it was fun seeing both A and B out having fun in the evenings.  A little harder to get up in the morning for the A group but not one complaint since the nights activities brought lots of laughs and new friends together.

As we moved into the final two days of competition, the top half of the A and B fleets were 12 boats.  Out of those twelve in this fleet any one of them could have potentially won this event.  It all came down to thinking smart, going fast and staying out of trouble with the other boats.  Unfortunately for the India team trouble found them in the second race and with the DSQ (disqualification) it made things challenging for them to be in the top three.  Singapore got off to a nice start with two wins out of the three races and the China Team were also very strong.

The Liuzhou regatta offers something that is very unique to many of the racers.  On the final day the Gold fleet sails a 35 km race that is actually split into two races.  This races under several bridges, past 100 meter vertical rock cliffs and through some very scenic country. 

The first race was about 18 km up wind.  Normally these sailors are use to sailing 1 to 3 km's up wind when we race around buoys but 18 km's requires a long time to concentrate on the changing wind conditions.  As you watch the competitors you see many lead changes but the China Team was dominate in this race from early on and finished about 5 minutes ahead of the next team. With a small break for lunch and a short 3 km sail around a bend in the river race two started.

Race 2 was very different.  Rather then being all upwind the race started with a short upwind leg and then mostly sailing with the spinnaker.  There were several sections of the river where the wind was moving across the river. This was very challenging for the sailors.  With wind shifts up to 90 degrees and large areas where there might be no wind at all do to a wind shadow from land the lead changed positions many times.  Chine Team looked very strong in the beginning but soon the entire fleet sailed right around them on either side when the seem to have found an area with no wind.  Then the Japanese team looked very strong and again they got sucked up by the entire fleet.  I can best compare this to long distance bicycle racing.  When the pack catches the lead riders. This happened 5 or six times until a group of 5 did manage to break away from the rest of the fleet.

The surprise was the Liuzhou Sailing coach driving in his third regatta ever, maybe more comfortable in the shifty river conditions then most just sailed away from everyone.  Finishing more then 20 minutes ahead of the second place Martin Hingst from Holland.  The China Team, India Team and Guangzhou Team who all showed such promise in the race earlier fond themselves limping in at the back of the pack.

The final results show some boats being consistent but the interesting part is that on the water they were far from consistent.  This event challenged each and every crew to keep their cool, keep in the wind and figure out how to stay ahead of the back.  Great job to the winning team from Singapore followed by the China Team, Martin Hingst from Holland, India Team and then Guangzhou Team in the top five positions.

Sailing is so interesting to those that are new to it and those that have been doing it for years.  There are no time outs, no substitutes, no boundaries.  You sail in light air, heavy air, shifty wind conditions, little waves and big, strong and week current and every day is different. Experience and training help the good sailors stay in the front of the pack and competing in these events allows the newer sailors to gain tons of helpful experience.  Thanks to the support of the local government in Liuzhou and the sponsorships that help make these events possible and a big thanks to the Riviera Yacht Club for providing the 14 J/80's and support boat that were prepared for this event.  We look forward to more great events in Liuzhou.

J/Sailors Enjoying Gunboat catamarans, too!

(Newport, RI)- Recently, Scuttlebutt Editor Craig Leweck had the chance to catch up with Peter Johnstone, the founder of GUNBOAT catamarans, at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis.  Peter's brother Stuart and cousins Jeff, Alan and their father Rod J oversee J/BOATS while Peter's father, Bob J, is managing the innovative powerboat business called MJM YACHTS.  Here's Leweck's discussion with Peter:

"When you attend the Annapolis show, the longest line to get on-board a boat – often the only line – is to see the Gunboat. And while most of the large catamarans at the show have no intention to mingle on the race course, the Gunboats have been doing so in increasing numbers.

This year Gunboat founder Peter Johnstone (yes, of the J/Boats family) was displaying the Gunboat 60. Here he shares some of the magic that creates the high interest in Gunboats.

CL- What is the Gunboat formula that sets you apart?

PJ- "We don’t cut any corners on materials or finish or how we build the boat, and we deliver true dual purpose. For the families onboard enjoying the boat on vacation, or if the boat is loaded up with friends, they are exceedingly easy to sail for both men and women because it’s all push buttons. I think for the first time since the early 70s, Gunboat provides a really good dual purpose boats. We now have a really appealing platform for people."

CL- Are you surprised by the degree they are being raced?

PJ- "The whole intent was to produce world cruisers, but we knew their performance was better than a grand prix keelboat. I think it is a natural evolution, as people really enjoy learning the boats and pushing them through the races. But the racing also brings everyone together for the parties and social aspect of Gunboat. This is a really strong aspect of what we are doing. People that would never have considered racing, they will try it the first time because I make them, and they find that they enjoy it so much."

CL- Are you attracting people from the racing sector too?

PJ- "We are getting a lot of inquiries from one design racers, particularly from J/105s, Melges 24s. Maybe as a mothership for their one design, and then to use in the Caribbean for the racing and cruising. We have reigning Melges 32 World Champion Jason Carroll racing his Gunboat 62 Elvis."

CL- Have you sensed if the America’s Cup has heightened interest in Gunboats?

PJ- "Most definitely. We in fact had Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill onboard during the show, helping a friend who was interested. More than anything, the America’s Cup has helped to break down barriers.

The New York Yacht Club called to invite the Gunboat class to participate in the 2015 Transatlantic Race. That sort of interest never happened before. There are only a couple races left that don’t invite us, like the Sydney-Hobart and Bermuda Races. I expect they will soon come around too. They can’t keep their heads buried in the sand forever."

Editor’s note: Phil Lotz, who is currently Rear Commodore of NYYC, has a Gunboat 60 on order, with plans to campaign it next winter at the Caribbean 600, etc and then race it in the 2015 Transatlantic Race. If the 2017 Commodore of such an esteemed establishment has a Gunboat, it is fair to say that would break down some barriers."  For more Gunboat catamaran sailing information.

J/105 North Americans Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- Hosting this year’s J/105 North American Championships from October 31st to November 3rd is Annapolis YC, renown for providing  a wonderful combination of excellent race course management as well as laying out the red carpet for regatta participants.  With twenty-eight boats participating there will be no question the racing will be fast, furious, closely fought and will see the top ten boats riding roller-coaster scorelines all the way to the final gun of the last race.  With a weather forecast that includes strong southerly breezes through Friday (with potential for gale-force winds) and shifty WNW winds behind the large frontal system, the large fleet of talented sailors will be challenged harder than they’ve been in recent years.

The top talent in the fleet will surely have to include Bruce Stone (and tactician Nicole Breault) from San Francisco, CA on LOULOU to be near the top of the pack, especially having won the J/105 NA’s in the past.  Most likely giving them a "run for the money" will be top Canadian team HEY JUDE sailed by Royal Canadian YC member Jim Rathbun from Toronto, Ontario.  Chasing these two hard will be perennial top contender Damian Emery sailing his famous flag-blue boat- ECLIPSE- from Long Island Sound.  Local Annapolis favorites include Cedric Lewis on MIRAGE, Carl & Scott Gitchell on TENACIOUS and Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY.  Finally, Ken Colburn (with Bob Slattery as tactician) will be sailing his famous GHOST from Marblehead, MA— Colburn has always been a top J/105 sailor and was also the first New York YC Invitational Cup Champion (with J/24 World Champion Ken Read as tactician) aboard his Swan 42 APPARITION.    For more J/105 North Americans sailing information

J/120s Lead Harvest Moon Fleet Home!

(Houston, TX)- This year's 27th edition that started on October 17th enjoyed a beautiful "ginormous" Harvest Moon as they raced their 100nm course from the Galveston Jetties to Port Aransas. With several classes there was a place to race or cruise for every type of boat.  The Bacardi PHRF Racing fleet is about 50% J/Boats with the J/105, J/109, J/120, and a J/44 the primary entries.

The PHRF Bacardi Racing fleet saw the "big boys" in PHRF A Class dominated by a squadron of J/Teams.  Winner of PHRF A was Glenn Gault's J/120 REBECCA, she was followed by Jim Liston's J/120 AEOLUS, third was Chris Lewis's beautiful flag-blue J/44 KENIA followed by Justin Wolfe's J/120 SHEARWATER in fourth.

The PHRC C class saw a trio of J/105s contending for class handicap honors.  Leading them home was JB Bednar's STINGER in second place, followed by Greg Turman's HORNY TOAD.  For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information

J/24 East Coasts Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- For their second consecutive weekend, the Eastport YC is hosting yet another East Coast Championships on the choppy, muddy waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  This time is the J/24’s turn to experience the superior race management and awesome hospitality of EYC. The thirty-one teams registered will have their hands full with not just with top teams sailing the regatta, but the rough winds forecast for the three-day long event.  With Friday offering near gale storm conditions with 15-25 kts southerly breezes, Saturday providing benign, sunny, lightish WNW winds and Sunday bringing strong 15-20 kt northerlies, the local tacticians will be matching wits with top national talent to bring “home the bacon” (e.g. podium silverware).

J/24 Fleet 8 in Annapolis is proud to have the Hillman Focused Advantage Fund (HCMAX) as the title sponsor for the 2013 J/24 East Coast Championship; this year’s partnership will expand on the success of the recently revamped J/24 East Coast Championship making it better than ever. Plus, they will be offering lots of great “swag”.

Who will be top dogs at the end of this shoot-out across the water?  That will be a tough call since so many championship level teams are sailing that have all grabbed their fair share of silverware over time.  Surely one of the top boats will be Mike Ingham’s Rochester, NY gang on USA 5443; but not far off their pace will be Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET from Annapolis; Al Constants’s BLITZ from Locust Valley, NY; John Poulson’s St Petersburg, FL team sailing MURDER INC.; Paul van Ravensway’s local Washington, DC team aboard MILLENNIUM FALCON; Pete Kassal’s local Annapolis crew sailing SPACEMAN SPIFF; Robbie Brown’s USA 799 team from St Petersburg, FL; Travis Odenbach’s gang from Rochester, NY sailing the famously infamous HONEY BADGER; and finally an even more incredibly famously infamous team from Newport, RI led by Will Welles and Tim Healy onboard COUGAR.  Finally, the long distance traveler award surely goes to Trevor Boyce from Hamilton, Bermuda, sailing NO SKIRT REQUIRED with a cast of characters that includes well-known photographer Tim Wilkes from Rochester, NY.  For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information

J/80 French Nationals Preview

(Cherbourg, France)- As the sixty-two J/80s arrived in Cherbourg to get craned into the water and receive their registration packets, they were greeted by a coffee, tea and croissants and report to the weight scales for proper weight verification-- a classy way to get a regatta rolling!

By the afternoon,for those who were ready to sail, a practice/ training course was offered in the Bay as a dress rehearsal for both the sailors and the race committee.  For the 20+ boats that participated, it was great practice in the WSW 10-15 kt breezes to work out a few kinks in their boat speed and work on their team-work.

Top French contenders will be sailing for National Class honors in a regatta that also determines the J/80 French Cup winner, the season long series that is comprised of multiple regattas and begins with the famous Easter Holiday soiree called SPI Ouest France.  Familiar French teams include Luc Nadal’s GANJA, Herve Delaroux’s JACUZZI, Herve Leduc’s JIBE SET, Eric Brezellec’s INTERFACE CONCEPT I and Pierre Follenfant’s TBS.  Foreign teams that will be sailing include Alexandre Toulorgue from Italy sailing RESTAURANT L’ECURIE, Germany’s Sven Vagt from Bremen sailing CAMPAIN-CAMFILL POWER SYSTEMS and, finally, Ingemar Sundstedt’s team from Sweden sailing SWE 243.  For more J/80 French Nationals Cherbourg sailing information

Hamble "Winter" Series Update- Weekend III

(Hamble, England)- "Windy, wet and lumpy" was how one competitor described Sunday’s racing in the third weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. It was a breezy day indeed that saw a base wind of 23 knots and gusts of up to 30 that greeted the fleet as they made their way to the start on Sunday morning. A gusty breeze, combined with a steep Solent chop and intermittent heavy rain squalls kept competitors on their toes – and, occasionally, their boats on their sides in tricky conditions.

Ian Brown from One Sails, the day sponsor, was on hand back in the HRSC clubhouse to present day prizes to the exhausted crews as they enjoyed beer for £2.50 a pint and hot food. In many classes the challenging conditions shook up the overall results.

In the IRC 0 Winter Series class, the all J/111 class continues to see the team of David & Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM leading by virtue of their 1-1-1-2-1-1 record this past weekend.  Richard Barnes's BIELA-MUNKENBECK is very close behind having scored an equally impressive 2-2-2-1-2-2 to hold onto second place.  Lying third is the British Army team led by William Naylor aboard BRITISH SOLDIER.  These standings for the Winter Series scoring are virtually identical for the Big Boats J/111 One-Design Series scoring.

In IRC 2, the new J/88 JUNGLE DRUM sailed by Paul Heys with 4-4-5-1 finishes has quickly ascended the finish ladder to now lie in second place..

In IRC 3, Nick Munday’s J/97 INDULJENCE again beat David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO with their 1-3 tally.  J'RONIMO sits in third just two points back from second place.

David McGough’s JUST SO continues to lead the J/109 one-design class with a 2-1-1-1 record.  Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX is just hanging on to second place with their 4-3-2-2 tally, just in front of Paul Griffith’s JAGERBOMB that is counting a 1-4-4-3 record overall.

Next weekend hosts the final weekend of the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships, as well as the fourth Garmin Hamble Winter Series race day.

Congratulations to all winners and competitors for some masterful displays of big-breeze sailing in what proved to be some challenging sailing conditions. Thanks to all the volunteers who braved the unpleasant conditions to man the committee boats and mark laying RIBs and to run the galley back in the club– the event couldn’t go ahead without them! Thanks for contribution from Ben Meakins.  Sailing photo credits- Malcolm Donald/ GHWS Ross Elliston/ HBBC Trevor Pountain   For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information