J’s Persevere In RORC Channel Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The tenth race of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship took place this weekend.  The race started on the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, with the RORC fleet beating into a light southwesterly wind helped on by a positive tide.  The weather forecast was for a light northerly breeze for the start, which may build as the race develops. High pressure is likely to cause the current heat wave to continue, providing fantastic conditions for the RORC fleet.

After leaving the Solent, the wind was enhanced by sea breeze, giving the fleet a tactical dead beat to a DZB buoy south of Anvil Point followed by a run to a virtual mark south of the Isle of Wight, before beating up to Poole. The course then took the competitors around the south of the Isle of Wight bringing them into the finish at Gilkicker via the Nab Tower.

For several yachts competing in the Channel Race, this was their last test before racing in next month's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, including the British Army Sailing Association's J/111, British Soldier. Lt Col Tim Hill explains the Army team's approach to offshore sailing.

"The Channel Race is the last proper test before the highlight of our season," stated Tim. "British Soldier will be approaching the task in the same method as we always do. This will be the final dress rehearsal but as all the Round Britain and Ireland Team have already completed the qualifying miles we will be introducing new members to the team this weekend, to encourage and empower younger members for the future.

"British Soldier is very much a team and whilst I grandly sit as Rear Commodore of the Army Sailing Association, I have a team beneath me that do the hard work and hard graft. Capt Phil Caswell is the Race Team Manager and organizes and co-ordinates the crew for every race that we do. Sitting alongside him is Maj Will Naylor who is responsible for all of the equipment and logistics required for RORC Racing, from victualing the boat to making sure we are race compliant. These two leaders then delegate individual tasks for all crew members - it is very much a team effort."

The British Army are used to operating in hot conditions on operations around the world. With the present heat wave in mind, Lt Col Tim Hill gives some good advice on avoiding dehydration.

"For high exertion activity in high temperatures, you need to be consuming a minimum of 1 litre of water per hour. That is a lot of fluid but it is essential to budget accordingly, sometimes during an offshore, the activity is less than other sports, but not taking enough water is unhealthy and a team's performance can be seriously affected by it. To avoid dehydration we use a buddy-buddy ethos; each team member keeps an eye on another and ultimately it is the skipper's responsibility to monitor how much water is being consumed."

In the end, the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER took 5th in IRC 2 Class for the Channel Race.  Of note, they thoroughly acquitted themselves in the preceding RORC East Coast Mersea Race, taking 2nd overall behind the famous Tonnere de Breskens sailed by Piet Vroon.

The largest class was the IRC Three with 12 boats taking part including Nick Martin's J/105 DIABLO-J.  By getting a 5th place in Double-handed class and 7th in IRC 3 Class, Martin gained valuable points for the Season’s championship.  Meanwhile, Chris Palmer’s J/109 J’TAIME and Kevin Armstrong’s J/109 JAZZY JELLYFISH took 4th and 5th, respectively, in IRC 3 Class.

In the overall RORC Series Championship, Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J is sitting in 5th place only 50 points back from first place overall in IRC!  Classmate J’TAIME, the J/109 sailed by Armstrong is only 70 points back from first as well!  Could be a cracker going into the last few races!

On a class-by-class basis, the J/122 RELENTLESS JELLYFISH skippered by Chris Radford is currently sitting 4th in the IRC 2 Season series and has a good chance for 2nd overall.  If the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER has an excellent Round Ireland Britain Race, a good finish could easily vault them into 1st or 2nd since it’s a “double-counter” of a race— it’s over 1,200 nm long!

IRC 3 Class for RORC Season series has SIX J’s in the top ten.  Top of the group in 2nd is Palmer’s J’TAIME, 3rd is Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J, 6th is Armstrong’s J/109 JAZZY JELLYFISH, 8th is the Royal Armoured Corps YC’s J/109 RUAG WHITE KNIGHT 7, 9th is Dom Monkhouse’s J/109 ME JULIE and 10th is John Allison’s JUMBUCK. Any one of the top six boats have a solid mathematical shot at taking the overall season’s point championship!

Finally, in IRC 4 Season series, the J/97 HIGH JINKS sailed by Blair Forsyth is currently lying in 7th and has a reasonable chance of getting into the top three if any of the last few races are good scores.  For more RORC Channel Race sailing information

WIND CZAR Repeat J/111 NA Champion!

(Harbor Springs, MI)- The J/111 North American Championship was sailed over the July 24-27 weekend at the Little Traverse Yacht Club in Harbor Springs, MI.  Thirteen J/111 boats attended the event in beautiful Northern Michigan ready to race during the LTYC annual Ugotta Regatta. Blue skies, clear water and perfect breeze kicked off the regatta on Thursday as the sailors competed in three races.

At the end of Day One, WIND CZAR (Rich Lehmann) led the fleet with a 1-4-1, followed by NO SURPRISE (Dave Irish) in second posting a 2-2-5 and KASHMIR (Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson, Mike Mayer) in third with a 7-1-2 score. While WIND CZAR and NO SURPRISE were 1-2 in the first race, Annapolis YC offshore veteran Martie Roesch took 3rd.  During the second race, KASHMIR dusted off an awful first race 7th and posted their first (and only) winning race of the regatta, followed by the omnipresent NO SURPRISE (a local by the way) and Bill Smith’s WOOTON in third.  The last race of the day saw several of the top teams start to predominate, with WIND CZAR again taking a first, followed by KASHMIR in second and then Ryan Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team from Cleveland, Ohio in third.

Day Two had a slow start, but as the afternoon breeze filled in, the race committee was able to run 3 more races.  KASHMIR moved up from third after day two, finishing the day with 20 points as NO SURPRISE took third with 21 points.  Starting fast out the blocks was WIND CZAR, again taking the first race followed by the fast-learning KASHMIR crew in second and Bill Smith’s somewhat roller-coaster riding crew on WOOTON again posting another third.  The fifth race saw Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF find their Key West Race Week winning stride, comfortably taking first and they were followed by the tenacious WIND CZAR gang not wanting to give up their “locals” advantage with a second and taking third again was NO SURPRISE (perhaps the “uber” local, Mr. Irish).  For the final race of the day, local host Dave Irish showed everyone the way home to his boatyard, winning the last race and providing lots of free beer and wine afterwards!  As he should, right?  Second was SPACEMAN SPIFF and third was KASHMIR.

Saturday, the J/111 sailors participated in the “Tour of the Bay” race.  After the wind filled in around 2pm, heavy breeze and large waves sent the sailors on a fun ride around the course.  What everyone knows about this race is that when the wind fills in, sailing in the middle of the bay is a bit like sailing into a “black hole”.  In fact, the faster you sail the “edges” (e.g. the coastline) of the bay the better you do.  While everyone expected locals to do well, and not unexpectedly WIND CZAR won the race, but taking second in the premium-counting race was George Gamble’s MY SHARONA from Pensacola, Florida (the Gulf Coast Offshore series winning team).  Third was NO SURPRISE, fourth was SPACEMAN SPIFF and fifth was KASHMIR.

The last day of racing was threatened with storms in the vicinity but the Race Committee was able to get two races off as the storms stayed off the course.  At the end of the Championship, WIND CZAR, NO SURPRISE and KASHMIR took the first, second, and third, respectively.  While WIND CZAR closed the regatta with a 3-1 to win the event in a somewhat convincing fashion with 18.5 total points, the balance of the top five was nowhere near a “closed and done” deal.  In fact, how everyone did on the last leg of the last race determined the ultimate fate for all four teams that were in contention.  Now that some of the visiting teams to that crazy bay in Harbor Springs had learned a few tricks or two, the gloves were off for the final two races.  Holding on by a thread for second place happened to be NO SURPRISE, posting a less than stellar 4-8 to keep second overall with 37.5 pts.  Just 3.0 pts back after posting another riveting, memorable 7-6 score was the KASHMIR team, just hanging on for third with 40.5 pts.  A slightly better tally of 6-3 was knocked out by Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team to take fourth with a total of 42.0 pts, only 1.5 pts back!  Then, going from “zero-to-hero” on one day was Marty Roesch’s team on VELOCITY, posting the best score of the day (a 1-2) to close out the regatta with 42.5 pts, just a half point back from 4th.

In the aftermath of some great, incredibly close racing, many teams were discussing next steps for J/111 one-design racing.  Included in that evolution were plans for Key West Race Week in 2015 and the J/111 Worlds for 2015 in Newport, RI.  Furthermore, various formats were also considered, like just W-L courses or a mix of W-L and an “offshore random leg” course.  In the theme of “horses for courses”, it was clear that more offshore-oriented teams liked having the offshore experience combined into the modern W-L mix.  Time will tell.   Sailing Photo Credits- Gretchen Dorian   For more J/111 NA’s sailing information

J/Cup A Solent Festival!

JAHMALI Crowned J/Cup & J/109 Champions
(Hamble, England)- After facing the very real prospect of not being able to race in the regatta, organized by Key Yachting and run by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, it’s been quite a turn around in fortune for Mike and Sarah Wallis’s Jahmali in the J-Cup 2014 in Partnership with B&G.

With repairs to a snapped mast only completed at 7am on the first day of racing (Thursday 24th July), the J/109 went on to sail to victory in a ferociously competitive class, winning the J/109 UK National Championships in the process.

To cap a memorable event, boat and crew were also awarded the prestigious J-Cup 2014 at Saturday night’s hugely attended Gala Dinner and Prize-giving. Ultimate success, after what proved to be challenging and tricky wind conditions across all three days, was also a personal triumph after years of competition.

’I’ve been doing the J-Cup as long as Paul Heys has been running them, so it’s been a while,’ said a delighted Mike. ‘It’s a great day for us and very much appreciated.

‘It’s the first time I’ve won the J/109 class. I won the 105 class as an owner 14 years ago, and as a tactician nine years ago. I’ve drunk out of the J-Cup at other people’s expense many, many times,’ he laughed.

Mike admitted that the conditions particularly suited Jahmali and her long-standing crew.

‘On our boat we tend to be a lot better in the lighter and flukier conditions, so these have played to our strengths and helped us achieve this. I think if it had been blowing force 6 we wouldn’t be where we are or anything like that.

‘Going into the last race we were only one point ahead of Tigh Soluis and Jubilee, but fortunately we got the right end of the line and everything was easier after that as we had clear air and clear wind.’

He added: ‘`Certainly it’s been very much up to the wire as it always is with the 109s. It’s always very, very close, and perhaps being lighter has opened things out a little bit. When the wind’s up and there’s less chance of opening up gaps it’s very, very close, so we are also grateful for that. I don’t think there were any collisions this time, which is very unusual for the 109s!‘

Echoing the opinion of many other competitors, Mike also paid tribute to regatta organizers and race officers. ‘It’s been a great regatta, very well run by the Royal Southern in very difficult conditions. They’ve done an extraordinarily good job.’

A win in the final race helped secure Jahmali‘s class and national championships victories, finishing five points clear of Tony Dickin’s Jubilee with Iain MacKinnon’s Tigh Soluis two further back.

In the other nationals run within the regatta – the Lombard-sponsored J/97 Championships – Charles Ivill’s ETB Tyres Just Like That took four wins from seven races to finish three points clear of Nick and Adam Munday’s Induljence, with Helen Hoffman’s Jaslan taking the final podium place.

Also celebrating success was Guernsey’s Roger Martel with his J/122 Kaya, winner in IRC1.

‘We had a few good results and a few less so, which we’ve managed to come back from, so we’re really pleased,’ said Roger, taking part in only his second J-Cup.

‘We got a good start on the last race but had to tack to avoid a dredger, then fell in to a hole and a 133 got past us. We got round the weather mark and the wind disappeared, so one minute we were ahead, the next behind.

‘Luckily they shortened the race – everyone else had fallen into holes around us and we just managed to squeak it.’

The last race win, along with three previous bullets, put Kaya five points clear of East coast-based Angus Bates’ Assarain IV, which was three ahead of Ian Dewhirst’s Jump.

Experience counted in IRC2 where Stewart Hawthorn’s J/88 Jongleur, most of whose crew have raced together for over 15 years, almost managed a clean sweep but ended up discarding a second place.

‘We worked our way round the strategy that we had set ourselves – to make nice clean starts, get in to a good lane, then watch what was happening,’ said Stewart. ‘The last race of the series was the high point I think as we managed to come from a really flaky start, being well down the fleet on the first beat, and from that get in to the lead.

‘Very difficult and tricky conditions for everyone, but having sailed in the Solent for a number of years it wasn’t too much of a shock,’ he added.

Jongleur finished nine points clear of Richard Sparrow’s J/92 Who’s To Know, which was two clear of another J/92, David Greenhalgh’s J’Ronimo.

Also discarding a second in a dominant performance in the J/70 class was Simon Cavey’s Just4Play. She finished on a high with three bullets, 12 points ahead of Steve Northmore’s Waterjet2, with Jack Davies’ Jugador a further two back.

However, the regatta’s comeback kid award was surely deserved by Patrick Liardet’s Aqua J, whose four successive bullets – following a 4-(7)-2 scoreline – powered her to the top of the J/80 table. She finished five clear of Douglas Struth’s DSP and 12 ahead of Brian Denney’s Jalapeno.

The J/111s didn’t get the chance to get on the plane, but a competitive class was won by Duncan McDonald’s Shmokin Joe, seven points ahead of Chris Jones and Louise Makin’s Journeymaker II who managed to hold off Cornel Riklin’s hard-charging Jitterbug which won the last three races.

The J-Cup is organized by Hamble-based Key Yachting Ltd., an agent and distributor for J/Boats throughout the UK and Ireland.   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/http://www.photoaction.com  For more J/Cup sailing information

New J/97e Launched!

(Les Sables d’Olonne, France)- The latest from the J/Design team and J/Composites is the J/97e, a 2015 “evolution” of the highly successful J/97 that has dominated offshore and around-the-cans events worldwide in IRC in the 28-33 foot category.

Several new features enhance the exceptional cruising qualities of the design, including a T-shaped cockpit with floor mounted traveler, easier transom boarding, and option for large wheel.  New style cabin ports and hull ports “bring the outdoors in” to create an elegant, spacious interior in the same spirit as the recently introduced J/122e.

To get a first hand look at the new J/97e, take a trip down to the Southampton Boat Show (September 12-21) in Southampton, England and the Grand Pavois Boat Show (September 17-22- http://www.grand-pavois.com/) in La Rochelle, France.  For more J/97e sailboat information

Cowes Week Preview

(Cowes, England)- Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week is a key part of the British sporting calendar taking place from August 2nd to 9th this year. These dates result from early traditions when the great and the good came to Cowes between “Goodwood” and the “Glorious Twelfth” – day one of the Grouse Shooting Season. The event is a great mix of competitive sailing and a vibrant social scene and has evolved enormously since the early days; it now attracts up to 1,000 competing boats, around 8,500 competitors and at least 100,000 visitors.

Since 1826, Cowes Week has played a key part in the British social summer calendar and is one of the UK's longest running and most successful sporting events. It now stages up to 40 daily races and is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world.  Although the regatta is over 180 years old, it is only in recent times that the Week has become an integrated series of races organized by a single body; today the Cowes Combined Clubs (CCC) of ten member clubs run the racing as a single organization- and the principal starting line is the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line pointed approximately due north of the “castle on the rocks”.

As one of the largest regattas in the world, it’s not surprising that Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week acts as a magnet for international competitors keen to experience the thrills of big fleet racing. It also has the added appeal of being a quintessentially British event with a strong competitive focus.  This year there are entries from far and wide including Antigua, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the USA.

Tides for this year’s event are predominately “neaps”, so streams are relatively weak in Solent terms. However, they will still play the most critical function in any race winning strategy, and are likely to play a big factor in the start of races from the Squadron line as the regatta progresses.  On the opening day, low water is just over an hour and a half before the first start, so the stream will be east-going for the entire start sequence. However, as the week progresses and low water moves progressively later, the eddies close inshore will become ever more important for boats starting to the west on the Squadron line.

Amongst the masses will be several dozen J/Teams participating in this classic summertime event.  While the J/111s will be sailing their Europeans (see below), the balance of J/Crews include a combination of one-design fleets like J/70s, J80s and J/109s.  In addition, there are IRC Handicap fleets that have J sailors in IRC 3, 4, 5, 6 and Cruiser A!

Starting with the J/70s, a twelve-boat fleet with international representation will be enjoying the reachy courses typical of the event.  Visiting teams include Wouter Kollmann’s PLAJ from the Netherlands (a former J/22 European Champion) as well as Dario Levi’s Italian team sailing FREMITO D’ARJA.  Top local teams familiar with Solent waters have to be Wing Commander Simon Ling’s gang on RAF SPITFIRE Powered by SLAM; Ian Wilson’s WILSON COVERS; Simon Cavey’s JUST 4 PLAY; Dave Atkinson’s JAWBREAKER; and Charlie Esse’s DARWIN PROPERTY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT.

The twenty-boat J/80 fleet has many of the leading suspects in play for their event, a “de facto” J/80 UK Nationals.  Ladbrokes and other betting parlors would have a tough time handicapping this crowd due to their “chutes & ladders” performances over the past year, even for the top teams.  Nevertheless, contenders no doubt include Jon Powell’s BETTY; Ben Richards & Andrew Dallas’ BOYSTEROUS; Douglass Neville-Jones’ JASMINE; Kevin Sproul’s JAT (Mr Ultimate Sailing himself); and Geoff Payne’s SURF & TURF.

The J/109s are showing up in force with a 22-boat class that sees a nice combination of familiar top teams participating as well as a number of newcomers to the fleet.  Amongst the veterans are the British Army’s WHITE KNIGHT 7 skippered by Capt Robert Hammond, INSPARA (Tor McLaren), J’TAIME (Chris Palmer), JUMPING JELLYFISH (Arthur Gallagher), JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks and Jean Lockett), ME JULIE (Hedley Aylott), OFFBEAT (David McLeman), and SARDONYX IX (William Edwards). Some of the new faces in the crowd include THE SIRENS (Susan Glenny), ARGENT KING’S CROSS (Jim Prower), and BOO (Neil McGrigor).

The world of IRC handicap racing starts with IRC 1 Class for the J/Teams; a combination of two duos of J/122s and J/133s.  In their nineteen-boat fleet, the J/133s (Herman Bergshaven’s MADJUS and Ian Dewhirt’s JUMP) are up against two J/122s (David Cule’s MINT JULEP and Sergey Senchenko’s JOLOU).  Given the mix of Solent conditions, these four boats should fair well against their diverse group of competitors.

The IRC 3 fleet may have one of the most bizarre combinations of boats yet seen in Cowes IRC handicap divisions.  The fleet ranges from a Swan 46 and Nicholson 55 (ancient technologies) down to a J/88 (the smallest, newest boat). Perhaps the IRC world needs to take some serious smelling salts.  Nevertheless, Terry Rowe’s J/122 ASSARAIN III is the top J followed by the twin J/88s- Dirk van Beek’s SABRIEL JR and Paul Ward & Andrew Penman’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT.

If IRC 3 is a bit of an eclectic mixture, perhaps IRC 4 fleet takes the proverbial cake.   Ranging from an Ocean 60 schooner down to a J/92 one knows exactly how to bet a reaching race in about 8-12 kts TWS- certainly not the little boat! Yes, Ladbrokes (or the bettors) would have a field day on this one.  Whatever happens on a class basis, no question the boat to beat is Fiona & Malcolm Thorpe’s J/105 KING LOUIE.  While they’re well-known for better than average performances, the other J/105s like Natalie Jobling’s MOSTLY HARMLESS, Roger Williams’ JOS OF HAMBLE, and William Edgerley’s JIN TONIC will be looking to dethrone them sooner than later.  Plus, Robin & Jaap Stevenson’s J/92 UPSTART will be dreaming of doing just that— upset the King’s Mostly Harmless Hamble Apple Cart!

The twenty-five boat IRC 5 fleet also has an equally unusual mix of boats that ranges from an old Oyster 41 down to an Elan 31.  Smack in the middle of the class are a range of J’s from J/92s to a J/110.  Within that range are four J/97s that include a rogue’s gallery of assassins in the sailing world, such as James & John Owen’s JET, Nick & Adam Munday’s INDULJENCE, Rob and Matt Paski Orr’s JACKAROO and Chaz Ivill’s ETB TYRES JUST LIKE THAT— all champions in past regattas of various sorts.  Good Lord, who would want to face that quartet of gangsters!? On the other side of their muzzles are the J/110 SHADES OF BLUE 2 (Ed Holton), the J/32 DOMAINE (Chris Burbridge) and the twin J/92s- WIZARD (John Greenway) and J’RONIMO (Libby & David Greenhalgh).  As a betting man, it would be safe to say that a bet on a “J/team” here is winner, perhaps even a sweep of the class!

As the upholders of all things “classic”, the J/24s in IRC 6 will have their work cut out for them sailing against some famous British sailors like Jo Richards on his old H-Boat, or Giovanno Belgrano’s very ancient Laurent Giles 38 known as WHOOPER.  Nevertheless. Edmund Gatehouse’s J/24 JUPITER and Simon Lack’s VINYL SOLUTIONS should acquit themselves against such famous competition given a few reaching legs or two!

Finally, in Cruiser A handicap world, the twin J/100s- Julian James’ THUNDER SQUALL and Ole Bettum’s ALAMARA B II, are up against a 30-boat class that has 30 to 48 footers!  Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com.   For more AAM Cowes Week sailing information

J/111 Europeans Preview

(Cowes, England)- Concurrent with AAM Cowes Week, the J/111s will be competing for their 2104 European Championship off the Royal Yacht Squadron line.  It promises to be an entertaining, fun, challenging regatta as the J/111s will be vying for both class honors as well as “water” just about anywhere they go criss-crossing the Solent with a few thousand other boats as obstacles.  The crews participating are all very experienced Solent sailors, so nothing should come as a surprise to them sailing the “neap tides” of this year’s event.

The J/111 Europeans will take place from August 2nd to 5th, at the beginning of the entire Cowes Week extravaganza.  Of the thirteen teams participating, perhaps the one team to watch out for based on past performances at premiere events will be David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/DREAM.  Hot on their heels will be past Round Island Race winner Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas on SHMOKIN JOE, James Arnell’s JEEZ LOUISE, Cornell Riklin’s JITTERBUG, Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II, Tony Mack’s McFLY, and Munkenbeck & Cheeseman’s MUNKENBECK, to name just a few.

Visiting teams from the Netherlands, Kees van Vliet & Hans J.G. Zwijnenburg sailing SWEENY and Martin Dent’s JELVIS from France will have to contend with a well-trained, fast fleet of boats from Great Britain.   For more J/111 Europeans sailing information

J/80 Canadians Preview

LYRA Hosting J/105s Too!
(Toronto, Ontario)- The Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) in Toronto will host the 130th annual Lake Yacht Racing Association (LYRA) Annual Regatta. This event consists of both long-distance and course racing, with the fleets representing numerous LYRA member yacht clubs in the Great Lakes. The racing extends from July 26 to August 3. In addition, the ABYC is also hosting the J/80 Canadian Open.

Led by the Lake Ontario Fleet Captain Lawrence Alexander (Jiggers), and with support from ABYC member Bart Smit (Nautical Symphony), the J/80 fleet have invited their fleet members to a week of events culminating at LYRA. This initiative, dubbed “Get Ready”, “Get set”, and “Go”, is a major component of a program to prepare for the North Americans and Worlds this fall in Annapolis.

“We’ve put together a great series of events that leads up to a Canadian championship in honour of Hans Fogh”, commented Alexander. “We’d like all of our J/80 counterparts to come on up and experience the fun times at this exciting event in a wonderful location hosted at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) in Toronto!”

After the CanAm Challenge in Youngstown, the fleet will make its way to ABYC for an exclusive J/80 speed clinic on July 30 with the 2012 J/80 North American champion Mike Wolfs.  July 31 is a day of R&R featuring fleet social activities including a fan demo sail, BBQ and entertainment.

And the climax of the week is the Hans Fogh Canadian J/80 Open 2014.  The championship will be held in conjunction with the three days of course racing on August 1-2-3.  “We are excited to see the J/80 fleet embrace this opportunity and we look forward to welcoming them to LYRA”, said Fleet Co-coordinator Brian Chapman.

The J/105s will also be tuning-up for their North Americans locally in Toronto being held later in September at Royal Canadian YC.  Many local top teams are in attendance, including past champions like Jim Rathbun’s HEY JUDE, local hotshots like Terry McLaughlin & Rod Wilmer sailing MANDATE, Ian Farquharson driving SONIC BOOM and Gavin Disney skippering THE USUAL SUSPECTS.  For more J/80 Canadian Open and LYRA Regatta sailing information

Copa del Rey Preview

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The penultimate event on the busy summer calendar in Palma Mallorca is the famous Copa del Rey MAPFRE, hosted by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, an event geared towards a combination of popular one-design and level rating offshore classes in the Mediterranean.  As has been the case since they were first invited, the J/80s are by far the largest one-design class and other popular level classes include the Mini-Maxi 72 footers, the TP52s and the Soto 40s.  In addition, the event attracts a cross-section of ORC offshore handicap racers.

The racing takes place from August 4th to 9th on the spectacular bay in front of the city’s waterfront, the famous cathedral providing a spectacular backdrop for the sailors during the weekend.

For the fourth consecutive year, the J/80 class will have their own division in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE: the Herbalife J/80 class. Sixteen teams are registered, including the last three winners in the Bay of Palma: Hugo Rocha’s New Territories (current J/80 World Champion and winner of the 32 Copa del Rey MAPFRE as Turismo do Algarve), Martínez, Barrionuevo, Pedreño and Fructuoso’s Deltastone (winner in 2012 as MAPFRE, second in 2013 and current leader of the Spanish National rankings) and José María Van der Ploeg’s Factor Energía (Copa del Rey winner in 2011, second in 2012, third in 2013 and J/80 World Champion in 2012 as Nilfisk).

The J/80 class is in excellent shape at the moment and has a superb level of competition in Spain. Therefore, it is no wonder that several world champions in the class have carried the Spanish flag. "The Spanish J/80 fleet is experiencing a golden age with great results, and we are a reference within the international fleet," says Alex Díaz, President of the J/80 class in Spain. "The number of boats in Spain keeps increasing, and we have managed to organize regattas geographically diversified which allows both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean fleets to take part in several races that belong to the national circuit."

“The J/80 is a very fast boat, easy to maneuver, it doesn’t require many crew members and the cost is not high," says the Spanish Class President. "That’s why this one-design is still a strong boat and highly accepted. The fact that the fleets are strongly established along the Spanish coast is another one of its advantages. Although the J/80s are spread throughout the Spanish coast, the largest number of boats is concentrated in Cantabria, Catalonia and Andalusia.”

"It is a great satisfaction for the J/80 owners to compete as a class in this regatta,” continues Alex Díaz. "The Copa del Rey MAPFRE is defined by bringing together several categories and boats, professional or amateur projects but always highly regarded. This year we have again the pleasure of competing with other one-design fleets like the Swan 60s or X-35. Without a doubt, it is a great recognition for this class, which has brought so many victories to Spanish sailing in the last five years. We're flattered and we will not disappoint. Thanks to the Copa del Rey MAPFRE for renewing its support in the J/80 class."

In addition to the top Spanish teams, a trio of J/80 teams from Italy are participating, including Giacomo Loro Piana sailing with his CN Porto Cervo team on MAKE A WISH (from the renowned sportswear/ lifestyle fashion house- Loro Piana); long-time Italian class stalwart Massimo Rama skippering his well-traveled JENIALE from YC Chiavari; and Massimo Borghi’s team on PIUMA from YC Chiavari.  For the first time, a French team is sailing for Le Havre, Team PH Finance- Petithuguenin sailing SPIRIT OF MAOUEN 3 from Société des Régates du Havre.

While the J/80s will be sailing a course right up against the shore and the “church”, the ORC teams will be starting further offshore.  In ORC 1, the J/122 NOISY OYSTER will be skippered by Igor Raspopov from the M.A.R.C. sailing club on the Med!  Hopefully, the weather will provide fun & games for all on one of the world’s most spectacular playgrounds for sailing!   Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo/ Sailingstock.com   For more MAPFRE Copa del Rey sailing information

White Wins J/80 East Coasts

(Solomons Island, MD)- The 2014 J/80 East Coast Championships were run in conjunction with the Screwpile Challenge Regatta hosted at Solomons Island, MD.  The big winner of this year’s regatta was John White.  Despite never winning a race but never finishing out of the top four, White’s remarkable 3-3-3-4 record for 13 pts won the regatta by a country mile.

Taking second in the regatta despite winning the first two races was David Andril’s VAYU.  Equally eye-opening was the performance of the third place finisher- Clarke McKinney sailing KNEE DEEP.  Despite winning the last two races, McKinney still had to win a tie-breaker to maintain third position.

Rounding out the top five were Ken Mangano sailing MANGO in fourth and Vince Kalish in WHITE LIGHTNING in fifth.   For more J/80 East Coasts sailing information

Spinlock IRC Welsh Championship Announcement

(Pwllheli, Wales, England)- The inaugural ‘Spinlock IRC Welsh Championships’ is only a few weeks away and is hosted by Pwllheli Sailing Club (PSC) on 1st to 3rd August.  The event has used the successful 2013 J Cup hosted by PSC as a spring board with the added award of the ‘Spinlock IRC’ regional title.

There is a strong and competitive fleet of J/Boats based in Pwllheli and in the Irish Sea, including the current Irish Sea Champion, the J/109 SGRECH, and MOJITO, the recent class winner in the grueling 700nm  Round Ireland Race.

PSC Commodore Stephen Tudor said: ‘The Club is very proud to be offered the opportunity to host the first Welsh IRC Championships and is delighted to see competitors already entered from Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Liverpool in addition to the local competitive fleet. Entries are still being received and we still have free berths available for the event on the new Academy pontoons’.

The event is supported by ‘Irish Cruising Racing Association’ (ICRA) who has just completed a very successful Championships hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire. ICRA Chairman and Event organizer, Norbert Reilly, commented that the two events strengthen the ties already established across the Irish Sea. A trophy will be awarded to the competitor with the best combined results in the two events.

On 26th July, there is a feeder race from Dún Laoghaire to the Welsh Championships in Pwllheli. This is the 7th race in the Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association’s 2014 series and is sponsored by KONA. The ISORA fleet will be the first visitors to use the new pontoons in Pwllheli. ISORA Chairman, Peter Ryan, said ‘the ISORA fleet regularly visits Pwllheli either for a race start or finish and the Welsh welcome is always warm and friendly. The new facilities in Pwllheli will make the sailing waters easily accessible and a great destination for visiting offshore fleets, flotillas and for keel boat regattas and Championships.’

The social programme will start shortly after the arrival of the KONA crew bus from Holyhead on Thursday evening with the KONA ISORA reception/prize-giving for the feeder race. A crew dinner is planned with entertainment for Friday evening and a Championship party for Saturday evening.   For more Spinlock IRC Welsh Championship sailing information