Fernandez Wins Copa Aaron Saenz Regatta

(Acapulco, Mexico)- The basis for this event was the result of a passionate sailor who wished to bring together youth sailors from across Mexico to join other international Optimist sailors in Acapulco, a venue famous for its sailing conditions and extraordinary hospitality.  That person, Aaron “El Chato” Saenz, believed in bringing together the hottest, best sailors so that everyone could learn together and improve the “state of Mexican sailing” to a much higher level.  The regatta has succeeded beyond “El Chat’s” wildest imaginations.  This year, in addition to the huge Optimist class, they invited other fleets to participate, including the Mexican J/70 class.

The Club de Yates Acapulco rolled out the red carpet for the huge fleet of twenty-two J/70s that showed up in Acapulco to participate in the event.  All of the top boats in Mexico were present to have fun and take a page from their Optimist friends and treat the event as a way to train those who wished to learn how to sail faster and handle their boats better.

In the end, it was Mexico’s top J/70 team that took class honors after a nine race series.  In what one might call FLOCO II (e.g. FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO), it was clear the team of Julian Fernandez from Club Nautico Valle de Bravo and his crew of Erick Brockman, Willem van Waay (an American from San Diego, CA) and Diego Cervantes were benefitting from their sailing at the top level in the American J/70 regattas.  After posting five bullets and three 2nds, The FLOCO II gang won with 11 pts net.

Behind Fernandez’s crew, it was a very close battle not just to be on the podium, but also to be in the top five.  A top all Mexican J/24 team took second overall for the regatta, Jorge Murrieta and his crew of Javier Navarro, Javier Patron, and Ander Belauteguigoitia.  Third was another top J/24 team, Eduardo Saenz from the host CY Acapulco with crew of Jimena Saenz, Jay Lutz (an American from Houston, TX), and Eduardo Saenz Jr.  Rounding out the top five was Giovanni Aloi Timeus Salvato from CY Acapulco taking fourth with crew of Matt Ciesicki (an American from San Francisco, CA), Fernando Bulajch and Alejandro Sole (an Argentinean Olympic class 470 sailor living in Houston, TX).  Fifth was another all Mexican crew, Ricardo Brockman Ohea from YC Acapulco and crew of Daniel Inde, Jeronimo Mariscal and Diego Velazco.   For more Copa Aaron Saenz sailing information

J/24 Europeans Preview

(Crouesty de Arzon, France)- Following their famous spring regatta held this past weekend, the YC Crouesty de Arzon will have had more than enough practice to look after the aggressive European J/24 fleet that is just about to setup camp on their docks for the next edition of the J/24 European Championship being hosted from June 6th to 13th.

Forty boats from seven European countries (France, Ireland, Hungary, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Greece) will be participating, including representatives from the USA and Brazil.  What is all the more remarkable is that this year’s fleet will be one of the strongest fields in a number of years and, even more amazing is that it’s happening on the west coast of France on the Bay of Biscay.

While the J/24s may not be seen as a hotbed of talent in France for decades, the J/24 class has produced some of their best offshore sailors in the Figaro, IMOCA 60 and multihull world.  Top French teams include Patrick Ravel’s BOLERO and a top J/80 team that normally sails with Luc Nadal (their 24 is called ANTHOLOGIE).  From Germany there will be several leading teams, such as Frithjof Jade’s JJ ONE, Frederik Schonfeldt’s HENK, and J Huhn’s HUNGRIGER WOLF.  Not surprisingly, top Italian talent like current J/24 National Championship leader Ignacio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA will be joining the competition.  The fun-loving and fast Irish team sailing HARD ON PORT, skippered by Frank O’Driscoll, will ensure their Irish contingent are contenders.  Several UK teams are making their crossing of the English Channel underwater (Chunnel or ferry?), including Andrew Taylor’s HITCHHIKER, Dave Cooper’s JAWBREAKER, and Roger Morris’ JOLLY ROGER.  One of the top Greek teams will be making the trek from the far side of the Mediterranean, the team of Andre Nikolaidsis & D Altsiadis on EVNIKI.

Finally, a top USA J/24 team from Rochester, New York- Mike Ingham and gang- will be hopping across the North Atlantic to reinforce the strong European field.  Topping it all off with regards to talent and experience will surely be multiple World and South American Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing the mighty BRUSCHETTA with partners King and Revore.  For more J/24 Europeans sailing information

J/105s Sweep FIGAWI

(Nantucket, MA)- It would be safe to say the FIGAWI Race organizers must pray every year for relatively benign, easy-going conditions for their classic 36nm pursuit race from Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod to Nantucket Harbor.  Their prayers were answered this year, as it will go down in memory as one of the prettiest ever.  Dawning with a gorgeous sunrise and a fresh breeze from the WNW, the day simply got better and better.  It was a spectacular race.  Sunny day, with plenty of wind all day to fill brightly colored spinnakers that stretched across the horizon.

For those standing on the beach next to Brant Point Lighthouse that marks the entrance to the Nantucket Boat Basin, it was glorious sight as the parade of boats effortlessly glided by on sunlit seas.

In PHRF A class, Richard Egan’s J/46 WINGS enjoyed the race but conditions were a bit too reachy for them to haul in the lighter weight boats in front of them surfing down the waves, taking 7th in their class.  In PHRF B, Kirk Brown’s J/40 JAZZ managed to take home some silverware with a 2nd in their class.

In the sprit divisions, the Daniel Heun’s J/122 MOXIE pulled off a 3rd in class in PHRF S1 division.  The other J/122, Jimmy Masiero’s URSUS MARITIMUS took 6th and Dave Follett’s J/120 GLORY ended up 9th.  In PHRF S2 division, the J/105s swept the top four spots, led by the Joyce/ Reservitz/ Wagner trio on DARK’N’STORMY.  Their classmates that followed were Matt & Lisa Schmidt’s HARDTACK in 2nd, Steve Widdis’ PRIMA in 3rd and Ed Lobo’s WATERWOLF in 4th.  Taking 5th in class was Alex Kraus’ J/80 COOL J.

In Division 2 Racing, the PHRF C class saw Ira Perry’s J/29 SEEFEST yet again take silverware in this race, taking a 3rd overall.  In PHRF F class, Bill Jones’ J/40 SMITTEN surfed home to a 3rd in their class, too.

The Division 5 racing fleet saw Brad Butman’s pretty little J/28 SHADOWFAX take 3rd in PHRF N class.
For more Figawi Race sailing information

J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN Kids Two-Peat!

1st PHRF 3 and 1st PHRF Overall In Block Island Race
(Larchmont, NY)– The 70th edition of the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race yielded winners in ten classes – four IRC (including one for Double-hand), four PHRF, J/44 and Multihull – and a place in the record books for Jim and Kristy Hinze Clark’s new 100-foot Maxi Comanche with past J/24 World Champion Ken Read at the helm. Fifty eight boats started the 185 nautical mile race (from Stamford Yacht Club in Connecticut, down Long Island Sound, around Block Island, R.I. and back to Stamford) on Friday afternoon (May 22) of Memorial Day Weekend, with Comanche finishing exactly one second after 2:50 a.m. the next morning, giving her an elapsed time of 11 hours 25 minutes and 01 second. Speed-wise, Comanche averaged 16.2 knots, crushing the old Rambler 100 record that averaged 14 knots.

“If I could have drawn the weather map, I think it is what I would have drawn,” said Comanche’s Navigator Stan Honey. The favorable conditions included winds of 15-27 knots and outgoing/incoming tides at all the right times, especially at “The Race” and “Plum Gut,” two notoriously difficult passage choices for exiting and re-entering Long Island Sound.

Repeating its PHRF 3 Class victory from last year was American Yacht Club’s J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN, another entry with junior sailors, but in this case, the kids were the majority onboard with Peter Becker serving as the team’s single adult safety officer and coach. “Last year, we won our class and finished third overall, which was a huge moment,” said Becker. “This year, we were first in PHRF division and first overall in PHRF, so we bested our performance by a big margin. The kids are on fire; they love it!”

The YOUNG AMERICAN team was pressured up at the start for their spinnaker run in 25 knots. When the tack of their chute blew out, they switched to a spare and were surfing down Long Island Sound at 15 knots.  “We were all hiking off the stern and hanging with the big boats and double-handed boats.  They started the double-hands, then small to large classes in order, so Comanche was the last start. It was really cool when it went whizzing by us doing 18-20 knots.”  For their offshore feats, the YOUNG AMERICAN crew was awarded the TERRAPIN TROPHY for “Best corrected time in PHRF”!

Behind the YOUNG AMERICAN team was Rick Oricchio’s J/120 ROCKET SCIENCE with a 4th in class and sitting in 7th was Dan Nash’s J/105 MISTRAL.

In the IRC Divisions, several J crews had excellent performances.  Most notably, about on par with the kids triumph was Hewitt Gaynor’s J/120 MIREILLE taking 1st in the IRC Double-handed Division.  A fellow J/120 duo on ALIBI skippered by Gardner Grant took 2nd!  Fifth in class was Rod Johnstone’ J/88 JAZZ (see Rod J’s report below in the Community section) and taking 7th place was Andrew Berdon’s J/109 STRIDER.  For their epic win in the Double-handed Division, MIREILLE took home the GEROLD ABELS Trophy for “Best Performance Double-Handed”.

For IRC 2 Class, the J/122 RED SKY helmed by John Pearson placed third overall of eight boats.

The J/44s once again sailed as a one-design class with long-time J/105 champion Joerg Esdorn demonstrating both strong tactics and long-term offshore strategies to pull off their first big J/44 class win since they traded up to the 44s over four years ago.  Tough class!  Second was veteran 44 class winner Len Sitar’s VAMP and rounding out the podium was Chris Lewis’ Houston, Texas team sailing KENAI (bet they were happy to be avoiding the massive flooding in their hometown!). As a result of their performance in the 44 class, Esdorn’s KINCSEM was awarded the GEORGE LAUDER TROPHY for the “Best performance by a Vintage boat (25 years old +)!

Chairman Redniss said this was a tough year for getting boats prepared for the Block Island Race, which was a week earlier than usual. “It was quite cold and harbors were frozen; yards were simply weeks behind.  Overall, we had 68 entries; however, eight notified us before race day that they were not going to make it, and another two did not make the start. Conditions for the race were near perfect, but of course, another 10 or 12 degrees warmer would have been nice!  We were cold on the Committee Boat overnight; I can imagine there was a lot of shivering on the rail!”  For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information

J’s Sweep Swiftsure Classes

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- This year’s Swiftsure Race had nearly all the best elements of a near-perfect race!  Good winds, smooth waters, incredible competitors from far and wide, the largest complement of racers in years.  The Swiftsure is now actually five different races over three separate courses, plus an inshore regatta.  The principal races include the following:

• Swiftsure Lightship Classic- 138nm
• Hein Bank Race- 118.1nm
• Cape Flattery Race- 101.9nm
• Juan de Fuca Race- 78.7nm
• Inshore Classic Race- 24.0nm

Starting off with the granddaddy of them all, the Lightship Classic, we find Ron Holbrook’s crew on the J/133 CONSTELLATION sailed a great race to complete the 138.2nm course in 22:52:20 to take second overall in the division of eleven boats.

In the Cape Flattery Race, perennially the largest race fleet with 65 boats in six PHRF divisions.  The J’s had fantastic performances in some of the divisions. “Bringing home the bacon”, so to speak, were a duo of J/120s at the top of L2 Division.  First on corrected time was Kirk Palmer’s LIGHTSCOUT and second was Bob Brunius’ famous veteran offshore crew on TIME BANDIT.  Together they also took 2nd and 4th overall in the entire Cape Flattery Race!  In fact, J crews swept the L2 Division, with the J/46 DIVA sailed by Jim Prentice taking 3rd in class and 8th overall. Fifth in class went to the J/35 TAHLEQUAH skippered by Don Leighton followed by Chris Johnson’s J/120 WITH GRACE in 7th and Mark Hansen’s J/109 MOJO in 8th.  In short, J’s took 60% of the top ten spots in L2 Division.

Repeating their J colleague’s performances in L2, the J/105s simply swept top honors in L3 Division.  At the top of the trio was Matt Davis’ FREE BOWL OF SOUP from Arizona YC, if you recall they won their class in the Oregon Offshore Race last year and went on to repeat that same performance in the Pacific Cup Race. Second was a well-known fast local boat, Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM and third place went to Ed Wilder’s AVALANCHE.

In the H1 Division, it was Scott Campbell’s pretty J/46 DIVA from Portland, Oregon that simply trounced their competitors to win their class by 22 minutes on corrected time.  Not too far off the pace was fellow Portland YC member Tom Keffer on his J/42 VELOCITY posting a 9th in class.

There were 46 boats in four PHRF divisions sailing the 78.7nm Juan de Fuca Race.  Top J was the J/35 MOONLIGHT MILE sailed by Duncan Stamper, taking a 7th in L1 Division.  The J/30s in L2 Division sailed well, with Joe Geck’s BOB taking 3rd and Theo Singelis’ TAKU placing 8th.

The Inshore Race was fast and furious with most competitors finished by 3 PM.  This 24nm race saw nearly the entire top twenty boats overall finish within 10 minutes of each other on corrected time!  Needless to say, the conditions seriously favored the smaller, slower handicapped boats.  Top J was Kevin Reath’s J/80 SW-II from host Royal Vancouver YC, taking 6th in the Flying Sails Division.  Next was Ben Braden sailing the J/88 in 14th place, then in 16th was Tom Kerr’s J/33 CORVO.  In FS-Division I, Braden’s J/88 placed 5th and Kerr’s J/33 CORVO was 6th.  In FS-Division 2, Reath’s J/80 SW-II won class.

The big changes for Swiftsure 2015 seem to have been well received– a brand new race course (the Hein Bank Race) and a brand new venue for Swiftsure Centre in the Steamship Terminal, many thanks to sponsors Steamship Grill & Bar and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.   Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson   Swiftsure Facebook page   For more Swiftsure Race sailing information

J/80 Blue Project Club Opens in Italy

(Chiavari (Genoa), Italy)- As they continue to grow their sailing club and sailing course offerings, the BLUE PROJECT team will begin their programs in Marina di Chiavari (GE) on board of their J/80s in June of this year.

The program offers sailors an opportunity to improve their sailing capabilities with excellent instructors in one of the most beautiful places to sail in all of Italy.  Situated along the famous coastline that runs along Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino, it offers a great chance to have a wonderful vacation and learn the nuances of sailing in the sensitive, fun-to-sail J/80 class sailboats.

Perhaps the most notable benefit of participating in this program is that a famous woman skipper- Anne-Soizic Bertin- is their Technical Director (pictured here). She is a Match Race Champion and has been 5th in the ISAF World Rankings.  She is a French woman that lives in Chiavari and has been a habitué of the J/80 class.  Her regular crew are, in fact, (from the bow in the above photo) Fausto Surini, Mattia Capurso, Andrea Trani and Martino Tortarolo- her team for sailing J/80 events.

The BLUE PROJECT Team can organize full packages that include hotel, meals, excursions, car rental, etc to discover Liguria and its beautiful and enchanting sea, towns and excellent food & wine.

Classes are held on weekends as well as there are 5-day courses from Monday to Friday. For more information and booking, please contact Anne-Soizic Bertin: mobile +39 329 854 9199/ email- anne@blueprojectsailing.com or Ivana Quattrini: mobile +39 335 809 3904/ email- ufficiostampa@blueprojectsailing.com

J/24 US Nationals Snow’d Under!

(Berkeley, California) – It took all nine races to determine the victor at the J/24 US National Championship, hosted by Berkeley Yacht Club on May 22-24. Chris Snow’s BOGUS and David Klatt’s JADED came into the final day with just one point separating them, and in the end, it was still one single point that secured victory for Snow and his crew, which included current J/24 World Champion Will Welles (tactics), Chris Nesbitt (trim), Garth Reynolds (mast) and Doug Weitz (bow, a J/24 World Champion crew in 1995).

Snow’s BOGUS team gained the early advantage on day 1 on the highly competitive fleet of twenty-five boats; they posted a 1,2,3 on Friday. Just two notches behind them was Klatt’s JADED of Ventura, CA with 8 points. Tokuma Takesue’s GEKKO from Japan stood in third with 12 points.

Snow took control of the opening bout, when winds were between 10-12 knots on San Francisco Bay. Mark Laura’s BABA LOUIE trailed in second, and Klatt in third. In the next race, it was Takesue’s GEKKO in the top spot, as Snow dropped to second and Scott Milne’s Tremendous Slouch completed the top trio. Klatt claimed the victory in Friday’s final contest, followed by Carl Sheath’s Suspence (who subsequently incurred a 20% scoring penalty) and Snow. The breeze increased to 14-16 knots by the start of race 3.

Three more races were completed on the second day with only one point now dividing the top two in the standings: BOGUS and JADED. Snow dropped a six in Saturday’s middle race to keep scores of 1,2,3,3,1 for 10 points. Klatt had to drop his last tally (a fifth), leaving a line of 3,4,1,2,1 for 11 points. Laura’s BABA LOUIE moved up to third in the standings.

Light winds between 4-6 knots greeted the teams on Saturday morning when Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS of Santa Barbara, CA won the opening contest. Klatt and Snow then settled in the familiar top three. Klatt inched out Laura’s Baba Louie to claim the top spot in the next race in breeze between 6-8 knots (Toole got the bronze position). The wind stepped up to 10-12 in Saturday’s final battle, and it was Snow who secured the victory, trailed by Scott Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH and Laura.

BOGUS started off Sunday with a 2,1, leaving them with a five-point advantage. Klatt did all he could in the final bout and took line honors, but Snow placed fifth which was exactly enough to win with 18 net points, to Klatt’s 19. Takesue’s GEKKO of Japan, with Mike Ingham as a crew member, took third with 32 points.

Pat Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS was finally getting their “mojo” going and opened the day with a victory, ahead of Snow and Michael Whitfield’s TMC RACING, while winds hovered around 10 knots on the Bay. Snow snagged the bullet in the next contest, as Klatt and Takesue rounded out the top three. Closing out the regatta in 12-14 knots of wind, Klatt claimed the final race win, trailed by Scott Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH and Takesue.

Behind the top two boats overall, taking a well-deserved third place was Takesue’s GEKKO with 32 pts net.  Fourth was Toole’s 3 BIG DOGS with 36 pts net and fifth was Laura’s Seattle crew on BABA LOUIE with 43 pts net.

One of the more notable performances in the regatta was woman skipper Natalie Penner on GIGGLES.  Hailing from Austin YC in Texas, this was her first major regatta on the notorious Berkeley Circle on San Francisco Bay.  While her team still had their “training wheels” on in the first few races, she closed with a 4-6 in the last two races to jump into 8th spot overall— not bad for here crew to snare a top ten finish!  For more J/24 US Nationals sailing information

J’s J’Taime GP du Crouesty

Pellissier Tops J/80s, Sambron Eclipses J/70s, MAJIC Dusts J/24s
(Crouesty de Arzon, France)- Blessed with better than average sailing conditions over all three days of the regatta, the Yacht Club du Crouesty Arzon did a fantastic job of hosting their famous annual regatta- the Grand Prix du Crouesty.

With such great conditions, the sailing off Port Navalo on the Baie de Morbihan saw the YCCA able to get in as many as a dozen races for some fleets!  Both the J/70s and J/24s were hosting their French National Championships and the J/80s were sailing the next act in the season long Coupe de France J/80 series.

Perhaps the big surprise was the outstanding performance of Laurent Sempron’s HEMON CAMUS in the eleven boats J/70 class. It is evident that his long-term success in the J/80 class was a great background for sailing the 70s.  Starting out by winning the first race, Sambron’s crew won all but one race to close out the series with just 8 pts.  As a result, Sambron’s crew are declared the first French J/70 National Champions!  Behind them, it was a close contest for the top five.  Taking 2nd overall was Gwenael Thomas’ OUEST GREEMENT with 21 pts net and the only other boat to win a race.  Third place was Francois Dore’s CELE’J from EV Rochelaises with 25 pts net- they are from the homeport for the upcoming J/70 World Championships.  Fourth was Pierre Ducom’s ENER-J with 27 pts net and fifth place was taken by Thomas Mellano’s PAPREC RECYCLAGE LE HAVRE NAUTIC.

There was a good turnout for the J/80s, with twenty-two boats vying for good positions in their overall season series.  Sailing at a very high level all season long has been Sylvain Pellissier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE team.  After winning the first two races with ease, Pellissier’s team put their boat on “cruise control” and posted the rest of their scores in the top five to win with just 12 pts net.  Not giving a millimeter, but just never able to close the gap on Pellissier’s fast & smart team was past French J/80 National Champion, Eric Brezellec on COURRIER JUNIOR.  After posting two seconds in as many races, they could do nothing to close the gap with Pellissier, having to settle for second overall with 17 pts net.  Sailing one of their better regattas in recent memory was Luc Nadal’s crew on GAN’JA, collecting a 2-1-2 in his scoreline to secure third overall with 26 pts.  The balance of the top five include Adrien Mouillon’s APCC TJM in 4th place and Marc Noesmoen’s TEAM VENDEE in fifth.

Compared to their J one-design colleagues in the 70s and 80s classes, the French J/24 Nationals saw a very closely fought contest for the top three.  The three contenders- Francois De Herce’s MAJIC, Aorelian Garcia’s INSULARIS and Phillippe Boudgourd’s FIL D’O- were essentially tied after six races.  With two more races to go, it would be a horse race to see which team would top the winner’s circle.  At this stage, it was apparent that MAJIC was ready to get the job done, posting a closing score of double bullets to win with 12 pts net.  Sailing nearly as well was INSULARIS, but their 2-3 was only good enough for 2nd place with 15 pts net.  Finally, just about falling off their race horse must have been FIL D’O’s crew, their 5-2 dropped them out of contention into 3rd place overall with 18 pts net.  It was fun, close racing for this trio.  Taking 4th was Charles Gury’s JINETTE and in 5th was Pierre Antoine’s MARTA.  For more Grand Prix du Crouesty France sailing information

J/111 Wins Dutch 2H Nationals

J/109 Crushes ORC 2 Class @ North Sea Regatta
(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- Participants in the 70th North Sea Regatta, powered by Delta Lloyd, were treated to beautiful weather all weekend long.  The participants in the Two-Handed Nationals had a stronger, more demanding three days than they had sailing for 24 hours at sea last week.  As most will admit, it was great training for the Fastnet Race.

After the first day of racing, it was clear amongst the fifteen duos on the Two-Handed Class starting line that Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER was going to be a force to contend with.  Easily starting fast and handling their boat as well or better than all their competitors, the super slick J/111 simply outsailed their colleagues to lead after the first day.

Yvonne Beusker, who is responsible for the racing and the competition within Shorthanded group, was positively surprised about the level of competition. "They are all real die-hards, everyone sailing with the knife between the teeth. The level is really high amongst all the teams! Everyone is going to continue until they are exhausted; the two of you have to be very versatile. You saw yesterday, especially with the heavy weather, the teams all sailed very well. We left at 8:45 am from the harbor and were the last ones were back at 17:45 hrs! That is a full day of sailing for two people after three races!  On Saturday, the conditions were calmer and the duos could be little more relaxed about pushing their boats.”

Beusker is thrilled with the number of participants in this first national championship (seen in the photo above). "The atmosphere is very good and most of the participants will also take part in the Fastnet race. As we celebrate, this feast continues forward to the Fastnet Race.  The major competitors there are the French and the English for us.  However, we know the level of Dutch sailing high, particularly with this current group of two-handed teams, so we hope the Dutch are really going to do well during the Fastnet."

Beusker’s words may be prophetic.  As it was in the last edition of the Fastnet Race that the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, after passing Fastnet Rock, was one of the leaders overall in the IRC Class of 250+ boats- including fully-crewed teams!  So, it remains to be seen if this year’s preparations bring everyone in the Netherlands to a much higher level.

At the end of the regatta, the first Netherlands Two-Handed National Championship crown went to John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef’s XCENTRIC RIPPER.  No one could touch them on speed, strategy and boat-handling.  Understandably, Van der Starre was walking on air after winning the first Two-handed Nationals! "I walk on roses," says van der Starre. "It's always ups and downs, now with the Vuurschepenrace and North Sea Race experience, we believe we have a good chance in the Fastnet Race. When we were in England, I said that I simply wanted to go sailing and see what happens.  We’re happy with our performance so far!”

“The crossing of the Channel and the races up and down the coast of Scheveningen are not comparable to this weekend,” said van der Starre. "The Channel crossing is really tough, we were awake nearly 25 hours, so it’s mentally and physically challenging. Last weekend saw really how high the level in the Netherlands, it was very physically challenging since you sail so many races!  The North Sea Regatta was one that stood high on the list that we hoped to do well in, we now move on to the Fastnet. And, in between we also still do some competitions in the Netherlands."

In addition to the winners, taking second in the Two-Handed Nationals was the J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM sailed by Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker, winning the last two races in convincing fashion over their friends on the RIPPER!  In fifth was the J/133 BATFISH sailed by Bart Desaunois and Gerard de Boer; seventh was the J/109 FIRESTORM (Wim van Slooten/ Jochem Hamstra); taking 8th was the J/120 MAVERICK (Chris Schram); and tenth was the women’s duo on the J/105 PANTHER (Yvonne Beusker/ Edith Voskamp).  That is quite a showing for J/Teams in the top ten of the first Two-Handed Nationals- 60% of the top ten!!

Besides the 2H Nationals, XCENTRIC RIPPER duo also won the 2H Yeoman Cup with a 1-2-1-3-2 record for just 9 pts.  Taking second were their friends on the J/133 BATFISH, 3rd place was the J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM, 8th was the J/120 MAVERICK, 10th was the J/109 FIRESTORM, and 11th was the J/105 PANTHER.

Over in the world of ORC 2 Class racing, there was another excellent performance by a J/crew-  JC Bornet’s J/109 JAI LAI.  Wouter Kollman, who was sailing aboard as tactics, said, “I can’t believe we won the Dutch ORC Championship, the Yeoman Cup and the North Sea Regatta Overall in ORC 2 Class!  Great sailing with Team ZDH Stevedoring!!”  Their J/109 classmate MAJIC, sailed by Arnout Joorritsma took fourth in class.

The J/22 Benelux Open Championship went to Jean-Michel Lautier’s FRAPORITA, posting five 1sts in the twelve races the J/22 class sailed over the four days.  The FRAPORITA gang sailed a remarkably steady series, posting only top five finishes to win with just 19 pts.  Despite leading after the first half of the series (6 races), having to take second overall was Dirk Jan Verdoorn’s JUT EN JUL.  Dirk’s crew may have “lost their minds” after celebrating their good fortune at the start of the regatta, for their disastrous performances in the next four races, an epic 8-11-10-11 tally, saw them tumble hard down the standings.  Only three points back in 3rd place was Ivo Jeukens’ DA KANTOORBUTLER.  Rounding out the top five was Erik Verboom’s JAM SESSION in 4th and in 5th place was the famous BIG ROLL/ TU DELFT/ BROACH/ BERING crew led by skipper Lisanne Nijdam.

This year there was four J/80's registered in the North Sea Regatta for their Open Benelux Championship.  It turned into a match race struggle between Peter Paul de Vries and Bram Adema.  "We were a bit wild at the start,” said Peter Paul, “but then we were happy to have a match race for the regatta with Bram!  Fun sailing all weekend!”  In the end, Peter Paul’s team on DE SJAAK won with eight bullets in the scoreline with Bram’s NJORD taking the second seat on the podium.  Sailing photo credits- Sander van der Borch.  For more Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta sailing information

BRIBON-MOVISTAR- J/80 Copa de Espana Star

(Murcia, Spain)- Marc de Antonio and Sofia Bertrand’s J/80 BRIBON-MOVISTAR, sailing under the flag of the Real Club Nautico de Barcelona and Real Club Nautico de Sanxenxo, again won their title with a good margin of points over the second place finishers.  It was the locals from Murcia that completed the podium, Carlos Martinez at the helm of AKEWUELE and Jose Maria Van der Ploeg skippering NAUTICA WATCHES.

The fleet was blessed with perfect sailing conditions during the three days of racing off the Marina Juan Montiel (Aguilas, Murcia) to compete for the Copa de Espana J/80.  Seventeen teams sailed nine races from the 21st to 24th of May in perfect breezes.

The final victory went to the crew of Marc Antony and Sophie Bertrand, their team on “BRIBON—MOVISTAR" sailed an impeccable championship, taking podium positions in eight of the nine races.  Despite being the leader after the first day of racing, Carlos Martinez’s AKEQUELE finished in second place.

Olympic medalist Jose Maria Van der Ploeg, skippering NAUTICA WATCHES, took third largely because they had to discard a 16 pt Black Flag and count the other eight races instead.

The superiority of the Catalan J/80 fleet was the dominant theme in the Copa de Espana J/80 in Aguilas.  The fact that the podium had all three places occupied by members of the Catalan fleet is quite remarkable and is evidence of the high quality of racing in the local fleet.

In the overall standings, one has to drop to fourth place to find a team that does not belong to the Catalan fleet; that was HM HOTELS skippered by Javier Chacartegui, representing the Yacht Club of Arenal (Baleares).  They were six points off the podium.

The next regatta for the Spanish J/80 class will be the Campeonato de Espana IX to be held in Sotogrande waters- Cádiz- from 3rd to 6th of June.  Already thirty boats have registered for the event with more promising they will be there!  That should be a fantastic warm-up for the J/80 World Championships in Germany in the first week of July!  For more Copa de Espana sailing information