Danish Sailing League (Sejlsportsligaen) Report

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The Danish Sailing League concluded with Skovshoved Sejlklub as the overall winner after the final event in Copenhagen (25th to 27th September). Silver went to the defending champions from Hellerup Sejlklub, while Aarhus Sejlklub finished third.

The fleet sailed in front of the famous Little Mermaid in Copenhagen Harbour. The summery weather lured spectators from far and wide to watch the weekend’s thrilling racing. Among the spectators was a small delegation from Hadsund, as some of the first arrived Sunday morning with folding chairs and took their front-row seats to follow the fortunes of their local club throughout the day. Together with all the other spectators, they were able to experience the league sailing more closely than ever. Most of Sunday’s racing saw the races finish just a few metres from the quayside and brought cheering and hollering every bit as passionate as you’d witness at a football match.

The Danish Sailing League starts again in May 2016.  Here’s their Facebook sailing league page- https://www.facebook.com/sejlsportsligaen.  And, more Sejlsportlgaen sailing information can be found here- http://sejlsportsligaen.dk/

What the sailing league organizers have done better than any other sailing event in the world is to produce a combination of compelling “real-time” graphics showing how each team is doing mark-by-mark each race.  Even better yet, the giant jumbotron LED screens also show “live” standings for the entire fleet! Thanks to SAP SAILING SPORT, you can now enjoy the type of “live” leaderboards you see at a NASCAR or Formula One race. You get the complete picture of all the action on the water- it’s fascinating and it’s constantly changing, much to the delight (or anxiety) of those watching the race on the waterfront.  Here are some good examples of Sejlsportsligaen YouTube sailing videos that incorporate that real-time information:

• Skive- Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_6yrCjhBdA
• Skive- Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP1vkyPjzOs
• Horsens- Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB9XltYMeEw
• Horsens- Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31dLgnEKdUs
• Kobenhavn- Day 4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7NrL6v8AMY
• Kobenhavn- Highlights- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tekSPoxfujU
• Faaborg- Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31dLgnEKdUs
• Sejlsportsligaen Overview- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44MtMZgxDMQ

Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Crowned Student Yachting World Cup Champions

(La Baule - Le Pouliguen)- The Student Yachting World Cup (SYWoC) is an event organized every year in France by students for students. Created in 1979 under the name of Course de l'Europe, the cup was just meant for participants from Western Europe. But, as time went by, more and more Eastern European countries joined the cup. That's why the Course de l'Europe changed its name to become the SYWoC.

The regatta lasts one whole week in France and counts about 150 competitors, representing 15 countries from all around the world. During this week, the atmosphere is both sporting and multicultural. The first night, every team participates in the crews' dinner by bringing some dishes or some beverage representing their country. This way, the students have an opportunity to meet and discover other culture before the cup begins. Each night, students can also meet at the dinner room and have some nice time with the participants.

The 35th SYWoC took place from October 13th to 20th.  This year, four UK University teams were entered and every boat had a Royal Southern Academy member onboard as skipper or crew. The Oxford University team was skippered by 19 year-old Lulu Wallis; Cambridge was sailed by Damien Arnol (25), and 21 year-old Annabel Vose is heading up the Southampton University team. Annabel is a 420 World and European Champion and successfully skippered a women's match racing team to win the University World Championship last summer. Academy members Jamie Diamond & Tom Harrison joined her. The University of Strathclyde's team captain is 22 year-old Peter Cameron.

The regatta is a test of patience, perseverance and conditioning.  Up to three races per day can be sailed and by the time the crews are into the fifth day of racing, the sheer mental and physical exercise can be exhausting to some crews.

A perfect example is what happened one-day before the last race.  The name of the final winner was still unknown, even though the Swiss team was the favorite of the competition. Yet, the ranking was could still change because the teams were so close on points.  Although the morning fog delayed the first race, the sun was present on the second part of the day and the wind was stronger than Saturday, around 15 knots with highs of twenty knots. Despite the strong wind, the program was the same as yesterday, with three inshore races and one coastal race.

The 12th race took place just before midday and saw Canada make a very good start. After the first buoy, they were far ahead of the other boats, followed by Switzerland and Southampton, the defender team. Far behind came the other crews led by Ireland, who managed to catch up on Southampton at the half of the race. Unfortunately for Ireland, they faced a problem with their spinnaker that cost them one place. This leading quartet led the remainder of the race, and Switzerland managed to overtake Canada just before the finish line. Southampton and Ireland finished third and fourth, far ahead of Cambridge, fifth at the finish.

The wind began increased up to twenty knots at the beginning of the second race. Despite a promising start for Cambridge, Ireland and Southampton took the lead of the race but were very close to each other, followed by Switzerland. Ireland lost two places but was still in competition for the win of this round. Canada had a good race, but suffered from a spinnaker problem and later was DSQ’d anyhow for an OCS. At the end of the race, the battle raged between Switzerland and Southampton, the latter finally managed to win the round.

The third race was the last inshore one for the day. Once again, Switzerland, Southampton and Ireland immediately took control, but were very close to each other. However, Southampton managed to widen the gap with the Swiss boat for most of the race.  But, in a surprisingly smart strategic move, the Swiss caught them by the finish! Taking third was Japan, scoring their best result of the series!

The last race was the only coastal race of the day. Southampton was unbeatable from the start, followed by Ireland. Sadly for Oxford, their great start and 3rd at the first mark didn’t hold, dropping to 8th by the finish.

On the last day, the outcome was still in doubt even though the Swiss team from Lausanne was in a good position to win the title. The English team from Southampton could still catch them, especially since two inshore races were planned.

Due to much stronger winds than the previous few days, the crews were permitted to use the small spinnaker only.

The first race of the day produced a surprising outcome.  Having learned from earlier mistakes tactically and with regards to boatspeed, the Canadian team essentially started first and ran away from the fleet, posting one of the most emphatic wins of the entire regatta!  Finishing a distant second in the windy, full-on planing race was the Southampton team (hoping to defend their title) and in third were the Swiss.  Another surprise was the 4th place finish by the Japanese Kobe university team!

The University of Southampton won the last race with the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne behind them. Third were the Irish University College of Dublin crew, who can be proud of their performance this year.

At the closing ceremony the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique team were crowned World Student Champions with 27 pts. The trophy of the City of Le Pouliguen was given to University of Southampton for finishing 2nd overall just 3 pts back with 30 pts total.  Third was University College of Dublin with 45 pts, they also won the AGPM Trophy rewarding the crew who had the Best Performances on the Coastal Races.  Fourth was University of Cambridge from the United Kingdom with 59 pts.  Fifth was the Canadian Dalhousie University team sitting on 73 pts.  For more Student Yachting World Cup sailing information

The Student Yachting World Cup team in La Baule produced well-edited sailing videos, enjoy them here:

• Day 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDTOZJ-VCWY
• Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ0n9ykH46U
• Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDQE86uLUQ0
• Day 4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v84K41GoNtg
• Day 5- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HoitSQkuqQ
• Day 6- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtJn36nLTY4
• Day 7- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02hVrVh_JEc

J/122 ARTIE Wins Rolex Middle Sea Race

(Gzira, Malta)- The Royal Malta YC is proud to be hosting the 36th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race. The race has attracted 100+ competitors from 22 countries from all over the world. The 606nm race starts and finishes in the spectacular surroundings of Malta's capital city, Valetta.  The weather forecasts of light to medium winds for most of the race have been true to form.  No records broken.  In fact, 88 ft canting-keelers (Rambler 88) were beating 70 ft record-breaking trimarans (e.g. Phaedo) through the Straits of Messina between the volcanic island of Sicily and the Italian mainland- the famous “boot”.

It was a drama-filled several days of sailing for the various J/teams in the event. Here were some of the reports.

On Monday 1600 hrs on the third day of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, a pulsating battle had emerged between six Maltese yachts close to the Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily. The six yachts are all in sight of each other, vying to be the first Maltese yacht to finish the race and lift the Transport Malta Trophy. Last year's overall winner, the J/122 ARTIE, co-skippered by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard, leads the pack of Maltese boats by a single mile and was the first Maltese boat to finish the race last year. The six Maltese yachts are only three miles apart after 250 miles of racing!

Tuesday at 1600 hours at Favignana Rock, the scenario was not much different.  In IRC Four, Sönke Stein and David Anastasi’s Maltese J/133 OIL TANKING JUNO was in a dead heat for the class lead and, potentially, overall lead.  In IRC Five at Favignana, Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard's Maltese J/122 ARTIE held a narrow lead of just 16 minutes on corrected time from Laurant Charmy's French J/111, SL ENERGIES GROUPE FASTWAVE.

Thursday 0800 hours at the finish line- there was high drama in the early hours of Thursday morning, with five Maltese boats all finishing the race in sight of each other at the Royal Malta Yacht Club. Lee Satariano & Christian Ripard's J/122 ARTIE, was the first Maltese yacht to cross the line with David Anastasi & Sönke Stein's J/133 OILTANKING JUNO completing the scene.

Lee Satariano & Christian Ripard's Maltese J/122 ARTIE corrected out to win IRC Five and placed fourth overall in a fleet of over 100 yachts. ARTIE was also the Maltese yacht with the best-corrected time in IRC and ORC, winning both of the Teddy Borg Trophies. After the race, the ARTIE crew were happy with their performance, despite not winning the race overall, as they have done on two previous occasions.

“Mentally that was a very tough race and at times very frustrating, overall I don't think there was anything more we could have done to achieve a better result. At many stages of the race, if we could have found more wind, we would have done, but there is an element of luck to that and this year, we were not so lucky but tactically we sailed pretty well and amongst the crew, we agree that we probably sailed the boat better this year than we have ever done. We set out to win our class and we are very happy that we have achieved that.”

“I think that the fact that so many Maltese boats finished so close together shows that we are very competitive people. The level of sailing amongst the Maltese teams has definitely gone up, we have all improved, because the standard starts somewhere, someone takes that on, and so we drive each other to new levels. Maltese sailors are also taking part in more racing internationally, this race is getting bigger, and the Maltese sailors are taking it more seriously.”

The Royal Malta YC has been buzzing all day, with crews arriving back in Malta, rubbing shoulders with fellow sailors, describing the story of their own Rolex Middle Sea Race. About half of the fleet has now finished the race with many more yachts expected to arrive today and tomorrow.

In IRC Five, the J/122 ARTIE was the winner. Taking third in a terrific performance was Laurant Charmy's French J/111 SL ENERGIES GROUPE FASTWAVE from the South of France.   Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo   For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information.

Italians Dominate J/70 European Championship

Spanish J/70 Sailors Are Rising Stars
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- It was an all-Mediterranean affair for the top five in this year’s J/70 European Championship for the Credit Suisse Trophy.  Sixty teams representing 11 nationalities enjoyed the four days of racing provided by YC Monaco’s RC team of John Coveney & Thierry Leret.  Plus, the extraordinary crew at YC Monaco not only rolled out the gilded red carpet for the J/70 sailors, but they warmly embraced them as an extended family in the Monegasque tradition of welcoming sailors from all nations.

The regattas started off with brisk easterly breezes in the 13 kts range with a steady swell rolling in with a cross-chop on top— typical of sailing in the tricky Hercules Bay conditions.  For the next four days, the sailors were challenged by such demanding conditions and it was clear those who were familiar with the venue excelled when the going got rough.  What surprised many J/70 teams were the rapid rise of the Spanish and Italian teams to the top of the standings.

With the J/70 Worlds as the ultimate training ground, the Italian NOTARO Team led by Luca Domenici proved their top ten performance at the Worlds in La Rochelle, France was no fluke.  The top sailor from Anzio, Italy started off the first race with a 20th, but simply scorched the fleet for a 5-2-5-1-3, posting all top five scores to win with 16 pts net.  Domenici attributes his winning performance to his crew of Piero Vigo, Lorenzo Del Rio and Davide Bortoletto.

Another Italian crew that was at the top of the Alcatel OneTouch J/70 Italian National Championship series was the runner-up- Franco Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN from San Remo.  His team of Daniele Cassinari, Simon Alltree and Luca Albarelli also sailed well at the J/70 Worlds and, again, improved every single race to close the Europeans with a bullet in the last race.  Their record of 10-8-6-3-2-1 was good for 20 pts net.

After starting out the regatta in first place after the first day of racing, Spain’s J/80 World Champion and Olympic Medallist, Hugo Rocha, managed to keep NEW TERRITORIES and crew (Alexey Semenov, Ruben Castells, Fran Palacios) in the hunt and secure the bronze with a consistent performance; posting a 3-1-8-2-17-11 for 25 pts net.

Rounding out the top five was another Spanish team in fourth, Gonzalo Araoejo’s SAILWAY with crew of Guilherme Almeida, Alberto Viejo and Joaquin “Hurricane” Cores).  Fifth was the top Monegasque crew on CARPE DIEM, skippered by Jacopo Carrain with crew of Enrico Fonda, Filippo La Mantia, and Andrea Felci.

The competition was unrelenting and unforgiving.  Multiple Black Flags, plenty of OCS’s, and massive “roller coaster” scorelines scuttled more than their fair share of champion teams.  No one won more than one race and few could even post consistent top ten finishes.

The Mexican J/70 World Champion, Julian Fernandez Neckelmann sailing with Bill Hardesty as tactician on FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO, for example, won the fourth race.  But, they could not overcome a BFD, DSQ and 18th and, subsequently, couldn’t crack the top 15 overall.

A similar scenario held true for the J/70 Midwinter and Bacardi Race Week champion, Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK.  While they sailed fast and counted a 2-1-2, they also had a BFD-13-19 to contend with; knocking them out of any possible contention for regatta honors.

Not once did the team leading the pack to the first mark win the race, with the downwind legs proving as tactically difficult as the upwind legs.  All the finishes on a reach saw some dramatic luffs with spinnakers flying, delighting spectators and getting the adrenaline pumping.

There was everything to play for among the top ten right up to the last race, as the slightest mistake on the start (e.g. an OCS) risked any hope of being on the podium. For example, the young, very talented French team of Quentin Delapierre and Matthieu Salomon (CHARIOT PLUS- VANNES UTILITAIRES) from EV Cataschool were J/80 European Champions.  Their performance during the regatta surprised many people. After a BFD in the first race, their results in the next four races equaled the ultimate regatta winner, posting a 3-5-4-3.  However, a discouraging 23rd in the last race (a counter) dropped them from an easy podium finish to 7th overall.  Watch out for CHARIOT PLUS- VANNES UTILITAIRES in the future, a young, smart, talented French crew!

Amongst the host YC Monaco J/70 fleet, Jacopo Carrain, the Monaco Class President and head of the 15-strong Monegasque fleet reached the objective of a respectable showing with a fine performance.  Carrain’s 5th place was a reflection of the YC Monaco’s commitment to creating the largest training and competition base for J/70s in Europe. Fellow YCM member Andrea Zaoli sailing EST finished 10th.  A great showing for the Principality’s sailors!

Leading the 18-strong German fleet was Moritz Bohnenberger’s TOURING JUNIOR crew that finished 9th overall.  Just off the pace, but winning the first race of the regatta, was colleague Max Rieger on LED ZEPPELIN who finished 12th.  Bo Teichmann’s OUTSIDER was third German team in 16th place.

For having an embryonic fleet, the Swedish contingent of exactly two boats had amazing results.  Oscar Lundqvist’s FANNY was in the top five after three races, but tanked in the last three to salvage an 8th overall.  However, Lundqvist’s FANNY crew was declared J/70 European Corinthian Champions!  Meanwhile, fellow Swede, Ingemar Sundstedt’s ROCAD RACING, sailed consistently in the top quarter of the fleet to take 13th overall.

Besides FANNY’s win in Corinthians, second place went to the Spanish team on MARNATURA skippered by Luis Bugallo Ariolla from Club Nautico de Vigo and third went to Moritz Bohnenberger’s TOURING JUNIOR from Germany’s Deutscher Touring YC.  Fourth was Beppe Zavanone’s PENSAVO PEGGIO from YC San Remo in Italy and fifth was the top UK boat- Anthony Esse’s BABY J from Royal Thames YC.

Thanks to the generosity of all the teams, the Championship raised 10,000 euros for the LENVAL Foundation that supports sick children, with a check being presented to its President, Arnaud Pouillart. The money will be used to buy pediatric equipment to detect bacterial and viral infections in A&E or after an operation. Another donation will finance the Christmas Show for the “Conte sur Moi at Le Patio” nursery that has 36 toddlers.

More than half of the J/70 European teams are leaving their boats at YC Monaco for the winter to take part in the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series, with their sights set on victory at the Primo Cup– Trophée Credit Suisse!  For more J/70 European Championship sailing information   Enjoy these nicely produced sailing videos of the J/70 Europeans:

• Day 0- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4w8qU64B_g
• Day 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7veBHA-tClk
• Day 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqS0Zdkz7zI
• Day 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIXORrDMiv4
• Day 4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWNatoJOEBE
• Euro summary- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrfmzsCi5oM

New VINEYARD VINES J/70 on Launchpad!

(Greenwich, CT)- The new VINEYARD VINES J/70 is on its way to the J/70 winter circuit to sail in the Quantum Key West Race Week, Miami’s Bacardi Miami Sailing Week and more.

This past weekend, John and Molly Baxter were preparing their new J/70 VINEYARD VINES with a little help from their “friends & family”.

After watching his son crawl onto the boat, John observed, “we got the boat rigged and going. Little Charlie was loving it.  I think he might be the most excited of all of us!”

Jud Smith's J/70 Go-Fast Insights

(San Diego, CA)- Jud Smith- skipper of AFRICA that won the J/70 North Americans in San Diego had some interesting commentary on their success:

“Since the 2014 Newport J/70 Worlds, where we finished a respectable 9th overall, we set out to improve on that performance and hit the circuit pretty hard over the winter.   Starting in the Chesapeake, followed by Tampa, Key West, St. Pete, Miami and Charleston.  All were big regattas with plenty of competition and opportunity to improve our speed and technique. During that time, we developed our flatter J6 Radial Jib for the fresher seasonal conditions we encounter on the East Coast.  With our heavy air performance improved, we placed 4th overall at Key West without losing our good light air speed we had in Newport.   At Charleston race week, we moved up to 3rd overall and topped the Dynasty division; racing both major regattas with my daughter Lindsay, Will Felder and Marc Gauthier.  We race at 725 to 740 lbs depending on our team since I’m one of the heaviest drivers in the class at over 100 kilos.

During these travel regattas, we have refined our trimming and tuning techniques for the new J6 Radial jib.  Our high clew jib allows us to in-haul the jib to the cabin house nonskid, which powers up the main and generates more helm and point.   As the wind speed increases to the 7 to 8 knots max power condition, we start to depower by lowering the traveler toward center line and tension the outhaul all before touching the backstay.  We only start using the backstay once the outhaul is tensioned and traveler car is nearing centerline to keep from having too much helm.  Managing the correct amount of power while sailing close hauled is crucial for the Main Trimmer and Helmsman.

Jib development prior to La Rochelle Worlds
This summer we raced Africa in our local Fleet 9, only missing one race day during my trip to the J/70 Worlds in La Rochelle on Peter Duncan’s “Relative Obscurity”.   We tested our current J6 Radial jib design in mid-June with Roller Battens in preparation for the Worlds.  The Jib performed very well at the Worlds even though the experimental roller battens showed signs of fatigue by the end of a windy event, but overall performed well – winning the last race of the Worlds to place 7th overall.  (The roller batten jibs may have a future in the J/70 once the batten durability improves.)

After returning from the Worlds in July, we made a standard vertical batten version of J6R, which we used to win the competitive J/70 New England Championships during Marblehead Race Week, in a wide range of wind speeds and sea conditions. That was our first win in a sanctioned J/70 championship event since we had started racing in 2013.  So we were improving each regatta in 2015 with the NA’s fast approaching.  Meanwhile Team Hooligan, one of our training partners at the North Americans, won Cleveland Race Week (they placed 7th at NA’s using the same main and jib combo as us.)  At the end of August, we won the regional ONE Regatta in light air conditions that were a lot like San Diego.

Sail Selection for the North Americans
It’s unique to sail a big regatta in a venue where the conditions are so consistently light, but thankfully, there was plenty of time to prepare for this.  Leading up to September, I got invited to do a two-boat testing session in San Diego with Joel Ronning and his “Catapult” team.  Joel had set up a two boat J/70 testing camp in San Diego for the month leading up to the NA’s and invited all the top sailmakers in the class to join in for a few days and test their designs at that venue.  I couldn’t resist that opportunity, since Ronning was second at the Newport Worlds and has been one of the top boats on the circuit since the outset.

From that two days of testing on the NA’s track we learned our J6R performed just fine even in the light air and was especially quick with crew on the rail.  What we also found was that our older Main from the 2014 NA’s in Rochester was a bit softer now and provided more power that would be needed for the light air anticipated for NA’s.   While we came away from the New England’s with a win, I felt like for us to be competitive at our weight range in light air, we would need a better downrange soaking kite if we were going to have a shot at the podium."  Read more about Juddie’s experiences here.

Babbit's Cruising their J/46- Sailing the World!

(Hells Gate, New York)- Tom and Jane Babbit are having fun sailing their J/46 BRAVO in various parts of the world.  Recently, they sailed from Maine down to Newport just before Hurricane Joaquin passed offshore of Cape Cod.  They continued on their journey south, here’s Tom’s commentary:

“Thanks for the use of your mooring in front of New York YC’s Harbour Court. However, with the forecast for gale force northerlies, we moved to an Oldport Marine mooring just off Newport Yachting Center for the lost week of the great Nor’easter!

Finally, on Sunday, the sun came out, Hurricane Joaquin went east and there was a glimpse of less than heinous seas off New Jersey.

Off we went on our J/46 BRAVO to conquer Block Island Sound and Long Island Sound to New Haven.

Talk about no turning back!  We soon found ourselves with 25 to 30 knots (and the occasional 35 knot whistler) nearly dead astern (Northeast) with short period swells of 15 feet against the outgoing tide!  More like building-sized steep chop!

The plan was to hit the flood at The Race, which we did, and that rewarded us with a relatively calm second half of the cruise.

While we have sailed our various J/Boats for decades in 30 to 40 knots in comfort we honestly had never seen conditions like this for many years.

So as we approach our seventies, here is our salute to exuberance and never growing sedentary - proof of a 17-knot surf! Darn good boats, I might add!  Our average speed to New Haven just over 9 knots! Cheers, Tom”

J/70 Sailing IN China Project!

(Shenzen, China)- Jim Johnstone continues to develop the J/Boats program in China, potentially the world’s largest sailing market with 1.5 billion people who basically all live within an hour of hundreds of lakes suitable for sailing.

Jimmy commented, “here are photos of our new sailing school in Shanghai that is using J/70s. SAILING IN is the only performance sailing school in China and we are currently working on expansion to Shenzhen and Xiamen where we will have new fleets of J/70's and J/80's to work with.

The school has also taken students to many different Chinese events including a distance race around Hainan Island on a 50-footer to the Mayor’s Cup in Qingdao racing across the Straits to Korea. Currently, we have won those events we have participated in, which is exciting for our Chinese students!

Our next student event is racing the Kings Cup in Phuket on TRADER and Langkawi Race week after that.”

J/105 Masters Regatta Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The International Masters Regatta was established in 1975 by St. Francis YC member, Don Trask. For years, the world’s greatest master sailors such as Elvstrom, Buchan, Burnham, Tillman, Trask, Irish, Harken, North, Holland, Hinman and Dickson had competed in this prestigious international sailing event on San Francisco Bay. After a three-year hiatus, the San Diego YC ushered in a new era for the event and hosted for the first time in 2012.

From October 23rd to 25th, the SDYC will again host the Masters for the third consecutive year in a fleet of matched J/105s supplied by the generosity of their local fleet.  A dozen legendary master sailors from around the world will sail buoy races inside the beautiful bay alongside San Diegoʼs gorgeous waterfront.

Regatta Chairman Jeff Brown will have the help of Joanne O’Dea (Regatta Coordinator), Jeff Johnson (Regatta Manager) and a small army of SDYC’s famous volunteers (50+) to roll out the red carpet and look after the needs of the famous participants.  Helping to support that effort are sponsors JK3 YACHTS, McCarthy Holthus and TESLA Motors (sprint laps around the parking lot, perhaps?).  Everyone is invited to join the teams, sponsors and club members at the amazing 5th annual Taste of Point Loma at SDYC! It takes place on Thursday, October 22, starting at 5pm.

Joining regatta founder Don Trask from St Francis YC will be a host of top West Coast sailors who’ve made their mark in a wide variety of classes from Stars to Farr 40s and the “Congo Cup” to the Transpac Race.  Don’s fellow StFYC members joining the event are John Kilroy of SAMBA PA TI fame (past winner of the Masters) and Jon Andron (most recently a top Masters Team Racing champion).

The SoCal gang is well represented with long-time regatta supporter Malin Burnham (Star World Champion) and friends from San Diego YC, including Chuck Nichols and Sandy Purdon. In that mix of talent is Newport Harbor YC member Dennis Durgan- himself a famous offshore and match-racing champion.

The East Coast contingent will see the return of the “Cuban Comet”. Returning from Miami, Florida for a second shot at the title is Defending Masters Champion Augie Diaz from Biscayne Bay YC.  Other Easterners accompanying him to the Left Coast include Collegiate Sailor of the Year and America’s Cup veteran Gary Jobson from Storm Trysail Club, Maxi-sailor Jeff Neuberth from New York YC, and offshore champion John Rumsey from South Carolina YC.

The lone foreigner tossed into the frying pan of such amazing talent happens to be the lovable character known simply as “Fish”.  For those in America’s Cup circles over the past half-century, you’d recognize Bob Fisher from the United Kingdom as the leader of the British media contingent poking fun at every sacred cow imaginable in the yachting world. Forewarned is forearmed, Fish claims he can “see” this year after some surgery- that may be a liability! He mentioned in passing he can see “skirts” from at least 500 yards away!

While the skippers are all exceptional in their talents and how they have contributed to the sport of sailing, what is perhaps most frightening from a competitive standpoint is to see the formidable teams they have assembled to do battle on the placid waters of San Diego Harbor!  At last count, those crew members include several World Champions, Olympic Medalists, North American Champions, College All-Americans and Collegiate Sailors of the Year, match race champions (Congressional Cup, etc) and silverware from the marquee West coast offshore events such as the Transpac Race, Ensenada Race, Rolex Big Boat Series and Cabo San Lucas Race.  Should make for interesting conversations at the leeward gate!
For more J/105 International Masters Regatta sailing information

J/70 Fall Brawl Preview

(Eastport, MD- If it’s fall, it must be time for da’brawl!  What started out as a fun way to bridge summer sailing with the winter sailing events in Florida, the now annual J/70 Fall Brawl hosted by Eastport YC has become a “must do” regatta as boats and teams slowly head south, escaping the first snow flurries of winter this past weekend in New England!

The Eastporters love hosting the event and regatta participants always seem to rave about how good a time they had in Annapolis, post all the boat show madness.  Come rain or shine, chilly or warm, windy or not (most times there’s a damn good breeze), the regatta has continued to grow and gain its passionate fans.

At last count, over thirty boats have registered to sail over the October 24th to 25th weekend on the sparkling waters of northern Chesapeake Bay, surrounded by masses of trees bursting into a profusion of colors- reds, yellows, oranges- one of the most magical times of year, in fact, to be sailing on the Bay as the leaves reach peak foliage.

Blinded by the scintillating light of nature’s colorful magnificence will be a group of J/70 sailors that span the spectrum of time and experience.  Teams are traveling from as far away as Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and across the Northeast (CT, RI, MA, ME, NJ, NY, PA).  The local talent is hot and they continue to do well at the national level, such as Peter McChesney, Todd Hiller’s LEADING EDGE, Al Terhune’s DAZZLER (a J/22 World Champion), Geoff Becker’s PAPA WHEELIE (current Lightning World Champion), Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD (a general champion of everything), Jon Pollak’s MONKEY BUSINESS, and Taz Coffey’s DANGER MOUSE.

The Annapolis contingent knows their hometown turf is not an easy one to defend.  The vagaries of wind, current and general randomness can often confound even the cleverest hometown heroes.  They’re facing a formidable bunch from all points of the compass.  Foremost amongst them may be Marty McKenna’s RARITY leading the Youngstown YC group that includes Tim Finkle’s JUNIOR.  Then, John Brim’s RIMETTE (the wily fox from Fisher’s Island YC), Alex Meleney’s TRUCKIN from Vineyard Haven YC and Bodo von der Wense’s TURBO DUCK from Chester River YC round out eastern contenders.  From the Midwest is an increasingly formidable team from the M24/ M32 wars of the past- Trey Sheehan’s HOOLIGAN/ FLAT STANLEY RACING from Put-in-Bay YC in Ohio.

A number of women skippers will surely make their presence felt amongst the leaders, such as Jennifer Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY, Holly Graf’s SPICE, Tricia Pletcher’s OCCAM’s RAZOR, Kristen Robinson’s ZOMBIE, and Cat Evans’ MOJITO.  Five women’s teams, nearly 20% of the fleet!  Amongst this group, they’ve already collected silverware as top finishers in both Corinthian and Open divisions at various major J/70 regattas.  The weather forecast looks promising, sunny and warm Saturday with southerlies and more of the same on Sunday AM, save for the prospect of a frontal passage late afternoon.  For more J/70 Fall Brawl sailing information