J/11S Yachting World Test

(Hamble, England)- Matt Sheahan, Yachting World Racing & Technical Editor, put the new J/11S through her paces on the Solent.  Shorthanded racing for amateur sailors is on the rise around the world.  Events in Europe and in the Americas continue to see strong growth in both single and double-handed racing, especially in the marquee offshore races like the Fastnet Race and the Bermuda Race.

Matt sails one of J/Boats' latest launches that has been aimed directly at the solo and shorthanded scene and discovers a boat that is very easy to get on with.   Watch more here - the Yachting World YouTube J/88 sailing video

Hamble Winter Series Halfway Break

(Hamble, England)- With four weekends and seven races in the bag, the fleet have reached the halfway point of the 2015 Garmin Hamble Winter Series.

The winds have been predominately light, and the weather unseasonably warm for the Autumn. These conditions of course have meant “shifts a-plenty” for competitors racing in the central Solent; not to mention a challenge for race officers Kathy Smalley and Stuart Childerley to set their courses.

When the series resumes on Sunday 8th November, there will be one race a day scheduled, meaning that boats with gains to make will have to work hard to make their gains in the four races remaining.

In some fleets, there are clear winners in the making, like IRC 0.  At this stage, three J/Teams are leading a clean sweep.  Cornel Riklin's J/111 JITTERBUG has recorded a perfect score in the series so far, followed by Louise Makin’s J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II in second just 6 pts back and Chris Daniel’s J/122 JUNO in third another 16 pts back.

The J/88 EAT SLEEP J REPEAT sailed by Paul Ward has their work cut out for them to remain in the top three, but anything is possible.  A last race ZFP added an unnecessary 4 pts to their score, otherwise they would be within a one race score for second place.

The J/97 BLACKJACK II led by owners Annie Kelly & Andy Howe lead a J/Team sweep of IRC 3 overall, with a near-perfect score spoiled only by a second place in race 7.  Not far off in 2nd and 3rd overall are two J/92s, Robin Stevenson’s UPSTART and David Greenhalgh’s J’RONIMO, respectively.

But in other classes, things are by no means so clear-cut. In the J/109 class, Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE leads Joe Henry’s JOLLY JACK TAR by three points. In turn, they are just 5 pts clear of Roger Phillips’ DESIGNSTAR in third.  As usual, the J/109s have such tight racing that one weekend’s worth of upside scores is enough to jumble the standings.  Time will tell soon!

Thanks go to our day sponsors, which have included Force 4 Chandlery, The Bugle and Wadworth's Brewery providing prizes for the highest-placed competitors present at the prize-giving, so it's well worth heading to HRSC after racing!

Thanks to all competitors and to the volunteer race teams and shoreside helpers for their dedication so far - and we look forward to seeing you on the 8th November.   For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/112E Debuts In America

(Newport, RI)- After her delivery to Bristol, Rhode Island exactly one week ago, the brand new J/112E was un-wrapped from her packaging at Stanley’s Boat Yard and in less than 48 hours, she was mounted on her sleek keel and launched for the first time in American waters at the headwaters of Narragansett Bay.

Since then, the sweet-looking 35 foot sports cruiser has enjoyed some of the most benign fall colors weather conditions imaginable.  Sailing in New England with 50-65 F temps, sunny, and 8-15 kts from various points of the compass, it has been hard to shake the feeling that an “El Nino winter” has the feeling of an “island summer” for at least the near future!

The J112E is an impressive boat with beautiful lines from the J/Design team.  It has the feeling of a 40 footer in terms of the cockpit and interior spaciousness- the sense of light inside is breathtaking.  Yet, its nimbleness under sail is surprising to many.  A recent test with just 100% jib in 15 kts TWS yielded an easy 7.5 kts boatspeed with hardly any heel— cocktail cruising at its best!  Yet, throw in the power of the 55 ft tall rig with full mainsail deployed and the J/112E kicked up her heels and simply took off at 8.75 kts.  She accelerates with alacrity and feels velvety smooth on the helm; the high aspect ratio rudder design and ultra-low friction rudder bearings provide the trademark finger-tip steering on any point of sail.

Why not visit Newport and take the J/112E for a spin?!  She will be in the water in Bristol for the next three weeks. Please call Kendra at J/Boats- ph# 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com   Learn more about the new J/112E sport cruiser here.

NAUTICA WATCHES Catalonian J/80 Champion

(Badalona, Spain)- José Maria Van der Ploeg (a Spanish Olympic Gold Medallist and J/80 World Champion) and his crew of NAUTICA WATCHES, reconquer the title of Champions of the Catalonia J/80 class after winning 4 of the 6 races held in the waters off Badalona. Second place overall was BRIBON MOVISTAR skippered by Marc Bertrand Antonio (another J/80 World Champion), with the NACEX Team completing the podium.

In this edition of the regatta, organized by the Sailing Club Badalona, a new category called "SPORT" was introduced.  The basic idea is to create a formula to promote the kind of sailing that allows lower-level amateur teams to approach the world of high competition and compete together with the world’s elite sailors that are leading the Spanish J/80 fleet.   For more Spanish J/80 fleet sailing information

PAGET Trumps J/24 Autumn Cup

(Plymouth, United Kingdom)- The Saltash Sailing Club in Plymouth was pleased to host the 19 boats that competed in this years J/24 Autumn Cup. A good increase from 11 boats last year in our growing UK J/24 fleet. The light and frequently changing wind made Saturday’s racing a challenge for the best of tacticians. The three windward-leeward races brought out the best in the competitors with each race having a different winner.

Race 1 saw Steve Wassell’s JINERATION X slide past Dave Cooper’s JAWBREAKER on the last run to take the honors. Race 2 saw the wind back 20 degrees and Dave Moore’s JIFI, saw the shift ahead of the fleet to lead into the final leeward mark just for Stig in JELI to see the last shift and pip Dave to the line.

Race 3 saw carnage on the start line as the wind shifts continued, with numerous boats doing penalty turns. While everybody sorted themselves out, 2 boats started the fight for victory. The lead changed hands between Quinton Hall’s JUJU and Steve Wassell’s JINERATION X, with JUJU getting the best of the last run to take Race 3.

Race 4 saw the fleet beat to the windward mark and race up the River Tamar to Saltash. Around 12 boats arrived at the top mark within 30 seconds of each other making the run a competitive affair. Dave Cooper’s JAWBREAKER and Darren Stansbury’s new boat PAGET hotly contested the lead and it was the tactics of JAWBREAKER that won the day.

After a discard Day 1, the resulted ended with JAWBREAKER (6 pts) leading over JINERATION X (8 pts) followed by JELI (9 pts) and PAGET (9 pts).

Day 2 saw two races set in the River Tamar on triangle courses in an increasing breeze. JAWBREAKER and PAGET contested Race 5 result with PAGET taking the win from JAWBREAKER in a tightly contested race. The final race saw some challenging conditions as the breeze increased and gusts of over 20 knots caused problems on the tight spinnaker leg. Nick McDonald’s CACOON managed the difficult conditions the best followed shortly by Carmichael Mackie’s JIGGY, which kept up the tone of the weekend with each race seeing a different winner!

The J/24 UKJCA “thanks” goes to the Race Officers for their diligence in setting the courses in very difficult conditions. The Westerly prize was taken by Dave Moore’s JIFI (the oldest boat in the fleet). In the final analysis, consistency was the key to success and after taking out the discard, PAGET prevailed to take the J/24 Autumn Cup from JAWBREAKER and JINERATION X.

Special mention of Parkstone Youth Team who had a great first regatta sailing together. Thanks to David Cooper and the Plymouth team for helping them get on the water with the loan of NITRO.

The whole event was a great success with class racing at its best, spread the word and let’s get the numbers even higher.  It’s “more bang for your bucks” in the UK J/24 Class Association!  Thanks go to Steve Wassell of JINERATION X for this report.   For more UK J/24 Class sailing information

KAOTIC J/24 New South Wales State Champs!

(Sydney, Australia)- Royal Prince Edward YC hosted this year’s J/24 New South Wales State Championships.  The fleet had a fantastic turnout and some amazing racing within sight of the famous Sydney Heads.

Chef Paula of the Oz J/24 class said, “Thank you to the 16 crews that attended, and all the staff and committee and volunteers at Royal Prince Edward YC for making the NSW J24 State Championships last weekend such a great regatta.  Two days of good breezy racing kept the fleet happy and I am sure you will all agree that the Saturday night dinner was a great success and hopefully you all had chance to mingle with other sailors you hadn’t previously spoken with!”

We are anticipating a full-on interview and perspective, a typical no holds-barred, complete dressing-up (or down) of the winners from Simon Grain and all competitors in the not too distant future.

Nevertheless, here’s how it truly all went down, Down Under in the NSW’s 2015.  First was the dynamic duo of Arthur Crothers/Sean Kirkjian on KAOTIC.  The balance of the top five was Stephen Girdis in the infamously fast CONVICTS REVENGE in 2nd, John Crawford’s INNAMINCKA in 3rd, the “Tres Amigos” (Marc & Oloff Tromp & Brendan Lee) on WATERBORNE AGAIN in 4th, and another duet (David West & Andy Lim) sailing ACE taking 5th overall.

Top Women’s skipper was Janette Syme on WILDFIRE.  And, the winners of the “Handicap Division” were Ron Thomson on KICKING in 1st, the WATERBORNE AGAIN gang in 2nd and Janet’s WILDFIRE in 3rd. More news surely to come!  Stay tuned.   For more Australian J/24 Class sailing news

Seattle Round County Race Preview

Two days of racing, under 35 miles each day, with an overnight in the amazing accommodations of Roche Harbor Resort.  To get there the fleet sails through conditions ranging from protected channels behind islands with tremendous adverse currents to wide-open straits that can bring everything that good Pacific Northwest winter sailing can offer.

With 21% of the entries carrying the 10th letter in the alphabet on their mainsails J/Boats has by far the largest group of boats in the race.  Class 0, with ratings from -62 to 42 has the new J/122E JOYRIDE, owned by John Murkowski going up against some stellar competition.  Class 1 has two J/109’s and three J/120’s going up against a handful of capable sailors and it’s hard not to put your money on the locals – Bob Brunius and crew onboard the J/120 TIME BANDIT.

Class 2 is a blast from the past, 1980’s specifically, with four J/35’s and a J/36 going at the 15-boat class.  Class 3, with 20 boats, has the second to last J/40 built- HARLEQUIN- owned by Bruce Hamilton along with the lone J/105- LAST TANGO- owned by Jim Geros. Look for LAST TANGO atop the results on Sunday evening after racing.  The 19 boats in class 4 contain three J/29’s, three J/30’s and a J/92!  It’s hard not to look for one of the J/29’s to dominate this group, but if the conditions are right the J/92 Hijinks owned by Scott Ellis, has taken it in the past.

The growing IRC fleet in the Pacific Northwest put together a 13 boat fleet with 2 J/145’s, a J/160 and a J/133.  The big J’s are going up against some seriously sporty competition but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the well-sailed J/145 JEDI, owned by John Tenneson sitting on the podium at the end of the weekend.

A race for the true sailor Round the County has become a must do event for big and small programs alike.  Racing in November up here near the 48th parallel isn’t for the faint of heart, nor mind, nor those lacking 5 warm under-layers, but it can also reward everyone with some of the most amazing sailing, racing and camaraderie you can find in the sport today.   For more Seattle Round County sailing information

French J/80 Nationals Preview

Epic Finale for the Coupe de France
(St Cast, France)- This past weekend a dozen boats attended a training session at CN St Cast that included top French J/80 sailors coaching, such as Eric Brezellec, Sylvain Pélissier, Clément Commagnac, and Jacque Hubert.  They ran dozens of short course races focused on starts, boatspeed and boathandling.  Those teams that attended should be well-prepared for the upcoming French J/80 Nationals!  Why should that be the case?  Because, the uniqueness of the J/80 class in France has always followed the motto- “better to give than to receive”.  When the top sailors in the class are dispensing advice to those who wish to learn, it elevates all boats in the fleet and increases the competition amongst the top sailors as well.

Nowhere is that more evident than the fact 145 boats have participated in the season-long J/80 Coupe de France 2015, a season that started with SPI OUEST France in April and concludes in November with the Nationals in St Cast.  At the moment, Eric Brezellec’s COURRIER JUNIOR is leading the series with 333 pts (high point system).  But, there are four teams behind him that are all capable of stealing the championship title from him should the COURRIER JUNIOR team stumble even the slightest bit, like finish out of the top five!

The “chasers” include Herve Leduc’s PIERRE OCEANE in second with 292 pts, Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA in third with 289 pts, Frederic Hauville’s ECOLE NAVALE in fourth with 284 pts and Marc Noesmoen’s TEAM VENDEE in fifth with 280 pts.

Amongst the women’s skippers vying for the overall Women’s National title are Capucine Vitel’s VITEL SAILING TEAM sitting 7th in the overall standings and leading the Women’s championship with 238 pts total.  Sitting 11th overall and 2nd women’s team is Maxime Rousseau’s crew on CN ST CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES, the host team for the event with 198 pts!  Twelfth overall, third women skipper, is Maxime Mesnil’s crew on CO-PILOTES with 194 pts.  Claire Montecot’s STARTIJENN is 16th overall, 4th women’s with 182.5 pts.  Finally, one of the top French woman skippers, Sophie Riot on LE HAVRE-LADIES NORMANDIE, is currently 23rd overall and 5th woman helm.

While not amongst the overall Coupe de France series leaderboard, several J/80 teams that always factor into the top of any regatta include Matthieu Salomon’s CHARIOT PLUS-VANNES UTILITAIRES and Simon Moriceau’s WEST CORTAGE ECOLE NAVALE. Top visiting teams include Kevin Sproul’s J.A.T from the United Kingdom and Mikel Vazquez sailing ENBATA 80 from Spain.  For more Coupe de France J/80 Nationals sailing information

J/44 VAMP, the Bermuda Race and AJ Evans story

(Newport, RI)- As the youngest Race Chairman in the history of the Newport Bermuda Race, 34-year-old Alton J. Evans has the helm of the 50th “Thrash to the Onion Patch,” which starts Friday, June 17, 2016.

“I grew up on the Navesink River and Sandy Hook Bay,” says AJ, who lives in Middletown, New Jersey. “I started sailing with my parents, Alton and Jackie Evans, when I was 3, and attended junior sailing at Monmouth Boat Club. We started cruising when I was 7, mostly long weekends on Long Island Sound, Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard, as well as the U.S Virgin Islands and Southern California.”
© Matt Marciano

“My dad was Commodore of the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club. That’s where I met my sailing godfather, Lenny Sitar, who is also a Past Commodore. Lenny invited my dad and I to go on a race, although my dad is more interested in cruising with my mom. I took to racing with Lenny and was 17 when I did my first Bermuda Race on his J/44 Vamp in 1998, and I haven’t missed one since. This will be my tenth Bermuda Race, and ninth on Vamp.”

“We’re very lucky to have a core group of sailors aboard Vamp,” says AJ (pictured at the helm in a gale). Next year will be my twentieth on Vamp, and other guys have been there much longer. That says a lot about how Lenny runs a program and takes care of his crew. I’m not the youngest anymore, by far, and it’s become a great group of reliable, talented shipmates. Lenny is a great guy and a great team leader, and quite often he can predict the weather better than the forecast!”

“Competition in the J/44 class in the Bermuda Race has been close from start to finish. During the SSB check-in days, you could drop a quarter on the plotting sheet and cover the class’ plots. In 2014, we started close to Jim Bishop’s Gold Digger and saw them next a few days later when we finished about two minutes ahead of them.”

“I really enjoy the camaraderie of the J/44 class, but I’ve been exceptionally blessed with kind invitations to sail with friends on a variety of boats all over the world, including classics. I’ve done the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the Pineapple Cup, several Annapolis to Newport and Marblehead to Halifax races, and a very funny Transatlantic Race on the clipper Stad Amsterdam. It turned from race into cruise not long after the breeze died. I’ve never laughed so hard for so long.”

A member of the Storm Trysail Club for a decade, AJ is currently on the club’s governing board. He’s a member of the New York Yacht Club and serves on the club’s Sailing Committee and Race Committee, as well as the National Sailing Hall of Fame’s Youth Advisory Board. A maritime lawyer by profession, he’s Chairman of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Maritime and Admiralty Law Special Committee.

“My involvement with organizing the Bermuda Race started when I was 29.  Sheila McCurdy, who was then the first female Commodore of the Cruising Club of America, appointed me Fleet Captain of the CCA. The Race Chairman at the time was Bjorn Johnson. I had sailed with Bjorn, and my mom has known him since grammar school. I helped Bjorn by writing the Sailing Instructions, and have enjoyed doing so ever since. I am incredibly honored that the flag officers of the CCA and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club have appointed me to this position. Not only is this the 50th edition of the Bermuda Race; it’s also the 90th anniversary of the RBYC’s partnership with the CCA in running the race.”

“The Bermuda Race is special – I think there’s something in the water, especially when it turns that indescribable blue. Some of the best parts of the race never change – the water, the Stream, the routine of offshore sailing, the first sighting of a Long Tail, that two-hour motor to RBYC, and then the dock walks, exchanging sea stories loosely based on true events. But it’s most special in that it’s the only ocean race in the world that focuses the competition on the sailors and their skill more than the boats, their designers, or owners’ bank accounts. It doesn’t have an overall trophy, although the St. David’s Lighthouse is considered the grand prize.”

“We level the playing fields by dividing the race into divisions that don’t mix movable ballast boats with fixed ballast boats, or stored power with manual power, or double-handed with fully-crewed boats, and we limit the participation of professional sailors in most divisions. No matter what anyone says, there is no science-based handicap system that can fairly rate the differences that divide the fleet. We, along with many other premiere ocean races, trust the Offshore Racing Rule to do the rest. Our format, combined with ORR, gets the most people sailing and promises everyone a fair shake.”

“I came up with the idea to permit boats in either the St. David’s Lighthouse or the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse division with a minimum performance screen of 0.50 to also enter the Open Division. This will give those boats the option to compete for the Open Division’s Royal Mail Cup, and it will give the Open Division boats (e.g. Comanche, Rambler 88 and Privateer) much more competition.  It will be a special contest to mark the 50th race. I’ve been referring to it casually as ‘The Hauling the Mail Competition.’”

AJ relishes what he calls “friendships forged offshore,” and looks forward to sailing with his friends on Vamp in the next Newport Bermuda Race. “A true friend gets soaking wet on a cold, dark night by helping you flake a jib full of water on the foredeck for little or no money,” he explains. “They’re with you whether the cockpit is full of saltwater or rum, and they’ve got a fistful of your foul weather gear when the deck’s awash.”  Courtesy of WINDCHECK Magazine

Barkow & Ullman Sailing To Early Wins at Pro-Am Regatta

(Bitter End, British Virgin Islands)- The sailors in this year’s Bitter End YC 29th Annual Pro-Am Regatta come from a range of sailing experience, but almost to the person, all have significant J/Boats experience on their CV’s.

While Sally Barkow from Neenah, WI may be a two-time world champion and two-time US Yachtswomen of the Year (having  won five Rolex watches over the course of her impressive racing career), she’s spent a lot of time racing J/22s, J/24s and J/80s as part of her fleet and match-racing career growing up in the Midwest.

In addition, Taylor Canfield has been a J/24 (and IC24) ace as he grew up sailing in the US Virgin Islands, not to mention that he’s been spending a lot of time recently racing J/70s, too.

Similarly, JJ Fetter from San Diego YC has spent lots of racing various J/22s and J/24s in her past experiences.  Likewise, Sally’s “sister” sailor from Wisconsin, Annie Haeger from Lake Beulah, WI has learned a lot sailing J/22s in various fleet and match races across the USA.  Anthony Kotoun has raced everything in the small J/Boats stable, including J/22s, J/24s (as World Champion) and recently J/70s.  Finally, none other than Dave Ullman was an early participant in helping grow the J/24 class, has raced J/22s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s and J/125s as part of his role continuing to grow Ullman Sails worldwide.  The Bitter End YC “amateurs” will be having a fun time with these wonderful sailors!  For more Bitter End YC Pro-Am Regatta sailing information