J/105 DARK STAR Tops St. Croix Regatta

J/36 PALADIN Takes NonSpin with High School Team!
(Christiansted, St Croix, US Virgin Islands)- This past weekend, from November 13th to 15th, the St Croix YC in Christiansted, St Croix unfurled the regatta flags and signaled the start of the Caribbean winter racing season.

The 23rd edition of the regatta included Optimists, with a VISA (Virgin Island Sailing Association) sponsored Optimist clinic on Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday. The Big Boat race on Friday was renamed “Captain Nicks Race” in honor of our founder- Nick Castruccio, who turned 90 this year!  The race for the rum was Saturday and Sunday’s overall winner.

The runaway winner in CSA Spinnaker Class for the Captain Nicks Race Regatta was the J/105 DARK STAR from San Juan, Puerto Rico, skippered by Jonathan Lipuscek from Club Nautico Puerto Rico; they posted the unbeatable scoreline of 1-1-1 for three pts.  Finishing third was Douglas DeReu’s J/24 CRUZAN CONFUSSION, a local boat from Christiansted sailing to a 4-2-3 for 9 pts.  And, in 4th place was another J/24, Dave Tomlison’s EL SHADDAI II with a crew from New Hampshire with a 3-4-4 record for 11 pts. 

The CSA Non-spinnaker Division saw Stanford Joines beautifully refinished J/36 PALADIN participating with a crew of kids from the local St Croix High School in Christiansted.  They perfectly mirrored the record of their friends on the J/105 DARK STAR, also posting three bullets to walk off with class honors.

For the weekend regatta, a similar scenario nearly played out for both divisions.  Again, Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR crew rattled off six bullets in CSA Spinnaker Racing Class to finish with 6 pts, winning their weight in Cruzan Rum as the overall regatta winner!  The J/24s finished 3rd (DeReu’s CRUZAN CONFUSSION) and 6th (Tomlinson’s EL SHADDAI II).  Meanwhile, Stanford’s crew on the J/36 PALADIN repeated their solid performance and won CSA Non-spinnaker to win with four 1sts and two 2nds.

According to Stanford, “the youth crew on the J/24 CRUZAN CONFUSSION with Doug Dereau and skipper Ethan Hanley, were awesome.  The boat that won overall was the J/105 DARK STAR, Jonathan dry sails the boat out of Fajardo with a Teflon bottom, and had several veteran PR sailors on board who have been my friends, and competitors, for years.

PALADIN happened to round the leeward mark almost every race just behind 'Bad Monkey', and we always gained on her on the upwind leg until we turned off for the shorter cruising mark.  It makes me think that if PALADIN had such fancy new sails like ’Monkey’s’ (we were sailing with 9 year old Dacron), was dry sailed with a Teflon bottom, and had a nice new symmetrical spinnaker, PALADIN could win in the racing class!  Maybe just the sails would do it, with good wet/dry sandpaper! (As a teacher down here and a single dad, sails won't happen!)”   Learn more about Stanford’s St Croix junior sailing project here.  For more St Croix Regatta sailing information

J/88 JEDI Taking Sydney By Storm

(Sydney, Australia)- “From the moment we first read about the design concept of the J/88, we wanted one,” said Ray Entwistle, skipper of the J/88 JEDI. “The J/88 spells fun.  Super easy to sail, fast, low maintenance, responsive, sea-kindly, a true pocket-rocket.”

Ray goes on to report that, “she hasn’t disappointed.  Since arriving in Sydney, we have competed in some harbour and offshore races and we are just blown away with her sailing performance and attributes.  Here is a short summary of races so far.

For her very first races, the J/88 “JEDI 5” has competed in a few twilight races at Greenwich Flying Squadron. She wasn’t able to start in the division of similar sized boats due to the early start time. Hence, the J/88 competed in a division with a later start time, comprising 37 to 39 footers. However, this has not fazed the J/88 where she is currently leading the series, with a 2nd as the worse result.

On the second weekend of October, JEDI 5 sailed in the very hotly contested Super 30 fleet on Sydney Harbour under the AMS (Australian Measurement System).  Although not many boats entered for this event, the J/88 finished 1st by an astonishing 11 minutes with guest skipper Jim Chambers. Jim has dominated this event for the past 3 years with his highly successful J/97 KNOCKABOUT.

The following weekend, the Super 30 Gold fleet was racing on Sydney Harbour with more boats guaranteed to turn up, and so they did.  Flying Tigers, Bull 9000, ID35, Melges 32, Sydney 32, Cape 31, Hick 31, Archambault 32, Elliotts, Thompson 870, to name a few.

Making a conservative start in an 8 knots nor’easter breeze, and with 50% of the crew new to the boat, JEDI surged around the top mark at South Head ahead of some of the Flying Tigers and the M32 boat-for-boat! The breeze started to build to 16 knots, the J/88 recording impressive speed and depth downwind. Back upwind we go the wrong way up the beat, so the Flying Tigers get through as they pick the right side of the harbour.  The second reach back down the harbour and the Melges 32 pips us to the bottom mark for the last time. A short beat to the finish line and despite the slow start and going the wrong way there still a lot of boats behind us. The new crew members were surprised at the pace and how easy the J/88 was to sail. After an anxious wait for the results, the J/88 had kept her impeccable record intact with a first on AMS complimented by another first on the local PHS system!

It was then time to take the J/88 to Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club on Pittwater, north of Sydney, to do a few races there. She is placed in Division 2 and is the smallest boat at 29ft, the next boat at 34ft and right up to 40 footers.

It was an offshore race with a lumpy 1 to 1.5 mtr swell, gusting to 18 knots from the nor’east.  It was the first time for this J/88 in waves, and more breeze than she has sailed in before. The crew was pleasantly surprised by its performance.  We put the crew weight a little further back, and the boat steered very easily through the waves, pointing quite high with superb speed.

Despite being in unfamiliar waters, the J/88 was first around the top mark. Up with the class 95 sqr mtr running spinnaker and whoosh off we go.  Downwind, the boat has a very light helm, only moderate sheet loads, and incredibly smooth handling as we planed down the waves. An amazing kite ride to the bottom mark, dramatically extending our lead. On the next beat, we start to haul in some of tail end of the Division 1 boats!  We experiment moving the crew weight fore and aft up the next beat as we learn more about this stunning 29 footer. Around the top mark again and another fantastic spinnaker ride, surfing the swell to the finish line.  We blasted through the finish line clocking 16.2 knots, our fastest speed to date on the J/88!

Simply a fantastic boat.  We just can’t get enough of the 88 – she is such a beautiful yacht to sail, and we look forward to sailing and racing her, whatever the conditions.”     For more J/88 sailboat information

Belvidere Cup Report

(London, England)- The Royal Thames Yacht Club ran the Belvidere Cup on Saturday 14th November at Queen Mary Sailing Club at Ashford Middlesex- it is a match racing regatta sailed in J/80s provided by the RTYC.

There were four teams participating- Old Abingdonians, Old Radleians, Old Wellingtonians and a Royal Thames Academy team consisting of three girls and a token fella. The regatta consisted of two round robins followed by a final and petit final.

At the end of the round robin stage the RTYC Academy had 6 wins, Abingdon 3, Radley 2 and Wellington 1. The final was fought out between Abingdon and the RTYC Academy.  The Academy had so far been unbeaten and were odds on favorites to win. However, Abingdon won the first match by a whisker, the second match was won easily by the Academy.

Everything rested on the last match's result. The Academy was leading passed the last rounding of the windward mark, but Abingdon's crew had a more than 50% weight advantage over the girls who were disadvantaged by the strong gusts. In the end, Abingdon passed the Academy boat, winning by a few seconds and taking the match and the trophy.

The conditions were contrary to forecast, the wind was SSW varying between 6-10 knots during the round robin stage. The wind during the finals backed as the stronger breezes came in with gusts of 20 knots plus. Congratulations to Ben Clothier and his crew.  Thanks for the report from Alexis Dogilewski.  For more Belvidere Cup sailing information

The “Big Sail” = A Big Blast!

(San Francisco, CA)- It came down to the last race. Stanford and Cal were tied 1-1 in a best of three competition sailing the St Francis YC matched J/22s. As both teams prepared to start just yards off the front of the StFYC’s race committee deck, the spectators went wild. The marching bands roared, the cheerleaders flew around and the live commentary rang out.  No, this was not a football game; it was “The Big Sail,” an intercollegiate regatta between Stanford and UC Berkeley, (“Cal”) on San Francisco Bay.

If you are looking for a new kind of regatta that will inject pure fun back into the sport of sailing, take notes.

“We keep having fun with this event, because, how can we not?” said Big Sail Co-founder and live-race commentator, Ron Young. “People always consider how to win the game of sailing. But it’s also important to think about how the game can win. And that’s what The Big Sail does, by bringing in fans and fun to the sport of sailing.”

Now in its 12th year, The Big Sail takes place each November on the Tuesday before “The Big Game”, Cal and Stanford’s 123-year-old college football rivalry. The Big Sail features four divisions: Varsity, Young Alum, Masters, and Grandmasters, and is raced in a fleet of one-design J/22s provided by St. Francis Yacht Club. Each division match-races on short 300-yard courses for the best two out of three races. Should each school win two of the four divisions, Varsity is the tiebreaker.

This year, Stanford won the Varsity Division and Cal won Young Alum and Masters. Each school won one race of Grandmasters, which meant the third race would determine it all.

Cal won the start, but Stanford had a good first upwind leg. They opted for the northern side of the course, which was favored, and gained four boat lengths on Cal. At the windward mark, a starboard-tack Stanford narrowly crossed Cal, and even though they had to tack twice to make the weather mark, they rounded ahead, executed a quick jibe set, and never looked back.

Meanwhile, on the RC deck at the club, the crowd went wild. Both school’s marching bands played fight songs while the mascots wove in and out of the crowds. The dining room and the audience were decked out in red & white for Stanford or blue & gold for Cal; nearly everyone was an alumni or family of one of the Bay Area rival schools.

“My Co-founders Jaren Leet, Jim Mullen, and I believe this is the only intercollegiate sailing competition in the country like this,” explained Young. “It incorporates marching bands, cheerleaders and mascots while capitalizing on a vibrant rivalry.”

Marching bands, cheerleaders, mascots and- - - sailboat racing? It was even more fun than it sounds.

The regatta has spent a decade perfecting the schedule: first gun sounded at noon and last race finished no later than 1350 hours so competitors could accept their awards in front of a live and enthused audience.

It was easy to watch—short courses immediately in front of the Club so that, as Young said, “even the oldest grandmother in the room doesn’t have to turn more than 60 degrees side-to-side to see all the action.” It was also easy to follow, as the live commentary rang out from both levels of the Club—sailors on the water could hear just as well as spectators in the clubhouse.

Rivalry was a big draw. Yacht designer Alan Andrews (’77) flew in to race for Stanford. Cal performed the perfect collegiate caper by covertly delivering a 500-pound (immovable without a folk-lift) wooden statue of “Oski the Bear” to the Yacht Club’s lobby on the eve of the Big Sail. Stanford, the gauntlet has been thrown for next year!

Multi-generational loyalty also fueled the excitement. With sailors ranging from college freshmen to the class of ‘67, the event appealed to generations of friends, fans, and fraternity brothers. Many of the young alums remember racing against each other as Varsity sailors. “The older folks get to remember their college days and the younger kids realize you can sail your whole life,” said Young.

In the end, Stanford won by a hair, but everyone celebrated. Next year, Young plans to add a fifth division— a Women’s Division— to get more female sailors out on the race course.

Following the awards, Young said, “People sometimes question how important yacht clubs are, but look around! What’s more important than happiness? Yacht Clubs enable us to have fun together. Outside there is a demonstration of skill; inside there are smiles and loads of laughter.”  Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray   For more Big Sail sailing information

J/70 Norway + GRUNDIG Sailing Cup!

(Oslo, Norway)- Kongelig Norsk Seilforening (KNS- the Royal Norwegian YC) recently announced a new sponsor for their J/70 Class initiative- GRUNDIG- one of Europe’s leading hifi and electronics companies.

“We will help to establish the rapidly growing J/70 class in Norway together with the Royal Norwegian YC. Through active cooperation with KNS we will strengthen our commitment to young sailors, as well as contribute to the J/70 as the leading sailboat class,” says Per-Kristian Ervik, CEO of GRUNDIG Nordic.  “The cooperation agreement between GRUNDIG and Royal Norwegian YC runs for three years and means that the company is funding two new J/70 boats to be used by the association. In addition, GRUNDIG will sponsor three regattas, one in Oslo in connection with Færder-week, one with the Hankø Regatta in August and one on the west coast later in the autumn.”

“The J/70 represents the most important initiative to revitalize our sailing with faster boats that can be enjoyed by families and youth in the sailing scene. The long-term cooperation with Grundig helps us provide boats for training and for the exciting Grundig Sailing Cup next year. The Grundig Sailing Cup complements a need for competition and bringing together sailing athletes. Now everything is set for yachting enthusiasts that can buy boats and become part of an active and growing sailing class,” says Anders Kristensen, Secretary General, Royal Norwegian Yacht Club.  “With the new J/70 boats that KNS will provide to members, that means members in the club will be able to enjoy midweek regattas, match-race sailing and participation in the Grundig Cup. At KNS, sailors can participate by paying a fixed annual sum for an established sharing model.”

“The basic values and the important initiative made by the Royal Norwegian YC is very helpful to revitalize the sport of sailing in Scandinavia, coinciding with Grundig brand philosophy and our position in the market,” says Bård Nordhagen, Nordic Marketing Manager at Grundig Nordic.

The KNS is an active supporter of youth sailing.  In 2015 alone, the club sent two teams and eight sailors to Newport for an international youth regatta supported by SailNewport and New York YC.  One of the team members, Tobias Tjome, commented: “On Thursday, we sailed the regatta in beautiful wind conditions, 6-12 kts of breeze from the southwest.  Our KNS team sailed well and in the six races we managed to win the last race of the day. KNS was second overall, right behind the winning team- the Royal Finnish YC.  The Finnish sailors had already trained in J/22s before they arrived, so it was not quite "fair". But, all sailors had a wonderful stay, made new friends, and gained great sailing experiences in Newport!   Watch the Royal Norwegian YC sailing video here   The Royal Norwegian YC Facebook page is here.  For more J/70 & Royal Norwegian YC sailing information

Olcese Leading J/24 Copa LEXUS Regatta

(Chorillos, Peru)- Leading up to the Peruvian J/24 Nationals are a series of regattas off Peru’s Pacific coast.  The most recent was the Copa LEXUS held off Chorrillos in the second weekend of November.  An excellent turnout was anticipated and the fleet of eight boats was quite competitive.

One of Peru’s top sailors, Luis Olcese, was crowned the victor after posting straight bullets on his renowned SCARAMOUCH.  Behind his team, it was a real dogfight for the next few places, all finishing within one point of each other.  Taking second was Javier Arribas’ WAYRA with a 5-2-2 record for 9 pts, it was a quick recovery after a nearly disastrous first race.  Lucas Peshiera’s crew on TIAMAT had a similar scenario, scoring a first race “digger”, followed by a string of good races.  TIAMAT’s 4-3-3 for 10 pts was good enough for third position on the podium.  Rounding out the top five were Rafael Verand’s NAMOYOC in 4th place and Javier Arribas’ HAWKY in 5th.  For more Peruvian J/24 sailing information

Holsboer Wins J/80 Frostbite Cup

(Naarden, Netherlands)- During the first weekend in November, the J/80 fleet in the Netherlands held their Frostbite Cup off Naarden, hosted by the Rowing & Sailing Club of Naarden. For the first time in years, a near record fleet of thirteen J/80's appeared on the starting line. After three races in 8-12 kt winds, Bernard Holsboer’s team on JUUL won with a 3-2-2 record.

Taking second overall for the regatta was Nick Elsink’s J’ZUS with a steadily improving 4-3-1 tally for 8 pts.  This was Roel Wever’s JOYRIDE, posting a 2-4-5 for 11 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Bram Adema’s nJORD in 4th place and Jilko Andringa’s OANT sJEN in 5th position.   Watch the J/80 Frostbite Cup sailing video here  For more J/80 Netherlands sailing information

SAIL Best Boats Winner- J/88 Oceanvolt!

(Boston, MA)- Few builders are consistently willing to push the technology envelope and accept the risks that entails.  Remember 1991 and the world’s first sprit boat- the J/105?  This fall saw the introduction of the world’s ground-breaking Oceanvolt electric saildrive on the enormously innovative, all-electric J/88 from J/Boats.

The Achilles heel of electric propulsion in boats is the high level of energy it takes to power at cruising speeds since large battery banks are required for any kind of substantial range.  However, the J/88 Oceanvolt model is impervious to this in as much as the propulsion system is needed only to maneuver in and out of slips, after which the boat is sailed.

The Valence batteries are lightweight lithium-ion manganese-phosphate (the world’s safest version of this leading edge technology). Although Oceanvolt saildrives have folding propellers, Oceanvolt has found an innovative way to use the folding propeller to stay open and freewheel when so desired, with the electric motor now being driven as a generator to recharge the batteries. The J/88 Oceanvolt also flies a SolarCloth main from UK Sailmakers, which includes a number of integrated solar panels to further top of its battery banks by generating electricity from the sun.  For more J/88 Oceanvolt SAIL Best Boats information

J/122 LITHIUM Dominates Coventry Reef Race

(Fremantle, Australia)- Double-handed racing in Western Australia continues to grow in popularity.  This past weekend, a large fleet of double-handers took off the starting line at Fremantle for the 48nm Coventry Reef Race.

Participating in the event was the J/122 LITHIUM sailed by the father and son team of Graeme and Sam Monkhouse.  LITHIUM has a double-handed IRC rating of 1.050 based on only one jib (J4) and one spinnaker (A5 on a top down furler).  The go-to sail in light air is the Code Zero which can be carried to about 65 degrees true wind angle.

LITHIUM was first to the day buoy and hoisted the A5 for the 6 mile reach out to the Western South Passage Lead marker.  The breeze started to lighten and clock left.  With one mile to go LITHIUM was forced to furl the A5 and unfurl the J4.  A frustrating 30 minutes followed with the breeze around 4 knots on the nose and a never ending stream of power boats crossing to Rottnest Island.  The ensuring wash made it very difficult to keep the sails filled.

After rounding the western point in the lead, the Code Zero was hoisted and the speed increased to a respectable 6 knots in 8 knots of wind.  The next leg was 19 mile due south to Coventry Reef– a semi-submerged rock approximately 3 miles offshore.  With the wind continuing to clock left LITHIUM held onto the Code Zero up to Garden Island.  With the wind now at about 220 degrees and dropping LITHIUM was forced to furl the Zero and try to get some speed from the J4.  With more pressure offshore LITHIUM tacked out and sailed the remaining 10 miles down to Coventry.   Great clumps of seaweed were a continuing obstacle for all yachts and I am sure the hockey stick keel on the JBoats was a significant advantage over a T-bulb of some of her competitors.

After rounding Coventry, the A5 was unfurled and LITHIUM ran 12 miles downwind to a shortened finish off the southern end of Garden Island.  The wind had now backed to 170 degrees and a final gybe saw LITHIUM cross the finish line 7 hours and 54 minutes after starting.  As a result, LITHIUM won on IRC by 64 minutes over the second placed yacht.  Congrats to the Monkhouse’s on their stunning performance!

RAISIN’ CANE In The SORC Nassau Cup!

(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- This year’s SORC Nassau Cup Race had all the makings of a “fast drifter”, with the forecast calling for winds in the lighter end of the spectrum at the start and providing just moderate gradient flow for the crews as they cross the ubiquitous, cobalt blue Gulf Stream, then bending around the island chain back down into the Nassau finish line off their signature candy-cane striped lighthouse at the end of the point at the harbor entrance.

After a very slow Gulf Stream crossing, the fleet made its way between Great Isaac Cay and Great Stirrup Cay with the J/125 RAISIN’ CANE, sailed by Frank Atkinson and crew from Coconut Grove Sailing Club and West Palm Beach, FL sailing neck and neck with a Carkeek 40 called Decision.

By Saturday late morning, Decision and RAISIN’ CANE had rounded the corner at Great Stirrup and was making nice progress toward the finish in Nassau, currently along the coast of Little Harbour Cay, home to the famous Flo's Conch Bar and Chester's famous Rum Punch—  which must be as tempting as sirens' song to the sailors as they slide past in the light afternoon breeze.

Ultimately, the PHRF Division was won by the J/125 RAISIN’ CANE helmed by Frank Atkinson.  Taking third overall was the famous J/120 CARINTHIA skippered by Frank Kern from Bayview YC in Detroit, MI.  Along the way, the beautiful (but light) sailing conditions enabled Frank himself to catch on video a school of dolphins playing in front of their bow during the race.  Watch some of that sweet playfulness here on YouTube.

In the meantime, the IRC Division saw a real tussle between the Carkeek 40 and the J/122 TEAMWORK sailed by Robin Team from Lexington, NC. In the end, Robin’s TEAMWORK took 2nd overall, just 22 minutes corrected behind the overall winner.   For more Nassau Cup Race sailing information