Hungarian Bakoczy Crowned J/24 European Champion!

American Whittemore Tops Open Europeans
(Lake Balaton, Hungary)- Two hundred fifty competitors from eight nations sailed on forty-eight boats in the 2017 J/24 European Championship, that was organized by the Balatonfüredi Yacht Club in Balatonfüred, Hungary between September 24th and October 1st.

The Opening Day kicked off with beautiful sunshine and a pleasant, but light, easterly wind which some of the competitors took advantage of for training. Unfortunately, the wind completely died down by the late afternoon, so the practice race was canceled by the Race Committee.  That outcome presaged what was going to happen for the rest of the regatta, a lot of time spent waiting for winds to develop enough to run proper races for the aggressive fleet of J/24s.  In fact, it may have been the first Europeans in recent memory where every race took place in less than 8 kts of wind, with just 150% genoas flown, and rare moments of crews sitting on the windward rail hiked out hard.  Nevertheless, the weather was pleasant, sometimes cool, but those warmer days brought out the “shorts & shades” for the more ambitious crews.

The regatta marked the first time a Hungarian crew was victorious in the continental championship!  After ten races, winning the 2017 European Championship title was the young Robert Bakoczy and his local Lake Balaton crew on FGF SAILING TEAM (Domonkos Rozsnyay, Kristof Takacsy, Levente Takacsy, Maxim Szigeti).

“The J/24 European Championship was a great adventure for us. It was great that there was no pressure on us and this brought us victory. We are extremely delighted. I don’t know, I am just overwhelmed right now. It hasn’t yet sunk in that this has happened to us and we won,” said Bakoczy after his win.

Silver went to Farkas Litkey with his mixed Hungarian-Italian Team on board PELLE NERA (Alberto Forti, Paolo Ceccamore, Barbara Frigyer, Mihaly Szanto), while the bronze was earned by Balazs Tomai and his Team on JENESIS (Tamas Tompa, Balazs Boros, Gabor Nagy).

The Open Trophy was taken home by American Keith Whittemore and his Team on FURIO from Seattle, Washington (Kevin Downey, Shelby Milne, Brian Thomas, Mark Rodgers). “It was amazing to race on this beautiful lake where, to our surprise and biggest delight, powerboats are banned! You cannot believe how lucky you are with this. We had 10 great races, great organization, fair start lines,” said Whittemore after the races. Here is how it all took place over the four days of competition.

Day 1
Two races were sailed on September 27th, the first day. Both races were dominated by the Hungarian teams, they occupied 10 spots in the top 20. JUKEBOX, helmed by local Miklos Rauschenberger, secured 2 wins by confident sailing, followed by the current American National Champion Keith Whittemore on FURIO, while last year’s World Champion, the German team on JJONE helmed by Daniel Frost and his crew came in third.

The first race started out in light, easterly 7-9 kt winds at 1000 hrs as scheduled. First start was under U flag, but loads of excited competitors went over the start line early, so the second start was under the Black Flag. Seemingly, the teams were more careful at the second start in order not to be disqualified.

JUKEBOX took over the lead after the first upwind leg and won the race. In second was JJONE, followed by fellow German LUV, helmed by Tom Stryi. The wind lost its strength by the 2nd race, dropping to 5-7 knots, further boosting the Hungarian teams’ self-confidence on the start line. The tricky winds require expert starting technique, where choosing one’s starting position is key to a successful race. Those starting closer to the pin end proved to be faster coming up the 1st upwind mark.

Six Hungarian teams got there fastest. 1st to round the mark was Tamas Madarasz and his team on REBEL. The first downwind leg was fastest on the right side. After the first round, the dying wind was also shifting northwards, forcing a course alteration. The frontrunners split into two. The 2 leading teams, JUKEBOX and PELLE NERA chose to remain on the left, while the rest of the fleet kept to the right hoping to find stronger breezes.

By the end of the 2nd race, winds had died almost completely, though the spinnakers were still holding up nicely. Patience and focus were the strongest virtue to finish the race. The second race was ruled by JUKEBOX, while 3-time Soling World Champion Farkas Litkey came in second on PELLE NERA followed by fellow Hungarian Madarasz on REBEL. As the wind completely died, there was no chance to do the third race.

After two races, JUKEBOX was leading the regatta with 2 wins. He summarized the day, “In today’s light winds local knowledge was definitely an advantage. We knew at both starts that we must choose the pin side and it proved right. It is very good to see that the Hungarian teams are doing well, though today’s tricky conditions haven’t given foreign competitors the chance to really prove how good they are.”

FURIO’s Whittemore was second with two 4th places at both races, while JJONE was sitting in 3rd place.

Day 2
The second race day continued with two further races. After four races, three Hungarian teams ruled the leaderboard. JUKEBOX continued to lead, shadowed by JENESIS in second and PELLE NERA in third.

Due to the black flag start rules, yesterday’s favorites, the FURIO and JJONE lost their top positions, as they haven’t been able to drop their BFD’s.

The day started out beautifully in 7-9 knots of easterly winds. The first three teams to round the first upwind mark during the 3rd race were Germany’s Tom Stryi (LUV), Hungary’s Gabor Sallai (IJRONCAT) and PELLE NERA, keeping their positions until the finish of that race. Germany’s Stefan Karsunke on SULLBERG finished fourth, while the current overall leader on JUKEBOX crossed the finish line 5th. The middle of the fleet pretty much clustered up due to dropping winds and finished really close to each other, so the Race Committee decided to shorten the course on the third and fourth legs.

Race 4 was preceded by an on-water postponement, as the wind started shifting and it also dropped well below 5 knots. After a bit of waiting the race course moved southwards, a new course was set and racing continued. Excited teams were unable to hold back enough, six teams were BFD, including FURIO and JJONE, so they were forced to watch the race from the sidelines.

The repeat start for Race 4 was clear. The rounding order at the 1st upwind mark was Jörn Harms on VITESSE, Tomai’s JENESIS, and JUKEBOX. The order pretty much remained the same at the end of the first round at the downwind gate.  JUKEBOX decided to take the left-hand mark and continue upwind on the right while JENESIS opted for the right-hand mark and sailed on the left upwind. The 2nd upwind mark was rounded by VITESSE first, followed by JENESIS, then FAST FORWARD. The race was won by Jörn Harms on VITESSE, JENESIS finished second, while the 3rd was taken by a female skipper, Johanne Maske!

Race 5 started in somewhat annoyingly shifty 5-6-knot easterly winds that later completely died, so the race committee decided to abandon the race to the biggest disappointment for the two-race leaders- FURIO and PELLE NERA!

Day 3
Incredibly, four races were sailed on the third day of the regatta, for eight races total! Friday was a busy day, not only in race numbers but also in number of protests, so the international jury was kept busy as well!  Litkey’s PELLE NERA took over the lead, though tied on points with Whittemore’s FURIO.

The day started out with a shore postponement. After a short wait, the fleet headed out to the course area. The fleet sailed Race 5 in 6-8-knot easterly winds. JUKEBOX won Race 5, followed by Frank Schönfeldt’s HENK, Peer Kook’s BOCKDRUF third and JENESIS fourth.

Winds dropped by Race 6, though it was about 5-6 knots at the start. Winds dropped further during the race, forcing the RC to shorten the length of the 2nd upwind leg. Race 5 finished with 5 Hungarian teams occupying the top 5 slots- PELLE NERA, Robert Sarina’s JBOND, JENESIS, Bakoczy’s FGF SAILING TEAM, and IJRONCAT. Race 7 was preceded by a lengthy on-water postponement, as the Race Committee decided to move the course southwards in hope of more steady winds. The new course was set and Race 7 started in an 8-knot northeasterly.

The start for Race 7 had to be repeated due to a general recall, 3 teams including leading JUKEBOX collected BFD’s. The 2nd start for Race 7 was clear. The Swedish FOR FUN crew rounded the upwind mark first, followed by VITESSE and IJRONCAT. The order shifted by the downwind mark, which was rounded first by FGF Sailing Team, followed by FURIO and EVNIKI. FGF ended up winning race 7 by consistent sailing. VITESSE came in second, FURIO third.

The wind had dropped to 5-6 knots by Race 8 while keeping its direction, so no course change was needed for the last race of the day on Friday. Teams really had to be alert and decide which side to choose that would bring them fresh breezes. JENESIS opted for the left and rounded the 1st upwind mark first, beating VITESSE and PELLE NERA. At the end of the first lap, VITESSE overcame JENESIS and held onto the lead position until the finish.

Jörn Harm from Vitesse commented, “It is difficult to sail here, as there is relatively little wind and there are lot of wind direction changes and there are no waves. We, from the North of Germany on the Baltic Sea are used to different conditions: mostly a lot more wind and waves, where it is somewhat easier to sail.  Nevertheless, the organization of the regatta has been perfect.”

PELLE NERA finished second, FURIO came in third, JENESIS landed in 4th while FGF Sailing Team nailed the 5th spot.

The winner of the day was definitely Farkas Litkey, whose consistent sailing paid off with his PELLE NERA team taking the lead in the regatta.

Litkey commented after the races, “We sailed 4 races today out of the total 8. We had four good races, so we are happy with our scores! It was light wind, which benefits us as we are fast in light winds. We have enough speed there to stay among or ahead of the best. The Regatta organization is fantastic. It is incredible that there are 48 boats. I’m truly impressed. Shore events are perfect. New videos, edited every night, the day’s photos displayed is really unique. I haven’t seen this at any other regattas. This is the best organization, I’ve ever seen!”

Day 4
Despite the challengingly shifty conditions, the Race Committee, headed by Bence Fluck, managed to run two more races on the final day.

Race 9 was sailed in 7-8 kts northeasterly winds in which 3 German Teams gathered BFD penalties due to jumping out early. LUV was the first boat to reach the 1st upwind gate, shadowed by the young girls-only team on GER 5266, while DJANGO rounded third. By the end of the 2nd leg, leading positions had shifted as the left side of the course proved faster, but LUV and the girls on GER 5266 managed to hold onto their leads while EVNIKI completed the leg third. The second upwind leg saw LUV maintain their lead, but 2 teams came in from the right, JUKEBOX in second and FURIO in third. In the end Stry’s LUV won Race 9, with JUKEBOX in second and FGF in third in a massive comeback!

Race 10 was a nerve-wrecking course, testing the endurance of the teams with its dropping, shifty winds.

EVNIKI was first to round the 1st upwind mark, followed by Dutch Team JOOL and JMANIA.  At the downwind mark, EVNIKI swapped positions with Team JOOL. Dropping winds clustered up the teams at the mark, there were fierce struggles for inside positions, coupled by load protest calls. Team JOOL struggled to the 2nd upwind mark to round first, followed by EVNIKI and VITESSE. The Dutch Team JOOL won the race, beating EVNIKI and VITESSE in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

The Race Committee was determined to do an 11th race that had to be started by 4 pm. The wind was picking up to 7-8 knots, shifted east, but the 1st start attempt had to be interrupted by an AP due to a sudden wind shift. The 11th race started clear at the 2nd start attempt, though radically shifting conditions forced an abandonment, closing the regatta with a total of ten races in very challenging weather!

Following the J/24 Class legacy of awarding special prizes, here are some of those winners below:

• “The Old Boat Trophy”- was earned by JUST A BIG DINGHY- helmed by Annamári Sabján. The boat had been used by a Swiss fisherman who shortened the mast by 6 cm. So, the mast had to be restored to its original length before the European Championship in order to comply with class regulations. The girls-only team went to great lengths to make their boat race compliant!
• The “Ladies Trophy”- was won by Emily Kern and her German crew of all-women on ROTOGIRL.
• The “Top Youth Boat Trophy”- was won by the GER 3634 team, FAST F helmed by Johanne Maske.
• The “Top Senior Boat Trophy”- went to Italian Attilio De Battista on ITA 498- PILGRIM.

Erik Hercsel, the President of the Hungarian J/24 Class concluded the event as follows, “I am grateful that I had a chance to sail the same course with such great sailors during this regatta. Seeing the Hungarian fleet, the teams, and the helms achieving such great results makes me even happier. Long months of organization and many late nights preceded this event. Big ‘thank you’ to my entire Team who made this event such a success, to the many supporters, volunteers, J/24 Class members, to Balatonfüredi Yacht Club, and, of course, to our sponsors whose support was inevitable in the realization of this great event.”   J/24 Hungary Facebook group.

J/24 Hungary sailing videos
First day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1574122279311655/
Second day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1574942895896260/
Third day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1576005189123364/
Fourth day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1577399228983960/

For Balatonfüredi YC information   For more J/24 European Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

STC College Big Boat Regatta Preview

(Larchmont, NY)- While American YC’s HPR Regatta will be taking place off Rye, NY, their “next door” neighbors on western Long Island Sound- Larchmont YC- will be hosting what has become the most wildly popular event in the college sailing season across the America’s and Europe!  That is the Storm Trysail Club’s annual Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (a.k.a. the “college big boat” regatta)!

This year’s event will be held on the weekend of October 7th and 8th at the Larchmont Yacht Club in Larchmont, New York. This is an invitational event and will feature racing in approximately five classes of offshore yachts: J/105, J/109, J/44, PHRF 35 foot-boats and IRC 40-boats.

The event has grown every year and last year the event was able to accommodate almost 400 college sailors. European teams have come from France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  In addition, several colleges from Canada fielded crews and from the USA teams came from literally every corner of America and the Great Lakes- from west to east and north to south!

Thanks to the high-quality list of sponsors, some private donations, and the generosity of participating boat owners, Storm Trysail Foundation and Larchmont Yacht Club are able to run this regatta at no cost for the college sailing teams! The sponsors include Rolex, North Sails, Gill North America, Safe Flight Instruments, Flintrock Construction, and Dimension-Polyant.  For more Storm Trysail College Big Boat Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Spain's Stephane Azzoni Loves Sailing J/80s!

(Barcelona, Spain)-  Stephane Azzoni- a J/80 and J/92 sailor from Spain reports- “I would like to share the pleasure I always have sailing my J/92 and now my J/80, single handed or with crew, fantastic boats really!  I am still playing the lottery, let’s see if I'm lucky and I can buy a J/121!”  Stephane continues to explain his love for J/Boats:

“I bought my J/92 after sailing a Mini-Transat 6.50 for some years: I was looking for a more versatile boat, that would allow me to bring onboard my small family for some short cruises, as well as to do some single-hand racing.

I found "Geronimo" near Barcelona, in a port where she had been quietly resting for 3 years. She was equipped with a new set of sails, almost never used.

After renaming the boat "Vol De Nuit" (from a Saint Exupéry novel), doing a basically cosmetic refit and buying a new running rigging in Dyneema, I started sailing and training in this nice playground that is the Costa Brava.

I regularly took part in some very interesting coastal and offshore singlehanded regattas.

I mostly remember one, the Dragonera, from El Balis (a port located a few miles to the north of Barcelona) to the island named La Dragonera, located to the South West of Mallorca Island.

I say mostly because I had the chance to win the regatta (in compensated time) for 1 minute and 30 seconds on the second boat, after 120 miles and 21+ hours of racing, a 49 feet skippered by a great navigator who would then become a great friend and with who I continue to sail doublehanded on his magnificent X46.

After that regatta I brought the boat to Pollença, on the North part of Mallorca, a beautiful bay with plenty of small beaches to anchor. My family arrived by plane and we spent a week sailing and enjoying the bay every day.

The J/92 is more a day boat than a cruiser, the headroom inside is limited and the kitchen minimalist, but the cockpit is huge. Anyway, as it was the end of June, we spent most of our time outside and had some really great holidays onboard.

Under sail she's an easy boat, stable, fast under asymmetric spinnaker and perfect for solo sailing as well as for sailing without an experienced crew.

I sold "Vol de Nuit" to her new owner, a very kind Greek sailor who made the delivery by sea from Spain to Greece with some friends. We are still in touch and he's enjoying a lot sailing and racing his new toy. According to the latest news from him, she's the boat to beat in the local fleet, winning almost every race out there.

After that I briefly owned a racing boat of 35 feet and finally bought my actual toy, a J/80 named "Valentina": she's really an amazing boat.

I mounted an autopilot Raymarine ST2000+ to be able to sail single-hand, but my program is mainly the local club regattas with a small crew, and the J/80 regattas with the Barcelona fleet, with a crew of young guns coming from the dinghy world, and full of talent.

And what a level in this fleet in Spain!! These guys have been sailing their J/80 for 6 years or more now, and they do it very, very well: the first 5 are really impressive.

Every time I have the chance to sail with them, I learn a lot and realize how much I still have to learn from the boat and from them.

I can only speak well of the J/80. If I consider the J/92 to be a good boat, for me the J/80 is nearly perfect in this size: well-built, strong, easy to handle, very fast under asymmetric spinnaker, and at the same time very stable, with a tremendous marine behavior for a 8 meter boat only, as at ease with 5 knots of wind, than with 25 or more.

It also appears to be very competitive under ORC handicap in a mix fleet. This year, we even won a local championship (in our class and overall in corrected time), in windy conditions, beating a TP52, a DK46, a GS44R and some 40 and 35 feet boats, after a coastal race the first day and 2 windward leeward races the day after, amazing!!

A very important thing I would like to add is that, unlike most of the large-scale production shipbuilders, when I call J-Composites in France for some technical advice, there is always a technician available to inform me- great service!!

That said, I must admit being in love with the J/111 and the J/122. Therefore, I keep on playing the lottery, just in case luck smiles at me and allows me to buy a J/121: my absolute dream!!  Fair winds to everybody.  Best regards, Stephane Azzoni”

J/80 (with Raymarine ST2000+ autopilot):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVKmqlyF_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMbwPy3gqm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3gU-SDtmqw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQOqyoR7EaU

J/92 Vol Nuit- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEljfZlEk2A Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Annapolis Boat Show Update!

On Display- NEW J/121, J/112E, & J/70
(Annapolis, MD)- Make your last minute plans now to visit the famous US Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD that runs from October 5th to 9th over the Columbus Day holiday weekend.  Sailors from around the world gather on miles of docks in beautiful historic Annapolis for this internationally acclaimed sailboat show, recognized as the largest, most prestigious, and only remaining in-water sailboat show in the world.

J/Boats, in partnership with our mid-Atlantic dealer North Point Yacht Sales, will have on display the NEW J/121 offshore speedster, as well as the J/112E cruiser-racer and the famous J/70 one-design speedster.

J/Boats’ 40th Anniversary and North Pointe Yacht Sales 10th Anniversary Dock Party!
Please join us and our boat show neighbors (Musto, Quantum Sails, Selden, Spinlock) on Friday, October 6th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the United States Sailboat Show on Dock S- look for the red J/flags in front of Pusser’s Restaurant/ Bar.  Thanks also to our sponsors- AKZO NOBEL (AWLGRIP & INTERLUX), Sweetwater Brewing, and the Maryland Coastal Conservation Association.

For more U.S. Sailboat Show information

PEK: SPORT Wins Act VI- Russian J/70 Sailing League

Moscow QPRO Sailing Team Leads Overall Series
(Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)- Lying 400 km east of Moscow’s famous Red Square, the confluence of the famous Volga and Oka Rivers and the famous Kremlin fort and Chkalov Stairs overlooking the sailing area, was the setting for the sixth regatta in the Russian J/70 Sailing League. The city of Nizhny Novgorod (once called Gorky- in honor of the famous Russian novelist- Maxim Gorky) was initially famous as “the Detroit of Russia” and is now home to three-dozen high-tech R&D centers and is, essentially, the I.T. center of Russia (even INTEL has 500 engineers in R&D working there!).

Eleven teams from across Russia showed up for the penultimate regatta at Nizhny in the season-long Russia J/70 Sailing League that started out in April at the famous Black Sea resort of Sochi and will finish the season there for their Grand Finale. Those teams included Koreg Sailing Team (Sochi, helmsman Oleg Kuzmin), QPRO Sailing Team (Moscow, Egor Zuev), CARAMBA! (Moscow, Dmitry Kuznetsov), Calypso (Tuapse/ Moscow, Vladimir Shishkin), Traktor Sailing Team (Chelyabinsk, Eduard Podshivalov), PEK: SPORT (Moscow, Maxim Kuzmin), Ugar Crew (Moscow, Alisa Kirilyuk), ZidArt Sailing Team Moscow, Zoran Paunovich), Team Nizhny Novgorod Children's River Shipping Company (Nizhny Novgorod, Danila Lysanov), Tramontana (Nizhny Novgorod, Yuri Luzhbin), and the Winners Sailing Team (St. Petersburg, Victor Kapitonenko).

The sailing teams were treated with good sailing conditions all weekend-long.  Each team sailed 27 races, seven on Friday, thirteen on Saturday, and thirteen more on Sunday!

The winner of the regatta was Moscow’s PEK: SPORT, which was skippered by Maxim Kuzmin; the crew consisted of Vadim Filatov, Dmitry Ievlev, Dmitry Popkov and Konstantin Besputin.  This team is unique. They joined the Russian J/70 Sailing League at the fourth stage of the season in Pskov (Krivsk).  They won the regatta, repeated their winning performance in St. Petersburg, and now they did the same in Nizhny Novgorod!  An amazing performance!

The first day PEK: SPORT did not perform well. But then, they found their form and after the second day of sailing ended up in 2nd overall in the provisional rankings.  Then, after another solid performance on Sunday’s finale, they had six 1sts and 14 more podium finishes!

Taking the silver for the regatta was another Moscow team- QPRO Sailing Team with skipper Egor Zuev, and crew of Denis Rozhkov, Alexander Grishunin and Vyacheslav Bukin.  While leading the regatta after Saturday with a phenomenal four-race winning streak, they could not keep it together on Saturday.  Ultimately, they finished 11 pts back behind Maxim and her crew of sailing mercenaries.

The bronze was taken by the Sochi KOREG Sailing Team, skippered by Oleg Kuzmin with crew of Inal Berbekov, Artem Avetisyan, Andrei Ignatenko and Yulia Dmitrienko. The gap between silver and bronze was only 4 points.

“On the final day of the regatta, a stable western wind blew with a force of 12 knots,” said Chief RC PRO Dmitriy Shatagin. “The race was held at a high pace. I managed to run 13 starts, and it was very good! At the end of the final day, the protests were again brought to the finish line, but many of them were, shall we say, "dismantled" between the skippers themselves. In general, all three racing days were successful, and with excellent weather. Impressions are positive."

"This is the third regatta for us in the league and the third time we win," said Vadim Filatov of PEK: SPORT. “Dmitry Ievlev and I have been engaged in rally-raids for six years, and now sailing became the next page of our lives. And, we never regretted that we came to yachting!! This is the kind of sport where emotions overwhelm, where you start every 20 minutes in a new race. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose! It turns out that throughout the racing day something new is always happening. This is an unforgettable experience. An unforgettable holiday! There are not enough words- many emotions. I'm ready to scream, laugh! The sailing is so cool!”

“It was not easy- the weather conditions did not allow us to relax,” said the helmsman of the team-winner- Maxim Kuzmin. “In the first race day, the wind changed very much, in the second the wind also made its own corrections. But, the third day did not disappoint me, it was even, though weaker, than the day before. The race was significantly influenced by the current: it was possible to make a very big mistake at the start, well, in the course of the race, too, it was necessary to take this moment into account ... The regatta was chasing 11 teams, which is a record for the Premier Division. Plus, some of the teams have intensified their efforts with new crew for the Premier Division. Accordingly, the intensity of the struggle was high, and nothing was clear until the finish. Only 5 minutes before the award, we learned that we became champions!”

"We went through the regatta well," says Yegor Zuev, from the Moscow-based QPRO Sailing Team. “The rivals are strong, the fleet is very even. The water area is non-standard, with a strong current, with good wind conditions. Everything is great, but I would like to see that in the Premier Division there was direct refereeing on the water, which would allow making the right decisions immediately on the water.”

"The race was interesting, tense," says Oleg Kuzmin, the coach of the Koreg Sailing Team from Sochi. “The fight was going on until the last day, until the last start. We tried to show the best result, and won third place. The water area is not easy: the current, which always makes its own corrections, and the wind here is also complicated- unstable. The first race day was generally something for everyone! But, even in these conditions, we tried to show everything we could. As for our rivals, with each stage they are all more serious and serious. Many tried to strengthen their teams, so in one of the teams they recruited the current Melges 32 World Champion and the Melges 20 European Champion- Konstantin Besputin. Is this a world-class level here in the middle of Russia- on the Volga River in Nizhny!? The panel of judges worked remarkably well, the race was going well, without delay. Thanks to the hard work of the judges, good fellows.”

The Grand Finale for the Russian J/70 Sailing League takes place in Sochi (site of the Winter Olympics) from October 19-22.

So far, six stages have been held in Sochi, Sevastopol, Moscow, Pskov (Krivsk), St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. After the 6th stage, the leading troika has not changed for the overall series. Leading at the current time is the QPRO Sailing Team from Moscow, followed by the KOREG Sailing Team from Sochi in second place, then the CARAMBA! Team from Moscow in third, the CALYPSO Team from Yuapse/Moscow in fourth and the PEK: SPORT Team from Moscow in 5th place!

The organizers wish to “Thank” the government and the Ministry of Sport of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the sailing association of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the hosts for this stage- the YC Leto and the Tramontana Sailing Club, as well as the Nizhny Novgorod Children's River Shipping company and, personally, the Commander Vladimir Ivanovich Dyakov.

Watch some fantastic “3D” virtual tracking of all the races here- incredibly well done software by Tracker Regatta3d.ru.  Here’s one example to view

Watch a highlight video of the Nizhny event here  Follow the Russian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook  For more Russian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Atlantic Telegramme Regatta Fun 4 70s, 80s, 111, 122!

(Lorient, France)- The past weekend saw the 18th Atlantic Telegramme Regatta take place in Lorient, France, organized and hosted by the Center Nautique de Lorient.  It was a three-day regatta that had 121 sailboats across a wide variety of classes for 800+ sailors.  Amongst those fleets were J/70s, J/80s and a J/111 participating in IRC Division.

The sailing on Friday was not optimal, low winds with huge oscillations across the race course area.  Then, on Saturday it was almost perfect, with 10-15 kt winds from the southeast.  On the closing day on Sunday, a less than idyllic weather scenario played out as a Low (depression) swept across the Bay of Biscay, bringing with it rain, fog, and good breezes from the southwest.  In the end, the J/70 and J/80 classes enjoyed a lot of racing, both getting in a total of eight races.

In the J/70 class, it was “fratricidal warfare” between the two brothers Phillipe and Eric Guigne- in fact, it was a friendly family battle, too.  After compiling seven 1sts, it was Phillippe’s crew on VIRTUAL REGATTA 70 that won quite handily with just 9 pts total.  His crew consisted of Damien Scelo, Tanguy Caron, and Benjamin Diouris.  Second was his brother Eric on FORCE G sailing with a complete family crew that included Antoine Guigne, Adrien Guigne, and Gregroire Guigne!  Finally, in third place was Ivan Damon’s JUNIOR SANGALKAM with crew of Lucie Ribet, Eric Kescaven, and Matthieu Kloek.

Similarly, the J/80 class saw a runaway leader for their class.  Past regatta winner Simon Moriceau guided ARMEN HABITAT to six 1sts in 8 races to win with just 6 pts net.  His crew consisted of Jean Queveau, Pierre Loic Berthet, Stephane Geslin, Paul Medinger and Tiphaine Ragueneau- all from the APCC Voile Sportive sailing club.  Taking second was top French woman skipper Maxime Rousseaux on her CN ST CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES; her CN St Cast crew included Alexis Aveline, Corentin Kieffer, Julie Richeux, and Matthieu Legrand.  Third place wen to Thomas Launay’s AVEVA MSAASA; his crew included Matthieu Layus, Nicolas Richard, and Emmanuel Houze.

Over on the handicap racing classes, it was the J/122 MUSIX winning IRC 2 Division, skippered by Philippe Baetz from La Trinité sur Mer.  Then, in the Osiris 2 class, it was Patrice Vidon’s J/111 J4F that handily won their class, too.  For more Atlantic Telegramme Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Fest Southwest Announces “Legends” Sailing Event

(Seabrook, TX)- J/Fest Southwest organizers in conjunction with Lakewood Yacht Club and J/Boats Southwest announce a new celebrity racing event featuring past World and North American champion sailors.

For those of you looking to start enjoying the festivities surrounding this year's regatta early, you'll want to get here before 4pm Friday, October 20th, to enjoy the two planned celebrity races on Clear Lake the afternoon before the J/Fest Southwest Regatta.

The celebrities include Jeff Johnstone, Scott Young, Farley Fontenot and Jay Lutz. They will be sailing J/24s loaned out by the J/24 Fleet. Each boat will have their celebrity name across the mainsail. There will be on the water judging and spectators can watch the action from the newly opened Barge 295, in the location of the old Turtle Club. Live commentary will include humor and historical tidbits for additional entertainment value- sailing’s version of “fake news”- up to you to determine what’s “real”- prizes later for those who are right!!

The 8th Annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta will be raced on Galveston Bay October 21-22, and this year's event marks 40 years of J/Boat history. With over 50 boats entered so far, 2017 will be a landmark regatta.

Don't miss the Oct. 14th registration Deadline. The entry is just $95 for all classes. Racers who register by 1700 hours on Oct. 14 will receive a free t-shirt and two wristbands to get you into the post-race dinner and party at Lakewood YC.

Please visit http://www.jfestsouthwest.com to register. Crew waivers and information about local accommodations are also available.

For regatta information or questions about the celebrity or cruising events, contact J/Fest Southwest Regatta Race Co-Chair Chris Lewis at email- jfswatlyc@outlook.com.

SCOOBY Scoops J/22 East Coast Champs!

(Eastport, MD)- The Eastport Yacht Club hosted 16 teams for the J/22 East Coast Championships, held in the waters of the northern Chesapeake Bay.  The EYC RC team managed to run six races over the two-day event that produced a surprising last minute winner!

On the first day, the clear leader of the regatta was Mike Marshall’s BAD NEWS from Jamestown, RI with a 2-1-2 tally for 5 pts total.  Not far off that pace was JR Maxwell’s SCOOBY, a local team from Annapolis YC with a 3-4-1 scoreline for 8 pts.  Then, sitting in third after Saturday’s racing was Chris Junge’s THE CORNER OF SANITY & MADNESS with a 5-2-3 tally for 10 pts.

Sunday’s racing brought about a dramatic change in the overall standings.  While they won the first race, Marshall’s crew lived up to their boat’s name, having some “bad news” for their final two races- posting a 3-10 to throw away their regatta lead and finish in second with 19 pts.

With steady scores of 2-2-1, Maxwell’s SCOOBY easily ended up winning the event with 13 pts total.  Taking third for the regatta was Jeff Todd’s HOT TODDY from Annapolis YC, posting a consistent scoreline of 1-6-4-5-4-3 for 23 pts total.  Rounding out the top five was Junge’s crew with 24 pts in fourth and Brad Julian’s team on USA 677 in fifth place with 37 pts.  For more J/22 East Coast Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 China Club Challenge Match Report

(Shenzen, China)- Thirty-seven teams stepped up to the plate for the 13th China Club Challenge Match. Maybe not as many as the organizers had made allowances for but for an event which is only in its 13th year in a nation where sailing is not much older, it is an impressive figure, easily making it the largest one design keelboat regatta in China sailed on a fleet of J/80’s.

There were three days of mainly champagne sailing on the waters off Xiamen. An overused expression perhaps, but in this case, it truly was the real deal.  Eleven races scheduled and eleven races sailed over the three days with sailors from the top to the bottom of the fleet giving it their all, but with the huge majority with the right attitude. In fact, the boat that was last in (I think) every race could always be seen with big smiles on their faces and a wave for every support boat that passed close by whether media, umpire or mark boa – that’s what our game should be all about.

The event was overseen by an excellent PRO who set fair windward-leeward courses up and down the sometimes-fierce Equinox tidal current. In fact, when the tide started to go slack on a couple of days the huge number of OCS prompted general recalls with the black flag in evidence.  On the final day the BFG threat was enough to pull all the competitors into line for a clean start after their first attempt was more than a little eager, meaning it would have been easier for the race officers to count the legal starters than the OCS boats!!

The racing was kept ‘honest’ by Addendum Q- on-the-water judging provided by a team of sharp eyed umpires, two of whom, John & Wayne were up from New Zealand with Cathy from Hong Kong (also a Kiwi) and Al from China making up the foursome. Although briefed and warned about early bowsprit deployment, the early races saw multiple penalties for over eager use of the prods.  But, by the final day the lesson had, it seemed, finally sunk in with only 2-3 red flags for this ‘over eagerness’.

The racing was effectively policed, but with 2 umpire boats for a fleet of 37, many of whom seemed to have an almost magnetic attraction for each other, the on the water hearings were still busy with protests up into double figures at the end of day 2. Strangely, perhaps with the realization that a protestor wasn’t guaranteed a result, or worse still with a reverse decision, many protests were withdrawn. The spirit, however, was an example to sailors everywhere with the losers smiling, willingly shaking hands and the two skippers heading off together to the free beer.

Nowhere was this spirit of sportsmanship better displayed than at the prize-giving dinner at the end of the event. All teams who sailed with at least one female crew member received a point “discount” on their score.

One of the prize-winners realized that this meant that they had received a prize– and that prize was to come back for the match race finals and a nice silver trophy (plus, some Ronstan and Sunrise Marine goodies).  Yet, although they had entered with a female crew member, they actually sailed with an all male crew.

When they realized what had happened they immediately informed the committee and handed over the lot to the crew below them. That was almost as cool as the actual team that won the event!

In response to this, Alan, the owner of Sunrise Marine deemed they should keep his contribution to the prizes and awarded an additional set to the replacement winners.

The main trophy remained on its plinth, as in reality the event has just reached its midway stage with 8 teams invited back in around 5 weeks time for the head-to-head match racing element to determine the 2017 champion.

This is an event that is not ‘padded out’ by multiple teams of foreigners engaging in a bit of regatta tourism; every team was from within China. This a country where, 15 years ago, sailing outside vocational provincial teams of Olympic hopefuls was unheard of.

This was an event of sailors trying hard to win for the honor. No big cash prizes, so why is the event proving to be successful, growing in numbers, stature and reputation year-on-year?

Speaking to many competitors, the answers received are not quite unique, but follow a similar vein all the way through. This is a fun event with the balance between the quality of the racing, the competition, the race management, the ‘après-sail’ activities, the adherence to the rules, the camaraderie. Also interesting, were the comments that the competitors felt it was great to leave the race course knowing where they came was where they came with the majority of disputes settled on the water, instead of having to wait for a sometimes long drawn out process in the ‘protest room’. Perhaps, other events in more established areas might learn from this!

It is interesting to note that a well-run event, designed entirely for the benefit of the competitors– call them the “customers” if you like– is growing in this manner, whilst in other, sometimes much more established sailing nations, the concern is about falling rather than rising numbers.  Could it be that in some cases the organizers believe it is THEIR event rather than the sailors?  The China Club Challenge Match most certainly belongs to the customer.  Thanks for the report from “Shanghai Sailor” on SailingAnarchy.com Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 North American Championship Announcement

(Eastport, MD)- From the October 20th to 22nd weekend, the Eastport Yacht Club will be hosting the 2017 edition of the J/80 North American Championship on the fabled waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

As per their usual high-standards, expect the complete red-carpet treatment from Eastport YC and its members for the J/80 competitors!  The EYC PRO promises fair weather, great sailing and a lot of races!

To get you J/80 aficionados fired-up, here is a most amazing J/80 video planing in heavy weather

It’s not too late to register NOW for the 2017 J/80 North Americans.  Go now to the registration site here on Yachtscoring.com.  For more J/80 North American Championship sailing information.