Italian J/70 Class Update

2019 J/70 Europeans on Lake Garda!
(Milan, Italy)- Breaking news! The J/70 Italian Class has been selected as the organizer of the 2019 J/70 European Championship that will take place from July 6th to 13th, 2019, in Malcesine, on Lago di Garda.

After the organization of the Audi J/70 World Championship, with 162 boats on the starting line, Italy will host another great event, with hopefully 100+ boats.

Lake Garda always attracts crews from all over Europe and is a perfect location for sailing, given the almost constant presence of the mountain “adiabatic” and thermal breezes; from the North in the morning and from the South in the afternoon.

The event will also be a perfect preparation for the J/70 Worlds that will take place in Torquay, England at the beginning of September 2019.

In anticipation of those two events, the Italian J/70 sailing season for 2018 is gearing up for a busy summer.  There are four events for the famous ALCATEL J/70 CUP.  Last year, the circuit hosted over 100 crews and it is anticipated they will exceed this figure again in 2018.  The four events are the following:

• 6-8 April            ALCATEL J/70 Cup- San Remo
• 11-13 May         ALCATEL J/70 Cup- Porto Ercole
• 12-15 July         ALCATEL J/70 Cup- Malcesine- ALPEN Cup
• 7-9 September   ALCATEL J/70 Cup- Trieste

For further information on the events, please contact Italian J/70 Class- Silvia Gallegati at email- info@j70.it  or on their website- http://www.j70.it/ Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/121 SAIL Magazine's March 2018 Cover Girl!

(Boston, MA)- On the cover of the March 2018 issue of SAIL magazine is the exciting, new J/121 offshore speedster!  There is also an in-depth boat review on the J/121 by the SAIL magazine editors.  Look for it on your newsstands now.  Here is what Adam Cort from SAIL had to say about the J/121:

“Every boat design strives for something new. But, a new kind of racing? In fact, that’s exactly what designer Alan Johnstone and the rest of the folks at J/Boats set out to do with their new J/121 one-design. In the process, they also just happened to create a boat that is both drop-dead gorgeous and sails like a witch— two reasons why it won SAIL magazine’s 2018 Best Boats award in the 30 to 40ft Performance category.”

Read the rest of Adam’s lengthy review on the SAIL magazine website here under “Boat Reviews” section.
https://www.sailmagazine.com/boats/boat-review-j-121

To learn more today about the exciting J/121 and the upcoming 2018 Open Course Racing Circuit, please take a look here. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Eight Bells: Warren Miller- a great J/Boats sailor

(Newport Beach, CA)- Eight Bells: Warren Miller- a great J/Boats sailor in Southern California.

Warren Miller, the iconic and beloved filmmaker who introduced generations to the thrills and freedom of skiing and outdoor adventures (e.g. sailing), passed away at the age of 93 on Wednesday evening, January 24th. He died peacefully of natural causes at his home on Orcas Island, WA.

Miller earned global acclaim and a passionate, multi-generational following for his annual ski feature films, which kicked off the ski season for more than 60 years, showing in hundreds of cities across the U.S. and around the world. Packed with adventure and exotic travel, Miller’s distinct, droll narration and humorous hijinks on the slopes highlighted his films.

Beyond his ski films, there are legions of sailing enthusiasts that knew Miller for how his films captured their sport. A sailor himself, Miller was active in the P-Cat, J/24 and Tornado with his son Kurt. Their highlight was finishing third in the 1981 J/24 Worlds in Sydney, Australia.

“Nothing got my dad more excited than having our boat well prepared, sailing out to the start line, and the excitement of racing around the buoys with friends,” remarked Kurt.

Miller used his template of blending action, adventure, youth, light hearted moments and his engaging dialogue to entertain yacht club audiences and millions of television viewers. In all, there were over 20 sailing films including “Hot Yachts, Cold Water”, “High Performance Sailing” and “Gold Medal Sailors”.

Many iconic manufactures used the Warren Miller films to launch their brands including Windsurfer, J/24, Hobie 33, and Laser. Overall, Miller produced more than 500 films that primarily covered outdoor pursuits. As an artist, cartoonist, and author, he wrote some 1,200 columns and 11 books.

In retirement, he turned to destination motor boating in his 70s and 80s, exploring the Northwest and Alaska from his home on Orcas Island. During his 80s and 90s, Miller’s philanthropic efforts provided entrepreneurial training to thousands of youth nationwide, emphasizing hard work, ingenuity, and creativity.

Perhaps one of his most cited quotes provides some insight as to how Miller packed so much into one lifetime: “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.”

Miller is survived by his wife Laurie; by his sons Scott (Melissa) and Kurt (Ali); by his daughter, Chris (David Lucero); and by his stepson, Colin Kaufmann; three granddaughters (Valeska, Kasimira, and Jenna) and two grandsons (Alexander and Ryan).  A detailed look at Warren’s incredible life is available here: Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Promoting Offshore Sailing for Women

(Larchmont, New York)- The Storm Trysail Club, which is working on an initiative to encourage more women sailors to experience sailing offshore, has produced WOMEN OFFSHORE, a new video in which ten highly experienced women sailors share helpful ways to get more women on the water. Here is a 3-minute trailer of WOMEN OFFSHORE.

WOMEN OFFSHORE is being offered to yacht clubs and sailing organizations wishing to present this important video to their memberships. Free downloads of WOMEN OFFSHORE can be requested by contacting Storm Trysail Club member Charles “Butch” Ulmer- email-  butch@uksailmakers.com.

WOMEN OFFSHORE is the latest addition to the Storm Trysail Video Library. In addition to this new program, this collection offers a range of videos covering specific safety-at-sea best practices. By making these informative videos available, Storm Trysail seeks to encourage more women to safely participate in offshore sailing. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse Preview

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- Since 1985, top European one-design sailors are often found in Monaco at the beginning of February to compete in the first event on the Mediterranean circuit.

As the Yacht Club Monaco continues to ramp-up its sailing programs, bringing life to the Principality’s harbor, the Club is set to host an armada of one-design elites for the 34th Primo Cup– Trophée Credit Suisse, February 8th to 11th. This year, the weather looks promising, with partly to mostly sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-50s F, and winds SSW 6-9 kts Friday, 12-16 kts northeast on Saturday, and 7-12 kt westerlies on Sunday.

With 400+ sailors from 12 countries participating, the event brings together top European teams and enthusiastic amateurs. It is always a great spectacle on the water off the grand and picturesque waterfront of Monte Carlo and the après-racing ambiance and experience ashore are simply world-class.

Without a doubt, the YC Monaco has established its positioning as a winter base for one-designs, particularly for the J/70 class that has been competing in the monthly Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series of regattas since October.

With thirty-eight teams (54% of the regatta), the J/70 is the biggest fleet with highly experienced teams from across Europe (Russia, France, Switzerland, Monaco, Germany, Poland, Italy, Great Britain) and South America (Brazil).

The headliners for this event should be last year’s 2017 Primo Cup- Trophee Suisse J/70 class winners- Mario Sorensen Garcia’s MANDACHUVA crew from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the current runaway leader of the YC Monaco J/70 Winter Sportboat series- Valerya Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE team from Moscow, Russia.

Challenging that formidable duo will be YC Monaco’s 2017 Yachtsman of the Year- Vincenzo Onorato sailing his famous MASCALZONE LATINO. In addition, past regatta contenders should also see other teams at the top of the leaderboard, such as Germany’s Gerd Knospe skippering SANNA R and Michael Grau helming PAINT IT BLACK; Italy’s Germano Scarpa on SPORTCUBE; YC Monaco’s own Stefano Roberti on PICCININA; Poland’s Pawel Tarnowski on APOTEX; and the fast Swiss crews- Nelson Mettraux’s CER APROTEC- VILLE DE GENEVE and Bruno Zeltner’s QUARTER2ELEVEN.

Meeting the professionals
The regatta kick-starts the Mediterranean racing season and is also a platform for meeting people and exchanging ideas. In this spirit, on Thursday at 5.30pm, the celebrated French sailor from Nice- Jean-Pierre Dick- will be presenting his new project, “Easy2Fly”- a one-design foiling catamaran.  Of note for J/Sailors, “JP” was a long-time ferociously competitive J/24, then J/80 sailor, on the French and European racing circuits.  That background and experience led to his equally tenacious “one-design” sailing style in the French and European multihull and Open 60 circuits- he’s famous for “not giving an inch” to his single and doublehanded rivals offshore!! A lesson well-learned in J/one-design racing!

The whole team recognized at prize-giving
Another special feature of the Primo Cup– Trophée Credit Suisse is that it rewards team-work. All crew members in the first three boats in each class receive clothing from SLAM’s Advanced Technology Sportswear!!  For more Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse sailing information

Quantum J/70 Winter Series Preview

(Tampa, FL)- For the third and final event of the 2017-2018 Quantum J/70 Winter Series, the weather Godz are promising a “tour’de’force” for weather.  Apparently, the Tampa Chamber of Commerce ordered (or bribed) the local weather prognosticators to let everyone know that Florida will deliver on it’s “postcard perfect” reputation as a winter haven for all those frozen “snowbirds” from up North.  Mostly sunny skies, 60s F at night, 80s F in the day- what could possibly go wrong with that forecast?  Perhaps, not bringing enough sunscreen and avoiding looking like a burnt rock lobster?  With massive cold fronts whistling across the American Midwest, it appears all they are doing is sucking the warm Gulf of Mexico air to the north/northeast; the winds are predicted to be in the southerly quadrant all weekend, starting on Friday, and flowing warm & gently at 8-12 kts.

Considering that a record fleet of sixty-plus boats is registered, such a forecast must be a good thing.  Many of the top boats in the USA J/70 class are participating.  The question on everyone’s mind will be- can Joel Ronning’s formidable crew on CATAPULT pull it off this year and actually win the series?? Time will tell.

Making sure that Ronning will have to fight for every inch around the race track will be teams like Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Boston, MA (winner of the first event in December); Darby & Jud Smith’s (daughter/father) AFRICA team from Marblehead, MA: Jack Franco’s FLOJITO 3 JT from Houston, TX; Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA; Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE from Greenwich, CT; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA; Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING from the Cayman Islands; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Palm Beach, FL; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI; and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Forth Worth, TX.

The Corinthians Division has ten boats with strong contenders within the group, including past Winter Series winner Rob Britts on HOT MESS from the host club- Davis Island YC.  Other contenders in the division could be two teams from Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA (hosts of this year’s J/70 Worlds)- Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK and Nancy Glover’s WINTERWIND.  For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information Flip

Three Bridge Fiasco Lives Up To Its Name

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2018 Three Bridge Fiasco on January 28 lived up to its name, with a number of adjectives that can be tossed in for good measure, such as chaos, anchoring, ripping ebb, light air and determination. This was classic winter sailing on San Francisco Bay.

For many, it was the impromptu voyage out under the Golden Gate Bridge when the currents overwhelmed hull speed after rounding Blackaller and attempting to cross the river. For others, it was a day of setting the hook and waiting; either for stronger wind or less current. Or both.

But, the one thing this edition will be remembered for is the extremely small percentage of finishers, just four boats out of the 359 registered singlehanded and doublehanded teams managed to get around the course before the 7:00 PM witching hour bell struck!! A record that hopefully won’t be repeated again!

The 21.67 nm course is defined by the Golden Gate, Richmond, and Bay Bridges, with adjacent marks that the fleet must round, but in any order and direction.  The three course marks are: 

• YRA 16 (“Blackaller” a yellow cylinder 0.2 nm east of Fort Point),
• Red Rock, and
• Yerba Buena Island.

Boats shall round all three marks in any order and in either direction they wish.

The counter-clockwise course was predestined for the winners, finding enough wind to clear the starting line and made tracks for the west edge of Treasure Island, where they found a nice counter current allowing them to make progress upstream until just under the bridge where the wind died and the current was relentless.

There they played the puffs, advancing the anchor when possible then holding till the next round. Said the winners, “we set the hook 3 times and moved maybe 50 feet in between each set!”

A miracle, short term switch in wind direction allowed the duo to escape the Yerba Buena wind hole and work their way back up the east side with kite pulling them all the way to the north end of Treasure Island.

The wind would subside, die, then refill and allow them to work their way up to Red Rock in a NW wind that they rounded about 3:00 PM, set the kite and rode her back to Raccoon Strait.

“The wind backed off there, but we were able to ride the current to Pt Stuart and then found some westerly, enough to make progress against the building flood to Blackaller, where the wind switched south and eased.” They managed to finish in daylight at 17:25:30.

A trio of boats, including the J/24 FLIGHT, with Randall Rasicot & Rosanne Scholl, all worked their way towards Red Rock well in advance of the rest of the fleet. And, things looked remarkably in their favor. Until the wind died. The light westerly they had enjoyed from 11:00 am on, took a 1:30 pm siesta before staging a northerly comeback, where it jumped to 10-plus knots for an hour and 1/2, allowing them, and a handful of Raccoon Strait Refugees a shot of getting around Red Rock, set kites and boogie towards Treasure Island/ Yerba Buena.  They were the only other finishers.

The fleet included large one-design double-handed fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, and J/105s.  Thanks to Erik Simonson from Pressure-drop.us for story and images. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SCYA Midwinters J/70 Preview

(Marina del Rey, CA)- For years, the Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA) has been hosting their annual “Midwinters” regatta in the middle of February, a kick-starter event for their incredibly long season of sailing across the “SoCal” region.  More than a dozen sailing clubs/ yacht clubs have supported the program for the SCYA Midwinters, up and down a coastline of over 100nm.

This year, the extraordinary hosts at California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey are hosting the J/70s.  There is an excellent turnout of teams, with a dozen crews participating in the inaugural season regatta.

The weather looks unusual with frontal systems that have been pummeling the Pacific Northwest affecting gradient winds in SoCal.  Easterlies in the lightish range may be competing with the traditional onshore breezes from the SSW when things heat up a bit in the Los Angeles Basin… perhaps even some classic fog tossed into the mix.

Nevertheless, the weather won’t diminish the fun and satisfaction of the J/70 crews looking forward to their first test of the 2018 sailing season.  Amongst the leading crews should be Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU, Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT, Curt Johnson’s AVET 2.01, young sailor Robert Garret’s SLOOP JOHN B, and the duo of Tom Jenkins & Eric Kownacki on DFZ.

Note, it’s not surprising the J/70s have selected Cal YC as their principal starting point for the season; Cal YC is famous for their extraordinary red carpet treatment of regatta sailors, resplendent with “après-sailing” servings of daily food & munchies spreads and “micro-breweries” served by hosts/hostesses on the docks as boats arrive to tie up after a long day of sailing.  For more SCYA Midwinters J/70 sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

France Expands Sailing League 2018

(La Rochelle, France)- Launched in 2016, the French National Sailing League (LN VOILE), the only 100% inter-club competition in France, will pass a new stage this year.  For 2018, the clubs will compete for the first time in a championship format that includes two events sailing in J/70s and J/80s. The first event is in Brest (June 29 - July 1), organized by the Union of Brest clubs (USAM, SR Brest, Crocodiles Elorn). And, the second will be in La Rochelle (October 19 to 21), organized by the Société des Régates Rochelaises.

Who will succeed in 2018? Will it be the Sailing Club of Saint Quentin (first winner of the LN Voile) or the Saint Aubin-Elbeuf Sailing Club that won in 2017?

After two single editions in La Rochelle (SRR) in 2016 and Le Havre (SRH) in 2017, this year's LN Voile will move to a championship format. This expansion of the event permits more clubs to sail and it increases the participation by more club members for each time- a much better dynamic overall for the LN VOILE.

Ed Russo, President of LN Voile Commission, commented, "I am pleased that LN Voile 2018 is taking place in a two-step format. This will allow clubs to put in place a real internal dynamic around this project. In Germany, they are on a 5-step format, which strengthens the program within the clubs. And, more importantly, that sportingly permits each club to have dozens of members participate in a summer season long championship.  That remains a goal for us."

The experience of the past two years has shown that the LN Voile project can be approached differently depending on the club. Between those who sign up for a performance goal in order to qualify for the European semi-finals, those who take the opportunity to discover a great national competition to their members, or those who select their representatives after an internal selection, all the formulas work and enable clubs to participate in the scenario that suits them best.

League Training Programs
Since the start of the year, a number of clubs have already organized themselves and are having training events in J/70s and J/80s.  For example, last weekend there were very good conditions for their training for two days. Between four boats on Saturday, and seven on Sunday, the fleet sailed on a “banana courses” near the West Minimes of La Rochelle.  Crews worked a lot on tacking and gybing.  After an intense day on the water, a debriefing was organized at the clubhouse of Société des Régates Rochelaises, with a video analysis of Sunday maneuvers.  The next training weekend is again at Societe des Regate Rochelaises over the February 3rd to 4th weekend. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SDYC’s Islands Race- Kick-Off for SoCal Season

(San Diego, CA)- Back for its ninth year, San Diego Yacht Club will host the 130nm Islands Race on February 16-17, 2018. The Islands Race is one of SDYC’s signature offshore races, and the first of the 2018 racing calendar for most boats. Following the Islands Race will be the Puerto Vallarta Race in March, the SoCal 300 in May, and the Rum Runner Race in October.

The Islands Race brings San Diego Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club together when the race starts in Long Beach Harbor. From there, competitors will head west of the Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands before finishing in Point Loma. This scenic course showcases Southern California’s gratifying sea breezes and profound ocean swells.

With registration now open, a fleet of over 25 boats is expected to compete in 2018, similar to past years. In 2017, the smallest boat entered was a 33 footer, while the largest boat entered was Roy Disney’s 70 ft Pyewacket.  A number of J/Crews are already registered, including Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC, Tom Barker’s J/65 GOOD CALL from Cortez Racing Association, Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE from SDYC, Seth Hall’s gorgeous flag-blue J/124 MARISOL, and Paul Stemler’s J/44 PATRIOT from Newport Harbor YC. 

SDYC Staff Commodore Wayne Terry and Daniel Giessmann from NHYC will again co-chair the 2018 running of the event. For those sailors who enjoy an assortment of conditions within 130nm of offshore racing, Giessmann recommends you register.

“The Islands Race is great because it gives sailors a real taste of what offshore racing is like in Southern California. For some racers this may be the longest offshore race they do and for others it is a great tune-up for the PV or Cabo races that follow. Being early in the season also allows for a wide variety of weather scenarios to keep navigators busy. I enjoy being the chair to help promote and grow west coast offshore racing.”

Additionally, Terry provides a summary of the 2017 Islands Race and what to expect in 2018.  “The normally well-attended Islands Race, co-sponsored by the San Diego and Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs, will soon enjoy the 9th year of this annual event. The race normally draws 25+ competitors, many of whom will use it as a tune-up to SDYC’s semi-annual running of the Puerto Vallarta Race, which is scheduled to commence on March 2nd. Over the years, the Islands Race has experienced weather conditions ranging from mild to extreme, while usually fun and always challenging. The Islands Race is one of those many events where the respective sailing offices do most of the work, and deserve a big thank you for doing so. On behalf of the organizing authority, we hope everyone participating in this year’s event has a fun, fast and most importantly, safe race to San Diego. As always, refreshments will be on the front deck awaiting your arrival at the prize giving ceremony.”

SDYC will host the award ceremony on the clubhouse main deck on Saturday, February 17 with food and drinks for competitors beginning at 3pm or later depending on when the majority of boats complete the race.  Friends, family, and the sailing community can follow the race by tuning in to the YB Tracking website. Add to Flipboard Magazine.