RORC Caribbean 600 Race Preview

(English Harbour, Antigua)- Seventy-eight yachts have entered the eleventh edition of the RORC Caribbean 600, where in excess of 700 sailors from six continents and yachts from over 20 nations will compete in the thrilling race around 11 Caribbean islands starting on Monday 18th February. Winners from the Olympic Games, America's Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and multiple world champions have gathered in Antigua and will be competing alongside passionate Corinthian sailors, both young and old.

Two offshore thoroughbreds from the “J” stable will be participating in the event in the IRC Division.  Sailing for the first time will be Roger Gatewood’s J/145 KATARA from the USA; given the right conditions, her enormous asymmetric sails and her ability to excel in a long upwind slog (154 degree for 190.0nm) from the northeastern point of Saint Maarten (Ile Tintamarre) to the southeastern tip of Guadeloupe (Iles de Saintes). Similarly, Pamala Baldwin’s Antiguan crew on the J/122 LIQUID will be participating for the third time in this “bucket list” race; her team has proven time and again they can race against the world’s best sailors in their Caribbean “backyard” and her “homies” can get the job and get on the podium!  For more RORC Caribbean 600 sailing information and tracking Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Islands Race X Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club are celebrating the 10th annual Islands Race on February 15-16, 2019. The decade old, 134.0nm race is a signature SDYC offshore regatta co-hosted with Newport Harbor Yacht Club. An expected 25+ boats will start from Long Beach Harbor, make way around Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands and finish in Point Loma.

As the first race of the 2019 Southern California Offshore Racing Calendar, many competitors will be using this event to prepare for the NHYC Cabo Race later in the Spring. The NHYC Cabo Race is an 800.0nm, 3-4 day, intense offshore competition. The Islands Race, involving only a single overnight at sea with various offshore wind and sea conditions, is a good opportunity for sailors to get ocean experience while still remaining relatively coastal.

Competitors in the Islands Race will head offshore in west to northwest trade-winds that flow southward down the coast. Boats will typically encounter better sailing winds in the evening as they get further into the trades, and round Catalina and San Clemente islands. However, as they pass to windward of these islands, they are exposing themselves to larger swells and wind waves that are not blocked by the islands.

SDYC Waterfront Director Jeff Johnson explains the challenges with these offshore winds. “As the winds flow down the coast, they continue south even as the coastal shoreline recedes to the east. This creates a gap between those trade winds and the coastline, over most of Southern California. During the day, the thermal effect pulls those offshore winds into the coast. But, at night, coastal waters are largely calm. However, the trade winds continue to flow, just further out to sea. The Islands Race course places competitors among those night-time winds and gives them valuable night-time offshore sailing experience.

Taking up that challenge in the ORR 1 Class are Seth Hall’s famous navy blue J/124 MARISOL, with crew from Newport Beach, CA.  In addition, Viggo Torbensen’s race-winning J/125 TIMESHAVER from Dana Point YC will be hoping to set the pace offshore and overcome notorious competitors like the SC 52 Horizon.

In the ORR EZ5 Class, Paul Stemler’s pretty J/44 PATRIOT from Newport Harbor YC will be taking on all comers with speed, grace, comfort, and elegance.  Sailing photo credit- JOYSailing.com  For more Islands Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Helly Hansen St Pete NOOD Regatta Preview

(St Petersburg, FL)- The 2019 edition of the Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta will be taking place from February 15th to 17th, hosted by St Petersburg Yacht Club, with sailing on Tampa Bay. Continuing the trend from past years, the J/family of sailors continues to grow across the spectrum of experience and competition.  Of the 162 boats registered, 106 are keelboats, and of that 34% (or 36 boats) are J/Boats crews.  In terms of “sailor participants”, the J/crews number over 50% of the regatta, at least 250 sailors that are on J/24s, J/70s, J/88s, J/111s, & J/PHRF teams!  Yet another “de facto” J/Fest for enthusiasts across America.

Fresh off their last weekend in the Davis Island J/70 Winter Series are fourteen J/70 crews from Canada (Port Credit, ONT), Maryland, Florida, Minnesota, Georgia, New York, and Connecticut. Watch out for Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER crew form Rochester YC in New York as well as Maddy Ploch’s team on USA 88 from the greater Tampa Bay area (includes her Dad- Mark Ploch, first time J/24 Midwinter Champion in 1978)!

The half-dozen J/88s will square off again after their Midwinter Championship over two weeks ago.  Will Mike Bruno’s WINGS crew duplicate their remarkable feat of five bullets?  Or, will Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION and Andy & Sarah Graff’s EXILE exact revenge and turn the tables on everyone? That outcome may be “condition-specific” as certain teams have proven to be faster in some conditions versus others and, as a result, may become a war of attrition to the very end!

The J/111 class will see the addition of the popular WICKED 2.0 crew, skippered by Doug Curtiss from New Bedford YC in South Dartmouth, MA.  Their pretty black and green boat will be put to the test by the previous J/111 Midwinters leaders- Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF from Cleveland, OH; Ian Hill’s SITELLA from Chesapeake, VA; Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK from Cleveland, OH: and Andrew & Sedgwick Ward’s BRAVO from Shelter Island, NY.

The octet of J/24s will enjoy good racing, as they usually do in the friendly confines of Tampa Bay. Do not be surprised if the top of the leaderboard sees Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM from Davis Island YC dueling for class honors with Carter White’s YOUREGATTA from Portland, Maine.

The PHRF 1 Racing division has grown, yet again, with 25 boats on what could be a very scary starting line. This year, two J/105s will be on hand- George Cussins’ FIRE & ICE from Apollo Beach, FL and David Arata’s J-HAWK from St Petersburg YC.  Joining them in the fray will be Ray Mannix’s J/29 SEMPER FI, a past class winner!

Finally, the NORTH SAILS RALLY for Racer Cruisers includes David Mendelblatt’s J/24 USA 4159 from St Petersburg YC, going for a “family cruise” with the hopes of collecting some silverware along the way.
Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ OutsideImages.com   For more Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 @ Austrian Boat Show- BOOT TULLN

(Tulln, Austria)- The Austrian Boat Show– BOOT TULLN- continues its success story! The biggest and most comprehensive boat and water sports trade fair in Central and Eastern Europe, the show takes place from March 7th to 10th, 2019.

The trade fair city Tulln on the Danube River has been presenting the Austrian Boat Show for 45 years. More than 45,000 visitors with substantial purchasing power come each year from Austria and abroad to enjoy the attractions of the trade fair and its host city.

On display will be Europe’s most popular sportboat- the internationally famous J/70 one-design sailboat.  The class has truly taken over Europe by storm, with nearly 1,000 boats on the Continent.  That activity has been driven by the famous SAILING Champions League, in which 20 nations are taking part from across Europe in the incredibly popular sailing league programs that has mostly standardized on J/70 sailboats. Austria has been an active participant in that growth for “club sailing”, bringing aboard most all of Austria’s top sailing clubs. Come on down and learn more about the J/70 in Austria and how you can participate in European J/70 events.  For more BOOT TULLN show information

To meet J/Boats Austrian representative Richard Gebetsroither-Haslinger from Yachtservice Gebetsroither GesmbH, please contact them at mobile +43 664 211 68 33/ email- office@yacht.co.at/ or web- http://www.yacht.co.at Add to Flipboard Magazine.

WINGS Rises to New Heights at J/88 Midwinters

 
Five Bullets Guarantees The Title in St. Pete
(St Petersburg, FL)- Taking on a new sailing challenge is nothing new for Mike Bruno. Through nearly three decades of racing he and his team have raced, and succeeded, in several different boats. So, when the J/88 launched onto the scene, Mike jumped in and the Wings program had a new sailing challenge to conquer.

Fresh of their recent win at J/Fest in St. Petersburg, the North Sails Team wanted to know more about the Wings team and their thoughts on their 3Di sails.

NORTH: Mike, first of congratulations to you and your team on Wings for your continued success in the J/88. Can you share with us a little bit about your sailing background and how long have you been sailing in the J/88 class?

BRUNO: Thanks! We are having fun with Wings and continue to learn more and more about sailing the J/88 fast. Insofar as how we got this far, I started out as casual cruising sailor and began racing about 25 years ago. I would say that in the past 15 years or so we have gotten fairly serious about racing and being competitive. We had a Jonmeri 40 named Karjala that I raced for many years, then a series of “Wings”.

First was a J/124 I raced for two years. It was a nice boat, but we found it to have a tough rating to sail to, so we traded it for a J/122.

The J/122 really was a great step and I successfully campaigned that boat, with a few partners, for eight years as a one-design. The J/122 program brought us some great results, including winning the North American title twice and a Rolex award at a New York YC regatta. That brought us to the current Wings, the J/88, which I bought the 3 years ago. We have really enjoyed this program and had great wins including the inaugural J/88 North Americans as well as a big J/88 class win at Key West Race Week.


NORTH: The pictures from the J/Fest Regatta in St. Petersburg made it appear that you had good breeze for the event. Did the conditions match up with the pictures throughout the championship?

BRUNO: St. Petersburg Yacht Club runs excellent events and Tampa Bay can be a bit “challenging”, so you really never know what you will get on any given day, especially in the winter. That said, the sailing conditions at the J/Fest were certainly fair. Across the entire event, I’d say the breeze ranged from 8-20 knots. I think the cooler conditions (locals may call it “unseasonable”) played a role in how much pressure we had throughout the weekend. Also, Tampa Bay is quite shallow so there was a reasonable amount of sea state but the very steady breeze overall and significant shifts kept every team on their toes and working hard looking for opportunities to be gained via tactics and gear changing.

NORTH: Can you tell us a little bit about your team, who does what, and how long have you all been together?

BRUNO: The team is really made up of a large group of great friends and awesome sailors and, like many others, we find we are rotating in and jumbling pieces for any particular event to make sure we, not only do well, but have fun.

For J/Fest Midwinters I helmed and had Chris Morgan, a local Floridian, trim main and work with me on our overall speed. Stu Johnstone was our tactician and he really had a great feel for the bay the entire weekend. Tim Randall ran the pit for us while Mike Booker did all the headsail trimming and Stephen Yip ran the bow.

NORTH: Looking back through the weekend what were the keys to your success at the Midwinters?

BRUNO: It’s a great question, as it forces me to look back and try to pinpoint a few things I think we did really well.

1. The biggest thing was we were just able to sail a bit higher and faster than the fleet much of the time. A lot goes into that for sure. The team really worked hard on proper rig tune and working the sails and trim constantly to maximize the boats potential but our new sails were probably the most significant difference in our ability to make that happen. 

2. Our crew work was excellent! As a skipper knowing that your team can execute any maneuver at a seconds notice and pull it off without a hitch is a huge confidence builder for the entire boat. It seems that at almost every mark rounding we seemed to gain 1-3 boat lengths.

3. I mentioned earlier that Stu Johnstone called tactics for the weekend; he was really on tactically this regatta, just incredible! Stu didn’t miss anything, which also gave us terrific confidence. We did make a few mistakes in the event, including being over early at the start in two races. In the last race, we were over (again) and we re-started, probably, 300 yards behind fleet. But, Stu got us back in the game, and we kept using our boat speed and crew work to do all we could to gain distance. Remarkably, we still nearly won the race- just a 1/4 boat length off! I guess maybe the new saying is “When you have a great team and fast sails it’s never over until it’s over!”

NORTH: What are your 2019 sailing plans for the J/88?

BRUNO: Wings has a very full 2019 sailing calendar. We have already done the Egmont Key Race and St. Pete J/Fest. Up next in February is the St Pete NOODs, and then we head up to Charleston Race Week in April. From there the team will go back north for the American Yacht Club Spring and Fall Series, Cedar Point One Design Regatta, Block Island Race Week, possibly the New York Yacht Club 175th Regatta, as well as J/Fest in Newport, with a focus on the J/88 North Americans in mid-October at Larchmont YC.

NORTH: Thanks Mike and congratulations, again. Sounds like you have a full schedule set with an awesome team. Good luck the rest of the year, have fun and sail fast!

Casales Leads Sardinia J/24 Winter Series

(Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy)- In the waters of the Golfo di Poetto, the Windsurfing Club Cagliari hosted the first event of their winter series on the beautiful waters off Sardinia for a fleet of ten boats. Prior to the start of the series, mistral-like conditions buffeted the island with steady 30 knots of winds, gusting to 45 knots.  However, by the weekend, the Race Committee of the WCC, chaired by Betty Lai, managed to run three races on Saturday.

The starts were close, tightly packed, and the first windward legs were, in particular, very shifty, making it hard for boats to remain consistent race to race. The one exception appeared to be Andrea Casale, an Italian J/24 Champion and also two-time J/24 World Champion. His team managed to round all marks in the lead and start out the series in first place.

Behind Casales’ team on ARIA DELLA LNI OLBIA in the first race was Aurelio Bini’s VIGNE SURRAU in second and Giuseppe Taras’ DOLPHINS in third. In the second race, DOLPHINS took second followed by Sergio Contu’s NEW MOLLICA in third place.  In the last and final race of the weekend, NEW MOLLICA took second in a close duel with Casales, with VIGNE SURRAU taking third.

At the end of the racing, the J/24 crews met to talk with the Genovese champion- Casales- who, in addition to describing the sails he represents, gave excellent advice on the boat's handling and on the tactical choices to be competitive in conditions like those on the weekend. The arrival of pasta and delicious Sardinian wine offered by the WCC gave the right conclusion to a beautiful day at sea and sport.

The overall standings (after the first 5 races) have ITA 443 ARIA DELLA LNI OLBIA leading with a 6-2-1-1-1 record, followed by ITA 405 VIGNE SURRAU from the Circolo Nautico Arzachena with a 3-1-2-9-3 tally in second, then Giuseppe Taras’ ITA 401 DOLPHINS sitting in third with a 2-6-3-2-5 scoreline.

The next event for the Sardinian J/24 fleet is scheduled for February 16th and 17th.  For more Sardinia J/24 fleet sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/133 JACANA Wins off Cape Town

(Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa)- In the southern hemisphere, most sailors are familiar with the extensive one-design and offshore racing taking place in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand). However, an active offshore fleet continues to enjoy the often-spectacular conditions sailors experience off the famous landmark known as the Cape of Good Hope. In fact, there are more than a dozen J/teams sailing those waters ranging from J/24s to J/27s, J/30s to J/105s, and even a J/133.

Recently, the J/133 Team HOLLARD JACANA (owned by the trio of David Munro, Patrick Holloway, and Neil Gregory) was the overall winner of the Class 1 Division in the 2019 Fling Regatta, the first amateur team to win in five years.

Patrick commented on their performance, “racing was incredibly close, as was the overall result. Our crew had one 1st, three 2nds, a 3rd and a 4th in the six-race regatta, for a total of 10 points, after a one-race discard. The regatta was sailed in Table Bay over the weekend of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd February 2019.

The event was the third and penultimate round of the Western Province Inshore Championships, which the team continues to lead. Previously, we won the False Bay Spring Regatta (September 2018) and finished 2nd in Table Bay Race Week (December 2018) by the narrowest of margins on a tie break.” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Grenada Sailing Week Report

J/24 Fun, J/122 Offshore Success
(St Georges, Grenada)- Long-time J/sailor, Hilary Noble, has been on the pointy end of many top teams over the years in J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, and J/88s.  This past week, she was down in the Caribbean sailing in the first major event of the winter season “down island”- Grenada Sailing Week.  Here is her report on the proceedings.

“The Caribbean racing season is now underway with the 6th edition of Grenada Sailing Week that was held from January 28th to February 1st.

A record fleet of 40 boats gathered at Port Louis Marina, and it being my first year racing in this event, I was really excited to see what this so-called “friendly island” was all about. Just as I expected, the competitors brought their A-game and race officials and volunteers had one goal in mind: great racing, hospitality, and tons of fun!

Racing began on Monday, on the south end of the island just west of the airport, off the pristine Grand Anse beach. Local knowledge played a key role in staying in pressure and setting up for what new pressure was to come. Most of the local teams played the shoreline often, giving them the famous “elevator lifts” to easily one-tack the top end of the race course.

If you could break away from the pack and get into the pressure first, you had a great chance of leading around the windward mark. The wind was pretty shoddy on the south end, with the land breeze mixing with sea breeze funneling over the huge mountainous terrain.

This created huge puffs and huge holes, something to really keep an eye out for! We dug into a lot of puffs, but we may have found a hole where it seemed like our world stopped, while the rest of the world kept spinning. Thankfully, we weren’t the only ones to find it.

Day two was very similar, presenting puffy conditions that made the racing fun and unpredictable. It reminded me of college sailing, with the auto-tacks and huge lifts that would give you 30-degrees more point than the boat just to leeward of you.

The last race on day two was a 12-mile race and a downwind start. We checked our angles to assure that our starting line plan would be successful – and boy was it ever! Instead of leading our fleet in, we tailed the competition and right as we started we executed a perfect jibe-set, hoisting our code zero.

Being one of the last boats to enter the starting area by the RC end allowed us to fulfill our higher angle with ease after our set, while some boats chose to use their A2, making it impossible to get to us. At that point, it was full-steam ahead.

As we approached the tip of the runway, a massive JetBlue airliner came in hot, landing right over us.  That was exhilarating and got my adrenaline pumping for the next leg. At that point, you could see the land clearing ahead where our next mark was for us to honor and head upwind.

There was a 10-knot increase around the end out in the open on the east end of the island that made for the freshest upwind leg we had yet. We had a last minute call to change our headsail, we had 30 seconds to plug and hoist before we could get our code down.

We had one hell of an epic takedown with the wind howling and waves crashing on our port side, we got her in and we were headed uphill, keeping an eye out for the next mark. We hadn’t seen the other end of the island yet and WOW, she was beautiful. Finishing off the point of Prickly Bay, I thought to myself, after the salt water shot under my sunglasses, this just doesn’t get any better!

On our lay day, we left our Port Louis and stopped just outside to snorkel the underwater sculptures. We headed over to the beach after that and went ashore to the spice market and had lunch. After loading up on some local fare, we casted off and motored around the point to relocate our mother ship, a 50-foot catamaran to the east end of the island in Secret Harbour where racing would commence the remainder the week.

The last two days were just fantastic. Excellent racing, fun courses, and stiff competition. The courses were interesting and kept it fun and exciting for the pointy end. Our team vibe was great all week long and we all had a blast racing together.

The Caribbean circuit is unlike any other racing circuit in the world. Sailors from all over the world come to experience new cultures, taste the amazing food, and make new connections. For most, it’s a vacation in itself. Living in Rhode Island these days, I appreciate the aspects of warm-weather sailing more than I ever have before.

For this event, I had the pleasure of making new friends and teammates. A few of the crew I’ve known for years and have spent a lot of time on the water racing and some were new crew to the program that meshed really well with the team and were fun to sail with. This regatta was a great experience and I highly recommended it to those who want to escape the winter and get a taste of some really fantastic sailing. I can’t wait to sail in Grenada again!”

Living it up and enjoying their entire week was a well-known crew from Antigua, Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID.  Sailing in the largest class of the event, the thirteen-boat CSA Racing Division, Pamala and her crew sailed by far the most consistent series of any boat on the water.  LIQUID’s worst race was a 4th (their toss race) and all the rest were 1st, 2nd, and 3rds, finishing on the podium to take the silver in their first outing in the Caribbean winter circuit!

Meanwhile, one wonders if it was a case of sheer joy or pure exhaustion for the half-dozen J/24s that sailed off St Georges for the entire regatta.  After eighteen races (!) it was quite apparent that the top of the leaderboard was going to be determined by a “war of attrition”.  In the end, Fred Sweeney’s ATTITUDE from St Lucia never broke down, never lost focus, and never finished worse than 4th place! Amazing! Consequently, ATTITUDE maintained the pressure on the fleet after winning the first three races to take the J/24 crown. Second was Robbie Yearwood’s DIE HARD from Grenada; posting nearly as many 1sts, 2nds, 3rds as Sweeney’s crew, but not nearly enough, settling for the silver.  Rounding out the podium was Stephen Bushe’s HAWKEYE from Trinidad, taking the bronze- a truly international podium.  Thanks for contributions from Hilary Noble and Scuttlebutt Sailing Newsletter.  Follow Grenada Sailing Week on Facebook here   For more Grenada Sailing Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

US J/24 Class Awards Third Annual Boat Grant

(Apollo Beach, FL)- The US J/24 Class Association has awarded the third annual Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant to Matt Miranda from Ronkonkoma, New York. The Program is named in honor of Kelly Holmes-Moon, a long-time supporter of the J/24 Class Association who served as US Class President and as the Copyright Holder’s Representative.

For the 2019 season, the boat will see weekly action at Sayville Yacht Club with J/24 Fleet 182. The Boat Grant team plans to participate in a number of events including the US Nationals in Rochester, NY, Changing of the Colors Regatta in Lake George, NY, Charleston Race Week in Charleston, SC, and they are applying to be the Under-25 team at the World Championship in Miami, FL. Class members will mentor the young team, as well as the other individuals who applied for the Program.

Matt has more than a decade of J/24 experience, having crewed on multiple World Championship campaigns, numerous District and national events, and has skippered at US Nationals and local Fleet 182 series racing. His team will consist of a mix of younger J/24 sailors and seasoned veterans, who will surely help them grow over the next year. “I am incredibly honored to receive the grant boat this year! Excited to see some new faces, and some old, as we travel around to our nine or more scheduled events. Come say hi if you see us! I would like to thank the US J/24 Class and the Boat Grant Committee for making this possible and for helping me achieve a lifelong dream.”

The Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program encourages talented young sailors to gain first-hand experience racing within the J/24 Class of one-design sailboats at virtually no cost. Dave Eggleton donated the boat, USA 423, to the program, providing the Scholarship Boat recipients with the experience to escalate their level of competitiveness and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world. The team is in need of contributions to help fund their campaign. To find out how you can help, e-mail director@j24class.org. 

The application process for the 2020/2021 Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program will begin in the fall of 2019. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Davis Island J/70 Winter Series III Preview

(Tampa, FL)- In the third and final regatta of the J/70 Davis Island Winter Series, fifty-five J/70 teams are hoping to sail in the forecasted winds of 10-20 kts from the northeast this coming weekend. Should that happen, that would more than make up for the fact that in the two previous events there was only one good day of racing both times; ironically both on Saturday, with Sunday being washouts for either no wind or storms.

Who will ultimately triumph in the 2018-2019 edition of the DIYC J/70 series?  It is all up for grabs, that is for certain.  Teams only have to count all races in their two best regattas.  Given the somewhat “yo-yo” scorelines for most teams in the first two events, virtually anything can happen for the overall standings.  Current leaders include Travis Odenbach’s B-SQUARED team; Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Houston, TX; Kevin Downey’s MR PITIFUL from Seattle, WA; and local Tampa rock stars on Greiner Hobbs’ DARK HORSE.

In the Corinthians Division, Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY and Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH appear to be significant players to remain at the top of the leaderboard after the battlefields clear over the weekend.  For more J/70 Davis Island Winter Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.