J/109 Crowned Scottish Series Overall Champion!

(Tarbert, Scotland)- The Clyde Cruising Club Scottish Series 2019 saw three different days of weather on Loch Fyne, challenging sailors with light to heavy winds, sunny to rainy skies, and just about everything in between.  Winning IRC 2 Class and also declared Overall Winner of the Scottish Series was Andrew Craig’s J/109 CHIMAERA.

According to Craig, “this was my eighth Scottish Series. I am delighted to be part of the amazing winning team on our J/109 "Chimaera". We also got awarded "Boat Of the Week,” so we're thrilled. Thanks to Nevan Powell, John White, Eddie O' Rahelly, Brian Mathews, Nick Craig, Dave Cotter and Andrew Abbott for a great event. Well done everyone!”

In the IRC 2 Class, Jonathan Anderson’s J/122E EL GRAN SENOR took second place, while the Douglas family’s J/133 SPIRIT OF JACANA took 4th. Gordon Lawson’s J/122 MOONSTRUCK TOO rounded out the top five in 5th place.

The Makars Mash RC35 Class saw spirited racing in the biggest class in the event. Winning was the J/109 CHIMAERA, followed by Pat Kelly’s J/109 STORM in 3rd place and Brian & John Hall’s J/109 SOMETHING ELSE taking 4th position.

The IRC 3 Class saw Nicholas Marshall’s J/92 SATISFACTION grab the bronze medal, while Peter Doig’s J/92S JACK placed 5th.  Follow the Scottish Series on Facebook here  For more Clyde Cruising Club Scottish Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Russian J/70 Sailing League Report

(Kazan, Russia)- The Russian J/70 Sailing League is well into the heart of their summer-long series that started back in late April in Sochi, Russia.  Below are the two reports from the Act III in Kazan and Act II in Tuapse.

UGAR CREW Win Kazan Regatta- Act III
The thirteen teams sailed on the waters of Kazan- Lake Nizhny Kaban- for the first time in the history of the Russian National Sailing League (the lake is an offshoot of the Volga River about 510 miles (820km) to the east of Moscow). Those teams came from all over the country, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Konakovo. The teams included; B-Team (Milena Nikitina), Sail & Sea (Vasily Kharabardin), PEC: Sport Molodyozhka ( Dmitry Popkov), UGAR CREW (Ruslan Yakupov), Skolkovo Sailing Team (Elena Mukhametzyanova), PEC:Sport (Vadim Filatov), Khimgrad-Kazan (Roman Medvedev), Demidov Express (Vladislav Morozov), Vostok West 2 (Ivan Batrakov), Rosmorport (Ivanov Sergey), Lead IT! (Yuri Mishchenko), Dobrynya (Ekaterina Stolbneva), RBF Sailing Team (Alexander Mamyshev) and ZID Art Sailing team (Zoran Paunovich).

Day 1- Friday
On the first day, the bad weather from earlier in the week had cleared up, so the sailors were met by clear skies and a nice fresh wind gusting up to 20 kts. The RC PRO managed to run twelve races in total, six per team.

“We were lucky with the weather, there was a steady northerly wind of 8-10 knots, and during one of the races the gusts reached 20 knots,” says Chief Judge Albert Sadykov. “The races turned out to be dynamic and clean.”

Ruslan Yakupov’s UGAR CREW team started fast out-of-the-blocks and won their first three races, followed by a 5-3-2, to have a comfortable lead on the fleet. However, behind the UGAR CREW it was a tight struggle for the podium. All but two teams won races.  The most successful in that battle was SAIL & SEA skippered by Vasily Kharabardina, posting a 4-3-3-3-2-1 tally for the day. Then sitting in third was Zoran Paunovich’s ZID ART Sailing Team, starting fast, but then having mixed results later in the day and ending up with a 2-1-5-2-8-3 record.

Day 2- Saturday
The fleet was greeted by more most excellent racing weather. On Saturday, another 12 races were held; thus, in the course of two days, there were 24 races, each team sailing 12 times.

The main breakthrough on Saturday was the ascent to the top of the leaderboard by ZID art Sailing team. After a not quite successful performance on Friday, the team from Moscow won four out of six races (1-3-1-1-2-1). Paunovich’s well-orchestrated ZID Art crew consisted of Sergey Volchkov, Daniil Banayan and Ilya Zaporozhets.

After posting a consistent 6-3-2-2-2-5 record, sitting in second remained the leader from the previous day, Yakupov’s UGAR CREW (Vyacheslav Ivanov, Inal Berbekov and Andrey Ignatenko). And, still sitting in third was Kharabardin’s SAIL & SEA team with a tally of 2-6-1-3-3-5.

Day 3- Sunday
On the final day of the regatta, the weather continued to delight both the organizers and the sailors.  Despite the gusty winds, the race committee managed to provide 12 more starts. Thus, for the entire stage, 36 races were held, and each team sailed 18 times.

At the top of the standings, there was a change of positions. The winner of the Kazan stage Paunovich’s ZID ART Sailing team; eight wins in eighteen races is an excellent result. Congratulations to Zoran Paunovich, Sergey Volchkov, Daniil Banayan and Ilya Zaporozhts!

Gathering strength, Kharabardin’s SAIL & SEA team won four of the six races held on Sunday and recorded a 2-3 in the others! This phenomenal result allowed Kharabardin’s SAIL & SEA team (Vladislav Bondarenko, Mikhail Nechvolodov and Leonid Klepikov) to take home the silver medal.

Yakupov’s UGAR CREW did not perform as well on the final day, posting a 5-5-3-6-3-3 to drop into third place. 

“There was a gusty wind, it often changed direction, and it was possible to run aground along the coast,” said Yakupov. “In general, we really liked the regatta. Both the city and the organizers did a great job of conducting the stage in Kazan. The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan is very beautiful, people are beautiful, friendly. Only positive impressions remained. If we talk about the secret of the success of the team, we will not disclose it ye …until the end of the season- for sure!”

SAIL & SEA Tops Tuapse Regatta- Act II
The second event for the Russian J/70 National League was held off a commercial port on the Black Sea- Tuapse- about 70 miles (100 km) NNW of Sochi. Fourteen teams came from all over Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Voronezh and Yekaterinburg) to fight for more medals in Tuapse. Those teams included B-Team (Alexei Lesnikov), Sail & Sea (Vasily Kharabardin), PEC Sport Molodyozhka (Dmitry Popkov), UGAR CREW (Ruslan Yakupov), Skolkovo Sailing Team (Sergey Shvilkin), PEK Sport (Vadim Filatov), Khimgrad-Kazan (Maxim Uvarov), Demidov Express (Evgeny Somin), Mossebo (Andrei Evstifeev), East-West 2 (Ivan Batrakov), Assol Home Companions (Igor Lipen), Rosmorport (Anton Timakov), Lead IT! (Maxim Krukelis) and Dobrynya (Ekaterina Stolbnev).

Unlike their first event off Sochi, Tuapse was blessed with almost perfect weather all weekend, but perhaps not enough wind!

Day One- Friday
"For the entire first day in Tuapse, for the first time there was a steady wind that did not change direction for the whole day," said Chief Judge Daniel Deyanov. “The wind was between 4.5 and 10 knots, beautiful sailing!”

Despite some delays caused by racing inside the fully functioning commercial port (like avoiding big ships transiting the channel into the harbor!), the race committee managed to start eleven races. As a result, half the crews managed to sail six races, and the other half- five.

The SAIL & SEA team of Vasily Kharabardin led after the first day of racing. The St. Petersburg-based team confidently finished in the top three throughout the day, with the exception of the last race, posting an enviable 1-2-1-1-2-4 record.

Sailing less consistently, but still right at the top of the standings was Ekaterina Stolbneva's DOBRYNYA team, hanging on to second place with a scoreline of 4-1-6-2-3-2. However, she was tied on points with Dmitry Popkov’s PEC:SPORT Molodezhka team that had a record of 2-3-6-3-1-3, with Popkov’s team sitting in third on countback.

The winner of the first stage in Sochi, Alexey Lesnikova’s B-TEAM could only manage fourth after posting a 3-2-5-3-6-1 tally. T

Day 2- Saturday
The second racing day had very scanty weather conditions from the beginning.  Pretty day, sunny, but weak winds. The race committee managed to hold only six races, for a total of seventeen over two days.

“In the morning there was borderline weather, the wind was around 4.5 knots, sometimes falling to 4 kts,” said Chief Judge Daniel Deyanov. “We thought about canceling the races, but in the morning we still managed to get four starts. Later, the wind fell to zero and did not rise above 1 knot for five hours!”

The leader of the first day, the SAIL & SEA team did not win a single race (5-5-3) and gave up their lead to fall into second place. Similarly, Stolbneva’s DOBRYNYA team had an even more miserable day in the light to drifting conditions, posting a 6-7-2 to drop into fifth place

Meanwhile, Dmitry Popkov’s PEC:SPORT Molodezhka won one of his two races (1-2), which jumped them into the top of the leaderboard. Then, the second place team on the first day, the B-TEAM had 2-3-1 that kept them on the podium in third.

Day 3- Sunday
On Sunday, the Tuapse wind almost abated, but the racing committee still managed to hold four more races. As a result, twenty-one races were sailed so that half the teams sailed ten races and the others eleven.

“In the morning, the wind reached 5 knots, so we managed to hold two races,” said Deyanov. “We caught every breath of wind, but we couldn't get more than four races on Sunday.”

Popkov’s PEC:SPORT Molodezhka failed to extend their brilliant Saturday performance on Sunday, posting a 4-3-3 to drop down the standings and take the bronze medal.

Winning in the end was Kharabardin’s SAIL & SEA, the original leader after the first day.  The collected their wits back together and closed the regatta on a strong note.

“I liked the race in Tuapse,” said Kharabardin. “The weather was different, but although the wind was not very strong, the judges and organizers managed to hold a good regatta. The fight was sharp and highly competitive. We were very worried when on the second day we failed!  But, luckily, we managed to stage a strong comeback!”

Taking the silver for the regatta and perhaps making the biggest comeback of all teams was Ruslan Yakupov’s UGAR CREW team, leaping three spots up the leaderboard in just three races!  Follow the Russian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here  For more Russian National Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Italians Win SAILING Champions League Q-II

(Porto Cervo, Italy)- After three days of champagne sailing, the One Ocean SAILING Champions League, hosted by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Italy, came to a surprising and uneventful end! During the three days of competition, 39 races were held, completing a total of 13 flights for the twenty-four teams from across Europe. The top seven teams qualify for the finale in St. Moritz, Switzerland from 15 to 18 August.

The One Ocean SAILING Champions League was blessed with spectacular weather the first three days with sunny skies, 10-18 kt winds, and choppy seas. However, Sunday’s racing had to be canceled due to pouring rains and near gale force winds of 20-35 kts. As a result, the leader after Saturday’s racing, the Italian club of Circolo Della Vela Bari, became the regatta winner. Here is how it all went down in the beautiful azure waters of the Mediterranean.

Day One- Thursday
At the end of the first day the fleet was tightly packed, with Swiss teams in the top two positions. Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen, had three victories in four flights, were at the head of the leaderboard, four points clear of their nearest rivals. The second, third and fourth-placed teams at the end of the first day were sitting on equal points and were, respectively, Regattaclub Bodensee, the German crew of the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee and the reigning champion, the only Italian team participating in this semi-final, Circolo della Vela Bari.

Tom Rüegge, skipper of the leading Swiss team said: "I can best describe today's weather conditions as 'champagne sailing'. Wind shifts and gusts made the day exciting and, as far as we are concerned, everything went well. We kept up a fast pace and now we are confident as regards the next few days."

To raise awareness and to get the sailors more involved in sustainability issues, every day on the way back from the race course some of the participants were interviewed, with questions aimed to test their level of awareness on marine pollution.

When asked how much plastic waste he thought was in the ocean, Kristoforas Akromas, skipper of Nauticus Sailing Club replied, "I am aware of the plastic islands and I believe that there is currently a lot of this type of waste in the sea. From Hawaii to the Baltic Sea you find plastic everywhere and it is sad, it is time to act to enable a positive change." Data confirmed in 2018 shows that plastic makes up more than 80% of all waste in the oceans for a quantity of more than 8 million tons.

Day Two- Friday
After a second busy day, the team from Switzerland's Bodensee Regattaclub led the provisional classification with two more days of racing due to be held.

Following an initial delay due to light winds, the competition on the water began at approximately 1 p.m. The arrival of the thermal breeze from east-southeast blowing at 5 to 7 knots allowed 15 races to be held today, thereby completing the 9th flight out of a total of 15 scheduled.

The Bodensee Regattaclub moved up the rankings, thanks to two wins and three second places and now stood on the top step of the podium, leaving its opponents seven points behind. The second and third-placed teams were on equal points, with a positive day unfolding for the Circolo Della Vela Bari, despite a penalty for crossing the starting line early in the sixth flight. They hold second place overall ahead of the German team from Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee in third.

Rene Ott, bowman for the Bodensee Regattaclub, commented, "We trained a lot in Switzerland in light wind conditions and so we raced well today. Reaching the final is our main objective and even if we are in the top seven positions our approach to the racing will remain the same. The success of our team is down to consistency, we will try to compete without taking risks."

The regatta is held in the name of One Ocean; during the event, all participating sailors are urged to reflect on the topic of marine pollution by answering targeted questions. When asked what actions she takes to avoid marine pollution, Dutch sailor Marieke Poulie of the KNZ&RV Muiden team commented, “first of all, by avoiding throwing things in the water when I sail, but even at home I am careful to properly recycle garbage, when I am ashore I try to collect plastic or objects that can be dragged and dropped into the sea by the wind. I think it's important to behave properly not only when we practice the sport of sailing, but each day in our everyday lives."

Day Three- Saturday
Once again, the teams gathered punctually at 10 a.m. on the race course off Porto Cervo to kick off the penultimate day of competitions, accompanied by a sirocco wind blowing at 10 knots. A further 12 races were held and a total of 13 flights have been completed in the event.

Proving that consistency pays off, the team representing Circolo della Vela Bari, who sat in fourth place after the first day, climbed the provisional rankings and claimed the top place overall thanks to two victories and two second places in Saturday’s flights. The Regattaclub Bodensee is just two points behind in second place, while holding firm in third place is the German team of the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee.

Simone Ferrarese, helmsman for Circolo Della Vela Bari, commented: "Today's conditions were good as is usual in Porto Cervo and the guys did a good job. Now we're preparing for tomorrow, our goal is to get to the finals and to be ready for St. Moritz."

The question of the day on the topic of sustainability, which has been a feature of the entire event held in the name of the One Ocean Foundation, was: "As a sailor how important is the protection of the oceans for you?"

Atle Dreng of Norway's Larvik Seilforening responded, "I think it is crucial that companies, sailors and people around the world pay attention to the problem of plastic pollution. We all need to be aware of how much we are dependent on the state of health of our planet."

Day Four- Sunday
After racing was canceled late on Sunday morning, the teams gather together at lunchtime for the regatta’s prize-giving.  As a result, the winner of the second qualifier in Porto Cervo was the Italian team representing the Circolo Della Vela Bari; skipper Simone Ferrarese with crew of Valerio Galati, Leonardo Dinelli and Corrado Capece Minutolo (they were also the 2018 SAILING Champions League overall winners in St. Moritz, Switzerland).

The Regattaclub Bodensee followed the Italians and the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee in second and third place respectively. Completing the line-up of the first seven teams to qualify for the final are (in order): Seglervereinigung Kreuzlingen, Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, Société de Regates Rochelaises and Yacht Club Breitenbrunn.

Ferrarese, taking time out of his 49er campaign to represent Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, was delighted to have won in Italian waters: “The racing was incredibly close. I have never seen so many boats going around the windward mark at the same time. There were lots of penalties and lots of place changing, but we managed to come through and do well in most of the races.  Nevertheless, it's a pity that we couldn't compete today, but the conditions were not safe. I have to thank the crew who were perfect, we had a great time. We now have the finals on the lake in St. Moritz, where the conditions will be different than in Porto Cervo, like last year we will do our best."

YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bonadeo commented, “we were delighted to have you all gathered here in Porto Cervo once again for the fifth consecutive year, and I want to thank all the participants, the Race Committee, the international jury, the staff of the YCCS and our partners. Thanks also go to the SAILING Champions League, we are pleased to host events such as this in which, besides a passion for the sport of sailing we also share a love of the sea. The regatta named after the One Ocean Foundation confirms these common values, we hope to see you in 2020 to work together again and continue to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the ocean."   Day 1 highlights  Day 3 racing   Final day on Facebook
Final day on YouTube

Watch One Ocean SAILING Champions league video here
https://www.facebook.com/SailingCL/videos/298281431049324/
https://www.facebook.com/SailingCL/videos/828263264211414/

Sailing photo credits- SAILING Champions League/ Anya Semeniouk.  Follow SAILING Champions League on Facebook here

Livestream and results by SAP
As with all SAILING Champions League events, SAP Sailing Analytics provides 24/7 additional statistics and data for sailors, fans, spectators and media like GPS tracking, real-time analysis, live leaderboard combined with 2D visualization. You find all results on http://www.sapsailing.com!   For more One Ocean SAILING Champions League Porto Cervo sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Susan Hood Trophy Race Preview

(Port Credit, Ontario)- Since 1955, fully crewed yachts have been taking on the challenge of a spring offshore race- the 75.0nm Susan Hood Trophy Race on Lake Ontario. The 2019 edition of the Susan Hood Trophy Race is presented by driveHG.ca. Hosting the race is Port Credit Yacht Club and is scheduled to run on Friday, May 31, 2019 at Port Credit YC. Everyone is looking forward to decent winds that are forecast for this year’s race, due to the insane tornadic weather systems that have been crossing the American Midwest.

In the seven-boat IRC Division are Bruce Pierce’s J/122 HOOLIGAN II and John McLeod’s J/133 HOT WATER. In the PHRF Singlehanded class are Kim Piller’s J/109 LIVE WIRE and Ard Van Leeuwen’s J/112E HIGH TEA. In the PHRF Racing class are eleven J/teams, including Robert DeWitte’s J/100 PERSPECTIVE, two J/105s (Peter Wolniak’s ANOTHER HAZARD & Geoff Clarke’s CASUAL ELEGANCE), Murray Gainer’s J/109 LIVELY, two J/120s (Matt Emerson’s RED LEAF & Graham Toms’ THE CAT CAME BACK), Mike Pietz’s J/35 SHORTHANDED, two J/88s (Ed Berkhout’s ALL CAT & Tim Sweet’s GIVE’R), and Andrew Sharp’s J/92 SWITCH.  For more Susan Hood Trophy sailing information- Entries/ results here   Regatta site here Add to Flipboard Magazine.

SKYWAY COLORS Regatta Preview

(Chicago, IL)- COLORS has been Chicago’s shake-out-the-sheets event since 1995; e.g. time to dust off the tarps, raise the sails, and go sailing! More than 100 boats race annually during the first weekend of June. The strong one-design presence of J/Teams designates the event as a great tune-up for the season.

In addition to a weekend of buoy racing, the regatta has a distance race on Saturday. The distance race attracts the boats that are too large to go around the buoys, as well as, the more casual racers and even cruisers.

Racing is not the only factor that makes for a good regatta, though. The social side is equally as important, and Columbia is well-versed in having a good time. The big annual regatta party takes place on Saturday with tasty food, amazing libations and live band. It may be the closest thing the American Midwest has to the Heineken St Maarten Regatta’s “serious sailing, serious fun”!

The half-dozen J/88s include leading teams like Tod Patton’s BLONDIE 2, Ben Marden’s BANTER, John & Jordan Leahey’s DUTCH, Andy & Sarah Graff’s EXILE, Tim Wade’s WINDSONG, and Dan Floberg’s MISTY.

The J/105 class looks to be a three-way shoot-out from past winners of the regatta; Clark Pellet’s SEALARK, Gyt Petkus’ VYTIS, and Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM.


Will it be GOAT RODEO (Robert Evans), SLAPSHOT II (Scott Sims- ex-Chicago Blackhawk), FULL TILT (Pete Priede), or CALLISTO (Jim Murray) that top the J/109 class this year? Time will tell with this very tight one-design class.

With eight-boats, the J/111 class is looking forward to several events this summer, leading up to the J/111 World Championship in Chicago. Top crews that should factor on the leaderboard are Tracy Brand’s SOLUTION, Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi’s MOMENTUS, the duo of Mike Mayer & Steve Henderson on KASHMIR, and Rich Witzel’s ROWDY.

In the PHRF Spinnaker class are Frank Giampoli’s J/120 JAHAZI and Rick Stage’s J/35 ALPHA PUPPY.

The PHRF Distance Race class has these J/Teams participating; Ben Lumpkin’s J/112E MARY GAIL, Arne Fliflet’s J/120 MAZAL TOV, and Mitch Weisman’s J/35 FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER.

The PHRF Singlehanded Class has two J/105s sailing; Mark Gannon’s GANGBUSTERS and Mike Hettel’s GLOBAL NOMADS. Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outsideimages.com.  For more SKYWAY COLORS Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Southern Bay Race Week Preview

(Norfolk, VA)- The first week of June marks the opening of the summer season for the southern Chesapeake Bay offshore sailing season.  Hosted by Norfolk Yacht Club, the Southern Bay Race Week is enthusiastically supported by numerous J/Teams in the area for both PHRF Handicap racing and one-design classes.

The half-dozen J/70 class has crews like Arielle Darrow’s all-women’s team on LADY VORTEXES, Rob Gorman’s SURRENDER TO THE FLOE, Scott Dinse’s MARGARITAVILLE, and Mike Karn’s INCONCEIVABLE.

Sailing PHRF Super A Class is Ian Hill’s J/111 SITELLA.  In PHRF A1 Class are Craig Wright’s J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT and two J/36’s (Phil Briggs’ FEATHER and Will Roberts’ REMEDY.

In PHRF B1 Class is Ben Weeks & Michele Cochran’s J/29 RUMBLE from Hampton Yacht Club. In PHRF B2 Class is Rusty Burshell’s J/30 COOL CHANGE. Then, in PHRF C

In the Cruising B Division are John Wandling’s J/28 PISCES and Christian Johnson’s J/24 BLEU BUS from Virginia Beach, VA.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outsideimages.com.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Delta Ditch Run Preview

(Richmond, CA)- This year is the 29th annual Point Richmond to Stockton Race, also known infamously as the “Delta Ditch Run”. The course is from the starting area in San Francisco Bay, between the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the Brothers Islands, to the finish line at the Stockton Sailing Club, a distance of approximately 65.0nm. The scheduled first warning is at 10:25 A.M. on Saturday.

There are a number of J/Teams that are participating in this fun-loving adventure, a truly awesome, crazy, over-the-top downwind blast going past buoys, islands, and sand bars in an endless “chicane” from start to finish. Those teams include Larry Levit’s J/105 ARCHIMEDES, Brian Mullen’s J/70 ORANGE YOU GLAD, Mark Thomas & Peter Cameron’s J/70 KANGAROO JOCKEY, Jack Vetter’s J/80 PEARL, and Andrew Bongiorno’s J/24 SOSEGA II. For more Delta Ditch Run sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cal Race Week Preview

(Marina del Rey, CA)- Cal Race Week is California Yacht Club's signature racing event to start off their summer sailing season in the Los Angeles basin.  The event is two days of well-organized competitive racing. In fact, while many one-design classes have been invited, the Cal Race Week regatta has become a “de facto” J/Fest for the many passionate, enthusiastic, J/sailors participating in the J/24, J/70, and J/109 one-design classes.

The largest class by far is the fourteen-boat J/70 fleet.  One of the reasons the entry has grown over the last few years is that the 2020 J/70 World Championship will be help on the west coast in Long Beach, CA, just a stone’s throw south of Marina del Rey in the L.A. area. Top teams include Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS (as past J/70 West Coast Champion), Jim Cunningham’s LIFTED, Patrick Toole’s 3 BIG DOG, Kurt Johnson’s AVET 2.01, Craig Tallman’s JAYA, Jim Murrell’s HUCKLEBERRY, and Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT. All of these teams are capable of finishing at the top of the leaderboard based on their past performances in the J/70 class at regional, North American, and Worlds events.

The J/24 class will see the return of Susan Taylor’s TAKE FIVE, one of the top woman sailors on the west coast.  She will be challenged by another top woman skipper from Ventura Yacht Club up the coast, Claudia Gottstein’s WITHIN REACH; she’s an emerging talent that is developing quickly.

The J/109 class will have a three-way match race for the top of the podium as all teams are pretty evenly matched.  The protagonists include Jack Mayer’s ZEPHYR from Del Rey YC, Peter Nelson’s SPRAY from host California YC, and Heinz Butner’s RAPTOR from Long Beach YC.

Doing battle in the PHRF handicap world are three J fanatics.  Those teams are Jon Haney’s J/105 JOYRIDE, Lenny Gordon’s J/92 SUNSHINE, and David Boatner’s J/35 RIVAL (a past overall winner of the event!).  For more Cal Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ANGEL OF HARLEM Dominates J/24 Rodeo

(Tampa, FL)- As spring winds down on Tampa Bay, it also marks the occasion for one of the last regattas of the long winter for the J/24 class that sails out of Davis Island Yacht Club. Nine teams registered to participate in last weekend’s J/24 Rodeo Regatta.

The fleet was blessed with good weather, good winds, and a good Davis Island YC Race Committee that managed to snap off five races over the two-day event.

In the end, it was local hero Robby Brown teamed up with Mark Liebel on their infamous ANGEL OF HARLEM that stole the show, accumulating three 1sts and two 3rds to handily win the Rodeo with just six pts net.  Taking second was the duo of Jason Chavez and John Poulson on LONGSHOT, also counting only podium finishes in their final scores for 9 pts net.

Third place was determined on a tie-breaker at 11 pts each. Winning the countback was Seth Rosenthal’s Youth Team on SABOTAGE over AJ Grzybowski’s SHIMMER.  Rounding out the top five was the DIYC Youth Team on YELLOWTAIL.  For more J/24 Rodeo Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Cedar Point One-Design Regatta Preview

(Cedar Point, CT)- Over the years, sailors from up and down Long Island Sound have watched the evolution of various regattas that cater to their needs- a combination of fun, serious sailing, and great camaraderie ashore. As the first “unofficial” regatta of the summer, Westport, Connecticut’s Cedar Point Yacht Club created an event that has had particular allure to J/sailors on the Sound- the Cedar Point One-Design Regatta. This year, it has become quite literally a de-facto “J/FEST” regatta, with four of five classes present being J/classes- the J/70s, J/88s, J/105s, and J/109s- that represents 82% of the event.

The eight-boat J/70 class has a cast of characters that have been sailing some of the J/70 winter series events, Charleston Race Week, and are now easing into summer mode. Those teams include Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA, Josh Goldman’s BUILDING A, Carrie & Ed Austin’s CHINOOK, Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE, and John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES.

The J/88s are enjoying a great turnout for the event, with seven-boats registered to do battle leading into their J/88 North American Championship sailing in the same waters of Long Island Sound late in the summer.  Some of the leading teams present in Cedar Point include Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION, Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE, Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY, and Mike Bruno’s WINGS.

Somewhat similar to the J/88s, the J/105s are slowly migrating east out of Long Island Sound for those wanting more competition leading up to the J/105 North Americans in Marblehead, MA. In the nine-boat J/105 fleet are contenders such as Harald Edegran & Jeremy Henderson’s CONUNDRUM, Max Kalehoff’s LAURA BEA, Richie Palmer’s TOLO, and Randy Bourne’s STRANGE BREW.

Speaking of eastward migrations out of Long Island Sound, the huge eighteen-boat J/109 class is basically migrating to their number #1 destination resort on Planet Earth- Block Island Race Week! The next stop on the way there is Westport, CT, how convenient! Virtually all the top J/109 teams will be present. The first major regatta of the summer for the J/109s provides each team a sense of where they are on the totem pole, and what needs to be improved upon before the next major event. Based on their recent performances in the American YC Spring Series, watch out for these teams to be fast “out-of-the-box”- William Rogers’ BIG BOAT, Jonathan Rechtschaffer’s EMOTICON, John Greifzu’s GROWTH SPURT, David Rosow’s LOKI, Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY, and Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY. However, do not be surprised if some guys driving a boat named RUSH from Annapolis YC (Bill Sweetser) upset the cooks in the kitchen from Long Island Sound. Nor, do not be surprised if some old Navy guy from Newport aboard VENTO SOLARE (Bill Kneller) throws a boomerang at the fleet and ends up in the chocolates. In other words, watch this space…the popcorn is ready; it will be fun to watch.  For more Cedar Point One-Design Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.