Thrilling Three Creeks Race For J/111 Team

(Devon, United Kingdom)- Many people have heard of the Three Peaks Yacht Race in Scotland, but for the past six years, Devon has been running its very own version and the stories of the west country delights are starting to get out. How hard do you need to look to find an excuse to spend a weekend on the South Devon coast, some sailing, some running and some celebrating!

Many teams in the event are based in the West Country, but there is now a well-established path for the intrepid to join from further afield. This year it was the J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II Team (Chris Jones & Louise Makin) from Royal Southern Yacht Club that made the trek.

Eleven years ago, the JOURNEYMAKER team won the Three Peaks Yacht Race and this was their first reunion event since then. An event that can be completed in a weekend, where you can get your boat home in a day rather than a week, and where you get to stop overnight seemed a fitting event for the reformation of the team that had an average age of 50 back in 2008.

The race, although delightfully compact, does set some pretty serious challenges. It starts with a row across Dartmouth Harbour by the runners before they set off on an 8 mile run that goes up every cliff and down into every cove around the coast path to the southeast of Kingswear. Once the runners rejoin their yachts in Darthaven Marina, there is a short sailing race to Salcombe.

“Normally, the sailing leg is a quick couple of hours, but making the tide gate was critical in the dying winds that we experienced this weekend,” said JOURNEYMAKER skipper Chris Jones. “A couple of smaller boats that were a bit slower ended up rowing for about an hour before they could drop off their runners, which is a tough way to finish the day.”

The clock stops when the runners return to the beach. Their challenge is a slightly less dramatic, but slightly longer run along the coast path to Prawle Point and back.

Having put the boats to bed, everyone gets to relax. The sailing instructions stated that the race would restart at 0600 hrs on Sunday morning, which everyone was trying to pretend they were looking forward to. Nevertheless, there was a definite sense of relief at the race briefing when this was changed to 0800 hrs. Everyone slept a bit longer and a bit better.

The race committee had reserved options to shorten the course if the forecast was very light. However, late on Saturday evening, the message came through that we were going to be sailing the full course from Salcombe out around the Eddystone Rock and back to finish in the Yealm, where the final running leg finish’s at the Newton Ferrers Yacht Club.

Class 2 boats sailed a shorter course, but the bright morning found the fleet gathered at Salcombe Bar, counting down to 0800 hrs. JOURNEYMAKER II got a good inside position with the Code 0 up and was leading Class 1 at the right turn exit from the Salcombe Estuary and it quickly became clear that their race was going to be with the 40ft Dazcat ‘HissyFit’.

“The heading out to Eddystone was full up wind and our 36 ft J/111 was able to keep up,” explained Louise Makin, the veteran JOURNEYMAKER navigator and returning Three Peaks Race runner. “We were delighted when HissyFit had to duck us on port on our final approach to Eddystone, but we couldn't match them on the beam reach back to the Yealm.”

The entrance to the Yealm has a sandbar that only has 1.5m of charted water at low tide, which is not an issue in a cat that drops off their runners by parking on the beach. A yacht drawing 2.4m needs to drop off their runners in a dinghy and row them ashore.

The run from Cellar Beach, just inside the bar on the south shore of the estuary, out to Lambside and back to the Yacht Club is the flattest and fastest of the three running legs and relished by the two thoroughbred JOURNEYMAKER runners, Iron Man Gordon Baxter and GB veteran triathlete Jeremy Cole. Local expert Adam Parry completed the JOURNEYMAKER crew for 2019 and will be back in running form for next year.

Having entered with a very realistic ambition of not being last by miles, the JOURNEYMAKER team ended up delighted with their second place. HissyFit, the easy winners had both the fastest runners and the benefit of parking on the beach and have now won the event several times.

Gordon Baxter, never short of words, summed up the weekend for the whole crew when he announced, “We’ll be back”!!  Thanks for the story contribution from Chris Jones & Louise Makin. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Moscow PRO Yachting Evening Series Announcement!

 
(Moscow, Russia)- PRO Yachting Moscow announces that the Moscow Royal Yacht Club will be starting a new series of evening regattas on their fleet of a dozen J/70s.   

The Royal Yacht Club, located in the Dynamo Water Stadium just west of Moscow’s Red Square, will now provide more opportunities for sailing. The PRO Yachting Fun Race is designed for young teams, novice helmsmen, and novices to participant in evening races on the lake that is convenient to downtown Moscow.

“We decided to organize a series regatta, where it will be interesting for novice skippers to learn how to race, the only qualification being that you have to know how to sail. In addition, this will also be a good opportunity for absolute beginners to get acquainted with sailing in comfortable Moscow conditions on our flat water lake,” said Mikhail Kondratyev, General Director of PRO Yachting.

The regattas will be held every Thursday. Sailors should meet at the Royal Y.C. for the 1800 hrs skippers and team meeting, then the start of the first race will be by 1900 hrs. We will sail as many short races as we can get in by sunset!  Learn more about PRO Yachting’s Evening Learn to Race Program on J/70s here

Rough & Tumble RORC Myth of Malham Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Myth of Malham Race, with 138 boats competing, produced a thrilling racing for the fleet. The race started off light, but in the second half of the 30-hour race, having rounded the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth, the fleet took off on high-speed sleigh-ride in the strong downwind conditions heading back into the Solent.

In IRC Two Class, the J/133 PINTIA, sailed by Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine (FRA) was second by just a mere nine minutes on corrected time. The J/122 JUNO, sailed by Christopher Daniel (GBR) was third. Three other J/doublehanders finished in the top eleven boats; Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE took 8th, Chris Miles’ J/97 HIGH JINKS was 10th, and Jerry Freeman’s J/105 JULIETTE placed 11th.

In IRC Three, the Royal Navy Sailing Association’s J/109 JOLLY JACK TAR took 6th place, while Neil McGrigor’s J/109 was 8th, and Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE was 9th.

In the IRC Two-Handed Class David McGough’s J/109 JUST SO took fourth place, just 18 minutes from taking the bronze on the podium.

The Myth of Malham Race was the fourth of the 2019 RORC Season's Points Championship. As a result, in IRC 2 Class Season Championship, Fournier/ Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA is now leading the class after sailing two races.  Similarly, in the IRC 3 Class Season, Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE is sitting in 5th place and the J/109 MOJO RISIN’ is hanging on to 8th.  Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE is also sitting in 4th for the IRC Two-handed division for the season; just behind them in 6th is Freeman’s J/105 JULIETTE.  For more RORC Myth of Malham sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Speedy Spinnaker Cup

(San Francisco, CA)- The 2019 California Offshore Race Week is hosted by Encinal Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club had its kick-off event take place this past weekend- the Spinnaker Cup Race.

Sailing the 100.0nm Spinnaker Cup Race from San Francisco down to Monterrey, CA were seven J/Crews. In PHRF B Class, Zachery Anderson’s J/125 VELVET HAMMER covered the course in a very fast elapsed time of 10:07:41 to take the silver.

In PHRF D Class, Michael Clarke’s J/120 SHENANIGANS from Richmond YC took second. Fifth place went to Timo Bruck’s J/120 TWIST.  In the PHRF E Class, Charlie Abraham’s J/105 JAVELIN took the silver. Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray/ Pressure-drop.us.  For more California Offshore Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Brockerhoff Crushes German Open J/22 Regatta

(Haltern am See, Germany)- This past weekend, the Germany J/22 class held their annual Open J/22 Regatta on the Halterner Strausee lake, hosted by the Segelclub Prinzensteg. Fourteen teams from across Germany were looking forward to sailing on this picturesque lake 80.0 miles north of Dusseldorf in the Rhine Valley.

After a slow start on the first day, Reiner Brockerhoff’s GER 14444 team of Christophe DeClerque and Charles Michaux from Duisburger YC won four of six races to take the regatta by seven points.

The balance of the podium was determined by a closely-fought three-way battle, with just three points separating them in the end and the outcome being determined by the final race!  Winning that fight to take the silver was the local SCP club team skippered by Hardy Kleinefeld and his GER 1181 crew of Dirk Glanzmann and Christian Raschke; their 4-4-1-8-2-5 tally for 16 pts net. Just one point back in the bronze medal position was Holger Schmitt’s GER 1390 team from Seglergemeinschaft Lohheider-See, crewing for him was Ingo Schmitt and Thomas Hanf. An OCS in race 5 marred their otherwise brilliant scoreline, counting races of 2-5-4-4-OCS-2 for 17 pts net. Another local crew just finished out of the chocolates, GER 1497 sailed by the 100% family crew of Daniel, Heike, & Marvin Lotzbeyer; their record of 7-2-6-2-5-4 was good enough for 19 pts net.  For more German Open J/22 Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Dominate Tampa Bay to Ft. Myers Race

(Fort Myers, FL)- The 2019 Tampa Bay to Ft. Myers Race included 30 teams for the 100.0nm coastal course along on the Gulf of Mexico.  Hosted by the ever-welcoming Davis Island Yacht Club, the race dates back to 1946; it starts inside Tampa Bay just off the Davis Island YC in Hillsborough Bay and the fleet heads southwest out underneath the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, leaving Passage Key to port, and a straight blast down the coast to the finish off Ft Myers/ San Carlos Bay inlet buoy.  It was a fast race this year, with most boats finishing in just over 13 hrs of racing- about a 7.5 kts average!

In the thirteen-boat PHRF Spinnaker Class, the J/Teams led a near sweep of the to five slots.  Winning was George Cussins’ J/105 FIRE & ICE by over four minutes to Roger Gatewood’s J/42 SHAZAAM! in second place. Fourth was Harvey Ford’s new J/112E SILVER SURFER, and fifth place went to David Arata’s J/105 JHAWK!  In the PHRF Racer-Cruiser Class, Renee Ben-Avraham’s J/30 THERAPY took the silver medal.  For more Tampa Bay to Ft Myers Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Dreary “Driftsure Race”!

J/Crews Sweep Cape Flattery Race!
(Victoria, British Columbia)- Light winds, relentless rain, and unforgiving current was the theme for the 76th Swiftsure International Yacht Race on May 25, with only 16 of the 128 starters completing one of the six courses ranging from 79 to 138 nm that start and finish in Victoria, BC!! The winning J/105 averaged 2.59 knots of “rhumbline” boatspeed over their 101.9nm Cape Flattery Race course (notably, they did not sail rhumbline, read what they had to say below!).

Chuck Stephens, owner of the J/105 PANIC, had this to say about their adventure up and down the Straits of Juan de Fuca, “we had a rather successful Swiftsure 2019, winning The Cape Flattery Race overall.  It was very much due to the teamwork of the crew lead by Iain Christenson.  We likely did more (maybe twice as many) tacks, gybes, sets and take downs than in all of the twelve prior Swiftsure’s that PANIC has done since 2002! Here is a photo of the crew at the inspection dock after the race.  We did well but getting a "Thank You" card from the Race Committee was very special.”

A quote from PANIC’s main trimmer Naomi Medley after the race, “the crew was great! How many people could you spend 40 hours with racing in light wind with several hours of drenching rain and be absolutely all smiles at the end?" 2.59 kts was the rhumbline race average for J/105 winner!!

Behind the winning J/105 in the Cape Flattery Race were a slew of J/Crews. Taking the silver overall was Chris Phoenix’s J/105 JADED, while Kirk Fraser’s J/109 ECLIPSE took the bronze. Taking 5th place was Chad Stenwick’s J/35 THE BOSS, and then Bob Hayward’s J/105 KINETIC took 6th. Notably, the three J/105s swept PHRF L3 Class, while the J/109 won PHRF L2 Class.

The Juan de Fuca Race had Ulf Gwildis’ J/30 IMPULSIVE finish the race, take 4th overall, and win PHRF L2 Class!

In addition, there is a “day race” called the Swiftsure Inshore Classic. Based on the wind conditions, the RC PRO chose Course #10, a random-leg 19.0nm course.  In the top PHRF INF1 Division, Matt Dahabieh’s J/29 GODZILLA got onto the podium, taking the bronze.  Then, Jim Bottles’ J/30 CELEBRATION took fourth place and Tom Kerr’s J/105 CORVO 105 placed 5th.  For more Swiftsure Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/Crews Love The FIGAWI Memorial Day Race

J’s Sweep PHRF S1 & S2 Classes!
(Hyannisport, MA)- The most popular offshore Memorial Day event in New England has to be the “The Figawi”. Saturday morning, the PHRF pursuit-style race started off Hyannis at 10:00am and sent the fleet off on a 25.0nm adventure to Nantucket. While it was a gorgeous day on Saturday, the wing Gods did not cooperate, making it a longer than normal cruise across Nantucket Sound to the finish line off the harbor entrance. Most boats took around 6+ hours to make the crossing, about a 4.2 kts average! Nevertheless, the breeze angles seemed favorable to a number of J/Teams.

Sweeping the podium in PHRF S1 Class were Chris Lund’s J/133 JUMP in first, followed by David Southwell’s J/121 ALCHEMY in second, and Jimmy Masiero’s J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS in third.

Similarly, J/Teams swept PHRF S2 Class, winning was Dwight Greenhouse’s J/105 SKIPPERDEE, followed by the trio on the J/105 DARK’N’STORMY (Joyce, Reservitz, Wagner) and Sam Cushing’s J/80 THE PARTY TREE, in second and third, respectively.

PHRF C division had Ira Perry’s J/29 SEEFEST take 4th, while Ben Hodgson’s J/100 GRIMACE placed 5th. In PHRF D division, John Ryley’s J/30 OTIS took fourth place. Then, in PHRF G division, Bill Jones’ J/40 SMITTEN got the bronze.  FIGAWI Race sailing information-  Entries/ results   Regatta site Add to Flipboard Magazine.

LA SUPERBA Crowned Italian J/24 Champion

(Cervia, Italy)- The Circolo Nautico “Amici Della Vela” hosted one of the highlights of their racing season this past week. The Cervian club hosted the 2019 edition of the Italian J/24 Championship for thirty teams on the gorgeous Adriatic Sea.

After three days of racing, a familiar grinning, happy face was sitting atop the podium, that of Ignazio Bonnano and crew from the winning LA SUPERBA (fresh from winning the J/24 European Championship!). Taking the silver was Eugenia de Giacomo & Roggero di Lauria’s FIVE FOR FIGHTING, and the British team of NOTIFY ME (Mauro Benfatto & Fabio Mazzoni) took the bronze medal.

This was the third time in a row that the team of LA SUPERBA (Ignazio Bonnano and crew Vincenzo Vano, Francesco Picaro, Alfredo Branciforte and Francesco Linares) was crowned Italian Champions. Notably, this makes it their sixth win in eight years!

The Regatta Committee was chaired by Stefano Boscolo Bragadin, assisted by Maurizio Martinelli, Franco Minotti, Claudio Brolli and Paolo Collina. Riccardo Savorani chaired the Protest Committee, with the collaboration of Edo Stramazzo and Bruno Cecchini.

"The Championship progressed very well,” commented Franco Minotti. “The very technical field and the demanding sailing conditions for the current, and the wind, contributed to making the races beautiful and engaging. It was a very impressive for the fleet of J/24s here in Cervia.”

The 39th Italian Open J/24 Championship was supported by the main sponsor Alce Nero- the brand of over a thousand organic farmers and beekeepers, committed, since the 1970s, in Italy and around the world. Other sponsors included XService, Orplast Packaging, AutoSica Citroen, and North Sails. For more Italian J/24 Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Fast Block Island Race

 
(Stamford, CT)- The Memorial Day weekend classic offshore race for Northeast sailors is Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race. The event is an 186.0nm race from Stamford, east down Long Island Sound, out around Block Island and back to the finish off Stamford.  The race started on Friday, May 24th at 1400 hrs and most boats finished before midnight on Saturday evening, that meant the boats lapped the race track in about 30 to 33 hours, an average of 5.6+ kts (a strong current influenced figure).

According to a J/121 CRESCENT IV team member, "from the start to The Race, the wind was good, a north strong wind (sometimes over 20 knots). Then, the wind goes down and we did a lots of tacking to make an approach to Block Island. Firstly, we try to get a breeze in the north part (close to the Block Island), but then, we decided to take the south side of the course, since the wind would gradually shift to the left hand side (a southerly shift). Between Block Island and The Gut, we picked a zephyr thermal and approached the Plum Island Gut. Then, the wind stopped again, 0 knots!! Only the 2 knot current pushed us westward through The Gut. Then, after we passed The Gut, and the wind picked up to 15-18 knots (south wind), we took off on a fast reach to the finish."

Racing the Block Island course were a dozen larger J’s.  In IRC 2 Class, Len Sitar’s J/44 VAMP finished fourth.

In the IRC 3 Class, Dale & Michael McIvor’s J/133 MATADOR took third place, followed by Akimatsu Hirai’s J/121 CRESCENT IV (Japan) in fifth place.
 
The PHRF 3 Class had two J/105s, winning was Frank Conway’s RAPTOR and the American YC Youth team- the Young American’s took second place.

The PHRF 5 Class saw J/Crews take 4 of the top 6 spots. Top banana was Jeff Warren’s J/109 ARIEL getting the silver.  Then, John Greifzu’s J/109 GROWTH SPURT placed 4th, Arthur Hanlon’s J/112E DAUNTLESS in 5th, and Mark Nannini’s J/120 SALACIA in 6th.

The PHRF 7 Class was dominated by J/111s. Top dog was Bill & Jackie Baxter’s FIREBALL, taking the silver. Joining them on the podium was John Donovan’s LIBERTAS. Then, rounding out the top five was US Merchant Marine’s BLACK DIAMOND YCC skippered by Alex Mueller in 4th and Abhijeet Lele’s VARUNA that took 5th place.

Finally, the PHRF 8 Class had Brian Prinz’s J/125 SPECTRE fly around the race track in 31 hours, missing their class win by a mere 13 minutes.  For more Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race sailing information-  Entries/ scores   Race site