Ugotta Regatta Preview

(Harbor Springs, MI)- Hosted by Little Traverse YC in Harbor Springs, MI, the annual Ugotta Regatta has become a very fun, sociable “Post Mac Race” regatta to enjoy day-racing in what has to be one of the prettiest horseshoe-shaped bays in the world, with Caribbean-like aquamarine waters so clear you can see over 35 feet below the surface. It has become quite popular for J/sailors since it now includes the J/70 class, in addition to a J/105 class and PHRF handicap racing.

The enormous twenty-boat J/70 class is likely due to the fact that the J/70 Corinthian National Championship will be taking place in the same venue in a few weeks time. Some of the top crews include John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA, Polk Wagner’s ESCAPE, Don Glover’s MISS KILLER, Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH, Glenn Gault’s SIMPLY IRRISTIBLE, Ryan McKillen’s SURGE, and Scott Sellers’ TRES BURRITOS.

Racing the J/105 class are a quartet of mostly local boats, such as Bill Petzold’s GREEN FLASH, Sam Powers’ GRYPHON, Jay Vander Wall’s MANITOU, and Mark Symonds’ PTERODACTYL (hoping to complete the “triple crown” - Chicago Mac/ Bayview Mac/ Ugotta).

In PHRF A class are two J/111s (Brad Faber’s UTAH and Carl Hanssen’s VARIANCE). Then, in PHRF B class is Larry Taunt’s J/35 BAD DOG and Gary & Susan Stewart’s J/32 ZONE.  For more Ugotta Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Edgartown Race Weekend Preview

(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard)- According to world-famous New Zealand sailor Gavin Brady, “Edgartown Race Week always produces a lot of great stories.” He should know, since he sailed for years in Martha’s Vineyard on the TP52 VESPER- which belongs to summer native Jim Swartz (notable for his prescient investment in a little social media company called Facebook). Brady goes on to say, “the Vineyard is an awesome destination, and the club has a great feel to it with loads of history. The ‘Round-the-Island Race is a very tactical race with tides and plenty of passing opportunities– always enjoyable and never the same. This will be as much a great adventure as a race.”

Edgartown Race Weekend divisions includes racing for IRC, ORC, ORR, PHRF-NE (including Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker), Classics, One-Design, Multihull and Doublehanded boats. ’RTI/’RTS and ‘RTB are scored separately, with top-three prizes awarded in each class.

A Mount Gay-sponsored “Jump-Up” party on Friday night (July 26) and awards on both Friday afternoon and Sunday morning (July 28) round out the amazing social schedule.


Not surprisingly, the event is incredibly popular with many New England J/Crews, especially for those in Cape Cod and surrounding waters. Sailing in the RTB race PHRF B is Dan Heun’s J/122 MOXIEE.  In PHRF C are two J/105s (Matt Schmitt’s HARDTACK & the trio of Joyce/ Reservitz/ Wagner on DARK’N’STORMY).

For the RTI race, in PHRF 2 is Alan Fougere’s J/160 AVATAR and Kent Nicholas’ J/42 PANASEA. Sailing PHRF 5 are three J/105s (HARDTACK, DARK’N’STORMY, & Nantucket Community Sailing’s CLIO), Phil Stathos’ J/110 AIRBENDER, Steve Dahill’s J/35C RIVA, and Ira Perry’s J/29 SEEFEST.  Racing PHRF 6 are Jonathan Burt’s J/130 LOLA, Dick Egan’s J/46 WINGS, Doug Curtiss’ J/111 WICKED 2.0, Stephen Besse’s J/120 APRES, and two J/109s (Ed Dailey’s RAPTOR & Eliot Shanabrook’s HAFA ADAI).

Finally, in the RTS race, in PHRF 2 is Heun’s J/122 MOXIEE and the J/70 Class includes JP Bretl’s SEAHAWK, Veronica Lundgren’s GHOST, and Anthony Giordano’s TONIC.  For more Edgartown Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race Preview

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 2019 Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race is a distance race spanning 81.0nm and has been a tradition for Santa Barbara and King Harbor sailors for 47 years. The race is quite popular with sailors up and down the Southern California coastline, seventy boats are registered, of which 23% (16) are J/Teams.

The SB-KH is a simple race, too, since the tactics are pretty well understood by most teams. From the start line, sailing in a building northwesterly seabreeze, it is a straight shot on starboard tack to the bottom of the Channel Islands, with either Code Zeros or reaching spinnakers. The one and only turning mark is Anacapa Island, left to port.  The principal issue is getting around the wind shadow of Anacapa before gybing and dashing off on port tack under spinnakers towards the infamous Point Dume (a.k.a. sometimes Pt Doom!) in the glittery, fashionable village of Malibu, CA. The reason why that strategy works is that late afternoon winds from the NW are significantly accelerated around that point due to the fact the entire Los Angeles Basin is boiling hot (like 100 F deg hot!) and the Santa Rosa/ San Jacinto Mountain range to the east are like giant frying pans sending all that heat skywards! Upon reaching Point Dume, most boats gybe back onto starboard tack and head for the finish line at the opening to King Harbor in Redondo Beach, just north of the gorgeous Palos Verdes peninsula.

The sixteen J/Teams participating include four J/111s (Bernie Girod’s ROCK & ROLL, Doug & Jack Jorgensen’s PICOSA, Kenny Kieding & John Vincent’s ARGO 3, & Mike Drammer’s TITANIUM), Dr Laura Schlessinger’s J/125 WARRIOR (a multiple race winner), two J/120s (Tom & Terri Manok’s POLE DANCER & Jack Rose’s PRIVATEER II), Scott Torrance’s J/124 FORGIVENESS, two J/109s (Tom Cullen’s FUEGO & Jack Mayer’s ZEPHYR), Doug Steick’s J/100 JIB & TONIC, Tom Hinkle’s J/40 WHITE LIGHT, three J/105s (Chuck Spear’s TWELVE BAR BLUES, Tom Bollay’s ARMIDA, & Dan Murphy’s CUCHULAINN), and Brian Kerr’s J/92 DOUBLE DOWN.  For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Whidbey Island Race Week Preview

(Oak Harbor, WA)- The kids are now adults. And, the adults are still acting like kids. And, after nearly four decades, Whidbey Island Race Week remains the stalwart among true race weeks. This year’s event has attracted a fleet of sixty-one boats, twenty-eight of them are J/Crews- 46% of the regatta! There are one-design classes for J/80s and J/105s, with the rest sailing in various PHRF handicap classes.

The J/105 class has, perhaps, its largest turnout ever. Eleven teams are making the trek north to enjoy some fun in the sun, lots of socializing, and perhaps a few round-the-cans races! If they have not gone delirious at the evening parties, these teams should be contenders in the leaderboard; Tom Kerr’s CORVO 105, Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM, Chris Phoenix’s JADED, John Aitchison’s MOOSE UNKNOWN, and Erik Kristen’s MORE JUBILEE.

Similarly, the J/80 class of eight crews also have one of their largest turnouts ever.  Watch for these crews to stay somewhere near the forefront of the leaderboard, David Schutte’s TAJ MAHAL, Ryan Porter’s JOLLY GREEN, Bryan Rhodes’ CRAZY IVAN, and Morris Lowitz’s UPROAR.

In the PHRF handicap racing world, the J’s are well represented across the board. In PHRF 1 is Bruce Chan’s J/111 65 RED ROSES II. In PHRF 2 are three J/109s (Mike Campbell’s LAPA, Stu Burnell’s TANTIVY, & Tolga Cezik’s LODOS), Brian White’s J/35 GRACE E, and Dave & Vernice Cohen’s J/90 EYE EYE. Then, in PHRF 3 class is Stephanie Arnold’s J/33 DASH (yet another woman owner ready to dust the class).  For more Whidbey Island Race Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

New England Solo-Twin Race Preview

(Newport, RI)- Newport Yacht Club is hosting their annual New England Solo-Twin Race, starting on Friday, July 26th at noon.  The NYC PRO has an opportunity to select from five race courses for the singlehanded and doublehanded racers that are 60.0 to 100.0nm ocean triangle courses that start and finish in Narragansett Bay.  The selected course is based on weather forecasts for the two-day race.  So far, the various weather models (NAM, ECMWF, GFS) are showing seabreeze SSW 10-15 kts for the start, slowing swinging SE by evening and more ESE Friday night and Saturday morning in the 5-10 kts range.

Looking forward to the challenge are several well-sailed J/Crews.  In the Monohull Spinnaker Solo division is Ben Hodgson’s J/100 GRIMACE.  In the Monohull Spinnaker Twin division are two J/121s (David Southwell/ Scott Meier on ALCHEMY and Greg Manning/ Todd Johnston on SARAH), Bill Kneller/ Eric Irwin’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE, Patrick Gavin-Brynes/ Evelyn Hull's J/99 AGENT 99, Paul Grimes/ David Moffet’s J/35 BREAKAWAY, Kevin Dakan/ Bob Kinsman’s J/110 MEMORY.  For more New England Solo-Twin Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Marblehead NOOD Regatta Preview

(Marblehead, MA)- The 2019 Helly Hansen National Offshore One Design Regatta at Marblehead Race Week returns to Marblehead, MA, July 25 to 28. Boston Yacht Club will host more than 150 teams across 14 fleets. J/One-Design classes include J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, and J/105s.

Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Jud Smith (Swampscott, MA), won the 2018 Marblehead NOOD and the 2018 J/70 World Championship in the same venue. “It’s a new year,” says Smith, “And, a lot of good boats are registered. We have three past J/70 World Champions in the fleet, including myself, Peter Duncan, and Joel Ronning, so the top end of the fleet is going to be stacked.”

Training and preparation were vital to Smith’s past success, and this season he plans to share his knowledge as a coach and mentor. Smith notes the importance of working out the kinks throughout the season so teams can peak at the right time.

“The best method I’ve seen is to do a regatta every month or so, with intensive training in between,” shared Smith. “With the wind and currents in Marblehead, the NOOD will serve as a perfect training platform for the World Championships in Torquay [England] later this season. Marblehead is one of the top ocean venues in the country, and with the NOOD Regatta coming here each year, it keeps the area at the forefront of one-design racing. It’s the biggest regatta of the season for many of us in New England, so everyone gets really excited to go out and compete.”

Joining these world-class competitors in the 25-boat J/70 fleet are Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA, Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER, Bill Lynn & Ed Keller’s KEY PLAYER, Sam Altreuter’s LEADFOOT, Henry Brauer’s RASCAL, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, David Franzel’s SPRING, John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES, and Nancy Glover’s WINTERWIND.

The J/80s will have good racing with top crews like Peter d’Anjou’s LE TRIGRE, Sam Cushing’s THE PARTY TREE, Jason Viseltear’s UPSETTER, Brian Gibbs’ BLIND FAITH, and Fred Baker’s BLUE SKIES.

On a roll in the J/105 class is Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE. Having had much practice in their hometown J/105 Fleet #1 in San Francisco Bay. Fifteen J/105s are expecting to learn more about the tricky Marblehead offshore sailing conditions, as it is also the site for the 2019 J/105 North American Championship in September. Hoping to give GOOD TRADE a run-for-the-money are teams like Bill Zartler’s DEJA VOODOO from Houston, TX; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA; Mark Lindquist’s STERLING from Buzzards Bay, MA; and Mark Masur’s globe-trotting TWO FEATHERS from Fort Worth, TX.

The Marblehead NOOD, hosted by Boston YC, with race committee support from Eastern and Corinthian yacht clubs, will produce the final entrant for the Caribbean Championship sponsored by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands on October 27 to November 1, 2019.  For more Helly Hansen Marblehead NOOD Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

59th Little Traverse YC “Ugotta Regatta” Preview

(Harbor Springs, MI)- The Little Traverse Yacht Club is hosting its 59th Annual “Ugotta Regatta” beginning Friday, July 26th and running through Sunday, July 28th. Start times have been pushed back to 12:00 pm daily allowing for the thermal or sea breeze to fill in. This should alleviate postponements either on land or on the water. It will also allow for more consistent wind pressure and direction, which will result in better racing. The One-Design Fleets will enjoy three days of windward-leeward racing, while the rest of the Divisions join in on the fun with the traditional “Tour of the Bay” races Saturday and Sunday.

The One-Design Fleets include fleets of J/70s and J/105s. The largest Fleet with 22 boats registered is the J/70 Fleet. Ten of the 22 J/70’s registered are local boats hailing from Little Traverse YC. A lot of these J/70’s will be using the Regatta as a tune-up race as they will be back competing in the J/70 Corinthian National Championships hosted by LTYC August 8th through the 11th. Currently there are 43 J/70’s signed up for this major amateur championship event.

Leading boats in the J/70 class include John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA, Polk Wagner’s ESCAPE, the Little Traverse Sailors Team, Don Glover’s MISS KILLER, Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH, Glenn Gault’s SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, and Scott Seller’s TRES BURRITOS.

The J/105 class includes Bill Petzold’s GREEN FLASH, Sam Powers’ GRYPHON, Jay Vander Wall’s MANITOU, and Mark Symonds’ PTERODACTYL.

The rest of the divisions will be racing the traditional and ever popular “Tour of the Bay” race format on Saturday and Sunday. This is a combination of windward-leeward legs, and reaching legs using the fixed racing buoys located around Little Traverse Bay. “In all there will be 90 plus boats competing, making it exciting to watch from on the water or around the shoreline of Little Traverse Bay. This event will feature boats from 23 to 70 feet in length, all competing for line honors and bragging rights,” said Tom Trautman, Vice Commodore and Chairman of the 59th Annual LTYC Regatta. Again, racing begins at 12:00 pm each day and boats will be out competing on the water for 3 to 4 hours during the afternoons.

“Some of the boats will be coming down from Mackinac Island on Wednesday after completing the Port Huron to Mackinac Race which starts on Saturday, July 20th and usually finishes on Monday or Tuesday morning. Some of the boats will already be here from the Chicago to Mac Race which took place the weekend prior, and a handful of boats are local boats that live and dock here in Harbor Springs,” said Regatta Chair Tom Trautman. “Starting Wednesday evening spectators can stroll the docks and check out the boats up close and personal at the Harbor Springs Municipal Marina and Irish Boat Shop.”

Sailing in the PHRF A Class will be two J/111s, Brad Faber’s UTAH and Carl Hanssen’s VARIANCE. Then, in PHRF B Class are two J/crews, including Gary & Susan Stewart’s J/32 ZONE and Larry Taunt’s J/35 BAD DOG.

The Regatta brings to Harbor Springs hundreds of crewmembers and their families from across the Midwest and beyond. With a noon starting time each day, it gives everyone plenty of time in the morning to explore the town of Harbor Springs and allows the sailors time to get their boats prepped for the afternoon. It also gives everyone time to enjoy the Little Traverse Sailors Famous Pancake Breakfast. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 am, the Yacht Club hosts the LTS Pancake Breakfast. This is an important fundraiser for the LTS program and is open to the racers and the public alike. The Pancake Breakfast is a delicious way for the sailors to fuel up before getting on the water. One highlight of the breakfast: the young sailors flip less-than-perfect pancakes over their shoulders to land on the roof of the sail shed behind them.

There are many shore-side activities scheduled around the Regatta. Friday night kicks off with a private Ugotta Regatta Party for the competitors, volunteers and sponsors at Irish Boat Shop. After racing on Saturday, the Club hosts a party for the competitors featuring the Petoskey Steel Drum Band. The race weekend ends on Sunday evening as the Club hosts a final Regatta Party and awards presentation for competitors, volunteers and sponsors.

“It takes incredible teamwork and a village to run a Regatta of this size and we couldn’t do it without our 100+ volunteers,” said Trautman. “We express our deepest appreciation to all who have helped support this event. The Ugotta Regatta rules state no coats, no ties, no socks - no problem! Just great racing on the pristine waters of Little Traverse Bay, a chance for some relaxation in beautiful Harbor Springs, and a guaranteed good time”.  For regatta scoring go here.  For more Little Traverse YC Ugotta Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

U.K. J/24 Nationals Got HUSTLED!

(Plymouth, England)- The Plymouth Yacht Regatta took place from the 12th to 14th July and the event co-hosted the U.K. J/24 National Championship. The Port of Plymouth Sailing Association organized the regatta and the RNSA (Royal Navy Sailing Association) and Plymouth Yacht Clubs provided the on-the-water race management.

The twenty-nine J/24s enjoyed great racing, with the fleet enjoying an exhausting, but rewarding, ten races over the three-day event. In the end, it was Sam Pearson’s HUSTLE that won the regatta with 39 pts net. There’s was not an easy win as Nick Phillips’ CHAOTIC was running away with the regatta until the seventh race, as they had posted three bullets and a 2-4 in their tally. However, a 7th race DSQ torpedoed Phillips’ chances of winning the regatta, consequently hanging tough in the last three races to take the silver by a whisker.  Tied on 49 pts net with them was the Swedish team on FRONT RUNNER (JIVE), sailed by Monica & Per-Hakan Persson, a perennially top J/24 team in Europe.  The Swedish team finally got their act together and gelled in their last four races, posting a 1-2-2-12 to leap up the standings to tie CHAOTIC, but lose the countback to settle for the bronze on the podium.

The balance of the top five included Dave Hale’s CACCON in fourth place and James Torr’s MAJIC U25 youth team took fifth position.  Follow the Plymouth Regatta Week on Facebook here  For more Plymouth Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/109s Top Dun Laoghaire Regatta

(Dun Laoghaire, Ireland)- Ireland’s largest sailing event, the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, came to a gentle close Sunday afternoon after an exciting four days of racing in Dublin Bay with 500 boats and almost 2,500 sailors competing.

A light northerly breeze of six knots allowed organizers to complete nearly all 290 scheduled races with many class titles hanging on the outcome of the final race.

Many of the hottest boats were racing the IRC Coastal class of twenty-eight boats. It was tough competition and J/Teams faired well overall. Taking the silver overall was Peter Dunlop’s J/109 MOJITO, while Nigel Ingram’s J/109 JET STREAM took 4th place. In the IRC B Coastal division, MOJITO won, leading a J/sweep of the podium.  Second was JET STREAM and third was Lindsay Casey & Denis Power’s J/97 WINDJAMMER.

In the Celtic Cup RC35 class, two J/109s swept the top honors. Winning was Pat Kelly’s STORM and taking the silver was Brian & John Hall’s SOMETHING ELSE.

In the IRC Cruiser 0 class of six yachts, Jonathan Anderson’s J/122E EL GRAN SENOR from the Clyde Cruising Club in Scotland started the regatta slowly and closed with a 3rd place average to take 4th in class, just 2 pts off the podium.

The twenty-seven boat IRC Cruiser 1 class was the most competitive and hardest class, especially because sixteen J/109s were vying for summer series offshore honors as well. Not surprisingly, J/Teams swept the top six places. The first five teams were all J/109s. Winning was John Maybury’s JOKER 2, taking the silver was Tim & Richard Goodbody’s WHITE MISCHIEF, the bronze went to Pat Kelly’s STORM, fourth was Cowell Murphy’s OUTRAJEOUS, and fifth was Brian Jones’ JELLY BABY. Taking 6th was the newly launched J/99 JUGGERKNOT 2 sailed by the trio of Andrew Algeo, Richard Knatchbull, & Paul Nolan from Royal Irish YC.

The IRC Cruiser 3 had a gaggle of J/24s. Top team was Steve Atkinson’s BAD in fourth and Flor O’Driscoll’s HARD ON PORT took fifth place.

The fourteen-boat J/80 class experienced a bit of a runaway in the form of Jonathan O’Dowd’s Royal St George YC crew on JABS, winning quite handily with a scoreline that only counted podium finishes for 11 pts net. The race for the balance of the top five was quite spirited as only two points separated them at the conclusion of the regatta.  Tied for second on 22 pts each were Philip Watson’s JAM JAR and Robert Dix’s JEANNIE, with JAM JAR winning the countback.  Fourth place went to Norbert Reilly’s RED CLOUD and fifth was Conall O’Halloran’s JITTERBUG.  Sailing photo credits- David Branigan  For more Dun Laoghaire Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

The Landsail Tyres J-Cup Regatta Update

J/70 Worlds Training Event
(Hamble, England)- Before the start of the 2019 Landsail Tyres J-Cup, the J/Boat family gathered for a special tribute to Paul Heys. All of the racing fleet gathered their yachts and all crew observed a minute silence. Surrounded by the J/Boat fleet, Marie Claude Heys, accompanied by Paul's daughters Gemma and Natalie, released a seashell containing Paul's ashes into the Solent. Funds are being raised to support a campaign for a permanent mark in the Solent, the Paul Heys Memorial Buoy. Nearly £20,000 has been raised of the target, to maintain the racing buoy for generations of sailors to come. To make a donation: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paulheys

Racing for the 2019 Landsail Tyres J-Cup and J/70 UK Class Training Event, started shortly after noon, with 15 knots of breeze from the southwest. Six classes enjoyed highly competitive racing with 24 teams achieving race podiums in the three races held for all classes.

Michael Wallis' J/122 Jahmali leads the Large IRC Class, from J/112 Davanti Tyres, skippered by Marie-Claude Heys. Isabelle Hung's “The Outsider” racing J/122 Jolly Jellyfish is third on countback.

“Paul Heys was like a father to all of us, and personally we go a long way back,” commented Michael Wallis. “We have been coming to race at just about every J-Cup. It is a fantastic get-together with like minded people, who like to race but observe the rules, and every now and then you let someone cross ahead, knowing they will return the favour. Paul Heys was a huge inspiration to all of us, and it was wonderful to pay tribute to him with such good people out on the Solent.”

There was close racing in the J/92 Class right from the start, with a tie for the win in the first race between Robin Stevenson's Upstart and Alan Macleod's Samurai J. Upstart continued to impress with a second and first to end the day at the top of the leaderboard. David Greenhalgh's J’Ronimo scored a 4-1-2 to finish the first day in second place, just 1.5 points in front of Samurai J.

In the J/111 Class, Tony Mack's McFly scored a 3-1-1 to lead the class but only by a single point for Chris Jones & Louise Makin's Journeymaker II. Paul van Driel's Sweeny is in third position. In the J/109 Class, John Smart's Jukebox is ahead by a single point from Christopher Preston's Jubilee; Simon Perry's Jiraffe is third. In the J/88 Class, Kirsty Apthorp's J-Dream scored a 2-1-1 to hold a five-point advantage over Gavin Howe's Tigris. Richard Cooper's Jongleur is third. In the Small IRC Class Frédéric Bouvier J/99 J Lance 14 scored a 1-1-2 to top the leaderboard. Bob Baker's J/97 Jaywalker is just a point behind in second, and Jeff Johnstone's J/99 Jet is third.

In the J/70 UK Class Training Event, Paul Ward's Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat was fully launched, winning all three races. Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat was the top performing U.K. J/70 team at the recent European Championships, and that time on the water against top international competition, is reaping rewards.

Clive Bush's Darcey posted a 5-3-2, to end the day in second place. Charles Thompson's Brutus is third by way of countback despite equaling Darcey's scoreline. Martin Dent's Jelvis is fourth, also by virtue of countback from Tim Collins' EV Experts.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright- http://www.photoaction.com.    Landsail Tyres J-Cup results page   J/70 UK Class Training Event  For more Landsail Tyres J-Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.