COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE Crowned French 2019 J/80 National Champion

(La Rochelle, France)- There was a lot of celebration taking place at the French Naval Academy (Courrier Ecole Navale) after this past weekend’s results at the French J/80 National Championship. The Societe Regates Rochelaises hosted the event from November 1st to 3rd for forty-eight J/80 teams from across France and Spain.  The regatta was abbreviated on Sunday morning due to gale force winds. Taking three bullets on the first day, Pierre Laouenan skippered the COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE Team to victory.

On Saturday, the fleet enjoyed very strong 15-25 kts winds, huge seas, along with very heavy showers flying across the Bay of Biscay. Then, Sunday dawned with full gale conditions. The SSR PRO had to fly the N over A flags in the harbor; the winds were varying from 32 to 42 kts, with gusts into the low 50’s!

As a result, Laouenan’s team on COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE won the regatta with a 5-1-1-1-7 tally for 8 pts net. Second was determined by a tie-breaker/ countback on 10 pts each. Taking that scenario was the Spanish team of Iker Almandoz on GARATU with a 1-2-3-48-4 record, over Simon Moriceau’s ARMEN HABITAT with a 13-3-2-3-2 tally.

The outcome of the regatta had little effect on the J/80 Coupe de France Series, which say 103 J/80 teams participate over the course of the summer from all regions of France. Winning the overall classification was Pierre Laouenan’s COURRIER ECOLE NAVALE. Second was Franck Lavenant’s GIGA SAINT-MALO and third was Patrick Bot’s TETHYS, yet another member of the ECOLE NAVALE- BREST, like Laouenan’s team.

The top women’s skipper awards went to Anne Phelipon’s NAVIGATLANTIQUE, followed by Claire Bochereau on JUMPER taking the silver, then awarded the bronze was Theau Guilcher’s GEOLAN.

Winning the all-women’s team classification was Laura Hue’s SAINT MALO 2. Following her in second was Lotz Munoz from the Spanish team on DECO EXSA in second, and Isabelle Maggiar’s FRA 1081 in third place.

The Masters Division (three or more crew over 46 years old) was won by none other than Patrick Bot’s TETHYS from Ecole Navale CG29. Second was Eric Basset’s CN ST JACUT and third was Jacques Hubert’s EOS.

The Youth Division (four or more crew under 26 years old) was won by Franck Lavenant and his team on GIGA SAINT-MALO. Second was Nicolas Salaun’s MARINTE BREST 2 and third place went to Theau Guilcher’s GEOLAN.

Finally, in the Clubs Division, it was the sailing teams from CN SAINT-CAST that took the overall title, with ECOLE NAVALE- MARINE BREST in the silver, and YC CROUESTY taking the bronze.  For more French J/80 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

US Sailing Hall of Fame- Everett Pearson

* Class of 2019: Everett A. Pearson

The U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame selected ten people in 2019 to join the 71 previously recognized individuals who have been enshrined since the first class in 2011.

Among this group to be inducted on November 9 is the grandfather of fiberglass production, Everett A. Pearson (Warren, RI & Estero, FL). 2011 inductee Gary Jobson provides this tribute:

“Everett Pearson was the first builder of fiberglass production cruising sailboats. He was an active racing sailor, graduating from Brown University in 1955 as an Economics major, where he was captain of the football team. Everett and his cousin, Clint went right into boatbuilding, experimenting with new materials in the family garage. Pearson Yachts was born.

At Tom Potter’s urging, the Pearson’s got Carl Alberg to design a 28-foot cruising boat that sold for under $10,000, the Triton. It was introduced at the 1959 New York Boat Show. Seventeen were sold. Within 10 years, they’d built 700. Three years later, they launched the 22-foot Ensign, selling 1,800 boats with the class remaining active today. In 1964, Invicta a 38-foot sloop designed by William Tripp, was the first production fiberglass sailboat to win the Newport to Bermuda Race.

When the original Pearson Yachts was sold to Grumman Allied Industries, Cousin Clint left to found Bristol Yachts while Everett partnered with Neil Tillotson to form Tillotson-Pearson, Inc. (TPI). In 1977, Everett became “another brother” to Bob & Rod Johnstone (2016 Inductees) to build a revolutionary design called the J/24.

Deja vu all over again: a boat for less than $10,000. Over 700 were sold in the first year. To catch up in May of 1978, Everett was building six J/24s per day, 6-days a week in two locations. Ultimately over 5,500 of these international one-designs were built, plus another 7,000 J/Boats from the J/22 to the J/65.

TPI later added the word “composites” to the company name, expanding to build: Swimex Exercise Pools, Windpower Blades, Disney and Airport Buses, Lagoon catamarans, Alerion Express and Freedom sailboats. In 2005-06, TPI was contracted to build sixteen 44-foot sloops for the U.S. Naval Academy. Everett put more boats into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame than any other builder: Five — Triton, Ensign, J/24, Freedom 40, and J/35.

Everett also contributed to the Sport of Sailing. In 1992 the U.S economy was struggling, a 10% luxury tax brought sailboat sales to a halt. In response, Everett became a co-founding member of Sail America and Sail Expo to promote sailing and “sail only” boat shows.

At the same time, he built the trend-setting 35-foot J/105 with retractable bowsprit and asymmetric spinnaker for less than the $100,000, when the Luxury Tax kicked in. He did much to revive excitement in sailing.

In addition to his production talent, two of Everett’s technical innovations were immensely important for the marine industry: (1) he popularized Bill Seamen’s patented SCRIMP infusion molding system to produce higher quality and stronger laminates and, (2) he worked closely with plastics chemists to create a combination of vinylester resin and an isophthalic gelcoat to provide a 10-year transferable warranty against gelcoat blistering…the first in the world to offer this benefit.

Everett Pearson was passionate about building better boats and sharing his talent. Many of the people who worked for him went on to build their own successful marine industry careers. Thousands of his boats will be sailing for many years into the future, securing Everett’s lasting legacy in the sport.

The 2019 class will be formally celebrated on Saturday, November 9, 2019, with an Induction Ceremony hosted at Seattle Yacht Club, Seattle, WA.

Hot Rum Series Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club kicks off its annual Hot Rum Series this coming weekend. The event marks the end of their yearly offshore season for aficionados of sailing across the greater Southern California region. Boats participate from afar as Mexico and San Francisco as the “last hurrah” for the year. Typically, the weather is quite remarkable, with the WNW “sea breezes” kicking in around noontime when the racing starts. The PHRF Pursuit style race means the smallest, slowest boats start first in the lighter winds and head out of the harbor start, past Point Loma, offshore to a triangle buoy race, finishing back in the harbor. Starting later in stronger winds, it is not entirely surprising that the larger boats with their towering rigs often win as the winds filter down over the high peninsula of Point Loma. Nevertheless, it is a fun-loving format, always a picturesque sail sometimes punctuated with giant U.S. Navy nuclear carriers (1,200 feet long) or U.S. Navy 688 Fast Attack Class submarines entering or exiting the harbor with the sailboats keeping clear and maneuvering around them… such fun and frolic on San Diego Harbor!

In the fleet of eighty boats are nineteen J/Teams that range from the J/70s (22 feet) up to the J/145 (47 feet). As has been the case for years, the largest contingent is the J/105s, with leading teams like Dennis Case’s J-OK, Rick Goebel’s SANITY, and Jeff Brown’s SWEET KAREN joining the fun.  In addition, three J/120s are in the mix, such as Janet Mostafa’s BARAKA, John Laun’s CAPER, and Ernie Pennell’s MAD MEN. The balance of the J/Teams include Gene Pitkin’s J/109 GERONIMO, Chuck Bowers’ J/29 RHUMB RUNNER, Tim Lynch’s J/30 RUFFIAN, Fred Hawes’ J/46 ANONA, Tom Garrett’s J/70 SLOOP JOHN B, Rudy Hasl’s J/145 PALAEMON, and Don Fulton’s J/35 BLUE LUNATIC. Sailing photo credits- JOY Sailing.  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/80 Frostbite Cup Series Preview

(Gooimeer, The Netherlands)- Started in the fall of 2015, the Frostbite Cup was the creation of a few J/80 sailors from R&ZV Naarden to start a winter series competition. It soon turned out there was a lot of enthusiasm for the idea and fifteen J/80s participated in that first year. As the popularity soared over the years, it was clear that racing on perfectly flat water on the Gooimeer Lake was a “cool” idea.  For the 2019/ 2020 Frostbite Cup, a record 27 boats from four nations across Europe (The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium).

Sailing takes place on Sundays only and up to three races can be sailed in a short-course format of 30 to 45 minutes each. The first start is at 1100 hours.  At the end of the day are daily prize-givings and an open bar! Hot rum toddy’s are quite popular!

This year, the first Act started on October 5th, the second was November 3rd and the rest are distributed over December, January, February, and March (for the overall prize-giving on Sunday the 15th).

Currently leading the series are all Dutch teams. Leading is Jilko & Sybren’s OANT ST JEN with a 5-2-8-2-1-2 scorecard for 20 pts. Second is Nick Elsink’s J’ZUSTER with a 2-1-5-1-11-7 tally for 27 pts. And, sitting third is Bob Jansens’s FUN-J with a 4-3-2-10-5-11 roller-coaster ride for 35 pts.  Sailing photo credits- Twirre Bogaard   For more J/80 Frostbite Cup sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Hudson River Community Sailing- Sailing for Scholars Regatta

Saturday was the perfect day for our 10th Annual Sailing for Scholars Regatta! What was forecast to be a no-wind day ended up being a perfect 10-15 kts. We got in 4 races each for the J/24 and J/80 classes, and wrapped up the day with an awards ceremony with Oysters donated by Grey Lady and dinner from Peter Callahan Catering!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who attended the gala, raced in the regatta, cheered from the pier, or donated to a team bid at the auction-- you rock! It was all hands on deck, and your generosity and spirit makes the HRCS community unique.

HRCS serves 200+ middle and high school students in our year-round program Sail Academy, which uses sailing and boatbuilding as a foundation for STEM and leadership education, along with college access and job readiness training.

On Thursday, we had our “Gala” event at the New York Yacht Club. HRCS honored Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards. Cross touched on the transformative nature of sailing in his remarks, likening the challenges and joys of sailing to life. Sail Academy students MC'd the event, which included a Silent Auction and tour of the Model Room.

Friday- Practice Race Day
Teams met at Pier 66 on Friday morning for professional coaching with Kristen Berry of Gale Force Sailing and National Hall of Fame Member Betsy Allison.

Saturday- Regatta at Pier 66
A record 10 J/80s and 8 J/24s raced this year! Together, the sailing teams crowd-funded over $175K to support Sail Academy.

The rookies on Team YOLO! won the J/24 class, and George Comfort & Sons took first in the J/80 class. Gorgeous conditions HRCS to run four races off Pier 66, where spectators cheered their teams on!

Finally, a special thanks to our event sponsors: Con Edison, Hudson Yards, Robins Kaplan, and Polar Seltzer.

Thank you to Bottino for donating lunch, The Right to Shower for tote bags and gifts, Dean's Beans for coffee, Peter Callahan Catering for an amazing awards dinner, and the Grey Lady for a fabulous oyster bar and libations.  Learn more about Hudson River Community Sailing on Facebook here

Gorgeous J/88 North Americans Photos!

Maureen Koeppel Photography was out on the water for the J/88 North American Championship and took some epic photos of J/88s flying around the race course, off the starting line, rounding marks, and rounding down broaching, too! Watch this very entertaining musical and photo montage! Enjoy!  In addition, Melissa Pike also had some amazing photos of the J/88 NA’s as well.. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

JUNO Blitzes Australian J/70 Nationals

(Sydney, Australia)- The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), home of the famous Sydney to Hobart offshore race, hosted the J/70 Australian Championship on Sydney Harbour on the weekend of October 19 and 20.

A strong shifty westerly wind blowing from the land provided tough conditions on day one, with gusts over 30 knots and a particularly challenging top mark set in a leeward bay with very fluky winds.  Day two saw a steadier 10 to 12 knot southeast wind with some very close racing throughout the fleet.

Helped by off-season racing at the J/70 Worlds in Torquay, the JUNO team (Reg Lord, Ben Lamb, Murray Jones, Tom Grimes) won each race to claim the title for the third consecutive year. Second overall and first Corinthian was JAMES helmed by Tim Ryan, also from the CYCA. Third was JABBERWOCKY (Middle Harbour YC) helmed by Australian J/70 Class President Andrew Thompson, with expert trimmer Noel Drennan on main.

Behind the Corinthian’s winner JAMES was Peter Nash’s MAYBE-J in second and Andy McIntyre’s JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH in third place.

The fleet is also scored using the SailSys PHS (performance handicap scoring) system, where teams carry “golf-handicap” style ratings and scores are computed on that basis.  Winning the PHS Division was Thompson’s JABBERWOCKY, with second going to Lord’s JUNO, and third to Tony Landgren’s SPIKE.

A newcomer to the fleet was Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Captain and three time Olympian Karyn Gojnich. She said after the regatta concluded, “Sara Ladd and I took ownership of JACKAL during the week just prior to the regatta, so we were extremely pleased and excited just to get out to the race course and finish each race. Big thanks to Pete Lowndes and Ewa Lindelöf who joined us for the weekend.”

Another newcomer, and fourth overall, was Michael Nash from RSYS who traded his Etchells-22 for his new J/70 MAYBE-J. Nash commented that, “the J/70 is a great boat for mixed sailing, as the main is manageable for anyone. Olga (Skatkova) said just yesterday that she was surprised she had no problems playing the spinnaker on Saturday when winds were gusting over 30 knots.”

Ray Carless of JUNIOR commented, “the winds and harbour conditions were at times challenging, but overall it was an excellent event with great sportsmanship, camaraderie and most of all, fun J/70 sailing! Love it!”

Also, a special mention to the teams JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH and SPIKE that travelled 1,000 kms from Victoria to compete. Good on ya mates!

The 2020 Australian J/70 National Championship is scheduled to take place over Easter, hosted by Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron on Port Philip Bay in Melbourne, Victoria.   Sailing Photo credits by Beth MorleyAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Whittemore Crowned J/24 World Champion!

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) sailed in the 41st edition of the J/24 World Championship. The amazing combination of USA J/24 Fleet 12 and the Shake-A-Leg organization in Coconut Grove, FL hosted the 400+ sailors and their friends and families. Ten races were sailed over four days from October 23rd to 26th on the aquamarine waters of the beautiful Biscayne Bay. Winning the regatta was the Seattle-based team on FURIO, Keith Whittemore with crew of Shelby Milne, Willem Van Waay, Mark Rodgerd and Brian Thomas. Here are the final two-day’s reports.

Day 3- Friday
Whittemore’s FURIO extended their lead on a wild and exciting day of sailing. Winds were regularly recorded at 18 knots with gusts in the 20s, testing competitors and equipment, and causing some boats to retire early.

Whittemore’s FURIO, who excelled in the Championship’s lighter days, also shone in the bigger breeze Friday, posting a bullet and a 12 for 32 net points in eight races. Two more races were planned Saturday to conclude the event. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD held on to the runner-up position with 41 points, following a 26-5 on the day (discarding the 26). Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR maintained the third spot with 42 points.

FURIO’s Whittemore explained that Van Waay has some regatta experience with Furio, but joked, “the rest of us has sailed together for 4,000 years.” Whittemore also keeps a boat in Europe, and is regular on that circuit, creating friends and supporters worldwide.

In race seven, Whittemore won with John Mollicone’s HELLY HANSEN and Tokuma Takesue’s GEKKO taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Three J/24 World Champions comprised the top three in race eight: Mauricio Santa Cruz’s BRUSCHETTA from Brazil, Will Welles BUCKAROO from the USA, and Daniel Frost’s JJ-ONE from Germany.

Day 4- Saturday Finale
Whittemore’s FURIO entered the final two races with a nine-point advantage, and quickly slammed the door on the competition by dominating race nine of 10. Following their bullet to start Saturday, long-time J/24 sailor Whittemore placed eighth in the final contest, five notches better than his closest challenger Milev’s CLEAR AIR. Although 2017 J/24 World Champion Milev placed second behind Whittemore in Saturday’s first match, FURIO was able to cover Milev in the final race to clinch victory with 41 points to Milev’s 57. Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD assembled an impressive Championship for third place (66 points).

Whittemore’s highest finish in prior World Championships was third, and he has been a bridesmaid at more than one major Championship. Five J/24 World Champion helmsmen were among this fleet, and Whittemore smiled, saying, “Being able to beat those guys feels really, really, really good!” He added, “Today was scary. When we drove down, we said we really need to win the first race, so the second race isn’t a complete mess.” The plan worked perfectly when FURIO started at the pin, and got a header. “We could cross everybody. We were frankly gone at that point, and extended our lead. We struggled up every first beat of every race. That was the first time where something happened, and we said this is going to be really good!”

The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:

• Jaeger Women’s Trophy- to Erica Beck-Spencer and her SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM as top Women’s team

• Under-25 Turner Trophy- to Matthew Miranda’s TEAM OUTRAGEOUS as the top Youth crew on the Kelly Holmes-Moon Grant Boat.

Rounding out the top five were Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS in fourth place and Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER in fifth. Complete J/24 World Championship results may be found here.  ForAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
more J/24 World Championship sailing information

VOTE for J/Boats in Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image contest!

Here are the four images, the four photographers, and the four links!

Tim Wilkes
This is an amazing photo of J/70s off Cleveland, OH for J/70 North Americans. “As a yacht racing photographer, there are certain days that you live for,” commented Tim. “They are the most difficult days to create photos in, given the extreme wind and sea state. This was one of those days on Lake Erie… of all places! Purely magical. Pure excitement. Surfing a breaking wave down the course with the entire fleet behind you is a great feeling. I'm happy I was able to be there in the right spot and stable enough to capture it.”   View image and vote here.


Andy Green
“This was a cool shot of the J/125 JACK KNIFE from the IRC Regatta held at Pwllheli in August,” said Andy. “It had been champagne sailing with blue skies and 20 knots of breeze. I could see a squall moving to us and within minutes we where in 40+ knots of wind, heavy rain, and near zero visibility. The fleet where being battered by the conditions. But, as soon as it came the squall lifted, we returned to blue skies and 20 knot winds!”  View image and vote here.


Daniel Ljungsvik
“This was very amusing and picturesque perspective of a J/70 at this year’s Swedish J/70 Nationals taking a shortcut back to harbor! Through the weeds!!,” said Dan.   View image and vote here.


Pierrick Jeannoutot
It was an amazing regatta for the French J/70 class on the Mediterranean this summer. The J/70s were sailing off Marseille, France for their French J/70 Nationals.. fabulous conditions and love the backdrop, too! Said Pierrick, “I like this photo because, just before the finish line on the last leg of the regatta, the two J/70’s were symmetrically aligned on the two different gybe angles downwind.. So cool!”  View image and vote here.

Canadians Crowned J/105 Masters Champions!

(San Diego, CA)– The 2019 International Masters Regatta got off to an entertaining start today. After a slight course adjustment to the south and the first race of the weekend, the sailors and their crews were gifted an extra-long lunch break with a view. Just around 1200 hrs, the U.S. Navy rained down on the South Bay course during an airdrop exercise, presenting the sailors and spectators with another San Diego airshow.

Meanwhile, down on the water, 11 boats skippered by seasoned sailors over the age of 60 were putting on their own show of fast, competitive and close racing. It was the perfect fall day in San Diego to impress the out-of-towners from the East Coast and Canada. The conditions saw a breeze of 12 to 15 knots and not a cloud in the sky.

Day 1- Beautiful opening day
Finishing the first day in the lead was Canadian Andy Roy with 12 points, the only International team at the event. Following Roy was Tad Lacey with 11 points in second and the famous two-time America’s Cup winner Gary Jobson with 15 points in third.

Roy proved that consistency was key in a successful regatta. Managing to stay fairly consistent with his scores, Roy never finished below fifth place. He slowly crept his way to the top, finishing the fourth and final race of the day in first.

“We were over early in the first race which wasn’t a great way to start, but we made a pretty good come back towards the end. Staying in the lower, single digit numbers is what we were going for. Last year we did this race and stayed closer to the 8s and 9s. So far this year we kept our races clean, got a clear lane on the first windward leg, and had good speed up and down,” Roy explained.

Only one point behind Roy was Lacey, showing off his experience with two bullets; one in the second race and one in the third. Roy and Lacey often found themselves neck and neck today. In the second race, the two boats went head to head on their approach to the first weather mark. In the third race, Lacey finished only a foot or two ahead of Roy.

“Roy and I were really close in the third race, but we stayed in front of them. The two of us were well out in front and the race was really between the two of us. That’s when we inched him out. He’s a great sailor. Now we’re going to get a good night’s sleep and do it again tomorrow,” Lacey commented.

Several sailors today deserve notable mentions for their outstanding performances during the day. Jobson (3rd) started off race four with an OSC and managed to pull himself back into fourth place by the end of the race. Chuck Sinks (4th) took a hard turn in race two, finishing 8th, but kept their spirits high to finish with a second and third and the final two races. Bill Peterson and Scott Harris both kept their name on the top half of the score sheet, moving in and out of the top of the fleet throughout the day.

It’s to go without saying that SDYC’s International Masters Regatta brings some of the best to San Diego and that was easy to see with the incredibly close racing and skillful tactics out on the water. Despite the distractions and visitors to the course, each one of them proved that they belonged there with the rest.

Day 2- Fleet "Moving" Day
It was “moving day” and the skippers were getting more comfortable making their homes on the score sheet and moving in on their competitors. After the second day of the regatta, there were major position shifts in the results.

After Saturday’s races, Roy was still in first with 27 points, with Chuck Sinks moving up to second with 29 points, and Lacey holding on to third with 37 points.

The master skippers and crew were greeted with light winds and glassy water as they headed down to South San Diego Bay this morning. After a short AP to wait for the breezes to fill, teams were soon sailing in 10-13 knots. Similar to yesterday, the South Bay course was blessed with clear skies and temperatures in the high 60s.

The first race of the day was dominated by Mary Brigden-Snow. Snow held her position until the last leg of the race when Roy was able to pull ahead into first, leaving the all-female team narrowly in second. Brigden-Snow kept her momentum going all day, finding herself at the top of the fleet in several races. The team finished at the top again in race seven with a third and in race eight with a second.

“We had a little more time to get ourselves sorted out today. We got our starts going, my crew is amazing and it was fun seeing us get a little momentum. As JJ [Fetter] says ‘keep her rumbling’ so I’ll be staying focused on the rumbling while my crew keeps doing a great job. Hopefully we can keep on doing some of that tomorrow,” expressed Brigden-Snow.

Sinks and his crew moved around the score sheet quite a bit as well. The team finished the first day of the regatta in fourth place tied with Gary Jobson. In race six, Sinks battled it out with Scott Mason and Roy to take the first-place finish. He climbed his way to the top of the fleet by the end of the day but not without more competition from Jobson. In the final race of the day, Jobson took the lead around the first weather mark. Sinks caught up and rounded the leeward mark first while Jobson got caught on the outside, spinning to make it through gate. Sinks was able to keep a solid lead on the rest of the fleet, taking his second bullet of the regatta.

“We had pretty good starts today in both races that we won, which gave us a lot of space to do what we wanted to do. The team did a phenomenal job as usual. We’re happy to be where we are with three more races left. We’re all having a good time and we’re all still talking to each other, so, so far so good,” said Sinks in high spirits.

Scott Harris also came ready to play today, especially in race seven when he was leading the fleet by about a minute. With Harris’ strong, unbeatable gain, the real race was for second place. Bill Peterson, who was standing mid-fleet yesterday, made an impressive comeback, fighting against Brigden-Snow in the second to last race to take second place. Peterson was able to improve his position by a few places to fourth place.

The day ended with a high-note for many, especially for the San Diego Yacht Club’s home-teams. To celebrate wins and join in on friendly camaraderie, skippers, crews and their families enjoyed the International Masters Regatta traditional Saturday night banquet. Each skipper took to the stage where they could recap their successes and roast their fellow sailors and crew… always one of the greatest laughs at the regatta.

Day 3- Another sunny, pretty day?
The regatta saw three beautiful, windy days of sailing in breezes up to 13 knots each day. By the last race, the South Bay course had white caps and extra chop. Andy Roy finished in first place overall with 41 points, followed by Scott Harris in second with 47 points and Chuck Sinks in third with 49 points.

In race nine, the first race of the day, the win went to Gary Jobson, who battled his way back up the score sheet through the day, ending in fifth place. In race 10, Harris proved his master status with the bullet and a solid lead on the rest of the fleet. “We started a little slow at the beginning of the weekend, and then we just got better,” Harris said laughing. “We brought Jon Pinckney on board who sailed in the regatta last year, and learned a lot from him over the course of the weekend. One of which was to play the backstay more."

Harris will be back at the San Diego Yacht Club next weekend for the 105th Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup where he will be sailing with his son. “We’ll go for first this time,” joked Harris.

In the final race, race 11, Roy and his crew got back into the game. After a fifth and an eighth in the first two races, Roy was only one point ahead of Sinks going into the final race. It all came down the start. The team got under Sinks and was able to control their fate for the rest of the race, sealing their regatta win.

Roy and his fellow Canadian sailors headed back up to Canada on Monday morning, where they’ll be retiring the boat for the winter and breaking out the skis for the season.

After the races, the skippers and their crews gathered on the Front Deck of the San Diego Yacht Club where they were presented with their awards. The teams enjoyed dockside cocktails and ended the weekend with good camaraderie. The 2019 International Masters Regatta was an unpredictable, highly competitive regatta between experienced sailors over the age of 60. Many of the men and women sailing this weekend have national, world, and Olympic titles paired with their names. During the IMR, these sailors get to rejoin old friends, teammates and competitors for three days of sailing in the beauty that is South San Diego Bay.  Sailing photo credits- Mark Albertazzi/ San Diego YC   For more J/105 Masters Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.