J/109 Silvers @ NYYC Race Week

 

(Newport, RI)- The New York Yacht Club’s Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex was first run in 1998 and took place this year from September 23 to 26 out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, in Newport. R.I. The biennial regatta, traditionally run at the apex of the summer sailing season, has established itself as one of the premier summer race weeks in the Northeast thanks to its attractive combination of great racing conditions off Newport and the superlative shoreside hospitality at the Club’s waterfront Clubhouse overlooking Newport Harbor. Partners for the 2020 edition of Race Week at Newport include presenting sponsor Rolex and regatta sponsors Hammetts Hotel and Helly Hansen.
 
After three days of racing, the ORC 2 Class featured some of the closest racing of the day at the top of the class. Starting out with two bullets on the first day to be handily atop the leaderboard, Tom Sutton’s J/109 LEADING EDGE continued their ferocious pace by closing the next two days with five deuces! Shockingly enough, that was not good enough to win the regatta! Instead, they happily settled for the silver.  Starting out slowly on the first day, NYYC Commodore Bill Ketcham got his team into gear and managed a few podium finishes to finish tied for 4th place after seven races but ended up 5th on the countback. A great showing for these two teams after a long summer of not sailing anywhere with virtually "green" crews!  Sailing photo credits: ROLEX/Daniel Forster  For more NYYC Race Week sailing information.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CHIBOUGANAU Crowned Northeast J/22 Champion!

 

(Lake George, New York)- The Lake George Club cordially hosted the 2020 Northeast J/22 Championship last weekend as part of their annual Lake George Open Regatta. The regatta on picturesque Lake George, the “Queen of American Lakes,” in the southern Adirondack Mountains of New York State, features great hospitality, a beautiful setting, and lots of competitive racing, and usually favorable winds in the early fall.

Answering the siren call of the sea were a happy and enthusiastic eight-boat fleet; eager to get out on what became nice sailing conditions, flat water, and fall foliage in full bloom!  The racing was insanely close for the top of the leaderboard, as well as it was for the bronze step on the podium.


In what became a closely-fought two-boat duel, Richard Hallagan's CHIBOUGANAU and Alfie Merchant's FAMILY FEUD exchanged winning races all weekend long. After six races completed, Hallagan's four bullets and two 2nd was enough to win the regatta by a mere 2 pts. Second was the FAMILY FEUD'ers, also counting all 1sts and 2nds, not as many as the winner!  

The bronze was settled on a tie-breaker at 22 pts each.  Russ Merchants "III" counted 3-8-2-4-5 while Rik Alexanderson's BRASS RING posted a 6-5-4-4-3, losing the countback to take fourth. The next two places to round out the top five were also determined on a tiebreaker.  Joe Favero's KNOT ON CALL and Doug Brandow's JOIA were knotted together on 24 pts each, with Favero getting the nod on the tiebreaker. For more Lake George J/22 Open Regatta information

J/122 JOSS Continues Winning Ways Down Under

 

(Perth, WA, Australia)- It is exciting to see that certain parts of Australia have managed their pandemic behavior enough so that traditional offshore yachting events can take place.  In Western Australia, the Royal Perth YC in Perth, WA held their first race of the new ORWA 2020/21 Offshore Racing Series. The race is called the George Law Trophy.

The report from Ian Clyne, owner of J/122 JOSS, was brief and to the point:

"We just completed our first race of our offshore season in Perth. The conditions were quite rough, with most of the race sailed in 25 to 40 kts of wind! The seas were outrageous, extremely challenging, giant waves upwards of 10-12 feet at times, often with no "backs" to them, resulting in some extreme power slams onto the face of the wave below. The weather itself was somewhat extreme in its range, going from sun, to violent squalls, to just driving rain! Crazy stuff!

We are happy to report that our J/122 JOSS did us good, reveling in the rough stuff, garnering 1st in Division 1 IRC! We safely won the day in seriously nasty stuff offshore.  Great crew effort, especially by Ryan Binedell, our boat Captain!"

For more J/122 offshore cruiser/racer sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

New York YC Annual Regatta Preview

 

(Newport, RI)- North America's oldest annual regatta will feature three great days of racing including the separately scored Around-the-Island Race on Friday, October 2. Competition will take place in ORC/ PHRF handicap classes and during the Two-Day Series the PRO's and regatta managers intend sail in the format that the fleets are accustomed to - i.e. drop-mark buoy racing for most and navigator racing for some. The focus of this year's event is getting back on the water and sailing. At this time, there are no planned shoreside or social activities. 

Perhaps the most anticipated race of the entire summer is the famous Round Jamestown Race of 18.0 to 25.0nm, depending on course selection. The picturesque race that is a "tour" of Narragansett Bay around Conanicut Island takes the fleet through the two majestic bridges connecting Aquidneck Island to the mainland- the Newport Pell Bridge and the Jamestown Bridge.  The scratch sheet shows five J's sailing in the ORC 3 Class, including twin J/44s (NYYC Commodore Bill Ketcham's MAXINE & Ken Luczynski's VAMP), twin J/109s (Bill Kneller's VENTO SOLARE & Bill Sutton's LEADING EDGE), and John & Sue Sutherland's J/111 19th NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. In PHRF 1 Class, Bob Manchester's J/133 VAMOOSE will be taking on their ten-boat class in a game of "cat & mouse" around the island. Sailing in PHRF 2 Class is Joe Britto's J/121 INCOGNITO, arguably one of the most knowledgeable "round islanders" in the fleet, having sailed them for over four decades.  Finally, an eclectic collection of boats in PHRF 3 Class, we find EC Helme's J/92S SPIRIT and Don Dwyer's J/109 GUARDIAN J. 

For the round buoys (drop or government) racing on Saturday/ Sunday, the scratch sheet is different.  Sailing offshore on Rhode Island Sound is the Blue Circle fleet, including the ORC 3 Class with the same five J's as the Round Island Race, the J/44s (MAXINE & VAMP), J/109s (LEADING EDGE & VENTO SOLARE), and the J/111 19th NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. 

For the Red Circle Narragansett Bay participants, the twelve-boat PHRF 1 Class includes the J/133 VAMOOSE and the J/121 INCOGNITO. Then, the PHRF 2 Class has the J/92S SPIRIT as the sole J/team.  For more New York YC Annual Regatta sailing information

Annapolis Double-Handed Distance Race Preview

 

(Annapolis, MD)- With thirty-seven entries confirmed in three classes, the Annapolis YC’s Double-Handed Distance on October 3rd & 4th is the largest double-handed overnight race of the 2020 USA season. Its popularity after last year’s debut is impressive, having doubled in size in only its second year. With 18 J/Boats on the starting line, that's 50% of the fleet!

Driving this popularity are the favorable early Fall sailing conditions on the Chesapeake Bay and an accessible yet challenging format: an overnight race of 24 hours duration held on course options that vary from 95 to 100 miles in length.

The fleet includes the mandatory "mixed doublehanded" 11-boat J/105 one-design class. The class is full of highly-competitive offshore sailors and a few "newbies" on the block that are sure to be considerable factors over a long-distance offshore race. The Ladbroke's Betting Parlour favorite certainly has to be last year's winners- the duo of Randy Smyth and Christina Persson sailing BAT IV. Two teams would be odds-on bets to give them a run-for-the-money, the duo of Patrick Gavin-Byrne’s & Cole Brauer on BETTER MOUSETRAP and Christina & Justin Wolfe on FIREBRAND (top sailors from Seattle, WA). Don't count out the "Middies" from the US Naval Academy Sailing Team- they are well-practiced, well-coached, great navigators, know the Bay and its current stone cold, and know their J/105s very well; those teams include Don Poirier & Ashley Koenig on AVENGER, Katie Boyle & Matt Gillcrist on CONSTELLATION, and Paul Jervis & Grace Vandergrift on DREADNOUGHT. 

Sailing in the ORC Handicap classes are seven J/Teams. Three are sailing in ORC 1 Class; Richard Born & Guillaume Seynhave on the very well-known offshore winner, the J/120 WINDBORN; Keith Cole & John King's J/124 LUCKY EIGHTS, and Jim Demerest & Dobbs Davis on the J/46 SODALIS III (this is a "sleeper team"- watch out!). Sailing in the fourteen-boat ORC 2 Class are two J/105s (Arthur & AJ Libby's DOGHOUSE and Kyle McLaughlin & Raymond Bay's SMOKE'N'OAKUM), John Bell & Ryan Treat's J/100 HIWASSEE, and Roger Lant & Mike Wellins' J/35 ABIENTOT. 

Annapolis YC PRO Dick Neville is looking forward to the opportunity to tailor the race to the course and weather conditions for fair and transparent scoring; hopefully, with equals elements of beating, reaching, and running. For more AYC Double-handed Distance Race sailing information

Women Shopping for MORE Sailboats! Great news!

 

According to Boat Trader, America’s largest online boating marketplace, there has been a tidal wave of women shopping for boats from coast-to-coast this summer.

Reports of banner-year boat sales have been making national headlines and Boat Trader’s latest data suggests the surge is partially due to women and mothers sequestered with kids, who have quickly directed their family and friends to the waterfront for some much-needed fun.

In fact, the overall number of women visiting Boat Trader has increased +75% YoY across all age groups (18 – 24 years (+198%), 25 – 34 years (+71%), 35 – 44 years (+37%), 45 – 54 years (+55%), 55 – 64 years (+65%) and 65-plus years (+126%)).

Historically, women have made up the largest niche market of boaters and filled a significant role in the decision-making process within their households, and their influence over the purchase of a boat only continues to evolve.

Spurred by the pandemic, more women are getting involved at an earlier stage – researching and browsing boat inventory online – making the shift in female participation stand out in these unprecedented times.

“At Boat Trader, we’re uniquely positioned to observe the market, and as we’ve watched this tremendous groundswell of boat sales happen, we sought to understand if a shift in consumer behavior was a secondary driver,” said Courtney Chalmers, Boats Group’s vice president of marketing.

“As interest in family-friendly and multipurpose boats continues to increase, there is a clear connection to the rise in female participation at the top of the funnel.”

Further evidence of this trend is the sustained traffic growth on Boat Trader by women beyond the peak of the boating season as travel plans and crowded events are still postponed. Given the fluctuating restrictions, unknown duration and lasting effects of the pandemic, women are embracing boating as a way for their families to safely connect with others and be active in the near-term.

And this participation is not fading after the initial research is done. Women are also showing a new level of engagement further down the funnel as they contact sellers for more information to evaluate boats for sale. In fact, leads submitted by women are up 341% over the same four-month period last year.

“This is a celebrated milestone for the boating industry, which, over the past decade has focused on increasing female participation,” said Chalmers. “As the gap between male and female participation in the boat-buying journey continues to narrow as more women lead the charge, the industry becomes better positioned for long-term health and closer to retiring the one-sided stereotype of boating.Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Regattaclub Oberhofen Top Swiss J/70 Youth Cup

 

(St Moritz, Switzerland)- The Swiss J/70 Sailing League usually hosts their J/70 Youth Cup in late summer. There is no question the 2020 edition of the Youth Cup clearly shows that Swiss youth teams are already sailing at a very high level. For many teams, the Cup was also an ideal platform to learn a lot for further development. The Swiss sailing clubs are strong supporters of their younger sailors in the J/70 sailing league. 


The St. Moritz Sailing Club, in conjunction with the Swiss Sailing League Association, hosted this year’s event on Lake St Moritz, the northeastern most of a chain of three spectacular lakes in the Silvaplana Valley. The natural sailing arena of St. Moritz was a unique regatta area for the participants!

After three days of competition, it was pretty clear who the winners were of the EFG International Swiss Sailing League Youth Cup 2020: Regattaclub Oberhofen (RCO) with Nick Zeltner, Laurent Stadler, Cedric Schenk, Till Seger and Nilo Schärer.


There were 30 races sailed on classic shifty puffy winds on a high mountain lake. Only the teams from the Zurich Sailing Club (ZSC) and Cercle de la Voile Vevey (CVVT) were able to provide good competition to the winning team with consistently good performances. The team from ZSC, with Alessandro Maisano at the helm, sailed very consistently, and was only two points behind the winning team. The CVVT delivered very consistent races with Sébastien Aubord skippering. 

The French-speaking teams from the CVVI (Cercle de la Voile de Villeneuve) and CNP (Club Nautique de Pully) have very young sailors with great potential! The young team from St. Moritz Sailing Club is also making progress and will be able to establish itself with appropriate support. For more Swiss J/70 Youth Cup sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

Finnish J/70 Sailing League Report

 

(Helsinki, Finland)- The Finnish J/70 Sailing League, like all the others in Europe, also created an abbreviated series of events due to pandemic restrictions. In their case, they created a two-event qualifier in September over successive weekends, with the finale taking place in the first weekend of October. Recognizing that a lot of Finland is above the Arctic Circle, it's a good thing they've enjoyed remarkably great, warm weather within the rapidly diminishing daylight in the early fall! Nevertheless, the Finnish sailors were extremely enthusiastic to get a chance to get back out on the water in September.  


In the first regatta, hosted in Naantali, Finland, they managed to pull off a 17-race series for the dozen teams from across Finland. Winning that event was Alandska Segelsallskapet team, posting all podium finishes- winning 7 races along the way.  Second was the Esbo Segelforening Team with 36 points, also winning 7 races but having to include a few "send it down the mineshaft" finishes. Third was Nylandska Jaktklubben with 46 points. 

The second event took place at Kulosaari Brando. The fleet was blessed with remarkable conditions, 60s F, blowing 10-17 kts all weekend, and sunny! A rare thing for fall sailing in Finland! Winning that event was Nyländska Jaktklubben, followed by Brändö Seglare in second, and Åländska Segelsällskapet in third place. The top six, including Mariehamns Seglarförening, Wasa Segelförening and Turku Yacht Club have all qualified to sail the finale in October. 


"We had time to experience all possible weather during the weekend. We had good competition in sunny weather. We have to go to the finals quite humble, because there are tough Teams and the conditions in Mariehamn," reflected the winning skipper- Thomas Hallberg. Their team consisted of Hallberg, Juhana Rintala, Robert Nyberg and Christoffer Silén. The team has experience in both offshore and Olympic classes. 


The BS 2 team, that includes Ville Korhonen and Edvard Bremer, represent the younger, talented generation of sailors. In 2019, the duo won World Championship silver in the International 29ers Under 19 years of age!

"We are happy with our weekend sailing. It felt good to do well in the home club competition. We expect a tough race and cold weather from the finals," laughed both Korhonen and Bremer.  For more Finnish J/70 Sailing League informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

KDY Sharks Repeat as Danish Sailing League Champions!

 

(Skovshoved, Denmark)- This past weekend, the Danish J/70 Sailing League shortened-season finale was sailed off Skovshoved with eighteen sailing clubs participating from across Denmark. The fleet was thrilled to have simply amazing weather all weekend long with great sailing on both Saturday and Sunday. In fact, sailing on Saturday was so good that the host Skovshoved Sailing Club regatta PRO managed to run nine complete flights and 27 total races! Apparently, the sailors were getting a little tired towards the end of the day at sunset!  

In the end, the winners of the finale and the overall season (just 2 events) were a familiar team standing atop of the podium- the winners were the Royal Danish Yacht Club's KDY Sharks. In the past, the KDY teams would participate as just all women or all men's teams. This last regatta was the first time they sailed as a combined crew, with 2 women and 2 men.  

Henrik Jensen, skipper from KDY, commented at the awards, "thank you for a good event, it's great to see how the young people storm forward, women as well, and today our mixed crew, that's the future for KDY sailing!"

In the end, the top five teams in the Danish J/70 Sailing League were Kongelig Dansk YC KDY SHARKS in first, Team Roskilde Sejklub second, Frederikshavn Sejklub SEAHAWKS Team third, Kjobenhavns Amateur Sejklub THE BOXES team in fourth, and Sonderborg YC CHIA PIRATES in fifth place.  Sailing photo credit: Frederik Sivertsen  For more Danish J/70 Sailing League informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.

"Women at the Helm Regatta"

 

48 NORTH had a great article in their recent September 2020 online issue, contribution from Jennifer Harkness. 

"No matter how you slice it, if you're someone who had any plans this summer, chances are fairly good that the Coronavirus dashed them. I am certainly one of those people. Plan A for the summer was to stretch my sailing skills and build new ones on the Clipper Round the World Race (see 48° North September 2019 "The Sailing Unicorn" for that story). Well, crap. Plan B then became a spot-on team Repeat Offenders for the Race to Alaska, but ... yeah that one became another victim of the pandemic. With those two big races postponed or canceled, I had pretty much given up on doing any racing of significance this summer. 

So it was, until a regatta for all female skippers came back on the radar. I had seen the race on the SARC earlier in the year, but at the time it wasn't a race I could participate in since I was going to be racing across the Atlantic Ocean on a Clipper 70. Thanks to the courageous Jenn Harkness and the wonderful allies at the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club, the Women at The Helm regatta was all systems go (with appropriate safety precautions), virus be damned! 

Alright, a regatta for all female skippers in the middle of a pandemic— let's have some fun. Emre (John) Sezer, owner of J/80 RECKLESS and my dear friend and mentor, empowered me to helm his boat and build a crew, so build a crew I did! We had Kathy Harris, a new racer who continues to wow us with how quickly her skills are ramping up on the good ship Reckless. The ray of sunshine that is Stephanie Campbell came down from tropical Anacortes to kick butt trimming main, calling tactics, and coaching Kathy and I, (she had some great tips for Emre, too!). For the most part, Emre sat on the rail in his tutu (ha!) looking pretty and worked with Kathy on hoists and headsail trim while offering thoughts on course and tactics. With our epic crew assembled, this thing was really on. 

The week leading up to the race, I was a mix of nerves and excitement. Seeing the list of rad lady skippers and the boats who would be out, I knew there would be some serious competition. The nerves got a bit bigger when the class breaks got announced and I saw that the J/80 fleet was going to be combined with the J/105s? Yikes, those are some big boats and a very competitive fleet! I figured, "Ok, we'll have a fun race but won't likely end up with anything too impressive results-wise." Turns out, the universe had different plans. 


The day of the race was full of nothing but good vibes on our J/80 RECKLESS. To make things even more fun, and because I could, I brought tutus for everyone on the team. I'm missing the weekly summer outlet I have for dressing in goofy outfits on sailboats. Duck Dodge, we miss you, but I know the committee is making the right choice by not holding the race. 

We got the boat ready and made our way out to the starting line. Skipper Cathy Van Antwerp looking strong at the helm of her J/111 VALKYRIE. 

Masked smiles and waves were shared across the course, and soon it was time to start. One such wave was to the boat my mom, Elly Cyr, was helming. It was really special that, for the first time, my mom and I were both helming boats for a race. Maybe in the future we'll race on the same boat, but we might have to sell tickets to that show! 

Nerves were firing on all cylinders, but thanks to Steph and John coaching me, we wriggled our way through the fleet and got into a clean spot. Approaching Meadow Point, the usual debate of how far to go to the beach ensued. Then, before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the spinnaker hoist. AHH! High stakes, helming for my first kite hoist in a real race. Can we pull this off? The crew did a great job and off we went. 

We continued to sail our race and ... whoa, the finish line is almost here. Wait, are we right by the J/105s? How much time do they owe us? OMG, we might have this one! Sure enough, we did win the first race and suddenly my mind went from "Ok, let's just have a clean day of racing," to "FULL SEND BABY!" 

We enjoyed between-race beers (thanks, Steph, for confirming that was the right call!) and lunch, and the rest of the day carried on fantastically. There were a couple of spicy moments with other boats that served as yet another indicator that this wasn't a play regatta, this was a real regatta with real stakes. 

The next race hilariously included the mark sequence NMEN which was called out by another woman on VHF... "Really? You're running a course called MEN at Women at the Helm?"

The committee claims it was an accident but, come on, that's too easy. The last race of the day was the longest race, sending us to the mark everyone loves to hate: Spring Beach. For this one, we figured the 105s would walk away from us and, sure enough, they did. When we finally determined that we did, in fact, have sight of the mark and weren't being fooled by a seagull or crab buoy; we prepared for our final hoist of the day and, again, it went beautifully.

Next stop, after a few lovely jibes, was the finish. Big whoops and hollers were heard when we crossed the line, then we realized the rest of the J/80 fleet was behind us, which led to more whoops and hollers. All of the J/80 skippers sailed their hearts out, I'm so proud to be part of such a wonderful fleet.

After we finished the last race, I was on Cloud 9. I couldn't believe it. Thanks to an amazing crew, I had successfully finished helming my first real regatta. We made our way back to the dock for some well-earned beers and snacks. A few other sailors joined us for what became a lovely socially-distant hang out on V-dock. I'd squirreled a bottle of Prosecco away in the dock box and I popped it on the bow, and promptly sprayed some of it around in victorious Grand Prix fashion. The day had just been too much fun.

We knew at that point that we had sailed well but were eagerly awaiting the news of how we had done on the rest of the fleet. Preliminary results were posted and ... wait, WHAT?! Some happy swear words (sailing words?) came out of my mouth when Reckless was listed at the top of the class results list. We sailed against all those talented ladies of the J/80 and J/105 fleets and we won?! 

I was speechless and, admittedly, teared up a little bit. The day had been an absolute dream, with everyone on the boat working really well; and to get rewarded for that with a "W" at the first regatta I helmed was unreal. To have something finally go so right during a year that seemed to be full of disappointment and heartbreak meant a lot. To have it happen on a beautiful day doing one of the things I love most in the world was the cherry on top of a funfetti cupcake with sprinkles. The euphoria provided a big contrast to the 
major episodes of depression that have rocked me (and many others) through this insane year. From long-awaited adventures postponed to the months that I wasn't able to sail at all due to the stay home order — my mental health plummeted.

I will never take sailing for granted again. It took some digging deep into the mental health toolkit, including leaning on friends and family when they had the bandwidth. I encourage everyone to please do what you need to for self-care and to care for those around you. 
I have nothing but big, big gratitude and love for the organizers of the Women at the Helm Regatta, included among them is fellow badass unicorn Jenn Harkness. 

Thank you Sloop Tavern Yacht Club for being willing to safely put on a regatta in the middle of a pandemic, the boat owners who gave their vessels over for the day, and last-but-not-least the amazing talent spread across the helms and crews on the race course. 

This event proved that women's sailing is not just some fluffy thing (even when tutus are involved and, even then, turns out that's a winning combo!), women can and do sail just as hard and well as any other gender. We are fortunate in the Pacific Northwest to have some amazing role models like Team Sail Like a Girl and many others. We also have a lot farther we can go to get equity in the sport. I look forward to many more awesome events that empower women to sail and hope that one day there is a true mix of genders and races spread across the race course. 

As for my next adventure? At this point who even knows. I am more motivated now to get off my unicorn tail and get more sailing certifications."  Thanks for this contribution to support women sailing from 48 North: