Global Interest Strong in J's Latest Speedboat
(Newport, RI)- Since the announcement during the Annapolis Show, over 9,000 unique visitors worldwide have gone to the J/111 web page to learn more about this exciting new design from J/Boats. It appears evident the newly announced J/111 is striking a sensitive chord amongst sailors who are looking for that next-generation 36 footer. Breaking new ground in its looks, layout and performance, sailors are looking forward to the J/111's introduction next year. No wonder, the J/111 is a sleek, modern one-design, with a large day-sailing cockpit, easy-to-handle sail plan, and 6' headroom below for weekending.
Monday, October 26, 2009
J/95 Annapolis Show Interview with Rod Johnstone
J/97 Introduced to Great Lakes!
(Chicago, IL- October 19)- The J/97 has officially arrived in Chicago after having started its world tour from the its builder, J/Europe in France back in May. After a terrific reception at the Newport and Annapolis Boatshows on the East Coast, the J/97 will be available for demos in Chicago starting Monday next week (pictured here at Chicago YC). After sailing the J/97 for a few days on the spectacular waters off Chicago's renowned waterfront, Richie Stearns had this to say about the J/97s performance and handling: "Wow, what a fun boat to sail! Everyone's impressed by the boat's speed in almost no air and even in the eighteen knots we had today it performs really great! In today's good breeze (Wednesday) the boat easily hit 8.0+ knots off the wind while surfing down the waves. It looks like we've got a winner for our sailors here on Lake Michigan!". To schedule a demo, please be sure to contact Rich Stearns at Cell# 847-404-2209 or email him at rich@stearnsboating.com.
College J/FEST
University Michigan Wins Highly Competitive J/109 Class in ICSA Offshore Championshihps
(Larchmont, NY- Oct. 10-11)- Here are the facts- forty boat fleet, thirty four (34) of them are J/Boats (85% of the fleet)- one-design classes of seven J/44s, ten J/109s and thirteen J/105s and the balance of J's distributed amongst the only two handicap classes- IRC40- J/122s and J/120 and IRC35- J/35. The ICSA might as well have called it "J/FEST Intercollegiate Championships"! The ICSA has been hosting the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in cooperation with Storm Trysail and Larchmont YC for the past nine years, once again introducing the joys of big-boat racing to boatloads of college sailors. Interestingly, the event has become the largest college regatta in America, with 31 schools and 327 sailors racing 40 boats ranging from J/105s to J/44s.
The largest sailboats in the regatta were the J/44s sailed by teams from the service academies and St. Mary's, which have offshore teams. These boats are large, fast and demand experienced crew. All the J/44s used class-owned one-design sails, which made the seven boats a very tight one-design group. Maine Maritime won the J/44 Class by sailing STC Commodore Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER-- they crushed the rest of the fleet and beat the second-place team from the Naval Academy by nine points, garnering a 1-1-1-5-1-4 record. Behind them in second was J/44 RESOLUTE, also sailed by the US Naval Academy with owner Don Rave, getting finishes of 3-2-5-3-2-6. The J/44 MAXINE sailed by USMMA and owner Bill Ketcham was third with a 2-5-3-2-3-7 record.
In the IRC 40 Class, Navy found its pace sailing George Petrides' modified J/120 AVRA to a 1-3-1-2-1-1 record. They eclipsed the second place team from Georgetown University, sailing Steve Furnary's J/122 PATRIOT, by nine points as well who had a 2-1-3-3-5-4 record. Rounding out the top three was Tufts racing the J/122 GEORGETOWN owned by George Marks to a respectable 5-4-4-1-2-5 tally.
In the 10-boat J/109 class the teams from the University of Michigan and Webb Institute tied for first. But the tie only existed because Michigan did not finish the third race due to blowing up a chute and losing the wind instruments off the top of the mast in a broach that occurred when a 30 knot-gust hit a majority of the J/109 fleet halfway through the race. Michigan, sailing Andrew Berdon's STRIDER, had to count the 11-point DNF (did not finish) since the regatta had no throw-outs. On the water, the team out-sailed the other J/109 teams upwind and downwind. No kidding! With finishes of 1-1-11-1-1-3 it's apparent the "scuttlebutt" on the dock was the "GO BLUE" Michigan team were THE team to beat and should be headed to Marseilles to rep the ICSA in the Student Worlds. Oh well, better luck next time guys. Trailing them on the tie-breaker was the J/109 RELENTLESS raced by Webb Institute and owner AL Minella with a record of 3-3-2-2-4-4. Just off the pace was LOKI sailed by the crew from Cornell and owner David Rosow with respectably consistent scores of 2-2-6-6-3-2.
The biggest fleet was the 13-boat J/105 class. The team from Bowdoin, a regular at the event, sailed Carl Olsson's J/105 MORNING GLORY to a slim two-point victory over the second team from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy sailing Kevin Grainger's J/105 GUMPTION 3. First-time participant Trinity College from Hartford, Conn., finished third with three firsts in their score line racing Barry Gold's J/105 WARHORSE.
"This regatta could not happen without the generosity of the boat owners who not only lend their boats but lend their expertise onboard," said Regatta Chair Adam Loory. "These guys come because we work hard to convince them that the regatta is a chance to give something back to the sport, but they return because they have so much fun with the kids learning from them and, at times, they learn from the kids.
Dr. Dan Herron, owner of the J/105 LIQUID COURAGE, a first time participant, said after the regatta, "Thanks again for the opportunity to participate. Watching the expression on the skipper's face as he surfed LIQUID COURAGE downwind on Saturday was priceless!" For complete results and pictures, go here. Regatta Photos credit- Photoboat.com
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(Larchmont, NY- Oct. 10-11)- Here are the facts- forty boat fleet, thirty four (34) of them are J/Boats (85% of the fleet)- one-design classes of seven J/44s, ten J/109s and thirteen J/105s and the balance of J's distributed amongst the only two handicap classes- IRC40- J/122s and J/120 and IRC35- J/35. The ICSA might as well have called it "J/FEST Intercollegiate Championships"! The ICSA has been hosting the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in cooperation with Storm Trysail and Larchmont YC for the past nine years, once again introducing the joys of big-boat racing to boatloads of college sailors. Interestingly, the event has become the largest college regatta in America, with 31 schools and 327 sailors racing 40 boats ranging from J/105s to J/44s.
The largest sailboats in the regatta were the J/44s sailed by teams from the service academies and St. Mary's, which have offshore teams. These boats are large, fast and demand experienced crew. All the J/44s used class-owned one-design sails, which made the seven boats a very tight one-design group. Maine Maritime won the J/44 Class by sailing STC Commodore Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER-- they crushed the rest of the fleet and beat the second-place team from the Naval Academy by nine points, garnering a 1-1-1-5-1-4 record. Behind them in second was J/44 RESOLUTE, also sailed by the US Naval Academy with owner Don Rave, getting finishes of 3-2-5-3-2-6. The J/44 MAXINE sailed by USMMA and owner Bill Ketcham was third with a 2-5-3-2-3-7 record.
In the IRC 40 Class, Navy found its pace sailing George Petrides' modified J/120 AVRA to a 1-3-1-2-1-1 record. They eclipsed the second place team from Georgetown University, sailing Steve Furnary's J/122 PATRIOT, by nine points as well who had a 2-1-3-3-5-4 record. Rounding out the top three was Tufts racing the J/122 GEORGETOWN owned by George Marks to a respectable 5-4-4-1-2-5 tally.
In the 10-boat J/109 class the teams from the University of Michigan and Webb Institute tied for first. But the tie only existed because Michigan did not finish the third race due to blowing up a chute and losing the wind instruments off the top of the mast in a broach that occurred when a 30 knot-gust hit a majority of the J/109 fleet halfway through the race. Michigan, sailing Andrew Berdon's STRIDER, had to count the 11-point DNF (did not finish) since the regatta had no throw-outs. On the water, the team out-sailed the other J/109 teams upwind and downwind. No kidding! With finishes of 1-1-11-1-1-3 it's apparent the "scuttlebutt" on the dock was the "GO BLUE" Michigan team were THE team to beat and should be headed to Marseilles to rep the ICSA in the Student Worlds. Oh well, better luck next time guys. Trailing them on the tie-breaker was the J/109 RELENTLESS raced by Webb Institute and owner AL Minella with a record of 3-3-2-2-4-4. Just off the pace was LOKI sailed by the crew from Cornell and owner David Rosow with respectably consistent scores of 2-2-6-6-3-2.
The biggest fleet was the 13-boat J/105 class. The team from Bowdoin, a regular at the event, sailed Carl Olsson's J/105 MORNING GLORY to a slim two-point victory over the second team from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy sailing Kevin Grainger's J/105 GUMPTION 3. First-time participant Trinity College from Hartford, Conn., finished third with three firsts in their score line racing Barry Gold's J/105 WARHORSE.
"This regatta could not happen without the generosity of the boat owners who not only lend their boats but lend their expertise onboard," said Regatta Chair Adam Loory. "These guys come because we work hard to convince them that the regatta is a chance to give something back to the sport, but they return because they have so much fun with the kids learning from them and, at times, they learn from the kids.
Dr. Dan Herron, owner of the J/105 LIQUID COURAGE, a first time participant, said after the regatta, "Thanks again for the opportunity to participate. Watching the expression on the skipper's face as he surfed LIQUID COURAGE downwind on Saturday was priceless!" For complete results and pictures, go here. Regatta Photos credit- Photoboat.com
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RICHARDSON CUP 2009
J/22 Fleet Hosts Icy-Hot Match Race
(Lake Minnetonka, MN)- It was June 18th, 1924 when English mountain climbers George Mallory & Andrew Irvine looked at the path before them. Climb the coldest place on earth: Mt. Everest. Five times they had tried to climb Everest and five times they had
failed.
It was October 8th, 2009 when Dutch sailors Chris and John VanTol and Irish veteran, Michael B. Hoey, looked at the path before them. Sail in the coldest place on earth for the 2009 Great Lakes Match Racing Championship: Minnetonka, MN. Five times they came within close reach of the summit and five times they had failed.
The winner of the event would be awarded the coveted Richardson Cup. The Richardson Trophy was established in 1912 by Commodore S. O. Richardson, Jr., of the Toledo Yacht Club, Toledo, Ohio. It is a Sterling Silver Trophy (created by Tiffany & Co) which is the second oldest sailing trophy in US history. The 2009 event was the 70th running of the Richardson Cup.
On Friday, Wayzata Yacht Club and Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota greeted 11 different teams with brisk winds and 45-50 degree temperatures. By Saturday, temperatures had plunged into the 20's and the forecast was for a high of 34. Winds were 15-25 mph with a wind-chill of 18 and a layer of steam blowing from shore to shore. The J/22s were covered with about an inch or so of snow. At the end of this "ice match", Chris Van Tol and team prevail with a 14:1 record over Steve Lowery with a 13-2 match race tally. Thanks to Mike Hoey for the story. For more info.
(Lake Minnetonka, MN)- It was June 18th, 1924 when English mountain climbers George Mallory & Andrew Irvine looked at the path before them. Climb the coldest place on earth: Mt. Everest. Five times they had tried to climb Everest and five times they had
failed.
It was October 8th, 2009 when Dutch sailors Chris and John VanTol and Irish veteran, Michael B. Hoey, looked at the path before them. Sail in the coldest place on earth for the 2009 Great Lakes Match Racing Championship: Minnetonka, MN. Five times they came within close reach of the summit and five times they had failed.
The winner of the event would be awarded the coveted Richardson Cup. The Richardson Trophy was established in 1912 by Commodore S. O. Richardson, Jr., of the Toledo Yacht Club, Toledo, Ohio. It is a Sterling Silver Trophy (created by Tiffany & Co) which is the second oldest sailing trophy in US history. The 2009 event was the 70th running of the Richardson Cup.
On Friday, Wayzata Yacht Club and Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota greeted 11 different teams with brisk winds and 45-50 degree temperatures. By Saturday, temperatures had plunged into the 20's and the forecast was for a high of 34. Winds were 15-25 mph with a wind-chill of 18 and a layer of steam blowing from shore to shore. The J/22s were covered with about an inch or so of snow. At the end of this "ice match", Chris Van Tol and team prevail with a 14:1 record over Steve Lowery with a 13-2 match race tally. Thanks to Mike Hoey for the story. For more info.
GARMIN Hamble Winter Series Rages On!
(Hamble, So'ton, England)- For the Big Boat Series entrants, sponsored this weekend by Wight Vodka, it was the second half of their twelve race schedule that began in tough conditions a fortnight ago. Racing this Saturday commenced in a 15 knot northerly breeze that gradually reduced, and with a falling tide, the course had to shifted to the northern side of the Brambles Banks for the last two of the four scheduled races.
In the IRC class Neil Martin’s J/133 JAMMY DODGER maintained her domination with two more firsts, with Ian Matthews J/122 JINJA also grabbing a win in Race 4. The J/80s were dominated by the irrepressible Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM.
While Saturday had been overcast and chilly, Sunday was the epitome of high pressure October weather, with brilliant sunshine and only just enough breeze to get racing underway. It soon turned into a drifting match, and with only three finishers in the first White Group races, and the bigger boats with little prospect of finishing, racing was abandoned for the day. Even so it had been a beautiful sight, with the brighter coloured spinnakers transforming the normally grey Solent.
Next Sunday’s racing (25th Oct.) continues with the full Winter Series programme for White and Black Group racing. Full details of the 2009 Garmin Hamble Winter Series, plus Hamble Big Boat Series and Autumn Championships results are available here.
In the IRC class Neil Martin’s J/133 JAMMY DODGER maintained her domination with two more firsts, with Ian Matthews J/122 JINJA also grabbing a win in Race 4. The J/80s were dominated by the irrepressible Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM.
While Saturday had been overcast and chilly, Sunday was the epitome of high pressure October weather, with brilliant sunshine and only just enough breeze to get racing underway. It soon turned into a drifting match, and with only three finishers in the first White Group races, and the bigger boats with little prospect of finishing, racing was abandoned for the day. Even so it had been a beautiful sight, with the brighter coloured spinnakers transforming the normally grey Solent.
Next Sunday’s racing (25th Oct.) continues with the full Winter Series programme for White and Black Group racing. Full details of the 2009 Garmin Hamble Winter Series, plus Hamble Big Boat Series and Autumn Championships results are available here.
Norway's Hollender Regatta- J/133 FLIRT Wins
(Oslo, Norway)- Eivind Astrup and his team won the illustrious Hollender Regatta in Norway recently, emblematic of their late summer/early fall offshore sailing championship, dominating a huge class. Here is Eivind's account of what took place in the land of the northern lights:
"We love our boat and we sail our J/133 always as fast as we can. The link below is the results of the main fall event in Norway, the "Hollender" regatta with 330 entries. The distance is 50 nm. I think you will like our class result (1st out of 33 boats) and you will note that we have reasonably good boats behind us. Otherwise, we were 1 min 05 secs from winning overall. Last year, we also won our class and missed the overall victory by 2 mins, so we'll soon be there!
I had the pleasure of helming the boat at a speed of 14-16 knots on flat water for about an hour, attaining 17 several times and a peak speed of 18.5 knots, with 7 guys sitting on the transom. The pressure was such that the cover of the spinnaker sheet melted! As a result we lost control, ended up on the roof and destroyed the sail. A new one was hoisted but the lesson is clear: Under a load like this, the drum has to be watered in order to cool down the sheet. (Ed's note- holy COW that's a lot of HEAT to melt a spinnaker sheet like that-- fair warning to all of us to "grind hard but stay cool"!!). Here is the link.
"We love our boat and we sail our J/133 always as fast as we can. The link below is the results of the main fall event in Norway, the "Hollender" regatta with 330 entries. The distance is 50 nm. I think you will like our class result (1st out of 33 boats) and you will note that we have reasonably good boats behind us. Otherwise, we were 1 min 05 secs from winning overall. Last year, we also won our class and missed the overall victory by 2 mins, so we'll soon be there!
I had the pleasure of helming the boat at a speed of 14-16 knots on flat water for about an hour, attaining 17 several times and a peak speed of 18.5 knots, with 7 guys sitting on the transom. The pressure was such that the cover of the spinnaker sheet melted! As a result we lost control, ended up on the roof and destroyed the sail. A new one was hoisted but the lesson is clear: Under a load like this, the drum has to be watered in order to cool down the sheet. (Ed's note- holy COW that's a lot of HEAT to melt a spinnaker sheet like that-- fair warning to all of us to "grind hard but stay cool"!!). Here is the link.
GARMIN Autumn Championships in England
J/80 and J/109s Tangle For Solent Bragging Rights
(Hamble, So'ton, England- Oct 10-11)- This past weekend saw the J/80s and J/109s race for their Autumn Championships.
The ten boat J/109 One-Design class again saw class leaders David and Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM cruise to a first overall with a 3-1-3-1-1 set of finishes. Guy Knight's team aboard BETH jumped into second overall on the podium with a 4-2-1-4-5 record. And, in third was Adam Wright and Martin Miller racing VELVET ELLIS/ JOUSTER into third with finishes of 5-7-2-2-2.
For the eleven boat J/80 class, it looked like the top three from the weekend before agreed to flip-flop their positions! Thor Askeland proved that his team on ELLE SAPELLE was only warming up from the weekend before and walked off with the J/80 Autumn Championships with a 2-8-1-2-5-1-1 score sheet. Hanging in there as he'd done the week before was Ian Atkins (yea, that Boats.com guy) racing none other than BOATS.COM into second on the podium with a 3-6-5-1-4-3-2 record. John Cooper racing O!! couldn't seem to get a consistent series off but nevertheless managed to avoid too many disastrous decisions on the race track and while starting off with a bullet, rode the roller-coaster to a 1-10-6-4-1-2-5 tally. Full results click here. Regatta Photos by Paul Wyeth.
(Hamble, So'ton, England- Oct 10-11)- This past weekend saw the J/80s and J/109s race for their Autumn Championships.
The ten boat J/109 One-Design class again saw class leaders David and Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM cruise to a first overall with a 3-1-3-1-1 set of finishes. Guy Knight's team aboard BETH jumped into second overall on the podium with a 4-2-1-4-5 record. And, in third was Adam Wright and Martin Miller racing VELVET ELLIS/ JOUSTER into third with finishes of 5-7-2-2-2.
For the eleven boat J/80 class, it looked like the top three from the weekend before agreed to flip-flop their positions! Thor Askeland proved that his team on ELLE SAPELLE was only warming up from the weekend before and walked off with the J/80 Autumn Championships with a 2-8-1-2-5-1-1 score sheet. Hanging in there as he'd done the week before was Ian Atkins (yea, that Boats.com guy) racing none other than BOATS.COM into second on the podium with a 3-6-5-1-4-3-2 record. John Cooper racing O!! couldn't seem to get a consistent series off but nevertheless managed to avoid too many disastrous decisions on the race track and while starting off with a bullet, rode the roller-coaster to a 1-10-6-4-1-2-5 tally. Full results click here. Regatta Photos by Paul Wyeth.
Garmin Hamble Winter Series
J/109s, J/105s and J/80s Rocking the Solent
(Hamble, So'ton, England- Oct 3-4)- October 3rd and 4th was the opening weekend of the annual Hamble River Sailing Club's Winter Series, sponsored by Garmin. On Saturday a strong but steady 250 degree wind produced exciting conditions for the first day of the Hamble Big Boat Series. With a few broken halyards, some crew injuries, and a collision between two yachts, the IRC fleet dwindled from seven starters to three by the third race. Demanding conditions perhaps, but spinnakers were flown throughout as the gusts topped 30 knots.
In the fifteen boat J/109 One-Design class, it appears that David and Kirsty Apthorps J-DREAM continues their winning ways in the J/109 class, leading the pack with a 1-1-1 over Luca Rubinellis's ARIA that has a 2-3-3. In third are Richard and Valerie Griffith sailing OUTRAJEOUS with a 5-2-7 over the two weekends.
The six boat J/105 One-Design class has tight competition with Paul Griffiths in FAY-J just hanging onto the lead by the hair on his chinny-chin-chin by one point (with 2-1-2 finishes) over Simon Curwen in the well-campaigned, hard-charging VOADOR with a 1-2-3 on the board. Lying third for now is Chris Jones JOURNEYMAKER 5 with a 3-4-4.
The seven boat J/80 One-Design class has two perennial class leaders pulling no punches and going at it hammer and tong over six races to date. John Cooper racing O!! with a 2-2-1-1-2-4 record is holding off Mr. BOATS.COM EUROPE Managing Director, Ian Atkins, racing none other than the appropriately named BOATS.COM (who knew?) with a 4-1-4-3-3-2 tally. Not far off the pace in third is Thor Askeland aboard ELLE SAPELLE also showing strong improvement over the two weekends with a 5-4-5-4-1-1 score card.
Full results click here. Photos by Paul Wyeth.
(Hamble, So'ton, England- Oct 3-4)- October 3rd and 4th was the opening weekend of the annual Hamble River Sailing Club's Winter Series, sponsored by Garmin. On Saturday a strong but steady 250 degree wind produced exciting conditions for the first day of the Hamble Big Boat Series. With a few broken halyards, some crew injuries, and a collision between two yachts, the IRC fleet dwindled from seven starters to three by the third race. Demanding conditions perhaps, but spinnakers were flown throughout as the gusts topped 30 knots.
In the fifteen boat J/109 One-Design class, it appears that David and Kirsty Apthorps J-DREAM continues their winning ways in the J/109 class, leading the pack with a 1-1-1 over Luca Rubinellis's ARIA that has a 2-3-3. In third are Richard and Valerie Griffith sailing OUTRAJEOUS with a 5-2-7 over the two weekends.
The six boat J/105 One-Design class has tight competition with Paul Griffiths in FAY-J just hanging onto the lead by the hair on his chinny-chin-chin by one point (with 2-1-2 finishes) over Simon Curwen in the well-campaigned, hard-charging VOADOR with a 1-2-3 on the board. Lying third for now is Chris Jones JOURNEYMAKER 5 with a 3-4-4.
The seven boat J/80 One-Design class has two perennial class leaders pulling no punches and going at it hammer and tong over six races to date. John Cooper racing O!! with a 2-2-1-1-2-4 record is holding off Mr. BOATS.COM EUROPE Managing Director, Ian Atkins, racing none other than the appropriately named BOATS.COM (who knew?) with a 4-1-4-3-3-2 tally. Not far off the pace in third is Thor Askeland aboard ELLE SAPELLE also showing strong improvement over the two weekends with a 5-4-5-4-1-1 score card.
Full results click here. Photos by Paul Wyeth.
ROLEX International Women's Keelboat Championships
Tunnicliffe and Team Capture First Title
(Rochester, New York- October 7-10, 2009)- Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and her team of Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won US SAILING's 2009 Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held at the Rochester Yacht Club, Tunnicliffe and her team were awarded US SAILING's perpetual Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & Gold Datejust presented by Jaimie Carlsen of Rolex Watch U.S.A.
"We're very excited," said Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, moments after returning the dock. "We wanted to win this event for a while and finally we've done it. We're super psyched!" Both Vandemoer and Capozzi also are members of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
After yesterday's disappointing day off from racing, due to lack of suitable wind conditions, the fleet was anxious to get out onto the Lake Ontario race course. With only one day of racing and three races completed, Tunnicliffe lead the 35-boat fleet with a narrow two-point margin over Jennifer Provan (Toronto, Ontario, CAN). The final standings would come down to today, the final day schedule for racing. The RYC Race Committee, lead by Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart, took advantage of today's spectacular conditions - 15-18 knots of wind - and held three races.
"We were really happy about our first day," continued Tunnicliffe, 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "None of us have fleet raced for at least two months, and we are all a bit rusty in our fleet race tactics. Once we got a chance to get our heads around the tactics, we got locked in and dialed in, and we did really, really well."
Her team's five-race score line was 3-6-1-1-1 and with an unbeatable margin they decided not to participate in the final race. "It's one of those big decisions, do you race or do you not? We felt we wanted to stay out of everyone's way. We knew it was close for second (place), so thought we would stay out of the way and not influence anything."
The final race, with 10-12 knots of wind, was won by Nicole Breault (Old Lyme, Conn.) with Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in second and Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) in third.
"It was so nice to have good breeze," said Breault. "The wave action made the shifty-ness really about boat speed, and we finally started to click as a team. It felt really good and the day was great. We wish there were a couple more days of racing, but that's the way it goes."
Second overall was Cory Sertl, who counts this regatta as her 11th (including two wins in 1985 and 2001). She clearly relished having the regatta on her home waters at her home club. "It was really fun sailing and great to be out there," said Sertl, a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Her 'Team Lucy' included Annemarie Cook, Jane Mastrandrea and Amy Moran. Sertl's and Moran's daughters, Katja and Merritt, sailed together with the world renowned founder of TeamOne Newport, Martha Parker ("Princess Martha"), on the bow to keep them out of trouble and headed generally in the right direction.. They finished 13th overall. "They did just fine," continued a beaming Sertl. "They were really fast today off the starting line and held it for a really long time. Their speed was awesome today."
For Cronin, who won the regatta in 1991 as crew, her overall third place finish is satisfying. According to Cronin, who marks this regatta as her ninth, her results were starting to look like a terrible trend. "I won this event in 1999," she said. "I was second in 2001, third in '03, fourth in '05, and that was my goal, to break the curse.
"We had a great day today," continued Cronin of her 'Team Spidey,' Kim Couranz, Margaret Podich and Kate Fears. "We worked really well together, and I thought it was a challenging day of sailing because the waves were ahead of the breeze." Three teams finished the regatta tied on points - Cronin, Dominique Provoyeur (Cape Town, South Africa) and Jennifer Provan. A count back system, detailed in the sailing instructions, was used to break the tie, putting Provoyeur into fourth and Provan in fifth.
"We can't really be too disappointed," said Provoyeur, who has competed in this regatta four times. "The fourth is our best result yet, but obviously when you are so close you think what could have gone better. I woke up this morning a little anxious for the final day of racing and knowing there was a bit on. There was breeze and we were in a position close to first. We tried to take the attitude that we want to go sailboat racing, but the wind was up and the swell was bigger than what we had had. We tried to start well and see what would happen, really one race at a time." Provoyeur sailed with Louise Meek, Tiffany Baring-Gould and Saskia Butcher.
Rounding out the top 10 teams: Jennifer Provan (CAN) in fifth, Marieke Poulie (Maarssen, NED) in sixth, Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in seventh, Breault in eighth, JoAnn Fisher (Annapolis, Md.) in ninth and Kaitlin Storck (Huntington, N.Y.).
Until this regatta, Tunnicliffe had held the record as the youngest competitor, having set the mark as a 14-year-old skipper in 1997. At that time, she confided that one day she would win the regatta. "I always thought it would be cool to do really well one day," she said. "This is my fifth time sailing the regatta, my fourth time skippering it. We were getting to the point that we need to get up there sometime soon. I'm happy we sailed really well together and did so well. I have a fabulous crew. Debbie, Molly and Liz sailed together a few times before, and the chemistry has worked perfectly. It makes my life so easy on the race course and they make me look really good."
For more information- where fans around the world can go to view photos from official event photographer Dan Nerney. Daily highlights videos produced by Tucker and crew from T2P.tv
(Rochester, New York- October 7-10, 2009)- Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and her team of Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won US SAILING's 2009 Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held at the Rochester Yacht Club, Tunnicliffe and her team were awarded US SAILING's perpetual Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & Gold Datejust presented by Jaimie Carlsen of Rolex Watch U.S.A.
"We're very excited," said Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, moments after returning the dock. "We wanted to win this event for a while and finally we've done it. We're super psyched!" Both Vandemoer and Capozzi also are members of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
After yesterday's disappointing day off from racing, due to lack of suitable wind conditions, the fleet was anxious to get out onto the Lake Ontario race course. With only one day of racing and three races completed, Tunnicliffe lead the 35-boat fleet with a narrow two-point margin over Jennifer Provan (Toronto, Ontario, CAN). The final standings would come down to today, the final day schedule for racing. The RYC Race Committee, lead by Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart, took advantage of today's spectacular conditions - 15-18 knots of wind - and held three races.
"We were really happy about our first day," continued Tunnicliffe, 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "None of us have fleet raced for at least two months, and we are all a bit rusty in our fleet race tactics. Once we got a chance to get our heads around the tactics, we got locked in and dialed in, and we did really, really well."
Her team's five-race score line was 3-6-1-1-1 and with an unbeatable margin they decided not to participate in the final race. "It's one of those big decisions, do you race or do you not? We felt we wanted to stay out of everyone's way. We knew it was close for second (place), so thought we would stay out of the way and not influence anything."
The final race, with 10-12 knots of wind, was won by Nicole Breault (Old Lyme, Conn.) with Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in second and Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) in third.
"It was so nice to have good breeze," said Breault. "The wave action made the shifty-ness really about boat speed, and we finally started to click as a team. It felt really good and the day was great. We wish there were a couple more days of racing, but that's the way it goes."
Second overall was Cory Sertl, who counts this regatta as her 11th (including two wins in 1985 and 2001). She clearly relished having the regatta on her home waters at her home club. "It was really fun sailing and great to be out there," said Sertl, a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Her 'Team Lucy' included Annemarie Cook, Jane Mastrandrea and Amy Moran. Sertl's and Moran's daughters, Katja and Merritt, sailed together with the world renowned founder of TeamOne Newport, Martha Parker ("Princess Martha"), on the bow to keep them out of trouble and headed generally in the right direction.. They finished 13th overall. "They did just fine," continued a beaming Sertl. "They were really fast today off the starting line and held it for a really long time. Their speed was awesome today."
For Cronin, who won the regatta in 1991 as crew, her overall third place finish is satisfying. According to Cronin, who marks this regatta as her ninth, her results were starting to look like a terrible trend. "I won this event in 1999," she said. "I was second in 2001, third in '03, fourth in '05, and that was my goal, to break the curse.
"We had a great day today," continued Cronin of her 'Team Spidey,' Kim Couranz, Margaret Podich and Kate Fears. "We worked really well together, and I thought it was a challenging day of sailing because the waves were ahead of the breeze." Three teams finished the regatta tied on points - Cronin, Dominique Provoyeur (Cape Town, South Africa) and Jennifer Provan. A count back system, detailed in the sailing instructions, was used to break the tie, putting Provoyeur into fourth and Provan in fifth.
"We can't really be too disappointed," said Provoyeur, who has competed in this regatta four times. "The fourth is our best result yet, but obviously when you are so close you think what could have gone better. I woke up this morning a little anxious for the final day of racing and knowing there was a bit on. There was breeze and we were in a position close to first. We tried to take the attitude that we want to go sailboat racing, but the wind was up and the swell was bigger than what we had had. We tried to start well and see what would happen, really one race at a time." Provoyeur sailed with Louise Meek, Tiffany Baring-Gould and Saskia Butcher.
Rounding out the top 10 teams: Jennifer Provan (CAN) in fifth, Marieke Poulie (Maarssen, NED) in sixth, Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in seventh, Breault in eighth, JoAnn Fisher (Annapolis, Md.) in ninth and Kaitlin Storck (Huntington, N.Y.).
Until this regatta, Tunnicliffe had held the record as the youngest competitor, having set the mark as a 14-year-old skipper in 1997. At that time, she confided that one day she would win the regatta. "I always thought it would be cool to do really well one day," she said. "This is my fifth time sailing the regatta, my fourth time skippering it. We were getting to the point that we need to get up there sometime soon. I'm happy we sailed really well together and did so well. I have a fabulous crew. Debbie, Molly and Liz sailed together a few times before, and the chemistry has worked perfectly. It makes my life so easy on the race course and they make me look really good."
For more information- where fans around the world can go to view photos from official event photographer Dan Nerney. Daily highlights videos produced by Tucker and crew from T2P.tv
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