Steve McManus- J/109 owner of SAYKADOO has been on an upward trajectory since getting his team rolling in the past year on his J/109. Local Annapolis papers had a nice profile on Steve and his team this past fall. It was entitled "SAYKADOO Tops Tight Wednesday Night Class" by Bill Wagner. "There are not many classes more competitive than PHRF A2 of the Annapolis Yacht Club's Wednesday Night Races. Four of the thirteen registered boats have the exact same rating (75) while several others are extremely close to that figure.
That is evidenced by the fact four different boats won a race during Series 2, which wrapped up last Wednesday. SAYKAYDOO, the J/109 skippered by Steve McManus, did not win any of the five races held between June 10 and July 29, but nonetheless wound up capturing PHRF A2 Class for Series 2.
"The whole fleet is very evenly matched. The rating band is extremely small among the top seven or eight boats", said McManus. "It was simply a matter of consistency for our boat. We weren't able to win a race, but we were always in the money." Indeed, SAYKADOO counted three seconds and a third in totaling nine points, just one better than Jeffrey Caruso's Ben 36.7 SHOCK WAVE. Only five points separated the first and fifth place boats.
"I'm blessed to have a regular crew and we do a lot of cross-training so that people can fill in other positions if someone can't make it out for whatever reason", says McManus. Dave Robinson (pit), Stuart Numan (jib, spinnaker), Bob Taylor (tactics, bow), Jack Hunt (jib, spinnaer), Don Handy (main, bow), Carl Turek (pit) and Marie Dallacqua (mast) comprise the regular crew aboard SAYKADOO, which also won Series 1. In fact, McManus is on a bit of a roll, having won Series 2 and placed second in Series 1 last year. "We've been doing the Wednesday Night Series for about six years and we seem to be getting the hang of what it takes to be successful", he said.
Competition was equally close in two other PHRF classes...with Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN second in Class A1.
In the nineteen boat J/105 class, it all came down to the wire with the Salvesen/Lewis team on MIRAGE edging out Peter Schellie on FREEDOM in the battle of the family-based boats. In third was Jim Konigsberg's INIGO.
For the J/30s, Steve and Katherine Bardelman on VALHALLA vanquished their fleet of eight boats, leading home Bill Wallop's CANNONBALL and Ron Anderson's INSATIABLE in second and third, respectively.
The J/35s had a wonderful turnout this year with seven boats. Barry Moss's BAD COMPANY won by a landslide over the perennial competitor AUNT JEAN, ably raced by the team of Kaminer/Christofel in second and Mark McGonigle rounding out the podium in third onboard WINDEPENDENT.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
J/24 South American Championship (Los Sud Americanos)
Argentinean Rossi and SHARK Team Win
(Costa Del Sol, Brazil)- The Argentine team, led by Alejandro Rossi, won the South American Class J24 which ended on Saturday in South Sailboat In rank he was vice commander Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. And the Uruguayan Diego Garcia, who began leading the competition, finished third. The three final races were very exciting with heated competition among the top five in the fleet; in fact nearly full blown match racing between the current J/24 World Champion and the ultimate race winner.
When crossing in 3rd place at the finish line of the last race, the crew of the boat SHARK celebrated their victory nearly shouting themselves hoarse. Skipper Alejandro Rossi, 34, had won for the first time the South American title after sailing for fifteen years in the J/24 class. "The Brazilian, Mauritius Santa Cruz, offered tough competition on the race course, it was important to sail with great speed and be sensitive to changes in the wind. Santa Cruz is three times J/24 World Champion, so we expected a tough battle," said Alejandro. Another element of difficulty was the weather, pointed out Mr. Rossi. "The wind streaks were complicated, with very fickle wind, both in direction and intensity and with a lot of rain."The Mauritius Rio Santa Cruz team from Brazil sailed better in the last few races, but it was not enough for the title. Mauritius regretted having started the racing in bad form on the first day. "We lacked a bit of calmness and focus in the beginning. I sailed with a new crew. Sailing as a team is very important and we learned fast. All who were with me here are excellent," said the current J/24 World Champion. Santa Cruz said his team was Andre "Cheek" Fonseca, Marcos Grael, Georgia Roberts and Frederick Sidou.
Finishing third not too far off the pace from the two leaders, Rossi and Santa Cruz, was Uruguayan Diego Garcia, finishing with 26 points.
After the bad weather during the week, forcing cancellation of racing on Thursday, conditions were favorable for good sailing the last few days. The wind in Guaíba was east, with an average wind speed of 12 knots. This meant everyone was fast, so you had to sail nearly perfectly to maintain lanes and get the right wind shifts.
Captain of the Brazilian J/24 Class, Cláudio Ruschel said he was pleasantly surprised with the fleet turnout-- "We have a promising future", he says. Ruschel was fifth in this year's J/24 South American Championship.
The J/24 South Americans sailed nine races from Wednesday until Saturday with a total participation of fourteen boats from Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. The 2010 edition will be held from 15 to 20 November in La Punta, Callao, Lima, Peru. For regatta, sailing, information.
Garmin Hamble Winter Series Postpone Sailing
J/109, J/105 and J/80 Fleets Restlessly Idle
(Solent, Hamble, England)- This past weekend the Winter Series saw all racing canceled, postponing in effect until next week. The fleet made some spirited attempts to work around what amounted to a near hurricane, e.g. the double-red flags on the Beaufort Wind Scale - Force 10. However, the strength and the persistence of the Low was far too overwhelming to even consider venturing forth onto the infamous Solent. Can't imagine what a 6 knots current again gusts up to 60 knots might look like-- how about a webcam mounted on a titanium tripod on the Bramble Bank in the middle of the Solent-- would be kinda cool!In short, the UK MET Office issued all kinds of dire warnings. The BBC was positively shrill...worried perhaps that train service would again cease operations because leaves blown into the air-intakes would stop the trains running again. As one of the Race Officers put it, "latest info we have is SW 25 - 30 kts, with gusts to 45 kts, increasing towards midday with averages of 35 kts with gusts to near 60 kts in thundery showers. This forecast has increased again since last night and racing is clearly impractical." Good on ya, the pubs clearly appreciated the windfall business. For more regatta and sailing info
J Sailing Calendar Is A Hit!
J/95 Wins SAIL Magazine's 2010 Best Boats "Performance Sailboat" Award
Thanks to its shoal-keel, the J/95 unlocks entire areas to one-design racing that were previously unable to accommodate fixed-keel sailboats. This is beginning to happen now in such areas as the Chesapeake, Florida and the lakes in Europe. As SAIL said, "If you want a grin-inducing ride every time you go sailing, the J/95 could be the boat for you."
Learn more about sailing the J/95. SAIL Magazine Review
J/111 Rocketing Out of the Blocks
Saturday, November 21, 2009
2010 J/Sailing Calendar- HOT Off The Press!
The Ultimate Gift for People Who Love Sailing!
The beautiful J/Sailing Calendar is for J/Boat owners and J sailors who love and appreciate the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world is getting rave reviews.
Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, the stunning photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. Enjoy the color and excitement of J sailing with these gorgeous photos. The J/Sailing Calendar features photos of flying J/80s, a wildly planing J/100, a powerful J/122 surging upwind, a serene sail on the Maine coast on a J/42, J/120s battling up the San Francisco waterfront and tranquil shots off the world's most beautiful harbors and coasts on J/22s, J/24s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and more. For those who love the sailing lifestyle, it's the ultimate gift for yourself, friends and family.
Please visit the J/Sailing Calendar page to preview what each month looks like and how nicely our large wall calendar format works for your home or office. Go to this link and order yours today:
http://www.jboats.com/sailing-calendar
Commodores Trophy- Espana
ZEIK Wins Big In Gale Force Winds
(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.
On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters. The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day. Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races. However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former.
For more sailing information and regatta results.
(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.
On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters. The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day. Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races. However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former.
For more sailing information and regatta results.
Bancantabria Sailing Cup
(Santander, Spain- 8-9 November)- The forecast for bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, with orange alert announced and forecast winds of force 7 to 8, meant that the Third Act (Series) of the Bancantabria Sailing Cup was going to be an experience to say the least. Fortunately, the Race Committee elected to setup the courses in the inner bay, therefore enabling the J/80s to have two fun, very windy races. Only twelve of the thirty boats raced in the demanding conditions. And the end of the weekend, it was Tono Gorostegui who maintained their composure to maintain the overall lead sailing FUNDESTIC.
Leaders for the weekend (Act III) were Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS; then RAITA finished second and Tono's FUNDESTIC got third. The provisional Overall standings for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup has Tono's FUNDESTIC in first with 8 points, Paul Santurde's SPACIO in second with 12 points and Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS in third with 13 points.
For more sailing and regatta information.
French J/80 Nationals
(Cherbourg, France- Nov. 7-11)- A record turnout of forty eight J/80s showed up for this year's French J/80 National Championship in Cherbourg. The hometown hosts were fabulous and put on quite a show despite the somewhat difficult weather conditions they were presented with over the course of the four day regatta. Light shifty four knot winds and flat water to moderate rolling seas blowing upwards of twenty knots offered the fleet tremendous challenges. It was very difficult to stay out of the bottom of the fleet and maintain some kind of consistency.
However, Luc Nadal and his team aboard GANJA sailed magnificently, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the board to win by nearly thirty points over his next competitor. Their record of 2-1-9-1-7-1-1 for 22 points speaks for itself...four firsts was unequalled in the fleet. Second overall was Jean-Yves Jaffrezic racing ATLANTIS with a record of 5-8-21-12-1-3-1 for 51 points, beating JACUZZI on a tie-breaker. Ludovic Gilet raced the renowned JACUZZI into third place with a 1-6-13-3-5-19-4 also with 51 points but lost tie on most firsts. Fourth was the famous French woman sailor Christine Briand just three points back sailing J ILE DE RE and finishing behind her was Frederic Denis on ECOLE NAVALE CG29 with 63 points.
On a personal note, it was nice to see Pierre Follenfant- a former 470 and FD sailor whom Drake and Stu sailed against when they were kids in the 470 class in the mid-1970s sailing a respectable series to finish 11th in this highly competitive fleet! We're glad to see old warhorses like us can still hang in there with the top players in the class!
For more sailing and regatta information.
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