J's Dominate BVI Spring Regatta

BAD GIRL is Bad, CAYENITTA is Grande!

(Roadtown, Tortola, BVI)- Once again, it was a picture perfect day in the British Virgin Islands for the last day of racing of the BVI Spring Regatta, with sun and wind all day long. There were a number of battles out on the race course which were fought to the very end providing plenty of action on the SOL, Norman and LIME One Design Race areas.

BAD GIRL, St. Croix's Rob Armstrong's J/100, won Racing Class C.  BAD GIRL sparred with the BVI's Dave West's Melges 32, Jurakan, all weekend in Racing C. "In the first race today," says BAD GIRL trimmer, Carlos Skov, we definitely let Jurakan back in the game. Just one point separated us. The second race, we put our heads down, sailed well and ended up beating the two Melges in the last five minutes. It was like that all weekend. The level of competition has really come up and we think its because we all push each other."

In Racing D Class, the J/80 OTRA KOSA sailed by Kike Gonzalez and buddies from Puerto Rico took 3rd. The well-sailed classic J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7, kept in great shape by Paul Davis from USVI finished 4th.  The brand spanking new J/95 SHAMROCK VIII sailed all over the Caribbean this winter by Tom Mullen finished a respectable 5th for a shoal-draft, centerboard cruiser!

A steady presence on the Caribbean circuit has been Rick Wesslund's crew sailing his J/120 EL OCASO.  Having put thousands of miles on their boat, they're insistence on having fun is infectious.  They were rewarded for their efforts again by taking second overall in Racing E- Racer/Cruiser.

The competition in Racing F- Racer/Cruiser was tough! The J/105 UMAKUA sailed by Julio Reguero from Puerto Rico finished 3rd- Julio was winning class until they got DSQ'd in race 6.  The other J/105 ABRACADABRA, raced by another crew from Puerto Rico and Carlos Camachio finished 4th. The J/40 NEPENTHE sailed by Bob Read from Barrington, RI managed a 6th for a pure cruising boat.  And, the girls sailing the J/33 BOOMERANG- Pat Nolan- had a wonderful last day and managed to get a respectable 7th.

As noted above, it just seems that Tony Sanpere is on a roll-- perhaps far longer than anyone can imagine!  Tony's J/36 CAYENITTA GRANDE simply took all the marbles in BVI Performance Cruising Class-- winning by a significant margin with three firsts!  And, it also looked like a J/Cruising class!  Third was the J/46 MISS MAJIC sailed Jim Baus and lying 5th in the J/160 AVATAR was Alan Fouger.

As usual, the most intense, nail-biting finish came from the IC/24 course. It came down to the final rounding of the leeward mark in the last of 21 races to determine the winner in the IC/24 class. "I saw the door open and I took it," says Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo, about the maneuver that put the necessary three boats in-between his ORION and closest competitor, TEAM LIME, to win the class by one point.  TEAM LIME, sailed by the BVI's Colin Rathbun, had a three-point advantage going into the last race. "We had a horrible rounding and then a big shift," says Rathbun, who finished second by one point. "But, it was exciting and a lot of fun." INTAC, raced by the BVI's Mark Plaxton, finished third in the nine-boat class.

Seventeen-year-old BVI sailor, DonTae' Hodge, is no stranger to sailing IC-J/24s. He's crewed aboard the modified J/24-design since he was a pre-teen and last year took first as a skipper in the Premier's Cup and third in the Nation's Cup, two events raced out of Tortola. What was different about sailing this weekend is that Hodge met his crew for the first time this morning on the dock before the races started. "I started communicating more as the day went on and I got my confidence and we all worked in sync together," says Hodge, who raced aboard Latitude 18.

This year, members of the press were invited to sail in the IC/24 fleet. Two journalists, San Francisco's Paige Brooks from SAILING ANARCHY and Efrain Rivera from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, were among Hodge's crew. "This is the first time I've seen the boat," says Brooks. "I don't like the J/24, but I love the open cockpit in the IC/24." Rivera added, "It's my first time sailing an IC/24. DonTae' is an excellent driver, so it was fun. It's real hands on. You're in the whirlwind of everything. It's a great idea to put the press on these boats." See Paige Brooks account below in J/Community.

Not at the top of the heap in Racer Cruiser Class but first at the weather mark in the second race on the last day, Pat Nolan's J/33, BOOMERANG, and her all women crew, were leading by a full minute. "It was great," says Nolan, who operates Sistership Sailing School in the BVI. Her crew are all former students. "The competition in our class is very keen and we're largely inexperienced," says Katie Sharp, from northern Virginia. "Don't get me wrong; we like sailing with the fellas, but, it's also nice to kick the boy's butts too."

Of note, the BVI Spring Regatta is the last race in the CORT (Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle) Series. Winners of the series are as follows:  Spinnaker A- 1st- BAD GIRL- Robert Armstrong's J/100; Spinnaker B- 2nd- MAGNIFICENT 7- Paul Davis' J/27; Performance Cruising: 1st- CAYENNITA GRANDE- Tony Sanpere's J/36; IC-J/24- 1ST- LIME- Colin Rathbun.    For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing info.    Photo credits: Yachtshots BVI

SNIM Enjoys Spectacular Mistral

J/122 J Lance IV Excels

(Marseilles, France)- It was a grandiose final in Marseilles to round off the SNIM (International Nautical Mediterranean Week), where a series of races were launched in the northern harbour in a steady 20-25 knots of NW wind and a big swell after two days of Mistral. And when the Mistral comes into play, the spectacle is well worth a look: surfing, broaches to windward and leeward and a lot of boats heeling a bit too much!  It has to be said that the tough conditions have forged the SNIM's reputation over the years, to the extent that today it has become a real trademark of the competition.

For a lot of crews the SNIM marks the end of the winter and the weather really threw everything at the competitors. With Southerly wind, Easterly wind and then a steady Northerly, followed by a powerful Mistral, there really was something for everyone. “That’s what the SNIM is all about: blue, white and wind” resumed the President of the Société Nautique, Bernard Amiel.

In IRC Class 2 with twelve boats, the J/122 J LANCE IV sailed by George Asperti and crew reveled in the windy conditions to sail a nice series and finish third in a very competitive class.  Sailing in IRC Class 3 with twenty-three boats was Phillipe De Sainges in his J/109 GALANGA, getting just sixth amongst some fierce competitors.  Another J/109 racing in an IRC configuration with conventional spinnaker pole was Richard Burton's JET LAG, getting just eighth place after a few bad races going the wrong way.  The lone J/92 JIN-TONIC sailed by Bernard Daurelle racing against fourteen boats in IRC Class 5 was third overall!    For more information on SNIM Sailing results.   Photo credits by Gilles Martin-Raget  

J/80s Dominate SPI OUEST Race Week

ATLANTIS  Dominates Field of French Sailing Legends

(La Trinite Sur Mer, France)-  This year's SPI Ouest fleet was blessed with good racing and an experienced committee was able to get off a full flight of races for all three days for all three courses.  The winds were strong, mostly offshore NNE and blowing with one moderate spell (somewhat similar to what they saw in Marseilles for SNIM).  The 93 boat J/80 fleet, by far the largest fleet at SPI OUEST, had some tight racing behind the runaway leader, Louis Sambron racing ATLANTIS.  The J/24s enjoyed tight racing as did the J/105 and J/109 fleet.  Over on the handicap course, the various J's had a tougher time getting off the competitive, crowded starting lines and picking the shifts to stay in contention.

The talk of La Trinite and the French sailing community was the domination of the 93 boat J/80 class by Louis Sambron sailing ATLANTIS. Sailing to  five firsts, a second and fifth in the first seven races, Team ATLANTIS didn't sail the last race to win by 32 points!  Quite an achievement when you have some of France's more renowned sailing talent and legends like Pierre Follenfant, Bruno Trouble, Christine Briand, French J/80 National Champion Luc Nadal and Yves Tabarly.  With teams representing Italy, England, Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden it was clear to most competitors that it was not going to be difficult to be consistent to do well in the event with so many good sailors fighting to get off the starting line.  Nevertheless, behind ATLANTIS's remarkable performance, that view held true for all other competitors.   Pellisier sailed VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE to second place just three points in front of Pierre Follenfant on TBS.  Christine Briand sailed very well to finish fourth overall and was Top Woman for the event!

On the J/105 and J/109 class course, there was a good regatta for the boats vying for top honors.  At the end, Blanchard's J'ADORE finished first by staying out of trouble, winning by just three points, despite having to drop a DNF/ 11th in the fourth windy race.  In second was Tostivint's J CROIS PAS sailing quite consistently, but having to eat a sixth in the ninth race and tossing an 11th/DNF in the seventh just to be a contender.  Third was the most consistent boat in the fleet, Barouch's J'VOLE finishing only three points back and tossing only a fifth!  Were it a no throw-out series, Barouch and team on J'VOLE would've tied for first but lost the tie-breaker!

In the J/24s, Aubert on JULIA finished strongly with two firsts in the last two races to win over Lemaistre racing MARTA and Cahto racing COUTOT ROEHRING.   For more SPI Ouest Regatta and Sailing information  

J/24 "BITBURGER" North Americans

(Seattle, WA)- Over two weekends in May, J/24 sailors will compete for up to four berths in the 2011 World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and slots for two countries in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. The World Championship and Pan Am berths will be awarded as follows:  (1) at NOOD, berths will go to the top boat from the “Western Region”—boats hailing from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, California, Arizona, Nevada or Utah (e.g. this event doubles as the Western Regional Champs); (2) at the North Americans, one berth will go to the top previously unqualified boat regardless of the country of origin. In addition, the top two U.S. sailors who have not previously qualified will get invitations; (3) the regatta has been named a Pan-Am Games country qualifier because J/24s will be used for the keelboat competition at the 2011 games.

For more information on the J/24 NA's and NOOD Western Regionals.  

J/CUP 2010 France

(Hyeres, France)- This year's fourth edition of the J/CUP in the Mediterranean will be sailed from June 4th to 6th off the island of Ill de Porquerolles, just south off the coast of Hyeres, France.  The island of Porquerolles will, again, be dressed in all her finery to host this year's event. The sailing is beautiful, if not spectacular, and the hosts are looking forward to welcoming J sailors from all over Europe.  A fleet of twenty-five J/24s, J/92s, J/100s, J/109s, J/122s and J/133s participated in last year's event.  We hope the defending champions from Yacht Club de Monaco (the J/24 "TOPP TOO" sailed by the Rodelato Brothers) and their friends show up again along the J/122 KAYA and the J/109 MAJOR TOM who joined them on the podium.  Great sailing and, most fun of all, fantastic food and wine will be part of the weekend's festivities at the vineyards and waterfront restaurants on this wonderful island. Will the popular band "KASHMIR" show up for this year's event?  Come join us and find out!  For more J/Cup Med Regatta information, please contact Pierre DUCHEIN at K-YACHTING/ J-BOATS Méditerranée.  Email- pierre@k-yachting.com or Call +33(0)498 003 846 or web http://www.k-yachting.com

  

Jen Edney Photography- she did a magnificent job of shooting the J/24s in the recent Regata Copa Mexico event in March.  She dropped us a quick note since some of here girl friends in the area also started sailing on J/24s in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.  Said Jen, "I had the incredible opportunity to photograph two amazing female athletes. Both Olympians, Tania Elias Calles and Lisa Ross. A top Mexican sailor, Tania  just recently achieved a new Guinness Record for distance by sailing by wind alone in a laser sailboat from Los Cabos to Riviera Nayarit. Her next step is to sail from Cancun to Puerto Progreso in 2011, as part of her route to the Olympic Games in London in 2012. After competing in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Lisa is currently sailing and training full time, working towards the goal of representing Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games. Their coach, Rosie Chapman is an incredible athlete herself and is the new Nova Scotia Sailing Team Coach. Rosie, is from the UK where she was a member of the Great Britain national Sailing Team and has a number of years of coaching experience. Cheers ladies!"

To see some cool photos of the girls sailing Lasers and more of the J/24s in Bahia de Banderas, Mexico, please go to- http://jenedney.wordpress.com/  

J/80 Champion Racing IMOCA 60 New York-Barcelona

J/80 champion Spanish sailor, Antonio ("Toño") Piris from Santander, is skippering in the New York-Barcelona Race in IMOCA 60s.  You'll have seen his name frequently pop up in reports of the extremely competitive J/80 fleet racing off Santander, especially in this last Winter Series.  Great training to keep you sharp offshore in a 3,000 match race!! Toño began sailing in the Optimist class and soon moved on to the Laser, becoming runner-up in the Spanish national championships in 1981, and later winning in the youth category , as well as taking part in the Junior IYRU Laser World Championships in Portugal. He has sailed on boats across many different classes, such as J/24s, J/80s, IOR, IMS, IACC, TP52, as well as having taken part in the building process of many of them: Hispania, Galicia Pescanova, EF Education y EF Language, España 92, Rioja de España, Bravo España, Caixa Galicia and Iberdrola.  Read more about this epic assault on a Trans-Atlantic record with two IMOCA 60s racing.  http://www.ny-bcn.org/en/index.jsp   

US Armed Forces Sailing Team Sailing J/24s

Six U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Sailors comprising the U.S. Armed Forces Sailing Team competed in a J/24 Match Racing event against representatives from 21 countries at the 44th World Military Sailing Championship March 13-21. Hosted for the first time by the Kingdom of Bahrain, the World Military Sailing Championship was hosted by the International Military Sports Council, which is headquartered in Belgium and boasts 122 military member nations worldwide.  The main mission of the International Military Sports Competition is fostering friendship through sport and enhancing military-to-military ties.

The U.S. team is part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Armed Forces Sports Program, which promotes goodwill and a positive image of the armed services through sports, encourages physical fitness by promoting a highly competitive sports program and provides the avenue for military athletes to participate in national and international competitions.  The U.S. team spent five days practicing in J/24 sailboats at J World in Key West, FL, prior to the match races at the Bahrain Sailing Club's Al Jazayir beach.  The Team finished #15 out of 21 with Italy, Russia and Turkey taking the top three places.

Team Members: CAPT Eric Irwin, USN - Senior US Military Delegate-  Newport RI; CDR Jay Cavalieri, USN - Team Captain/Skipper, San Diego CA; LT Nicole Auth, USCG-  Pearl Harbor HI; LTjg Brittani Koroknay, USCG-  Hampton Roads VA; LTjg Abby Lafond, USCG- Portland, OR; AN Michael Fleck, USN-  Boston, MA.  The team members, who had been selected earlier this year by submitting resumes to the DoD Armed Forces Sports Program, had never met before their first practice on March 5.  To learn more about opportunities to participate in the U.S. military's sports program, visit the Web site at http://www.armedforcessports.com   

J/44 Cruising in Greece

Christos Patsavos sent us a recent note and photo of his J/44 from Athens, Greece- "I am a happy owner of a J/44 based in Athens, Greece and I am cruising, day sail or racing occassionaly.  I wonder if I could get in touch with other J/44 owners in US and would appreciate to have your advice about this possibility. Kind regards, Christos!"  For you J/44 owners, you can reach Christos at email- "patsos2002@yahoo.gr"   

Australian J/122 Sails Maiden Voyage off Sydney

Australian J/122 MARTA JEAN Sailed Her Maiden Voyage recently from Sydney to Newcastle.  Here's a report from Ray Entwistle - "For the start of this story we’ve borrowed the tune from an old Billy Joel song– see if you can pick it..... Its 9am on a Saturday, the south-easterly breeze is kicking in, We’re sailing up to Newcastle, the maiden voyage of the J/122 - ‘Marta Jean’.  Lah de dah, de de da’ah..........  That’s the extent of our combined creative talent, so it’s back to our usual narrative.  The Rae family’s pride and joy ‘Marta Jean’, a new J/122, left Greenwich Flying Squadron, west of Sydney Harbour Bridge with water and fuel tanks half full and the dockbox fitted holding the inflatable, for her maiden voyage up to her new home base, Newcastle, about 70nm north of Sydney.  She had spent her first couple of months at Greenwich, nestled close by to 2 other J/122’s, Lithium and Jackpot.

We motored under Sydney Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and hoisted the mainsail in the lee of Watsons Bay.  After a quick radio check reporting into Sydney Marine Rescue, 3 on board, destination Newcastle, zeroed the speedo and a few minutes later we sailed through Sydney Harbour Heads. A couple of 44 footers were half a mile ahead also heading north. Good, something to chase, even though we were in full cruising mode.  ‘Marta Jean’ dipped her bows into the Tasman Sea swell and with the wind now at 16 knots over the starboard beam  we surfed down the first big wave and hit 12.4 knots, with the owner Steve on the helm grinning from ear to ear and commenting “it really does what it says on the label“. We knew it was going to be a nice days sailing. Manly and Dee Why beaches soon slid past and within the hour we were clearing Long Reef  - the other two larger yachts we had passed were already specks in the rear view. Twenty five miles further north we radioed to Gosford Marine Rescue, it was almost midday and we were making great time. We tested the auto pilot in the two metre swell but not for long, we were having too good a time surfing down the waves at the wheel.

Averaging over eight knots, we soon found ourselves checking in with the chirpy Swansea Marine Rescue on the shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie, as we continued to surge north. We were already 75% through our journey.  We were now sailing through all the gigantic coal ships which were at anchor waiting for their turn to be called into port to take their precious loads to all parts of Asia.  We were also pushing 2 knots of the Australian eastern current but with the wind dropping to 12 knots and swinging a little more south we hoisted the spinnaker and sped towards Nobby’s Head beach.  Nobby’s Head was made famous when the giant coal carrier “Pasha Bulker “made global news when she grounded on the beach in a huge winter storm in June 2007. After gybing a few angles we dropped the spinnaker and sailed into Newcastle Harbour on a twenty knot squall hitting 12.3 knots and being amused by the fact that we had finished as we started. We found ‘Marta Jeans’ new pen and checked our watch and instruments. We covered the 70.8 n.miles in eight and a half hours averaging 8.35 knots. Ten minutes later we were sat in the new Newcastle Yacht Club with a well earned beer in hand and watched a rain squall cover the harbour, wondering how far back the other two boats were that started their journey just ahead of us from Sydney.