OLJ SPIRIT HATAMURI Wins J/80 Italians

(Chiavari, Italy- May 13-15)- In their usual sublime, easy-going but elegant style, the Yacht Club Chiavari hosted the J/80 Italian Championships.  The fleet was blessed with nice weather, warm temperatures and nice breezes across the Mediterranean Sea.  It was a closely fought regatta for the top two and perhaps an even tougher fight for third spot between three boats over the course of seven races.  The first day was light offshore scirocco breeze of only 5-8 knots that died in the afternoon, permitting two races to be run.  On the second day, more scirocco breezes from ESE of around 150 degrees and never more than 10 knots, but it was sufficient to get in three races.  At the end of the day, it was time to return to port and happy hour at the Marquee Club, with beer, white wine, peas, salami and cheese for everyone!  The third day started out with storm conditions blowing 30-35 knots from the northeast and raining, a classic winter day in Italy.  The Race Committee at YCC wisely decided to postpone racing and were rewarded with a great day for sailing by midday, winds 15-25 knots from the northeast with 30 degree shifts.

Winning this year's  event was Federico Rajola sailing OLJ SPIRIT HATAMURI, managing the win the last race of the series to post a score of 1-6-1-1-3-2-1 for 9 points (dropping a 6th).  Losing out in the last race was the regatta leader at the time, Carlo Cesaris sailing J-VIVADO.  Carlos and crew sailed a beautiful series but simply lost it in the end, getting a 2-2-3-2-1-1-6 scoreline for 11 points (also dropping a 6th!).  Fighting it out for the bronze medal on the podium were past winner Massimo Rama sailing his well-traveled JENIALE!, Paolo Montednonico skippering MONTPRES and Giorgio Guzzi steering ORSO J.  Going into the last race, it was anyone's guess who would triumph in this horse race.  In short, they nearly all managed to tie each other in a three-way tie for third!  But, it was Massimo's JENIALE! that withstood a last minute dash of his competitors to secure a third with a scoreline of 3-5-2-3-4-4-5 for 21 points.  Tied for fourth and winning the tie-breaker was Paolo's MONTPRES with a 6-1-4-6-12-3-2 tally for 22 points.  On the losing end of that stick was Giorgio's ORSO J with a 5-3-5-4-2-7-3 for 22 points.   For more J/80 Italian Championship Sailing information

  

J's Sweep Edlu Distance Race

J 35 footers Win Class & Overall
(Larchmont, NY)- The 56th Annual Edlu Race started on May 14th for IRC and PHRF boats might as well have been labeled the "J/Fest Distance Race".  The course is 32 miles from Larchmont Breakwater to Gong 11B off Eaton's Neck and back.  It was clearly to the liking of the many J crews that were racing in both IRC, PHRF and PHRF Double-handed divisions.

In IRC 1 Class, Ron Richman's J/133 ANTIDOTE was 1st in class and 9th in fleet.  Just behind them was Jan Smeets' J/133 BACCHANAL with 2nd in class and 10th overall.  Third as Harry DeVore's J/44 HONALEE, fifth was Colin McGranahan's J/130 DRAGONFLY, sixth was Tom Carroll's SIREN SONG and seventh George Petrides modified J/120 AVRA.

IRC 2 Class was dominant overall in this year's race, how you finished in also seemed to dictate your overall fleet position, too!  IRC 2 was won by Carl Olsson's J/105 MORNING GLORY, winning by just 5 minutes corrected over Paul Steinborn's J/109.  Lying third was Mark Parry's and Lawrence McGrath's J/35 BLUE MOUSE.  Fifth was Bob Schwartz's J/109 NORDLYS.

In PHRF A, Christian Uecker's J/92 HOUND DOG managed to pull of a third in division.  And, in PHRF Double-handed division, a sistership J/92, THIN MAN sailed by Todd Aven won class!  Third was Greg Imbruce's J/109 JOYRIDE and fourth was Andrew Berdon's J/109 STRIDER.  Special mention must be made of the J/122 PATRIOT, rumor had it that Sandy Weil and Andy Giglia had a great time and were looking forward to next year's edition already, citing the fact that this year was "simply practice".  For more Larchmont YC Edlu Distance Race sailing information

  

The Royal Wedding J/97 Sussex Regatta

(Shoreham, Sussex, England)- Wedding regatta? Not really. Royally fun? You bet. Prince William and Harry ever sail J's on the Solent? Absolutely!  Many times.  Nevertheless, the Sussex Regatta was held over the Bank Holiday weekend (the wedding one) at Shoreham, with all due respect to Prince William and Princess Katie.  It was a two and a half day affair starting on the Friday afternoon with two races which quickly indicated who was in the frame. It was Graham Allen’s J/97 JENERAL LEE and the venerable J/92 WHOSE TO NO (owned and skippered by Richard Sparrow) in the top slots. JENERAL LEE managed to bank two wins on the first day capitalizing nicely on the crew shortages on the J/92 and others (yes, that wedding problem again!)

The wind on the Saturday was starting to build with gusts over twenty knots from the north east, which meant flat seas and good racing. Robin Harris on Captain Fantastic warned the opposition that his cavalry had now arrived and so the battle was really on, and he was right! However, JENERAL LEE managed the win in Race 3 but was pushed hard by WHOSE TO NO in second place with Captain Fantastic close behind in third. Race 4 saw the charge of the ‘Eastbourne Brigade’ with WHOSE TO NO taking the win.  So now JENERAL LEE had to give his troops the rallying cry to take on the combined colonial armies of Ramsgate and Eastbourne! And what a great fight it was, nip and tuck all the way with the three boats finishing one second apart on corrected time. The JENERAL took the win from The Captain with WHOSE TO NO in third.

It was all too much for JENERAL LEE in the first race on the final day and Captain Fantastic put down his marker for the day by taking the win and still fighting hard against WHOSE TO NO in third.  The final race on the Sunday saw a further increase in the wind which was now gusting in the mid twenties with a more easterly flow kicking up some waves.  The JENERAL crew were keen to finish in a flourish but obviously the other two contenders were in no mood to let them. Captain Fantastic made a good start got to the windward mark first with the two Js snapping at his heels on the run, however JENERAL LEE's running kite blew out of its tapes in a gust and the J/92 took maximum advantage going through the gate just behind Captain Fantastic.

In the last downwind run of the regatta The JENERAL made up ground now using a heavy kite and managed to snatch second place after WHOSE TO NO's great run ended with a problem with his jib forcing him past the mark. Captain Fantastic took the final win by two minutes but it was not enough on the points tally leaving JENERAL LEE in first on 6 points with Captain Fantastic on 8 and third on 12 was WHOSE TO NO.  The final tally gave the overall IRC Class Cup to the J/97 JENERAL LEE.   For more J/97 Royal Wedding Sussex Regatta sailing news.

  

J/111 Sails Tough RORC De Guigand Bowl Race

J/111 3rd in Class Beating Upwind!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The De Guigand Bowl race provided another exciting chapter in the 2011 RORC Season's Points Championship. The RORC Race Committee decided to send the fleet on an upwind start, westward out of the Solent, before turning east, down the south side of the Isle of Wight and offshore after St. Catherine's Point, to a top mark mid-Channel: the Greenwich Light Vessel. The fleet then turned for home, a grueling 50-mile upwind leg to finish back in the Solent. Most of the fleet enjoyed a tactical race with many twists and turns along the way.

The start off the Squadron Line was a gentle one with ten knots from the northwest, however as the fleet entered the Western Solent big gusts and wind shifts had the fleet concentrating on sail trim. The breeze built as the fleet turned east and with an increased sea state, the competitors in the De Guigand Bowl Race enjoyed some fast running conditions before blasting offshore bound for the Greenwich Light Vessel. With blues skies punctuated by scattered clouds, the 71-strong fleet enjoyed a day of fantastic offshore action. Just before sunset, the breeze shifted north and colder air, often in excess 20 knots, gave a chilling night sail. By dawn the breeze had abated somewhat and returned to the northwest and by early afternoon, the majority of the RORC fleet had been accounted for.

In the IRC 1 "Big Boat" division, the two J/133s ended up dueling each other for bragging rights at the Squadron bar.  In the end, Neil Martin's JAMMY DODGER finished 5th in class and David Ballantyne's JINGS finished 6th.

In IRC 2 division, the J/111 sailed a tough race, sailing mostly on the wind "white sail" power reaching/ beating or pounding upwind in steep, choppy seas and shifty winds.  Nevertheless, Niall Dowling and crew on ARABELLA sailed well to finish third overall in their division of 15 boats, beating IMX 40s, Beneteau 40.7s,  Archambault 40s and a raft of other IRC-enhanced boats.

The IRC 3 division might be called the J-35 footer class.  With several J/105s racing along with a competitive group of seven J/109s, it was not going to be easy to lead this division home.  In the end, Nick Martin's J/105 DIABLO-J was top J in the division, getting a 4th in class.  Following him was Frenchman Yves Dervieux  sailing his J/109 BOTEZ COAT IV into 5th just under 8 minutes back on handicap time.  Seventh was Greg Nasmyth's J/109 JARHEAD, 9th was  Nikki Curwen's J/105 VOADOR and filling out the top 10 in 10th place was Dave McLeman's J/109 OFFBEAT.  Story contributed by Louay Habib/ RORC.  For more RORC sailing information

  

J/30 Crushes Santa Barbara-Ventura Dash

(Santa Barbara, CA- May 14, 2011) - Steady wind allowed for new course records to be set in the Hardway Race.  Dr Laura Schlessinger established a new course record for the 67 nautical mile course from Santa Barbara to Ventura "the hard way" (hence name for the race), around Santa Cruz Island.  Going offshore can be quite lumpy and miserable despite the fact that you're only a few miles offshore from sunny Santa Barbara, retirement home of famed American TV Star Oprah Winfrey and famous radio "psychologist" talk show host Dr. Laura.

Sailing the "hard-way" course and hanging tough was Santa Barbara YC's Larry Leveille racing his famous J/29 masthead RUSH STREET.  Their efforts weren't for naught, getting yet another piece of silverware to add to their enormous collection at home, finishing second in PHRF B class.  We think Larry may pave his driveway with silverware soon, easier to maintain than dirt or black top!

Sailing the "easy-way", frolicking down the coast was Mike Leary's J/30 PANGEA from Ventura YC.  Mike and crew decimated the PHRF A Coastwise division, winning class by nearly 30 minutes on corrected time!  Who says a J/30 can't still go fast!?  Finishing just ten minutes in front of them on elapsed time was the J/92 DOUBLE DOWN sailed by Brian Kerr.  However, Brian's team didn't get enough time to overcome PANGEA on handicap, so ended up second overall in class.

In the "easy-way" Non-spinnaker division was Mike Hopper's J/22 MAJIC DRAGON from PBYC, getting a 2nd in class just five minutes off the pace to collect gold!   For more Hardway Race sailing information

  

Oregon Offshore Whale of a Tale!

"Moby Dick" Stars In Oregon Offshore Race??
J Fleet Sails Fast, Safe & Place
(Portland, OR)- If you recall last year's reports, this can be one incredibly tough offshore race.  The Oregon Offshore Yacht Race, run every May from Astoria, Oregon to Victoria, BC, Canada is sponsored by Corinthian Yacht Club of Portland with support from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club.  The race often acts as the "feeder" race for the Vic-Maui and other offshore events like Seattle's Swiftsure Classic.

Forgetting the rather capricious weather these sailors often encounter, the marine life can be equally as thrilling, or dangerous, ranging from monster killer whales to big fat round cute seals to even more massive whales of various types sleeping on the surface or merely jumping around for joy.  Sometimes they show up unexpectedly, like breaching near a sailboat in an apparent mating ritual.

This year, it was a "whale of a time" for one boat, a "Moby Dick" story in the making.  Their hair-raising story by crew-member Ryan Barnes was simply remarkable.  Said Ryan on a posting to Sailing Anarchy, "We were racing in the Oregon Offshore International Yacht race in 20 kts of breeze with 1.5 oz kite up. About 30 minutes after the start a grey or humpback whale approximately 30 feet in length breeched off our starboard beam and hit approximately halfway to three quarters up our rig past first spreader, then rolled off the starboard side of the boat, taking out the lifelines and crushing the toe rail as well as dropping the whole rig--- rig is gone/ deep sixed after cutting it away, lifelines are destroyed, toe rail bent/ flattened on starboard side deck, fiberglass cracks on the topside starboard v-berth, fracture cracks around starboard cabin windows, bow pulpit bent and toe rail delimitation around 60% of the boat! No water leaks, except when the coast guard towed us at 18 knots against an ebb tide across the columbia river bar, which was a little fast, but got a new speed record on the boat! Lots of kudos to our coast guard though, those guys are awesome! No injuries, everyone is safe."

Thankfully, the J fleet contingent managed to avoid the whale carnage and sail fast into Victoria Harbor.  Leading the J pack home was Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA to finish 2nd in PHRF A class.  Third was the J/122 ANAM CARA sailed by Tom Kelly.  In PHRF B class, Tom Keffer's J/42 VELOCITY finished 2nd in class and sailed  a good race, one of the fastest Oregon Offshore classics ever.

  

J/109 Sailing Video with British Keelboat Academy

David Aisher's J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT sailed the Cervantes RORC race.  For the first race of the RORC European season, John Loden went on board as videographer to do a video documentary of the experience. YEOMAN OF WIGHT was lent to the British Keelboat Academy, sailing her were a crew of 7 led by Henry Smith on their first full offshore race together. Their objective was to be the first J/109 over the line and very creditably, against tough competition, they achieved this, also coming 3rd in IRC3.  You can see VIMEO video here: http://vimeo.com/23302669

  

J/80 Best Sportsboat in China

(Shanghai, China)- This past week saw over 27,000 visitors from 70 countries attend the largest boatshow in China, the China International Boat Show in Shanghai.  Considered the most prestigious in all of China, the event also hosts the Asia Pacific Boating Awards.  With over three dozen panelists selecting the winners for each category, it was not surprising that the creme'd'la'creme rose to the top.  Winner of the this year's CIBS Best Sportboat Award was the International J/80, recognized for being the world's leading one-design sportsboat class with over 1,600 boats competing worldwide.  J/80 is also the premier sportsboat in China.  On hand to accept the award was J/Boats China's representative Jimmie Johnstone.
For more J/80 sailboat information

  

Seattle NOOD Regatta Preview

(Seattle, WA)- The fourth of nine events in the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD series begins this Friday in Seattle. More than 150 teams in 22 divisions will be racing on Puget Sound.  Last year's overall champion, Michael Johnson, returns with his HOT PURSUIT  team to the 11-boat J/24 division.  Says Mike Lovett, "I had the chance to meet Johnson at last year's NOOD Championship in the British Virgin Islands, and when we parted ways in Tortola, he mentioned he was planning to sail the J/24 World Championship this November in Buenos Aires, Argentina. If that's still the plan, you can bet Johnson and company will be in fine form as they prepare to head south."

J/80s have a solid fleet of boats with contenders distributed amongst the near dozen boats sailing.  Hard to tell if the good money goes on CRAZY IVAN, HEART ATTACK, FEARFUL SYMMETRY, SKYE ROCKET or TAJ MAJAL.  With names like that, betting is good that someone from that lot will win!

Last year, the J/105s saw a closely fought series and a run for the gold between JADED and LAST TANGO.  However, without these two contenders sailing this year, it looks like Erik Kristen's JUBILEE from CYC, Robert Blaylock's USAWI from SBYC and Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE from CYC will be dueling for the top three spots.

The J/109s are rockin' and rollin' again and it looks like David MacLean's ILLUSIONIST sailing from CYC and J-TRIPPER sailed by the Nordquists from Seattle YC may be amongst the contenders to take honors in this fun-loving one-design/ cruiser/ racer class.

The J/24s have more than a dozen entries and certain to be amongst the contenders will be last year's winner, HOT PURSUIT sailed by skipper Mike Johnson from Corinthian YC in Seattle.  Sure to be factors in the racing and vying for honors on the podium will be last year's third place team, SELF ABUSE skippered by Harry Dursch from Corinthian YC in Seattle as well as fellow CYC member Scott Milnes sailing TREMENDOUS SLOUCH.   Thanks for contribution from Mike Lovett- Sailing World- For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Sailing information

  

IURISNAUTIC Wins J/80 Copa de Espana

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- As predicted, the Copa de Espana for the J/80 class in Spain was every bit as competitive as a J/80 World championship, but there was a surprise victor!  Cesar Espinosa sailing IURISNAUTIC ended the first day of racing in first and managed to hold off all contenders to become the Copa de Espana Champion 2011.

On Saturday, the fleet racing began in the waters off Palma with 2 World Champions, 2 class Olympic Medallists and 14 Palmistas from the local fleet, all strong teams.  And, it was a "local Palmista" that sailed a very strong series to win the day.  IURISNAUTIC sailed by Carlos Espinosa of the Club de Mar in Palma was ranked first with Jose Luis Serra at the helm and tactician was none other than Tono Piris-- now that's called "stacking the deck" in your favor-- all smart sailors.  In second for the day was the PalmaVela winner MAPFRE sailed by Carlos Martinez from the RCR Santiago de la Ribera club.  And, third for the day was J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares sailing his well-known, and famous, HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA from the Canary Islands.

For the second day of the Cup of Spain there were less stable conditions for the participants. Saturday's test was marked by the struggle between the top three overall. The second set of races on Sunday for Carlos Espinosa's IURISNAUTIC showed that the lead in the opening day was not a gift!  Ultimately, they were proclaimed Champion.  Sailing strongly on Sunday to jump onto the podium was TURISMO DO ALGARVE sailed by Olympic medallist Hugo Rocha and Gonzalo Araujo just three points behind.  Third place was Carlos Martinez's MAPFRE. Fourth place went to another J/80 World Champion, Ignacio Camino sailing his famous NEXTEL ENGINEERING and in fifth place was HM HOTELS sailed by Javier Chacartegui. It was a great day of racing in the Bay of Palma, plus the local Palma J/80 fleet paid a tribute to the late Severiano Ballesteros-- a famous Spanish athlete/ golfer.   For more Copa de Espana J/80 sailing information.  Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo- SailingStock.com