J/42 Sailing Seven Seas- Wall St Journal!

(Harbor Springs, Michigan)- Bill & Judy Stellin have sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER all over the world.  And, now they have her sailing in Harbor Springs on Lake Michigan-- a gorgeous, azure blue bay in the magical northwest corner of upper Michigan.  On December 10th, the Wall Street Journal (that famous American business paper) ran a feature on the Stellin's sailing.  You can read more about their sailing adventures here at Wall St Journal.com.

By the way, if you want to do some "armchair sailing" and live a few fantasies of sailing in far-away places, the Stellin's have written three books about their adventures.  You can either buy them as books, or better still download for free on an iPad, iPhone or iPod.  They can be found at Blurb.com.

J/30 Class Sailing Message- Bill & Dave

(New Orleans, LA)- The J/30 Class continues to have lots of fun and have created a wonderful community of sailors in the few regions where they've always proven popular- namely, New Orleans, Houston, New England, Great Lakes (Chicago/Detroit) and Chesapeake Bay.  The "Bill & Dave Show" (the two co-presidents) have ensured the camaraderie amongst the J/30 fanatics grows infectiously-- but they need help!  Here's their message to the J/30 community at-large:

"Dave and Bill here wishing everyone a Happy New Year! What a year for the J/30 class in 2012! We noted 66 official active class members, 69 US Sailing members and have captured fleet information for 526 J/30 hulls.  Our fleets continue to be recognized across the world.

We continue to work together to produce a class built on the foundations of sportsmanship and camaraderie. On the forum and on the water, we continue to be each other’s teachers. When we accept each other’s ideas, nothing is lost. May our approach to sailing be the same approach to life – to win the respect of others.

In 2013, we need to enable the J/30 sailing experience to reach more parents and children. We are announcing an exciting partnership with the National Sailing Hall of Fame to help local educators who are using sailing to teach math and science by giving connections to our sailing community. Let’s help NSHOF educators achieve learning objectives though use of our J/30s. Also, Bill and I are currently seeking future J/30 fleet leadership candidates.  If interested in serving the J/30 class at the National level, please let us know.  Finally, we want to highlight a few areas noteworthy of recognition during the past year:

"2012 North Americans" – Ken Buhler and Billy Ross with Pontchartrain Yacht Club based crew aboard JALAPEÑO.

"J/30 Programs traveling over 1000 + Miles to attend NAs"- Dan Rather’s Oswego NY based team- CRUSADER and Russ Akinson’s Rockwood, MI based program- WILDCAT.  We really appreciate these two teams coming the distance to New Orleans!

"J/30 Loaner Boat Program"- Special, Huge, Ginormous "Thanks" to Jason King for loaning his boat RAMBUNCTIOUS to Carl Sherter and the crew of FAT CITY.

"Newest Member to Finish Top 5 at NAs" – David Bolyard Jr. with LAND SHARK – 2nd Place. The sailors on this boat are in the missing demographic as mentioned by Nicholas Hayes at the Friday night NA presentation- sailing with family & kids!

"Best J/30 Musician" – Terry McDermott (Team ZEPHYR) who placed second on NBC’s The Voice!!! See the YouTube video of Terry and Peter Frampton performing at the Season 3 Finale.

"Best idea to recruit new J/30 sailors with parents" – David Erwin

"Best Mentor to Grow the Next Generation of Sailors" – Vic Farmer with his VEEJAY programs in Naples, FL and Newport, RI

"Best Taking one for the Team!" – Amanda Baker (French Quarter 1 – Amanda – 0)- what did she do??

"Best J/30 Photographer" – Leighton O’Connor and his full multi-media coverage at the 2012 J/30 NAs.  The Man, The Myth, The Legend- here->>

"Best North Americans Participants"- "all winners!"- Congratulations to JALAPEÑO skippered by Billy Ross to win the North American Championship hosted by New Orleans Yacht Club. For the first time in the history of the class, a father David Bolyard Sr. called tactics on the first place boat and raced against his son David Bolyard Jr. the skipper of LAND SHARK, the second place boat. Dale Steinkamp skipper of Team ZEPHYR sailing with Nicholas Hayes and parent child crew members Donny and son Andrew Brennan with David and daughter McKenzie Erwin finished 3rd. The parent child participation is an important topic in Nicholas Hayes’ book Saving Sailing. Two J/30s were skippered by women: BLACK MAGIC – Laura Webb and HOT CHOCOLATE – Debby Grimm.   For more J/30 class sailing information

French J/109 First Double-Handed Sailing In ARC!

(St Lucia)- Congratulations to ALBACOR IV!  The French J/109 ALBACOR IV, skippered by Sophie Olivaud, successfully completed the ARC and were the first double-handed boat to finish and first women skipper to finish! Sophie was one of just five female skippers in the race and the J/109 has beaten some much much bigger boats, as well as the majority of the cruising yachts, over the water to arrive in St Lucia.  ALBACOR IV was sixth overall in the Racing Division against the other fully-crewed boats, a fantastic result and extra impressive given that this year has seen much more wind and squally conditions than this race usually expects to see.  Her "J-colleagues" on the J/145 ACE also performed well in their Cruising Division sailing "white sails" only-- mainly a jib and a main.  The ARC is a 2,700nm passage from Gran Canaria to St Lucia and 2012 was the 27th edition of the race.  Sailing photo credit- Tim Wright/ photoaction.com.   For more ARC Rally sailing information

Tufts Wins J/22 College Match Race Championships

(Fort Worth, Texas)-  Hosted by the Forth Worth Boat Club, this year's College Match Racing Nationals were sailed in J/22s.  In the end, the Tufts University "Jumbos Sailing Team" won the event.

The Tufts University Jumbos team of Will Haeger, Paula Grasberger, Solomon Krevans and David Liebenberg, overcame a first race loss in the best of three finals to overtake Yale University to win their first college match racing crown.  A pre-start penalty and late start was too much for Tufts to overcome in race one but Yale was over early in race two which set the stage for the finale.  Tufts held a slight advantage at the start and went right into covering mode.  Yale’s double tacks were initially hard for Tufts to cover but the Jumbos settled down in the 10-13 knot Southerly and pulled away with superior speed and boat handling the rest of the way through the windward-leeward twice around track on Eagle Mountain Lake.

The Fort Worth Boat Club in Lake Worth, Texas provided ten perfectly matched J-22s for the ten national finalists.  The initial round-robin in a light air Easterly saw St. Mary’s College win a three-way tie break over Tufts and Georgetown.  Quarter-finals were then staged on day two in a more moderate Southerly as Michigan bested Tulane in the 9th place consolation races.  All the quarters were decided in three straight but one as St. Mary’s beat Cal Maritime, Tufts bested Eckerd, Georgetown took Washington and Yale, who overcame a first race lose, came back to put away 5th place finisher So. Florida.

Yale, with Chris Segerblom at the helm won a hard fought semi-final over St. Mary’s, 3-1 while Tufts eliminated Georgetown with skipper Nevin Snow, 3-0.  The middle race featured a bizarre finish with Tufts holding a slight lead but a penalty to burn from start to finish.  With the brakes on hard despite spinnakers up, Tufts parked in front of Georgetown next to the finish line.  Georgetown couldn’t quite slow down enough and tried to take room at the committee boat.  After spinning around Georgetown’s spinnaker grazed the RC boat before finishing in reverse right behind Tufts.  After the smoke cleared Tufts was declared winner via offsetting penalties.  Georgetown went on the defeat St. Mary’s, with skipper Jake Ledow, 2-1 in the petit finals setting up the exciting finals between Tufts and Yale.

In the end, the Final Results were Tufts, then Yale, Georgetown, St Mary's and South Florida to round out the top five overall.  For more college sailing results.

Cubria's Win J/24 Argentine Championship

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- The J/24 class in Argentina continue to sail a fun "summer series" while their J/24 counterparts are frozen way up North.  Their latest "Campeonato Argentina" had a small but highly competitive fleet sailing out of Yacht Club Argentina off downtown Buenos Aires (one of the coolest cities on the planet).

On the first day of racing on Saturday, the sailing was well organized by the YCA Race Committee P.R.O.- Gneri Antonio.  It was a full day with very gusty winds our of the west (blowing offshore) and plenty of sun.  At times the wind was a steady 6-8 kts, but would often gust to over 15 kts (top end of the genoa weather).  The fleet was able to complete three races with perfect starts.  But the gusty, shifty winds made it a tactically difficult, but very enjoyable day.  Sunday was another day with ideal weather. ENE wind at 10 knots, much more stable than Saturday's winds.

In the end, the Cubria's (Nicolas and Mario) with crew Fernando Bertrand, Gonzalo & Juan Fildoro sailed a very steady series, starting off fast and hanging tough for the balance of the two weekends of sailing, collecting a record of 1-1-5-3-2-5-1-2-8 for a net 20 pts.  Second went to Matias Pereira with a 2-4-7-1-1-3-4-1-10 record for a net 23 pts.  Thid was Alejandro and Augusto Rossi with a record of 7-2-3-2-4-4-10-5-3 for 30 net pts.  Rounding out the top five were Fernando Montes in 4th and Santiago Doval in 5th.

On land the organization was excellent, especially ending the day with pizza, beer and tasty PIMMS prepared by Ken Johnson. One of the regatta highlights were that attractive prizes were raffled, donated by Ken Johnson and North Sails and commemorative caps were distributed to all participants.

Remember, the "Andes Mountain Championship" will soon be hosted by the J/24 fleet of Cordoba (see at right).  They have prepared this event with great enthusiasm and the program they intend to run is impressive-- it should be a very memorable Championship.  The regatta will be  held from 9th to 11th February in the waters of Lago San Roque in Villa Carlos Paz.  It is open to any boat or crew associated with J/24 Class regardless of Fleet, region or country. Because of the high winds, the local Cordoban J/24 fleet sails the "Pan American profile" with sails limited to jib, main and spinnaker and limited crew weight of 320 kg.

PLEASE NOTE-- the first 7 boats registered (NOT from Cordoba) will be offered FREE accommodations for the crew throughout the event-- a bargain!!  And, if you FLY in from Europe or North America, we might even offer a FREE boat!  Call us.  Sailing photo credits- EL OJO NAUTICO.com   For more Argentinean J/24 class sailing information

J/125 Long Beach- Fast Sailing Video!

(Long Beach, CA)- A J/125 was recently featured on Ullman Sails TV recently released some awesome downwind footage while they were out testing a new A5 spinnaker for the local J/125 that's getting ready to do some major campaigning in 2013 in such events like the Puerto Vallarta Race, Cabo Race and even TransPac Race.  Here's the cool sailing video of them hitting sustained 20 kts on the "fun-o-meter".

The Perfect Gift- 2013 J/Calendar!

(Newport, RI)- It's not too late for those naughty or nice on your Holiday gift-giving list!  Give them the gift that lasts all year-- the 2013 J/Calendar. Whether you're a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. The sailing calendar features photos (pictured here-) of a dramatic J/111 powering upwind off Newport; a fleet of J/24s off sunny Tampa; surrealistic scenes of J/80s off Santander, Spain and flying downwind off Marseilles, France; a fleet of J/120s rocking downwind under spinnakers on San Francisco Bay; J/70s flying along under spinnakers; J/22s starting in the Rocky Mountains; and a J/97, J/109 and J/122 sailing in sunny Solent conditions.  A great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew!  Order your 2013 J/Calendar today, click here.

J/37 Future Primitive Sailing Video

(Vancouver, BC, Canada)- The J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE (has nothing to do with infamous "Sasquatch") sails in the spectacular cool waters off Vancouver and not far from the famously primitive Olympic Peninsula.  Reports her proud owner, Ron MacKenzie from Royal Vancouver YC, "we were 2nd Division 1 in the Royal Vancouver YC Hot Rum Series Race last Saturday. We sailed under #3 jib and full main. Took us three hours around English Bay!  For kicks & grins, take a look at our clip of the 2010 Southern Straits Race we did on FUTURE PRIMITIVE (our local distance race of about 125nm). This year was the only time in it's 42 years that it's been abandoned (one boat sank and about 12 people went swimming in the water from various boats!). The official wind reading was 80+ knots. We've done a couple of Vic-Mauis, an LA-PV, and 2006 Sydney-Hobart, but nothing as crazy as that Southern Straits Race. Good times!  :)  We LOVE our J/37. Bought her new in February 1988 (met Rod, Drake and others many times in Newport).  Cheers, Ron"
To see their Facebook sailing video, follow the link here.

J/80s Sailing Tigullio Winter Championship

(Tigullio, Italy)- Over December and January, the J/80 fleet in Italy hosts their annual "Winter Championship".  A lavishly fun event with plenty of great food and wine and, given some decent weather, even some good sailing!

On the first day of sailing, the wind Gods, of course, didn't cooperate, so everyone had a wonderful time tasting delicious local pastas, antipastos and vino blanco y roja.  However, on the second day, two races were run in excellent conditions off Lavagna.  Winds were around 10-12 kts from the south in a reasonably warm, gentle breeze.

Massimo Rama's JENIALE ran off a string of five first places, leading at the end of the weekend with a good margin over their rivals. Behind the battle for first place, Signori Tye sailing TWT is solidly in second place with four 2nds and a 5th for a total of 13 pts.  Maria Cristinia Rapisardi sailing her J-BLUE-2 is quickly becoming one of Italy's top women sailors in J/80s, amassing a 3-4-3-2-7 to just hold onto 3rd place with 19 pts.   Just behind her in fourth is Alberto Garribotto on J-BES with 7-3-4-3-3 for 20 pts and in fifth is Andrea Henriquet on J-BLUE-6 with a 4-6-6-6-5 tally for 27 pts.  The final round that takes place on the weekend of January 13.  For more J/80 Italian Winter sailing information.

And, speaking of J/80s, check out the "iSea tracker" video of the French J/80 Nationals in Douarnenez, France.  It's interesting to hear the excited French voice-over commenting on the J/80s sailing around the track.  Watch the YouTube J/80 tracker sailing video here.

J/44 Sails Wirth Munro Invitational Race

(Palm Beach, FL)- The Sailfish Club in Palm Beach hosted their annual sprint up the coast that runs from Fort Lauderdale up the famously rugged, fast Gulf Stream to Palm Beach.  The Wirth Munroe Memorial Yacht Race is held on the first Friday in December. First sailed in 1957, the race begins the winter ocean racing circuit in South Florida. The course, from Ft. Lauderdale to Palm Beach, presents challenging conditions as yachts must consider the vagaries of the Gulf Stream and the passing of the season’s first frontal systems.

In 1957, members of the Florida Station of the Cruising Club of America, led by Dick Bertram, decided to sponsor a race from Miami to Palm Beach and to hold it in early December as racing yachts from the north had arrived by then in preparation for the Southern Ocean Racing Conference held in January and February. Over the years, yachts have raced under numerous rating rules, CCA, IOR, IMS, and now sail in three classes, IRC, PHRF, and Multihull. The original course has been shortened and now starts in Ft. Lauderdale to allow the yachts to finish before dark. In the 1960’s the Sailfish Club of Florida became a co-sponsor of the race and hosts the well known awards party following the finish.

The J/44 WHITE GOLD sailed by Jamestown YC's & Sailfish Club's Jim Bishop sailed to a 5th overall in IRC against some of the hottest offshore boats on the market, including a slew of the new High-Performance Rule 40 footers, TP 52s and a Mini-Maxi.  Interestingly, over 75% of the IRC fleet was comprised of current and former J/Boats owners with boats that range from J/22s to J/105s and from J/125s to J/65s!  For more Sailfish Club Wirth Munro Race sailing information.