J/Fest + Harvest Moon Rising!

(Houston, TX)- A lot is happening in parts of grand'ole Southwestern America.  They think big down there whether it's "honky-tonks" with mechanical bulls, epic parties, enormous blond hair, rattlesnake boots, dude ranches and, sometimes, even huge regattas!  First up on the agenda is the Harvest Moon Regatta, or "HMR" as the locals call it.  This year's 27th edition starts the 17th of October and can be a real "trick or treat" event.  HMR was hatched over drinks in the Lakewood YC bar by a few sailors that wanted to use their boats more!  The October weather window between the summer doldrums and the blue northers makes for spectacular sailing along the Texas Coast.  Add in the beautiful "ginormous" Harvest Moon and a course from the Galveston Jetties to Port Aransas and you have the HMR.  Just a 100 plus mile jaunt down the coast with over 200 sailboats!

With several classes there is a place to race or cruise for every type of boat.  The Bacardi PHRF Racing fleet is about 50% J/Boats with the J/105, J/109, J/120, and a J/44 the primary entries.  Every year epic stories hatch of blast reaching at over 15 knots for 8 hours, or drifting in the same spot for hours!  The cruisers seem to enjoy regaling the racers with how they enjoyed watching the race boats zip by with the crew hanging over the lifelines chomping on a energy bar or MRE as they sipped a nice chardonnay and enjoyed exquisite hot cuisine under the bimini.  At Port Aransas all of the sailors come together for a lively party, brag a lot, tell mind-blowing stories (real or not!) and a wonderful time is had by all.  Almost all the boats start back on Sunday- either motor sailing down the cut or back out in the gulf.  It's no wonder this event attracts 200 entries every year to become one of our nations largest offshore point-to-point races! Put this one on your bucket list!  For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information

J/Fest Southwest is next up on the agenda.  Shortly following the Harvest Moon Regatta, be sure to note the deadline Friday is fast approaching!!  The skippers bag has well over $100.00 in product goodies such as Rejex Wax and boat wash, dinner coupons, t-shirt and J/Fest coffee mug!  After Friday the entry goes up by an additional $50.00!

Don't miss the racing action, live music, free beer, Kattack race tracking and thousands of dollars in goodies to be raffled off from Velocitek, Marlow, Torqeedo, Harken, Blackburn Marine, North U.  Along with these great product sponsors we also get financial support from the City of Seabrook, North, Quantum, Torqeedo, Hayes Rigging, Hays Insurance, Sundance Grill, Gulf Coast Marine, and Sundance Grill!

What does all of this mean?  The J/Fest Southwest Regatta committee puts on great racing designed to maximize your time on the water and our sponsors put the shoreside activities over the top to produce one of the highest quality events in the nation with a lot of bang for your buck!  There's a class for every J/Boat ever built and we want y'all to come on down to Galveston Bay and play! Come join the 50 fellow J/Owners already registered! So don't delay register today!   For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information

J/Teams Ready For Rolex Middle Sea Race

(Gzira, Malta)- Closing the Mediterranean sailing season with gusto, the 34th edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race starts on Saturday 19th October and is destined to mark a significant chapter in the history of a popular offshore event. The race is in a period of ascendancy. Over one hundred international yachts have registered for the 606-nm contest commencing and finishing in Malta, and comprising a challenging anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Sicily. First held in 1968 and organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club, the race has been sponsored by Rolex since 2002.

The appeal of the race is clear: first-rate competition, a largely Corinthian atmosphere, a fascinating racecourse.  The race is a true challenge to skippers and crews who have to be at their very best to cope with the often changeable and demanding conditions. Equally, the race is blessed with unsurpassed scenery with its course, taking competitors close to a number of islands, which form marks of the course. Ted Turner described the MSR as "the most beautiful race course in the world". Starting from the Grand Harbour, Valletta, beneath Fort St Angelo and the Saluting Battery in Valletta, the fleet head north along the eastern coasts of Sicily up towards the Straits of Messina. Mt Etna is usually visible on the fleets port side, billowing ashes and lava throughout the night. Once through the Straits, the course leads north to the Aeolian Islands and the active volcano of Stromboli where the yachts turn west to the Egadi Islands. Passing between Marettimo and Favignana the crews head south towards the island of Lampedusa, leaving Pantelleria to port.  Once past Lampedusa the fleet turns northeast on the final leg towards the South Comino Channel and the finish at Marsamxett Harbour. En route the crews take in an amazing diversity of landscape and sea conditions, all of which combine to create the attraction and challenge of the race.

In any race of this type, the most coveted prize is for overall victory. Along with Hasso Plattner's 86 footer- Morning Glory- another recipient of the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy is in attendance. Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard’s J/122 ARTIE-RTFX ended a near ten-year wait for a Maltese victory in 2011, and become the sixth local boat to win the race-- in fact, they're two-time overall winners having done it before in their J/125!  Joining them will be two more Maltese boats, one is the J/133 OILTANKING JUNO sailed by David Anastasi-- they nearly won their class in 2012 and lost in the final straits into the finish line!  The other is Aaron Gatt Floridia's OTRA VEZ- they, too, were in leadership contention halfway through last year's race and hope to build on that this year!

There are two J/111s participating this year from Italy and, given the "stop & go" driving in light to moderate conditions that are typical of this race, these two boats may give their larger stablemates enormous headaches.  Marco Flandin's BLACK BULL and Massimo Colosimo's J/STORM will be dueling for leadership not only in class but overall if they get a mix of the right reaching/ running/ beating conditions.  Be sure to follow the fleet and the updates as all boats have YellowBrick trackers on them and you can track them each day as they progress around the course!   Sailing photo credits: Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo    For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information

PEUGEOT Wins J/24 Hungarian Open & Nationals

(Budapest, Hungary)- Lake Balaton was the scene of the recent Hungarian J/24 National Championships.  A gorgeous setting on one of the prettiest lakes in Central Europe, it often serves up capricious winds that can be very puffy and shifty or simply benign with sun-burnt days and gentle breezes.

This year's championship saw eighteen boats participate and the level of sailing amongst the top five was extremely close.  While the first day of racing was canceled due to a light offshore breeze, the second day dawned with the long-awaited NW breeze of 14-16 knots.  Four exciting races were completed.  Litkey Wolf sailed "lights out", taking three 1sts and a 2nd on his boat PEUGEOT/ LITKEY SAILS.  Second place for the day was Michael Filo's ZULU with a 1-2-3.  Attila Nagy's GARFIELD/ QUANTUM SAILS took third for the day.  Also showing good form was Gabor Makai's NORD TELEKOM and Erik Hercsel's SAIL FOR YOU.

The third day was going to push the teams even harder to the edge.  Some considered genoas, but most opted for 100% jibs in the conditions.  The wind was a bit stronger than forecast, blowing 17-19 knots from the NW. The teams fought bravely in the waves and strong breeze, enjoying some great racing and surfs on Lake Balaton! The Wolf's PEUGEOT "express" continued their excellent performance and after eight races had the championship won.  The club's PRO tried to get in one last race, but the weather simply would not cooperate as the breeze had died towards the end of the day.

So, the championship was decided in eight races. A gold medal to Litkey Wolf and his team, who defended their championship titles.  The silver medal goes to Michael Filo on ZULU and the bronze to Nagy's GARFIELD/ QUANTUM SAILS.  Rounding out the top five we find that fourth was Antal Szekely's COMPASS and fifth was Nagy's NORD TELEKOM.

As a result of this regatta, the Hungarian J/24 Season Championship also goes to Wolf's PEUGEOT/ LITKEY Sails team, followed by Makai's NORD TELEKOM in second, Nagy's GARFIELD/ QUANTUM in third, Hercsel's SAIL FOR YOU in fourth and Dr Thomas Wolf's J'KORSZAK in fifth.

Congratulations to all Hungarian J/24 sailors! Thank you for supporting the sponsors who contributed to the high level of competition all season long- Bernhofer Hotel, Compass Magazine, Manézs Bistro, Corner Merchandise, Site Talk In EyeWind, pontráérek.hu, The Body Shop, Porthole, Quantum Sails & BFYC.  For more J/24 Hungary Sailing information

J/80 Flies In 24 Hrs Race

(The Netherlands)- Every year, a popular race continues to get even more popular.  Wonder why?  Because it's different! It's NOT a windward-leeward.  It rewards fun, perseverance and a bit of luck.  You go sailing in a 24 hour race that measures how you perform against yourself and others-- based on an index of "100" (+/-).  Plus, like the San Francisco SSS (Single-handed Sailing Society) "Three Bridge Fiasco" sailed every February on San Francisco Bay, you get your choice of starting venues and how to round each mark!

The J/80s NJORD and and QUICK & DIRTY prepared and worked very hard for their 24-hour race on the "great lakes" in the Netherlands. In the past, the small and large J's always scored well and that is, of course, mainly due to the favorable sail area / weight ratio of the J's. The NJORD looked well poised to do well with an enormous Code Zero on board. But, the Q&D TEAM had a dream team on-board, including the infamous "Janpiet" as speed coach! Nevertheless, as the crews always know, everything will always be decided on the water!

How did it all turnout for the teams?  Well, as good as it gets for 24 hours of sailing on a J/80! On the Q&D, the team began Friday afternoon with a well-filled pasta salad prepared by Coach JP-- who is a good speed coach, but maybe a better chef!! The first leg for Q&D was amazing-- yes, the spinnaker also works well in the dark and one of the finest, fastest legs for Q&D was from racing marks "KG" to "SPORT-A"-- a leg of around 15nm.  Amazingly, they covered that leg on Friday night in around an hour or two with an average speed of 12-13 knots!! The NJORD started in Kornwerderzand and Q&D in Muiden-- but, the results were very close together. Both boats sailed an average of 102.6% and 103.9% of their predicted VPP's, respectively!!  Cool!  J/80 teams had fun, yet again on this great race!  For more J/80 Netherlands 24 Hours Race

KIKA Sweeps J/24 GIZA CUP

Great Sailing in J/24 Pan-Hellenic Cup Series
(Greece)- This past weekend, a fleet of seven J/24s sailed in the beautiful azure waters on the Bay of Pantanassas, just off the famous island of Crete in the Mediterranean.  The Gazi Cup Regatta is the second event in the Pan-Hellenic series that is organized by YC Gazi-Crete.

The fleet was treated to simply classic Med-sailing conditions with north-northeast winds all weekend long with boat-loads of sunshine.  Saturday's sailing saw idyllic NE 8-12 kts wind with four races sailed from 1300 to 1700 hrs.  Sunday was no different, in fact, nearly "postcard perfect" sailing and a repeat of Saturday's wind but a bit more breeze.

After the eight races were completed over the two days, the final rankings for the teams were as follows:
- 1st- KIKA skippered by Angel Psomopoulos and crew of John Pachaki, Christina Garaki, John Voulgaris and John Dialektaki.
- 2nd- MINOAN SPIRIT sailed by Mars Pallikaris and crew of Nikos Kampitakis, Nikos Petroulaki and Karyotakis Stavrakakis.
- 3rd- SIMERA sailed by George Lyroni and crew George Makridakis, Peace Syngelakis, Stella Lenakaki and Katerina Maragaki.  For more J/24 Class Greece sailing information

Victoria's Secret J/24 Foiler!?

(Sandringham, Victoria, Australia)- Yes, you can say the Australian's are getting a bit punch-drunk about having a new Australian AC35 America's Cup Challenge from Hamilton Island YC.  Says one of the J/24 crews at Sandringham YC:

"We are on the trail of something big at Sandy. With the approaching summer season rapidly coming at us here in Melbourne, we believe testing with the new J/24 foiler has been going on over the winter. The skipper is reported as saying that they have been able to get the boat foiling once they get surfing on a wave and can sometimes keep it on the foils long enough to get onto the next wave and doing that they have been able to actually skip forward overtaking the wave crests. ‘The AC is safe for the moment’ is the joke going about down on the hardstand but there are some very serious faces around this project where the foils remain covered away in a padlocked cover to keep prying eyes out (shades of Ben Lexcen). The skipper went on to say that “where we have made real gains though, is reaching, traditionally the J has been a very poor reaching boat due to it’s short waterline length, now we are blasting along like a skiff”. Apparently the lead in the keel keeps the boat much steadier than a foiling moth or Laser when it is up on the foils. The normal righting moment of the lead keel would tend to confirm this. Tests continue on foiling upwind which although reported has not been verified by anyone reliable yet. The only picture released so far is a rather poor quality shot showing the boat up on its foils whilst surfing a wave off Sandringham YC. We note that the name has been airbrushed off the hull to mask that actual test boat and the sail number has been blocked out. More when we can break through the security surrounding this amazing breakthrough."

CARRERA + MENDIETA Tied @ J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- It would be fairly certain that no one could've foreseen the outcome of this year's J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week hosted by the famous YC Argentino.  Sailing was ferociously close for the top three contenders at this year's event.  The fleet was blessed with gorgeous sailing conditions on the Rio de la Plata, sailed just offshore in front of the picturesque, bustling metropolis of Buenos Aires.

By winning the first three races in a row, everyone apparently concluded that Matias Pereira and crew on CARRERA were simply a "runaway" and could never be caught.  So, the rest of the fleet resigned themselves to racing for the remaining podium spots.  However, while no can explain exactly how it happened, but either Pereira and some of his crew (like the tactician?) suffered temporary amnesia or perhaps they all had a few too many cervezas the night before.  Nevertheless, their last two races were a complete meltdown, posting two 6ths to nearly lose the regatta to Francisco Van Avermaete on MENDIETA.  To their credit, MENDIETA sailed a steady series with all finishes scored in the top three.  Both boats tied on points with 9 apiece, with CARRERA crowned as BARW champion due to their three firsts.

Behind the top two boats was another close battle for five boats in all, in fact it was an anxiety-ridden "nail biter" until the very last race.  After the dust settled on the battleground, it was Alejo Rigoni's CHUCHA NO SOY McCENROE taking the third spot on the podium with 13 pts.  Fourth was Nicolas Cubria's RINA with 16 pts. Fifth was Sergio Pendola's CACIQUE with 18 pts, beating Pedro Garra's EXTASIS on a tie-breaker.  And seventh in this group was Fernando Montes's COCOON with 19 pts!  For more J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week sailing information

Brian Porter Wins M24 Worlds!

(San Francisco, CA)- American Brian Porter on FULL THROTTLE recently won the Melges 24 Worlds on San Francisco Bay to finally lay claim to the title he has been trying to win for many years.  Brian and his brother John Porter are both very successful sailors hailing from the Chicago area (Winnetka, IL) with summer homes on Lake Geneva, WI.

For years, Brian and his brother fine-tuned their one-design keelboat skills sailing the J/24 in the Great Lakes, North American and World Championships (including the Capri J/24 World's won by Italian Francesco d'Angelis).  They also sailed and have won numerous E-Scow and A-Scow Blue Chip and National Championships.  Congratulations to Brian, Andy Burdick and crew!  Job well done!

Also participating were a number of other J/24 stars, including Terry Hutchinson, past J/24 World Champion sailing with some friends and finishing in the top ten.  Terry and crew had a more successful outing in the Rolex Big Boat Series, winning the M24 class in that event in another closely fought contest.

PIKE Spikes J/80 German Open!

(Flensburg, Germany)-  The J/80 German Open this year had several notable highlights both for the class and for sailing.  First, it looked like summer never left, with fantastic weather, warm, sunny and with good breeze!  Second, the German J/80 class should be proud to have produced twenty-three boats on the line-- cheers to all who made that happen!  Finally, in addition to the usual suspects, there were many new faces both young and old in our fleet-- that's good news and healthy for the class!

In addition to the pleasant temperatures, the sailing conditions were typical for Flensburg-- with large round hills along the shoreline, the surrounding forests affect the wind a lot-- very shifty with gusts coming from everywhere, over hills and across the fields!  So, the wind was going to keep tacticians heads "smoking" from too much electrical activity on the brain!  It sure makes for fun, exciting racing!  Just like they say about operas, "it's not over until its over"-- something about "fat lady divas", right?!

After eight races and three days of amazing sailing, Martin Menzner and his PIKE crew sailed into a comfortable lead in first place.  Taking second was Soren Hadeler's VIVACE DIVA who had an exciting match race with Sven Vagt's CAMPAIGN, winning in the end by just one point by virtue of scoring a 1-2 in the last two races.  Fourth was Bjorn Beilken's PROCEDES DIVA and fifth was Hauke Kruss's TAK FOR TUREN.  Top boat from Denmark was Flemming Djernaes's PROJECT 2 in eighth overall.   For more J/80 Germany sailing information

Troussel Dominates J/80 French Open

(Lorient, France)- With forty-three boats sailing with many of the top French teams participating, it was clear that the RC led by Jean Coadou would have their hands full having to manage a very aggressive fleet that included many of the top French Teams in J/80 sailing.  In the end, Nicolas Troussel skippering PL YACHTING sailed one of his best J/80 series to date to win with a 2-4-10-2-4 record for 12 pts net, well clear of the rabid dogs fighting it out behind them by eight points.

The first day of racing was run in a wind of 10-15 knots.  However, numerous general recalls did not allow Coadou's RC to run more than two races!  It was a remarkably aggressive fleet, with more than a dozen BFDs in the fleet! Nevertheless, Troussel's team took command of the regatta with a consistent 2-4 finish.

The second day of sailing was slightly delayed by the lack of wind.  Despite those odds, the RC managed to get in three races in the 5-10 kts sea-breeze conditions.  It was a great battle for all the races sailed under the bright sun!  Perfect sailing for everyone!  The leaders excelled in these conditions throughout the day, very tactical conditions where the left side of the was most often favorable. Troussel and crew maintained their lead ahead of Jerome Croyere's RUBAN VERT and Eric Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT!  Amazing performance!  The dinner and "winner's roast" in the evening was remembered for the "salsa bar", delicious mixed drinks and wonderful music!

The third day dawned with a bright sun with no wind. Sadly, there was nothing that Coadou's RC crew could muster to get the "OverLord Neptune" to produce wind, no amount of delicious bordeaux or Chateaux Montrachet burgundy French wine, voluptuous nymphs, nor old red socks!  Racing was canceled for the day due to the "glass-out" conditions.  As a result, the final standing stood at Troussel winning, followed by Croyere's RUBAN VERT and  Eric Brezellec's famous INTERFACE CONCEPT in third.  Fourth was Sylvain Pellissier's VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE and fifth was Maxime Rousseaux's GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES.

Top winners for 40+ year old sailors was FRA 639 Naval Academy GC 29 sailed by Frédéric HAUVILLE.  The first women's skipper and crew award went to PRINCE DE BRETAGNE FRA 1338 sailed by Pauline CHALAUX!
For more J/80 French Open sailing information