J/11S Yachting World Review

(Cowes, England)- Matt Sheahan, Chief Technical Editor for Yachting World, commented that “…J/Boats, in general, have long had a reputation for being good to sail short-handed, thanks largely to the simplicity of the asymmetric spinnaker…the new J/11S has been tweaked to make her an easier boat to sail short-handed and more competitive.  As a result, she has twin rudders connected to a single tiller, a slightly shorter rig, and a smaller jib than her sistership she is based on- the J/111…. the changes and tweaks have helped bring her IRC handicap down from 1.096 (J/111) to 1.050 (J/11S), a reduction that gets her under the upper rating limit for the famous Trans Quadra Race, a popular TransAtlantic Race for single and double-handed amateur sailors over 40.”   Watch Matt’s J11S short-handed speedster sailing review here on YouTube.    Read more about Matt Sheehan’s perspectives on the new J/11S short-handed speedster here in his Yachting World article (PDF file).

Cayman’ers Jump Jammin' Jamaica Regatta!

(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- Mike Farrington and the Cayman Island Sailing Club team (3rd in the South African J/22 Worlds) returned to the regatta with a vengeance after a four year hiatus.  Nearly winning every race in the two day series, Farrington’s Cayman crew sailed TAKE 5 nearly flawlessly to win the Jamaica Jammin J/22 Regatta with a commanding lead over the rest of the eleven boat fleet that came from Canada, USA (Newport), Cayman Islands, Montego Bay and Kingston.

Blessed with the usual tradewinds blowing from the east, the Montego Bay YC’s PRO team (led by Richard Hamilton) managed to run the complete set of seven races over the two days.  Saturday’s racing saw the trades kick in around 1100 hrs with a partly sunny day and temperatures hovering in the mid-80s.  Due to the random black cloud streaming across the course area, the resultant 30-45 degree wind shifts played havoc with the tactics.

The first race would become a repeat of what was going to happen for the balance of the weekend.  The top two boats in the race jumped out to a substantial lead on the first leg.  At the top mark, NINA rounded first, sailed by the Newport USA team of Stuart & Julia Johnstone (sailing with Jamaican father & son crew of Stephen & Krystian Dear).  But, not soon after, the TAKE 5 Cayman crew led by Farrington demonstrated superior downwind speed and took the lead around the bottom mark, ultimately taking the win.  For the next three races on Saturday, similar scenarios would play out but with Farrington’s TAKE 5 crew proving unbeatable with a 1-2-3-1 scoreline to lead the day with 7 pts.  Sitting in second on the day, just one point behind, was the Johnstone & Dear crew on NINA with a 2-1-1-4 record for 8 pts.  Third on the day was another Cayman Island team, Bruce Johnson’s crew on AWESOME posting a 4-6-2-2 for 14 pts. 

Saturday evening has become something of a tradition for the Jamaica Jammin Regatta.  The hosts for the “Western Round-up” were Bryan and Lynn Langford.  In addition to the “potluck” dinner of all kinds of Jamaican delicacies, the Langford’s surprised the crowd of nearly eighty people with the local Western cowboy singer version of “Billy Bob”.  Not often one sees a well-tanned Jamaican singer belting out Western classics on his guitar swell into the wee-hours of the evening.  Dancing shoes, or what was left of them, were summarily tossed into the pool as throngs of sailors spun and danced around the enormous veranda in front of the house.  How good was the partay??  Quite good.  Most sailors apparently made it home in good shape, a few cars didn’t.  But, that’s a story for another day.

With such a lively party the night before, it was not too surprising to see a few “dusty” sailors on the yacht club grounds the next morning stumbling down to their boats tied Mediterranean-style on the docks.  With an hour earlier start time, it was especially difficult for some boats to get rolling in the morning due to the lack of wind.  First off the docks were Farrington’s Cayman crew loaded with a case of Red Stripe beer, last off was the Johnstone/ Dear team on NINA.  Sunday’s racing started off in moderate winds and sunny skies with a much more northeasterly angle to the direction.  Many teams were hitting the corners hard- like so hard that you could not read sail numbers across the race course (and the JAM sail numbers are big!).  The windward mark rounding proved to be a repeat of the day before, with Johnstone and Farrington rounding overlapped at the first mark. with TAKE 5 winning the 5th race and NINA placing second.  The breeze increased dramatically over the course of the three races on the final day.  Farrington’s crew sailed well to close out the regatta with three bullets on the final day. The Johnstone/ Dear team on NINA closed out with a 2-2-3 to comfortably finish second.  Third overall was Johnson’s Cayman crew on AWESOME.

There was a tough battle that was brewing all weekend for the balance of the top five- a battle for local supremacy between the top Kingston and MoBay teams.  An unfortunate DNF in the third race slowed down Peter Harper’s ZIPPER crew from Montego Bay, however, they fought hard to get back into contention and closed out the regatta with a good set of races on Sunday.  Incredibly, there was a three-way tie for the number 3 spot for the day that included AWESOME, ZIPPER and Steve “Cookie” Cooke’s GERONIMO from Kingston.  The final outcome was that Cookie’s GERONIMO took the flag as top Jamaican boat in 4th overall followed by Harper’s ZIPPER in fifth place.

The Montego Bay YC wishes to thank all the competitors that traveled far and wide to come down and enjoy the Jammin Jamaica J/22 Regatta.  The western “jump-up” on Saturday was greatly appreciated by all and a huge “thanks” to Bryan and Lynn Langford for their extraordinary hospitality.  In addition, thanks to all the MoBay YC volunteers, including the extraordinary race management by PRO Richard Hamilton.  Finally, a big shout out to regatta sponsors Boomerang Tyres/Maxxis and Stocks & Securities Ltd for their support.  Sailing photo credits- Bunny Rose Photography

If you want to watch an entertaining video, take a look at the production by Krystian Dear and his younger brother Kai and Sarah Missir- very talented kids!  It’s an awesome Jammin Jamaica J/22 sailing video summary here.   For more Jammin Jamaica J/22 Regatta sailing information

J/70 Quantum Winter Series Preview

Midwinters in St Petersburg!
(Tampa, Florida)- This coming weekend marks the beginning of the 2015/2016 Quantum J/70 Winter Series that will be hosted by the Davis Island YC in Tampa, Florida. There are 51 entries for the series with a majority of the teams sailing in the Corinthians Class! Many new faces will be attending the three act event that are based on the following dates:

• Dec 12-13- Quantum J/70 Winter Series I- Tampa, FL
• Jan 9-10- Quantum J/70 Winter Series II- Tampa, FL
• Feb 6-7- Quantum J/70 Winter Series III- Tampa, FL

Many teams that have competed in the first two Quantum J/70 Winter Series are returning for more action on the northern part of Tampa Bay- a venue that can promise everything from flat water, sunny, warm and light southwesterly winds to nuking weather conditions when massive cold fronts pass through with chilly temperatures and grey, steely skies, but the hottest action sailing can offer when the breeze howls out of the northwest blowing 15-25 kts.

In the “Open” division, both Open and Corinthian teams compete for class honors.  In the Open group are new teams like John Baxter’s VINEYARD VINES from New York YC, Rick Schaffer from Fort Worth Boat Club and Laura and Leif Sigmond sailing NORBOY NORGIRL from Chicago YC.  Joining them will be a number of class veterans that include Holly Graf’s SPICE from Annapolis, Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Virginia, John Brim’s RIMETTE from Long Island Sound, Jud Smith’s AFRICA from Eastern YC in Marblehead (current J/70 North American Champion), Will Welles SCAMP from Mount Desert Island SC, Jody Lutz & Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Houston, Al Terhune’s DAZZLER from Annapolis, Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, Joel Ronning’s CATAPAULT from Minnesota, and Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS from Buzzards Bay.

The “Corinthians” division has the majority of the fleet with 27 boats competing.  Leading that contingent may be local hotshot Rob Britts sailing HOT MESS (a past winner of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series).  He will be hard-pressed for division honors by teams like Chuck Millican’s Bermuda crew on ELUSIVE; Jack Lord’s HEY JUDE team from Corinthian YC of Cape May, New Jersey; Joe Pawlowski’s PERFECT TEN from Youngstown YC; Mark Foster’s NO-PRO from Corpus Christi YC in Texas; Todd Jenner’s TEA DANCE SNAKE from Baltimore, MD; John Arendshorst’s 20/20 from Macatawa Bay YC in Michigan; Brian Elliot’s B-SQUARED from Sayville YC; Alex Meleny’s TRUCKIN from Vineyard Haven YC on Martha’s Vineyard; and Brandon Flack’s TORQEEDO from Stonington, CT.

Many of these teams will also be sailing the Quantum Key West Race Week in the third week of January as well as the J/70 Midwinter Championship hosted by St. Petersburg YC in St Petersburg, FL from February 25th to 28th, 2016- learn more about sailing the J/70 Midwinters here.   For more J/70 sailboat information

J/105s Sweep Hot Rum Series Class 3

J/70s & J/100 In 3-Way Tiebreak for Class 4!
(San Diego, CA)- In the fall of 1957, Herbert Sinnhoffer decided to start a race for the purpose of tuning up BUTCHER BOY II for the upcoming offshore race to Acapulco, Mexico.  The first race brought 18-20 boats. DOLPHIN sailed into first place giving Gerald R. Bill the honor of filling the silver Samovar with hot rum for the remainder of the fleet. Today, the Hot Rum Race draws over 130 boats, but the spirit of the race is the same. Mr. Sinnhoffer was remembered for saying that the point of the Hot Rum race is to be "a fun race, (and) to be able to meet afterwards and make friends."

The 2015 Hot Rum Series kicked off on November 7th with a picture perfect San Diego day; sunny skies and winds around 7-10 knots with gusts up to 15. A Southeast breeze called for spinnakers at the start. Kites started off small with a Catalina 30s and J/22s and grew to very large with a Kernan 70 and J/65. All 140 boats eventually crossed the start line and head out to Point Loma to the first mark.

The wind conditions increased as the racers dropped their chutes conservatively and rounded to head back to the bay. Coronado Brewing Company and Mount Gay Rum greeted sailors with open arms back at the party at SDYC, and everyone said how fortunate they were to be out racing on such a beautiful day.

Little did they know, the second Hot Rum race, held on November 21st, would be just as pristine. The race started with lighter winds in the bay as all the boats waited their turn to start. Most racers decided to go kite up at the start as they had done before. After the majority of smaller boats had rounded the first mark there was a wind gap that left some of the bigger boats stuck momentarily. As they crept along the wind picked back up in time for the large kites to come down, with winds gusting around 12-14 kts.

The final race in the series took the sailors by surprise with winds forecasted to be light. The boats were instead greeted in the starting area by a steady 12-knot breeze as they awaited to begin the last race in the series. Smaller boats were able to use the wind for their start but by the time the bigger boats got going, they found themselves in a hole off Ballast Point and the little boats shot ahead. The fleet sailed into big gusts off Point Loma as they headed back toward the finish. Blessed with three perfect Saturday’s, 2015 Hot Rum Series will go down in history as one of the greatest!

Back on shore, sailors from all across Southern California regrouped in the pavilion near the SDYC pool for the awards party that featured live music from The Lifted Tack featuring SDYC’s Junior Sailing Director John Fretwell on the mic.

Starting with Class 1, the J/125s had a go of it with Tim Fuller’s RESOLUTE taking fourth place and Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE finishing seventh.  Sailing very consistently in mid-fleet was the magnificent J/65 MAITRI sailed by Tom Barker.

Class 2 is usually the province of J/120s, having won or swept the class for so many years that everyone has lost count.  While sailing fast and taking most of the top spots, it was the first time in years a J/120 hadn’t won the class.  Instead, they took three of the top five, with Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY in 3rd, followed by Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER in fourth and John Laun’s CAPER in fifth.

Dennis Case and his team aboard the J/105 WINGS was the Class 3 Winner and took 3rd Overall.  According to Case, “this Hot Rum series was really one of the best I can remember in some time. You could not ask for better sunny weather with the wind in the 9 to 18 kts range for all three races. The PHRF time on distance rating system general favors the big fast boats when the wind is light and when it’s stronger it favors the smaller slower boats. This year the wind was just right. I think everybody had a good fun time on the water. For us on the J/105 Wings it has to be on the last race, when we were close spinnaker reaching to the second mark with the wind gusting to 18 kts and big swells rolling underneath. Close to broaching we would surf the waves doing 14 kts boat speed. Raving Madness and Wani Racing were the top two boats overall and sailed great races and deserve to be congratulated. I only once got close to them. It was never close. But next time if the wind is around 20kts --- watch out for Wings!"

J/105s took 5 of the top 7 spots in Class 3.  In second was Rick Goebel’s SANITY (also 4th overall), fourth was Dag Fish’s VIGGEN, sixth was Steve & Lucy Howell’s BLINK! and seventh was Ed Sanford’s CREATIVE.

Like their colleagues in Class 3, the two J/70s and a J/100 all ended up tied on 10 pts each after the three races!  Taking the win on the tiebreaker due to most 1sts was the J/100 JASWINDER sailed by Tom Reilly with an 8-1-1 record.  Second was the J/70 SOGGY DOLLAR skippered by Dave Vieregg with a 1-3-6 scoreline.  And, third was yet another J/70, Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU with a 2-5-3 tally!!  Fun and games for sure in that fleet!

Thank to sponsors First National Bullion, SD Boatworks, Mount Gay Rum and Coronado Brewing Company for their support of SDYC’s annual Hot Rum Series.  Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JOYSAILING.com  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum series sailing information

Beautiful J/112E Sports Cruiser Sailing videos

(Newport, RI)- During the two weeks the new J/112E sports cruiser was sailing in Narragansett Bay, we had an opportunity to sail her in a wide range of conditions, from classic fall colors with sunny skies, crystal clear 8-12 kt winds from the northwest, to smoky sou’westers with clouds, big chop and plenty of breeze gusting into the 25 kts range.

Please take some time to enjoy the following YouTube videos of the J/112E sailing in those conditions.  We believe you will see she joins her sisterships, the J/97E and J/122E, as an exceptional upwind performer. V-shaped bow sections provide superior directional stability and reduced slamming in waves. Plus, her freeboard forward and topside flare help to keep the deck dry. The long waterline combined with a low vertical center of gravity results in a smooth, sea-kindly motion – more like that of a 40 footer.  And, with the asymmetric spinnaker flying, she pops onto a plane and leaves a smooth trail of foam in her wake, hitting upwards of 12.7 kts on a broad 150 TWA reach.  

J/112E Aerials- Family Sail

J/112E Breezy Bay Sail

For more J/112E sailing information

Get Your 2016 J/Calendar Today!

(Newport, RI)- A sailing calendar is a great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew.  Order yours today and get it in time for the holidays!

For 2016, we have created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world.  Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places.

The 2016 sailing calendar features J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/105s, J/111s and a J/42 sailing in many of the worlds most popular sailing areas- Cowes (the Solent), Newport (Narragansett Bay & Rhode Island Sound), San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Les Sables d’Olonne, Biscayne Bay, Lake Michigan, Kiel, Santander and Travemunde!   See the gorgeous J/Calendar sailing photo gallery here.    Order your 2016 J/Calendar today, click here!

The Cruiser-Racer Sailboat Revolution

(Newport, RI)- The advent of production boatbuilding changed the face of dual-purpose sailboats, a concept that waxes and wanes but endures today.

SAILNG Magazine’s Heather Steinberger explores the developments over time that have led to boats like the new J/122E (pictured here):

“The cruiser-racer fleet grew in the 1980s and 1990s and the boats of that era continue to cruise and race successfully today.

You still see them at local marinas and at popular distance races like the Chicago-Mackinac and the Newport-Bermuda. C&C, Ericson, Cal— their names still strike a chord with those who remember the heyday of open design handicap racing in the 1960s and 1970s, when these production fiberglass sailboats saw real success on the race course.

A true cruiser-racer is a boat that features comfortable accommodations below, user-friendly handling topside, and competitive performance. Their origins lie in the early 1930s, with boats like Olin Stephens’ Stormy Weather and Dorade, and with the venerable Southern Ocean Racing Circuit.

When the fiberglass revolution hit production boatbuilding in the 1960s, however, the stage was set for a new breed of cruiser-racer. At the forefront of this movement was the design group Cuthbertson and Cassian. In 1965, Canadian yachtsman Perry Connolly commissioned the duo to design a custom 40-foot racing sloop. Bruckmann Manufacturing built the boat in fiberglass with a balsa core, making her the first ever to be engineered with a cored hull.

Christened “Red Jacket”, the new boat launched in May 1966, the same year William Schanen Jr. founded SAILING Magazine. And, she was a game-changer.

“Red Jacket was a departure for us, and she really put us on the map,” remembered George Cuthbertson, now 86. “She did very well in the SORC. She won the whole thing in 1968, and that was with 85 competitors.”

Demand for the pair’s designs already in production sharply increased, attracting significant attention. By September 1969, Cuthbertson and Cassian joined forces with Ian Morch of Belleville Marine, George Hinterholler of Hinterholler Yachts and Erik Bruckmann of Bruckmann Manufacturing to create C&C Yachts Limited.

“We became so well known, the public issue on the Toronto Stock Exchange worked in 1969,” Cuthbertson noted. “In 1973, I turned over the design office to Robbie Ball.”

Robert H. Perry of Perry Yacht Design, SAILING’s longtime technical editor, commented, “when the IOR was adopted in 1970, everyone started taking racing more seriously. There was no emphasis on creature comforts below, and there really were none on deck. But companies like C&C, Ericson and Cal attempted to keep the boats family-friendly below while the custom boats got more radical.”

Interest in cruiser-racers waned by the late 1970s. “You might see the occasional Cal 40 or Ericson 35 or 39, but people thought racing just wasn’t fun anymore in IOR boats,” Perry explained. “They were replaced by the J/24.”

The J/24 was introduced in 1977, and one-design racing leaped ahead of the aging, open-design, handicap version. Sailors who no longer wanted to deal with what Perry called “the design wars” shifted focus and made the transition to sport boats.

While the J/24 proved to be a solid one-design boat, it wasn’t a cruiser by any stretch of the imagination. So, in 1979, J/Boats introduced the J/30. The Newport, Rhode Island-based company would go on to build 550 J/30s between 1979 and 1989, and many remain active today.

“That was our first real cruiser-racer, and it became very popular,” said Rod Johnstone, J/Boats co-founder and designer. “We knew most owners would rather race one-design, and that propelled us to the SORC, the Grand Prix for cruiser-racers.”

The J/30 essentially was a big J/24, competitive in one-design racing and also comfortable enough for summer cruising. J/Boats upped the ante a few years later with its J/35, which took the same concept and made it large enough for the Newport-Bermuda Race.

“In 1984, we took home the prize for the fastest boat under 40 feet,” Johnstone said. “We built 330 boats between 1983 and 1993. This past August, our J/35 won its class at Chester Race Week.  And, in fact, a J/35 in the United Kingdom easily won its class in the RORC’s IRC Nationals in 2014 that was sailed on the Solent!”

Perry said the J/35 is a pivotal boat in the ongoing cruiser-racer story.

“If I had to pick a place where cruiser-racers turned a corner, it would be the J/35,” he said. “It had the performance advantages of the other Js, but it was big enough to have some comfort.”

As time marched on, sailboat racing became increasingly technical, and boats were designed tailored to the rating rule of the moment. Comfort wasn’t part of the equation—and the price of admission continued to go up.

“Production boats used to win significant races, but not anymore,” Perry said. “Then, with the downturn in the economy, there simply wasn’t a big market for family cruiser-racers anymore. The industry sort of bubbled along with hard-core racers.”

But the desire for a fast boat with a welcoming, comfortable interior didn’t entirely dissipate. J/Boats saw an opportunity after the Great Recession, noting that many sailors were looking to downsize but not get off the water entirely.

“People were selling their big boats, and there were so many 50- to 60-foot boats out there, sold for pennies on that dollar,” Johnstone said. “We decided to focus our new designs in the 40-foot-and-under market.”

Enter the J/122.

“Here’s a 40-footer that is almost a turn back to the old-style cruiser-racer,” Perry said. “They made a fast boat with a welcoming, comforting interior. They were looking for that magic combination. You might say the boats aren’t overly cruisey, but they’re not hard-nosed racey either.”

They will never be faster than all-carbon, stripped-out racers. And that’s OK.

“The J/122 is for the sailor who races once in awhile, but cruising is really important,” Johnstone said. “It’s a $500,000 boat, so it has to make sense.”

“With racing, you basically have two camps,” Perry said. “One is the group that will do anything to go fast. The other is the guy that says, ‘My boat has a nice rating, I’m going to keep racing that.’ The Js fit between the two camps. Lots of boats are promoted as cruiser-racers today. Most have all the earmarks of a race boat, but the J/122 is a little bit yesterday, a little bit today.”

The SORC, the Miami-Nassau race and the golden age of cruiser-racers may be behind us. But as long as sailors seek to balance their precious cruising time with some thrills on the race course, the concept of the cruiser-racer will continue. It may evolve and change, but it will endure.”  Thanks for the contribution from SALING Magazine.

The Ideal Sailing Event?

(Bitter End YC, British Virgin Islands)-  Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and hoping to expect different results. If that’s true, then Chris Smith must be the sanest person we know.

Smith, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, is Commodore of the Arizona Yacht Club, and races his J/80, SLOOP DOGG, on Lake Pleasant. He is also among the regulars at the annual Bitter End Yacht Club Pro-Am Regatta in October.

Held in the British Virgin Islands, Smith explains why he continually attends the Pro-Am expecting the same results-

“It’s been 7 years in a row and I’m already signed up for the next one, the 30th edition. Add family vacations and I’ve been there 10 times. Let me put it this way. Why do saltwater salmon swim upstream? Why do Canadian geese fly back to, I assume, Canada? The Pro-Am has become, at least for me, a biological sailing imperative that is more than the sum of its many outstanding parts.

First, there’s something about arriving at a regatta by boat, especially when that’s the only way to reach Bitter End Yacht Club, whose resort and cottages line the beach and hillsides of Virgin Gorda along North Sound, one of the best sailing venues in the world. (Yacht Club Costa Smeralda apparently thinks so as well; it built a branch of its Sardinia-based club around the corner from BEYC.)

The North Sound Express begins the transition to island time by picking up passengers in Trellis Bay, near the Tortola/Beef Island airport, and slipping through the Sir Francis Drake Passage past The Dogs (islands) and Spanish Town (no surprise here, a town) and then into North Sound where the iconic BEYC welcome building looms into view.

For a guy who started sailing 10 years ago, calls a lake in Arizona his home port, and lives 150 miles from his boat, the Pro-Am Regatta is an entre to racing with top tier pro sailors who I’d otherwise only read about.

Since 2009, that has meant sailing with, for example, legends Dave Ullman, Dave Perry, and Kenny Read, and young guns Taylor Canfield, Stephanie Roble and Sally Barkow, among others. (It would border on shameless name dropping to list all of the pros though I admit it occasionally is unavoidable in conversation to not say something along the lines of, “When I raced with Russell Coutts…”)

The “Am” part of the regatta is another reason I keep returning. Everyone is there to sail and have fun. The list of friends I have made at the Pro-Am keeps getting longer. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve gone solo or with my wife, there is always a place at a table. The Pro-Am has to be one of the most “inclusive” events in the sailing world.

There’s a reason the IC24 sailboat– a J/24 with a roomy J/80 style cockpit–is a staple on the Caribbean racing scene and the boat at the Pro-Am. It’s responsive and fun to sail in the trade winds, but when raced without a spinnaker, it accommodates sailors with wide ranges of experience and age.

A common complaint about sailboat racing is that it’s all windward-leeward. Racing with the pros at BEYC involved four formats in 2015: The Defiance Day Regatta–a point to point race from North Sound to the Baths and back, followed by fleet racing, team racing, and match racing in North Sound.

Sailing with different pros over the years also has provided the chance to ask questions and absorb as much as possible on everything from playing shifts along the shore (Russell Coutts) to team racing tactics (Taylor Canfield). As much as I hate the week ending, I can’t wait to get home and try new stuff.

And then there’s the local knowledge–Peter Holmberg introduced me to Cruzan Rum from St. Croix in the USVI. Cruzan and Mt. Gay, with rocks and lime, have become the cornerstones of the 100% effective Sloop Dogg Racing Anti-Scurvy Program.

While one of the pros will ultimately win the Pro-Am Regatta, there’s a regatta within the regatta for amateurs–the Scuttlebutt Sailing Championship. The qualifying rounds take place in Lasers, Hobie Waves, and Hobie Getaways and the top six qualifiers pick crews and then fleet race in IC24’s for the championship.

The talent runs deep, the starts are close, and mark roundings are tight, but Tom Leweck’s rule that protest hearings will take place at 3 a.m. on top of the hill above BEYC keeps anyone from getting too carried away. As if a virtual parking space in front of the virtual Scuttlebutt Sailing Club weren’t enough, the winning skippers also get free nights at the next Pro-Am.

I don’t want to give the impression that there are a lot of bars where they know my name, but when I stuck my hand across the bar at the Crawl Pub on the front end of the 2015 Pro-Am and said, “Hi, Toots, I’m…”, he interrupted me. “You’re Chris Smith.” Wow! My one-week-a-year neighborhood bar, 3,032 miles from home.

The same is true at the Watersports counter where Jerome, Jay, Javon, Sarah, Dobbs, Aaron, and the rest of the crew get to know you and make it easy to sail and SUP nonstop. My idea of the perfect day is taking out a standup paddle board and taking in a yoga class before breakfast, and then working in Laser and Hobie sessions before and after racing with the pros. Plenty of people, when not sailing with the pros, relax in hammocks or with their toes in the sand under palm trees, but with warm water and trade winds, and only a week to enjoy them, don’t stand between me and Watersports.

Going to the same restaurant day after day at home would be a recipe for madness, but the food at BEYC, including local fish and Caribbean dishes, is outstanding, and there is nothing routine about eating outdoors with the Caribbean a few feet away. And at the risk of sounding like the halyard that won’t stop slapping against the mast, when staff like Yolanda and Sherry Mae welcome you back, you know you came to the right place. It also says something about a resort that has had the same staff for years.

In addition to the “pluses” I mentioned, in the interest of complete candor and full disclosure, I must also say that BEYC has significant “minuses.” And they are among the reasons I keep going back.

There are no roads, no cars. Walking is the way to get around. The rooms do not have internet. There’s wi-fi at the restaurant, but once you get there, you’re likely to have actual conversations that go on for more than 140 characters and are a lot more fun. The rooms do not have TV’s. Eustacia Sound, with its hues of Caribbean blues and waves breaking on the reef, is always playing beyond the balconies of the Beach Front Cottages. And there are no elevators. Wooden stairs lead to the rooms, which are sublime in their simplicity.

There are undoubtedly plenty of tropical island resorts that offer sailing, but next October it will be time again for my annual migration to the BEYC Pro-Am Regatta.

NOTE: Scuttlebutt founder Tom Leweck must be pretty sane too; he first attended the Pro-Am in 2000 and has been there every year since.  Plus, thanks for this contribution from his son Craig Leweck- current publisher of Scuttlebutt (does having to write a newsletter once a day define madness, too?).

J/24 Sailing Chile's Lily Pads?

(Quemchi Harbor, Chile)- A J/24 stuck in the lily pads off the coast of Chile?  You bet, a photo reminiscent of the famous J/41 that ran up onto the sands of Newfoundland on a delivery across the North Atlantic 30 years ago!  Juan Edoardo Reid, the J/Boats Chilean distributor, had this to say about the amusing photo:

“This took place during the Chiloé Circuit Regatta of 2002. The regatta site was in Quemchi, the second town we visit in the coastal circuit after Puerto Montt and Calbuco. Chiloé has very complex tides due to high water differences along the course offshore and the anchoring area in the harbor.  Per Von Appen was sailing the Italian 5223 boat when this happened.  They were the victims of extremely heavy winds (essentially a full gale) that blew away the water during the night while they were anchored in Quemchi harbor!  They needed to wait 4-5 hours for the water to come in again, and they were lucky to float the boat in time to start the next race from Quemchi to Achao and complete the Chiloé Circuit!!

RORC Transatlantic Race Update

(Tenerife, Grand Canary Islands)- The J/120 NUNATAK, skippered by that colorful, dynamic and highly successful duo, Elin Haf Davies and Chris Sharp from the United Kingdom are well on their way in the second edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race.  As of 1800 hours on Monday, November 30th, NUNATAK was sitting on first in IRC 2 Class, first in IRC Double-handed class and second in IRC Overall!  They are competing against world-class Class 40 teams in the double-handed division.

The race got away as scheduled from Marina Lanzarote with the fleet enjoying a reaching start in Atlantic swell and a solid 15 knots of breeze from the northeast. Close battles are expected within the fleet for the next 3,000 miles before the yachts reach the finish at Camper & Nicholsons, Port Louis Marina in Grenada.

On the first day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the fleet was heading west, following the setting sun. The race course sends the yachts to the north of Tenerife, a 120-mile blast reach from the southern tip of Lanzarote in Atlantic swell - a spectacular way to spend a Saturday night! After rounding Tenerife, the next mark of the course is Glover Island Light, Grenada, about 3,000 miles south west across the Atlantic.

"A fantastic start," enthused Eddie Warden Owen, Chief Executive of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. "Beautiful conditions for the fleet which all got away extremely well under full sail. Every single yacht competing in this race has been so well prepared and they are all expecting a very competitive race across the Atlantic. There are battles throughout the fleet which will undoubtedly have many twists and turns over the next few days and weeks of racing. Safety is always our top priority and after that major consideration, these teams are all up for the challenge of pushing hard across the Atlantic."

First away were the monohulls. Frost and Davies were racing their J/120 NUNATAK Two-Handed in their first ever Transatlantic Race.  Chris and Elin were in a buoyant mood as they passed the RORC Committee Boat for their safety inspection. "See you in Grenada!" shouted Elin. "And, you're buying the drinks when we make it before the prize-giving!"

Meanwhile, two days later on board NUNATAK, Chris was sampling the cuisine prepared by Elin. She laughably explained her less than Michelin 5-star preparations; “Chris got offered either ‘partially cooked’ or ‘burnt’ pasta for dinner last night. Reminding us both that it wasn’t for my cooking skills that he agreed to have me on board as co-skipper. I would explain our watch system, but probably best you just look at the tracker. When it’s going in a straight line, Chris is on watch. When it’s all over the place, I’m on watch. We are both having an amazing time, enjoying as much sleep as we can and loving the good work that Nunatak is doing to power us forward.”

The fourth day at sea finds NUNATAK holding near rhumbline.  With the light winds, experienced yesterday and last night the clutch of 40 ft yachts have come to the fore after IRC corrected time. Provisionally, NUNATAK is winning both the Two-Handed Division as well as leading the IRC fleet overall after time correction. Not wishing to dampen their fireworks, this may be due to the fact that NUNATAK has taken a more westerly route, closer to the rhumb line. In doing so, NUNATAK has stayed in the high pressure vacuum but by tomorrow morning fresh winds are likely from the east, which will improve their position.

On the morning of day five of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the boats that escaped the high-pressure ridge first have made significant gains, most notably Jean-Paul Riviere and the crew of Nomad IV. Yesterday the smallest boat in IRC was wearing the crown. NUNATAK was working her way just south of the rhumb line and making good progress in the light winds, benefiting from minimizing the mileage required to the finish.

Yesterday we heard from the intrepid duo on J/120, NUNATAK, apparently not aware of their position in the race, have been concentrating on sightings of dolphins and contending with smelly deck shoes! Today is a significant day for Elin Haf Davies as eight years ago, she was rowing across the Atlantic from La Gomera to Antigua, a journey that took 77 days!

“We only have one major problem to deal with - my deck shoes,” says Atlantic rower and adventurer, Elin Haf Davies in her blog from the boat. “They smell so bad that Frosty (Chris) was so desperate to get away from the smell that he went up the rig, making an excuse that the spreaders needed to have padding on them to stop them from putting holes in our kites!”

“Yesterday we got caught in a wind hole which made me worry that this crossing was also going to take 77 days,” exclaimed Elin. “That would have been a major issues given that we’ve only packed enough food for 21 days (assuming we can stomach eating the dog food/meatballs).  The wind has continued to drop over night. As the Autohelm could handle the conditions, we had dinner together on deck, which was really beautiful at night. Overnight we went from A4, to Code 0 and then to jib as the southerly breeze stopped us from going south as quick as we wanted to.

Dolphins came to visit which was just amazing, as always, and far better than the floating fridge we had to by-pass the night before. Luckily, the wind picked up again last night and with the help of our Code 0, and then our A2, we’re now on the move again.”

Hard to believe that six months ago I had never helmed down wind with a spinnaker, and now I’m helming down wind across the Atlantic at speeds of up to 11kts (and loving it!) with Chris fast asleep below deck. Okay, the fact that he’s fast asleep might be more to do with extreme exhaustion rather than complete confidence, but you’ve got to start somewhere right?!

It’s major credit to Chris for having the patience to teach me, and for putting together our 2H campaign this season (with help from his Dad, thanks Roger). It’s obvious to say that if he’d raced the season with Mike, Kev, Tim or one of his other mates, he would have been able to compete far more competitively, rather than coaching me. But it’s fair to say for both of us that we’ve had so much fun so far this year, and this race across the pond so far is also proving to be an amazing experience which makes both of us grin from ear to ear. Thanks RORC for the opportunity.”   Follow their posts on RORC’s Facebook page.   Here is the RORC Yellowbrick fleet tracking   For more RORC Transatlantic Race sailing information