Sailing J/88s Faster- North Sails' Vince Brun

(San Diego, CA)- Vince Brun- North Sails Offshore One-Design Leader- provided some hints on sailing the J/88 (and similar boats) better.

Brun enjoyed a weeks racing with Kevin Marks and his team on VELOCITY for the J/88 North Americans. The event was hosted by the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY from September 24th to October 2nd.

Below you can read Vince's tips on boat set-up and pre-race routines. These suggestions were put together from his observations taken during the course of the regatta and are applicable across a wide-range of keelboats- large and small!

Boat Preparation
Bottom- Needless to say the bottom of the boat being clean and properly maintained is a key part of any fast boat or program. Going fast starts there and I can assure you that not one boat ever won a big event with a poorly maintained bottom. Don’t matter how well the crew perform, the rig is set, the sails trimmed, or the helmsman skills, a clean and smooth bottom, will have a huge impact on the overall boat performance. For this reason, I always make sure that my boat bottom is as good as I can possibly get it, this will give me confidence which helps me focus exclusively on the mast and sail setup.

Sails, Rig Setup, and Performance
Rig Setup- I found that the current North Sails J/88 tuning guide was extremely accurate on the gauge numbers.

Light Medium versus Heavy Jib- At the regatta Velocity performed better with the Light/Medium jib up to 18 knots TWS, and this was made clear when we had the heavy jib in winds between 14 to 18 knots. The J/88 likes to be slightly overpowered and the small jib didn’t help in that range. This was noticed not only in the lack of acceleration after a wave, but also in the poor pointing ability. I would tend to use the Light Medium, even if the breeze is hitting 19 knots in the puffs, when the wind drops, the J-88 gets underpowered quickly when using the heavier jib.

Backstay- The backstay is a key control on the J/88 in all conditions, not only helping with the flattening of the mainsail but also critical on controlling the forestay tension, and therefore forestay sag. Find a good way to calibrate your “fast settings” with good backstay marks, so that they can be duplicated again, and again.

Inhaulers and Jib Lead Position- For anyone trimming the jib, the inhauler and jib lead position are key controls in achieving a well-set jib. If these controls are set in the wrong position, the trimmer won’t be able to have the jib properly trimmed. During a race you don't normally have the luxury to stay on the leeward side to get the sail set up just right, so having these settings established well before the race is extremely important.

In my opinion, the key to success on any boat, is the confidence to be able to repeat “fast settings” that were learned in previous races or training and only work on fine-tune changes from there. These numbers should be constantly added into your boat's tuning matrix, so that these adjustments can be made automatically, which will help free everyone’s minds to better focus on what is happening on the race course and strategy.

Running rigging with proper length and good marks- As emphasized above, I’m a firm believer that good marks on the control lines, are a tremendous help to crews allowing them to perform their tasks faster and with more precision.

Example: If the spinnaker halyard is marked when the sail is fully up, the mast person will know precisely when that job is done and be able to move to his next task quicker, and without hesitation.

Mainsheet- I would suggest having the mainsheet fine tune separated from the mainsheet gross, to avoid the lines tangling at the leeward rounding or during pre-start maneuvers.

Spinnaker sheet turning block position- It might be a good idea to have the turning block for the spinnaker sheet moved forward, so that the spinnaker and jib sheets don’t cross. This allows the spinnaker sheet to stay ahead of the jib winch and in line with the spinnaker top deck winch.

Folding Propeller- As we learned on the first race on Sunday, it’s extremely important to have the propeller properly closed before the start to avoid the extra drag. The boat should be traveling at full speed before turning the engine off and putting it in reverse, this will ensure that the prop is properly set.

Pre Race Routine/ Pre race position
I have seen many different approaches to this, but ultimately everyone has the same items crossed, before the start. Below is my pre-race routine that I try to execute before every race day. It’s very simple:

1. Get to the starting area and start sailing on starboard (hopefully against another boat) for a good period of time to record the wind oscillation range, and have the lifts and headers numbers well defined.

2. During this time, I also fine-tune my controls so that I’m comfortable with the boat speed (this being the reason for another boat being around). If there are speed issues, I make changes and continue testing.

3. After this is done, I hoist the spinnaker to make sure all the lines are led correctly and practice a few jibes to get the crew polished and ready for the day.

4. At the starting area, I normally check in and inspect the starting line, by going head to wind near the committee boat.  I am also checking the wind direction and comparing it with the line setup.

5. Now with all the data needed, the crew can discuss and prepare the starting and first leg strategy.

Starting around other boats
Obviously it’s hard to predict what others will do when approaching the starting line with a minute (or less) to the start. Possibly more important than how close you are to the line, is what “upwind lane” you will have 30 to 60 seconds after the start. A boat close to leeward with their bow slightly forward, will be a serious issue immediately after the gun. There are a couple of ways to escape this situation but the key is to identify the problem earlier rather than later, particularly when there are boats closer to windward.

If someone is close to leeward with a minute or more to go, you have two possible options:

1. Two tacks – which involve doing two quick tacks and opening the gap to the leeward boat and closing on the windward boat. This normally requires a nice gap to windward and great crew work to make this maneuver possible. This technique will require a well-trained crew that understands the boat and can execute the tacks with relatively minimum loss of speed.

2. The other more common option is to "push" the leeward boat by bearing off and taking their stern, establishing a hook to leeward. In most cases this attempt will force the leeward boat to do the same, but if they are late responding, which is not uncommon, you will be in a controlling position since you will have more speed and be able to hook. If you are unable to execute the hook, because the leeward boat has mimicked your move, you will be forced to go with plan A and do a double tack to protect your hole and future lane.

Again, identifying the situation early will give you more options to avoid a bad starting position.

Vince sent his thanks to Kevin and his team for making him welcome aboard Velocity and for an enjoyable weeks racing.  For more tips from Vince Brun’s North Sails One-Design performance programs.

J/70 Corinthian Nationals Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- As 45 corinthian J/70 teams (no category 3 sailors aboard) descend upon Annapolis to prepare for the inaugural J/70 Corinthian National Championship from October 20th to 23rd, they will be met with plenty of professionalism.  In addition to the professional race management provided by Eastport Yacht Club, J/World will be providing on the water coaching, practice drills and short course practice races to all entrants on Thursday October 20th. Designed to be a high level primer to sailing in Annapolis and an opportunity for all teams to receive outside feedback this is one practice session you can't afford to miss.  In addition to J/World staff, one-design sailmaker talent from Ullman Sails, North Sails and Quantum will be on the water working with J/World to provide insights into sail shape, boat handling, strategy and tactics.  Thursday's Practice Session starts at 1030 and concludes no later than 1600.

Following the practice session and immediately after racing on Friday and Saturday, J/World Director Kristen Berry will be moderating a panel discussion to help participants learn and integrate the information and observations of the on the water coaches. Debrief at the Eastport Yacht Club will be at 1800 on Thursday and following racing Friday and Saturday.

The fleet is studded with great talent across the board, with teams coming from the Midwest, Texas, the eastern seaboard and Quebec.  Top teams might include Jack Franco’s 3 BALL JT from Kemah, TX; Peter McChesney’s ARRR from Annapolis, MD; Bryan Cameron & Brian Elliott’s B-SQUARED from Sayville, NY; Jenn & Ray Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY from Annapolis, MD; Cole Allsopp & Bill Jorch’s MOXIE from Annapolis; Marty McKenna’s RARITY from Youngstown YC; Alex Meleny’s TRUCKIN from Vineyard Haven YC; Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD from Eastport YC; and John Hammel’s ZOMBIE fro Noroton YC.

For the Thursday practice, please be sure to contact Kristen Berry at ph- 410-280-2040 or Kristen@jworldannapolis.com on how J/World can support your team at this and other events.  For more J/70 Corinthian Nationals sailing information

J/105 Stella Artois North Americans Preview

(Larchmont, NY)- Since 1991, as the world’s first sprit “sportboat class”, the J/105 class continues to attract a strong group of corinthian sailors from across the spectrum of experience; both offshore sailors as well as round the buoys windward/leeward specialists.  For the 2016 edition of the 2016 Stella Artois J/105 North American Championship, forty boats from across several continents- the USA, Canada, Bermuda and Europe- are participating.

The host, Larchmont Yacht Club, is famous for its “Pandemonium” facility and its unconditional support of one-design sailing and offshore events.  The forty teams can expect terrific on-shore festivities for all four days of the event, starting Wednesday evening and ending with the awards ceremony on Sunday.

The field has diverse talents and includes several North American Champions (like Terry McLaughlin and Rod Wilmer’s MANDATE, James Rathbun’s HEY JUDE, Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE) as well as multiple regional champions in events like Block Island Race Week, J/Fest Southwest, Marblehead Race Week, NYYC Race Week (like Damian Emery’s ECLIPSE, Fred deNapoli’s ALLEGRO SIMPLICITA, Mike Mountford’s LIVE EDGE, Bill Lakenmacher’s RADIANCE, George & Alex Wilbanks’ REVELATION, Paul Beaudin’s LOULOU, Fred Darlington’s TONTO and Mark Masur’s TWO FEATHERS).

The previous weekend was treated as a training/ warm-up for several boats sailing the Manhasset Bay YC Fall Series.  What was notable was the dominance of the top three boats, winning was the Toronto, Ontario team hailing from Royal Canadian YC- McLaughlin/ Wilmer’s MANDATE.  They were followed by two teams that finished the regatta tied on points- Stone/Breault’s GOOD TRADE taking the tie-breaker over deNapoli’s ALLEGRO SIMPLICITA.  Another noteworthy performance was to see the American YC’s J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN, sailed by the Young American Junior Big Boat Team, win one race in convincing fashion.

With four days of racing scheduled and up to 12 races to be sailed, the J/105 teams will be working hard to maintain a high degree of consistency.  The weather forecast indicates the first two days will be in light to moderate breezes.  But, a Low that continues to deepen and move up the northeastern shoreline is showing it may give sailors 15-25 kt winds, gusting to 30 kts and much, much cooler temperatures- high 40s and low 50s for Saturday & Sunday!  True fall weather conditions on Long Island Sound!   For more Stella Artois J/105 North Americans sailing information

J/105 Masters Regatta- The Real Preview

(San Diego, CA)- It may be “horses for courses” in this year’s International Master’s Regatta, hosted by San Diego YC from October 21st to 23rd.  Many of the sailors are past World, Continental and National Champions in various classes, some like heavy air, many prefer lighter air.  San Diego Harbor can be a challenge and even on foggy mornings with a gentle breeze, the mighty thermal that develops from the massive heating over the mountains inland can produce 18-22 kt winds late in the day.  In any event, everyone will likely have their shot at glory depending on the weather conditions.

Masters co-chair, Tim Fuller (owner of the J/125 RESOLUTE), describes the tone and energy of the regatta. "This prestigious event brings together many of the “who’s who” of sailing in years past. The minimum age of the skipper is 60, and the crew is 45. In 2015, SDYC’s heralded Malin Burnham and his top shelf crew took home the Masters trophy after a challenging series of races and weather. It’s safe to say that the Masters competitors have learned to balance their competitive instincts and a good time back on land after the races. No question those folks can tell sailing stories in the comfort of the bar until the cows come home!”

Fuller also explained why the event is raced in these boats: "For those that may not know, both the International Masters Regatta and Lipton Cup regattas are sailed in J/105’s- 35 foot one-design racing sloops. A few years ago SDYC made the bold decision to take over as host for these events and supply all 12 owner-provided J/105’s with identical club-owned sails and other on-board gear. This combination of identical hulls and sails makes for fair competition.  And, all the rigs are identically tuned by an expert “tuning crew”.  That fact does not go unnoticed by the talented skippers and crews assembled to wrestle over the coveted Lipton Cup and Masters trophy. Because of SDYC’s continued commitment, and the support of local J105 boat owners, these regattas are assured success well into the future."

The event is loaded with a cast of characters, all of whom are champions past and present and can drive any boat fast.  Here’s a quick backgrounder on them.

Jon Andron, with Shawn Bennett as tactician, hails from St Francis YC. An accomplished sailor for many years, Jon has completed 15 Transpac races, is a former 505 North American Champion and sailed on Intrepid in the 1970 America's Cup. Jon will be vying for his first win of the Masters trophy that was last won by St. Francis in 2008 by skipper John Kilroy

Rich du Moulin, with Barrett Holby as tactician, from Larchmont YC.  Richard is from Larchmont Yacht Club has been racing an Express 37. With family and friends, he has won Block Island Race Week, the Vineyard and Block Island Races, and many other events. He also has four first places and four third places in eight Newport Bermuda Races. His lifetime goal is a record thirty Bermuda Races and he says, “My next will be 25….if I can race as long as Malin Burnham I might get to 34!” Richard has also raced the Transatlantic Race, Fastnet and Rolex Sydney Hobart. Richard founded the Storm Trysail Club's Junior Safety at Sea Program which has held over 100 seminars for more than 5,000 junior sailors over the past 20 years.

Tom Ehman, from New York YC, is the winner of the 1976 Championship of Champions and the founder of the San Francisco Yacht Racing Challenge that will be sailed in Super 12s. Tom started working with America's Cup in 1980, and has served many roles including rules advisor, team executive, event manager, and chairman of the Challenger Commission.  Plus, he was Executive Director of US Sailing for over 10 years.

Bob Fisher, with Nigel Brooks as tactician, is from Royal Lymington YC. Bob, a.k.a. “the Fish”, has a background sailing on #EastCoast waters and has won multiple Hornet and Fireball National and World Championships. He is also a previous winner of the Little America’s Cup and has been a navigator on several challenges across the #Atlantic.  Bob is perhaps most famous for his acerbic editorials on all things America’s Cup, is a Yachts & Yachting columnist, and has published several extraordinary books on sailing and the AC.  While many will debate this point, the Fish can be credited with having “hatched” several of the world’s top sailing journalists in their youth- Stew Alexander and Tim Jefferies (both now top dogs at The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, respectively).

Dave Irish is from Little Traverse YC in Harbor Springs, MI. David has extensive sailing leadership background as a three time past president of US SAILING, former Vice President of ISAF (now World Sailing) and founder of the Irish Boat Shop, Inc. in #HarborSprings and #Charlevoix, MI. In 2013, David was awarded the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy for outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing, and in 2015, he was inducted to the Little Traverse Yacht Club Hall of Fame.  As a sailor, Dave has won the Chicago-Mackinac Race in his division so many times over the past 50 years, he’s lost count!

Bill Menninger, with Jon Pinckney as tactician, is from Newport Harbor YC in Newport Beach, CA. Bill, and a former Governor's Cup - Balboa Yacht Club Winner from the mid-70s, now concentrates on local sailing races including the Harbor 20 Sailing Club Championship. He has also gravitated towards team racing in recent years, winning the US Championship and many other prominent events. Bill frequently sails with his son, Michael, and so far, the two are the only father-son winners of the Governor’s Cup. Bill and Michael will crew NHYC’s Lipton Cup team together at SDYC the weekend following the Masters Regatta.  Bill’s biggest moment of fame sailing the J/24 World Championship in San Francisco was winning the infamous “long-distance” race ahead of Stu Johnstone, John Kolius and John Kostecki!

Dick Tillman, with Tracy Usher as tactician, is from Melbourne YC in Melbourne, FL. Dick last raced the Masters Regatta nine years ago. Among other accomplishments, Tillman was member of the 1976 #Olympic Team and was a 1965 #Rolex Yachtsman of the Year recipient. He wrote a book about sailing and racing Lasers in 2005 and was the 2002 World Lasers Masters Champion. Considered one of the greatest masters sailors of all time, Tillman will be vying for his first win of the Masters Regatta Trophy

Tom Webster, with John Rumsey and Danny Thompson as tactician/ strategists, is from Barnet Bay, NJ. Tom was a South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association Penguin and Y-Flyer Champion and a National Junior Champion in the early 1960s. Tom has sailed with numerous sailors in many events over the years, but has focused the last 20 years of sailing on helping other people in the sport. In 1996, Tom was awarded the ISAF silver medal in Brighton, United Kingdom for contributions in the sport. He has served as a chairman in past NA Finn and NA Europe Class Regattas as well as the 1998 MUMM 30 World Championship. In the early 2000s, Tom was a protocol officer in the #Sydney and #Athens Olympic Games. Most recently in 2013, Tom served as an America’s Cup protocol officer for Golden Gate Yacht Club, the defender of the cup.

Don Trask, with Paul Cayard and Chris Snow as “snack-ticians”, is from St Francis YC in San Francisco, CA.  Don hardly needs any introduction, nor does Paul Cayard.  Nevertheless, it was Don who founded the idea for this amazing regatta.  He is also a Laser Masters winner, won numerous J/24 Westerns, built the J/24 and Lasers for years (into the largest one-designs in their respective categories on the Left Coast).  The original Masters were held at St Francis YC for years on J/24s.  But, that was getting a bit tough on the old guys.  So, in a “master’s stroke”, Don decided “let’s do it in J/105s instead!”  Indeed, it was a brilliant improvement.  Now guys like Don and “the Fish” can still steer at 80+ years old!

Chuck Nichols, with Andy La Dow as tactician, is from San Diego YC in San Diego, CA.  Amongst other numerous accomplishments in sailing, Chuck has been Commodore of  SDYC and has campaigned his J/120 CC RIDER actively for nearly two decades, winning just about every major Southern California regatta in the process.

Doug Rastello (a.k.a. “Rat”), with famous yacht design Bruce Nelson as tactician, is from Newport Harbor YC in Newport Beach, CA.  Doug notably raced 470s for years at a World Championship level against the likes of David Ullman and others.  In addition, Doug also raced successfully in the world of match racing, participating in many of the top events, like the Congressional Cup in Long Beach, CA.

Don Martin is from Royal Vancouver YC in Vancouver, BC and is a successful offshore and one-design sailor in the spectacular waters and bays in the shadows of the magnificent Olympic peninsula to the southwest and the Canadian Rockies in their backyard.  For more International J/105 Masters Regatta information

JAMAICA Leading J/24 Italian National Circuit

(Cervia, Italy)- This past weekend, the Circolo Nautico Brenzone ran the penultimate event for the season-long Italian J/24 National Championship series- a six event program that runs from April to November.  Winning the latest event was local hometown sailing hero, VALHALLA HOTEL VERONA skippered by Fabio De Rossi with crew of Enrico Perbellini, Massimiliano D'Elia, Marco Fiorini and Petra Kurutz.

The races in Cervia ensured fun and entertainment for everyone. Taking advantage of the conditions to take second place was MAGIC FAIRY skippered by John Brescia Bonzio and owned by Viscardo Brusori.  Third was CAPTAIN NEMO sailed by owner/skipper Guido Guadagni.

Pending the fifth regatta, the provisional classification overall for Helmsmen-Owners (based on the scores from events in Nettuno, Livorno, Carrara and Brenzone) shows that Pietro Diamante, the Italian J/24 Class President, is leading the event by a wide margin on JAMAICA.  They are followed by CAPTAIN NEMO (Guido Guadagni) in second, VALHALLA HOTEL VERONA (Fabio De Rossi) in third, J-OC (Fabio Apollonio) in fourth and RED LEATHER (Gianni Riccobono) in fifth place.

Next weekend, in the waters off Cervia, the Circolo Nautico Amici della Vela  (www.circolonauticocervia.it) will be hosting the finale of the Italian J/24 circuit from 15th to 16th October.

After the traditional trip to Cervia for the finale, many J/24s will end their season on the beautiful, magnificent island of Sardinia where on Saturday 12 and Sunday, November 13 the “Italia Cup” will take place, organized by YC Porto Rotondo.   For more J/24 Italia Cup sailing information

Snow Frosts J/22 US Sailing Match Race Champs!

(San Diego, CA) – San Diego Yacht Club hosted the 49th edition of the U.S. Match Racing Championship for ten very talented teams- their goal, to win “mano-a-mano” and win the coveted Prince of Wales Bowl.  The #3 ranked match racer in the country, Nevin Snow from San Diego YC may be moving up the rankings following this weekend’s triumphant performance. The San Diego native earned his first Prince of Wales Bowl in impressive fashion by winning 17 of 18 races, including a 3-0 win over three-time champion, Dave Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) in Sunday’s Final series. Crewing for Snow was Nick Kaschak (San Diego, Calif.), Alex Curtiss (Lake Bluff, Ill.) and Peter Busch (San Diego, Calif.).

On Friday, the winds started 4-5 knots and built up to 11-12 knots in the afternoon. Controlling the pre-start was really important, as always in match racing, but there were quite a few split starts where the lead changed several times because of shifts and patchy wind conditions.

Sail-handling was excellent on all the boats, which was a great example of the competitive nature of fleet. Overall, there were very few penalties and the penalties that did occur were at the start, some were at windward mark and some at bottom left corner of the race course.

One of those most exciting racing of the day was Breault vs Durant in flight 6. After a fierce battle of jibing and luffing, Breault took the win. At the top of the fleet, Snow finished 7-0 and Dellenbaugh finished 6-1.

Nevin Snow commented on the day’s racing, “Everyone was good out there today, so it felt nice to win all of our races. Every race was nervously tight. Tomorrow we want to make sure that we keep our momentum going. We don’t want to become complacent after winning the first day of races.”

David Dellenbaugh said, “Other than losing the last race, it was a good day. There was perfect wind velocity for match racing and the matches were very well run. I was sailing with my two daughters, Becca and Emily and today was Emily’s first time formally match racing.”

Saturday started with more wind in the morning than Friday. Overall, the average wind speed for the day was 8 knots. On day 2 of racing, skippers were focused on good starts and boat handling. Spinnaker handling was also massively important throughout the day. On Friday and even more so on Saturday, many passes downwind were happening.

Since rule 17 was recently deleted from match racing, it was evident that competitors were taking the opportunity to luff people downwind. There were a fair number of penalties again today all over the race course.

The eight skippers that progressed from the round robin to the quarterfinal were Snow, Dellenbaugh, Merrick, Darden, Durant, Lalumiere, Breault and Natvig. The match-ups for the quarterfinal were Snow vs Natvig, Dellenbaugh vs Breault, Lalumiere vs Darden and Durant vs Merrick. The first skippers to get three wins progressed to Sunday’s semi-finals.

Snow and Dellenbaugh both won their first three races and Lalumiere won during the fourth. Durant and Merrick were the only pair left to race a fifth race which Merrick won. Durant carried two penalties, burning one during the race without a chance to burn the second penalty.

At the end of Saturday, Snow was undefeated for the whole weekend, so far winning 12 races. Dellenbaugh had only lost one race- to Snow.

Snow said, “Boat speed was my key today. I wanted to focus on going fast and tried not to get caught up in what the other boats were doing.  We’re taking it race by race tomorrow. I think every race between the 4 in the quarterfinal will be tight. Our approach is to keep it cool and calm through the races and maintain that attitude throughout the last day.”

Dustin Durant commented, “We had a rocky start to the whole regatta. We ended up 5th in the round robin which we were pleased with. We had a decent quarterfinal, tying it up 2-2, but having penalties in race 5 didn’t help. All in all, the team did well.”

For Sunday’s racing, Nevin Snow chose Colin Merrick to sail against in the Semi-Final round. Consequently, David Dellenbaugh had to sail against Charles Lalumiere.  Snow won his round 2-1 while Dellenbaugh won 2-0.  In the finale, Snow went 3-0 against Dellenbaugh.  In the Petite Finale, Lalumiere, a recent graduate from Dartmouth Sailing Team, went 2-1 against Merrick to take third for the regatta.   For more Prince of Wales Bowl/ Adult Match Race sailing info

J/105 Masters Regatta Preview

(San Diego, CA)- For the fifth consecutive year, San Diego Yacht Club will host the International Masters Regatta (www.sdyc.org/masters), from October 21-23, 2016. Originally established in 1975 by St. Francis Yacht Club member Don Trask, the regatta was previously sailed in the San Francisco Bay for a number of years until SDYC began hosting the prestigious event in 2012. Invited skippers must be over the age of 60 and crew members must be over the age of 45.

The regatta is sailed in a round robin format using equalized J/105 boats. The intended race area will consist of typical windward-leeward courses set on San Diego Bay with plenty of viewing opportunities for spectators along the waterfront. Sunday will feature a change in the racing format with an around the bay random leg race to finish up the regatta. There will be a practice day on Thursday, October 20.

Historically, this invitation-only international race has united several of the best master sailors from around the world including Paul Elvstrom, Bill Buchan, Malin Burnham, Don Trask, Peter Harken, Lowell North, Ron Holland, George Hinman and Chris Dickson. World Champion sailor, Malin Burnham, who was recently inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, was skipper of the 2015 team- the defending champions of the regatta.

Twelve teams from all around the world will compete in this year’s regatta. Skippers Dick Tillman, David Irish, Douglas Rastello, Tom Webster, Richard du Moulin, John Andron, Don Martin, Chuck Nichols, Bob Fisher, Tom Ehman and Bill Menninger are seeking a chance to bring the 2016 Masters Regatta title home.

Many of these sailors have been invited to participate in this regatta before, including skipper Dick Tillman from Melbourne Yacht Club. Among other accomplishments, Tillman was member of the 1976 Olympic Team and was a 1965 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year recipient. The last time Tillman raced in the Masters Regatta was nine years ago.

For the seventh consecutive year, skipper Bob Fisher from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club in the United Kingdom will race the Masters Regatta. Fisher expressed that he keeps coming back to sail this event because his opponents "provide good sport afloat and great companionship ashore."

This event will feature three days of competitive sailing with a dockside social on Friday night and a Saturday night banquet for competitors and guests after racing. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday after racing on the front deck.

In conjunction with the Masters Regatta, SDYC’s Taste of Point Loma will take place on Thursday, October 20 on the Sail Wash Lawn. Masters competitors, guests and SDYC members are invited to sample signatures dishes and beverages from almost 30 local restaurants in the Point Loma area.

Tim Fuller, co-chair of the 2016 regatta, is looking forward to the race. "International Masters Regatta is a special event and it’s an honor to host so many greats from the sport of sailing in one place. Every year, we look forward to this event."

The International Masters Regatta would like to thank its sponsors: Ballast Point, Helly Hansen, North Sails, & Pacific Gate San Diego.   For more J/105 Masters Regatta sailing information

Irish J/24 Autumn Series Report

(Lough Erne, Ireland)- On the picturesque Gublusk Bay in Ireland, the Lough Erne YC provided a much sought respite from the work week, their highly-prized Autumn J/24 Series.  Sailing this fall were a record eleven J/24s.  Their first weekend saw sparkling SSE winds, 13 kts gusting to 25 kts, and plenty of sunshine!

Ireland’s oldest sailing sport club, LEYC has a continuous history of race management for a fleet of fast sailing boats from about 1820.  The early rules were a mix of nautical and horse racing rules with a start/finish line and a set course that all boats had to complete. Near 200 years later, the line set on Sunday 2 October by Michael Whaley off Joey and Caroline’s cottage on Inishdoney was right where it was in early 1820s.

Ireland’s J/24 fleet contains “thoroughbreds” and “cavalry war horses”. The first group includes the 2003 Italian-built JIGALO, used to win the 2005 and 2014 J/24 Worlds; the Italian-built JOTA, and two carefully Rogers-built J/24s, JELIGNITE and CRAZY HORSE. The cavalry group, most of the Autumn Series fleet, is all circa 1980 Westerly-built war horses- rough, sturdy but a bit heavy. For better or for worse, that differentiation often shows up in the results!

The fleet went out to race on Sunday 2nd October in a brisk gusty SE breeze with some sunshine: sparkling conditions for four energetic exciting races on well-set fair courses set by Race Officer, Michael Whaley managing a keen skilled race team in RIBs laying race marks and other support boats. Course lengths and timing were very efficient. Four full length, tightly contested races were fitted neatly into four hours.

In the end, the thoroughbreds dominated.  After four races on October 2nd, three of them piled into the top of the leaderboard- Luke McBride’s JIGALO with a 2-3-1-1 for 7 pts, Finbarr Ryan’s JELIGNITE with a 1-1-2-5 for 9 pts and Gerry Gilligan’s JANA with a 3-2-3-2 for 10 pts.  The first Westerly warhorse was Mick Clarke’s JERIATRIX in 4th position with a 5-5-4-4 for 18 pts.  Another Westerly beast was standing in 5th place- John Buckley’s JOTA with a 6-4-6-3 for 19 pts.

On the following Sunday, October 9th, Michael Whaley was Race Officer. With a skilled LEYC team he set and reset four good courses in very light and shifty winds: three races were shortened to one round; the fourth was full two rounds. A record 11 boats competed.  And, the standings shuffled substantially from the previous weekend. Winning the day was JAMAIS ENCORE with 7 pts, followed by JIGALO with 10 pts and JERIATRIX in third (top Westerly boat)!!

The final four races are planned for Saturday 15 October.  J/24 pictures are by Peter Scott. Stephen Carson provided the Committee Boat- without these race management volunteers we could not have such great sailing!  Our heartfelt “Thanks” goes out to them for their gracious contributions!   Find Lough Erne YC on Facebook   For more J/24 sailing info at Lough Erne Yacht Club

Storm-tossed STC “College Big Boat Regatta”!

(Larchmont, NY)- Over 420 college sailors from the United States, Canada and France raced on 45 owner-coached keelboats over Columbus Day Weekend in the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) sailed on western Long Island Sound. A team from the United States Naval Academy (Navy) sailing the J/44 MAXINE was the overall winner after winning four races and finishing second in one race in the competitive six-boat J/44 class comprised of all service academies.

Up until the Tuesday before the 2016 IOR, the forecast for Hurricane Matthew had Western Long Island Sound right in the center of the National Weather Service’s forecast cone. As safety comes before other considerations, the organizing authorities feared the same outcome as at last year’s IOR. In 2015, due to the threat from Hurricane Joaquin the week before the IOR, other regattas were cancelled and many boat owners had hauled their boats or moved them to safer locations. This year, the weather gods treated the IOR more favorably and in a 12-hour period, on the Wednesday morning before the IOR, the forecast had completely changed, sparing a possible hit to the Northeastern United States. The IOR was back in full swing.

After the hurricane potential, it was ironic that the forecasts for the first day were for 2-4 knots of wind, even as late as the evening before. Once again, the weather gods did their own thing and offered up an 8-12 knot northeasterly for a great day of three races with a relatively flat sea state and moderate temperatures. The Navy team on J/44 MAXINE had three bullets on Saturday.

MAXINE’s skipper Midshipman Matthew Robbins said, “We knew that to win the overall would require us to win almost every race. We sailed with teammates filling in for three of our regular crew members, which is a huge testament to the depth and talent within our program.”

Jahn Tihansky, the Director of the Navy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team said, “To watch them handle their boat across the range of conditions from getting off the start to shifting gears upwind and turning the corners efficiently, was amazing. They were also able to rebound from some misfortunes and quickly got back into winning form."

The second day of racing was sailed in an increasing northerly, which ironically was an outer band from the now dissipating Hurricane Matthew. The breeze was in the mid teens with some gusts to over 20 knots. The race committee, led by Storm Trysail Club Principal Race Officer Charles “Butch” Ulmer, skillfully got in two races in stronger breeze and wave heights before the conditions became marginal.

The Storm Trysail Foundation (STF), with organizing authorities Larchmont Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club, presented the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, and this year it was again led by Regatta Chairman Barry Gold. “The IOR provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to come together in a unique forum that is both highly competitive yet educational,” said Gold.  “It also allows some college dinghy sailors with no big boat experience to be introduced to an entirely new aspect of racing.”

An example is Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Allendale, Michigan. This was their first time in the IOR. Of the 10 sailors that comprised their team, five were experienced big boat sailors, and five had little to no experience on big boats. Nick Zomer, Commodore of GVSU Club Sailing said, “The GVSU Sailing Team is immensely grateful for an experience of a lifetime for many of our sailors. Fifty percent of our team had little to no big boat racing experience, nearly everyone on the team had never sailed in salt water, yet we were still able to place and hold our own in the regatta. Many a team member is now hooked on big boat sailing for life, especially in regards to the thrill, the adventure, the strategy, the camaraderie…all thanks to the IOR.”

The 45-boat fleet was divided into five classes: IRC 38’-43’ (9 boats), J/44 (six), J/109 (eight), PHRF (12), and J/105 (10).

In the IRC Class, it was the University of Michigan sailing Ron Richman’s J/133 ANTIDOTE that easily won their class, posting a consistent record of 2-3-2-1-2 for 10 pts total. In fifth place was the Stevens Institute of Technology sailing Chris Hall’s J/122 WILY SILVER FOX.

In the 12-boat PHRF division, it was Tulane University’s team sailing Doug McKeige’s J/88 JAZZ that won their class on a tie-breaker, posting a 1-1-4-2-2 record for 10 pts total.

In the one-design world, it was a very closely fought series for the top of the leaderboard in the J/105s.  After the first day, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy sailed Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE to the top of the standings by one point over the University of South Florida sailing Gary Myer’s MAGIC.  On Sunday, that battle continued with USF winning both races, capitalizing on tactical & boat-handling issues made by the Mass Maritime crew.  As a result, USF won by one point, with Mass Maritime in second and taking third place was the US Naval Academy sailing Za Jelliffe’s ARETE.  The rest of the top five included George Washington University sailing Josh Burack’s PEREGRINA in 4th and Miami University of Ohio sailing Dan Herron’s LIQUID COURAGE in 5th place.

McGill University (Montreal, Canada) won in the J/109 class sailing MORNING GLORY with four firsts, and a fourth. In second place was the team from ENSEIRB-MATMECA sailing on J/109 STRATEGERY. The team from ENSEIRB-MATMECA, in Bordeaux, France, earned the right to compete in the IOR as the winners of the 48th EDHEC Sailing Cup raced last April in Roscoff, France; their team won an all-expense-paid (except for air fare) trip to the IOR, thanks to the joint venture between STF and EDHEC Sailing Cup. Third and fourth were determined by a tie-breaker on 19 pts each between Bates College sailing Bob Schwartz’s NORDLYS and University of Rhode Island sailing Jonathan Rechtshaffer’s EMOTICON.  Bates took the tie-break over URI.  Taking fifth place was Syracuse University sailing David Frizell’s CEOL NA MARA.

The J/44 class literally saw a total eclipse by the US Naval Academy’s team on Bill Ketcham’s famously fast blue boat- MAXINE.  Five bullets gave them a 6 pts total score and the 2016 STC IOR Overall Champion award for the weekend.  A distant second was the US Coast Guard Academy’s GLORY with 10 pts, third was Maine Maritime Academy sailing Len Sitar’s VAMP, fourth was Mass Maritime’s bright red SPIRIT, and fifth was SUNY Maritime College sailing Norm Schulman’s CHARLIE V.

The EDHEC Sailing Cup is the world’s largest college sailing regatta that draws over 1,500 sailors and 180 boats, and the joint venture with the STF is designed to bring the top college sailors in the world together. As a result of being the overall winner of the IOR, the J/44 team from Navy has won an all-expense-paid (except for air fare) trip to the 49th EDHEC Sailing to be sailed from March 31 – April 8, 2017 in France. All U.S. collegiate teams are welcome.

Thanks to sponsors Rolex, Vineyard Vines, Safe Flight Instruments, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Flintlock Construction, Dimension/Polyant Sailcloth, UK Sailmakers, Gill, Craft Brewing Co., Coca Cola, and YachtScoring.com, there is no entry fee, and meals are provided for the boat owners and college sailors.  Larchmont Yacht Club’s Commodore, Tim Porter, again hosted and graciously welcomed all of the competitors to the IOR.

The Storm Trysail Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to supporting the education of sailors, junior safety at sea, and intercollegiate big boat racing. STF educates young sailors as they bridge the gap between learning to sail and becoming accomplished blue water seamen through a national program of events, including junior safety at sea seminars and intercollegiate big boat racing.  Sailing photo credits- Howie McMichael/ McMichaels Yachts.  For more Storm Trysail IOR Regatta sailing information

VINEYARD VINES Wins J/70 East Coasts

(Rye, NY)- American YC hosted their 12th annual HEINEKEN High Performance Dinghy Open and, simultaneously, ran the J/70 East Coast Championship off Rye, New York.  Like their college sailing friends in western Long Island Sound, the twenty-two teams that had registered to sail the event experienced far better sailing conditions than anticipated for the weekend.  In the end, after sailing eleven races (counting 9 after 2 drops), it was John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES that blitzkrieged the fleet with five bullets enroute to a dominating performance in the challenging conditions.

Saturday dawned with a moderate ENE breeze in the 6-10 kts range and, in fact, slowly increased to permit the American YC PRO’s to run six races on the day- a marathon for everyone, including the race committee and mark boats!  On Sunday, the tail feathers of Hurricane Matthew worked their way across Long Island to provide exciting racing conditions- 12-20 kts planing mode most of the day, much to the delight of the sailors.  While cold, wet and windy, the tremendous physical activity downwind kept the crews warm and focused!

Behind TEAM VINEYARD VINES most excellent performance was Oivind Lorentzen’s NINE, winning a few races themselves and posting all top five finishes to take the silver with just 25 pts net.  Behind them, it was a tremendous battle for the last spot on the podium between John Brim’s RIMETTE with Stephanie Roble (US Women’s #1 Match Race sailor) as tactician and Jenn & Ray Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY from Annapolis YC in the Chesapeake Bay.  Having sailed Long Island Sound waters for decades, it appeared that Brim’s RIMETTE had the upper hand for most of the races.  In fact, their worst race the entire regatta was a 7th; an astounding achievement for a 60+ year old skipper in such hard-core racing conditions!  Nevertheless, their battle came down to the wire, with the Wulff’s tying them on points at 35 net pts each, with the tie-breaker going in favor of the Napolitans over the Long Islanders.  Fifth was Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTONFLY with 51 pts net.  Sailing photo credits- Karen Ryan.  For more J/70 East Coast Championship sailing information