Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race Update

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2018 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race started from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at noon on Sunday 12th August, directly after Lendy Cowes Week. The 1,805 nautical mile race around Britain and Ireland is organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club every four years and is considered to be one of the toughest challenges in the sport of yacht racing.

For the 2018 race, 29 teams with close to 200 professional and Corinthian sailors will be competing. For the past two editions, the weather has been so rough that the RORC has reversed the route to protect the fleet from a potential battering.

J/Teams are taking on the challenge. Racing in the IRC 2 Class and the IRC Doublehanded Class is the Dutch duo on JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker).  They are currently lying in fourth place, just 35nm behind the class leader.

After the start in Cowes, England off the Royal Yacht Squadron’s famous starting line in the Solent, Revelman & Bakker have maintained pace with the top boats in very demanding conditions.  They passed Land’s End off the southwest tip of England, passed by the famous Fastnet Rock, rounded the hellishly rough southwest point of Ireland at Great Skelligh Island Lighthouse and are now headed north to leave Saint Kilda Island to starboard off northwest Scotland.  Next stop thereafter, the infamous Muckle Flugga Lighthouse off the northern end of the Shetland Islands.

There is still a LOT of sailing left in this 1,805nm adventure.  And, the weather is getting worse, as one might expect sailing across the southern parts of the North Sea- a region notorious for freak waves, rapidly worsening depressions, and full on gales instead of a sunny Force 5 day that was forecast!  Things change quickly in those parts and the race is quickly living up to its reputation as a gear-buster, people-buster- so far, eight boats have already dropped out for various reasons (1/3 of the fleet!). In fact, standing in the way of JUNIQUE RAYMARINE is a forecast for a full gale of 30-45 kts of southwesterly winds by Saturday, with 15-20 ft waves predicted in the British MET office shipping forecasts.  For more Round Britain & Ireland Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

KSSS Dominates Nordic J/70 Championship

(Sandhamn, Sweden)- Spectacular sailing conditions greeted the sailors participating in the 2018 Nordic J/70 Championship, hosted by the Royal Swedish YC (KSSS) off Sandhamn, Sweden.  In fact, the twenty-two teams were greeted by a little too much awesome weather conditions, with racing having to be canceled on Saturday due to sunny skies, warm air, and 25-35 kt winds!  In the end, Oscar Lundqvist’s crew on HILDA (Jacob Lundqvist, Erik & Oskar Skoting, & Oliver Österberg) counted four bullets and two deuces to crush their Scandinavian competitors, finishing with just 8 pts net!

The first day was three races take place in nearly ideal conditions. Bright sun, stable southern winds of 7 kts increasing to 16 kts by the afternoon, made for fun, challenging racing as the J/70s transitioned through the three downwind modes (VMG displacement, wing-on-wing, to full-on planing). After the three races, it was pretty clear which team had the best handle on those three modes, with Lundqvist’s HILDA crew posting a 2-1-1 to lead at the completion of racing on Friday with only 4 pts.  Sitting in second was Anders Kemmler’s DYNAMANT RACING team (Björn Kemmler, Ulf Camitz, & Mikael Lindqvist) with a 1-3-2 for 6 pts and rounding out the top of the leaderboard was the Tom Hallberg’s Finnish team on REVALENCE with a 3-2-10 for 15 pts.

Peter Åkerström, the KSSS PRO for the regatta, commented, “there were three tough, even races and no incidents. Fair and decisive sailing with ideal winds. Tomorrow, it seems to be worse with winds up to 20 m/s (25 kts-plus), according to weather reports. We'll see how the conditions are, at least we secured ourselves a good start to the regatta by running three races today!”

On the second day, the weather forecasts came true.  While a few teams ventured forth to “test” the conditions, along with a few choice “crashes” in the 25-30+ kt winds, racing was canceled for the day on the Rödkubbsfjärden, despite the spectacular sunny weather.

The finale on the third day was intensive, with no less than four races being run from morning to afternoon.  Again, it was four double windward-leeward races on the starting line north of Svängen.

KSSS PRO- Peter Åkerström- was pleased with how the sailors were doing, commenting that “although many boats were sailing well, it blew 10-12 m/s (15-23 kts) out there, the tough conditions proved to be a challenge for some of the less experienced crews.  Nevertheless, it was fair sailing and great, windy conditions with stable winds- what else can you ask for?! In total, we were happy to run seven races over the two racing days, that feels good!”

Reveling in those conditions were the KSSS teams, making a clean sweep of the podium.  Winning was Lundqvist’s crew on HILDA, followed by Kemmler’s DYNAMANT RACING in second.  Climbing fast up the leaderboard on the last day was Patrik Forsgren’s team on TEAM PRO4U (Sandra Sandqvist, Anders Mårtensson, Rebecka Harding, & Kenneth Edvardsson); posting a 1-7-2-1 to finish with 21 pts total and the bronze.

The balance of the top five was determined by a tie-breaker on 29 pts each, with Fabian Bergman’s TEAM LULU taking 4th place on the countback over John Hedberg’s EMELIE.   For more Nordic J/70 Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Spectacular Cowes Week Regatta!

J/112E’s Crush Class, J/109 Tops Black Fleet!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Cowes Week is one of the UK's longest running and most successful sporting events and is a key highlight of the British sporting summer. It has been held in early August every year since 1826, except during the two World Wars.

The event offers a great mix of competitive sailing and social activities. The 8,500 competitors range from Olympic and World-Class professionals to weekend sailors. In excess of 100,000 spectators come to watch the sailing, enjoy the parties and live entertainment, and to experience the unique atmosphere. It is genuinely a one-of-a-kind event.

The 2018 edition of the annual LENDY Cowes Week Regatta started August 4th and ended August 11th with a bang- with the final day’s racing canceled due to 25-35 kts winds bucking a strong 3-4 kt current, making for steep 6-8 ft breaking waves with “no backs” to them (e.g. a “cliff”)- it would have been a gear and people-buster for sure!

In the end, here is what happened in each class after a total of six days of actual racing out on the waters of the ever-challenging Solent.

Ultimately, the forty-two boat J/70 class saw Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT take the win with 17.5 pts in the best of six races.  Second was Marshall King’s THE JANITOR, third Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY, fourth Glynn Williams’ EV EXPERTS, and fifth Simon Spraggs’ JACKAL.

A class veteran won the nine-boat J/80 class with nearly straight bullets- Jon Powell’s BETTY.  Second was Ray Mitchell’s CHECKMATE, third was Chris Body’s MOCKINGJAY, fourth Mike Lewis’ JESTER, and fifth Richard Powell’s PURPLE HAZE.

The J/92s were out in force for this year’s Cowes Week and it was extremely competitive racing for class honors.  Winning by just one point was Robin Stevenson’s UPSTART, with the trio on NIGHTJAR (Banks, Overstall, & Searle- sounds like a law firm!) taking second and David Greenhalgh’s J’RONIMO taking third yet one more point down- tough sledding for all!

The eighteen-boat J/109 class always has spirited competition all week-long.  This year, 1st in class and 1st Overall in Black Fleet was Caroline van Beelen and Rutger Krijger’s JACK RABBIT from the Netherlands. Second was Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE, third Chris Sharples & Rick Acland’s JUMPING JELLYFISH, fourth the quartet on BROWN TEAL (Clementi, Sheldon, Stanley, & Walker), and fifth Neil Mcgrigor’s BOO.

The IRC 2 Class of twenty-three entries had several good performances by J/Crews.  Chris Daniel’s J/122E JUNO took the silver while Tony Mack’s J/111 McFLY wore the bronze medal.  Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s J/111 JOURNEYMAKER II managed an 8th in the highly competitive class.

With two-dozen entries, the IRC 4 Class had two lethal weapons of the 35-foot-plus variety- the new J/112E’s.  Sweeping the top two spots quite comfortably were David Franks’ J/112E LEON on the top podium step, while Chaz Ivill’s very successful J/112E DAVANTI TYRES had to settle for the silver- the first major event in months where they had not won their class!

IRC 5 Class had twenty-five entries, and quite a few J/teams in the 30-footer range had a successful outing during the week- 5 of the top 10.  Andy & Annie Howe’s J/97E BLACKJACK II took 3rd, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO was 5th, Banks Overstall & Searle’s J/92 NIGHTJAR placed 6th, Robin Stevenson’s J/92S UPSTART took 7th, and Jim Owens’ J/97 JET was 10th.

After a week of demanding sailing in the IRC Doublehanded Class, the two J/105s both podiumed; Natalia Jobling’s MOSTLY HARMLESS finished 2nd and Andy Roberts & Bill Edgerley’s JIN TONIC was 3rd.  For more Lendy Cowes Week sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

HIJINKS Wins J/88 North Americans

(Chicago, IL) – Laura Weyler’s HIJINKS collected two bullets in the finale on Sunday to repeat as J/88 North American Champion. With Adam Burns (skipper), John Goller, Philip Hasl, Kevin Morgan, and Kris Werner, the upstate New York-based team kept all their scores in the top four in all ten races; winning six of them! No scores were discarded for the series. The J/88 NA’s were part of the Verve Cup Offshore Regatta hosted by Chicago Yacht Club, with teams sailing off the spectacular Chicago waterfront on Lake Michigan.

HIJINKS was on top of the thirteen other J/88s for three of the four days of racing. Although Ben Marden’s Chicago-based BANTER team grabbed the overall lead after day two, Weyler’s crew finished strong with three successive victories in the remaining races on Saturday and Sunday. BANTER ended in runner-up position with 33 points, and Douglas Newhouse’s Newport, RI-based team on YONDER placed third with 46 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Mike Bruno’s New York-based crew on WINGS in 4th place with 49 pts and Iris Vogel’s New York-based team on DEVIATION in 5th position with 52 pts.  For more J/88 North American Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

ROWDY Crowned J/111 Great Lakes Champion

CALLISTO Tops J/109s, THE ASYLUM Dusts J/105s
(Chicago, IL)- From Friday, August 10, through Sunday, August 12, 2018, the Chicago Yacht Club hosted the 27th annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta. The event featured three days of offshore buoy racing and a separate one-day distance race. The first day of racing on Friday offered nice westerly winds, puffy and shifty in the 7 to 12 kts range.  However, Saturday and Sunday were near “glass-outs”, with just 2 to 3 races completed in most classes over the two days due to very light winds flowing over Lake Michigan.

The nine-boat J/105 class saw Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM take the class honors by winning the last three races with a total score of 14 pts.  Just hanging on to second place, after a strong start of 2-2-1-1, was Gyt Petkus’ VYTIS with a total of 17 pts.  After a rough start in the first four races, Clark Pellett’s SEALARK raced up the leaderboard with three straight 2nds in the closing races to secure the bronze on the podium with 18 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Judith & Ross McLean’s ESPRIT d’ECOSSE in 4th and Kathie & Mike Newman’s VALHALLA in 5th position.

The five-boat J/109 class saw Jim Murray’s CALLISTO continue their winning ways after winning the J/109 class in the Chicago to Mackinac Race, winning four of seven races to win by a country furlong- just 10 pts total!  Second was Keith Eickenberg’s BLACKFIN with 20 pts and third was Jack & Jim Toliver’s VANDA III with 22 pts.

The regatta also served as the 2018 J/111 Great Lakes Championship for eleven boats from across the country. Fast out of the starting blocks was local Chicago boat ROWDY, skippered by Rich Witzel, leading after the first day with a 2-1-1. Thereafter, over the tough light air sailing on Saturday and Sunday, they averaged just over a 3rd place with finishes of 4-3-1-5 to take the Great Lakes title with 17 pts total.  Current J/111 World Champion- Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY team from San Francisco Bay- is unaccustomed to the light air, super choppy/ sloppy conditions off the Chicago waterfront.  Nevertheless, after a slow start they proved to be fast learners, they closed quickly on the leader with a 1-1-3-2 for a total of 20 pts to take the silver.  Rounding out the podium was Brad Faber’s UTAH with 22 pts.  The balance of the top five included the KASHMIR trio (Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer) in 4th and John Kalanik’s PURA VIDA in 5th place.

In the ORR 2 Division, Rick Stage’s J/35 ALPHA PUPPY won two races, but it was only good enough to help them secure third for the weekend.  For more Verve Cup Offshore sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

QUEBEC Yachting J/121 Boat Review

(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)- “The new J/121 from J/Boats, with its 40 ft (12.19 m) in length, is a performance sailboat that can be used to race or simply sail with a crew of five or less,” commented Joani Hotte-Jean, Editor-in-Chief, of Quebec Yachting. “The rigging, sail and deck plan has been designed to simplify maneuvers in all conditions. The versatile and ergonomic cockpit is inspired by the design of the J/111 with its workspace, light dodger or hardtop that protect against the elements. Two helm stations allow the captain to handle the wheel and to reach all the main controls of the mainsail when driving. Inside, you will find a complete galley area and two full length berths in the middle of the boat on which your crew can sleep and a storage space at the front that can turn into a removable V berth.” Learn more about the J/121 here.  Read more here (in French) on Quebec Yachting. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Phyllis Kleinmann Swiftsure Regatta Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The St Francis YC will be hosting one of their favorite events of the year, honoring one of their long-time supporters of both offshore handicap and one-design sailing on San Francisco Bay- the Phyllis Kleinmann Swiftsure Regatta.

Not surprisingly, there is a strong turnout within the loyal J/105 fleet- the first J/105 one-design fleet in the world!  The J/105s have a “baker’s dozen” sailing in this year’s event.  Leading boats are none other than Ian Charles’s MAVERICK, Bruce Stone’s ARBITRAGE, Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK, Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION, and Tim Russell’s NE*NE.

In the ORR Division are a quartet of J/Crews; including two J/111s (Dick Swanson’s BAD DOG & Reuben Rocci’s SWIFT NESS), and two J/120s (Barry Lewis’ CHANCE & Tom Allard’s MR MAGOO). For more Phyllis Kleinmann Swiftsure Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/111 Worlds Preview

(Breskens, The Netherlands)- The 2018 J/111 World Championship is being hosted in conjunction with the Breskens Sailing Weekend in the Netherlands.  Racing will take place offshore, in the wide-open North Sea, along the fabled northern beaches of the Benelux seashore.  Hosting the event are Watersportvereniging Breskens, Royal Yacht Club of Belgium, Koninklijke Roei & Zeilvereniging De Maas, Koninklijke Nederlandse Roei en Zeilvereniging Muiden, Koninklijke Antwerpse Watersportverenging SRNA and the Royal Netherlands Yachting Union (RNYU).

A dozen J/111 crews are participating from five nations (Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, & Switzerland). Based on past J/111 Worlds, particularly the last edition in Europe when it was hosted by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, England, Ladbroke’s betting parlour will likely handicap the following teams to be at the top of the leaderboard; a formidable contingent from the United Kingdom- Martin Dent’s JELVIS (2016 World’s winner), Tony Mack’s McFLY, Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB, and Chris Jones/ Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II. Their top competitors from the Continent will be Paul van Driel’s SWEENY from the Netherlands, Sebastien de Liedekerke’s DJINN from Belgium, Norbert Burket’s TOP JOB from Germany, and Jorg Sigg’s LALLEKONIG from Switzerland. Learn more about the J/111 here. For more J/111 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Ida Lewis Distance Race Preview

(Newport, RI)- Over fifty teams are counting down the day for the 14th annual Ida Lewis Distance Race which gets underway August 17th, Friday noon, between Fort Adams and Rose Island in Newport, RI. Prior to the gun, Ida Lewis Yacht Club’s Race Committee will decide (based on weather forecasts and sea conditions) which of four courses will be used in this 2018 edition of the yearly round-trip offshore adventure.

“The courses range from 112nm to 169nm and incorporate such iconic waypoints as Castle Hill, Brenton Reef, Block Island, Montauk Point, Martha’s Vineyard, and Buzzards Tower,” said Race Chairman Pat Kennedy. “They are chosen with the best intention of having the fleet finish within 18-24 hours.”

Twenty teams hail from Rhode Island along with out-of-town entries from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and as far away as Ohio, Florida, and Louisiana.  Eleven of the fifty-one teams (22% of the fleet) entered are J/Crews from across the Northeast. Four of the brand-new J/121 offshore speedsters are entered across the spectrum of handicap racing and double-handed classes.  In the IRC Class is Don Nicholson’s J/121 APOLLO, winner of the Gibbs Lighthouse Division in the Newport to Bermuda Race in 2018.  Then, in PHRF Spinnaker are two more sisterships- Chris Brito’s INCOGNITO and Greg Manning’s SARAH (their inaugural offshore race in the 121). Finally, in the PHRF Doublehanded Division is David Southwell’s ALCHEMY.

Other J/Teams participating include seven teams in the PHRF Spinnaker Division; such as the famous J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN, sailed by the American YC’s Young American Youth Sailing Academy from Rye, New York- they are past winners of their class!  In addition, two J/109s will be on the starting line- Sam Goldblatt’s MARQUISSE II and Bill Kneller’s VENTO SOLARE from Newport.  Other J/teams include Greg Slamowitz’s J/111 MANITOU, Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE, EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT, and Paul Grimes’ J/35 BREAKAWAY (another class winner).

Representing the Young American Sailing Academy of Rye, NY as a Youth Entry in the 27-boat PHRF division, will be the J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN, the team won its class in 2017. “We had a great time despite the fact it was really windy,” said Young American YCC’s coach Peter Becker. “The kids loved it and have sea stories to tell about surfing right through the lee of boats significantly larger than us.”

Portsmouth, RI’s Paul Grimes, who has sailed the event four times on his J/35 BREAKAWAY, hasn’t officially entered as a Collegiate Entry in PHRF division, but he’ll definitely be bringing along some local-area college sailing ringers, including his son Alden Grimes (Bowdoin College), Adrian van der Wal (Northeastern), Victoria Boatwright (Georgetown), and Collin Moffet (Princeton).

Newport’s Bill Kneller has skippered in the race every year since 2015 on his J/109 VENTO SOLARE, with friends who sail with him regularly in the Tuesday night Jamestown Yacht Club race series. “We haven’t made the podium, yet, but are getting better each year,” he said. “Last year we were one of twenty boats that endured the weather and finished the race!”

In the four-boat Doublehanded division, David Southwell (Chestnut Hill, MA) will be sailing the race for the first time in ALCHEMY, a J/121 that is new to him this year. His teammate (Stuart MacNeil) has never sailed a doublehanded race before and this will only be Southwell’s second time to do so. “I’m preparing for the Bermuda One-Two next year by doing shorthanded and solo races and deliveries. We’re really looking forward to this,” commented Southwell.  For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

BABY DOE J/22 Leaps Ahead @ Dillon Open

THE DUMPSTER Trashes J/24 Fleet
(Lake Dillon, CO)- At 9,022 feet (2,750 meters or over a mile-and-a-half straight up into the stratosphere), there is no question that Dillon YC’s annual “Dillon Open” that is sailed on the Dillon Reservoir high up in Rocky Mountains is the longest-running, highest altitude regatta in the world.  It’s a gorgeous area to sail; just SSE is the fabulous Keystone Resort & Spa- the top of Keystone Mountain is 12,408 ft (3,782m, or over 2 miles up into the sky- the air does get a bit thin up there!)- https://www.keystoneresort.com/

Yet again, a great fleet sailors on J/22s and J/24s had to contend with incredibly challenging sailing conditions.  On Sunday, there was an amazing photo taken of Greg & Susan Johnson’s J/24 PINOTAGE rounding the windward mark, spinnaker up, then gets flattened by a 50mph hail-infested vertical micro-burst from the sky; shredding their spinnaker and jib all at once!  That is what happens when it blows over 100 mph just a few thousand feet above the tall 10-14,000 foot snow-capped peaks that surround Lake Dillon. The winds are often capricious and unpredictable, making for tough, tactical windward-leeward races.

Greg Schertz, the PRO for the Dillon Yacht Club running the races took this shot- he was blown away! “Yes, we have challenging sailing sometimes at the nation’s highest sailing club,” remarked Schertz.

Despite the crazy weather, Mateo & Tito Vargas talent-laden crew on BABY DOE took J/22 class honors with a remarkably steady 2-1-1-2-1-1 for 8 pts total. Reed Baldridge’s crew from the College of Charleston YC in Charleston, SC sailed fast to post a 4-3-3-1-3-4 for 18 pts to take the silver.  Rounding out the podium was Mike Kline’s NAUTI-MOOSE with a 1-5-4-5-2-3 for 20 pts.

Sailing with past J/24 World and Etchells-22 World Champion Vince Brun on board, Frank & Vivian Keesling’s THE DUMPSTER won their class only after the Johnson’s PINOTAGE got trashed by the hail-infused microburst.  THE DUMPSTER’s posted a 1-1-3-3-2-2-3 for 15 pts total.  The Johnson’s PINOTAGE had an equally impressive scoreline of 3-2-1-2-3-1-5 for 17 pts total.  Closing out the podium was Josh Bowens-Rubin’s ZERO GRAVITY with a 4-5-2-1-1-4-4 tally for 21 pts total.  For more Dillon Open sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.