J/111 Atlantic Boating News Test

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- The J/111 speedster has now been tested in a number of different venues and is proving to live up to its billing as a fun, fast, easy-to-sail boat by all types of sailors- experienced offshore sailors, to local club racers, to shorthanded sailors wishing to sail single or double-handed.  The 111s successes across a variety of handicapping systems in a wide-range of weather comes as a pleasant surprise, again proving that a good all-round design that can sail upwind, reaching and downwind should do well in the hands of both the world's best as well as the local club sailor.  Recent events run under PHRF, IRC, ORR have proven the 111 to be competitive, a comforting factor to know that "beer-can" racing will always be fun locally while one-design sailing events grow regionally, nationally and internationally.

To date, 111s have managed to win Key West Race Week PHRF 1 Class with a J/105 crew from Ohio steering it for the first time in their lives in light to medium conditions; place 2nd in the BMW Auckland Regatta against highly modified, monster-garaged Kiwi boats under PHRF-NZ TOT system; cruise into 2nd in class and 3rd overall in the renowned Cabo Race from Newport Beach, CA to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a 600nm romp down the coastline sailing ORR handicap; and this winter prove in both the Solent, England and in San Francisco, CA that under IRC at 1.093 the J/111 is capable of being competitive and grab its fair share of silverware- from the Three Bridge Fiasco to the Solent's Winter/Spring Series.

J/111s are not only demonstrating they're fun and fast to sail, they've got the comfortable cockpit, sweet accommodations and standing headroom to fulfill the needs of the most demanding weekend club racers- your friends and family.  Yet, for the thrill-seekers who appreciate extraordinary performance and the strength and robustness to qualify for ISAF Offshore Certification specifications for offshore sailboats (the first sailboat to do so globally), it's nice to know it can go around the cans or fly offshore against some of the world's best sailboats.  Read more about what sailors in Nova Scotia, Canada discovered when they test sailed the J/111 for the first time off Halifax, NS- it's an article in Nova Scotia's Atlantic Boating News.  For more information on the J/111 one-design speedster sailing review and boat test.  

J/111 STELLA Shines in BMW Auckland Regatta

(Auckland, NZ)- Light air sailing skills were at a premium as the fleet of yachts competing in the 2011 BMW Auckland Regatta seldom saw the breeze move into double figures throughout the three day event.

Under normal circumstances, a three-day regatta in Auckland tests a wide range of skills as the city lives up to its four-seasons-in-a-day reputation. However, 2011 saw just summer heat and gentle breezes combine with unusually high tides to turn the regatta into a tactical chess game.

For the final day of racing, the yachts were sent on a scenic course around some of the islands of the inner Hauraki Gulf. Many yachts chose to hug the shorelines to either cut the corners or escape adverse tidal flows – and an unfortunate few paid the price by hitting the bottom. Embarrassment apart, none suffered any serious damage.

The competition was fierce amongst the cognoscenti in Class B.  A turbo'd Mumm 36, a monster'd Elliot 1050 and the super monster-garaged Big Sled Red were up against the one-design spec'd J/111 hull #1 STELLA. Many saw STELLA during sea-trials off of Newport, RI last August and then later in Chesapeake bay at the Annapolis Boat Show.  Down in the Hauraki Gulf in New Zealand, the J/111 showed her tail-feathers enough times (first across the line in 5 of 8 races) to win the Line Honors trophy and to finish 2nd on PHRF-NZ handicap. Congratulations to Pat Kabris and the Stella crew for a successful debut!

The BMW Auckland Regatta is jointly run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. Sixty one yachts in seven divisions competed in the regatta.  For more BMW Auckland Regatta and J/111 sailing information.  

J "Musketeers" Crash The Cabo Race Party

J/111 and J/145 Second In Class, 3rd & 4th Fleet, Respectively!
(Newport Beach, CA)- OK.  The forecasts for the classic 600 nm sprint south down the Cal-Mex coastline to "Cabo" was daunting-- the Friday starting group (including all  J's) looked reasonable, but the Saturday starters looked troublesome.  With any luck, the Class C & D fleet would be treated to early jib reaching that would morph into high-speed spinnaker reaching as the fleet moved south; the winds typically move more into the NW quadrants at this time of year the further south you get.

For the three "J-Musketeers" participating, leading the charge down the track was Tom Holthus' J/145 BAD PAAK from San Diego, CA.  The veteran J/124 GOOD CALL sailed by Tom Barker from San Diego and the "new kid on the block", the J/111 speedster INVISIBLE HAND sailed by Frank Slootman and crew proved to be "double-trouble" for the fleet and their own class.  Given the fact that winds hit 15-20+ knots, it was an epic ride down the coast for this gang of serious speedsters- a trio of trophy-hunting thieves. Other than the unfortunate withdrawal of GOOD CALL within 50 miles of Cabo (due to a crew injury), all three boats would have made it on to the podium!  The two that did grab trophies were Frank's J/111 INVISIBLE HAND getting 2nd in Class D and 3rd overall and Tom's J/145 BAD PAK getting 2nd in Class C and 4th overall sailing under the ORR (offshore racing rule) handicap system!  Here is what happened:

On Saturday Class C and D started in light to moderate winds. By Sunday, a massive front with strong breezes and very choppy waves hit the tail-end of the Cabo fleet (see photo to right), primarily affecting the big boats in Class A & B that started a day later than Class C and D.  A and B basically got hammered and a bunch of top boats dropped out later on Sunday, early Monday morning (California "sleds" and modern, lightweight "wedges of cheese" cannot sail well upwind, period).  Meanwhile, SoCal was drowning in water with record rainfalls generating road closures and massive mud slides.  Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) was washed out and Santa Barbara set a record of 6" rainfall in 24 hours with yet more to come.  Perhaps some of those J/24s and J/105s in SB Harbor may be put to good use as second homes!

By Monday, Class C and D saw light winds south of Cedros Island and made significant headway south along the coast.  Frank's team aboard INVISIBLE HAND reported on SailingAnarchy.com, "C & D divisions had steady but light pressure for the start.  Most everyone worked offshore to pick up a bit more pressure into the evening.  Looks like the boats outside the rhumbline did a bit better on the morning report.  With very little time on the new J/111 we are happy with her performance thus far.  Moves very well in the 14-17 knots we had for the majority of the night and held impressive speeds during the lighter 8-12 knot periods.  Tomorrows GRIB looks quite interesting with some challenging decisions for the next day or so.  We'll keep pressing the cloth and hopefully we won't get smacked by the the Southerly moving through."

On Monday afternoon, fleet compression was occurring as the northwesterlies filled in and continued building behind Class C and D.  With approximately 300 NM to go (finish line off harbor to the right), the fleet saw increasing pressure from the NW, which usually dominates the Baja peninsula this time of year.  By late evening, the night-time pressures increased to 18 knots along the lower Baja California peninsula and the entire fleet flew chutes with increasing speeds through the night, taking advantage of a clear, moonlit sky with warmer winds.  The Monday afternoon Anarchy report from Frank's INVISIBLE HAND was, "Well, as expected, the last 36 hours on the course were full of challenges.  The A & B classes that started Saturday got the full impact of the southerly system and the retired casualty list is larger than those still racing.  The boats in our class (C) had very light winds out of the south.   We looked OK at yesterday's check-in but after 24 hours beating into a light southerly we could not overcome the longer waterline of our class competition so we slipped a place but held the same in the overall.  The GRIBs have been consistent so we still have some running to look forward to over the next few days and hopefully reel in those that slipped by.  To still be in full foulies on the 3rd night was not what we expected and the shorts are still in the crew bags.  This is not what they said it would be in the brochure!  The boys on deck just unfurled the Code-0 and dropped the Light #1 to see if we can get a bit more out of the new J/111.  We've got our work cut out for us, back to the grind."

By Monday nightfall, it was amazing to see the Class C and D boats locked in a very strategic duel with roughly 170NM to the finish (winds looking like this photo to right!).  It was a very interesting strategic mix off Cabo San Lozaro in the early hours of the moonrise as the Class C and D boats were making tactical turns downwind and a break for the beach for offshore-wind pressure or better sailing angles by going slightly outside on the right side of the course.  It was in this part of the race were some boats made significant gains and others lost out some distance on their competitors--- the J/111 INVISIBLE HAND happened to be one of the latter.  The afternoon Anarchy report from INVISIBLE HAND stated, "we were finally able to stop sailing upwind Monday and had a spinnaker up by late afternoon.  The morning check-in showed what we expected with us still in 3rd in class since the prior 24 hours still included a lot of upwind work.  Since dark we started to put on pace with winds of 10-20 knots.  There were pretty large swells rolling through with another direction wind wave so driving was challenging as the stern quarter kept getting checked around.  The 6am morning scheduled radio report had us 17 miles behind the Beneteau First 40.7 NOAS 2 with 179nm to the finish.  To our surprise we spotted them and crossed several miles in front by 2:45pm this afternoon.  So we made up quite a bit of miles in just under 9 hours with boat speed in the 10-13 knots range.  We have about 90nm to the finish so we hope to be able to make up more of the time lost on course while sailing upwind.  The swells have now reorganized and are allowing us a much better average not fighting to keep the boat on course.  Finally feels like we entered a Mexico race, the Sun is finally out and so are the shorts. Hopefully the wind will hold and we will finish in the wee hours Wednesday morning."

By Tuesday midday, it was clear that all three boats were simply flying down the race track to Cabo.  Tom's J/145 BAD PAK was averaging 10-12 knots under spinnaker, gybing back and forth to maintain speed and angle.  Perhaps one of the best navigated J's was Tom's J/124 GOOD CALL.  For most of the race it was pretty certain GOOD CALL was likely winning Class D and was well positioned to take overall honors for the fleet.  The boys on the J/111 INVISIBLE HAND were both planing and surfing at times up to 15 knots and having an amazing ride.  However, they took a few meanders both right and left that chewed up a few too many miles versus their competition, first gaining big chunks of distance, then losing ground quickly in an hour or two.  By Tuesday afternoon, the gang on the J/145 BAD PAK sailed a great race, kept pressing hard, finishing at 4:14 pm off the beach at Cabo.  Just before the finish, a crewman was injured on GOOD CALL, necessitating an emergency VHF call, help from the Mexican Navy and the withdrawal of GOOD CALL (we hope he's OK).  Locked in a boat-for-boat battle with a First 50 and the First 40.7, INVISIBLE HAND played the last few gybe angles into Cabo well to pass both, but then in yet another nail-biting finish, lost the First 50 Sarasvati II within the last 0.5 mile at midnight Tuesday.  INVISIBLE HAND finished at 00:31:22 am!  Congratulations to all three J's for great sailing, great seamanship and heads-up sailing at the end of the day.   For more Cabo Race tracking and sailing information.  See this great example of how to use Facebook for sailing events and regatta reporting.  

Southampton Winter Series- J/109s & J/92s

J/109 and J/92s Win Classes
(Southampton, England)- With 41 entries in two IRC and two RSYC classes, the Royal Southampton YC played host to yet another good winter series for the devoted sailors who call the Southampton Water "home".

The series started off with a bang.  The first day or racing was a blustery day with a warm SW gradient wind of 22 knots gusting up to 30 knots, certainly enough blow away any cobwebs accumulated from Christmas and the New Year's holidays.  Over the course of the next few weekends, conditions improved markedly.  The penultimate race day was fresh bright and sunny with a moderate breeze from W to NW and a rapidly ebbing tide  setting the challenge for the race management team.

With the committee boat near Hover 1 all 4 Classes were sent off to Royal Southampton buoy newly laid after its winter overhaul before continuing round laid marks before cascading back down to the finish at Netley. The ebbing tide caught a couple of hapless skippers out who "parked on the putty" between races but both managed to escape and get started on a reconfigured course after the wind veered enabling a windward – leeward course to be set for the first time this series however as all those avid meteorologists know it was a front going through that caused the wind shift and with it came rain. Lots of it and heavy!

For the series, the Class 1 winner was J-DREAM – Kirsty and Dave Apthorp’s J/109. Nial Dowling's J/111 ARABELLA also won four races but did not do the whole series so just missed the Class win.  In Class 2, the winner was J'RONIMO – David Greenhaulgh’s J/92 with JAMMIN – Pete, Andrew and Matt ‘s J/92 in second.  Finally, in Class 3 - JAMMY-  Jon Stevens and Louise Curtis’s J 80 ended up second overall.  For complete RSYC Winter Series Sailing results and information  

More Light Winds In Warsash Spring Series

(Warsash, Southampton Water, England)- The second meeting of the Warsash Spring Series took place on Sunday 20th March. It was a busy day where 150+ keelboats shared the water with 80 dinghies from the Hamble Warming Pan event. Again the wind was light - around 6 to 9 knots – but after an initial postponement, all classes eventually completed their races on schedule. Tacticians had the challenge of strong west-going spring tides throughout the racing. Unusually, the breeze was less steady for the White Group of sportsboats racing in the entrance to Southampton Water and this fleet finished when Black Group were already heading for home.

In Black Fleet IRC 1 Class, Nial Dowling's J/111 ARABELLA had another tough outing in the light winds and huge tidal conditions.  As the eastern most course, the Black Group committee boat anchored north of Fastnet Insurance buoy. Courses were designed and redesigned. The breeze showed 187 degrees at 0915 as the course setters started their work and then clocked steadily round to 262 degrees at 1000 where it stayed from then on until 1400. Using a mixture of permanent and laid marks, the windward legs finished just east of the Bramble Bank. The runs against the tide were interspersed with a tight spinnaker reach to ring the changes. IRC1 got off to a clean start and ARABELLA kept close company with the top big boats all the way but got nipped in the end to get sixth overall and 3rd in IRC1-B class, she is now lying second overall in IRC1-B with a 2-3 record.

The increasing weather-going tide was always going to present tacticians with a problem timing runs into the line. What became noticeable at the leeward mark, Fastnet Insurance, was that the west going tide was much stronger than many boats anticipated. Those that ran down from the top mark in the main channel on port tack had much greater difficulty in judging the layline when they gybed onto starboard. Those who had come across towards the mainland shore first had a much easier life. In IRC3, many of the top J's figured out the tactical dilemma, with Jamie and Mike Holmes J/97 JIKA-JIKA getting third for second in the series.  Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK was eighth and now lies fourth for the series.  Bill Blain's J/97 BATFISH IV sailed a great race and managed a 4th place, moving them rapidly up the series standings to 10th overall.

The sixteen boat strong J/109 class had a cracking start and Matthew Boyle’s SHIVA chose the committee boat end to take an early lead on the beat. The fleet rounded Royal London buoy nose to tail and hoisted spinnakers. By the time Fastnet Insurance had been reached Dom Monkhouse's ME JULIE had sneaked a short lead with SHIVA in contention. These two extended their lead but on the last beat SHIVA kept her lead whilst ME JULIE slipped back into the clutches of J/DREAM, OFF BEAT and JAHMALI to finish fifth. This was close and exciting racing and the general consensus of the teams was that “it didn’t get much better”.

The J/80s pushed the line on the first of their three races. The ‘X’ flag, signifying an individual recall, was raised and lowered constantly during the final minute with JUMPING JENGA (Stewart Hawthorn) and Gordon Craigen’s SWALLOW over the line. JUMPIN JENGA returned to start properly and went on to make up ground for sixth place. SWALLOW either missed the recall flag or took a chance but had to score an OCS. Last week the RAF team on SPITFIRE was all-conquering, but this week they struggled to find the same form in similar conditions. Their scoreline of 5,5,3 just keeps them at the top of the table but seriously challenged by AQUA-J (Patrick Liardet) who took one race with JUST DO IT (Terry Palmer) and JUMPIN JENGA taking the others. JUST  DO IT was one of three boats counting an OCS in the second race as the weather going tide eased.  For more Warsash Spring Series sailing results.    Sailing Photo credits- Eddie May Gallery  

Classic Cabo Race- Preview

J "Musketeers" Speeding Down The Beach!
(Newport Beach, CA)- Forecasts are looking good for a classic offshore California event, the Cabo Race to take place this coming weekend.  That classic sprint going south down the California and Mexico coastline to that quintessential beach town called "Cabo".  With any luck, the fleet will be treated to early jib reaching that turns into more high-speed spinnaker reaching as the fleet moves south and winds typically move more into the NW quadrants.

For the J trio participating, leading the charge down the track should be Tom Hothus' J/145 BAD PAAK from San Diego, CA.  BAD PAAK is a veteran SoCal offshore racer and is a known speedster in these conditions, hoping to add a bit more silverware to their already impressive collection that includes TransPac Race wins.  Running neck and neck down the coast may be the veteran J/124 GOOD CALL sailed by Tom Barker from San Diego and the "new kid on the block", the J/111 speedster INVISIBLE HAND sailed by that fun-loving crew from San Francisco Bay, Frank Slootman and crew.  Given the fact that winds could hit 15-20+ knots with TWA's on starboard tack running around 110 to 140 degrees, it could be an epic ride down the coast for this gang of serious speedsters- a den of trophy-hunting thieves thicker than the "three musketeers."  We wish them luck and look forward to following their progress down the track.
For more Cabo Race tracking and sailing information.  

Rolex Block Island Race Week & J/122 North Americans

(Block Island, RI- June 20-24)- This year's Rolex Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week serves as both the 2011 IRC East Coast Championship and the J/122 National Championship. The event also will feature the debut of a new J/111 class and has eliminated former PHRF restrictions that will open up the event to more sailors.  Boats will be competing for individual class trophies daily and Rolex watches as overall prizes for top performances on each of the racing circles. A traditional around-the-island distance race will also be included, with a Rolex watch to be awarded to the top IRC boat.

The J/105 class, which is known for holding the longest one-design participation record in the history of the regatta, has always had a strong fleet and already six boats, out of an expected 24 or more, have signed up. 'There has been J/105 class racing at Block Island since 1996, and we have been there every year,' said Nelson Weiderman (Wickford, R.I.), owner of the J/105 Kima. 'It is a family vacation for us, and I’m hoping to have my daughter and two sons join us with their children. The family thing is big for me, and a week-long event is highly unusual, so there will be beach time for all who do not race.'

Weiderman, who sailed Kima to victory in the 2010 New England Solo/Twin, said he isn’t necessarily expecting to win at Block Island the year. 'Our best year at Block Island was when we came in second (1998),' said Weiderman. 'Coming in top half would be great, but having fun is of primary importance.'

Unlike the veteran J/105 class, the J/111 class will be testing out Block Island Race Week waters for the first time in history. 'There won’t be too many boats at Block Island, since it is the first regatta for the class and only around sixty hulls have been sold,' said David Tortorello (Fairfield, Conn.), owner of the J/111 PARTNERSHIP. 'We sold our J/122 of three years and are waiting on the new PARTNERSHIP, which is still in the box.'

Tortorello is no stranger to the regatta and has participated for many years, including in 2007 and 2009 aboard the J/122 PARTNERSHIP. 'It is more fun than you’ll ever have. The whole group is one big happy family, and Block Island is the best venue around here.'    For more Block Island sailing information.  

Light Start to Warsash Spring Series

(Warsash, Southampton Water, England)- The Warsash Spring Series lived up to its name on Sunday 12th March, when the first day's racing was held. Early risers may have been greeted by the sound of foghorns and a fine if persistent drizzle but as some 1,000 sailors made their way to the sailing area, conditions steadily improved. The fog lifted and the sun appeared. The breeze however was very light at times.

On the Black Group committee boat, stationed on the Ryde Middle bank, the race officers were pleased that the forecast veer from south to north-west happened early. A short postponement of 30 minutes enabled the wind to steady and satisfactory courses could be set. Initially these included a cascade of windward/leeward legs finishing off Lee Point. In the event, with the development of windless patches and with time marching on, Black Group courses were shortened at the fourth or sixth mark.  All competitors were pleased to complete within the limit and gain their first result on a difficult but challenging day. Back at Warsash Sailing Club competitors were able to relax in the clubhouse garden where the weekly champagne prizes for class winners were presented in the balmy spring-like conditions.

In Black Fleet IRC 1 Class, Nial Dowling's J/111 ARABELLA had a tough go of it in the crazy conditions as one of the little boats in the big boat class, getting a 5th correct.  As one competitor put it, "very light 5kt winds with big holes this week. We were fully parked with all the zeros on the log for about 20 min. Obviously a lovely 12 knots filled in as we motored in…"

In IRC 3 Class, the J's faired a bit better, managing to navigate around the "black holes" that developed on the course a bit better than most. John Taylor's J/92 J'RENIMO was third and Mike, Jamie Holme's J/97 JIKA-JIKA was fourth and Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK was seventh.  However, after Bill Blain's J/97 BATFISH IV and Chris Jones' J/105 JOURNEYMAKER V get their IRC ratings squared away, we might see the standings jumbled yet again!

The sixteen boat strong J/109 class had another strong start to their highly competitive series.  After the dust settled, the top three finished with a minute of each other.  Leading the charge home was VELVET ELVIS in first, followed by Paul Griffith's JAGERBOMB in second, JUST SO in third, Paul and Kirsty Apthorp's champion J-DREAM fourth and SHIVA fifth.  The J/109s had the benefit of watching the starts of IRC 1 & 2, when many of the boats had been late due to the strong tide keeping them back from the line.  The J/109 Class hit the line on time and at speed and saw J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp) and VELVET ELVIS (Velvet Elvis Racing) continue their battle from 2010.  Whilst that battle ensued JAGERBOMB (Paul Griffiths) who were new to the fleet in 2010 rounded the windward mark, hoisted their spinnaker and set off downwind to the first passing mark.  VELVET ELVIS and J-DREAM were left in their wake.  JAHMAIL (Mike & Sarah Wallis), SHIVA (Matt Boyle) and DESIGNSTAR (Roger Phillips) were all hot on their heels.  JAHMAIL was caught out by the passing mark and had to drop her spinnaker to make it round – costing her 4th position.  During the long run to craftinsure.com JAGERBOMB had disappeared into the distance and did not appear to suffer from lack of wind which affected most of the fleet. JUST SO (David & Mary McGough) and JUMPING JELLYFISH (David Richards) maintained momentum and made big gains.  A further beat saw newcomers to the fleet JET (Alan Neilson) overtake DESIGNSTAR and AUDAJIOUS (David Jobson) before engaging with ME JULIE (Dom Monkhouse) and JAHMAIL.  This battle continued to the finish when ME JULIE was the middle of the sandwich and crossed the finish line 24 secs behind JAHMAIL and 28 seconds ahead of JET.

The final beat saw JAGERBOMOB and VELVET ELVIS push each other off Ryde Bank into the tide which left J-DREAM unsure whether to go with them, or to cover JUST SO, SHIVA and OFFBEAT (David McLeman) who had all chosen to stay on the bank out of the tide.  VELVET ELVIS and JAGERBOMB were having a great battle.  VELVET ELVIS managed to climb above her, preventing JAGERBOMB from tacking to cross the finish line.  A quick tack from VELVET ELVIS allowed them to snatch victory.

The J/80s are again sailing multiple races and managed to get in three before retiring for the day to the Shore House for Pimms and Guinness and to watch the England vs Scotland International rugby match.  Simply dominating the first day of racing for the dozen sailors on the Southampton Water was none other the SPITFIRE gang, they were absolutely on fire!  Skipper Tony Hanlon of the Spitfire Team managed to fire off three 1st to win the day with a measly 3 points.  A tough hombre behind them was John Cooper on OI! rattling off a 2-6-3 in the goofy wind conditions to get second for the day.  Patrick Liardet sailing AQUA-J was third only one point back with a 6-4-2.  Fourth was Terry Palmer on JUST DO IT and fifth was Dan Brown on HENRI LLOYD SHOCKWAVE.

With eager anticipation race 1 got underway and it was clear that the tide over Hill Head plateau was just as dubious as the 30deg wind shift up the first beat. The fleet came together at the windward mark which was really exciting for the hoist battle. A reach to the next mark certainly reminded everyone how important it is to trim trim trim but still the fleet was incredibly close together. Fast forward to the final down-wind leg – the fleet were still really close but at the finish it was Tony Hanlon’s “Spitfire” taking line honours, followed by John Cooper’s “Oi!” and Stewart Hawthorne’s “Jumpin’ Jenga” 3rd.

Race 2 saw pretty much the same conditions with much more tide – many boats elected for the committee boat end but struggled to cross the line on starboard, a rather cheeky port tack flyer by Terry Palmer’s “Just Do It” gave the needed boost for the first beat with many boats tacking onto port as soon as a gap appeared. Many boats went hard inshore up the beats which should have aided with cheating the tide but this wasn’t the case. At the first windward mark it was Cowes based Douglas Neville-Jones with “Jasmine” leading the fleet chased by “Spitfire” then “Just Do It”. A matter of picking your gybe correctly was the call and “Spitfire” edged into the lead. On the next beat it was all about drag-racing and who could speed up towards the windward mark, “Spitfire” held the lead but closely chased by “Just Do It”. On the run a shortened course was called by the Race Officer and “Spitfire” took her second win of the day followed hot on her heels was “Just Do It” and then “Jasmine”

In an effort to get the fleet home, the Race Officer repositioned the start at the leeward gate of the SB3 course and a new course was issued for the final race. No one can argue that the J/80 fleet aren’t competitive as Race 3’s first attempt saw many of the fleet OCS and a general recall was called. The second attempt got away with only an individual recall and just after the start the wind decided to back 30 degrees  thus making those on the left hand side of the beat control the windward mark. The fleet like in Race 1 was incredibly close throughout the race until the final beat to the finish. Patrick Liardet and “Aqua-J” performed what can only be called a master-class as she sailed out to the right hand side of the course and performed a slingshot into the finish pretty much overtaking everyone. But it was the team of “Spitfire” again showing her transom to the fleet taking the final race (and a clean sheet may I add) of the day with “Aqua-J” second and “Oi!” third.   For more Warsash Spring Series sailing results
Sailing Photo credits- Eddie Mays  

J/111 Speedster At Irish Boatshop Open House

St. Patricks Day in Harbor Springs, MI
(Harbor Springs, MI)- If you have an inclination to take a quick trip to see how summer plans are unfolding for one of the Great Lakes most beautiful summer resorts, then waste no time jumping into your car and race over to Harbor Springs.  On display will be the latest J/111 speedster to hit the Great Lakes.  Print this "coupon" here for a free "green" beer and brat at the Irish Boat Shop open house.  Take a tour and you're sure to get invited (or volunteered) to participate in this summer's UGOTTA REGATTA that will take place in Harbor Springs after the Chicago Mackinac Race-- 6-8 J/111s are expected to compete from J/111 Fleet #1 on the planet.  For more Irish Boat Shop J/111 open house information.   For more J/111 sailboat information
  

J/111 World One-Design Growth

(Newport, RI)-  Reports from the frontiers of sailing around the world indicate that interest for 111's is strong, with dozens of prospective sailors/ owners looking forward to their first experiences racing this new rocketship in the 2011 sailing season.  By summer, J/111 speedsters will be sailing in at least ten countries on four continents- USA and Canada for North America; Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand Down Under; Cartagena, Columbia for South America; and United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland for Europe-- a remarkably strong debut for the next generation international one-design off the J drawing boards and the first J to go global in less than twelve months!

Supporting this worldwide one-design roll-out is JB Composites in Les Sables'd'Olonne, France.  President Didier LeMoal is excited about the 111s' prospects for Europe and is looking forward to the launching of the first European-built J/111 in April.  With over a dozen boats ordered from the French facility alone, the fleets in both the UK and France are well on their way to having one-design events rolling in Europe for 2012.

For those of you who wish to see a 111 soon, they will debuting in Charleston Race Week, Strictly Sail Pacific show, Warsash Spring Series (UK) and BMW Auckland Race Week (New Zealand) all within the next month.  And, look for the 111 to debut in Australia at the Sydney Boatshow in July.  Other 2011 events the 111 will be sailing include Rolex STC Block Island Race, Rolex Block Island Race Week, Rolex Fastnet Race, Rolex Big Boat Series, Rolex Middle Sea Race and Rolex RORC Caribbean 600 in 2012.  For more J/111 sailboat information