Australian J/111 JAKE Proves Good Design Matters

(Sydney, Australia)-  In what many sailors were reporting as a frustrating day on the race course with light winds and lumpy seas off Sydney’s North Head, Ray Entwistle’s new J/111 JAKE had a tremendous day out sailing. Here is Ray's report:

"Granted it was a light fickle day, with the wind swinging from north east to north west from 2 to 8 knots and a very lumpy seaway with 1.5 knots of current running south 3 miles offshore.  Despite the J/111 being one of the smallest boats in the 19 boat division you just know you are going to have a good day when you leave the Sydney Harbour start line in Watson's Bay and go around the top mark 4 miles offshore not far behind the TP 52 and just behind the new Ker 40 and Sydney Ker 43. The J/111 just sliced through the choppy water and pointed high!

After the first lap of the windward leeward course we were already leaving 44.7s, DK43s, First 40s and 45’s, A40’s, Cookson 12s, and large X yachts a long way behind.  We, like most, were hoping for a shortened course on the second lap as we could the see TP52 extending on every leg. However, unbeknown to us (due a last minute change of support boats because of a mechanical issue) the replacement support boat did not have an ‘S’ flag to shorten the course so the full 3 lap course had to be sailed.

On the last beat we heard the retirements coming in over the VHF radio as the boats a long way back began to realize they would time out and not finish the course.  We were surprised as some of the 38 to 45 footers behind us started to call it day....we were going to make it with ease. On the last rounding of the top mark, spinnaker flying and crew calling the angles perfectly to enter Sydney Harbour we still had many things to smile about. As we passed the bottom mark (which was no longer part of the course for us as we were on our way back to Watson's Bay and the finish line) we actually lapped a First 40 and an Archambault 40. Not surprisingly, they called it a day and followed us back into the harbour.

The J/111 finished 5th on the water and 2nd on IRC beating the new Sydney Ker 43 and Ker 40 by 7 and 8 minutes and a racing carbon/kevlar 51 footer by an astonishing 26 minutes.

We would like to thank our crew for their constant perseverance and Ian Short for yet another superb set of sails which have been devastatingly quick in all conditions, and of course to all the Johnstone’s for another stunningly designed boat!  Thanks, Ray"

  

J/111 Wins Silver in RORC Season Championships

(London, England)- It was a tough year.  It was a Fastnet year.  And, an RORC 600 year.  It was not going to be easy for any boat participating in this years RORC Seasons Points Championships to easily walk off with all the silverware and pickle-dishes.  Nevertheless, some J/Teams prevailed despite some harsh and very, very challenging conditions offshore- some absolutely not within the "wheelhouse" of where these J/Teams can succeed, if not dominate offshore.  Again, this year's series points to the fact that a good all-around design is critical to offshore success-- too "type-formed" and you win big in one event and get crushed in the next.  Such was the case this year.

In the IRC Classes the best five offshore races are counted towards the RORC Season's Points Championship. These were heavily contested and in some of the classes, the results were undecided until after the Cherbourg Race, the last race of the season.  For the J/Teams, "Congratulations" are in order for those that persevered and prevailed against the best offshore sailors from Western Europe.  Here's the scoreline for these J/Teams:

- Alan Paul Trophy - Consistent High Performance in IRC Overall: ARABELLA- J/111 - Niall Dowling (GBR)

In addition to the winners, special mention should be made of the following performances:

- IRC Overall- the J/111 ARABELLA sailed by Niall Dowling was 2nd overall behind the custom Ker 46 Tonnere- the overall winner.  Just behind them was the J/122 sailed by Neil Kipling.

The net, net of the 2011 RORC summer sailing season is that it takes solid, easy-to-sail, all-around boats to succeed in the RORC events.  Again, with primarily all amateur/ corinthian teams, the fleet of J sailors not only had fun but won their fair share of silverware, too.  Nothing like adding a few more pickle-dishes to the serving inventory at home!  For more RORC Offshore Season sailing information.

  

J/111 JAKE Dazzles East Oz

(Sydney, Australia)- So far, so good.  JAKE has now taken the lead in Sydney’s Division 1 Short Ocean Point Score Series.  The second race of the SOPS was held last Saturday and the J/111 JAKE is cementing her position in this competitive fleet.

This was the J/111’s first windward/leeward race in light and variable conditions. The wind was only 8 to 10 knots from the south east so the light #1 jib and the class A2 running spinnaker were the order of the day. The winds were not strong enough for the J/111 to get up on the plane, however, we were able to run almost as square as the symmetric boats.  On the last homeward run back toward Sydney Harbour Heads we were unfortunate enough to be on the wrong side of a wind shift which came in from the south and cost us some time. When inside Sydney Heads we made a mistake and dropped the spinnaker into the water which cost us another 2 minutes!  Agh!  Despite this, JAKE finished 2nd on IRC and is now leading Division 1 in the Sydney Short Ocean Pointscore Series. Ray and Sandra Entwistle are delighted with the new J/111, remarked Ray, "she is proving to be a highly versatile, remarkably competitive boat in all conditions.  And, being the "baby-sized" boat in the fleet is proving no handicap."

  

J/Fest Winter Circuit

(Ft Lauderdale, FL)- With fall sailing events progressing across America and Europe, tremendous interest is developing for a "J/Fest Winter Circuit" in Florida that encompasses J/111s, J/105s, J/109s and larger J's (J/120s, J/122s, J/124s, J/44s).  To that end, a regatta schedule for J sailors that includes sailing once per month all winter includes the following dates and events:

1. Lauderdale- Key West- Jan 12-13- http://www.lyc.org (optional)
2. Quantum Key West Race Week- Jan 15-20- http://www.premiere-racing.com
3. J/Fest Ft Lauderdale- Feb 18-19- President's Day- http://www.bahiamarhotel.com/marina
4. J/Fest Ft Lauderdale- Mar 16-18- St Patrick's Day- http://www.bahiamarhotel.com/marina
5. Charleston Race Week- Apr 19-22- http://www.charlestonraceweek.com

So far, several J/111s, J/105s, J/120s and J/122s have expressed interest in a winter circuit based out of easy-to-access deep-water facilities in Fort Lauderdale- the Bahia Mar Marina and Hotel complex will be the base of operations for the regattas.  A complete, professional "concierge service" has been developed to make it a "turn-key", affordable proposition for J owners from Chicago to Houston, Newport to Halifax and Annapolis to fully transport their boats, launch/ haul and have their boats "ready-to-sail" at each location- cleaned, polished, rigged, literally ready-to-race.  Fly down with the crew, hop aboard and off you go, "no muss, no fuss"!  Daily awards will be given for each event as well as overall and at the end of the J/Fest Winter Circuit, awards will be given for best three of five results at the conclusion of Charleston Race Week.  For more information on the J/Fest Winter Circuit including "all-in budgets and costs", please contact J/Boats at Ph. +1-401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com.  Or, call you local J/Dealer for more information.

  

J/111 JAKE Impressive in Sydney Offshore

(Sydney, Australia)- The boys (and girls) down under are full-on into their early summer Sydney Offshore Points Series with many of the top offshore boats in the greater Sydney/ Melbourne region participating.  Many use the Sydney Offshore series as a warm-up/ tune-up program for the boat, sails and crew for the famous Sydney-Hobart Race that starts on Boxing Day in December.

As owner Ray Entwistle describes, the "J/111 continues to prove her form even in light airs offshore!  In a stark contrast JAKE's first offshore race a few weeks ago, where it was gusting to 30 knots and JAKE's boat speed was up to 18 knots, JAKE  proves herself in complete opposite conditions.  In the Short Ocean Pointscore race a few race weeks ago we had big winds and a fantastic kite ride heading north. This week’s 30nm race headed south to Port Hacking with the wind only averaging 8 knots, 30 degree wind shifts and a sloppy seaway.  A mixture of beating and just cracked sheets really tested the boat and crew and being the smallest boat in this division in these conditions has to be the most challenging (we were up against the larger boats including Corby 49, Sydney  47 and other much larger boats in Division One).  However, we are delighted with the J/111’s performance. We were looking forward to the ride back to Sydney, planning to set the A2 asymmetric, heating it up and pulling some distance back on the 50 footers when mother nature changed the plans. The wind swung from ESE, to SW, then back to ESE again!  Due to the shape of the coastline we were back to beating and just cracked sheets again, it wasn’t until Maroubra 5nm south of Sydney harbour that we were able to just hang onto the code 0, then set a larger kite to get into Sydney Heads then drop it again to beat back into Rushcutters Bay for the finish line.

In summary, for the six hour long race we only had the spinnakers up for approximately 1 one hour!  We were the 4th boat over the line on the water and finished 3rd on IRC, leaving a bunch of 40 to 45 footers behind us!  For a 36 ft yacht this is one incredible boat."