JEEZ LOUISE Wins Vice Admirals Cup 111s

Steven Tapper's STALKER Trumps J/109 Class(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The weather may have been grey and murky on the Solent today, but the quality of racing at the opening day of the 2012 Vice Admiral's Cup was spectacularly vibrant. For the 71 teams in six classes the day brought light to moderate shifty winds of circa 6-12 knots combined with a strong ebb tide, giving tacticians and navigators plenty to think about.

Race Officer Bob Milner set up shop for Classes 0, 1 and 2 along the Ryde bank, whilst his colleague Robert Lamb took Classes 3, 4 and 5 up onto the Hillhead plateau.  All fleets were sailing windward leeward courses and the race committee succeeded in completing the three races scheduled for all classes.

After racing Jonathan Goring confirmed that his overall impression of the day was, "Incredibly shifty! The wind was veering right all day and there was a massive 90 degree shift just before the third race. Our boat is the highest rating in the fleet so we're constantly looking to pick our gap and find clear air. The tide played a crucial part too although at times, particularly in the first race, it was hard to decide what to do for tidal advantage. We got forced off to the right into more tide and expected to loose out, but at the first mark we'd gained on those who came up the bank! This is a crucial regatta for those of us hoping to be selected for the GBR Team and the Commodores' Cup so we're crossing our fingers for more breeze tomorrow."

In Class 2 for the J/111's David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM won the first and last races and came 4th in the second, while Jame's Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE scored 3-1-2 leaving the boats tied on six points overall with J-DREAM claiming the lead on count back. Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN JOE sat in third place overall, two points being the leaders, thanks to a 2nd and two 3rd places.

The fifteen J/109s in Class 3 put on a great showing with some exciting racing that got so close at times that the Protest Committee had two protests to resolve after racing. Steve and Jody's Maine's J2EAU took the honours in race one from Christopher Palmer's J-TAIME with David McGough's JUST SO 3rd.   But it was Steven Tapper's STALKER that claimed the boat of the day prize thanks to a 4th in race one followed by wins in next two races. In the overall standings STALKER had a two-point lead over J2EAU while Jonathan Hearth's JAGERBOMB took 3rd place on 11 points with J'TAIME fourth on 16.

For the second day of sailing, the teams were delighted when day two brought sunshine and wind, albeit a shifty 6-10 knots from the west, enabling all six fleets to complete three more races - races 4-6 of the series. With more tricky wind and tide conditions to contend with and the discard in play there have been plenty of place changes on the leader boards and there's all to play for going into the final day on Sunday.

Race Officers Robert Lamb and Bob Milner took their fleets up onto the Hillhead Plateau with the race area for Classes 0 to 2 set to the south-west of that for Classes 3 to 5. The big boat fleets were able to get underway on time at 10.30, but the smaller boats, which were closer in to the mainland shore, had a postponement whilst they waited for the lighter and shiftier inshore wind to settle.

There were big changes for the J/111s where the normally ultra-reliable David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM had a shocker of a day finishing last in races four and five before recovering slightly to take 4th in race six. As a result they drop from first to fourth in the overall standings. James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE moved up into the lead from second thanks to a 4-3-1 score. Ricardo Tavoncelli's MANIC finally found form winning races four and five but dropped back into last in the last race although it was enough to move them up into second overall on equal point with Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN JOE. MANIC held second on count back.

Steven Tapper's STALKER had a firm grip on the 16 strong J/109 fleet thanks to two further wins and a second place. They counted 6 points and had an 11 point lead over nearest rival J2EAU, owned by Steve and Jody Maine, who managed to hang onto second overall by adding 3-8-7 to their card. Six points behind them was Tor McLaren's INSPARA, who moved up from fifth, and fourth place was now held by Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB. STALKER's run of luck almost came to an end in the fifth race when their jib sheet snapped as the tacked onto the starboard layline for the first mark. Fortunately the crew's quick thinking saved the day and within a few seconds three of the team had hold of the flapping sheet tail and clew and they were able to sheet in effectively enough to allow them to continue towards the mark at almost full speed as their team mates rigged up a replacement sheet.

The wind Gods smiled at last on the final day of racing, where the fleet enjoyed two final races in a 12-16 knot north-north-easterly. An ebb tide kept the sea relatively flat and conditions were near perfect for the final showdown.  Again the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's Race Committee took their race courses up onto the Hillhead Plateau and with the stronger winds they were able to set longer windward leeward courses using a mix of laid and permanent marks.

Class 2 for the J/111s saw plenty of "thrust & parry" as the boats enjoyed the stronger breeze.  JEEZ LOUISE held their lead thanks to a win in the first race followed by a 5th, which they discarded to take the series by 8 points.  SHMOKIN JOE pulled up into second overall while J-DREAM hit their stride again after yesterday's misstep, jumping back up into third overall.

STALKER gave the J/109s of Class 3 a master-class (e.g. a "schooling") as this well-drilled crew took two further bullets to win the series by 22 points, the biggest margin of all the fleets. Although STALKER had first place sewn up the battle for second and third raged.  The Main's J2EAU put in a steady day to take second place leaving Mclaren's INSPARA and Griffiths' JAGERBOMB, vying for third.  JAGERBOMB put in a sterling effort but at the end of the day both boats were tied on 39 points with INSPARA taking third on countback.  Post-racing Steven Tapper commented, "It all came good for us really, we had our worst race first of all with very flukey winds and we didn't read it very well, but it then got better and better for us as the weekend went on."   Sailing photo credits- Fiona Brown   For more Vice Admirals Cup sailing information

J's Dominate North Sea Race

(Harwich, England)- Racing across the North Sea in May is not for the faint-hearted. However 58 yachts were on the start line in Harwich, England, on Saturday morning to race the RORC North Sea Race 210 miles to the beautiful resort town of Scheveningen in The Netherlands. Cold but bright sunny conditions prevailed with a moderate breeze, piping up to close to a stiff breeze at times.

Under IRC, Stan Fenton's J/105 FAY-J was just two minutes behind on corrected time IRC Overall and came out victorious in IRC Four.  FAY-J races extensively on the East Coast of England and Stan was very happy with their result.

"It was a tiring race but we are delighted with our result," smiled Stan Fenton. "We went very well between Smith's Knoll and MSP, we were slightly south of the rhumb line rather than most of the other boats who went north, which meant we were in slightly more tide to start with but we could set our kite for about half the leg and I think that is where we made a lot of time up. We do a lot of racing on the East Coast, next up for us is the Haven series race from Shotley to Burnham-on-Crouch and then East Anglian Offshore Series, including The Haughton Cup, so it is a pretty full season."

What's remarkable is that in IRC Overall, J's took 7 of top 10!! And, in fact, J's took 9 of top 15 places!  Just behind FAY-J was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed double-handed by Chris Revelman, getting 3rd overall,  2nd in IRC2 class, Double handed 1st!  Winning IRC 3 class and 4th overall was the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul van der Pol.  Third in IRC 2 Class and 5th overall was the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by the dynamic duo of John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef (yes, the "Batman & Robin" of Dutch sailing).

Filling out the rest of the top 15 in IRC Overall for J's were the following boats-
7th- J/109 CAPTAIN JACK- Vert Visser- 2nd IRC3 class
9th- J/105 DIABLO-J- Nick Martin- 4th in IRC3 class, Doublehanded 2nd
10th- J/105 HARPOEN- Harry Rek- 2nd IRC4 class
13th- J/133 ASSARAIN IV- Angus Bates- 2nd IRC One
15th- J/109 ARETHUSA- Kees Mijs- 5th IRC3 class

Many of the competitors taking part in the North Sea Race will also be racing in the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta during the Whitsunday weekend, from 25th to 28th May. Hundreds of boats compete in this, the biggest yacht, sportsboat, dinghy and catamaran regatta in Holland, including the yachts hoping to represent Benelux in the forthcoming Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup in July.  For more RORC North Sea Race sailing information

J-Normous FIGAWI Turnout

(Hyannis, MA)- The 41st Annual Figawi Race Weekend is recognized as a top sailing event not only on the East Coast but is known internationally as well. Figawi Race Weekend kicks off the the Cape Cod and Nantucket summer season in America.  Entries include sailors from several states, 240+ boats (including 30 power boats) and over 3,000 sailors and visitors.  It's one of the world's largest "pursuit" races-- depending on rating, slowest boats start first, fastest last and whomever crosses the finish line first wins!  Other events like it exist, like the infamous "Three Bridge Fiasco" in San Francisco Bay that are of equal significance on the West Coast.

The weekend begins with a Kickoff Party at Hyannis Yacht Club on Friday. Then, early Saturday morning, crews begin gathering. Skippers and boat owners prepare their boats, gather their crews, and head out to the start line. The first boat officially begins at 10 am off the Hyannis Port Jetty. But beginning around 8 am, the parade of sailboats head out of Lewis Bay, pass by Kalmus Beach, and gather off Hyannis Port. The boats start from 10 am until approximately noon, depending on their handicapped start time. All boats in all divisions compete across Nantucket Sound, in various courses, to be the first one to reach Nantucket.

Why sail? According to Brad Mascott, recent owner of J/105 #209 TWO IF BY SEA for the past two years, "I just love this boat and love this race, wouldn't miss it for anything!"  Find out why for yourself.  Lots of fun, lots of laughs and lots of memories with friends and loved ones.  Many other J's are participating and seem to agree with Brad's perspective on this special Nantucket event.

At this stage, there are two J/24s, two J/29s sailing.  Dawson Hodgson's J/100 GRIMACE from Rhode Island is sailing, so are two J/105s from Nantucket Community Sailing Center.  A J/35 and Doug Curtiss's J/111 WICKED 2.0 from Marion, MA are in the line-up.  Two J/37c's are going for it, including Stephen Lipman's DUCK SOUP from Newport, RI and Andrew Davis' DESTINY from Groton, MA.  Three J/40s are cruising fast, including Kirk Brown's JAZZ from Hingham, MA; Bill Jones' SMITTEN from Marblehead, MA and Peter Stockus' PASSAGE from Canton, MA.  Two J/120's are doing the event, Jim Masiero's URSUS MARITIMUS from Sterling, MA and Dave Follet's GLORY from Boxborough, MA. Tony Iacono's J/42 AFFINITY from West Chester, PA and Kevin McLaughlin's J/44 SPICE from Fairhaven, MA may be in the hunt. Two J/46's are sailing, Dick Eagan's WINGS from Osterville, MA and Renee & Bill Jacobson's VANISH from Boston, MA.  Finally, two of the big, fast cruising J/160s- Alan Fougere's AVATAR from Pocasset, MA and Ben Blake's ATLANTIC from Stonington, CT- will be thundering into the finish line at a great rate of speed if the little guys in front haven't gotten there already!

Depending on the various conditions, the theory of the "Pursuit Race" format is that all competitors should reach Nantucket Harbor Buoy at around the same time. They finish at the entrance of Nantucket Harbor and parade into Nantucket Boat Basin.

Saturday night Figawi hosts a Competitor Party under the tent on Nantucket. Mt Gay, Budweiser, Hammer & Sickle, Vineyard Vines and French Rabbit join Figawi along with live entertainment to throw a great gathering where old friends meet up after a long winter, and new friends are made.

Sunday is a day to enjoy Nantucket Island whether visiting local shops, enjoying restaurants, or walking on the docks at Nantucket Boat Basin. Figawi hosts a Traditional Clambake under the Event Tent. Lobster, mussels, award winning chowder, chicken, steak, potatoes, and much more are included in the reasonable fee.  As the day winds down, the Prize Giving starts late afternoon where 97+ trophies are awarded.  After the Award Ceremony, it's time to change gears and prep the tent for the Sunday night party-- it's basically a repeat of Saturday night.

Monday morning, it is time to get back to racing. The newly formatted Monday Race dubbed "Redux" has been changed to encourage as many entrants as possible. The race now ends in a neutral location allowing skippers to head north or south towards home. The gathering at HYC in the later afternoon includes entertainment and one last time to enjoy the Figawi camaraderie until next year.    Sailing photo credits- Blake Jackson   For more FIGAWI Race sailing information

J/Teams Sail Epic Vuurschepen Race

(The Hague, Netherlands)- The traditional opening event for the North Sea Regatta is the Vuurschepen Race from Scheveningen, Netherlands to Harwich, England- a distance of only 110 nautical miles across the northern parts of La Manche (the English Channel).

This year's race was an epic challenge for all fifty teams sailing.  The forecast was just plain ugly.  Strong NW winds 20-30 knots gusting up to 50 knots in squalls, cold, wet and monstrous, breaking seas.  The starts for all classes went off fine, with the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef and the J/122 JUNIQUE skippered by Chris Revelman both getting solid positions on the fleet to lead them away from the waterfront of The Hague.  As forecast, the winds were a steady 20-25 knots gusting higher.  Amongst the starters were Global Ocean Race sailor Yvonne Beusker, skipper of the J/105 PANTHER.

After taking a beating sailing across the southern parts of the infamous North Sea, mostly renowned for producing 10-15 foot "chop" instead of long, rolling seas or swell, the various J/Teams managed to sail fast and safely to just about sweep the top 10 places overall in IRC Division.  In fact, J sailors took 7 of the Top 10 in IRC Overall, plus taking 2nd and 3rd in IRC 2, 1st in IRC 3 and 1st in IRC Double-handed.  Of the fifty-two boats that finished, eight boats dropped out due to crew sickness, torn sails or broken equipment!

In the largest and most competitive class in the race, IRC 2 with eleven boats, the J/Teams took 6 of the top seven places!  That's quite a showing across the board, ranging from J/105s up to the J/122.  Second in IRC 2 and 4th overall was the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul Van der Pol, they finished at 12:35 CEST on Wednesday.  Third in class and 5th overall was the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by the Fastnet Team of John Van de Starre and Robin Verhoef, they had the honor of being the first J/Team across the line at 11:37 CEST on Wednesday.  Fourth in class and sixth overall was the J/109 CAPTAIN JACK skippered by Burt Visser.  Fifth class and 7th overall was the  J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman.  Sixth class and 8th overall was the J/109 ARETHUSA raced by Kees Mijs.  Seventh in class and 10th overall was the J/105 PANTHER sailed by Yvonne Beusker and Edith Voskamp.

In the IRC 3 Class, first in class and 9th overall was the J/105 HARPOEN sailed by Harry Rek.  Finally, the winner of the IRC 2H Doublehanded division was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman.

After the finish, the sailors will certainly enjoy their day of rest in Harwich, hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club in Woolverstone. After much camaraderie and celebration over their collective successes on Ascension Day the sailors will surely be enjoying their lunch in The "Butt and Oyster" pub at Pin Mill.  After a good night's sleep, the sailors will be back at it again on Friday.  On Friday, they hop aboard again and go back across "La Manche" (the Channel) in the RORC North Sea Race back to Holland!  We wish them all fair winds and following seas this time!   For more Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta sailing and "live-tracking" information

J/111 Sailing Demo's

Oslo, Norway & Marstrand, Sweden
(Oslo, Norway)- From May through first part of June, the J/111 will be in Marstrand, Sweden for viewing and demos by Jan Nillson's Marstrand Yachts (and J/80s will be their for test sails, too).

On June 7 & 8, the J/111 will be on display for viewing in Oslo, Norway just prior to the start of the famous Ferder Race.

If you have an interest in seeing this remarkable offshore/ one-design speedster, please be sure to contact Jan at email- jan.nilsson@marstrandyachts.com.   For more J/111 sailing information

Vice Admirals Cup Sailing Preview

First UK J/111 One-Design Sailing Event
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club will host the eighth Vice Admiral’s Cup Regatta this coming weekend.  Since its introduction the Vice Admiral Cup has gone from strength to strength with it’s simple close-racing format and fun social program making it enjoyable for the competitors. This year there will be six classes, including one-design classes for the J/109 and J/111 as well as provide the inshore element for the 2012 GBR Team trials for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup.

This year record numbers of yachts are expected for Vice Admiral's Cup, with over 60 entries to date. The courses will be predominantly laid windward-leeward format with up to eight races scheduled over the three days of racing.

For the Commodore's Cup selection, all boats wishing to qualify will be participating in Class 0, made up of mostly forty footers of various ilk from Elan, First, King, Ker, Corby and others.  Included in the mix is the well-sailed J/122 JOOPSTER skippered by Neil Kipling and two J/109s, David Aisher's YEOMAN OF WIGHT and Robert Stiles & Neil Angel's DIAMOND JEM.

In the one-design world, the five J/111s will likely find out that all five boats will learn how to sail faster every single race-- exactly as what happened with their colonial compatriots during the Annapolis NOOD regatta two weeks ago.  Their learning curve will be fast and furious as teams learn to tweak them to go much faster uphill and downhill.  Even steering techniques will be refined, as many drivers learned on the Chesapeake, e.g. pinching is not fast in light-medium breezes!  As this is the first meeting of these teams, it's too early to tell what will happen. Nevertheless, certainly one of the most experienced teams is Cowes Week 2011 winner Duncan McDonald and crew on SHMOKIN JOE.  Certainly Rolls & Christies' ICARUS, Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE, Tavoncelli's MANIC and Ivill's J-SPIRIT will all enjoy having a go at Duncan and "the JOE" team.

The usual suspects of leading J/109 teams are participating with a slew of teams all capable of rounding out the podium.  In completely random order, you can expect to see all these boats get a top three finish at some point during the event, including David McGough's JUST SO, Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB, Beckhelling's RED ARROW, Richard and Valerie Griffith's OUTRAJEOUS, Dave Richard's JUMPING JELLYFISH, Steve & Jody Maine's J2EAU and Franks & Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX.  In other words, over half the fleet is competitive enough to lead around the course depending on a zillion factors-- great one-design racing with this group.

As always the Royal Corinthian will look forward to welcoming competitors après sailing to relax at its delightful clubhouse which enjoys panoramic views across the Solent. There will be a two-course steak barbeque dinner on Friday and Saturday's open for dinner on the panoramic veranda-- hard to beat the view, hoping the weather cooperates!   For more Vice Admirals Cup sailing information

J/111 ANDIAMO Wins AYC Spring Series

(Rye, NY)- The annual spring rite of passage for the start of the Long Island Sound offshore sailing season was finally completed this past weekend.  Hosted by the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, the excellent turnout was helped by gorgeous, cool, spring weather conditions with sunny days prevailing for both weekends of sailing.

In IRC I Class, the J/133 ANTIDOTE sailed by Ron Richman had a terrific series and managed to finish second against a fleet of basically completely custom, tricked-out forty footers, included in this fleet were a Ker 40, Farr 40s, X41, King 40, Farr 400 and Ker 11.3.  Great to see a "family cruiser-racer" come out on top over outright racing machines.

In IRC 2 Class, the J/122's were fighting hard for the top five.  In the end, third was Steve Furnary's PATRIOT followed by WINGS sailed by Mike Bruno, Tom Boyle and Jim Callahan in fifth.

The J/44s continued to have a wonderful time racing.  This time, Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER team proved themselves as one of the class leaders.  Finishing the series with 1sts, 2nds and 3rds enabled them to climb up the ladder fast and win the regatta overall in the J/44 One-Design Class.  Second with three 1sts and a 2nd on the last weekend was Phil Gutin's BEAGLE.  Third was Bill Ketcham's MAXINE, fourth Jeff Willis' CHALLENGE IV and fifth Don & Rick Rave's RESOLUTE.

The J/105 one-designs were having yet another epic battle for "top dog" on Long Island Sound.  But the second weekend proved to be the real testing ground for this fleet. KINCSEM took the lead in the AYC Springs Series on Saturday and narrowly held on on Sunday to win the regatta over Sean Doyle's KESTREL. The Joerg Esdorn/Duncan Hennes team on KINCSEM finished the regatta with a scant 25 points over 11 races. But KESTREL also ended with 25 points, thanks to a 2-3 finish on Sunday versus a 1-6 for KINCSEM. The tiebreaker went to KINCSEM. Over the 11 races, KINCSEM finished ahead of KESTREL 6 times, while KESTREL had the better finish 5 times. KINCSEM won four races; KESTREL three. Both teams threw out a 6 as their worst finish (KINCSEM had two 6s). Doesn't get much tighter than that. Paul Beaudin's LOULOU finished the regatta in third, followed by Kevin Grainger's GUMPTION3 in fourth, and George and Alex Wilbanks's REVELATION in fifth.

In PHRF 1 Class, the J/111 ANDIAMO sailed by Paul Strauch rattled off a few more 1sts to win PHRF 1 by 15 pts. J/109s took 3 out of the top five.  Third was Bob Schwartz's NORDLYS, fourth was John Pearson's BLUE SKY and fifth was Mike Sleightholme's APSARA.

Finally, in PHRF 4, the Esposito gang on the J/29 HUSTLER prevailed to win their class, but on a squeaker-- winning on a tie-breaker.  Third overall in class was Matheus Hovers' J/29 KATOENDRA, a result of a strong performance over this past weekend.   For more AYC Spring Series sailing information

JEEZ LOUISE Wins Vice Admirals Cup 111s

Steven Tapper's STALKER Trumps J/109 Class
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The weather may have been grey and murky on the Solent today, but the quality of racing at the opening day of the 2012 Vice Admiral's Cup was spectacularly vibrant. For the 71 teams in six classes the day brought light to moderate shifty winds of circa 6-12 knots combined with a strong ebb tide, giving tacticians and navigators plenty to think about.

Race Officer Bob Milner set up shop for Classes 0, 1 and 2 along the Ryde bank, whilst his colleague Robert Lamb took Classes 3, 4 and 5 up onto the Hillhead plateau.  All fleets were sailing windward leeward courses and the race committee succeeded in completing the three races scheduled for all classes.

After racing Jonathan Goring confirmed that his overall impression of the day was, "Incredibly shifty! The wind was veering right all day and there was a massive 90 degree shift just before the third race. Our boat is the highest rating in the fleet so we're constantly looking to pick our gap and find clear air. The tide played a crucial part too although at times, particularly in the first race, it was hard to decide what to do for tidal advantage. We got forced off to the right into more tide and expected to loose out, but at the first mark we'd gained on those who came up the bank! This is a crucial regatta for those of us hoping to be selected for the GBR Team and the Commodores' Cup so we're crossing our fingers for more breeze tomorrow."

In Class 2 for the J/111's David and Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM won the first and last races and came 4th in the second, while Jame's Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE scored 3-1-2 leaving the boats tied on six points overall with J-DREAM claiming the lead on count back. Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN JOE sat in third place overall, two points being the leaders, thanks to a 2nd and two 3rd places.

The fifteen J/109s in Class 3 put on a great showing with some exciting racing that got so close at times that the Protest Committee had two protests to resolve after racing. Steve and Jody's Maine's J2EAU took the honours in race one from Christopher Palmer's J-TAIME with David McGough's JUST SO 3rd.   But it was Steven Tapper's STALKER that claimed the boat of the day prize thanks to a 4th in race one followed by wins in next two races. In the overall standings STALKER had a two-point lead over J2EAU while Jonathan Hearth's JAGERBOMB took 3rd place on 11 points with J'TAIME fourth on 16.

For the second day of sailing, the teams were delighted when day two brought sunshine and wind, albeit a shifty 6-10 knots from the west, enabling all six fleets to complete three more races - races 4-6 of the series. With more tricky wind and tide conditions to contend with and the discard in play there have been plenty of place changes on the leader boards and there's all to play for going into the final day on Sunday.

Race Officers Robert Lamb and Bob Milner took their fleets up onto the Hillhead Plateau with the race area for Classes 0 to 2 set to the south-west of that for Classes 3 to 5. The big boat fleets were able to get underway on time at 10.30, but the smaller boats, which were closer in to the mainland shore, had a postponement whilst they waited for the lighter and shiftier inshore wind to settle.

There were big changes for the J/111s where the normally ultra-reliable David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM had a shocker of a day finishing last in races four and five before recovering slightly to take 4th in race six. As a result they drop from first to fourth in the overall standings. James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE moved up into the lead from second thanks to a 4-3-1 score. Ricardo Tavoncelli's MANIC finally found form winning races four and five but dropped back into last in the last race although it was enough to move them up into second overall on equal point with Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas's SHMOKIN JOE. MANIC held second on count back.

Steven Tapper's STALKER had a firm grip on the 16 strong J/109 fleet thanks to two further wins and a second place. They counted 6 points and had an 11 point lead over nearest rival J2EAU, owned by Steve and Jody Maine, who managed to hang onto second overall by adding 3-8-7 to their card. Six points behind them was Tor McLaren's INSPARA, who moved up from fifth, and fourth place was now held by Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB. STALKER's run of luck almost came to an end in the fifth race when their jib sheet snapped as the tacked onto the starboard layline for the first mark. Fortunately the crew's quick thinking saved the day and within a few seconds three of the team had hold of the flapping sheet tail and clew and they were able to sheet in effectively enough to allow them to continue towards the mark at almost full speed as their team mates rigged up a replacement sheet.

The wind Gods smiled at last on the final day of racing, where the fleet enjoyed two final races in a 12-16 knot north-north-easterly. An ebb tide kept the sea relatively flat and conditions were near perfect for the final showdown.  Again the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's Race Committee took their race courses up onto the Hillhead Plateau and with the stronger winds they were able to set longer windward leeward courses using a mix of laid and permanent marks.

Class 2 for the J/111s saw plenty of "thrust & parry" as the boats enjoyed the stronger breeze.  JEEZ LOUISE held their lead thanks to a win in the first race followed by a 5th, which they discarded to take the series by 8 points.  SHMOKIN JOE pulled up into second overall while J-DREAM hit their stride again after yesterday's misstep, jumping back up into third overall.

STALKER gave the J/109s of Class 3 a master-class (e.g. a "schooling") as this well-drilled crew took two further bullets to win the series by 22 points, the biggest margin of all the fleets. Although STALKER had first place sewn up the battle for second and third raged.  The Main's J2EAU put in a steady day to take second place leaving Mclaren's INSPARA and Griffiths' JAGERBOMB, vying for third.  JAGERBOMB put in a sterling effort but at the end of the day both boats were tied on 39 points with INSPARA taking third on countback.  Post-racing Steven Tapper commented, "It all came good for us really, we had our worst race first of all with very flukey winds and we didn't read it very well, but it then got better and better for us as the weekend went on."   Sailing photo credits- Fiona Brown   For more Vice Admirals Cup sailing information

North Sea Regatta Sailing Preview

(The Hague, Netherlands)- Many teams are entered in the upcoming Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta in The Hague, The Netherlands, which starts next week with the "Vuurschepen Race". About 400 yachts will be participating in the three separate events of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta.

On Tuesday May 15th the Vuurschepen Race from Scheveningen to Harwich, England will start at 1900 hours. This offshore race of 110 nautical miles is the opening race of the week-long event. The route across the North Sea has been slightly modified to include sailing away (out and around) from the enormous windmill farms off the English coast.  After the finish, the sailors will enjoy a day of rest in Harwich, hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club in Woolverstone. On Ascension Day the sailors enjoy lunch in the pub often used by ancient smugglers along the coast- The "Butt and Oyster" at Pin Mill.  After much camaraderie and reveling in past sea stories, the sailors will then hop aboard again and go back across "La Manche" (the Channel) in the RORC North Sea Race back to Holland on Friday May 18th. One of The Netherlands top offshore sailors, John van de Starre, will be sailing the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER in both events in IRC2 Class.

In the Pentecost weekend from May 25th to 28th 2012 more than 400 teams will race just of the coast of Scheveningen. Different classes will attend, including a good field of J/22s and J/24s as well as an IRC Class for the North Sea Regatta.  In IRC will be the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER participating in the third portion of the event.   For more Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta sailing information

Gorgeous Sailing In AYC Spring Series

J/111 ANDIAMO Winning PHRF 1
(Rye, NY)- The annual spring rite of passage for the start of the Long Island Sound offshore sailing season took place this past weekend.  Hosted by the American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, the excellent turnout was helped by gorgeous, cool, spring weather conditions with sunny days prevailing for both days of sailing.

In IRC I Class, the J/133 ANTIDOTE sailed by Ron Richman is hanging tough after six races sailed over two days.  They're lying second in class in a very tough fleet of experienced offshore racers and new-fangled boats like a Farr 400, Ker 40, Ker 11.3, X-41, King 40, Farr 40, Swan 42 and a Tripp 41-- talk about bringing a cruiser-racer to a gun-fight!  Great to see a family-sailed boat fairing well against some all-star professionally sailed boats!

In IRC 2 Class, the J/122 WINGS sailed by Mike Bruno, Tom Boyle and Jim Callahan is leading their fleet against fellow J/122s and Farr 395s.  Third is Steve Furnary's J/122 PATRIOT and just off the pace is George Marks' J/122 GEORGETOWN III.

The J/44s are having a wonderful time, as always, sailing in what may be the "most one-design" of large offshore one-design sailboats.  With the vision of Jim Bishop, the J/44s have endured the test of time and J/44 teams continue to have a long-time love-affair with their beautiful sailboats.  With such evenly matched boats, it's always hard to tell how well each team will perform over the course of a series  At the moment, Don and Rick Rave on RESOLUTE are enjoying a slim lead over second place Bill Ketcham on MAXINE.  Tied with Bill but losing on a tie-break is Jeff Willis on CHALLENGE IV.  Fourth is the ubiquitous Jim Bishop on GOLD DIGGER just one point back and fifth is Phil Gutin on BEAGLE.  More to come next weekend from this fun-loving, competitive group.

The J/105 one-designs are having yet another epic battle for "top dog" on Long Island Sound.  Having found a 5th gear, Sean Doyle's team on KESTREL have been fast out-of-the-blocks like a top-fueled dragster, starting off the first weekend in 1st with 11 pts.  But, chasing them hard as a group are the balance of the top five.  In that group are some formidable champions in the J/105 class, including Paul Beaudin on LOULOU in second tied with Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes in third on KINCSEM followed in fourth by another familiar name, Kevin Grainger on GUMPTION 3.  Fifth are George and Alex Wilbanks on REVELATION.

In PHRF 1 Class, the J/111 ANDIAMO sailed by Paul Strauch managed to pull off four 1sts to lead their fleet.  Third and fourth are two J/109s, John Pearson's BLUE SKY and Bob Schwartz's NORDLYS, respectively.

Finally, in PHRF 4, the "money guys", the Esposito gang on the J/29 HUSTLER are at it again.  Three 1sts and three 2nds are sufficient to keep them in the lead in their class.  Matheus Hovers' J/29 KATOENDRA is hanging in there for 5th overall and hoping that some good J/29 "karma" rubs off on them from the Espo team!   For more AYC Spring Series sailing information

Windy Sailing In Warsash Springs Finale

J/109 JAHMALI, J/80 J2X, J/92 J'RONIMO Lead Their Classes
(Warsash, So'ton, England)- The final gathering for the Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship took place over 28th/29th April 2012 and was sponsored by SLAM. Earlier in the season, conditions had been bright, sunny and light, but this was all set to change. After a very damp week, the rain looked like continuing and more importantly forecasts highlighted gusts to 50 knots over the Solent on late Saturday/early Sunday. The race officers kept their collective fingers crossed, hoping the worst of the weather would blow through overnight but in the event all classes were cancelled on the final day.

Four races were scheduled for Black Group on Saturday- Day 3. The breeze came mainly from the northeast but with frequent minor oscillations.  The committee boat set up station between North Ryde Middle and Mackley buoys with a finish at Goodacre. Races 1 and 2 were windward/leeward courses, two rounds totaling just under eight miles, with a half-mile spreader at the windward end to take boats up tide for an accurate run. Races 3 and 4 were shorter and as the tide had slackened, were simple windward/leewards. The final race included a starboard leeward rounding – just to keep crews on their toes! The breeze started around 11/12 knots for the first two races, increasing to 14/15 knots in the afternoon.

This year all boats in IRC1 and IRC2 were eligible for the Spring Championships. As no discards are allowed, consistency often paid. But, all efforts for the most part were for naught as Sunday's gale was the spoiler. After a successful Saturday’s racing, everyone hoped that the worst of the gale would go through the Solent overnight. There did seem to be the possibility of a lull during the middle of Sunday although a significant wind veer was also forecast. Beaulieu Boat Jumble was cancelled and the high speed Southampton/Isle of Wight ferries were suspended until lunch time. All racing for White Group was cancelled early on whilst Black Group was told to stay ashore as racing, if it were possible, would not commence before 1130. In the event, Black Group too was abandoned at 1000. Spring Series Chairman Peter Bateson said: “We were hoping to achieve a race for Black Group but it was still blowing Force 6 with gusts above 30 knots by mid morning. An expected wind shift from northeast to southeast meant we would not have guaranteed a good course for competitors, even if the wind had abated in time.”

This left the standings for the Spring Series as of last week. After six races in IRC 1 Class, Ivan Trotman's J/122 JOLOU finished 4th overall.

The J/Sprit class was new this year and attracted a selection of J/92, J/97 and J/105 designs. Again there was keen competition for the top spot, the class winner being the J/92 J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh & John Taylor) followed by Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE.  Third was Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK, fourth Chris Jones' J/105 JOURNEYMAKER 5 and fifth Charles Ivill's J/97 BLACK MAGIC.

The J/109 class saw Mike & Sarah Wallis' JAHMALI lead the entire series to win comfortably.  They were followed in 2nd by David Mcleman's OFFBEAT with David & Mary McGough's JUST SO in third.

The J/80s saw Rob Larke's J2X win by a landslide.  Second was Stew Hawthorn's J'AI DEUX AMOURS and this was Nick and Anni Haigh's SLIGHTLY STEAMY.  Just off the pace were Ian Atkins' team on BOATS.COM in fourth and Patrick Liardet's crew on AQUA-J.   Sailing photo credits- Eddie Mays  For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information

Annapolis NOOD Sailing Preview

NEW J/111 One-Design Class Debuts
(Annapolis, MD)- While the Sperry Topsider crew can't guarantee awesome sailing, they certainly can make sure the sailors are happy with their togs and clogs and make life ashore festive and fun.  With a forecast of light to moderate winds for Thursday/ Friday out of the south and a weak front switching the winds into the northerly quadrants at a robust 4-7 knots for Saturday/ Sunday, the PRO's will be on their toes to get some decent sailing in for the madding crowds.  How many teams will be in attendance?  With nearly 200 boats registered, there will be over 1,100+ J sailors crewing on 141 J's (that's 72% of the fleet!).

The J One-Design fleets are all well-represented and are broken down into five J/111s, a dozen J/109s, aye-teen J/105s, ocho J/35s, move J/30s, thirty-four J/80s, nineteen J/24s and thirty-six J/22s.  In fact, it's quite a significant turn-out of the 35 foot J-Designs- J/35s from the 80s, J/105s from the 90s and the new J/111s.

On that score, the J/111 fleet is shaping up to be a good test of how crews adopt to the flatter, choppier, shiftier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  Three of the 111 teams all sailed in Charleston, having to cope with massive easterly swells from an offshore storm in NW to NE winds, making for a rolly-polly ride upwind and downwind.  Past champion VELOCITY sailed by Marty Roesch will surely be on the comeback trail and CRW Champion RAGIN led by Bob Moran and 3rd place finisher Henry Brauer on FLEETWING will be challenging for the top of the pack.  With those three as a benchmark, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other two boats, Jim Whited's BAD CAT and Anthony Culotta's CUORE DI LEONE fair against some of their well-practiced compatriots.

With three dozen teams showing up on the starting line, the J/22s continue to demonstrate that a bit of chutzpah, fun and camaraderie go a long way for long-term fleet success.  There are many familiar faces in this crowd as well as some new ones.  The event may yet turn into another donnybrook between the Rochester crowd versus the Annapolis gang.  Leading the Rochester crew will be Chris Doyle on THE JUG 41 and Vic Snyder on MO'MONEY.  The local Naptown crews are pretty formidable, amongst them will be Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY, Al Terhune on DAZZLER, Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET and Todd Hiller on LEADING EDGE, just to name a few.

After nearly 35 years of racing, you'd think the J/24 teams would have an established pecking order amongst the top teams.  NOT!  As has been atypical of many top international one-design classes, the J/24 is so easy to pick up fast by good sailors that just about anyone can be competitive in a short period of time.  Same holds true now as it did back in 1977.  However, octogenarian Tony Parker on the storied BANGOR PACKET XXX is the local Maine/DC boy who's been keeping all the latest boys and girls in check.  After all, many a J/24 World Champion has crossed swords with Tony and lost-- he's still sharp as a tack after all those years of "ultimate fighting" in the J/24 class.  Making sure they learned a thing or two and hope to stay in front of Tony are recent J/24 World Champ Tim Healey on 11TH HOUR RACING from Newport, Robby Brown from St Pete on USA 799, Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER and Pete Kassal on SPACEMAN SPIFF.

An excellent turnout of thirty-four J/80s re-affirms their class strength after good fleets at Key West, Bacardi Sailing Week and Charleston Race Week-- all events on the J/80 Winter Circuit.  J/80 sailors are having a lot of fun racing their fast, closely-matched A-sail boats.  Teams that could be factors are changing as some teams improve their capabilities on boat-speed, boat-handling and tactics.  Showing great improvements recently has been Kristen Robinson and team aboard ANGRY CHAMELEON.  Others in the hunt will include Andy Burton on GROMIT from Newport, Chris Chadwick's CHURCH KEY, Bruno Pasquinelli's TIAMO, Mike Sudofsky's BOB DYLAN, Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK, Will Crump & Tom Klok's R80, Brian Keane's SAVASANA and Erik Storck's NA Champion RUMOR.

The J/30 sailors continue to enjoy the first cruiser-racer ever built by the J/Boats Team.  And, many "classics" of this genre abound.  These teams have a scream, no doubt about it. So, making any predictions about an outcome are certainly beyond the comprehension of even the J/30 sailors themselves.  Has something to do with rum, beer, sun, fun and varying degrees of that combination over three days of sailing.  So, working on past performance, we can at least look for Pam Morri's BUMP, Ron Anderson's INSATIABLE, George Watson's AVITA and Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP to be hunting around the front of the pack most times this weekend.

The eighteen boat J/105 fleet will be as competitive as ever.  Chesapeake locals such as Peter McChesney on the now famous MYSTERY MACHINE, Chris & Carolyn Groobey on JAVA, Andrew Kennedy on BAT IV, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, the Gitchell's on TENACIOUS and Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY will certainly be factors in the top five.  Toss in top three J/105 NA's sailor Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT, Canada and some US Naval Academy Sailing Team college sailors and you're certain to see a running gun battle taking place on the waters just off Easton's Point.

J/35 sailors continue to enjoy one of the most successful 35 footers ever built as racer-cruisers.  Love the boat names, some of the old classics and some new variations.  T-BONE, AUNT JEAN, DAKOTA GIRL, BAD COMPANY, MEDICINE MAN, REBEL YELL.  Hell, might as well be at a Harley Davidson reunion in the Badlands of North Dakota, don't ya think?  Free tattoos go with this gang (although the J/30 guys might argue this point).  And, they love it, working those grinders on the massive kevlar/carbon genoas and monster masthead spinnakers to go faster and faster.  Cool boat.  Cooler crews.  Predictions here?  None.  Teams change, teams get hungover. Bless'em all, they will certainly have fun and one may guess it would be a dead heat with their J/30 friends for the highest "fun quotient" amongst the J/Clan.

At a dozen strong, the J/109s have amongst their fleet three past J/109 North American Champions in the form of Bill Sweetser's RUSH (the Local) versus Rick Lyall's STORM (the Outsider- just a Long Island Sound guy), all contending with that silver fox from Buzzards Bay/Cape, Ted Herlihy on GUT FEELING (the Foreigner- so far East the Earth ends in a cliff).  In the end, way too hard to call this one with some many other strong teams tossed into the mix.  For more Sperry Topsider Sailing World NOOD Annapolis sailing information

Busy Sailing Warsash Spring Weekend

J/109 JAHMALI, J/80 J2X, J/92 J'RONIMO Lead Their Classes
(Warsash, So'ton, England)- It really was a busy weekend on the Solent for the Warsash Spring Championship and Series.  The Warsash Spring Championship offers an intense schedule of four days’ racing for selected classes. This year all IRC1 and IRC2 boats are eligible as well as J/109 one designs. Sportsboats include J/80 classes, too.

The forecast 5 knots on Saturday did not materialize in the morning and everyone waited for the wind until around 1130. When the breeze arrived it was in the 8/10 knot range west/southwesterly to westerly but shifty. Racing for Black Group got underway just before noon near Fastnet Insurance buoy with short windward/leeward courses set. In the afternoon the wind increased and dark clouds formed resulting in gusts to 20 knots in the showers. This enabled longer six mile courses to be set for the second and third races. It was a long day for competitors who were finishing the third race after 1600, so it was sensibly decided not to go for a fourth race. White Group racing under the lee of the northern shore had less stable conditions and there was an interval of two hours between the first and second races. Even so, three races were completed for the J/80s.

Conditions on Sunday morning were bright and sunny with a forecast for increasing wind and squally showers. In Black Group, IRC1, IRC2 and J/109s were scheduled for two races. Even with an adverse tide, the fleet pushed the line and were all recalled. Starting at Fastnet Insurance, the first leg was a long beat to Air Canada buoy by the Brambles Bank. Most tacticians decided to put in a long port tack across the tide towards Calshot shore. The restart of IRC1 was under the ‘Z’ flag penalty system. The J/109s were given a shorter first leg and by the time the leaders were round Flying Fish buoy, they were sailing back downwind in parallel with IRC1.

The remaining Black Group classes enjoyed one longer race using a combination of fixed and laid marks with a windward/leeward loop towards the finish. The J/Sprit class got away cleanly but in others there were several declared OCS, including some of the front runners for overall honours.

With the first races completed for the relevant classes the Black Group committee boat moved north and west for the start of the second and shorter race. The wind had by now swung towards the southwest which allowed the continued use of Air Canada as the first mark followed by a short series of runs and beats before finishing at East Knoll buoy. In the first fleet, the changed tidal conditions meant most boats cleared the start line and kept on their starboard tack all the way to the port layline. Judging that point was crucial. Some in all classes overstood the mark and lost places.

In the second race, the entire J/109 class was OCS and a general recall was signaled. They got away OK at the second attempt under a ‘Z’ flag preparatory signal. The afternoon conditions also suited the sportboat classes racing near the entrance to Southampton Water, although by the final race, conditions were brisk and even the front runners in each class were having difficulty gybing smoothly.

Now joined by the Spring Championship contenders, J/80s had increased in class size to 20 plus. With the J/80 World Championships being held at Dartmouth in June, there has been a steady increase in both quantity and quality. Rob Larke has been the man to beat but this weekend Stewart Hawthorn, returning to the class, has slowly been narrowing the gap. Although Rob holds a substantial lead in the main series, things are much tighter in the Spring Championship with Rob (J2X) and Stewart (J’ai Deux Amours) only a couple of points apart. Ian Atkins (boats.com) had a bad result in the first race of the day and trails slightly but in a 14 race series, with no discard, this could still prove a small setback.

In IRC 1 class, Ivan Trotman's J/122 JOLOU is now lying in 4th overall for the series after a slow weekend.  And in 9th is Ken Lowe's new J/111 GHOST.

The J/109 class continues to see Mike & Sarah Wallis' JAHMALI leading the series with a 2-2-1-3-4-1 scoreline for 9 pts, followed in 2nd by David Mcleman's OFFBEAT with a 4-1-3-4-6-4 tally for 16 pts.  Lying third is David & Mary McGough's JUST SO with an 11-3-5-2-5-3 record for 18 pts.

In the mixed J/Sprit class, the class leader continues to be the J/92 J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh & John Taylor) with a 1-1-1-4-5-7 record for 7 pts.  Second is Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE with a 5-2-2-2-2 scoreline for 8 pts.  Third is Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK with a 3-3-3-6-6 score for 15 pts.  Fourth is Chris Jones' J/105 JOURNEYMAKER 5 and fifth is Charles Ivill's J/97 BLACK MAGIC.

Next weekend has the grand finale on 28th/29th April with a full schedule of racing over the weekend which sees the conclusion of both events in the Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship Powered by SLAM.   Sailing photo credits- Eddie Mays   For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information

More SPI Ouest France J/111 Multi-Media
(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- Evidently, the J/111 one-design class that sailed recently in the famous SPI Ouest France Regatta touched a raw nerve in the European sailing media, some of the most fastidious, sharpest, insightful, fair & balanced sailing experts one may see anywhere in the sailing world.

For starters, here's the latest J/111 sailing video from Blur.se providing a summary of the experience of sailing J/111s at SPI Ouest.  In one week Blur.se's website saw 11,000 views on the videos on Vimeo and YouTube. Soon, there will be an interview in Swedish SEARCH Magazine and the Danish BAAD Magasinet is publishing a 5 page article on the J/111 boat test in Kappeln in their May issue.

So far, J/111 coverage on major sailing sites in BeNeLux, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden include the following:
Germany- Hübsches Schiff Segeln
Norway- «Blur» klarte seg fint i Spi Ouest debuten
Norway-  Blur.se i Spi Ouest
Denmark TV- Svensk J/111 sejler i Frankrig i Spi Ouest
Netherlands- Xcentric Ripper 3de op Spi Ouest-France regatta