J/111 North American Championship Update

(Chicago, IL)-  This August J/111 Fleet #1 on Lake Michigan will host the first annual North American Championships from 15-18th of August.  With the racecourse just off the visually stunning shore that's lined with Chicago's famous skyscrapers and beautiful white-sand beaches, this regatta offers the quintessential Chicago sailing experience. Headquartered at the Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station, owners and their crew can expect a first-class race committee, with amenities to match.

If you have yet to experience sailing on Lake Michigan, this event also offers an exceptional opportunity for more than just the J/111 NACs. As Chicago is undoubtedly the gateway to sailing on Lake Michigan, we would like to further entice you to spend some more time with us on one of America’s greatest freshwater lakes. The world famous Race to Mackinac Island, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, consists of a 333 mile race up the lake starting on July 13, boasting up to 350 boats. The Mac is a “bucket-list” race for many sailors, a legendary freshwater offshore classic.

Next on the schedule is the Port Huron to Mac Island Race that begins July 20th starting from Detroit, MI. In addition, the Little Traverse Bay Yacht Club hosts the Ugotta Regatta from July 26-28th, a nice stop for those boats headed back to Chicago from the island. Preceding the North Americans is the  Verve Cup, also hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club August 9-11th, which can serve as an important warm-up.

Finally, the city of Chicago is a vibrant place in the summer, offering festivals, concerts, baseball games, and is home to countless museums. It's one city that actually comes to life in the summer along with the whole lake.  Additionally, up and down the coast of Lake Michigan, cozy villages along the shores from Charlevoix to Sturgeon Bay, all the way down to Kenosha and St. Joseph are stunners in the summer and offer relaxing weekend getaways accessible by boat or car.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com

Please check the regatta website (http://j111nac2013.wix.com/j111nac2013). We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or comments regarding this event! We hope to see you in Chicago!  For more J/111 info please email- j111nac2013@gmail.com

J/111 J-STORM Crushes RomaXtutti Offshore Race

(Rome, Italy)- This past weekend, Massimo Colosimo's J/111 J-STORM simply flew across the Mediterranean, winning the 530nm RomaXtutti Offshore race, the longest and most prestigious offshore race in Italy.

After their finish in Riva di Traiano, the huge, well-deserved victory by Massimo Colosimo and his crew (including Marzio Dotti, Stefano Pellizza and Antonello Perina) was cause for grand celebration.  The J-STORM team made the award-winning tactical choice-- contrary to the route taking by most of the fleet along the coast, Colosimo instead opted for a route further offshore which proved to be very advantageous, especially going outside of the islands.

Said Stefano Pelliza, "We won the race in IRC by arriving 4th real-time in a fleet of 60 boats and we finished very close (4 minutes behind) to a 50 ft canting keel racer!  We had good fun racing in light wind and sunny conditions. We had beautiful spring sailing conditions and the boat was pretty fast sailing offshore, especially reaching under the spinnaker and staysail combination!"  For more RomaXtutti Offshore race sailing information

Big Fleets, Big Winds @ Charleston Race Week

(Charleston, SC)- Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week has a reputation for consistent, solid breeze. In fact, Charleston’s great wind is one of the big reasons this event has grown so spectacularly over the past decade.  It was on the eve of the regatta when most weather models predicted big breeze for the start of racing on Friday, with Sunday promising similarly apocalyptic conditions. And that is exactly what the 2013 edition received.

With the 287 teams scattered about on harbor and offshore courses, race organizers were eager to seize the day, completing 3 to 4 races in Friday’s 15-30 knot winds.  Saturday’s moderate breezes and calm seas allowed for some recovery, but it was another 3 to 4 race day to insure each fleet was given the chance to sort out the pecking order in the standings. With the podium positions far from certain, Sunday looked to be the determining factor if not for one thing: the forecast. If Friday’s winds were “monster”, there really wasn’t an appropriate superlative to describe what happened Sunday morning. Rapidly increasing winds and huge seas offshore (8 feet at the mouth of Charleston Harbor) prompted the principal race officers to cancel all competition offshore. Inshore, the race committees set up courses and attempted to get races going on all three courses, but the action was quickly cancelled for everyone.

Offshore, the PHRF fleets were treated to some excellent sailing with the solid 10-18 kt southerly breezes on Friday and the moderate NNE winds on Saturday.  Within PHRF A, the J/111s had a closely fought series amongst themselves.  In the end, Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 prevailed with 24 pts total as top J/111.  Second was the rapidly improving FIREBALL from Annapolis, MD sailed by Fast Eddie, Kristen Berry and crew.  In their first major outing in a tight racing fleet, Robert Stein's KINETIC was third J/111, narrowly missing out second by one point!

 Congratulations to all for job well done!  Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block.  For more Charleston Race Week sailing information

Charleston Race Week Preview

(Charleston, SC)- Starting on April 18th, a massive navy of J/Teams will descend upon the beautiful sleepy town of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina and transform the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina into "J/Town".  Of the 295 boats participating, 117 J/Teams (40% of the fleet) are sailing in the event coming from all points of the compass, by far the dominant boat brand for Charleston Race Week.

On the "outside" courses are the big PHRF handicap fleets.  Leading the way in PHRF A will certainly be past winner and long-time local contender Robin Team (Lexington, NC) and his merry bandits aboard the J/122 TEAMWORK.  Chasing them hard will be a trio of J/111s including Kristen Berry & Fast Eddie (Annapolis, MD) aboard FIREBALL, locals Bob Stein (Charleston, SC) on KINETIC and Doug Curtiss (S. Dartmouth, MA) on WICKED 2.0.

Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com and Onne Vanderwal.   For more Charleston Race Week sailing information