J/Teams Enjoy Brilliant Chester Race Week!

(Chester, Nova Scotia)- Competitors from across Canada and the Eastern Seaboard descended upon the picturesque fishing village of Chester, Nova Scotia for Canada’s largest keelboat regatta – Chester Race Week, sailed from August 14th to 17th.

Under variable conditions that included light air, fog and medium air with brilliant sunshine along with the 183' Fidelis anchored in the inner harbour in Chester, 133 yachts competed in this years running of Chester Race Week.

The Alpha Distance 1 class championship at this years Chester Race Week was tough sledding for many.  Taking third was Chester YC's Dave Connolly onboard the J/111 STAMPEDER.

In Alpha Distance 2 division,  Mark Surrette's J/111 BLAST finished second in class.   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes (timwilkes.com) & Steve Jess (stevejess.com)   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/111 Xcentric Ripper- Fastnet Sailing video

(Plymouth, England)- J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef sailed well again in this year's Fastnet Race sailing in the IRC Double-handed class.  Here's a video sequence by videographer Robin Knight of them flying along under main, code zero and jib on starboard tack headed to Fastnet Rock-- with no one on the helm!!  They're using, of course, a powerful auto-pilot on the steering quadrant to enable one person on deck to trim sails and adjust the autopilot magnetic course.  Get a feeling for their experience by viewing this short YouTube sailing video.

B&G J/Cup Regatta Preview

(Plymouth, England)- Competitors are gearing up for an exciting B&G J-Cup 2013, scheduled to take place in Plymouth this week- August 21st to 24th. The event returns to the Royal Western Yacht Club in Queen Anne’s Battery Marina for the first time in six years, and comprises the Lombard J/97 UK National Championships and the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championships. The J/105s, J/70s and J/111s will be racing one design, the latter two classes building on the momentum of racing one design at Cowes Week this month, a first for both boats. The remainder of the fleet will race in mixed IRC J Boat classes.

Racing starts on Thursday 22nd August.  The J/111 Class has five boats racing on a level rating basis at the J-Cup this year, three of which enjoyed champagne sailing conditions in the J/111 Class at Cowes Week. David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-Dream will be fighting off the competition to retain their title from 2012.

In usual J-Cup style we’re set for a massive event: six classes, eight races inside and out of the breakwater, two National Championships, an anticipated 50 boat entry, 400 sailors, live entertainment every night, fantastic sponsor support from B&G and Fusion, prizes galore including North Sails daily prizes, vouchers from Lifedge, RS Divers and Grapefruit Graphics, bags and clothing from SLAM, Lombard and Harken, plus extra goodies from Peters & May and Ocean Safety, and of course the infamous J-Cup Prize-giving Party on the final Saturday, this year to be held at the spectacular National Marine Aquarium, where the winners will be presented with some beautiful locally made trophies sponsored by Fastnet Insurance. A live blog from the race-track can be found at the event website.

Title sponsor B&G will also be providing some special prizes on the final night. Alan Davis, Product Line Director for B&G said: “We are delighted to be supporting the J-Cup 2013, it promises to offer fast and exciting racing, and is one of the highlights of the UK racing calendar. The B&G team is particularly looking forward to meeting the competitors, working with Key Yachting and being an integral part of this fantastic regatta.”   Sailing photo credits-  Tim Wright   For more J/Cup Regatta sailing information

Fastnet Race Report

 
J-Doublehanders a Tour'd'Force
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)-  The international attraction of the Fastnet Race is unquestionable. The race organizers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and in particular its CEO, Eddie Warden Owen (who has 7 races under his belt and is a pedigreed J/24 European & United Kingdom Champion) are quick to recognize the status the race has achieved and its widespread popularity. “It’s the people’s Everest of the ocean,” says Warden Owen. “It’s a tough challenge but one people enjoy.” A view plainly echoed by the some 3,000 sailors drawn to the contest every two years and the intrepid yachtsmen who have gone before.

Over 20 different nations from four continents sailed this years Fastnet. Around 40% of fleet and half the sailors are non-British.  From the United States to Russia, the United Arab Emirates to Australia, the fleet reflects the continued international reach of the sport of offshore yacht racing pitting together the finest professional sailors and passionate Corinthians. From young Omani female sailor Raiya al Habsi, taking on the event for the first time, to 83-year old Dutchman Piet Vroon making the nautical pilgrimage to the Fastnet rock for a 25th time, the allure is irresistible.


The majority of the record-breaking 336 race starters share two common goals: the first naturally enough is to finish this 611-nautical mile test of skill and character. The second is to win the event overall and to claim the coveted Rolex Fastnet Challenge Cup and Rolex timepiece.

In IRC 2A Class, the winning French team from 2011 sailing J/122 NUTMEG IV, with skipper Francois Lognone, again sailed a great race to capture a 4th place.  Behind them in 9th were the Netherlands J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by double-handers Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker.  And, in 10th was the French J/122 LORELEI sailed by Alain Catherineau.  After them were a trio of J/111s from 13th to 15th: OJE (Andrew Hill), BRITISH SOLDIER (Henry Foster) and XCENTRIC RIPPER (John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef- who also sailed doublehanded).

The double-handed world saw a record forty-five entrants and, again, the J/Class sailed remarkably well considering the difficult conditions.  A former J/105 stablemate (the French father/son Poison team) won the entire Fastnet Race overall (kudos to them!).  Not far off the pace behind them were the third place Netherlands team on the J/122 JUNIQUE (Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker), the fourth place J/109 JANGADA TOO (Richard Palmer) the eighth place J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER (John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef) and the ninth place J/122 J-BELLINO (Rob Craigie).  As a fleet, the J/Teams did great, capturing nearly 50% of the top prizes in the 45 boat strong doublehanded fleet!  Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo.  For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information

J/Teams Love Champagne Sailing At Cowes Race Week!

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2013 drew to a close on Saturday evening, organisers Cowes Week Limited (CWL) reflected on another highly successful regatta which saw an increase in overall entry and visitor numbers, plus online interaction figures which already surpass the totals seen for the whole of 2012.

With the exception of a forced lay-day on Tuesday 6 August, the conditions provided some champagne sailing throughout the Week and at the overall prize-giving on Saturday evening, there were many happy faces. Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week Limited commented: “It’s been a fantastic, very rewarding week. The weather Gods have been smiling on us and it’s a testament to the huge efforts of our entire team that this year’s regatta has been so successful”.

Martin Gilbert, CEO of title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management, added: “There was a terrific buzz around this year’s event and there was a tremendously exciting atmosphere. Our guests all had a great time and it felt like the event achieved even more positive press coverage than in previous years. We’re all tired but happy after the week, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

Five J One-Design classes participated in this year's Cowes Race Week (J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/111), a record number of fleets for any sailboat brand by a significant margin and in six of the nine IRC handicap racing and cruising classes, J/Teams placed several teams in the top ten plus winning two of them.

Racing in the nine boat J/111 was extremely tight for most of the series with just twelve points separating the top five in the end.  Some boats started strong but had a few niggles to deal with in their scores, others started slow and closed with a flourish of good races.  Sailing the most consistently and avoiding any enormous pitfalls was James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE, posting a 1-2-3-1-1-4 tally for 8 pts net to take class honors.  Sailing quite fast but dealing with a few niggles was Duncan McDonald's SHMOKIN JOE, bobbing and weaving to a 2-1-5-3-4-1 record for 11 pts net to snare second overall.  Starting out quite slowly, but clearly finding a second or third gear for the last four races was TOE IN THE WATER led by Capt Lloyd Hamilton MBE. TOE's 8-7-4-2-2-2 scoreline for 17 pts net was just enough for them to win the tie-breaker for third overall.  Losing the tie-break was past champion J-DREAM sailed by David & Kirsty Apthorp, posting a 4-4-2-4-3-5 tally for 17 pts net.  Also starting fast but having a tough go of it for the last three races was Tony Mack's MCFLY, having to settle for fifth with a 3-3-1-10-7-6 record for 20 pts net.  Sailing photo credits- Rick Tomlinson    For more Cowes Week sailing information

WINDCZAR- The Wind Wizards Win J/111 North Americans

(Chicago, IL)- The last day of the International J/111 class inaugural North American Championships dawned with the prospect that just about any team in the top six boats could win the regatta.  With a promising breeze flowing in from the east at dawn onto the spectacular Chicago shoreline and slowly building for the day (at least that was the forecast) the final day of racing could be a real battleground.  Could the Lucky Dubsters pull it off to win and maintain their lead?  Or, could the wind wizards on WINDCZAR pull it out of their hats?  And, if they could sail magnificently in their last day, could the MENTAL crew pull the rabbit out of the hat and take it all?

With racing scheduled to start at 1030 hrs, the Chicago YC PRO and crew did a magnificent job to get the ball rolling and after two general recalls the fleet took off into an ESE breeze at 105 degrees blowing 5-7 kts. With yet another "classic southeast sea-breeze" building the big question would be which way the "locals" would go and how would the "foreigners" figure it all out?  With the breeze fluctuating from 90 to 125 degrees, it was anyone's guess what would happen.  As it turns out, just about any strategy worked so long as you stayed on the lifted tack. For the top five boats, it was going to pose a difficult challenge.

Sailing "lights out" was Richard Lehmann's crew on WINDCZAR taking the lead in the regatta with a first place in race nine while Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE had to score their worst race in the series, a tenth.  Paul Stahlberg's crew on MENTAL sailed a great race, working their way through the fleet to register a fourth and put themselves in a position to have a shot at the overall title. 

With the stage set for the last race, it was anyone's guess what the outcome would be for the overall title.  In the end, Lehmann's team on WINDCZAR stayed out of trouble, sailed a smart and conservative race to finish third and were crowned the first overall J/111 North American Champions!  While their disastrous ninth race hurt their chances at the overall title, Len Siegal's crew on LUCKY DUBIE concluded their regatta with an emphatic first place in race ten to take the second spot overall. Sailing their hearts out all week were Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL crew.  Just a few points off the lead going into Sunday, their 4th in the first race kept them in contention for the lead.  However, their last race performance became their toss race, dropping them into third overall.  Fourth in the regatta was Marty Roesch's VELOCITY crew from Annapolis, Maryland and fifth was Bill Smith's WOOTON crew from Bay Harbor, Michigan.

The J/111 crews all had a wonderful time.  Thanks to the sponsors SLAM Gear, Stearns Boating, Skyway Yachtworks and friends of Chicago Yacht Club.  Furthermore, the Chicago YC Race Committee and PRO did an admirable job of producing great racing in what many would consider to be very challenging wind conditions. 

Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block @ Blocksail.com
Social Media credits- Alan Block @ Blocksail.com

For more J/111 North Americans sailing information

Dramatic Roller-Coaster Day Three for J/111 NA's

(Chicago, IL)- No one could have scripted the extraordinary day experienced by the fourteen J/111s that are sailing in their inaugural J/111 North American Championship.  With a forecasted easterly breeze in the 4-7 knots range and an insane amount of chop bouncing off the Chicago city waterfront (with a few thousand powerboats adding their wakes into the mix watching the Chicago Air & Water Show), it was anyone's guess who would continue to lead the fleet after day three.

What was known was the "wind wizards" on Richard Lehmann's WINDCZAR team from Harbor Springs, Michigan only had to stay in sequence with the breeze and walk off with the regatta.  Or, at least that seemed to be the case after their dominating performance on Friday.  Not to be discounted as a contender was the fact that the LUCKY DUBIE gang spearheaded by Len Siegal were not far off the pace and that Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL gang of merrymakers had a shot at the gold.

The day dawned with a beautiful sunrise and an easterly breeze in the 4-6 knots range and the Chicago YC PRO determined the fleet had to start far enough offshore to mitigate the enormous spectator chop from powerboats partaking in the Chicago waterfront festivities.  It was a good idea!  The first race started off in an ESE breeze in the 135-140 degrees range. From there it was anything but obvious that the left hand side of the course would pay off for the rest of the day sailing upwind. 

Starting fast off the starboard end of the line in the first race of the day, William Smith's WOOTON simply sailed off to the left, tacked once for the weather mark and won the race by a country mile.  Simple, smart and a no-brainer.  Sailing an incredibly smart race behind them was Rob Ruhlman's SPACEMAN SPIFF from Lakeside YC in Ohio, taking second place after rounding the weather mark in the top half of the fleet.  Also showing signs of brilliance were Dr George Miz's team on IMPULSE, sailing fast and taking a third in a closely fought race.

In the second race, Smith's WOOTON followed the same formula.  Why not?  Start conservatively, sail higher and faster than anyone around them and simply win the race!  That's exactly what they did.  Starting mid-line, they took off and after a few hundred yards simply sailed away from the fleet, taking their second first in a row with a dominating performance.  Second was Dave Irish's NO SURPRISE crew from Harbor Springs, MI and third was Paul Stahlberg's ascendant Milwaukee crew on MENTAL.

The third race proved to be the roller-coaster ride so far for the regatta.  For many, the "wheels fell off the shopping trolley", in other words, like the proverbial "Icarus" flying too close to the sun, their wings got burnt off and came crashing down to the reality of Earth.  Remarkably, the regatta leader WINDCZAR fell into that category.  After a brilliant second day, the "wind wizards" posted a 6-8-8 for the day to drop into a tie for second place one point off the lead!  The Lucky Dubsters led by Señor Siegal sailed a solid day to take a 4-7-2 for the day to become, again, the regatta leaders by one point.  Finishing in triumphant fashion after their first two races was Stahlberg's MENTAL, improving every race to post a 5-3-1 score to emphatically put their mark on their bid for top honors overall.  Tied with them is Marty Roesch's VELOCITY team from Annapolis, Maryland in the top five.  Just behind this group with a shot at the top three are Rob Ruhlman's SPACEMAN SPIFF, Brauer's FLEETWING, and Miz's IMPULSE.

Tomorrow promises to be another cliff-hanger for the fleet with a light ESE breeze that will likely be fed by an onshore sea-breeze effect midday.  The fact the lead has changed hands so dramatically in the last two days and that the top five are all within ten points of one another means the championship is wide open for the team that can rise to the occasion.

Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block @ Blocksail.com
Social Media credits- Alan Block @ Blocksail.com

For more J/111 North Americans sailing information

Wind Wizards Leading Second Day of J/111 NA's

(Chicago, IL)- The second day of the International J/111 class's first North American Championships dawned with no breeze, a spectacularly sunny, cool day and lots of on-shore activity keeping the crews entertained.  Why?  Because Friday is practice day for the famous Chicago Air & Water Show that takes place Saturday and Sunday and attracts well over one million people to the spectacular Chicago waterfront to watch all sorts of insane human pyramids going six levels on water skis and innumerable aerobatics displays by fighter jets, bi-planes and simply crazy helicopter stunts doing barrel-rolls and inverted fly-overs!

With a harbor postponement that lasted until 12pm, the CYC PRO wisely waited for the classic summer sea-breeze to develop from the ESE.  By 1300 hrs the first race was off in a building SE breeze of 5-6 kts.  The wind shifted dramatically a number of times with breeze lanes forming in both corners of the course.  As the breeze clocked further left to 115 degrees (a bit unusual, but not unlikely) the fleet was having to contend with dynamic fleet scenarios that saw many boats going deep into corners only never to be seen again.  As a result, there were some substantial changes in the standings after the results of day two on the water.

Moving into first place by virtue of an outstanding day on the water was Richard Lehmann's "wind wizards" on the mighty WINDCZAR from Little Traverse YC in Harbor Springs, Michigan.  Their 2-1-5 record was added to their 1-3 on day one to put them 8 pts clear in first place with 12 pts total.  Having a less "smokin hot" day was Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE.  While sailing a brilliant last race of the day, the first two races were simply forgettable.  After posting a 9-7-1, the Lucky Dubsters dropped into second with 20 pts total.  Third is now the famous red boat called MENTAL piloted by Paul Stahlberg and gang from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Their very consistent 5-2-6 pulled them into third overall with 28 pts.

The forecast for Saturday's racing will be most interesting-- first because of Chicago's festivities.  While the J/111 crews were on the water, the CYC PRO announced to everyone that Saturday's starting line would be at least 4 nm further east into Lake Michigan and, if we went far enough, might have to bring our passports for Canadian customs and immigration control!  Just kidding.  But, the simple reason for the announcement was that with a million people on the waterfront of Chicago and another quarter million party-crazy boaters watching the Chicago Air & Water Show from the water in all manners of floating things like inner tubes, kayaks, inflatable swimming pools, inflatable king-sized air-mattresses, a few million SeaRays and Bayliners plus 200 ft mega yachts and every in between, it was probably best to steer clear of them all!

With regards to the weather conditions, theoretically the forecast shows easterlies blowing on-shore in the morning at 4-7 kts, building and backing to the ENE by late afternoon.  In short, local knowledge has clearly shown that it hasn't helped in the last two days.  So, perhaps throwing all caution to the winds, we may see some locals simply hit the left corner hard to see if it pays off!  One wonders.

The one interesting statistic that pops up again after the second day of racing is how close and how competitive the sailing has been amongst the fourteen boats.  Now, ten of fourteen boats have posted finishes in the top five!  That's simply unheard of in ANY one-design fleet.  More fun and games for the crews tomorrow.

Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block @ Blocksail.com
Social media credits- Alan Block @ Blocksail.com

For more J/111 North Americans sailing information

Challenging First Day at J/111 NA's

The "Lucky Dubie" Smokes The Fleet
(Chicago, IL)- The new International J/111 One-design class is hosting its first North American Championship from August 14th to 18th, 2013 at Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station. First taking the world by storm in 2010, the J/111 has grown dramatically as an International class worldwide, with over 100+ boats now sold across six continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia/New Zealand).  For this championship, fourteen J/111s have assembled from three major coasts around the Americas (Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes and East Coast).

The first day of racing was going to be an interesting one. Many of the teams had never sailed against one another in a one-design regatta, so no one had really any idea how the chips were going to fall going into the first race.

With a reasonable forecast of SSW breezes in the 4-7 kts range slowly veering into the West meant the fleet could be treated to "classic" offshore, ultra-shifty breezes, on the spectacular Chicago city waterfront.  As can be the case, the forecast could not have been  more wrong. As the fleet headed out onto the race track for their first start Thursday morning, the breezes slowly increased into the 12-15 kts range for the first beat.  From there it rapidly diminished to the point that by the finish of the fourth leg of the 1.25nm run, spinnakers were collapsing from no wind and the fleet was spread out into every corner of the race course.

Leading around the first windward mark was recent Verve Cup J/111 Champions, Henry Brauer and crew on FLEETWING.  However, it didn't take long for the fleet to split, with FLEETWING covering the majority of the fleet going left downwind while a small trio of boats (Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE, Dick Lehmann's WINDCZAR and Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL) headed hard right on their own.  As the fleet converged at the leeward gates, FLEETWING and the "tres amigos" rounded as a pack.  From there the second windward leg saw fairly dramatic shifts with some boats gaining lots of ground while others fell down the ladder.  On the final drama-filled run with boats hitting every corner imaginable, Dick Lehmann's WINDCZAR managed to hang on to win the first race, followed by Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE in second and Henry Brauer's FLEETWING in third.

After the first race, the wind continued to abate and by noonish, the CYC PRO elected (somewhat valiantly) to start a race in 3-5 kts of wind from the West, but it was clear it was not going to be a fair race to the sailors.  By the time most of the fleet had drifted to the windward mark, the race was abandoned due to a complete "glass out" on the water.

After about an hour postponement, the breeze filled in nicely from the Southeast (not forecasted, of course) with an extraordinary amount of cloud cover.  The first start attempt was postponed due to the fact the breeze kept veering right from 125-135 degrees in the Southeast to over 145 degrees.  The fleet started in a decent 6-8 kts breeze from the SE and it became quickly self-evident the right was going to pay off big.  A small number of boats got squeezed out at the starboard end and bailed right.  A pack off the left end of the line got railroaded into the left corner.  And, a few in between made it across the middle.  At the top mark, those boats that had to bail right early led by an enormous margin-- with Dr George Miz skippering IMPULSE rounding first at the weather mark followed by LUCKY DUBIE in second.  A very holy, shifty and streaky run produced a number of position changes, but the two leaders maintained their grip on the fleet.  Behind them is was a bit chaotic.  After the final windward mark (where going right paid-off big again), the final run home produced yet more dramatic changes as the wind veered further into the 175 degree range.  At that point, LUCKY DUBIE passed IMPULSE to post a commanding 2-1 scoreline to lead the fleet for the first day.  Second was IMPULSE. Posting another top finish was WINDCZAR, whose 1-3 tally put them in second for the day.  Third on the day was FLEETWING with a 3-8 for 11 pts. 

On the way into their slips the J/111 crews were treated to a Heineken "beer toss" for those thirsty crews who swung by the end of the CYC piers.  A wonderful reception with munchies, Mt Gay and Heinekens was held for the tired crews in the CYC "beer garden" onshore. 

With three days yet to go, it's extraordinary to see that eight of fourteen boats all posted top five finishes in the first two races.  As Jack Slattery (tactician on IMPULSE) commented afterwards, "it was like a game of 'Chutes & Ladders' on the Charles River in Boston! The boats point so high upwind tacking through 75 degrees, that one little puff with 5-8 degrees of lift and 2-3 kts of wind meant you went straight upwind!"  With so many good teams assembled, it's not surprising the fleet will likely see their fair share of ups and downs over the next few days.

Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block @ Blocksail.com
Social media credits- Alan Block @ Blocksail.com

For more J/111 North Americans sailing information

J/111 FLEETWING Tops Verve Cup Sailing Regatta

(Chicago, IL)- Sponsored this year by AUDI Chicago and SLAM Weather Gear and hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, the Verve Cup Offshore regatta took place from August 9th to 11th along the magnificent Chicago city front on the azure blue waters of Lake Michigan.

Despite enormous challenges from the light air weather forecast for the entire weekend, the Chicago YC Race Management team managed to get in a full slate of races all three days on both circles- Course A to the north and Course B to the south.  Friday dawned sunny, clear but with little wind.  After a slow start compounded by a 3 hour postponement the RC ran three races in a light 5-9 kts southeast sea-breeze along the Chicago shoreline.  The prognostications for wind on Saturday were no better, with light northeaster of 5-9 kts filling in after another 2.5 hour postponement, enough for two more races.  Sunday again dawned with a gorgeous day and a "harbor hurricane" of 3-5 kts filling in from the northeast.  That breeze never filled out from the harbor, with yet another 2 hour postponement before the wind built as a sea-breeze from the ESE at 5-8 kts for two more races.

On Course A were the J/111s and J/109s (whom were also conducting their North Americans-- see above).  The nine J/111s that were sailing had most teams using the event as a "practice regatta" for their upcoming J/111 North Americans being held this coming week in Chicago.  Making the most of that opportunity was Henry Brauer's team on FLEETWING from Marblehead, MA, managing to avoid the big roller-coaster rides some other teams were experiencing from race to race to take the Verve Cup J/111 class with a 1-2-2-6-1-6-1 scoreline for 19 pts.  Starting slowly but ultimately learning the ropes around the course was Marty Roesch's team from Annapolis, MD, posting a 3-8-3-1-2-2-4 for 23 pts and securing the second spot on the podium.  Third was local hero Len Siegal from Chicago sailing yet another famous LUCKY DUBIE, managing a relatively consistent 5-6-1-3-4-3-6 for 28 pts.  The "Lucky Dubsters" just nipped out fellow rivals Paul Stahlberg from Milwaukee, WI sailing MENTAL into fourth with 29 pts.  Another Chicago boat took fifth, Bill Smith's WOOTON with a 34 pts total.
   Sailing photo credits- Barry Lively   For more Verve Cup Offshore Regatta sailing information

Gorgeous Sailing @ Buzzards Bay Regatta

(Padanaram, Massachusetts)- The BBR (as the Buzzards Bay Regatta is commonly referred to) has long been one of the highlights of the summer sailing season on Buzzards Bay, and certainly renown as one of the best sailing areas in New England.  Generally sailed in the first weekend of August, the BBR is blessed with favorable sea-breezes that develop late morning and can often build from the WSW well into the 15-20 kts range or higher along with enormous current-induced chop.  While not San Francisco Bay or Cascade Locks in Oregon, it's certainly one of the better "big breeze" venues any sailor can find along the Eastern seaboard.

The BBR is one of the largest multi-class regattas in America, but like many others, has been suffering from attendance over time, particularly in recent years.  The dinghy classes (Lasers & 420s) continue to do OK, but the offshore keelboat classes have diminished quite significantly.  Nevertheless, the army of volunteers and the enthusiasm of the host clubs ensure the sailors are having a good time ashore (lobster bakes, etc) as well as have good race management on the water.

This year's event was hosted by the New Bedford Yacht Club from August 2nd to 4th!  Thirty-seven keelboats (one-design & offshore) participated over the three day weekend.  Remarkably, nineteen of those boats were J/Teams from around New England-- J's were by far the dominant brand at the regatta with 51% of the participants.

PHRF 1 division had the largest fleet of keelboats at the regatta with fourteen boats, a welcome change from previous years.  Taking second and third in class were the two talented sailing teams on the J/111's- WICKED 2.0 (skippered by Doug Curtiss) and ODYSSEY (sailed by Fred Van Liew and Dave Brodsky), respectively.  Fourth was the J/122 AUGUST WEST sailed by Jamey Shachoy.  The third J/111, BRAVO skippered by Sedgwick Ward, took seventh in class.  The "other" WICKED, the J/124 sailed by Scott Bancroft took 8th and Jim Masiero's J/122 URSUS MARITIMUS got the short-end of the stick on a three-way tie for 9th to settle for 11th.  It was a good showing for the J/Teams, taking 50% of the top ten overall.   For more Buzzards Bay Regatta sailing information

J/111 North Americans Preview

(Chicago, IL)- The new International J/111 One-design class is hosting its first North American Championship from  August 14th to 18th, 2013 at Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station.  It's sure to be an exciting regatta as the Chicago Air and Water Show will be taking place at the same time.

First taking the world by storm in 2010, the J/111 has grown dramatically as a class worldwide, having achieved International status with the International Sailing Federation in November 2012.  With over 100+ boats now sold across six continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia/New Zealand), the fourteen J/111s will all be on a fast learning curve as boats congregate from three major coasts around the Americas (Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes and East Coast).

With seven boats sailing from the Chicago fleet, all eyes will be upon them to be amongst the leaders in the first major continental event for the 111 class.  With a combination of Chicago-Mackinac and Bayview-Mackinac Champions as well as Sailing World NOOD Champions, Verve Cup Champions and Singlehanded Society Champions amongst them, this formidable group of 111 teams will be a force to contend with.  Don't be surprised if many of the following boats either place or fire top three finishes with some degree of regularity, including KASHMIR (Karl Brummel skippering), MENTAL (Paul Stahlberg), LUCKY DUBIE (Len Siegal- also Regatta Co-Chair), IMPULSE (George Miz skippering), NIGHTHAWK (Steve Dabrowski skippering), WOOTON (Bill Smith), MISTY (Tom McIntosh) and ROWDY (Rick Witzel).

Other local Great Lakes hotshots will surely include the two Harbor Springs speedsters, NO SURPRISE (Dave Irish) and WINDCZAR (Rick Lehmann)-- both winners and podium finishers in the Harbor Springs Ugotta Regattas and Irish is a Chicago & Bayview-Mac silverware winner as well.  Toss in HOBGOBLIN (Dick Hobbs) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who recently won the Chicago-Mac J/111 class, and the crystal ball clouds up a bit more with three fast horses on the track to mix it up with the Chicago crowd.

Finally, the "out of town" visitors include two top teams from the East Coast and a new crew from the Florida Panhandle.  Marty Roesch's team on VELOCITY, based in Annapolis, MD, have dominated many Chesapeake Bay events as well as posted excellent results in Charleston Race Week and New York YC Annual Regatta, taking silverware more than once in both events.  Newcomer Henry Brauer on FLEETWING from Marblehead, MA has a fairly formidable crew, having recently won the New York YC Annual Regatta 2013 as well as the NYYC Race Week in 2012.  George Gamble's crew from Pensacola, FL are sailing MY SHARONA in their first major one-design event and may yet prove to be one of the spoilers in the event.  Look for some fantastic racing amongst this fleet of fourteen teams and don't be surprised to see some significant roller-coaster scorelines amongst the leaders in the fleet.   For more J/111 North American Championship sailing information

J/Teams Enjoy Youngstown Level Regatta XL

(Youngstown, NY)- 181 boats raced on five circles in the 40th and Final Youngstown Level Regatta on the weekend of July 27-28.  For most of its history the Level has been the largest weekend keelboat regatta on Lake Ontario, at one time hitting a monstrous 466 boats!   Those were the days of 50 boat J/24 fleets and one design starts for most of the J designs popular at the time.  Since then things had settled down to a more manageable size but the Level still held a prominent place on the calendar for most racers within hundreds of miles.  Youngstown Yacht Club finally decided 40 years was enough and the organizers and volunteers deserved a break, so this was the last Level, to be replaced next year with a new event with details to be announced this fall.

Sailors did not want to miss out on the fun of the final event so attendance was up by almost 40 boats over 2012.  Conditions were generally favorable, light to moderate with the exception of a brief squall that came in Saturday afternoon that curtailed racing for the day.   In IRC 0 Bob Hesse and crew aboard the J111 Lake Effect lost the tie-breaker for first place, settling for second as they had done in Key West in January.  They have been dominating local PHRF racing this summer.

The regatta was judged to be a terrific success with many fond memories being shared and praise was lavished on the volunteers for their years of hard work.  Everyone wants to know what YYC has our our sleeve for 2014 but we aren't quite ready to announce the sequel just yet. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes @ TimWilkes.com.    For more Youngstown Level Regatta sailing information

Fastnet Race Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)-  Coming up in less than a fortnight is one of those "bucket list" offshore challenges that is on many sailor's wish list to conquer, vanquish the enemy and go home- the infamous Rolex Fastnet Race-- a simple 608 nm jaunt from Cowes westabout to a lighthouse on a rock and back to Plymouth.  Not to surprisingly, thousands have dreamt the dream, only to survive yet another 608nm journey again, then return for more punishment at the hands of the great Lord Neptune.  For many, it's part of that movie, "Never ending story, part XXXX, chapter XVXLV".  How many chapters later does one have to tell the story of nearly winning it all, but having to anchor yet again just yards off the Plymouth finish line within stone's throw (literally) of the race committee?  Like that famous British mountain climber once said about scaling Mt Everest in the Hindu Kush-- they keep coming back for more "because it's there".  Remarkably, a record numbers of boats signed up this year (mostly in 48 hours!), so plenty of sailors will be telling their version of the story sometime soon!

While the Rolex Fastnet Race's top prize is the Fastnet Challenge Cup and a Rolex watch/ chronometer for the first of the 302 boats winning under the IRC Rating rule, everyone has their fair shot at it all from the start on Sunday, August 11th off the Royal Yacht Squadron starting line in front of Cowes.  There will be forty-two J/Teams sailing- 14% of the total fleet-- easily the largest sailing brand represented within this famous British and European event.  Next closest brand is Beneteau with 12% followed by Sigma at 7% and a host of other major brands at less than 5% each-- like Swan, Jeanneau, X-Yachts, JPK, Grand Soleil, Archambault, Ker, Dehler, Bavaria and so forth.

Given any kind of a fetch or reaching race, the fleet of five J/111s will be quite formidable in the overall IRC handicap standings.  Look for these teams amongst the leaders, including two English teams- BRITISH SOLDIER (Army Sailing Association) and OJE (Andre Hill); the French team on ALPHALINK/ XTREME YACHTING (Benjamin Diouris); the Belgian team on DJINN (Just 4 Sailing Team), and the famous and highly successful Netherlands team on XCENTRIC RIPPER (John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef- also sailing Doublehanded Class).

It should be a fascinating Fastnet Race to watch given the enormous cross-section of J/Teams participating in this 2013 edition!  Live YellowBrick.com tracking will be available, so cheer on your favorite team to the finish!  Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Kurt Arrigo.   For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information

NO SURPRISE Ugotta Regatta Winner

(Harbor Springs, MI)- Sailboats from all over head to Harbor Springs each summer for one of the grand Great Lakes sailing traditions- the Little Traverse YC Ugotta Regatta.  Sponsored again by Credit Suisse, the Regatta brings together some of the best sailboat racers in the lakes to Little Traverse Bay in between the famous Chicago Mac or Bayview Mac Races.

The series begins with one-design racing on Friday followed a tour-of-the-bay course on Saturday and windward-leeward racing on Sunday. The weekend’s festivities kick off bright and early Friday morning with  a fun tradition: a long line of happy people beginning at sun up outside Irish Boat Shop to purchase the 2013 Ugotta Regatta t-shirt. Each year, the shirt design changes and with a limited production, the lines begin early to score a coveted shirt.

Friday night finds a "Welcome to Harbor Springs Celebration" at the Irish Boat Shop for racers only- an awesome cookout with excellent local beers and wines to savor for the masses of sailors-- always an incredibly popular event.

On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, the Club hosts the famous "Pancake Breakfast".  Open to the public and racers, the Pancake Breakfast is a delicious way for the boat teams to quickly fuel up before getting on the water. One highlights (and tradition) of the breakfast- the young Racers flip less-than-perfect pancakes over their shoulders to land on the roof of the sail shed behind them.

The handicap honors in PHRF 3 Class went to the J/111 NO SURPRISE sailed by (remarkably enough), local host and hero David Irish!  Their dominant 3-1-1-1 record was, in fact, the best record in PHRF and for the overall regatta with just 6.0 pts to count.  Last year's winner, Dick Lehmann's WIND CZAR took 6th overall with a 1.5-3-12-15 tally.  Larry Taunt's J/35 BAD DOG was 9th, Larry Schell's J/35 TOUCH OF GREY was 11th and Brad Schell's newly-unwrapped J/111 UTAH was 12th.  For more Ugotta Regatta sailing information

Sleigh-ride to King Harbor

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 42nd running of the popular California offshore classic, the 81nm Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race, was truly the "tale of two cities" (the fast boats and the little boats).  The weather forecast seemed normal for the race, a light SSE breeze clocking around after the start to SW and slowly building into the WNW at 10-18 kts during the day and, perhaps, dying by evening.  Toss in plenty of sun, the spectacular seascapes of the Channel Islands, cute little brown seals swimming everywhere (great white shark lunch!) and amazing schools of porpoises ripping through schools of fish or racing underneath the bow wave and you have the ingredients for a near perfect downwind roller-coaster ride down the California coastline.


As has often been the case, what appeared to be a "normal" SB-KH race was nothing like the sort.  While the initial part of the race held true to form, the fleet starting under headsails then switching to mostly Code Zero's or reaching chutes to fetch Anacapa Island, what happened after that was not what the "playbook" was prescribing.  Getting to Anacapa Island's northern turning point is a bit like the "Looking Glass" in the Wizard of Oz or, as some have put it, "The Twilight Zone"-- one never knows what's beyond it once you've entered it.  Some say go tight along the western side of the island, others says go outside at least 1.5 to 3.0nm to avoid the inevitable wind-shadow cast by the 1,000 ft plus ridge on Anacapa.  Seeing little or no wind inside, most all the bigger boats (over 35 feet) set for an outside, longer course.  Some exceptions included the J/111, J/120 and others that magically shot the middle-left position and snuck through.  But, the smaller boats never had that issue as most simply turned left at the island, set chutes and sailed nearly direct to King Harbor at a bearing of 98 degrees! To confound the "local knowledge" experts even more, the anticipated "geographical shift" often found by sailing towards Point Dume just north of Malibu, not only happened (with the breeze shifting from 300 deg to 270 deg) but the wind kept backing around to 235 deg near the finish line at the entrance to King Harbor.

As a result, the big winners were the later, slower boats to start the race at 12:25pm.  The ocean greyhounds that took off first got the short end of the stick in this year's edition.
Sweeping the top two spots in a duel to the finish for PHRF Sprit A class were the J/111 and J/120.  In the end, while Bill Webster & Mike Moorhead's J/111 JATO took class line honors, the winner on handicap was Gary Winton's J/120 SHENANIGANS by nine minutes.  They both finished 5th and 6th, respectively in Sprit Fleet and 23rd and 25th overall of 75 boats.  Here's a YouTube video of JATO's ride to King Harbor- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqQ-grLqGGA

The host finishing club, Kings Harbor YC hosted their incredibly delicious "shrimp feast" on Saturday afternoon in conjunction with the awards ceremony (part of the secret recipe- cayenne pepper, olive oil, lemon).  It was a fitting end to a beautiful race on a sunny day overlooking the Pacific Ocean and harbor.
Sailing photo credits- J/Boats and Bronny Daniels @ Joysailing.com.  For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information

J/Teams Sailing Copa del Rey

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The Copa Del Rey Audi Mapfre is one of the premiere European regattas held every summer in Spain's most famous sailing venue- that glorious mountain island of the international sailing jet set- Palma Mallorca.  Hosted by the gracious members of the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the 38th edition of the event will be sailed from July 27th to August 3rd.

So far the sailors have been challenged by the unusual NE’ly wind direction, with tacticians having to search their memory banks to recall the best strategy for what ultimately proved to be an excellent opening contest for Spain’s showcase annual regatta.  The day started with a gradient northwesterly breeze, between 15 and 16 knots, that gave the race committee the opportunity to hold a fiercely-fought and spectacular race. However, the breeze gradually died in the afternoon as the gradient and the local thermal were canceling each other out.

Sailing in the ORC 1 handicap class are the J/122 NOISY OYSTER from France sailed by Olivier Parchet and the J/111 BLACK BULL from Italy skippered by Pietro D'Ali from Yacht Club Italia.  Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo/ Sailingstock.com.   For more Audi Mapfre Copa del Rey sailing information

Cowes Race Week Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week is a key part of the British sporting calendar taking place in early August each year. These dates result from early traditions when the great and the good came to Cowes between Goodwood and the Glorious Twelfth – day one of the grouse shooting season. The event is a great mix of competitive sailing and a vibrant social scene and has evolved enormously since the early days; it now attracts up to 1,000 competing boats, around 8,500 competitors and over 100,000 visitors.

Hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Cowes Combined Clubs, the sailors are treated to incredibly challenging, fun sailing; especially when each day dawns with a new course on the famous Solent-- full of capricious currents and shifty, gusty breezes.  The event puts a premium not only on boat-handling and boat-speed, but on the navigational capabilities of the crew to find all the marks and make it back to the extraordinary finish line immediately off the flag deck onshore lined with massive cannons at the Royal Yacht Squadron.

There is a combination of IRC handicap racing as well as a multitude of J/One-design classes participating.  Starting with the one-designs, there will be J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and J/111s sailing.  In the nine boat J/111 class, a number of veteran Cowes regatta and race winners will be present, including SHMOKIN JOE (Duncan McDonald), J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp), MCFLY (Tony Mack), JEEZ LOUISE (James Arnell) and JITTERBURG (Cornel Riklin).  In addition, new teams participating in Cowes Week include Sebastien de Liedekerke's team from Belgium will be sailing DJINN, ICARUS sailed by Andrew Christie and John Scott, SWEENY skippered by Kees van Vliet from The Netherlands and TOE IN THE WATER led by Capt Lloyd Hamilton MBE.   Sailing photo credit- Rick Tomlinson.  For more Cowes Week sailing information

WICKED Romps in Edgartown Round Island!

J/111 Takes Class in Round Island
(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard) – After notching only eight knots of breeze on opening day (Thursday, July 18), Edgartown Yacht Club’s three-day Race Week cranked into high gear for a subsequent two days of action, loading up 25 teams with 20 knots of breeze for a second day of the event’s Big Boat Buoy Races and giving 62 teams an exhilarating run for their money in 25 knots plus during the 54.7 nautical mile ‘Round-the-Island Race, which was scored separately and comprised the final day of racing (Saturday, July 20).

Due to enormous amount of interest in extending the weekend of sailing, the Edgartown Yacht Club added an extra day to its 2013 Big Boat Buoy Races (BBBR). As a result, the event ran from Wednesday through Sunday (July 17-21) for IRC, PHRF, Double Handed, Cruising and Classic sailboats. After two days of the Big Boat Buoy Races on Thursday and Friday, Mount Gay also sponsored a Friday night “jump-up” celebration before the Round the Island Race on Saturday.

“As more big boats came to Edgartown for the Round the Island Race, the more their crews wanted to enjoy Martha’s Vineyard, and take home more silver,” said Mr Brooks. “The response to our efforts has been electric.“  First held in the summer of 1938, the Edgartown Yacht Club’s Round the Island Race was inspired by a similar race around the Isle of Wight that has been held in Cowes, England every year since 1931. Covering 54.7 miles, it passes over Nantucket Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and Vineyard Sound and by seven lighthouses as it circumnavigates, clockwise, the 100 square miles that make up Martha’s Vineyard.

The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is just a few miles longer than around the Isle of Wight, with similar views of cliffs and headlands, villages and open water. Tidal currents and wind effects are important.

Sailing the Round Island PHRF 2 Class was the J/120 APRES sailed by Stephen Besse from Vineyard Haven, taking a close second after a closely fought race with Doug Curtiss's J/111 WICKED 2.0.  Here's the report from Mr Curtiss on their adventures racing around the island on their J/111:

"Not only did we secure a first place in PHRF A Class by three minutes corrected in this six hour race, but went toe to toe with the 1D35 for most of the day.  Did I mention some great sailing with gust to 30, and top speed of 18.6 Knots for Wicked 2.0?

The day started well with a spinnaker start and run to the leeward mark of Cape Pogue.  Making the turn South for the reach down the Muskeget Channel between Chappy and Nantucket, we were 2 boat lengths behind the 1D 35.  Wind was a steady 18 to 22.

We separated for most of the reach, but rounding the Sea Buoy and turning to the West, the J/120 APRES came out of nowhere to take the lead.  We were 3 boat lengths behind the 1D 35.  Everyone settled onto the rail for the 2 1/2 hours to the can off Squibnocket.  Slowly, ever so slowly, we reeled in the 1D 35.  Heading into a Southwest ocean swell, with freshening breeze, Ted and then Gary ground em down.  Everyone on the rail was hiking like we were in a buoy race with one last mile to the windward mark-- only this was 19 miles of ocean!  No more than 3 boat lengths had separated us for the fetch down the whole South Shore. When we rounded the Squibby can, we were 20 feet ahead.  We had gained approximately 120 feet in the last 19 miles against our sparring partner.

Both bore away to the Sea Buoy at Devil's  Bridge, Gay Head.  Wind is gusting to 25 with big swells on a reach. 1D 35 used their maneuverability and every trick in their bag to try and get by Wicked 2.0.  Could not pass to windward, so set up on a wave and try to surf by to leeward-- no dice.  Rounding the buoy at Gay Head, still less than a boat length separation.  But we had shortened the course by 25 miles on the 1D 35.

And we needed every second of that handicap, as the 1D 35 took advantage of their downwind speed and took off on the spinnaker run down Vineyard Sound toward the finish line.  Wind was now gusting over 30 with a steady 22 to 26 on the wind gauges.   Both boats playing the adverse tides through Lucas Shoals and Middle Ground.....jibing into the beach to get out of the current and then jibing back out into Vineyard Sound.  A great real estate tour of the north shore of Martha's Vineyard,  but no one was looking in this breeze.  The speedo topped out at 18.6 knots!!!

The J/120 fell back. The 1D35 pulled far ahead with their square top main and big kite.  Then disaster struck the 1D35-- broaching badly with a blown chute, followed by two more knockdowns.

Rounding the can at West Choppy, we killed the kite for the reach to the finish.  Past Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, we saw the most wind of the day, making 13 and 14 knots on a close reach with full main and number 3 jib.

Wicked 2.0 crossed the finish with corrected time about 3 min ahead of the J/120 and 7 min ahead of the 1D35 after more than 6 hours of memorable racing.

Special thanks to all those on the delivery home after the turn and burn at MVY.  Also to all who helped provision and prep the boat.  And a special nod to those hiking on the rail who got us by the 1D 35 on the South Side. Their driver told me at the awards ceremony, he wished his crew knew how to hike like the Wickeds."  Sailing photo credits- Michael Berwind   For more Edgartown YC Race Week and Round Island sailing information