The J/111 World Championships - The Winner is Shmokin Joe!

(Cowes, England)- Day five of the J/111 World Championships dawned with a clear sky, low temperature and no gradient wind. The forecast was for 5 knots at 1030 rising to 8 by noon. With two races left to sail and a 1500 prize giving ceremony, in view of the light conditions it seemed likely that at best only one race would be sailed.

The overnight leader SHMOKIN JOE owned by Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas had a strong enough score that if one or less races were sailed the trophy was going home to Brighton with them.

Whilst the SHMOKIN team may have felt safe, second place Tony Mack's McFLY were under threat from Frédéric Bouvier and his French team aboard J-LANCE 9. The French had only come together as a team for the event and had gelled as the series progressed to become the boat of the day on day four, the penultimate day.

Down the fleet there were individual battles to be fought; Stuart Sawyer’s BLACK DOG from Falmouth in fourth was just half a point clear of Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG from Lymington in fifth (the current J/111 EuroCup champion). Similarly Jamie Arnell’s JEEZ LOUISE in seventh was just half a point ahead of David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM in eighth.

The Royal Yacht Squadron race team stationed their committee boat to east of the Bramble Bank in the shallow water near Fastnet mark. After two hours of studying a glassy sea, PRO Simon van der Byl took the popular decision to draw the regatta to close. With ten great races completed, no one should feel that they did not have the opportunity to improve their lot.

Thus, following their terrific victory at the J-Cup held earlier in the summer at Royal Southampton YC, SHMOKIN JOE are the first ever J/111 World Champions! A lavish prize-giving ceremony was conducted on the exclusive platform of the Royal Yacht Squadron. J/Boats President Jeff Johnstone thanked the club and volunteers.

The 2015 World Championships will be held June 17th in Newport, Rhode Island. At a lively owner’s meeting held on Saturday night there was tremendous interest from the European teams in competing at that event. With 112 J/111s built in the last three years, this class has shown that it has a bright future.

JITTERBUG Crowned J/111 European Champion!

(Cowes, England)- With just over 2 weeks to go till the start of the inaugural J/111 worlds, the J/111 Eurocup couldn’t have come at a better time to get everybody back out on the water. This mini series over the first 4 days of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week comprised of 8 races and out on the water there was no let up in the tension.

Day one in the Eastern Solent saw a very shifty SE breeze and huge East going tides which caught many boats out when it came to laying the windward mark. In contrast to the usual straight windward leewards the race committee put in some reaching legs which gave the crews something different to contend with. The first bullet of this regatta went Stuart Hawthorn on Plan J. Race 2 didn’t see the fleet get off to a clean start and the second attempt was black-flagged. Jitterbug got away and kept clear of the rest of the fleet to take the gun followed by the West Country team on Black dog. Day two returned to the eastern Solent and over night protests had created very interesting results and there was everything to play for. Throughout the day the pressure increased with gusts up to 20 knots, but it was Tony Mack’s Mcfly that kept a level head and took both races today and Jitterbug had to settle for 2 seconds.

Day three broke to light airs which saw a short postponement until the breeze filled from the west. The fleet had a change of scenery in the western Solent, which would mean a need to play the shoreline and keep out of the tide. Again the starts were very close and too close for some. The fleet made a quick break to the mainland shore and started short tacking and playing a game of chicken with the depth gauge. The closeness of the boats at time showed the skill of the crews in keeping a cool head and luckily all the boats came out unscathed. An early break from the shore paid off for Journeymaker which saw them first round the windward mark, but in this fleet there is no room for mistakes and the fleet remained close throughout, Jitterbug took the gun again. In the Second race, it was Jeez Louise who saw an opportunity for clear air and took it which saw Jamie Arnell’s boat take their first bullet of the series.

The final day dawned to gray skies and the wind had shifted back to a SSE direction. So, it was back to the Eastern Solent and with only 3 points separating the top 4 boats there was no room for mistakes. The first course was a short 4 leg windward leeward but the positions of the boats were constantly changing in the course of each leg, playing the shifts was vital and would allow for huge gains or devastating losses. The downwind finish saw the boats being pushed to their limits to get height over the rest of the fleet. But Plan J kept calm and carried on to score their second bullet of the series, shortly followed by Jeez Louise and Jitterbug. This result confirmed that the series was going to go the wire.

The last race was the longest course so far, a general recall after the first attempt at starting sent the tension soaring for the top boats, the second attempt was black flagged so no room for error this time and luckily all the boats were clear and away. Again, it came down to playing the shifts and keeping clear of the traffic as the whole of the black group was racing in the same area. Chris Jones and Louise Makin’s Journeymaker took an early lead and saw them round the windward mark first. There was much jostling of places throughout the fleet that saw a tough fight for all. However, Journeymaker held off the rest of the fleet and took the final gun to see their first win of the series, shortly followed by Plan J in second that guaranteed them a podium position. Third across the line was Cornell Riklin which confirmed him as the winner of the 2014 J/111 Eurocup.

The trophy and winners champagne was presented at Key Yachting’s annual Cowes week party at the Island sailing club, which will also be the host club for the 2015 J Cup. Following his victory Jitterbug owner Cornell commented on the event saying “We greatly enjoyed the EuroCup – the largest J111 fleet we have raced in so far with some very close and competitive racing! Well done Key Yachting and AAM Cowes Week for organizing the two races a day. It made it all very worthwhile and fun. Looking forward to seeing more of this at the Worlds.”

In the final analysis, it was a high-scoring series for the top five boats.  It took two third places on the final day for Riklin’s JITTERBUG to retain first place overall with 19 pts in the eight race, one throw-out series.  Starting with a 7th in race one, Riklin’s crew overcame their pre-regatta jitters and took two 1sts, two 2nds and two 3rds to win the regatta by three points.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn’s PLAN J started off by leading the series after three races, posting a 1-4-3, but couldn’t maintain the pressure on the JITTERBUG crew.  In the middle of the series, a 7-5-6 dropped them from contention.  Nevertheless, it was a soul-satisfying 1-2 performance in the last two races that enabled them to leap back into second overall with 22 pts net.

Perhaps the most disappointed crew may have been Tony Mack’s McFLY.  After posting a remarkable 1-1-2-3 in races 4 to 6, they closed the series with a 6-7 on the final day.  Consequently, having “fallen from grace with the sea”, they dropped into third overall with 26 pts net.  Then, James Arnell’s JEEZ LOUISE was closing fast on the podium positions with a 4-3-4-1-2 in races 3 to 7, but apparently lost all composure in the last race by posting a 9th place; costing them the bronze and having to settle for fourth overall by just one point!  Fifth was David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/DREAM.

Of the visiting teams from the Netherlands, Kees van Vliet & Hans Zwijnenburg’s SWEENY clearly showed they had potential with scores of 3-4-5-5-5, but the inconsistency in the three other races dropped them off the radar screen.  Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II likewise had a rough go of the regatta, but closed with an emphatic 1st place in the last race— perhaps “throwing down the gauntlet” to indicate they still should be contenders for the Worlds next week!  The J/111 Worlds hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes starts on the 20th August 2014.  For more J/111 Europeans sailing information

Grevelingen Cup Report

(Marina Port Zelande, Netherlands)- This year’s Grevelingen Cup saw over 200 competitors participate across multiple classes in both ORC handicap racing as well as one-design classes.  Enjoying a strong turnout this year was the Benelux J/80 fleet sailing both in the Cup as well as sailing their J/80 Benelux Nationals.

The sailors were greeted with a real mixed bag of weather conditions that were very “un-fall like”.  Instead of fast-moving fronts bringing broken clouds, sun, plenty of wind and occasional rain showers (which is quite typical), the fleet was instead having to fight fog, gentle breezes and light air patches.  On Saturday the clouds did break up enough for a nice sea-breeze to fill in behind the fog.  Sunday was even more challenging as it was generally overcast and by later in the afternoon the wind simply quit.

The ORC world saw a number of Dutch offshore J/Teams sailing well.  GGPM Van Beers’s J/122 JAM SESSION took second overall while H Zwijnenburg’s J/111 SWEENY took fourth in their class.   For more Grevelingen Cup sailing information

J/111 Worlds & European Circuit Announcement!

(Cowes, IOW, England)- The European J/111 circuit is shaping up to be an exciting season for 111 sailors from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from Italy to Ireland!  There are events taking place on the Mediterranean as well as in “classic” sailing ports along the North Sea and the Channel, all leading up to the first J/111 World Championships to take place in the famous waters of the Solent and hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron off Cowes, England from August 20th to 24th!

Teams from Northern Europe as well as the Mediterranean can look forward to early season warm-up regattas that include Vice Admirals Cup, North Sea Regatta, Normandy Week and Giraglia Rolex Cup prior to the J/111 Europeans being hosted in 2014 in conjunction with the massively popular Cowes Week event in early August.  The Europeans will serve as a “Pre-Worlds” for the 111 teams participating in J/111 Worlds two weeks later.  Below is the schedule for the major J/111 events in the 2014 J/111 European Circuit:

• May 9-12- Vice Admirals Cup- Cowes, England
• Jun 6-9- North Sea Regatta- The Hague, Netherlands
• Jun 9—15- Normandy Week- Le Havre, France
• Jun 14-22- Giraglia Rolex Cup- St Tropez, France & San Remo, Italy
• Aug 2-5- J/111 European Championships- Cowes, England
• Aug 20-24- J/111 World Championships- Royal Yacht Squadron- Cowes, England
• September- Benelux J/111 Regatta- Breskens, Netherlands
• October- Tour de Corse- Bonifacio, Italy

For more J/111 Class sailing information, charter boat information, please contact J/Composites (jcomposites.eu) or J/Boats- ph# 401-846-8410.

XCENTRIC RIPPER Rips Breskens Weekend

(Breskens, Netherlands)- The tenth edition of the Gaastra Breskens Sailing Weekend was blessed with great weather and, especially, big breeze and big seas almost all weekend long.  With gorgeous sunny days on Friday and the finale Sunday punctuated by a rainy, cold front early on Saturday morning meant the sailors could go home happy after sailing hard in seven races over three days!  In fact, the Chairman of the Gaastra Breskens Sailing Weekend, Roy Aller, said "unlike the past few years, we were blessed this year with great weather!"

A number of J/Teams sailed in the J/111 One-Design class as well as IRC handicap divisions.  The five-star performance of the weekend goes to John van der Starre's famous J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, simply dominating their class with straight firsts.  Sailing fast up the learning curve was K. van Vliet's SWEENY, taking mostly 2nds in the four boat fleet.  Third overall was K. Cleeren's J-BIE just 1.5 pts back.  Sailing photo credits- Anusjka Martens   For more Breskens 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.

XCENTRIC RIPPER Wins J/111 Europeans!

(Le Havre, France)- Sailing on the northern coastline of France can be an experience many never forget, especially with famously powerful Lows rolling in off the chilly North Sea and slamming the western European coastline with gale force winds and massive 10-15 foot waves smashing into the beaches.  Toss in 20 ft plus tidal range and massive amounts of current across the race courses and the conditions can truly be described as challenging.  This year's Normandy Sailing Week participants had the best of all worlds, sunny skies for most of the event with NE winds in the 15-25 kts range with enormous seas topped by breaking white caps every single day.

The J/111's sailing their first European Championships saw some epic downwind surfing and planing conditions, much to the delight of the sailors.  So did the J/80s racing in their last regatta before the start of the J/80 Worlds in Marseille, France.  And, the lone J/133 sailing in IRC 1 Class also reveled in the condition.

The J/111s saw great competition over the course of the four days of sailing. In the end, the experienced offshore veterans from The Netherlands, John Van der Starre and Robin Verhoef sailing XCENTRIC RIPPER, were crowned the first J/111 European Champions!  They sailed a solid series, starting strongly by leading the first day and placing all top three finishes for a 1-2-2-1-2-3-1-1-3 record and 16 pts net overall.  The battle for the balance of the podium was fought between two champion English teams, SHMOKIN JOE and JEEZ LOUISE.  Sailing fast and smart were Duncan McDonald's team on SHMOKIN JOE, posting a 2-1-4-2-1-4-3-1-1 for 19 net pts to nip their Solent friends for second overall.  Taking the bronze was James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE with a steady 3-3-1-4-1-2-2-2-2 for 20 net pts.  Rounding out the top five places were David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM in 4th and Richard Barnes's BIELA MUNKENBECK in 5th.

To give you a better idea of the sailing conditions and the competition for the first J/111 Europeans, we received an excellent report from John Van de Starre, skipper of the winning team sailing XCENTRIC RIPPER.  Said John, "At the end of the our 2012 sailing season we started to plan our races for the coming year.  We heard in October 2012 that a European Circuit J/111 would be organized this year with the Europeans to be sailed during Normandy Sailing Week. After our successes in IRC last year and the pleasant experience of one-design racing during Spi Ouest 2012, our team unanimously decided to go for this one-design circuit with the main goal as winning the Europeans.  So, in 2012 we ordered a J/111 Class Main at North Sails, which is slightly larger than our IRC optimized mainsail, and we sailed the 2nd part of the 2013 winter series of Grevelingencup with this Class Main. After winning the Grevelingen Cup we quickly put that main back into the bag again to save it for the Europeans.

Normandy Week is sailed at the end of the Seine River near Le Havre, so current is a very important factor in local tactics. Early on, current maps and information were gathered to be well prepared. Even some famous Belgian Laser sailors with local knowledge got us some extra info.

Composing the right crew was not an easy job for us. In IRC we normally sail with eight men, but as the J/111 Class Rules state that the joint crew weight may not be more than 650kg we have a problem. With the average stature of a Xcentric Ripper crew member coming near a healthy viking, our only option is to sail with only 7 men. This naturally gives some disadvantage in handling and in addition you have only 5 man in the rail next to the mainsail trimmer and helmsman in the cockpit. In particular, when there is strong wind this is a disadvantage. How we solved this problem I will tell you later on.

The positions of the crew did not seem optimal, normally Berend Jan Edens is helmsman and with myself as tactician/navigator, this works the best for us. Because Berend Jan could not sail this event, I slid into the helmsman spot.  Since it's important to have an experienced tactician with good knowledge of  boat-on-boat tactics, we chose Richard van Rij, a former crew member on our J/109 and is a top Dragon class sailor. He was very enthusiastic for this adventure, sailing with us during the Grevelingen Cup for practice.

Eventually we came to the following optimal team: Robin Verhoef mainsail, Richard van Rij tactics/pit, George Etty genoa trim, Bart van Pelt genoa/spinnaker trim, Maarten Ruijtenberg pit/mast and Pascal van Doornmalen on the foredeck and myself on helm.  So the team is ready, the boat prepared as good as possible, ready for the battle.

The J/111 Europeans were sailed over 4 days, twice north of the Seine River (Course Charlie) and twice right in front of the river (Course Bravo). The weather forecasts from Thursday till Sunday were for northeast winds between 15 and 25 knots, so perfect J/111 weather! Over 20 kts of breeze downwind means we can go planing very fast, sailing higher angles, and make big gains. Upwind in over 15 kts of wind you have to hike seriously, everybody as far out as possible to get as much sail power as possible.  However, we initially had the disadvantage of only five men in the rail. Then, at some point during the pre-race preparations we saw an M34 with only the helmsman in the cockpit and the rest of the crew in full hike. That’s it! So, we decided we would also go in 'solo’ mode. Shorthanded, I always sail with  the fine tuning of the mainsheet in my hand, so we tried and copied it. After the start or after a tack, Robin trimmed the mainsail  as quick  as possible in the optimal mode, then gave the fine tuning to me and ran with his 100kg to the rail. That adjustment seemed to add about 0.15 kts increase in speed and I'm sure this played an important role in the final victory. Upwind with all that added power, we were one of the fastest boats and our tactical game became much easier too.

Thursday we had three races. In the first race, we had a clean start, a couple of good tacks and were first around the top mark. Downwind we found it difficult to keep up, especially “Shmokin Joe”, so far the strongest English boat with many victories-- goes like hell and is able to sail much faster than us and passes us downwind. Also, “Jeez Louise” is very fast, the Englishmen clearly have more power and speed downwind. Only our handling appears to be a little better at the bottom mark and eventually we managed to get closer. Again, we rounded first at the top mark.  This time, on the second downwind leg we sailed more aggressively, and managed to just beat Shmokin Joe to finished first.  What a battle, we really have to go all the way every second, otherwise we will not manage. That day we managed to get a 1-2-2 with Shmokin Joe getting a 2-1-4 and Jeez Louise a 3-3-1. After one day we are 2 points ahead of our nearest competitors. A good position, much nicer than we could ever imagine!

Friday there were three more races on Course Charlie, right at the end of the Seine. With the NE wind, predicted between 15 and 22 kts, you can sail in the lee of the city of Le Havre and the coast.  The wind is very shifty  and therefore not easy. The night before Richard and I studied all the data and looked at all tactical possibilities.  Around 1300 hrs there would be a change in current with an extra strong outflow of the Seine which would reach the competition area.
                                                      
First start at 11.30, again two laps, still less wind, 12 knots just before the start. It appears the left side of the course is more favored than the right. So after the start we stay on starboard tack and go left for more wind. Our speed is good and we round the top mark  just behind Shmokin Joe. With less wind there are no planing conditions and the slightly deeper sailing pays much better. Downwind we lose little and the next upwind we catch a few good shifts again and are 1st at the top mark. Last downwind we consolidate and wham another first place! Shmokin Joe is 2nd, J-Dream 3rd and Jeez Louise 4th-- this means we increase our overall lead.

Race 2, just before the start we see the strong river current coming in from the right, so after the start we tack immediately to the right. Looks like almost everyone else chooses  more wind on the left side of the course and do not sail in our direction. The moment we are in the other current we tack and immediately take advantage of the incredible lift we get. With ease we go first around the top mark! Now we are going for  the windy part and also become 1st at the bottom mark, on the second beat we managed to keep the profit but in the last downwind we loose. The Jeez Louise knows better how to hold the planing conditions and finishes just in front of us, a bit of a drag. Third race about the same, we are king upwind, and downwind sitting duck- 3rd place. I don’t like this at all! As helmsman I can’t  get the  boat downwind fast enough to beat those bloody Englishmen. We should really change something. Nevertheless after this day we still are in first position with  2 points leading, so everything is still possible.

For Saturday's racing we go back to Course Charlie. The predictions are for heavy wind. There's more wind predicted than previous days. Especially in the afternoon, it could really be violent. When we leave the dock and I look at our English competitors I see something in their eyes: today we are gonna get you! With us on board it is much quieter, will we be successful today? I hope this silence is because of increased focus .. In the team briefing after yesterday’s races, we have decided that today on downwind legs we only go on speed and pressure and not too much on depth. I realize that this will be the my main point, and therefore how we get through the day. Also we have discussed the boat-handling, especially the drops in high winds, everyone knows what to do.

Start of the first race, two laps, 20/22 kts wind, with three boats within 5 seconds to the top mark, now target on speed and pressure! Fortunately it works what we had planned. We accelerate much better by steering the boat very aggressive and with everyone who can, in full hike in the back of the boat and sailing at a higher wind angle. At the bottom mark we even gained something! Without too much interference from other boats but hard work by all of us and no risks we sail a very clean 1st place. Shmokin Joe we see behind us making a few mistakes, in the end they overstand the finish line under because of a bad gybe and had two more boats pass them before they can finish.
                                                                                                 
2nd race same story, again a clean one. This really gives a kick! When after this finish the committee decided to cancel all races for the remainder of the day due to the rapidly rising wind conditions.  The team is in a great mood headed to shore. Today we really did it, the European Championships are close at hand! In the evening, after some calculations it shows that only the Jeez Louise can still threaten us if we would screw up tomorrow. So if we keep our heads clear and do no crazy things like black flags, OCS, not checking  in/out, no spinnaker rips or shrimps, no man overboard, it could really work out for us! As a result, that night I sleep a bit restless ..

For Sunday's racing we're back on Course Bravo, sailing in the lee of Le Havre. Windy, gray and cold. We heard on the jetty that one of the crew of the Jeez Louise broke his collarbone last evening and when we leave the harbor we still see little activity with our competitor. Has he given up already? We previously calculated in what position we and Jeez Louise had to finish to win the event.
                                                    
At the start, off course Jeez Louise is there and the fight begins. We start in the middle of the line, on time, but safely without risk. Left side of the course we did prefer due to current and more wind. Jeez Louise, immediately goes extreme right after the start into an all or nothing attempt to take the lead. Halfway through the beat, we are in second position behind Shmokin Joe and we cross just in front of Jeez Louise. We tack immediately above him, we put them in our dirty wind, they change tack again, we follow. So, we sail them back in the first beat to 6th place and we round 5th at the top mark. Downwind, as we discovered yesterday, we put the turbo on!  When we enter the next beat, we see Jeez Louise still in 6th position, beautiful. That beat we win another place and go third, just behind number two for the second time around the top mark. Then I hear Maarten shout after the hoist: TEAR in the gennaker ! No please, not now, not this kind of problems just when we are winning!  The genny probably got stuck on a genoa batten. After rapid communication and assessment, it turns a snag just before the leech about 15 cm, we decide to go on safely, do not let the gennaker collapse, gently jibing and pray.  We put the A5 on deck just in case.  We still manage to finish in 3rd position and see Jeez Louise coming in 5th. Tremendous happiness aboard! We have the cup! We are European champion! What a feast, the high fives and hugs are all over the place.

As a result, we do not have to sail the last. But, after consultation with the crew we decided to go for a last win. But then we all see how far we had to go these days, adrenaline is gone, that little extra power is not there anymore, no more extra in the hike, you are now different in your head, so this is really not working. When the wind further increases and it starts to become a demolition of boat and sails, we decided to bear away and return to the harbor.  Job well done by the crew, time to preserve body, soul and sails!

What a great regatta this was, we did really great, everyone had their share in it, the team was fantastic-- Pascal (from Doornmalen) foredeck, Maarten (Ruijtenberg) pit/mast, Bart (van Pelt) gennaker, George (Etty) genoa, Robin (Verhoef) mainsail and Richard (van Rij) tactics / pit-- many thanks to all!"  Thanks for this contribution from John van der Starre, skipper J/111 “Xcentric Ripper”. For more J/111 Europeans and J/80 Normandy Sailing Week information

J/111 Europeans Preview

Teams Sailing @ Normandy Sailing Week
(Le Havre, France)- From June 5 to 9, nine one-design J/111s will be participating in Normandy Sailing Week in Le Havre, France.  As part of this series, the J/111 will be sailing their first European Championships.  And, with a good weather forecast for the long weekend, it should prove to be very competitive racing.

Frederic Bouvier, President of the J/111 European class and business manager of the French builder J-Composites commented, "We are pleased, after the debut one-design event at SPI Ouest France 2012, that nine J/111s will be sailing in Normandy Sailing Week for the J/111 Europeans. The sailors come from Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland and France. The idea is to establish a circuit for J/111s in Europe, with a friendly social atmosphere ashore and with spirited, high-level of competition on the water. The J/111 is a great boat for this type of one-design offshore racing, it allows a fast ride with comfort and the boats are very equal in speed-- it's what the owners are seeking. J-Composites will be on site with equipment to support the owners. A big 'Thank You' to the organizers of Normandy Sailing Week to welcome us for the first European J/111 Championship."

It's clear many of the best teams in Europe are showing up.  From France, the winner of SPI Ouest 2012 J/111 class, J-LANCE 8, will be skippered by Didier Le Moal (seen here at right) and he is joined by fellow Frenchmen Bertant Coutoure (CNV).  From the Netherlands will be the experienced and highly regarded offshore racing team on XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by John Van der Starre and Robin Verhoef.  Representing Belgium is Sebastien de Liedekerke skippering DJINN.  Then five veteran teams are sailing from Great Britain, including 2012 Cowes Week and Round Island Champion Duncan McDonald on SHMOKIN' JOE; 109 and 111 champions David & Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM; Rick Barnes on BIELA MUNKENBECK; James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE and Tony Mack's McFLY. The outcome of the nine fast boats will be extremely difficult to handicap as all teams have made massive improvements over the past year and this is the first time they've all come together as a fleet since SPI Ouest France 2012!  Should be fun!   For more J/111 Europeans and J/80 Normandy Sailing Week information

J/Teams Win IRC Double Class- Vuurschepen/ North Sea Races

(The Hague, Netherlands)- The start of the offshore sailing season in the Netherlands has been good to J/Teams!  With the combination of the Netherlands's Vuurschepen Race and the RORC's North Sea Race, two top J/Teams are on top of the offshore double-handed world! Many of the top teams from both sides of the "ditch" enter into the criss-cross races over the English Channel in May to not only get a head-start on the season, but ensure they're competitive for the overall RORC Season offshore championship series in both the UK and in the Netherlands.

The long weekend started with the Vuurschepenrace, part of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta, a 100nm blast across the Channel from the Netherlands to Harwich, England.  After a day of rest in Harwich, England, the classes sail back across the English Channel in the 180 nm race from Harwich to the Smith's Knoll Buoy off the North Norfolk Coast then across the eastern parts of the North Sea to Scheveningen.

On the initial leg across to Harwich, the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by the strong offshore duo of John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef from the Netherlands, managed a 4th overall in IRC Class, taking 2nd in the Double-handed Division.  Just behind them was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker.

On the return leg to Scheveningen, it was a completely different story for all of the teams entered. The 210 nm race from Harwich to Scheveningen looked like it could be a fast sleigh ride across the North Sea. Fresh southwesterly winds with gusty rain squalls were predicted, which could produce an ideal angle for an exhilarating race.  Gusting over 25 knots with rain squalls, the early part of the race was not a comfortable one, but more settled weather in the latter part of the race with glimpse of sunshine coming through the cloud cover was welcomed by the 75 yachts that entered the race.

In the Two-Handed class the Dutch team of Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker retained the class title racing J/122 JUNIQUE.  Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker's Dutch J/122 won the IRC Two Handed Class last year and the duo are back to defend their win. "It is looking like we will have a fast race," commented Chris Revelman. "However, we are not making any special changes because of the conditions. We will have a good meal tonight and plenty of rest, as during the race we will get little sleep and eat simple bread and soup. Our objective will be to win the race and it will be a big part of our build up for the highlight of the season, the Rolex Fastnet Race."  Their words could not have been more prophetic before the start of the race from Harwich back across the Channel to Scheveningen, the top two teams flip-flopped. This time the J/122 JUNIQUE took top honors and the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER was second in the IRC Double class. Remarkably, in IRC Two Class (including fully crewed boats), the J/122 was 5th overall and the J/111 6th!    For more Vuurschepen/ North Sea Race sailing information

Delta Lloyd North Sea Week Preview

(The Hague, Netherlands)- One of the most important major regattas in the Netherlands is the North Sea Week.  Teams from all over Europe migrate down to the beautiful seashore and beaches off the Hague and other points to sail dozens of one-design classes, ranging from most of the Olympic classes, to some old Dutch classics, to several of the J/Boats range, including the J/22, J/24 and J/109.  Included in the offshore festivities are large, competitive fleets of handicap sailing boats, including IRC classes.  In the IRC Division alone are top J/Teams racing J/109s, a J/111 and J/122.

In IRC Class, one of the top contenders will generally be the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER heading up a fully-crewed team led by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef.  As a "double-handed" team, John and Robin got the silver as a top-scoring boat in the combined Vuurscheppen Race/ North Sea Race the previous weekend!  For more Delta Lloyd North Sea week sailing information

Vuurschepen/ North Sea Race Preview

(The Hague, Netherlands)-  On the morning before the start of the 2013 Vuurschepenrace, part of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta, it was quite certain the weather forecasts for this year's race were not likely to create a record breaker.  The north-northeasterly winds were expected to be light to medium in the early evening. During the night, the breeze expected to drop and slowly change direction to the Southwest. In the early morning, the fleet may come to a halt at a wind speed of 2 knots off the English coast, which then gradually increases to about 13 to 15 knots.  So desperate were some sailors that they asked if they could be allowed to anchor in the English Channel shipping lane!

After a day of rest in Harwich, England, the IRC and ORC classes will sail back across the English Channel in the 180 nm race from Harwich to the Smith's Knoll Buoy off the North Norfolk Coast then across the eastern parts of the North Sea to Scheveningen.

The double-handed class shows a clear change from other years, with eleven teams now competing against some of the best Dutch offshore sailing teams.  Leading the charge is past the winner, the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by the dynamic duo of John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef.  Accompanying them in the dashes criss-crossing "la manche" are the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman and Pascal Bakker, the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul & Mike van der Pol and the J/105 PANTHER sailed by a girl team consisting of Yvonne Beusker and Edith Voskamp!  For more Vuurschepen/ North Sea Race sailing information

J/Navy Sailing Rolex Fastnet

J/Boats Dominant Brand in Record Fleet
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC's Rolex Fastnet Race is certainly not for the faint of heart.  A legendary offshore classic, it's a race that has challenged the world's best offshore sailors for decades.  For many, memorialized in the infamous 1979 event and seared into one's consciousness-- yes, it can be one of the world's most capricious races literally within sight of land.  Ask any member of George David's RAMBLER 100 team in the 2011 edition shortly after they passed Fastnet Rock how quickly conditions and one's life can change for the worst in a split-second.

The 2013 edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race promises a challenge again to navigators and crews.  Remarkably, this will be the first time that "J" is the dominant brand with 44 boats sailing or nearly 13% of the fleet in IRC Class of 340 boats.  Comparably speaking, the big billion dollar French company Beneteau (supported/ subsidized by the French Government) only has 42 First's sailing in the fleet; the famous mega-yacht company Nautor-Swan company from Finland has just 17 Swan's-a-sailing; the dominant Danish X-Yachts has 15 teams participating; Italy's premiere Grand Soleil sees 11 "spaghetti-swans" cruising and the reputable French Archambault yard sees 10 teams engaged.  A rather remarkable turn of events to see an American company leading the fleet in Europe in one of its legendary offshore races!?

If you recall, in 2011 the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER from Benelux was winning IRC Overall and Double-handed Class at the famous rounding mark, Fastnet Rock Lighthouse.  Sailed by the extremely experienced offshore team, John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef, the RIPPER simply sailed an incredibly smart, fast race, even rounding Fastnet Rock ahead of another experienced offshore team on a J/111. Their performance is simply an illustration of how easy it is for any sailor to have fun and be successful offshore with their J.

Three J/111s will be participating this year, two in IRC Racing and one in IRC Double classes.  Leading the charge again for double-handers will surely be the offshore duo of John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef sailing "the RIPPER"-- 3rd in 2011 and was fleet leader at Fastnet Rock! The JUST 4 SAILING syndicate from Belgium will be racing DJINN and Andrew Hill from England will be sailing OJE in IRC Racing class.  Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo. For more 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information

Great Sailing Van uden Reco Regatta

(Stellendam, Netherlands)- With more than 120 boats on the start line, the Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta promised to have lots of action and fun for the offshore sailing season opener in the Netherlands.  Traditionally, the event is marked by an enormous fish fry and beer party where the local fisherman host the event, cooking up all kinds of local delicacies, including even lobster!  Plus, the sponsor Pantaenius ensure there's plenty of beer on hand for the sailors to wash down all the yummy seafood!

The predictions regarding the weather promised a weekend full of sun and plenty of breeze. Whether there would still be enough wind Sunday was the real question on everyone's minds as the weekend unfolded.

On Friday afternoon the Stellendam Marina slowly filled with all kinds of one-design class boats ready for a race weekend at the Haringvliet. For most sailors the regatta was a short drive, but the Van Uden Reco is worth it.

Despite the crazy weather this year Saturday dawned quite warm, so woolly hats were substituted with long shirts and caps to shield everyone from the warm sun. It soon became apparent that the wind forecasts were wrong. The prediction was a Force 5 11-15 kts wind. There was enough wind to get off four races and the sun made it a perfect sailing day! After a long, exhausting, but fun day on the water, the sailors all looked forward to the massive outdoor cookout on shore with ham, hamburgers, fish fry and plenty of beer. A good time was had by all as the sun sank further behind the shed and the temperature dropped (it was freezing at night!).


In the IRC Class, the three J/111s made the best of the conditions, particularly on Saturday's windier day.  As a result, finishing 2nd in IRC was XCENTRIC RIPPER- John van der Starre- sailing to a 2-1-1-2-5-5 record for 11 net pts.  Also sailing but having a hard time on the super-light Sunday were SWEENY (Hans Zwinjnenburg) and LALLEKONING (M Sigg).   For more Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta sailing information

J/111 One-Design @ Cowes Week

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the world’s best-known sailing regatta, taking place from 3rd to 10th August have announced a radical departure with the traditional Cowes Week racing- cool one-design racing in really fun boats!

In the "Monty Python tradition", upsetting and calling into question the status quo is nothing new for the "J" Team.  Two new J classes have been introduced to this year’s Cowes Week regatta. The rapidly growing J/70 fleet will have its own start this year and will have a race format of two races a day for the first four days.  There will also be a dedicated class for the increasing number of J/111s coming to Cowes, allowing the exciting 36ft performance boats to enjoy some close one-design racing during the Week. The event concludes the J/111 European Circuit that will have commenced with the SPI OUEST France Regatta in the famous Brittany seaport of La Trinite sur Mer in April.   For more Cowes Week sailing information

J Teams Sailing Rolex Fastnet Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)-  The infamous Fastnet Rock off Ireland has its fanatical, passionate followers.  It's a bit like British mountaineer George Mallory's famous quote about why he climbed the ginormous, challenging Mount Everest in Tibet (29,029 ft or about 5.5 miles above sea-level)-- he said, "because it's there"!  J/Teams love, even thrive, on the "call of the running tide" and the challenge of weather that often confronts the fleet in this 608nm classic.  Its reputation as the most grueling and tactically challenging of the classic offshore races is due to its course along England's southwestern coastline and criss-crossing the southern Irish Sea twice-- the boats go from the start line off Cowes, Isles of Wight, sail towards the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland (rounding it to port), then sail back around the outside of the Scilly Isles off southwest England (leaving them to port) and on to the finish line in Plymouth, facing massive current gates and gigantic whirlpools (literally) along the way.

For this year's 2013 edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, all 300 yachts "registered" in an astonishing 24 hours! The good news, is that a bunch of hot J sailors are in the mix, including the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER from The Netherlands.  Looks like "the boys" are going to chase the Double-handed crown, again.  John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef are not to be denied.  Who can blame them??  For most of the Fastnet Race in 2011, they were winning the Double-handed Division by days (OK, maybe hours), and were one of the top boats overall in ALL IRC Divisions.  However, the RIPPER couldn't make it through the final wind/current gate literally a "stone's throw" from the finish-- having to wait nearly seven hours for the winds/current to re-build for their finish.  Imagine that!! Hard to believe they didn't go simply, stark, raving, mad!  Kudos to them for hanging tough knowing they'd be back for another go of it all.  Watch out, the RIPPER is much, much faster this time around having learned a lot about the best wind/ sail/ angle combinations.

Along with them will be a fair number of fellow J/Colleagues racing everything from J/133s and J/122s down to J/109s, J/105s and J/97s.  And at both ends of the spectrum these teams are known to be tough competitors, having fun while collecting silverware on the podium!  For more RORC Fastnet Race sailing information

J/111 Wins ORC Class- Zuiderzeeweek!

(The Hague, The Netherlands)- Some more "most excellent" news from the Netherlands world of sailing.  After a summer-long campaign it looks like the J/111 LALLEKONING owned by the Swiss couple Mr and Mrs Sigg, became the Overall Winner of ORC Class 1 in the “Zuiderzeeweek 2012”!  The Sigg's managed to win their first offshore event against a gallery of tough competitors, including such notable boats like the Dehler 41, an X41, an X46 and even a well-sailed J/125.  Congratulations to the Sigg's for a great job!

J/111 Wins North Sea Regatta

(Scheveningen, Netherlands)- The Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen had a brilliant start on Friday, May 25 under a clear blue sky with more than 250 yachts ready to go racing. The sailing conditions were perfect, although the strong, gusty northeasterly played many tricks on the sailors. With gusts up to 27 knots, there was a lot of damage to several boats-- sails torn, genakers and spinnakers blown out, big shots broke booms and blocks ripped off decks!  Yes, a lot of carnage on day one, but a lot of fun sailing for those who could handle the spectacular, sunny conditions.  However, the perfect conditions persisted for just one more day, with the last day being "fogged out" with little wind for any of the fleets.  In the end, John Van der Starre's J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER dominated IRC 2/3 Class.  In the J/22s, it was Kolleman Wouter's team that ran away with top honors.  And, in the J/24 class it was Erik Jeuring's team that also ran away with the gold.

For the first day on the IRC 2/3 course, the gang on the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER made it known they were going to be a factor in their twenty-one boat class, by far the largest and most competitive offshore class at the North Sea Regatta.  XCENTRIC's skipper John Van der Starre immediately led the team to two bullets today. Co-captain Robin Verhoef said, "We had some dangerous situations at times.  We hit 13-15 kts at times as we simply flew away from the rest of our fleet.  We practiced a lot in April at the SPI Ouest Regatta in La Trinite-sur-Mer and learned a lot. There we sailed one-design class and we learned how to be more competitive and much faster sailing against other J/111s.  We discovered the very subtle differences, e.g. in the settings of the mast and the boat and sails to extract maximum performance.  It helped us a lot!"

For the J/22 class, it was a day with more and less wind pressure across the course. In a field of eleven J/22's, Kolleman Wouter's team ran the table, getting two first places.  It was difficult sailing, especially because sometimes the waves came from all sides. "It was a sloshing wave," says Kolleman. "This increased the difficulty. We do like a lot of wind, so we had no problems. But because he always had massive changes in wind strength, you had a lot of pressure and then suddenly no pressure. Usually we sail on inland lakes, but we are quite used to power sailing."

After the first day of sailing, it was quite the festive closing.  Entertaining musical performances by the bands "Kissing the Girl" and the "Crazy Pianos" with great spinning of disks by "DJ Ruben" later in the evening.  The sailors played late into the night enjoying the beautiful weather and a festive atmosphere.

The second day of inshore races were characterized by nearly perfect sailing conditions.  There was less wind than the day before, so there was less damages too! During the day the wind averaged 5-15 kts and was very shifty.  For the offshore classes, the second day was traditionally an offshore course around the buoys.  But, with lighter wind conditions that could die-off, the RC decided to hold only inshore races around the buoys.

For IRC 2/3, the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER continued to dominate their class.  And in the one-designs, the J/22s saw Wouter's J/22 team rattle off a few more firsts to also consolidate their lead.  And, in the J/24 class, Erik Jeuring also posted some more firsts to extend their lead in their fleet.

One of the highlights of the second day was the J-Class RAINBOW visiting Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta.  This forty-meter classic sloop went sailing Sunday, May 27th with guests from the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta.

On the final day of sailing, the shores were dense with fog hanging over the Hague without a breath of wind, forcing the RC to cancel sailing for the day.  As a result, the regata results for the first two days that included seven races counted for the final results.  Congratulations go out to the J/22 team of Wouter and the J/24 team of Jeuring for near perfect scores, winning their classes by significant margins.  Congratulations also go out to a phenomenal performance by the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER team led by John Van de Starre and Robin Verhoef, winning the most competitive IRC division by a whopping 10.5 points, counting five 1sts in their scoreline.  Kudos also to the J/109 CAPTAIN JACK sailed by Bert Visser.  For more North Sea Regatta 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

J/111 J-XCENTRIC 3rd IRC Doublehanders

(Cowes, IOW, England)- This year's Rolex Fastnet Race provided the sailors plenty of drama but mostly of the anxiety-inducing kind associated with watching enormous leads evaporate into thin-air while sitting at anchor, in no wind, and watching the night horizon behind you growing into an armada or red and green lights descending upon you like locusts!

As we said earlier, for those who love the 608 nm traverse offshore of southwestern England and southern Ireland, the 2011 race delivered on all counts. It proved a hugely tactical race and competitors fought for speed in a whole variety of conditions from 30 knots of breeze through to what was a complete shut-down in the pressure. Extraordinarily frightening for some, gut wrenchingly frustrating for others, incredibly rewarding for those who got it right.

The J/111s sailed fast, but the real issue for them has been whether or not they went fast in the wrong direction too quickly.  For the IRC Doublehanded class, the J/111 team on J-XCENTRIC, the Dutch team of John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef finishing first boat-for-boat on elapsed and finished 3rd in class.  At the time they anchored just 200 meters from the finish line in an adverse current and no wind, the J/111 J-XCENTRIC had been winning its class for 99% of the race!! This was their first Rolex Fastnet Race and Van de Starre said he was impressed: "This is a great challenge of tactics, handling and everything. There is so much in it - I had a really good experience. Racing double-handed is about management - everything has to work well, you need a good autopilot, all the preparation in advance should be perfect, and we had it very well organised." 

For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information

  

J/111 Doublehanded- Robin and John report on the Rolex Fastnet Race

* J/111 Doublehanded- Robin and John report on the Rolex Fastnet Race 2-Handed with the J/111 J-Xcentric

Robin: After Cowes Week went very well for us, we had only one day (Saturday) to change our boat into a “double-handed” racer to be ready for our Fastnet Race effort.   Luckily, our J/Team Benelux helped us with that conversion process and by the end of the day Saturday we were ready!

It was really remarkable to watch how the mood in Cowes Yacht Haven completely turned into “ serious business” during Saturday.  Everywhere you could feel the tension with skippers and crew members for the coming race.  The hectic, festive mood of Cowes Week was completely gone and was transformed into a state of high tension, with static electricity crackling in the air.  After our safety check Saturday evening, we were ready to race with our J/111!

The first night of sleep on board is always hard.  In the morning of the start, John found just one last little detail that needed to be done-- cleaning the bottom of the boat!  With large sponge and goggles he jumped overboard to get the job done!  We immediately nick-named him “Sponge-bob John”!

With a fully clean bottom, we head directly to the start of the race, at 12.10 with 70 boats in the IRC2 -- all skippers and crews were full of adrenaline and couldn’t wait to get going-- we knew it was going to be one big mess, so we felt to get out of the Solent in the best way was to keep ourselves apart. Rules did not seem to exist anymore, every man (boat) for itself-- fortunately we knew that there were 600+ miles to sail, so time to forget and just blast away!

The weather forecast was 10 kts  S-SW increasing 20 kts and turning SW, so it was a beat to windward out of the Solent with increasing winds predicted. Our setting, a #2 MH jib and first reef in the main ready to go. The reef in the main was soon necessary as we tacked along with the full ebb tide pushing us upwind out of the Needles Channel in the direction of St Alban’s Head.  At this point, we took the full benefit of the running tide and we continued our way in the direction of Portland Bill (we wanted to stay nearshore because of the turning tide there).

In retrospect, the start was a very spectacular one because of all the big boats started last, it was a magnificent view to see all those big boats passing ( VO70’s, RAN, ICAP Leopard, Rambler 100 and so on) go flying down the course.

Our tactics that we had outlined with currents and wind shifts worked out very well and the predicted SW-W windshift came as well so we entered into a long upwind leg to Lands-End. This is where our biggest setback occurred.  After a long day using the NKE autopilot and computer system, we had to  charge the batteries.  Starting the engine however was not the problem, but after 6 min. a temperature alarm was generated and we had to stop the engine….. what to do? After consideration, the conclusion was made that either the internal water pump or the engine’s thermostat may not be OK!

Meanwhile, we immediately switched over into energy saving mode. We started steering by hand with as few electronics switched on as possible.  With a weather forecast for the Irish Sea WNW – 12 kts turning NW 25 – 28 kts during the night, things did not look that good for awhile.  I disassembled – and re-assembled the water pump as well as the engine’s thermostat, but nothing was found defective, the problem remained.  The watch regime for two guys was 3 hrs on deck – and 3 hours rest and we stuck strictly to this scheme, and so we entered into the night. With a genoa #3 and a reefed main we screamed and surfed down towards the Irish coast for hours with speeds reaching over 17 kts-- all hand-steering all night long!

The predicted northern wind shift came, but just for a short period and so we ended up westerly of Kinsale in light weather conditions, 22 miles from the famous Fastnet Rock.  Here is where we thought that we had screwed up our race!   We had to tack those miles to the rock, and the boats that had stuck to the rhumb-line would have had the benefit, or at least so we thought.

But as we got closer to Fastnet, we saw more and more boats from the Irish sea tacking towards the Irish coast, and soon we saw on the AIS system that even our class competitors where behind us! At the Rock we heard that we were the first for line honours in our Doublehanded class…. You don’t know what a boost that gave us!

John: The Rolex Fastnet race is a tactical game with fortunately many possibilities in terms of current and wind to win or lose.  So, in a situation where you feel that you are hopelessly lost, there is always a possibility to fight back forward.  This happened approaching Fastnet Rock, after the predicted NW windshift  that did not come we felt we ‘d lost the game.  Suddenly, we saw on the AIS system the J/122 Geronimo 2 at a speed of 8 kts SOG!  Cracking along the coastline of the Ireland, while at sea we could not do more than 4.5 kts.  We decided to take the same route, and where you would expect less wind and tidal current, the opposite occurred!  There was a tidal stream catapulting the boat in the direction of Fastnet and we took the benefit of that current.   At least we caught another 5 boats again!

The rounding of Fastnet Rock was quite spectacular with he helicopter above us, the spectator boat following us, in a beautiful sunset atmosphere… a very special moment! At the rounding, we hoisted the kite ( 1st time in the race ) and we reached away to the Pantenius Buoy.

The engine problem was finally solved in the end by taking the coolant reservoir apart and temporary mounted it above of the engine, we could use our NKE autopilot again!

After Fastnet with the kite up our J/111 was finally able to show her strongest side, but sadly enough the wind shifted NE and after 30 miles we had to take the kite down and ended up with a long close reach towards the Isles of Scillies where we had to round the Bishop Rock.  Here we could take advantage of some tidal current and again we were able to gain a few boats out of our IRC class 2.

From Scillies to Lizard point we sailed on shifts and current and our tactics for the last part of the race were determined primarily by tides.
The tidal current changed exactly at the moment that we approached the Lizard and it provided the highest benefit immediately straight along the rocky shoreline. With a light NE wind and a 55 mile upwind beat to Plymouth--- this was going to be a tough journey forward!

Navigating with B&G Expedition on my computer at the chart table, I instruct Robin to tack and tack and I specify how far he may proceed, bravely going up to the 5 meter depth line near shore.  I hear Robin mumbling, “are you sure we can go that far inshore?  I can feel the spray of the back-bouncing waves from the shore already.   Can you please have a look outside to see how close we are to these @#$% rocks?!”  All in all, it was a huge gain for us to use these tactics-- we gained a lot of boats and suddenly I see the other fully crewed J/111 Arabella on my AIS system, a new target was born!

As we followed the coastline to Plymouth we faced numerous rain showers with many wind shifts that we were able to take advantage of-- we got to within 100 meters of Arabella!   Subsequently, on our AIS screen we can see boats struggle against the tide in Plymouth Sound with a very low speeds to get to the finish line.  We decide to stick close to the coast in shallow water to minimise reverse current and slide into Plymouth Bay.  This works out perfectly down to the bay of Plymouth, where the wind simply kept dying out very slowly and deliberately!  At this point just short of the finish line (only a “stones throw” away), Arabella slides only 50 meters in front of us  to cross the finish line as we go slower and slower and-- then start to go backwards!!  We can almost touch the line, but are just not able to finish!!  The pain, the agony!!  No $%&*#% words could describe our feelings!!  So, so, so close we could taste the champagne!  But, the wind
totally dropped and we had to anchor! Here we lost over 1.5 hour before we found a little puff of wind to finish!

Sick of this 1.5 hour lost of time and realising that perhaps our first place on handicap is lost because of this, we sail into the harbour also aware that we have gained a whole bunch of boats last night that have still not finished. We also realise we have won line honours in one of the world’s toughest races- the Fastnet Race, in the toughest class-- the Doublehanded Class.  OK, well, this is just totally cool – and there is still a chance for a top 3 ranking-- maybe even a podium finish! Our fate lies in the hands of the weather Gods and we simply have to wait. We feel we have given just everything!

This year’s Rolex Fastnet Race was a super race with everything in it--  a super fast and reliable boat ( thanks J-Boats!);  super teamwork; 0 – 28 kts of wind, unfortunately for us only 30 miles on gennaker; cool tactical sailing, sometimes many boats catching up; solving (technical) problems; but also a very enjoyable good times with many porpoises around the boat etc.   Many ups and downs, but coming out better than we could’ve expected, with finally a 1st place on line honours, 3rd place in our 2H class, as well as a 22nd place IRC2 over-all! 

In our opinion, we could not have done better given the circumstances we have had given the weather systems.  On the one hand a pity, on the other hand a third place in this field is just a fantastic performance.
Very satisfied and in two years time we will be back!

Thanks to our J/Team Benelux that supported us with the boat and equipment and the perfect teamwork!

See you soon,
Robin Verhoef & John van der Stare