J/111 New Zealand- Sailing Report

(Auckland, New Zealand)- The J/111 DJANGO has been sailing for over the past year “down under” in Auckland, NZ.  Sailed by her new owner Andrew Reid and often sailed with Doyle Sails NZ sailmaker Andrew Pilcher aboard, they’ve had some great experiences and successes in the offshore world.  Here is some of their commentary from the J/111 thread on Sailing Anarchy (amusing reading!):

“The SSANZ B&G SIMRAD two handed series is hugely popular here in Auckland - with around 150 entries. Race 1 (60 nms around the Hauraki Gulf) was sailed in variable conditions, 0-17 kts TWS from a bunch of different directions. After a nice start, Team Django kept it all together to take the Division 1 handicap win.”

You can experience what it’s like to sail their J/111 here- YouTube sailing video.

Later in November, J/111 #1 Django completed the New Zealand Round North Island race double-handed. Four legs, approximately 1,000 nautical miles total (you can see the results here- http://www.ssanz.co.nz). Congratulations to the two Andrews!

Here’s their report- “It was an amazing race, with a bit too much upwind for our liking (!) but we managed the 7th fastest total elapsed time, 5th overall on handicap, 2nd in Division and a Division win on Leg 2. This leg was the fun one, from Mangonui in Northland, around NZ's two northern Capes (well, 3 actually), then a fast ride down the West Coast, high speeds at night, oil rigs, seismic ships towing 4.5km arrays, heaps of dolphin action, almost becalmed in NZ's notoriously stormy Cook Strait, 5 kts tides across to Wellington (in our favour, luckily), and a match race to the finish! The same 5 boats we diced with at North Cape were in a bunch that finished within 10 minutes of each other 500 miles later in Wellington. Unbelievable. This race is a true adventure, and uber competitive. Everyone is relentless - short-handed sailing is highly addictive and heaps of fun. Apart from the lack of sleep, the degree of difficulty of every maneuver being tripled and the lack of sleep. Hats off to all the crews! Our next distance race will be from Auckland to Fiji in June 2014. Fully crewed, this one, so should feel quite luxurious being able to sleep for up to three hours at a stretch! A couple of photos attached, one three sailing at the start in Auckland, and the second two sailing with the mini Zero off Cape Egmont on the way to Wellington.”

And, regards the NZ SSANZ Round North Island Two-Handed race, here is a summary from Andy Pilcher of Doyle sails- AP makes up one-half of the unbreakable J/111 Django crew!  Said Andy:

"Finished! Well, that was epic, in every sense of the word. The final leg was, well, pretty crappy for the most part. If I said that Leg 3 was the longest 200 miles I'd ever done, then Leg 4 was the longest 340 miles I've ever done. I honestly think that you could not have designed a race to be more upwind, especially given the number of corners we turned, only to find the wind had bent around the corner just before we arrived there!

To summarize, we left Napier heading E/NE to get out of the Hawkes Bay. Then veered left to head N/E towards East Cape.

From there, another left turn to head across the Bay of Plenty towards Cape Colville, bearing N/W, before the final left turn heading S/W into a 35- 40kt wind against tide maelstrom, for the "dash" back into Auckland.

Sure enough, there to greet us at every turn was a windshift with our name on it, saying "Hey lads, welcome to the corner, your next leg will be upwind".

It was not entirely unexpected, however. The weather people had been predicting this type of Leg well in advance, just as they'd predicted Leg 3 would be entirely upwind. Why is it that the crap weather forecast's are always the most accurate??

Anyway, as with the previous leg, we surprised ourselves with a better than expected performance, and were delighted with our finish in the morning.

I need a bit of time to get my head around it, but am rapt to have been able to do this race, which was a real adventure, and just worth it to have simply completed a circumnavigation of the North Island and see this incredible country of ours from a unique angle.

Hats off to Andrew Reid for his impeccable preparation of the boat, where we sailed over 1,200nm and didn't break so much as a shackle.  It's been a pleasure and a privilege. For the final time - on this journey anyway - "Django Out”.

Gorgeous J/Fest West On the Bay!

(San Francisco, CA)- The annual salute to all things “J”, the St Francis YC’s J-Fest got a well needed shot in the arm this year with the addition of the J/111's and J/70's. A staple of the StFYC spring series for decades, the J-Fest originally featured dozens of J24's, J-30's and the then, elite J-35's. The fleet of these boats have lessened in years gone by and the introduction of the J/105's in 1991, the J/120 in 2000 enabled the J-Fest to enjoy a bit of a resurgence. Fast forward to 2014, the addition of the new J-Speedsters, the J/111s and the J/70s, were a welcome new addition to the regatta.

The fleet of forty-eight boats were treated to “beyond glam” conditions.  Starting with sunny, cloudless mornings, the StFYC PRO kept the fleet in the cozy confines of the harbor until 11am under harbor postponement.  As soon as the first whispers of the sea-breeze wafted in under the Golden Gate Bridge, StFYC PRO John Craig sent the fleet out to the starting line just off Alcatraz Island and the magnificent San Francisco city-front.  It is hard to imagine a more fun and challenging race course than having to divine the ins-and-outs of traversing tide-lines and playing wind streaks funneling over the peninsula’s headlands down through San Francisco Bay.

"We are expecting eight J/111's for the Vallejo Race", said Drew Harper who was tugging on lines aboard Roland Vandermeer's BIG BLAST, which had consistently superb results over the weekend especially considering it was their 1st regatta.  "We were very pleased with the results of not only our boat but also the turnout of the regatta. Additionally the Bay Area fleet is expected to grow to 10 boats by April 29 as BAD DOG joins the fleet, going to former J-120 owner Dick Swanson, and another J-111 named BLAST is en route from Nova Scotia”.

"Roland is no slouch at the helm,” says Bill Colombo, who was calling tactics on board BIG BLAST. "Roland has done well on other boats, and his new J/111, just arrived from the Great Lakes where it achieved 3rd in last year's J-111 North Americans. Andy McCormack is running the program and is doing a very good job." Bill is no newby to the J-111 having sailed on Frank Slootman's original INVISIBLE HAND, J-111 hull #4, and sailing in the aforementioned NA's last year and the Verve Cup.

Commented Bill, “We got the J/111 because it is the perfect combination of fun to sail with family and friends and it is a blast to race. It is very agile and quick to respond. It is very easy to sail and still requires a good team to drive fast and hard. The first regatta proved this all and the fleet dynamics and people look great! Andy has sailed with me before and we just threw some friends together to race and it worked well. We still have so much to learn about all the modes of the boat, but not a bad set up for first time out.”   Sailing photo credits- Erik Simonson   Sailing photos credits- Chris Ray   For more J/Fest sailing information

King Harbor Race Week Report

The Duel: 109 vs 111!
(King Harbor, CA)- The spring kick-off for racing in King Harbor took place over a nice weekend for sailing off Los Angeles.  Respectable conditions, sun, wind and warm weather, were the rule for the happy-go-lucky fleet of thirty-three boats spread across two PHRF fleets and four one-design classes.  The King Harbor YC PRO Bill Stump managed to fire off four races over the weekend.

In PHRF A class, the J/111 JATO sailed by the team of Bill Webster and Mike Moorhead from host KHYC lost their duel to Alice Leahey’s J/109 GRACE O’MALLEY from California YC.  It was literally a game of “seconds” in every race that separated these two boats on handicap time.  A botched tack here, a slow takedown there, a wrap in the chute after a gybe were all part of the ingredients that unwound good intentions by their crews.  Nevertheless, all put in their best efforts and in then end Alice’s GRACE O’MALLEY crew took third in class, beating their classmate JATO by just three points.  Apparently, Alice was quite happy to add another “pickle dish” to her trophy shelf!  For more King Harbor Race Week sailing information

J/Fest San Francisco Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The latest edition of the J/Fest San Francisco is taking place from April 5th to 6th on San Francisco Bay.  The teams are looking forward to excellent sailing conditions with sunny skies, 15-25 kts winds and an amazing party hosted Saturday night by St. Francis Yacht Club.  Perhaps the best part about this regatta is that all the racing takes place right along the StFYC city-front, should be fun and games for all!

J/Fest has expanded the one-design program this year, welcoming in two new fleets that have grown significantly on the Bay- the J/70s and J/111s.  They’re joining long-time supporters of the regatta, the J/24s, J/105s and J/120s.  A good turn-out of thirty-plus boats are expected to participate in the weekend-long event.

Like their J/70 colleagues, the inaugural participation of six J/111s in J/Fest are bringing together many teams that are racing each other for the first time.  Howard Turner’s SYMMETRY just won their division in the Double-handed Farallones Race.  Dorian McKelvy’s MADMEN have some good racing under their belts from last year (good YouTube videos, too!).  Joining them are AEOLUS (Rob Theis), BIG BLAST (Roland Vandermeer), DOUBLE DIGIT (Gorkem Ozcelebi) and TOPZY TURVY (Warren Konkel).  How this fleet plays out for top honors is anyone’s guess.  In any event, they too will be looking forward to some fun, fast “planing mode” rides if the breeze hits 17-plus kts!

The weekend forecast looks like it could shape up to be “classic” San Francisco Bay weather. According to Bruce Stone, “it looks like we’ll have some nice weather this weekend, and initially a counterclockwise course (of course wind dependent), heading out for the late ebb and down the city front on the early flood – sure beats short tacking the city front!  That will probably switch for the third race on Saturday and we’ll go up the shore once the full flood is established and we want to head upwind in lessening flood inside.  The fleet will likely split on this routing during the second race as the heavy rains we’re experiencing might create an earlier than normal ebb.”  For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information

J/111 SYMMETRY Wins Doublehanded Farallones

(San Francisco, CA)- A number of J/Teams sailed this years Doublehanded Farallones Race and performed quite well, with two boats winning their divisions- a J/111 and a J/105!  Here’s the report from Erik Simonson’s Pressure-drop.us blog:

“With the the 35th edition of the B.A.M.A. hosted Doublehanded Farallones race we kick off the 2014 offshore season. Run since 1978, the DH Farallones followed the SSS's Singlehanded Farallones by a year, providing an opportunity for those who like company, just not too much of it, when venturing out to the rock-pile.

It has been BAMA's contribution to the sailing community, and has for all intents and purposes, been dominated in number by monohulls. In it's prime, 1984, the Doublehanded Farallones attracted 144 competitors but has seen numbers decline after the economic bubble burst, removing numerous sailors from the affordability of owning and maintaining a seaworthy vessels, increasing costs and safety equipment required.  This year's 53 boats is five boats smaller than in the two previous years which each saw 58 attendees. That's still plenty, and keeps the volunteers working the race deck, the internets and positions up high in the Marin Headlands and Lands end monitoring and ready to relay communications in event of an emergency.

With an 0800 1st gun at the GGYC the Race Committee saw goose eggs on the wind-o-meter and went into postponement. Despite what some of the models predicted, the breeze was a no show for the most part, hoping for better conditions made sense. The ebb had maxed at 0730 and if the RC was to get the 35th running going, it was imperative to get the boats out before the tide reversed. At 0845 the Multis got their gun and it was a light air luff-a-thon to get out to favorable current, and at least get swept out the gate if you could not sail out. By about 0920 the 1st Tri's passed under the Bridge, ghosting along would be a generous description. 15 minutes or so passed before the largest monohull hull, California Condor would eek out in similar conditions.

About 1000 a slight southwesterly began to fill, aiding boats in the bay more than those who had exited earlier. What we saw then was a condensing of the fleets, and the light sportboats and ULDB's taking advantage of the conditions. According to some sailors, things actually looked good from Bonita with 10-12 knots showing, but by the time they reached the light bucket, it was down to 5-6 knots, and died shortly thereafter. The boats which were able to get in range of the Islands benefited the most.

T the J/111 SYMMETRY sailed by Howard Turner and Jay Crum took Class 3 honors, too.  Both boats won were considered to be the most competitive divisions in the race, proof again that the asymmetric spinnaker J’s like the J/111 and J/105 make for superior offshore performance in double-handed events!   Sailing photo credits- Erik Simonson- Pressure-drop.us   For more Double-handed Farallones sailing information

King Harbor Race Week Preview

(King Harbor, CA)- From March 28th to 30th, Los Angeles are sailors will be kicking off their sailing season with competitive racing in King Harbor. It’s fun filled regatta that features not only on-the-water racing but excellent post-race hospitality with live music.  If you’ve never been to KHYC, try it some time, they really do know how to entertain sailors (hint- imagine the fun times sailors have had after the Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race!).  And, for those sailors that need a “refresher” on sailing off this spectacular point that protrudes far into Los Angeles Bay, don't hesitate to ask any Ullman Sails representative (regatta sponsors) about Ullman Strategy & Recipe notes for "How to Win in King Harbor".

There are a nice mix of local and visiting teams sailing in the regatta.  In PHRF A class, the J/111 JATO sailed by the team of Bill Webster and Mike Moorhead from host KHYC is hoping to get the season going with a good performance.  They will be faced with having to hold off a strong challenge from a top J/109 that sails the SoCal regatta circuit, Alice Leahey’s GRACE O’MALLEY from California YC.   For more King Harbor Race Week sailing information

J/111 Smokes Border Run!

(San Diego, CA)- On Saturday, February 22, hundreds of sailors set sail to race to Dana Point and San Diego in the 2014 annual Border Run International Sailing Event. Everything was set in place— the boats, beautiful warm weather, a half moon for night-time sailing, plenty of dolphins and whales and a spectacular sunset - everything except the wind. But that did not stop sailors that came from far away as Arizona, Texas, New York and Maine, from having a great time. In the end, a total of 11 diehard crews out of 94 crossed the finish line before the race deadline.  And, it was three well-sailed J/Teams, in the most demanding sailing conditions, that led most everyone home at the top of their divisions!

It all started off on Friday night at the Balboa Inn in Newport Beach at the Pre-Race Send-Off party with live music, good food and guest speaker, Gino Morrelli, from Morrelli & Melvin yacht designers of America’s Cup fame. Gino gave Border Run sailors a first glimpse into the new AC boat and the possible venues of the next America’s Cup. It was a great way to start the event.

“Gino was awesome! He explained the differences between Team New Zealand and Team ORACLE USA from the technical side and the future of the next America’s Cup with a great visual presentation. During the ‘question and answer’ part of the presentation I could see the reaction of the sailors - they were really into the discussion,” said Randy Reynolds .

The next day was race day. At 11:00 AM off the Balboa pier in Newport Beach, the 6th annual Border Run fleet started off in a southwest wind heading toward Dana Point and San Diego. The race committee from South Shore Yacht Club started all classes in flawless form. In keeping with the Border Run’s theme “Where Everyone’s Invited”, boats of all kinds and sizes, ranging from 14 ft to 70 ft, crossed the starting line to take on the challenging course.

There were boats of every size and shape competing on the race course. The fleet included some of the highest profile yachts on the West Coast. Boats ranging from sleds, cruisers, dinghies, sportboats and multihulls - all were represented.

High profile sailors were also lining up at the start – spectators were craning their necks to see Dennis Conner (of America's Cup fame) sailing his beloved wooden boat classic SPLENDOR and Cam Lewis sailing the fastest boat on the course, Enloe’s MIGHTY MERLOE (Editor’s note— both veterans of J/24 sailing wars in the past!).

After the start, just four hours into the race, most the fleet were carrying their spins or code-zeros when the wind switched to a south/southeast wind direction. That meant sailing to weather in very light winds in only 2-4 kts of breeze. Eventually, this took a toll on the fleet and crews started to drop out like flies on a hot summer day, one by one they radioed and headed back to homeport. Out of the 94-boat fleet, only six boats finished the Dana Point course and only five finished the 70-mile San Diego course.

At the Trophy parties in Dana Point and San Diego, the event ended with sailors trading sea stories about the great competition before the wind shut off.  They spoke of the clear night skies with a bright half moon, the abundance of dolphin and whales swimming through glowing phosphorescence and an incredible sunset complete with the elusive "green flash". Even without wind, sailors on both courses expressed that the event was a great time and the adventure of sailing in light conditions was worth the trip – saying that they will be back next year.

And for the eleven boats and their hearty and tenacious crews that finished the challenging course, they can take pride that they finished the 2014 Border Run, going into the record books as sailors that won’t give up. John Marshall of South Shore Yacht Club, Race Chairman, said this about the event, “anyone can sail with good wind – only the best sailors can race and win with light winds.”

Of those eleven boats, three were J/Teams- 28% of the finishers!  Imagine that.  In fact, these teams reveled in the light-going despite the challenges faced by others.

Taking 1st in PHRF Light B in the San Diego race was the J/111 STAMPEDE, sailed by Glenn Griley and friends from King Harbor YC.  This was the first test of the STAMPEDE team in SoCal offshore racing and may prove to be an auspicious beginning for this new West Coast J/111 team.   Sailing photo credits-  Bronny Daniels/ JOYsailing.com   For more Border Run International Race sailing information

J/111 West Coast Circuit Update

(San Francisco, CA)- This year the J/111 class has burst onto San Francisco Bay with a one-design schedule for the new Fleet 5 racing season.  It looks like 7-8 boats will be on the line. Three new boats are in various stages of development and “Mental” (now renamed BIG BLAST) is just landing from her long ride out from Chicago. Here’s the J/111 schedule for 2014:

• Mar 15-16- Spring One Design Regatta- St Francis YC
• Apr 5-6- J/Fest Regatta- St Francis YC
• Apr 26-27- Vallejo Race-  Vallejo YC
• Jun 7-8- June Invitational- St Francis YC
• Aug 2-3- Second Half Opener- Encinal YC
• Aug 22-24- Aldo Alessio Regatta- St Francis YC
• Sep 11-14- Rolex Big Boat Series- St Francis YC
• Oct 25- Great Pumpkin Regatta- Richmond YC

One of the newer boats in the fleet, MADMEN Racing, was out on the Bay putting their J/111 through the paces last year.  Check out some of their YouTube sailing video action from Frisco right here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcKqYQie6NE

For more information regarding the J/111 Fleet 5 one-design program, please contact Norm Davant at Sail California- ph# 510-523-8500 or email- norman@sailcal.com

J/Teams @ Border Run Party!

(Newport Beach, CA)- Starting on February 22, the “come one, come all” Border Run Race is the first, point to point, international ocean race of the 2014 Southern California offshore yachting season. Part of the Ullman Offshore Series, the Border Run is for experts and beginners alike. With three courses to choose from, starting from Newport and sailing to Dana Point or San Diego, the Border Run offers sailors of all skill levels a great time. The Border Run has always been about inclusion, fun and competition.

In order to ensure that all members of the family, from the sailors to kids and friends alike, are having a wonderful time, the BRR makes every effort to be inclusive of everyone ashore, too!  Three Parties are an integral part of the camaraderie of the event: the Newport Send-Off Party; the Dana Point Trophy Party; and the San Diego Trophy Party.

While sailing and having fun is the underlying theme, there is a “higher calling” for those sailors so inclined during this event for “matters of the heart”.  In the last three years, the sailors of the Border Run have raised over $75,000 for LLS, City2Sea and the Craig Williams Memorial Fund. This year the teams will be helping to raise money to help another worthy cause!

J/Teams are participating in two of the three courses on offer to the sailors.  On the San Diego course there are 50 boats sailing including the following J sailors:

In PHRF Light B Division, competing for silver are the J/111 STAMPEDE sailed by Glenn Griley from King Harbor YC and the J/133 FORGIVENESS skippered by Joe Simpkins.   Everyone is hoping the “Pineapple Express” weather systems that have started to bedevil the West Coast don’t materialize with big breeze and tropical downpours of blinding rain! For more Border Run International Race sailing information

J/111 Adelaide Winter Series Champion!

(Adelaide, Australia)- South Australian based J/111 HOROPITO scored an impressive 1st in the Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron Nautilus Marine Winter Series and 2nd overall in the combined series with their close neighbors The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia.

From the owner Mark Robertson- "We have just completed our second winter series here in Adelaide in our J/111, HOROPITO that was launched in 2012. This 6 race series is a PHS format with a mix of windward leeward and fixed mark races that saw 10-15 combined RSAYS and CYCSA Division One boats turn out fortnightly for some keenly contested racing.

Our crew had been getting progressively more comfortable with the systems on HOROPITO through the summer IRC racing and, with that confidence, had begun to extract more speed and consistent performances as we headed into the winter racing. Our competition was a competitive mix of Sydney 38’s, First 40’s and 45’s and a couple of 47.4 foot Benetaus to name a few, drawn from the combined fleets of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron (our club) and the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia. Winter sailing in Adelaide can be challenging from a wind perspective. The normally reliable sea breezes depart and are replaced by either 2 knots or 25 knots depending on the weather systems that roll in from the Great Australian Bight.

We had a great series and were first equal on handicap as we headed into the penultimate 3 lap windward leeward race held on Sunday the 11th August. The day turned out to be a cracker with an 8-14 knot breeze out of the North a sign that spring is just around the corner. After a conservative start we were second around the top mark and gave little away as we worked down-wind to the bottom gate. The longer boats started to eat into us upwind  on the second and third legs as the breeze built but we held on to third across the line after sailing a pretty much flawless race in terms of positioning the boat on the course and executing transitions. It turned out that we were giving too much time to a couple of the bigger boats but came away really happy to have secured 1st place in our own club results by 5 points and 2nd place by one point for the overall combined club series series.

It is a credit to the J/111’s great design that an inexperienced group can quickly get up to speed and extract the obvious potential that the boat has. Sailing HOROPITO has been fun and always rewarding. We are now looking forward to summer racing with the Adelaide – Port Lincoln race firmly in our sights."

The Port Lincoln Race is South Australia’s premier ocean racing event.  Nearly eighty boats leave Outer Harbour to compete in a 156 nautical mile race that takes them south west to Marion Reef at the foot of York Peninsula along the foot to the spectacular Cape Spencer then North West past Wedge and Thistle Islands and Dangerous Reef to the welcome of Port Lincoln nestled on Boston Bay.   For more Royal South Australian Winter Series 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/111 Smokes Kiwi Offshore Double!

(Auckland, New Zealand)- While J/111's have been sailing successfully in Hong Kong and on Lake Michigan this past week, another J/111 in New Zealand has advanced their sailing program significantly.  Sailed by her new owner Andrew Reid, the J/111 DJANGO (ex-Stella) has been turning heads in Auckland and has had some great racing recently.  Here's the latest report from Andrew regards the Simrad Offshore double-handed series:

"With over 100 boats entered, the SSANZ B&G SIMRAD 60 series, sailed in NZ's awesome Hauraki Gulf, is hugely popular - and challenging. Ours was the first start of the day, with 18 boats entered. Conditions were light, so we unfurled the brand new Doyle Stratis Code Zero for the first time 15 seconds before the gun, and nailed the line at speed, in clear air. Wired, a 52 foot canter, soon sailed over us, along with Venture 2, an Open 50.

The course took us to the Eastern end of Waiheke Island, then up to Tiritiri Matangi, around Haystack, then past Rangitoto to the finish off Orakei wharf. We managed to pass Venture 2 soon after the start, when they dropped their kite into the water - and then, after a few sail changes (A1 to A2 and back again a number of times), passed Wired (pretty rare for our 36 footer) somewhere north of Waiheke. This was temporary, and they soon overhauled us.

Sailing into a hole was costly, with Overload, a well-sailed Elliot 9SS, passing inside us in good breeze. A choppy upwind leg kept us in the hunt, and we got past them again when both of us sailed into another hole - and we (with some luck, it must be said) picked up the new SW breeze first. This was champagne sailing under Code Zero - 70-90 degrees TWA, boat speed consistently higher than windspeed, hot coffee, and sunshine. We could see Omega, a Bakewell White 42, below us and going well, with only Wired and Venture 2 ahead.

The last part of the leg to Tiri was on the wind, with the light no1 looking good - we rounded the mark and once again unfurled the Code Zero - good speeds in 12-16 kts of breeze, a quick headsail change in anticipation of a building Souwester, a close encounter with both some dolphins and the Haystack (unlit and nicely obscured behind the Zero!), then on the wind again to Rangi light.

Most of the nav lights we could see were behind us, so the last cup of coffee was tasting pretty good. The anticipated and forecast breeze failed to materialise, so it was up with the Zero again, to finish in moonlit flat water, just 2 minutes ahead of Omega, doing 6.5 kts in 5.5 kts of wind.

So after 60 nms and 12 hours of racing, we had made more good calls than bad, and took out the Division 1 handicap victory, finishing 3rd on line. The boat performed beautifully, and is certainly quite easy to sail short-handed. And fast!"  For some more entertaining perspective on their sail, please see DJANGO's YouTube video here.

J/111 MOJITO Eclipses Hong Kong Offshore

(Hong Kong, China)- Recently, J/111's have been scoring significant performances in major offshore series around the world.  Michele & Simon Blore, sailing their J/111 #77 MOJITO has found herself in a tough division in Hong Kong's Nautica Typhoon Series 2013, a 9 race mix of windward leewards and islands races, competing in the top IRC group against Sam Chan's TP52, FreeFire; the GTS43 Elektra; two Mills 40 footers Ambush and (ex-Tiamat) Mandrake, and also the Ker 40 Signal 8. Also in the division are three A40's, two First 50's, a Marten 49, an MC38, the X41 Orient Xpress, a Sydney 38 and an all carbon Anteros 36. Here is the Blore's report:

"The top boats are all sailed by the core of Hong Kong's Commodore's Cup teams, plus the odd "Pro" as well, whereas Team MOJITO is still made up from the core of our J/92S team from 2008 to 2012, plus some new friends.

For Race 6 on Sunday, there were 21 IRC B boats on the sportily short start line, and undaunted by the size and speed of the kit all around her, Mojito judged it to perfection with a nose ahead on most of the fleet at the gun. In such a large fleet of bigger boats, getting out in front early was key, and quickly a lane opened up for a tack to port so we could work the right side upwind; a zone that seemed to be getting slightly better pressure all day.

The fleet quickly extended with the much faster TP, the Marten, and the "fast 40's" (Signal 8, Elektra, Ambush and Mandrake) all pulling away, but MOJITO just being able to stay in touch. In the 10-13 kts of breeze, MOJITO was on her North 3Di no 2 headsail, and downwind we were changing gears from 145TWA, and tack down, to playing the tack in the puffs and increasing the TWA to 160-165. It helped having one of the crew dedicated to trimming the tack line, in much the same way as playing the pole on a symmetric boat. The high power to weight ratio of the J/111 again proved to be a factor, as slight increases in wind pressure were quickly converted to more speed and depth downwind, and we are still learning how best to maximize this.

On the second upwind, by playing a few shifts and by tweaking in-haulers and trim some more, we lost little ground on the fleet ahead as we continued to work the west side uphill and downhill.

Downwind the J/111 was at times matching the angles of the pole boats, and gaining depth on the Ker 40; and by the end of lap 2 we rounded just a minute or 2 behind the fast 40's, so we knew we were in the mix for a top 3 place. Of the similarly rated boats such as the Anteros and the A40's, we had already opened up a winning margin of a few hundred metres by that time.

On the final lap upwind our pace still seemed to be good against the 6 boats ahead of us (all of whom gave us time), as we continued to cross tacks with the faster McGonaghy MC38.

Another good downwind leg consolidated our race as we sailed an eastward shift out on the now favored starboard gybe, and we finished believing we had a good shot at a podium place, in what is a very competitive and closely matched fleet of the 6 or 7 leading boats. Back at prize-giving we were delighted to hear that we had won the race, beating the TP52 by only 5 seconds on corrected; but a win's a win, and our new J/111 put down another marker in Hong Kong!" Sailing Photo Credits- Guy Nowell/ RHKYC.   For more J/111 one-design offshore speedster sailing information

J/111 Triumps @ Round Farallones Race!

(San Francisco, CA)- Sailing a terrific Farallones Race was the J/111 AEOLUS sailed by Rob Theis from Santa Barbara YC.  Rob and crew managed to finish in second place in PHRF 2 and take fifth overall in PHRF on their first major offshore outing!  They managed to beat some downwind flyers like a Quest 33, Hobie 33, Farr 36 and an very experienced Express 37 crew.   Round Farallones Race sailing information

Gorgeous Sailing For Aldo Alessio Regatta

J/111 MADMEN Debuts First Regatta
(San Francisco, CA)- It was nearly perfect, classic San Francisco Bay sailing conditions for the weekend.  A bit of fog in the morning, clearing soon after everyone had their first cup of coffee, then turning into gorgeous sunny weather with a solid westerly blowing through Golden Gate Bridge!  A recipe that many sailors love and will never tire from-- it has to be one of the world's most reliable "thermal breeze engines" (50 deg bay waters + 100 deg valley desert = 20-30 kts!).

With the largest fleet in the regatta, the eighteen J/105s had some spirited competition.  The winner, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE, sailed a constant series with a 3-1-6-5-1 record for 16 pts.  Adam Spiegel's JAM SESSION was second with a 4-3-2-6-3 for 18 pts.  Third was Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK with 5-4-rdg-1-5 for 19.5 pts.  Fourth was Jason Woodley and Scott Whitney on RISK and fifth was the DONKEY JACK trio- Shannon Ryan, Rolk Kaiser, Steve Kleha (might've been regatta winners had they not taken a dive down the rabbit hole in race 2 with an 11th).  Here's the report from the front of the pack- Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE:

"Despite it being among the lightest ebbs of the month, the Aldo Alessio course was heavily tidal influenced, with typical city front conditions on Saturday.  There was a pronounced counter-clockwise favored course - go outside upwind in the stronger ebb and hug the city front downwind in less ebb.  You needed a good start and then tack immediately to get out the stronger ebb outside.  There were significant passing opportunities downwind as some folks stayed tight inshore and missed shots of extra breeze just a bit out, while others jibed out for that breeze, missed it and ended up sliding back in the ebb - the typical arbitrage of wind and tide!

On Sunday, the RC set up a Big Boat Series-type course with a starting line on the face of Treasure Island, exposing the fleet to an ebb running northerly along the line from the pin to the committee boat. This race course made more work for the tacticians, with the winners legging over toward downtown where the river running from south bay would then curve to the northwest into the channel between Alcatraz and the city front.  Those who spent time on port tack rode the ebb toward Angel Island probably hooked into a stronger ebb on the north side of Alcatraz, but in planning the day we felt the "lefty-lifty" conditions as one passed the south side of Alcatraz would trump the better ebb on the north side. And, anyone going right for more tide would then be coming back on a header to the windward marks at Presidio Shoal.

It was also a great day for active trimming because the ebb made for choppy conditions as the wind built into the low 20's.  Nicole was constantly easing and trimming the main going upwind, and since we cross-sheet, she has the jib sheet on the winch right next to her and can do the final trim when we get up to speed from tacks, and ease when we encounter a particularly nasty wave set from the ferries.  Downwind there were gainers from catching waves through coordinated work on spin and mainsheet.  It was an exhausting weekend for the crew as everyone worked hard to get every extra bit out of the boat.  Second place Jam Session sailed an excellent regatta with some great starts and competitive tactics."

The half-dozen J/120s have historically had very tight racing, with no team simply dominating the events they sail together.  However, this may haven the first time in recent memory where that did happen! First was Barry Lewis's CHANCE with a strong three 1sts and two 2nds scoreline for 7 pts.  Second was Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES with a 2-3-1-3-2 for 11 pts.  Third was John Wimer's DESDEMONA with a very consistent 3-4-3-2-3 for 15 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO in fourth and Timo Bruck's TWIST in fifth.

The IRC Class saw the debut of the J/111 MADMEN sailed by Dorian McKelvy.  Even with their "non-IRC optimized" rating, they sailed very well to score 3-3-3-6-6-6 for 27 pts and place 4th overall.  The wind was right in the 14-17 kts range, not enough wind to send the J/111 down the Bay in a full-on plane.  Nevertheless, post-race analysis shows that MADMEN's team did a great job sailing and using a "standard UK/French IRC certificate" for J/111s, it's clear the J/111 would've won IRC Class!   Sailing photo credits- Pressure-Drop.us   For more Aldo Alessio sailing information

Swiftsure Race Preview

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- For Pacific Northwest sailors the start of their offshore sailing summer is marked by the rituals associated with preparing for the premiere offshore race, "the Swiftsure."  Hosted by Royal Victoria YC, the race takes place over the Memorial Day Weekend, starting May 25th and finishing May 27th.

The Swiftsure's a rugged, exacting, colorful, and international competition. Or, it can be quite the boring "Driftsure," sometimes accompanied by fog and drizzle.  Every year, the Swiftsure becomes a major community event and is the premiere long distance sailing race in the Canadian/ American Pacific Northwest. It's a race in which yachts, both racing and cruising, and crews capable of adventure in exposed waters are encouraged to compete and test their skills. Swiftsure has drawn boats and sailors from California, Hawaii, New Zealand and even Russia.

The nature of the course and the potential variety of sailing conditions are a significant test of good seamanship. Swiftsure is now actually five different races over three separate courses, plus an inshore regatta. The "classic" Swiftsure Lightship Classic course goes out to Swiftsure Bank and return for 139nm.  The Cape Flattery Race goes to Neah Bay and return for 103nm and the Juan de Fuca Race sails to Clallam Bay and return for 80nm.  The inshore race courses are determined based on wind/ weather conditions the day of the race.

In the Cape Flattery Division, it will be a duel for line honors with Tom Kelly's J/122 ANAM CARA, Lynn Adkins J/111 ADALGISA and Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA.   Sailing photo credits- Brenda Jacques (bjart@shaw.ca)/ Andrew Madding (bowshot@shaw.ca).  For more Swiftsure Yacht Race sailing information

Nations' Cup- Hong Kong

(Hong Kong, China)- 78 boats representing 23 nations were on the start line earlier today for the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's most fun regatta, the Nation's Cup which is as much about the activities on land as it is about those on the water.  Race Officer Sofia Mascia started the fleet in an easterly wind ranging from 15 to 20kts from Hung Hom and sent them eastwards through the Lei Yue Mun gap and then on to Shek O. The race course saw boats then head to Cape Collinson where they rounded a mark (TCS4) before going back to Shek O and then it was a dash through the harbour to the finish line back at the Club.

The J/111 MOJITO- Simon Blore from England Team finished 7th in the Big Boat Division behind some TP52s and larger racing boats.  For more Royal Hong Kong YC Nations' Cup sailing information

ESCAPE'D TIGGER Wins By A Whisker!

J/105 & J/33 Win Epic Santa Barbara-King Harbor Race
(Santa Barbara, CA)- The SB-KH distance race that spans 81 nm has been a tradition for Santa Barbara YC and King Harbor YC for nearly 40 years.  The blast around the Channel Islands offshore down to King Harbor is never an easy race, but it's clearly the most fun when the fleet starts off on a blast reach, sets the kites at the first turning point off the Channel Islands and head SSE toward Los Angeles under spinnaker, surfing constantly on the ginormous Pacific swell.  This year it was nearly a record run, making for epic rides sledding downhill towards the finish with many boats finishing by midnight!

15 J/Teams (17% of the total fleet) headed south out around the famous Channel Islands off the western coast of Los Angeles along with 71 other teams in what turned out to be one of the fastest ever races on record for the 81nm blast out around the islands.  The fastest 70 footers covered the race in 6 hrs, 48 min.  The fastest J/Team was the J/145 RADIO FLYER, covering the same distance in 8 hrs, 52 min- a 9 kt average over a race course that sees many highs and lows.

Here was the forecast for the race:

FRI
WINDS VARIABLE 10 KT OR LESS...BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 TO 3 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.

FRI NIGHT
W WINDS 10 TO 20 KT WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 25 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 2 TO 3 FT.
PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

That's from the USA NOAA weather forecast center!  Perfect sailing?!  Shirts. Shorts. Shades. Lots of sun-screen.  Plenty of wind and sunshine.  Yup, pretty damn close to perfect.

It was a glorious morning for the start and the wind picked up about 30 minutes after the start.  It was a phenomenal race, the wind held up in the 20s until well after dark, and even when it lightened it went south so the angles were hot and the surfs were long and many. On Larry Leveille's J/29 RUSH STREET, they reported they had only had four guys, "so gybing and/or peeling in 25 kts after dark was hearts-in-mouth stuff, but the boat relished it and the boys made it look easy."

From a divisional basis, here's how it all shook out amongst the primary players in this classic  "SoCal" offshore race.

In PHRF B, the first boat on handicap was the J/33 TIGGER sailed by Fred & Suzanne Cottrell, plus they were 6th in fleet-- repeat offenders!!  They won their class last year, too!  This time around lying in 5th was the J/124 MARISOL sailed by Islands Race winner Seth Hall.

In PHRF C, there's no question that local Santa Barbarian Larry Levielle and team have this race pretty much "dialed-in", like their TIGGER friends.  While 2nd last year, Larry's added yet more silverware to his trophy cabinet now busting with pickle-dishes, artwork and bowls from races past, garnering a well-deserved 3rd in class and 15th in fleet on his J/29 RUSH STREET!

In what may have been a wise move or a "political move", the race managers decided to create a Sprit PHRF fleet and toss all the fast-moving VMC/VMG flyers into the same group-- quite a broad range of PHRF numbers here!  J/92s at 90 to J/122s at 18!  Nevertheless, as one might expect, the outcome was that 9 of the top 10 were J/Teams.  Starting with the Top 8.  So, the J/105 ESCAPADE sailed by Mark Noble wins for the second year in a row (only a two-peat) and can lay claim to be "prodder master of western civilization" (or at least in SoCal).  2nd was the J105 OFF THE PORCH (Scott McDaniel), 3rd the J/120 SHENANIGANS (Gary Winton), 4th the J105 ARMIDA (Tom Bollay), 5th the infamous J120 POLE DANCER (Tom & Terri Manok), 6th the J92 DOUBLE DOWN (Brian Kerr), 7th the J109 LINSTAR (John Shulze), 8th the J111 JATO (Webster/Moorhead) and 10th the luxurious cruiser-racer J/122 SUNDAY TICKET (Daniel Scouler).

While the Sprit PHRF Class was dominated by J/Teams, their compatriots in Sprit ULDB B nearly managed to do the same!  2nd was the J125 TIMESHAVER sailed by Viggo Torbensen and 4th was the gorgeous candy-apple-red J145 RADIO FLYER sailed by Carolyn Parks.  For more Santa Barbara-King Harbor Race sailing results

J's Sail Fast, Epic Swiftsure Race

J/109s Crush Juan de Fuca, J/80s Win Inshore
(Victoria, BC)-  This year's running of the "Swiftsure" was another epic, challenging race, with all types of weather thrown at the sailors as they criss-crossed the Straits of Juan de Fuca seeking advantage over their fellow competitors.  For many the race really starts once they past "Race Rocks", a symbolic, but not official mark of the course. The iconic black and white stripped lighthouse is the divide between the Juan de Fuca strait and the coastal waters off Victoria and it’s where the true strategy and tactics of Swiftsure begin. The sailors then face open ocean swells, stronger currents, and hopefully, more wind. On the return trip back to Victoria, Race Rocks is the “almost there” point when the city lights of Victoria come into view.

Unusually, the weather conditions were close to what the Canadian weather services were predicting-- a steady wind filling in from the West with a high-wind warning for the Strait of Juan de Fuca with winds in excess of 25-35 knots overnight.  Remarkably, they got this forecast and more, some sailors reporting gusts to 40 knots and breaking waves.

The race started off nicely enough, sunny, light winds, with the current pushing the fleet towards the first turning point, Race Rocks.  Thereafter, with a strong ebb, the top teams sailed upwind into the Northwesterly breeze playing large shifts and staying in the middle of the Straits to take advantage of a strong ebb current pushing the fleet to their faraway turning marks.  Most of the fleet ended up on the western shore about halfway up the Olympic Peninsula (that wild place where the famous "Sasquatch" man/animal lives).  By midnight, most of the fleet in the Straits were sailing in 20+ knots of breeze and by morning many were sailing downwind under spinnakers flying down the waves and trying to avoid a massive broach or "sending it down the mine" in a submariner's dive into the trough ahead.

In the classic Swiftsure Race division that goes out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca for 139 nm- the 24 boats participating from the start to Swiftsure Bank and return had to beat the "wind shutdown" that often happens at the opening of the Straits.  The big boats made it, the small boats didn't.  In the end, the gorgeous J/160 JAM sailed by John McPhail finished 5th in Class I and 6th overall.  And the speedy lightweight flyer, the J/125 WARRIOR skippered by Greg Constable finished 2nd in Class 2 and 8th overall!

The popular Cape Flattery Race division that goes for 103 nm had 75 boats going from the start to Neah Bay and return.  In the Unlimited Class, the J/145 DOUBLE TAKE sailed by Tom Huseby (his second J/145!) finished 3rd in class and was not far behind the leaders for the top of the podium.

The successfully campaigned J/122 ANAM CARA (Tom Kelly- from Portland YC in Oregon) sailed an incredibly good Cape Flattery Race despite breaking their boom in a 40 knot gust and gybe-broach downwind in the Straits with all the laundry flying!  Reports Bob Ross who was a crew member aboard ANAM CARA, "we were winning our class boat-for-boat and on corrected time with about 40nm to go to the finish, when we tried to do an 'inside gybe' on the A3 spinnaker down big waves and a big puff.  Broke our boom and broached.  Not a good idea.  It took awhile to wrestle in the mainsail after taking down the chute.  We proceeded in under a smaller chute and jib to the finish-- quite an amazing and unexpected outcome to get 2nd in Class and 2nd Overall!"  Always a top contender in class, and past winner, was the J/120 TIME BANDIT (Robert Brunius), sailing a great race to finish 4th in class and 6th overall.  Sailing in their inaugural offshore race was the new J/111 ADALGISA (Lynn Adkins), sailing to a 5th in class and 11th overall!

In the Cape Flattery Heavy division, the J/46 RIVA sailed by Scott Campbell sailed a great race and managed to finish 2nd in class and 4th overall.  Just behind them was the J/37 FUTURE PRIMITIVE sailed by Ron Mackenszie getting a 4th in class and 6th in fleet.

The Juan de Fuca Race division that goes for 80 nm had 44 boats sailing from the start to Clallam Bay and return to the finish off Victoria's waterfront.  The J/109 teams simply cleaned house.  Winner in class and overall in the Juan de Fuca Heavy Division was DIVA (Jim Prentice) followed in second by TIPPY (Peter McComb) and 4th was JEOPARDY (Ed Pinkham).

In the Inshore Racing along the waterfront, the much vaunted battle between SWISH and JOYRIDE, a pair of J/80's, saw SWISH beating JOYRIDE by just under a minute on a 22 nm course with a wind ranging from 3 to 10 knots all day long.  Elapsed time for this pair was about 5 hours and 10 minutes.  As a result, in the Battle of the Sexes, Commodores (men) vs. Commodores Wives (women), the boys prevailed.  Congratulations to the Commodores from Royal Victoria Yacht Club (Jeremy Smith), Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (Guy Walters) and Seattle Yacht Club (Chuck Lowry) that raced SWISH.  And, "good on ya gals" to their wives- Tara Smith, Barbara Picton and Pam Lowry that raced JOYRIDE to a solid second in the large class of competitors!  For more Swiftsure Race sailing information on Facebook   For more Swiftsure Race sailing information

J/111 JATO Wins "Border Run"

J/120 J-ALMIGHTY & J/124 MARISOL Dominate Too
(Newport Beach, CA)- With 223 boats entered in this years 2012 Border Run, it seems the Southern California yachting scene may have a new favorite sailing event.  "The Border Run", that begins in Newport and heads to Dana Point (the Sprint course), or to San Diego (the Short course) or San Diego via the Coronado del Norte Island (the 90 mile Long Course), has provided SoCal sailors with a viable race that satisfies appetites for long-distance racing.  The race attracted a lot of SoCal J/Sailors, too.

In their inaugural race, the J/111 JATO sailed by Bill Webster and Mike Moorhead won their class by a significant margin in the Long Course PHRF Light A class.  They were up against some hot Farr 40s, a Turbo OD35 and a Ross 40, not an easy task to beat this group of boats.

The J/120 Class showed up with a strong group of ten boats.  Leading the way home was Mike Hatch's J-ALMIGHTY in first, followed by Tom & Terri Manok's POLE DANCER in second and Chuck Nichols' CC RIDER in third.

In Long PHRF C, the J/30 EGGEMOGGIN sailed by Thomas Lehtonen sailed to a respectable second overall just 8 minutes off the pace after 19 hours of sailing the 90 nm!

In Short PHRF C Light class, the J/Teams simply smoked their class, led by Seth Hall's J/124 MARISOL.  Three hours behind them was Joe Simpkin's J/124 FORGIVENESS followed by yet another well-sailed J/109 ELEKTRA sailed by Tom Brott.  Win-Place-Show, these guys dominated.

In Short PHRF D Light class, three J/105s were sailing but it was Bill Moore's KESTREL that simply out-sailed the rest to take top honors in their class by nearly two hours on corrected time.

In Short PHRF B, the J/35 MACS! sailed by Eric and Steve McClure finished fourth, narrowly missing third by just 6 minutes.  Just behind them was the J/33 PRIMA sailed by Mark Weinberger just 14 minutes back in fourth place.

After the exciting start, the wind challenged sailors as the south wind stayed on the bow making the race an upwind battle for all three courses until the wind died to a whisper once the sun went down. On the Short and Long Course to San Diego only half the fleet finished with the other half enjoying the full moon and flat seas as they motored to the party at Silver Gate Yacht Club, this years venue for the San Diego trophy party.

The annual race is in its fourth year and has grown to over 200 boats since it’s inception in 2009. What started as a response to one of the founders being excluded from the Newport to Ensenada has become an event whose tag line is “where everyone’s invited”.

“It’s funny how things work out,” said co-founder Randy Reynolds. “It gave us the opportunity to put together an event with new elements and components we thought the racing community would want. We’re delighted with the progress of the event.”  Reynolds believes one of the key reasons why the event has become so popular in such a relatively short time is the fluidity in which they approach each year’s contest. While some yacht races are steeped in rigid traditions and formulas, the Border Run continues to experiment with ideas that they believe respond to the changing nature of the sport itself.

This year they employed a single start concept. Most races begin a rolling class-by-class start, but in an effort to make this particular start more fun and exciting, organizers had the entire fleet begin at the same time.

“We’re looking to find ways that make the event special,” said co-founder Bob Long. “We’ve offered multiple course options, a European style start, a special course to challenge dinghy sailors and we’re always looking for unique elements for the parties.”

Reynolds and Long are also visibly proud when they speak of the charity aspect of the event. Last year the Border Run raised money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and this year competitors raised over $19,000 for both LLS and local charity City2 Sea that provides free education in the ocean sciences and an introduction to sailing to at-risk children.

“I have to say, being a part of something that not only allows for a great time for those involved, but also raises awareness and money for these charities is really a great feeling,” Long said.

The 2012 Border Run is sponsored by Ullman Sails and outfitted by Pirates Lair. The Border Run team, consists of XS Racing of Huntington Beach, South Shore Yacht Club of Newport Beach (the Organizing Authority) and Dana Point Yacht Club of Dana Point.  Sailing photo credits- Peter Howson   For more Border Run sailing information