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.

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

J-Cup Back To Hamble!

(Hamble, England)- The J-Cup 2014 will be hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble, the heart of sailing on the Solent. Racing takes place from Thursday 24th until Saturday 26th July, with registration on Wednesday 23rd.

The J-Cup is the only regatta in the U.K. exclusively for J-Boats and all models are eligible to compete. One-design racing will be available for almost everybody, including the exciting new J/70 class, and a rapidly expanding J/97 fleet. Fans of the brand will also be delighted to see a small number of J/88s out for the first time, following the model's launch at the end of last year. The vast J/109 fleet will no doubt be looking for another close competition after 2013's nail-biting series.

With the event returning to its home turf, competitor numbers are expected to exceed 400. The teams will sail eight races across the three days, with live music and themed suppers available in the event marquee each night. New for 2014, the Club will host a “party on the pier” each afternoon, offering a cash bar and hot snacks for sailors as they come off the water. The final prize-giving will take place in the marquee, with live music keeping the revellers entertained until the wee hours.

As ever we are thrilled to have the support of a number of fantastic sponsors this year, including SLAM, North Sails, Grapefruit Graphics, Lombard, Peters & May and Solent Marine Surveys. Harken have also joined us as official hardware supplier of the event. This support means some of the best value entertainment on offer, as well as a mountain of prizes!   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com   For more J/Cup Regatta information, please contact Gemma Dunn at email- Gemma@keyyachting.com.  J/Boat owners can enter online here.

Les Voiles de St Barth Preview

(Gustavia, St Barts)- The Caribbean racing season, which kicked off with the Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Series in mid-January, now heads to the Les Voiles de St. Barth in Gustavia, St. Barth’s main port, on April 14-19.

Now in only its fifth year, Les Voiles de St. Barth has become a key stop on the Caribbean racing calendar, attracting 70 boats from Europe, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.  Six classes are taking part, the Spinnaker class stands out with no fewer than 35 boats, between 32 and 60 feet in length, that are among the most competitive boats in the Caribbean. They come to St. Barth fully prepared for racing and are often sailed by internationally renowned sailors.

The infinite beauty of the islands offers countless opportunities for technical and tactical race courses for all competitors. The cocktail so elegantly organized by the organizers brings together the delights of yachting and the incomparable assets of the island. This is without any doubt one of the reasons why Les Voiles is successful, as they have really understood and included what seasoned competitors are looking for, bringing together the enjoyment of the sea and the finer side of life ashore.

Several J/Teams will be participating.   The “newest kid on the block” has to be Eddy Chalono’s J/111 J-BOSS, they will be looking forward to the around the island race where they have the ability to surf/plane for extended periods along the eastern and northeaster face of the island. 

To get a good feel for the convivial atmosphere at Les Voiles de St. Barth, check out this sailing video here.   For more Les Voiles de St Barth 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

Warsash Sailing Series Springs Into Action

(Warsash, England)- The weather certainly took a turn for the better in the opening races of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series on 16th March 2014. With a clear blue sky and temperature soaring to 18 degrees C, the River Hamble suddenly became alive with keelboats making their way to the Solent start, dinghies competing in the Hamble Warming Pan event, plus cyclists and walkers on the riverside path.   Over 100 entries were sailing with good one-design fleets of J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and J/111s along with IRC handicap competitors like the J/92s, J/97s and J/105s!

Despite the gorgeous day, the breeze had tricks to play.  It was forecast to come largely from the WNW, the wind started at NNW and swung round to the southwest, making life very difficult for the course setters. Black Group’s committee boat set up station at Flying Fish buoy laying an inflatable mark for the initial windward leg for all four classes near Calshot buoy. As the J/109s and IRC3 approached, the breeze backed, turning the next leg from a run to a fetch across to Wight Vodka buoy close to the Bramble Bank. The wind was often fickle and patchy. All boats made slow progress against the tide towards Middle Bank. At the penultimate mark the race committee sensibly signaled a course change so that the final leg returned to a true beat.

In IRC1 seven J/111s were vying for position. Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG headed the class with third place also taken by a J/111- Simon Boadle’s MUNKENBECK.  Third J/111 was David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM.  Rounding out the top five for a good showing in their inaugural regatta as Louise Makin & Chris Jones on JOURNEYMAKER II.

Back at Warsash Sailing Club, it was an ideal day to relax in the clubhouse garden watching the many craft on the river. Grainger Thomas from Brooks Macdonald presented champagne to the weekly class winners. After the weeks of wet and windy weather competitors and race officers agreed it had been a challenging and highly enjoyable start to this year’s series which continues next Sunday 23rd March 2014.   Sailing photo credits- Ian McLuckie.  For more Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series sailing information

Epic Sailing off Key West- Day 4

(Key West, FL)- It's been said the only certain things in life are death and taxes. But, for sailors “in the know”, you gotta add to that list a full week's worth of racing in Key West. Thursday’s sailing was simply spectacular, with a classic NNE breeze blowing 10-20 kts, clear blue skies, and white caps dotting the seas over turquoise waters.

The strong northerly winds allowed for another three-race day on all courses. Hap Fauth, skipper of Bella Mente, felt exhilarated as he stepped onto the dock following Thursday's action.  "We had absolutely fabulous conditions out there today," Fauth declared. "Anybody who complains about any aspect of this regatta has a screw loose. This is just fantastic sailing."

There figures to be some fireworks in PHRF 1 as four boats are still in contention with a 4.5 pts separating all of them. SPACEMAN SPIFF, sailed by Rob and Ryan Ruhlman of Cleveland, Ohio, held onto the lead for a second straight day, but is just 1 ½ points ahead of fellow J/111 Team FIREBALL (Eddie Fredericks, Annapolis). TEAMWORK, the J/122 skippered by Robin Team, is coming on strong - having won five of the last six races to get within 2 ½ points of the lead. Finally, STARK RAVING MAD, a J/125 owned by James Madden, also has a shot to win.

 "It's a strong class with a lot of good boats and it's not surprising the regatta has come down to the last race," said Team, who was regretting a seventh place suffered in Race 8. "We've got to go out tomorrow and win the race. That's all there is to it."

Friday’s racing promises to have another epic, even windier day, with 15-25 kts wind forecasted from the NNE. Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal   For more Quantum Key West Race Week 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-DREAM Crowned J/111 Hamble Winter Series Champ!

(Hamble, England)-  For the last and final round of races for the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, the standings saw little change from the weekend before.  Some of the boats that had dominated throughout the series affirmed their overall leads and a few others that had their sights set on podium finishes actually managed to pull them off.

In IRC 0, David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/111 J-DREAM continued their consistent series and maintained their solid record with a 5th this past weekend to hang on to their third overall in class as well as their gold position in the J/111 one-design class overall.  Some of the spoilers to the party on the last weekend were the arrival of Cornell Riklin’s J/111 JITTERBUG and David Ballantyne’s J/122 JINGS!, each taking a 3rd and 4th respectively in the final race.

Finally, David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM were leading the J/111 class after the halfway point and never looked back, taking top honors for the series.  By virtue of winning the last race, Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG leapt into second overall while  Andrew Christie’s ICARUS placed third overall in class.  For sailing photo credits-  Paul Wyeth Pictures.  For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information

Hamble "Winter" Series Update- Weekend III

(Hamble, England)- "Windy, wet and lumpy" was how one competitor described Sunday’s racing in the third weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. It was a breezy day indeed that saw a base wind of 23 knots and gusts of up to 30 that greeted the fleet as they made their way to the start on Sunday morning. A gusty breeze, combined with a steep Solent chop and intermittent heavy rain squalls kept competitors on their toes – and, occasionally, their boats on their sides in tricky conditions.

Ian Brown from One Sails, the day sponsor, was on hand back in the HRSC clubhouse to present day prizes to the exhausted crews as they enjoyed beer for £2.50 a pint and hot food. In many classes the challenging conditions shook up the overall results.

In the IRC 0 Winter Series class, the all J/111 class continues to see the team of David & Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM leading by virtue of their 1-1-1-2-1-1 record this past weekend.  Richard Barnes's BIELA-MUNKENBECK is very close behind having scored an equally impressive 2-2-2-1-2-2 to hold onto second place.  Lying third is the British Army team led by William Naylor aboard BRITISH SOLDIER.  These standings for the Winter Series scoring are virtually identical for the Big Boats J/111 One-Design Series scoring.

Next weekend hosts the final weekend of the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships, as well as the fourth Garmin Hamble Winter Series race day.

Congratulations to all winners and competitors for some masterful displays of big-breeze sailing in what proved to be some challenging sailing conditions. Thanks to all the volunteers who braved the unpleasant conditions to man the committee boats and mark laying RIBs and to run the galley back in the club– the event couldn’t go ahead without them! Thanks for contribution from Ben Meakins.  Sailing photo credits- Malcolm Donald/ GHWS Ross Elliston/ HBBC Trevor Pountain   For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information

Dramatic, Misty AYC Fall Series Finale!

(Rye, New York)- The classic fall offshore sailing series on Long Island Sound got off to a spectacular start on its first weekend.  But, the luck was not going to hold with gigantic swings in the weather and the USA's ginormous budget-busting battles full of hot-air down in Washington, DC-- no question that amount of "hot air" was surely going to have its affects as far north as Wall Street and their favorite playground- Long Island Sound!  No question, the DC goons were "raining on everyone's parade" this past weekend.  What could've been a brilliant weekend for Saturday and Sunday turned into a goofy day of racing on Saturday and a wet, foggy, misty easterly on Sunday.  Heck, if you were a betting man (or trading guru) you would've shorted the markets worldwide Monday at dawn, such was the gloom!  But, a few Mt Gay & tonics and local micro-breweries tempered the atmosphere to simply a dull roar for the awards Sunday afternoon.

The American YC RC took their time on Saturday (much to their chagrin) to get in only one race on the East Course while the West Course guys got in two races. But, both AYC RC's took the bit in their teeth to get the ball rolling on Sunday to get in two solid races for all.

PHRF A class had three J/111s sailing and Paul Strauch's crew on ANDIAMO started out the series on the first weekend as top dog amongst the 111s, continuing their great performance this summer at Storm Trysail's Block Island Race Week. However, in the end the ANDIAMO gang "kissed" a rock on the way into Mamaroneck Harbor Saturday afternoon and withdrew from Sunday's sailing.  Only one point back after the previous weekend, the PARTNERSHIP team led by David and Maryellen Tortorello sailed fast and smart and posted a 2-3 on the last Sunday to take over 3rd spot for the series!  Sailing photo credits- Tom Young/ American YC.   For more American YC Fall Series sailing information

Gorgeous Start to AYC Fall Series

(Rye, New York)- The classic fall offshore sailing series on Long Island Sound got off to a spectacular start this past weekend.  The American YC Race Committee took full advantage of the sunny skies, beautiful breeze with skies punctuated by "torn cotton" clouds scudding across the horizon, by running five great races for the fleet of ninety boats sailing in the western reaches of the Sound.  Sailing were fleets of IRC & PHRF handicap classes as well as one-design classes of J/105s, J/109s and J/44s.  J/Teams comprised well over 50% of the fleet with 49 J's participating in the event, by far the dominant brand sailing in the AYC Fall Series.

Starting with the handicap classes,  PHRF A class has three J/111s sailing and Paul Strauch's crew on ANDIAMO are continuing their great performance this summer at Storm Trysail's Block Island Race Week.  ANDIAMO's crew sailed well to finish 3-5-3-4-5 for 15 pts to hold third overall after the first weekend.  Just one point back is PARTNERSHIP sailed by David and Maryellen Tortorello with scores of 6-3-4-3-7 for 16 pts.

With a Saturday forecast for light Northeast winds filling in behind a large Low pressure system going out to sea, the fleet will be challenged to make the most of 4-8 kts breezes against the strong Long Island Sound tides and currents.  Sunday's forecast shows some improvement with southeasterly breezes in the 6-12 kts range.  Sailing photo credits- Tom Young/ American YC   For more American YC Fall Series sailing information

The B&G J-Cup Enjoys Dramatic Finale

(Plymouth, England)- With gusts close to 20 knots ripping through the race area in Plymouth Sound, the final day of the B&G J-Cup 2013, produced some ballistic action for the forty-five J/Teams that were in attendance. Hosted by the Royal Western Yacht Club, the J-Cup was also the venue for the Lifedge J/109 UK National Championship and the 2013 edition produced the closest finish in the 10 year history of the event. It was a fitting end to another fabulous weekend of sailing-- the sailors enjoyed near-perfect sailing conditions for most of the regatta, closing with an epic final day of sailing.

Day One Report:
The first day of racing could best be described as the "Champagne Opener".  A building sea breeze, topping out at 15 knots provided great sailing for the 300+ sailors that competed in four races, inside and outside of the Plymouth Breakwater. With several one designs taking to the race course, there was plenty of thrilling boat-on-boat action.

Tony Mack's McFly produced the goods on the first day, scoring three bullets in the J/111 fleet but Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise, which won the J/111 Class at Cowes Week, led IRC 1 at the J-Cup.

“We weren't very consistent today but we were bloody determined and we made up very well from poor positions, especially downwind.” said Jamie Arnell. “The crew work today was excellent, typified by the penultimate mark in the last race. It was a spinnaker drop to harden up with a lot of tide and the maneuver went like clockwork, super-fast, that gave us that few vital seconds but tomorrow we will need to improve if we are to succeed. Well done to Tony (Mack), he has had a bit of bad luck at Cowes Week and the European Championship, so it was great to see him score so well today.”

Day Two Report:
Day two was perhaps the trickiest day for sailing on Plymouth Sound. In stark contrast to the previous day's sublime sailing conditions, racing was delayed by lack of breeze.  Eventually, everyone got underway in the early afternoon, once a light and just race-able breeze stabilized. All classes got one good race in but the second was abandoned, as light rain killed off the gradient wind completely.

Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise continued to excel in IRC One, winning the day's race to open up a three point margin at the top of the leader board. Tony Mack's J/111, McFly wasn't far behind and with one more day to go, McFly could still catch Jeez-Louise. IRC Class One is likely to be won by one of these two yachts. However, there was a close battle for third place. David & Kirsty Apthorp's J/111, J Dream was lying third but four other J-Boats were still in the hunt for third place; Martin Miller's J/111, Velvet Elvis, Ian Dewhurst's J/133, Jump, Richard Barnes' J/111, Biela Munkenbeck and Jackie & Robert Dobson's J/133, Jeronimo.

Day Three Report:
The final day of racing was filled with drama, with lots of anxiety faced by tacticians on how best to handle their blood-thirsty competitors in the 15-20+ kts of big breeze and big seas.

In IRC One, Jamie Arnell's J/111, Jeez-Louise finished the regatta in style, winning the last race to take the class title from Tony Mack 's, J/111, McFly. Jackie and Robert Dobson's J/133, Jeronimo reveled in the big breeze winning race seven and finished third in class.

The official prize-giving was held at the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth with a fine buffet supper celebrating the B&G J-Cup 2013. Surrounded by the UK's biggest collection of marine life, the regatta came to a close and the organisers are not aware of anyone ending up in the shark pool!  The organisers would like to thank the principle sponsors of the regatta; B&G, Fusion, North Sails, Fastnet, and Grapefruit Graphics. Thanks also to our supporting sponsors SLAM, Peters & May, Lombard, RS Divers, Ocean Safety, Lifedge and Harken.  Thanks for story contribution from Louay Habib.  J/Cup sailing video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9obIieub90w    Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com    For more B&G J/Cup Regatta sailing information

B&G J/Cup Regatta Preview

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

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

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

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

J/Teams Love Champagne Sailing At Cowes Race Week!

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

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

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

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

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

WINDCZAR- The Wind Wizards Win J/111 North Americans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Challenging First Day at J/111 NA's

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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J/111 FLEETWING Tops Verve Cup Sailing Regatta

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

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

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