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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JITTERBUG Crowned J/111 European Champion!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WIND CZAR Repeat J/111 NA Champion!

(Harbor Springs, MI)- The J/111 North American Championship was sailed over the July 24-27 weekend at the Little Traverse Yacht Club in Harbor Springs, MI.  Thirteen J/111 boats attended the event in beautiful Northern Michigan ready to race during the LTYC annual Ugotta Regatta. Blue skies, clear water and perfect breeze kicked off the regatta on Thursday as the sailors competed in three races.

At the end of Day One, WIND CZAR (Rich Lehmann) led the fleet with a 1-4-1, followed by NO SURPRISE (Dave Irish) in second posting a 2-2-5 and KASHMIR (Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson, Mike Mayer) in third with a 7-1-2 score. While WIND CZAR and NO SURPRISE were 1-2 in the first race, Annapolis YC offshore veteran Martie Roesch took 3rd.  During the second race, KASHMIR dusted off an awful first race 7th and posted their first (and only) winning race of the regatta, followed by the omnipresent NO SURPRISE (a local by the way) and Bill Smith’s WOOTON in third.  The last race of the day saw several of the top teams start to predominate, with WIND CZAR again taking a first, followed by KASHMIR in second and then Ryan Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team from Cleveland, Ohio in third.

Day Two had a slow start, but as the afternoon breeze filled in, the race committee was able to run 3 more races.  KASHMIR moved up from third after day two, finishing the day with 20 points as NO SURPRISE took third with 21 points.  Starting fast out the blocks was WIND CZAR, again taking the first race followed by the fast-learning KASHMIR crew in second and Bill Smith’s somewhat roller-coaster riding crew on WOOTON again posting another third.  The fifth race saw Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF find their Key West Race Week winning stride, comfortably taking first and they were followed by the tenacious WIND CZAR gang not wanting to give up their “locals” advantage with a second and taking third again was NO SURPRISE (perhaps the “uber” local, Mr. Irish).  For the final race of the day, local host Dave Irish showed everyone the way home to his boatyard, winning the last race and providing lots of free beer and wine afterwards!  As he should, right?  Second was SPACEMAN SPIFF and third was KASHMIR.

Saturday, the J/111 sailors participated in the “Tour of the Bay” race.  After the wind filled in around 2pm, heavy breeze and large waves sent the sailors on a fun ride around the course.  What everyone knows about this race is that when the wind fills in, sailing in the middle of the bay is a bit like sailing into a “black hole”.  In fact, the faster you sail the “edges” (e.g. the coastline) of the bay the better you do.  While everyone expected locals to do well, and not unexpectedly WIND CZAR won the race, but taking second in the premium-counting race was George Gamble’s MY SHARONA from Pensacola, Florida (the Gulf Coast Offshore series winning team).  Third was NO SURPRISE, fourth was SPACEMAN SPIFF and fifth was KASHMIR.

The last day of racing was threatened with storms in the vicinity but the Race Committee was able to get two races off as the storms stayed off the course.  At the end of the Championship, WIND CZAR, NO SURPRISE and KASHMIR took the first, second, and third, respectively.  While WIND CZAR closed the regatta with a 3-1 to win the event in a somewhat convincing fashion with 18.5 total points, the balance of the top five was nowhere near a “closed and done” deal.  In fact, how everyone did on the last leg of the last race determined the ultimate fate for all four teams that were in contention.  Now that some of the visiting teams to that crazy bay in Harbor Springs had learned a few tricks or two, the gloves were off for the final two races.  Holding on by a thread for second place happened to be NO SURPRISE, posting a less than stellar 4-8 to keep second overall with 37.5 pts.  Just 3.0 pts back after posting another riveting, memorable 7-6 score was the KASHMIR team, just hanging on for third with 40.5 pts.  A slightly better tally of 6-3 was knocked out by Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF team to take fourth with a total of 42.0 pts, only 1.5 pts back!  Then, going from “zero-to-hero” on one day was Marty Roesch’s team on VELOCITY, posting the best score of the day (a 1-2) to close out the regatta with 42.5 pts, just a half point back from 4th.

In the aftermath of some great, incredibly close racing, many teams were discussing next steps for J/111 one-design racing.  Included in that evolution were plans for Key West Race Week in 2015 and the J/111 Worlds for 2015 in Newport, RI.  Furthermore, various formats were also considered, like just W-L courses or a mix of W-L and an “offshore random leg” course.  In the theme of “horses for courses”, it was clear that more offshore-oriented teams liked having the offshore experience combined into the modern W-L mix.  Time will tell.   Sailing Photo Credits- Gretchen Dorian   For more J/111 NA’s sailing information

J/111 Takes Silver @ Les Voiles de St. Barths Regatta

(Gustavia, St Barths)- Sailing in just about every condition the Caribbean can throw at the fleet, from uncharacteristic light airs on the first day to line squalls punctuated by brilliant, dramatic sunshine on the second day to a tempest in a teapot for the last two days on Friday & the Saturday finale, it would be fair to say the sailors in the fifth edition of Les Voiles de St. Barths simply “loved” racing in “the emerald of Caribbean sailing” regattas (or would it be the “champagne” or “rose’” edition?)— far too many superlatives to consider for a fun, sophisticated event that deserves such accolades and more.

Les Voiles has continued to grow every year, both in entry numbers and shoreside activities. It’s no wonder- the sights, sounds, aquamarine waters, epic weather, spectacular beaches, majestic mountain cliffs, exotic French hosts and awesome shoreside festivities are the ultimate “sailing cocktail” found anywhere in the world.

This year’s seventy boat fleet from across the world were simply enthralled with the entire scene, teams came from the Caribbean (St. Barth, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Martinique, Antigua, BVI, Puerto Rico) as well as the U.S., Canada, the U.K., The Netherlands, France, Spain, Malta, Sweden, Australia and Ireland.

The seven J/Teams that participated excelled in the variable conditions, demonstrating yet again the amazing capability for “J” designs to sail in just about anything thrown at them across the weather spectrum- flat waters, light winds to massive breaking seas in 20-28 kts on the nose.  Leading the charge in Spinnaker Racing 1 Class was Jim Madden’s champion crew aboard the J/125 STARK RAVING MAD, winning a hard fought class of “dragsters” on the last day.  The J/111 J-BOSS had a complete French crew, with owner Eddy Chalano and fellow J/111 owner of LE JOUET (Stéphane Blanchard) splitting the crew to form a potent team  to take second in Spinnaker Racing 3.  The Spinnaker Racing 4 Class saw the J/109 POCKET ROCKET take class honors with David Cullen’s Irish crew doing a “wee bit” of celebrating after the regatta!  Note- the magnums of Veuve Clicquot champagne given to EVERY boat that finished the last race on the last day was emblematic of the “class act” this regatta has become over the past five years!

Day 1 Report- On the first day, Gustavia’s Quai General de Gaulle was abuzz with competitors. With nine classes separated into four starts, the fleet was sent off in a light southeasterly breeze of about 8-10 knots, sailing courses of 21nm. The light breeze made for a long day for most, though no one was complaining given the otherwise ideal conditions. With the breeze forecast to build throughout the week, all boats proved, ultimately, they would have a chance to revel in their best conditions.

Day 2 Report- The Weather Gods had promised more breeze for Day 2 and it came in a steady line of squalls moving south to north across the island, presenting challenging conditions for competitors and the Race Committee alike.  After a general recall, the Maxi and Spinnaker Zero classes took off on a 17 nautical mile course along the southern coast of St. Barth, only to disappear into a driving rain and building breeze halfway up the first beat as they got raked by the first squall.

With visibility on the start line greatly diminished, the Race Committee held off for about 40 minutes, and then with persistence and a weather break before the next approaching squall, they managed to send off Spinnaker 1-2-3 classes.

Festivities ashore included the gala soiree and auction to benefit The Brain and Spine Institute- ICM at the Eden Rock on Baie St. Jean and the famous (sometimes “infamous”) Crew Party on Shell Beach with live entertainment and fireworks.  Seemingly half the regatta showed up at the “Baz”, an evening night club at the easternmost end of Gustavia Harbour, home of the famous Clarke Cooke House “Candy Store” sushi chefs David Ray once recruited many blue moons ago!

Day 3 Report- After enjoying the regatta’s traditional lay day on Thursday at Nikki Beach (does anyone remember them serving “rose’ wine”?), which gave crews a chance to indulge in the French island’s onshore charms, it was time to get back out onto the race course.  Many regattas no longer feature such a break in the racing, but Les Voiles has maintained a five-day format (four days of racing with a mid-regatta break) since its inception five years ago, and it has proven to be a draw. In fact, more than 400 of the thousand or so sailors racing gathered at Nikki Beach on Baie Saint Jean for lunch and some organized team sports, including water polo, stand-up paddle-board races and petanque matches.

The morning dawned with a much fresher breeze than Wednesday and sailors prepared for a forecasted 18-25 knot southeasterly. With the race course set off the north side of the island, most of the fleet readied by tucking in reefs and setting small #4 jibs while they jockeyed for positions in the starting area.

With the breeze building, the Race Committee postponed racing, sending the fleet back to shore; however, shortly after noon, signals ashore indicated a 1:30 p.m. start for eight of the nine classes. With the wind at a steady 20-23 knots, gusting to 28 kts, the fleet enjoyed a 16 nautical mile course that took them to the north end where large ocean swells rolled through.

Day 4 Report- With several classes still up for grabs, crews going into the final day of racing were eager to get on the race course and improve their scores. The conditions remained fresh, with a 22–25 kt (gusting to 29 kts) southeasterly producing an impressive 6-12 ft swell on the island’s windward side.

Les Voiles de St. Barth Race Committee, led by Race Director Luc Poupon, carefully chose race courses to fit the conditions, sending the Spinnaker Racing 1 and 2 classes on a 22 nautical mile course and Spinnaker Racing 3 and 4 on a 16 nm course.

As spectators watched from a sculpted rock plateau 500 feet above the pristine beach of Colombier, the sailing conditions on the northern most point of St. Barths seemed epic: strong, fairly steady wind, with flat water at the starting area and the first rounding mark. At the next mark, however, the fleet began its beat around the island’s northern end into the ginormous ocean swell. A two-knot current running counter to the prevailing wind produced 6-12 ft seas that, while uncomfortable upwind, made for a rollicking ride off the breeze.

The change in conditions from the lighter wind of the regatta’s first two days (Tuesday & Wednesday) to the 20-plus knots on the latter two days (Friday and Saturday) affected several classes with boats that favored one range or the other.

As for the French J/111 J-BOSS sailed by Eddy Chalono’s crew and Stéphane Blanchard’s LE JOUET crew, it was an event that will be remembered for a long time.  Blanchard commented, “Back from St Barthélemy today.  Too many photos and videos of memories that prevents me to do everything right away. Such beautiful water, magnificent winds 10-30 kts, with four days of racing with one race per day.  Every race counts and OCS’s are heavily taxed, there is no need to return for line!

In our category CSA 3 with much larger boats, we had as a main rival the Grand Soleil 43 (just like the one in Quiberon Bay).  Race 1 and 2 were run in the light-medium winds and we end up scoring two seconds on handicap to the GS43.

In the third race, it was a sustained 25 kts of breeze and with not many tactics involved, we finish second overall but fourth on handicap.

We finally have our revenge at the end of the race 4, because after tacking upwind in a steady wind at 25 kts gusting to 30 kts, we return to Gustavia harbor with a great downwind ‘sleigh-ride’ that I think will live long in the memory of our crew members (half J-BOSS/ half-LeJOUET).  We had consistent speed under spinnaker around 14-15 kts with several long planes in excess of 20 kts and a peak at 21.6 kts!!

Second overall, hugs for all on arrival at the finish line, sprinkled Veuve Clicquot champagne everywhere (it was given to us at the finish line), have closed masterfully this beautiful event.  More to follow.”  Thanks to Stephane Blanchard for his contribution- see more here.

 The dates for the next edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth will be April 13 – 18, 2015.  Event Organizer François Tolède said, “This has been another great edition, another success. I am really pleased with the level of competition and camaraderie among all competitors and partners. The professionalism both on the water and onshore has been amazing. Thanks to all our teams, Les Voiles de St. Barth is now running smoothly, while still maintaining welcoming scale for all to enjoy.”

The evening prize-giving dockside was held in the Les Voiles de St. Barth race village, on the Quai General de Gaulle in Gustavia Harbor. Race organizers presented top-three finishers in each class with trophies, champagne and other prizes. Competitors and guests were treated to a spectacular fireworks display over Gustavia Harbor, accompanied by the live music of Joyful Noise.  West Indies Management Company (WIMCO), luxury villa rental management specialist, presented each of the winners in all eight classes a week’s stay in a luxury villa in St. Barth.  Winners also were presented with magnums of Veuve Clicquot champagne and Mount Gay Rum. No wonder so many sailing teams insist on returning after experiencing “champagne sailing and rose’ afternoons” for an entire week!   For more Les Voiles de St Barths sailing information

Warsash Spring Champs Report

(Warsash, England)- It was a busy time for Warsash Sailing Club on 12th/13th April with racing on both days for the opening of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Championship and the fifth Sunday of the Spring Series. As the weather became warmer, entry numbers have increased so that some 140 boats were out to enjoy the full schedule of racing. During the two days, the race officers ran over 50 separate races – a challenging but rewarding weekend all round.

Saturday– Day One
For Black Group, the south-westerly breeze started light but built by the end of the afternoon to a brisk 17 knots. Four races were scheduled and completed, largely using windward/leeward courses.

In 2013, Warsash Sailing Club decided to open the Spring Championship to all IRC handicap classes. Although entries were modest for the smaller boat classes last year, IRC3 and IRC4 entered excellent fleets this time. In IRC 3, Diamond Jem (J/109 - Robert Stiles) finished the day with a two point lead. Iain MacKinnon’s Tigh Soluis II headed three of the four races for the J/109s with Jubilee (Tony Dickin) taking Race 1.  After a slow start, Duncan Mcdonald’s J/111 team SHMOKIN JOE took two wins as did Louise Makin & Chris Jones’s JOURNEYMAKER 11.

Sunday- Day Two
For Black Group, Sunday’s wind started in the north and went light before switching eventually to the west, then south-west at 10/12 knots. Two races were planned for each class and the committee boat anchored near Flying Fish buoy. A 10 mile course was set for IRC1 and IRC2 with shorter courses for the remaining classes. Boats in IRC1 pushed their start, with many over the line early. Several collided with each other and the committee boat. After a general recall, the restart, subject to the “Z flag”, meant an extra penalty for being early and this time the class got away. There were individual recalls for several classes but all boats returned to start correctly. By the time IRC3 got underway, IRC2 were coming downwind close to the line. One of the many temporary wind shifts meant that for a couple of classes the first leg became biased with little tacking to the windward mark at Wilson Covers. This was where IRC4 joined the parade, having started earlier from a separate line. Most skippers went for a white sail reach to the spreader mark at Hill Head buoy, though a few sailed high hoping to use their kites. After that all the spinnakers went up, followed by a game of tactics – whether to gybe and stay out of the tide or go straight to Sunsail. The majority stayed on the bank but there was more wind in the main channel, where some made significant gains.

Aiming to complete two races, the start sequence for IRC1 began as IRC3 was crossing the finish, so a certain amount of dodging was necessary.  Courses involved a couple of windward/leeward legs then a long tactical downwind leg against the tide when all the boats hugged the Lee-on-Solent side before crossing south to North Ryde Middle. The breeze picked up and backed on the way across. There was then another tide versus wind decision before the finish just west of Bart’s Bash.

Black Group saw the J/111 teams experience rather topsy-turvy results for many boats.  Leading the series is JOURNEYMAKER 11 with a 1-3-4-1-1-1 for 11 pts, with a comfortable 7.5 pt margin.  Second is Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG with a 4-2-2-3-2.5-5 for 18.5 pt.  Two points back is Mcdonald’s SHMOKIN JOE with an 8-1-1-2-6-2 tally for 20 pts.  Fourth is David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM and fifth is Andrew Christy & Chris Body’s ICARUS.

It was a good sunny day to enjoy Warsash Sailing Club’s riverside garden after racing where Jonathan Broad, Investment Manager from Brooks Macdonald, presented champagne to the weekly class winners and WSC member Aron Wellband from the SB20 Flutter won the jacket donated by SLAM UK. The event now takes a break for the Easter holiday and returns on 26th/27th April for the grand finale of both the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series and the Spring Championship.   For more Warsash Spring Championships sailing information

Charleston Race Week Report

(Charleston, SC)– From the newly, massively, dynamic J/70 fleet to the revved-up PHRF classes, there was a tremendous amount of racing activity across Charleston area waters for Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week on April 11-13; the 19th edition hosted racing for 16 separate classes.

The growth of the event drew competitors from 27 states and five continents, from as far away as New Zealand, Scandinavia, Brazil, Guatemala, Australia and Peru. Many of these foreign sailors are among the sport’s top names, including Vasco Vascotto from Italy (in the J/70 Class), 2013 College Sailor of the Year Juan Maegli of Guatemala (in the J/24 Class), Jordan Reese from Australia (in the J/70 Class), and Peruvian Olympic Laser hopeful Stefano Peschiera (in the J/24 Class).

This pantheon of stars notwithstanding, the majority of the competitors racing in Charleston are folks whose faces wouldn’t catch notice on the pages of a sailing magazine, yet they’re definitely capable of scorching up the race course.  Elsewhere across fleet, the competition for first in class was much tighter even though the offshore competitors weren’t able to race on Sunday due to a lack of wind. In PHRF A class, the J/111s and J/122 were having an extraordinary battle for the top three.  The fight was fought all the way until the final leg of the last race on Saturday.  Rob & Ryan Ruhlman’s J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF again reigned supreme (like they did at Key West Race Week), as not only the top J/Team but also taking 2nd overall in class.  Third was Robin Team’s famous J/122 TEAMWORK from North Carolina.  Fourth and fifth were J/111 class newcomers Rob Stein on KINETIC and John Yonover’s EVONNE.COM/3.  Sailing Photo Credits- Priscilla Parker and Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com.  For more Charleston Race Week sailing information

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”.