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”.

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

J/111 Xcentric Ripper- Fastnet Sailing video

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

Fastnet Race Report

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

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


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

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

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

Fastnet Race Preview

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

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

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

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

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's Sweep Great Lakes Double-handed Races

(Chicago, IL)- Two popular short-handed events recently took place on the Great Lakes hosted by the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society, an organization established for the perpetuation of the sport of solo sailing. Its purpose is two-fold, the first being to encourage the development of and education concerning suitable techniques, equipment, and gear for shorthanded passage under sail; its second being the recognition of accomplishments of singlehanded sailors in the Great Lakes region. The camaraderie of like-minded sailors, borne of the competition on the race course, is the one of the greatest benefits the Society is able to bestow upon its members.

According to legend, it all began innocently enough when a group of sailors were having a few beers on a cold windy night back in the autumn of 1978. The place was "Brownies on the Lake" and as the rounds of brew piled up, so did the enthusiasm for a Solo Challenge to Mackinac from Port Huron. Meetings were held throughout the following winter, until the details were finally worked out for the inaugural Mackinac Solo Challenge held on June 9, 1979.

It was a dark, dreary day with overcast skies and a blustery wind out of the north at 15 to 25 knots. Twenty two skippers answered the starting cannon and seventeen hung on to finish at Mackinac Island. The seventeen finishers of that first race went on to become the charter members and nucleus of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society. It was proclaimed that the organization would be dedicated to the promotion and development of shorthanded sailing on the Great Lakes. Membership would be extended only to those skippers who successfully completed the "Port Huron to Mackinac Island Singlehanded Challenge".

Recently, those members took up the challenge when both the Western Shore LMSS Double-handed Race took place as well as the "Mackinacs" Singlehanded Race.  In the Western Shore race the J/Teams swept the top three divisions and took four of the top six overall!  Tom McIntosh and Dave Michals, sailing their J/111 MISTY, simply smoked their fleet, winning by over 45 minutes corrected time in PHRF Division II and taking first overall.   For more Great Lakes Shorthanded sailing information

J/111 Places Myth of Malham Double Division

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC Season's Points Championship continued over the May Bank Holiday weekend with one of the longest races of the season.  Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, the teams sail a 230nm race from Cowes, round the Eddystone lighthouse and back to the Solent-- it's often seen as a "mini-Fastnet" training session for many boats.

After last year's extremely windy Myth of Malham Race, this year's edition provided a far more tactical race for the 120 yachts competing.  Staying in the breeze and calculating the best route for tides made all the difference. The wind conditions ranged from zephyrs during the first night to 25 knot gusts on the last day of racing. Most of the fleet used the full complement of their sail wardrobe and, as many crews were exploiting the race route as a Rolex Fastnet qualifier, the Myth of Malham Race was a fine test of man and machine.

Prior to the start of the race, Todd Wells' J/109 JE VANTE observed, "The big entry shows that a lot of yachts are using the race as a significant part of training for the Fastnet. Depending on the weather, this will be a particularly sanitizing event for crews at all levels. Last year was incredibly tough but that is part of the attraction of offshore racing, you either talk about it in the bar or get on with it."

Another J/109 owner, John Allison sailing JUMBUCK, was sailing the race for the first time, though the vast majority of the crew are experienced offshore sailors. "In my honest opinion, the first 24 hours of any ocean race are easy, the next 24 the hardest, and then one normally settles into a pattern that gets progressively easier as each day passes. So maybe there is a case for saying overall, the Fastnet is not as hard as the Myth of Malham," commented John. "Having said that the race will be a good training exercise for the Fastnet, as it allows one to get familiar with that coastline in race conditions. As JUMBUCK is a new boat for us and for the race, it will bring the pleasure of bringing a crew and new boat up to speed, not just against other yachts, but also against weather and routing conditions."

As it was, the fleet set forth down the Solent from the Royal Yacht Squadron line and it was a choice between the island or the mainland shores to the Hurst Narrows to overcome adverse current.  Then, between Start Point and Eddystone, the fleet faced more foul tide and the wind faded. Once round Eddystone some boats went inshore at Start Point on the way back and it worked for them, especially as the tide changed in their favor a little earlier than predicted. The run to the finish was dead downwind.

For IRC 2 Class, the top J/team happened to be Craigie's J/122 J-BELLINO, taking an amazing sixth overall against fully-crewed boats.  Just minutes behind them on corrected time was the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER, sailed by Henry Foster from the British Army Sailing Association.  The SOLDIER's performance was a tremendous improvement over their initial outings on the Solent, in fact finishing 2nd boat-for-boat in this enormous class of 33 boats!  Thanks for contribution from Louay Habib.  For more RORC Myth of Malham sailing information

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

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

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

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

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

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

Delta Lloyd North Sea Week Preview

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

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

J/Navy Sailing Rolex Fastnet

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

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

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

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

J Teams Sailing Rolex Fastnet Race

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

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

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

J's Dominate North Sea Race

(Harwich, England)- Racing across the North Sea in May is not for the faint-hearted. However 58 yachts were on the start line in Harwich, England, on Saturday morning to race the RORC North Sea Race 210 miles to the beautiful resort town of Scheveningen in The Netherlands. Cold but bright sunny conditions prevailed with a moderate breeze, piping up to close to a stiff breeze at times.

Under IRC, Stan Fenton's J/105 FAY-J was just two minutes behind on corrected time IRC Overall and came out victorious in IRC Four.  FAY-J races extensively on the East Coast of England and Stan was very happy with their result.

"It was a tiring race but we are delighted with our result," smiled Stan Fenton. "We went very well between Smith's Knoll and MSP, we were slightly south of the rhumb line rather than most of the other boats who went north, which meant we were in slightly more tide to start with but we could set our kite for about half the leg and I think that is where we made a lot of time up. We do a lot of racing on the East Coast, next up for us is the Haven series race from Shotley to Burnham-on-Crouch and then East Anglian Offshore Series, including The Haughton Cup, so it is a pretty full season."

What's remarkable is that in IRC Overall, J's took 7 of top 10!! And, in fact, J's took 9 of top 15 places!  Just behind FAY-J was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed double-handed by Chris Revelman, getting 3rd overall,  2nd in IRC2 class, Double handed 1st!  Winning IRC 3 class and 4th overall was the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul van der Pol.  Third in IRC 2 Class and 5th overall was the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by the dynamic duo of John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef (yes, the "Batman & Robin" of Dutch sailing).

Filling out the rest of the top 15 in IRC Overall for J's were the following boats-
7th- J/109 CAPTAIN JACK- Vert Visser- 2nd IRC3 class
9th- J/105 DIABLO-J- Nick Martin- 4th in IRC3 class, Doublehanded 2nd
10th- J/105 HARPOEN- Harry Rek- 2nd IRC4 class
13th- J/133 ASSARAIN IV- Angus Bates- 2nd IRC One
15th- J/109 ARETHUSA- Kees Mijs- 5th IRC3 class

Many of the competitors taking part in the North Sea Race will also be racing in the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta during the Whitsunday weekend, from 25th to 28th May. Hundreds of boats compete in this, the biggest yacht, sportsboat, dinghy and catamaran regatta in Holland, including the yachts hoping to represent Benelux in the forthcoming Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup in July.  For more RORC North Sea Race sailing information