J/Class @ Key West Race Week

(Key West, FL)- The 2013 Quantum Key West Race Week running from January 20th to 25th, 2013 will again feature the popular PHRF J/Class for enthusiastic J/109, J/111, J/120, J/122, J/124, J/125 and J/133 owners.  This past year's edition proved to be a fun, competitive class.  The unique feature of the J/Class is having Rod Johnstone and a knowledgeable PHRF rating committee ensure that Time-on-Time handicaps are applied fairly, ensuring that all J/Owners have an equitable shot at placing well in any given race and for the overall regatta.

In fact, in the 2012 PHRF J/Class the top three boats, the J/122 TEAMWORK, the J/109 RUSH and the J/111 MENTAL all won races over the course of ten races in five days! It was awesome sailing and it emphasized near one-design sailing consistency to finish in the top five-- incredibly fun sailing in conditions that ranged from 17-23 kts on the first day to 5-8 kts towards the end of the week.  Long-time Key West veterans Robin Team and Bill Sweetser both agreed it was the best handicap fleet sailing they've ever experienced!  “We come down here to Key West to get the best competition we can find and boy did we this year,” Team said. “We could not believe how close the racing was in this class. Tres Hombres, Mental and Rush were all very well-sailed and pushed us from start to finish.” It was a particularly special experience for Robin since he had brother Adam and two sons Alston and Coleman aboard!

Come on down, bring the family and friends and join the fun! The J/70 sailed by Kerry Klingler and Rick Lyall from Connecticut (for J/70 One-Designs) and the J/124 STILL MESSIN, Adam Esselman from Charlevoix, Michigan (for the J/Class) are already entered and can't wait to go! Many of the same J/109s, J/111s and J/122s will be returning again for more fun in the Florida winter sun! State your intentions now, just enter your boat-- no need to send in the entry fee until December!   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

ESCAPE'D TIGGER Wins By A Whisker!

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

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

Here was the forecast for the race:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J/Teams Sweep Chicago-Mackinac Race

J/111 One-Designs Smoke the Fleet!
(Mackinac Island, Michigan)- For the enormous fleet of boats sailing in this year's Chicago-Mackinac Race, the forecasts weren't the most promising in the world for a fast passage north on the 289nm course to Mackinac Island.  As the morning dawned with a light southwesterly gradient breeze, it was becoming clear to the "locals" that a sea-breeze would likely develop and by early afternoon power the fleet down the course in an 8-13 knot southeasterly breeze.  The Double-handed fleet took off in near drifting conditions which include a J/29 and J/105.  About an hour later, the big divisions of J/105s, J/109s, J/111s and J/120s all took off in a building sea-breeze reinforced by the gradient.

Because of the stronger than forecast sea breeze, the race became an enormous chess match on the water, with all teams focused on when the breeze would shift from the southeast to southwest and then play gybing angles all the way down the Michigan shoreline, passing the famous Point Betsie turning point to head further NE towards the Greys Reef 3nm passage before turning to 97 degree for the final sprint to 30nm to the finish line off the famously picturesque Round Island Lighthouse off Mackinac Island.  The tale of the tape for various classes came down to two major decision points, when was the first gybe made in the middle of the lake late Saturday evening when the winds went from about 170-185 degrees to 200-220 degrees and when teams made the decision to gybe and go inshore along the Pt Betsie/Michigan shoreline to stay in breeze with more velocity.

All the J/Teams had some great racing, as demonstrated by their extraordinary performances overall in the Mackinac CUp Trophy fleet standings.  The first NINE of the Top 10 Teams were J/Boats owners.  12 of Top 15 were J/Teams and 16 of the Top 25! J/111s were 8 of Top 15 and 11 of Top 20!! An unprecedented sweep of the top 25 positions-- the best ever by any brand in the history of the Mackinac Race (or for that matter any major offshore race around the world).  Here is how the top 25 teams faired

1st- J/109 REALT NA MARA- Tom & Joe Londrigan
2nd- J/109 NORTHSTAR- David Gustman
3rd- J/111 KASHMIR- Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer
4th- J/111 VELOCITY- Marty Roesch
5th- J/111 NO SURPRISE- Dave Irish
6th- J/111 NIGHTHAWK- Tom Edman & Steve Dabrowski
7th- J/122 SUFFICIENT REASON- Mitch Padnos
8th- J/111 IMPULSE- George Miz, Peter Dreher, Mark Hatfield
9th- J/111 WIND CZAR- Richard Lehman
13th- J/111 MENTAL- Paul Stahlberg
14th- J/120 NIGHT MOVES- Henry Mistele
15th- J/111 ROWDY- Rich Witzel
20th- J/111 MISTY- Tom McIntosh
21st- J/111 LUCKY DUBIE- Len Siegal
22nd- J/120 PERSEVERANCE- Matt Songer
23rd- J/109 KIII- Irv Kerbel

In addition to doing well overall, the four J/One-Design divisions had extremely close racing amongst their colleagues.  According to Mike Mayer, a partner in the J-111 KASHMIR, the 10-boat J/111 one-design fleet battled all the way up the lake. "What a fun race," said Mayer. "We had multiple lead changes throughout. Going through the Manitous we had eight boats within a mile of each other. What great racing."  Winning the 111 one-designs was the team on KASHMIR- Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer and it was their 2nd Mac race win after 2011!! Putting on an amazing performance for being "newbies" to the Mac were the strong Annapolis team led by Marty Roesch on VELOCITY, finishing second after a duel with their classmates going into the final five miles of the race.  Third was Dave Irish's NO SURPRISE, fourth was NIGHTHAWK sailed by the dynamic duo of Tom Edman & Steve Dabrowski and fifth was IMPULSE led by the trio of Dr George Miz, Peter Dreher and Mark Hatfield.  Incredibly the entire J/111 one-design class all finished less than 50 minutes apart after the long race, perhaps one of the smallest "spreads" ever in a one-design class-- great racing for all!

The J/109s again proved they're one of the toughest fleets to beat on Lake Michigan, liking the light to moderate off-the-wind breezes.  Top boat in the Mac and J/109 Class winner was the J/109 REALT NA MARA sailed by Tom and Joe Londrigan.  Second was NORTHSTAR (David Gustman), third was KIII (Irv Kerbel), fourth the trio on MOMENTUS (Kevin Saedi/ George and Robin Simkins) and fifth was CERTAINLY (Don Meyer).

Amongst the J/105s, it was also a tough race amongst these evenly matched teams.  Leading the pack home was Mark Gurney's BUZZ, followed by Mark Symond's PTERODACTYL in second, Clark Pellet's SEALARK in third, GOOD LOOKIN (Dean & Lana Walsh) in fourth and fifth was Nancy Glover's TEMPEST.

Top gun in the J/120s was Henry Mistele's NIGHT MOVES, finishing 14th overall and winning the 120 class.  22nd overall and 2nd in class was Matt Songer's PERSEVERANCE, third was Bob Kirkman's HOT TICKET, fourth Frank Kern's CARINTHIA and fifth Bob Klairmont's SCIROCCO 2.

In the handicap world, Section 2 saw the two J/145s finish next to one another. Grabbing 4th and 5th, respectively, were Chris Saxton's VORTICES and Bill Schanen's MAIN STREET.

Section 3 saw another repeat winner!  The original J/122 SKYE was bought by Mitch Padnos and Tracy Brand and is now the current SUFFICIENT REASON!  Mitch and crew were incredibly happy with their performance, repeating the J/122s win in this division for the second time in four years!  Eighth in class was the J/133 RENEGADE sailed by Tom and Beth-Ann Papoutsis, ninth was the J/130 EDGE (Bob McManus) and tenth was the  J/130 WILLIE J (Doug Petter).

Section 5 also saw another repeat winner, perhaps a three-peat winner?  First was the J/109 VANDA III sailed by Jack & Jim Tolliver and Jim Mitchell with a great crew consisting of Simon Minoprio and Rodney Keenan from Auckland, New Zealand and Dallas Kilponen from Sydney, Australia along with Jimmie's dad "James".  Congratulations to them as they were 4th overall in the Mackinac Trophy division.

The Section 6 sailors must've felt a bit overwhelmed by the presence of 35 foot J/Teams sailing amongst them-- which, ultimately, took 7 of the top 10 in section!  The winner was a classic cruiser/racer, the J/110 LADY K sailed by Mike Stewart.  Third was the J/35 AFTERSHOCK (Bill Newman), 5th the J/92 SPLIT DECISION (Bruce Santerre), 6th the J/35 BOZO'S CIRCUS (Bruce Metcalf), 7th the J/35 TOUCH OF GREY (Larry Schell), 8th the J/33 RETRIEVER (Matt Beer) and 10th the J/35 SHEARWATER (Tom Anthony).

Finally, the Double-Handed Trophy was again won for the third year in a row, the proverbial "three-peat" for J/Teams by the J/29 TFWB RELENTLESS sailed George and Scott Petritz.  They were following up the previous year's double-winner, the former J/122 SKYE sailed by Bill Zeiler and Richie Stearns.  Fifth overall in DH was the J/105 OCH! sailed by Brendan Docherty and Jim Hilliard.  For more Chicago Mackinac sailing information

J/111 JATO Wins "Border Run"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

J/111 KASHMIR Wins Epic Chicago-Mac Race!

(Chicago, IL)- This year's Chicago to Mackinac Island 289 nm dash was a tale of two races, the "haves" (the big fast boats) and the "have nots" (the smaller boats).  For the 361 sailboats entered (about 1/3 J/Boats), the first 30 hours after the starts at noon Saturday were near postcard perfect, Chamber of Commerce sailing. No bugs, plenty of breeze from the right angle, a kindly sea-state, warm air and brightly colored spinnakers punctuating the horizon as far as the eye could see. Nothing broken about this picture at all-- yet.  However, about midnight Sunday/ early Monday the dogs came howling off their chains and the lights went out. At the time, the 18-22 knots southwest breezes saw a large part of the Mackinac fleet sailing on port gybe headed from the Point Betsie turning point up through the Manitou Island Straits and headed to Grey's Reef Lighthouse- a 50 mile stretch of water.  Then, all hell brook loose and the maelstrom struck. Sheet lighting started illuminating the sky and it became a mad scramble aboard most boats to get the spinnakers down and either batten-down the hatches (and crew) or hoist heavy-air sails and press-on regardless through the storm.

Sailing on the J/111 NO SURPRISE was legendary Great Lakes yachtsman (and winner of multiple Mac Races), Dave Irish from Harbor Springs, Michigan.  Dave's commentary is both insightful and helpful:  "The race started with 230 miles more or less of running, from light to over 20kts of warm and pleasant wind. In the higher wind, with good sea running, we heated the angle significantly up to 150-155 TWA, and using the waves, sailed at speeds in the teens. We made significant gains on boats sailing conventional downwind angles. Fun and active too.

The real story of the race was the weather at the north end of the lake. The whole middle of the fleet, maybe over 100 boats, were hit with severe weather in the middle of the night, which resulted in the loss of two lives.  My call is that we had a 60 knot hit. The wind would move your body, it was necessary to hold on. The big wind was preceded by an hour of incredible electrical activity. It was clear we were in for a "pasting", but as usual it is difficult to tell when it will hit, especially when it's pitch black outside, and in the meantime there was racing to be done.

As the inevitable neared we got the spinnaker off, the #3 jib on, and of course Spinlock deck-vests on with tethers. The wind came and the boat laid down, rig near but not in the water. Lots of white water in the air and no clear line between. I won’t claim actual control, but the boat took care of us until there was a little moderation and it was possible for the crew to move and act.

Reefing: We have only one mainsail reef, and it is 2.5 meters deep, big enough to make a difference. So two crew members proceeded to pull in the reef, one easing the halyard (on a winch), and one grinding in the single reef line, (also on its own winch). We had opted for the Antal cars on the luff so that part of the sail was under control as well. It is just a routine operation to reef the boat in those conditions, with no-one outside the cockpit. I think we partially rolled the jib. But within a short period of time the boat was all snugged down and we were back at work sailing towards Grey's Reef.

I have known fear on the water, but not this time, and not in this boat (have sailed over 60 years).  The J/111 was amazing.  It was under us, did not demand that we do dangerous things to manage it, and only had to be taken out of race mode for a few minutes. This weekend we race the Lake Huron Mac race, the boat arrived in Port Huron last evening, and we are ready to go. Bring it on, we have the weapon to play this game!"

From another perspective was the team on the J/111 IMPULSE sailed by George Miz, Peter Dreher and Mark Hatfield.  Said George, "This boat certainly had the fun meter pegged in the 'red' all of Sunday afternoon on the Mac. We had 3 consecutive drivers hit 18+ kts in 20-25 kts of breeze and in full control. The boat just likes to go fast with none of the drama we've dealt with on previous boats (George is a former Farr 395 owner)."

Adding to George's commentary was Karl Brummel on KASHMIR, stating that "the boat was fantastic in a variety of conditions. Saturday we were doing 6-7 kts boat speed in 4-5 kts wind with Code Zero. Sunday we were killing it 10-15 kts downhill in 20-28 kts wind with the 2A asym up.  Sunday, after we went storming by a well-sailed Farr 395 at 11-15 kts boat speed/ 155-165 TWA, I said, 'We should have named this boat HORIZON JOB.'"

During the early stages of the race, it was apparent the strategies that were unfolding for the sailors headed north were the following:  a) sail the classic rhumbline of 21 degrees from Chicago to Pt Betsie,  b) sail West and up the Illinois/ Wisconsin shoreline in a "thermal" scenario based on various forecasters prognostications, or c) toss everything out the window (ignore all forecasts) and sail at least as high as rhumbline and head east overnight to be on the eastern lake/ west Michigan shoreline to take advantage of southerly breezes accelerating along the shoreline due to the massive heating of the Michigan sand dunes during Sunday's sailing.  Post-race analysis showed the best scenario was a combination of the 1st and 3rd options-- a very bizarre circumstance considering the pre-race forecasts from leading offshore weather routers that recommended staying west of rhumbline and away from the middle of the lake at night!  The boats that worked further east saw more easterly breezes (75-110 degrees) with more pressure until it went light, swung south and accelerated Sunday morning.  The boats that worked west saw the forecasted SSW winds of 7 to 14 knots and sailed mostly 6.5 to 8.5 knots all night long (albeit on a much longer routing).

Off the starting line for the J/111's it was clear the fleet was split on strategy as outlined in the 3 approaches to the race above.  KASHMIR sailed by the team of Brummel/Henderson/Mayer that won Class 3 started at the starboard end with a Code Zero and simply sailed down rhumbline and ultimately worked further east.  Near them was Steve Dabrowski's and Tom Edman's team on NIGHTHAWK that finished 7th.  Going north/northeast just west of rhumb was NO SURPRISE sailed by Dave Irish that finished 3rd, but Dave made it pay by sailing more aggressively downwind (as mentioned above) when the wind hit the high teens/ low twenties and they moved into "planing mode" to pass other boats like they were pylons on a race course.  Near them was Thomas and Carol McIntosh's team on MISTY that finished 10th, sailing a bit more conservatively than most and apparently not taking advantage of "planing mode" to make large gains.  Headed the most westward, heading due north after the start were MENTAL and IMPULSE.  MENTAL was sailed by Paul Stahlberg, Richie Stearns and father Dick Stearns, taking the northernmost route and finished 14th (modified based on a time award for helping with the rescue efforts of the capsized boat WINGNUTS).  IMPULSE, sailed by George Miz, Peter Dreher, Mark Hatfield started north, but bailed at Sheboygan and played gybe angles across the lake to Pt Betsie, ultimately sailing for over 80 nm on starboard gybe at speeds up to 18 knots before having to gybe down the Manitous Islands channel northeast of Pt Betsie, finishing 11th in class.

 For more Chicago-Mackinac Race sailing information

  

Great Lakes Offshore Classics

(Chicago, IL and Toronto, ONT)- Coming up next weekend is a "head-to-head" battle between the "classic" or the "longest" Great Lakes race in the great American Midwest.  On Saturday, July 16th, two huge events start.  The "grand dame" and perhaps the most prestigious is the Chicago to Mackinac Race- a 289 nm classic that basically pits the best-of-the-best offshore sailors from the western Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie) and the other is the Lake Ontario 300- a 300 nm race around buoys in Lake Ontario.

CHICAGO-MACKINAC RACE
The fleets to follow will be the fourteen J/105s, fourteen J/109s and the J/111s.

Amongst the new J/111s, sailing in Section 3 will be six very well sailed boats.  It's not certain amongst this new group who will factor into the lead boats, but certainly all have amongst their teams crew who've won several Chicago-Macs amongst them, both in class as well as overall!!  On MENTAL sailed by Paul Stahlberg (pictured here) you have multiple Mac winners Richie and Lori Stearns and Richie's father Dick Stearns.  On KASHMIR sailed by the team of Brummel/Henderson/Mayer you have local J/105 class and Mac champions racing the boat.  On NO SURPRISE, you have renowned, legendary Great Lakes offshore sailor Dave Irish from Harbor Springs.  Finally, on IMPULSE sailed by George Miz, Peter Dreher, Mark Hatfield you have Stu Johnstone helping on tactics/navigation.  Quite an impressive line-up and along with them are also Thomas and Carol McIntosh's team MISTY and Steve Dabrowski's team on NIGHTHAWK who have put together equally strong crews.  It should be interesting as all boats are fast enough to take class, if not division or overall.

PORT HURON-MACKINAC RACE
Following these two big Lakes races is the Port Huron-Mackinac starting on July 23rd.  The longest consecutively running freshwater long-distance race since 1925. Of 222 boats entered, J's sailing in IRC B include the J/44 SAGITTA (John Soames/ Larry Oswald), J/145 VORTICES (Chris Saxton); in IRC C there will be THREE J/111s, including NIGHTHAWK (Steve Dabrowski), NO SURPRISE (Dave Irish) and UNPLUGGED (Tim Clayson); in IRC D the J/109 VANDA (Jim Mitchell and Jack Toliver) and the J/33 (Dick & Dan Synowiec); eight J/35s sailing in the Class 35 Class including MR BILL'S WILD RIDE (Bill Wildner); six J/120s including class leader ex-Bayview YC Commodore Frank Kern's CARINTHIA in the J/120 Class; five J/105s in the PHRF C Class; and a smattering of J's in other classes including a J/100, J/42 and J/40.    For more Port Huron-Mackinac Race sailing information

  

J/111s Celebrate Chicago NOODs

(Chicago, IL)- The annual Chicago Sperry Top Sider NOOD Regatta continues to be one of the pinnacle events on the Chicago summer sailing schedule every year.  Attending this year's events were one-design fleets of J/111s, J/109s and J/105s.  Included in the mix were J's sailing PHRF 3 and PHRF 4 divisions.

For the J/111s, this was their first NOOD regatta as a class and the second weekend in a row that Chicago 111s have sailed against one another.  It's clear the learning curve is high and the teams are learning how to sail the boats consistently faster all the time.  As an illustration of this development, Sailing World's Mike Lovett shares an interesting interview with the MISTY J/111 team sailed by Tom and Carol McIntosh- "For Tom and Carol, as it is for so many Chicago racers, the highlight of the sailing season is the annual Chicago YC Race to Mackinac. They've been doing the 333-mile race for years, and this year, they'll be doing it on their dream Mac boat— the J/111.

"Because we do the Mac every year," says Misty skipper Tom McIntosh, "we wanted a boat that would be faster for us to come home on, and would be more fun to sail. Carol and I sail doublehanded back from Mackinac Island, and when we went out and sailed [the J/111] last summer, we said, 'Oh boy. With the roller furler—and we can use an asymmetrical when it's light—we'll make so much better time than we did before.

"It's a really simple boat," continues McIntosh. "We went with the Antal sail slides, which makes it really simple to go out sailing. And, you can go pretty fast. Last weekend, we did 11 knots downwind, right alongside the Farr 40s."

There are six J/111s competing here at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD, making this the largest gathering in the class' short history. The 36-footer won "Best One-Design Keelboat" in Sailing World's 2011 Boat of the Year Contest. Apparently, Midwestern sailors agree with SW's BOTY judges, as they've been quick to embrace the new one-design. Racing the J/111 KONTIKI V, Jim Sminchack's Cleveland-based team won the PHRF 1 division at 2011 Key West Race Week. There are three J/111s in Detroit, and there will be as many as eight racing at the Ugotta Regatta in Harbor Springs, Michigan in July.

Local J-Dealer Rich Stearns has been instrumental in getting Chicago's J/111 fleet off the ground. At last weekend's Colors Regatta, hosted by Columbia YC, Stearns and a local sailmaker went boat to boat helping his clients get up to speed. MISTY's main trimmer, Jorgen Johnson, found the sessions to be incredibly valuable— a shortcut to success. "They showed us what the boat likes," says Johnson. "That makes the learning process a lot quicker than if we had to learn it ourselves. They were telling us, 'Do this, do that. Here's the basics. Work with this, and then fine tune.' That was really, really helpful.  "We're learning," continues Johnson. "But we're getting there quickly. That's what's interesting with this fleet. All the boats are very close, and they're all going very fast!"

In the photo are the crew of the J/111 MISTY (left to right): bowman Mike Gallo, main trimmer Jorgen Johnson, mast-man John Johnson, trimmer Dave Michaels, pit/co-owner Carol McIntosh, skipper/co-owner Tom McIntosh, floater Morgan Gates, tactician Ian Gates, Gerry Gherardini.

On the race course, it was the KASHMIR team comprised of Henderson, Mayer and Brummel that led the way to the top of the podium, securing five 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd to win by five points.  It's clear this team has taken their training seriously and have learned how to  make the 111 go well both upwind and downwind-- particularly with ace spinnaker trimmer Karen Gottwald- a 25 year Chicago-Mac veteran and member of the "Goat's Society".  Also moving up the learning curve fast is Paul Stahlberg sailing the spectacularly colored red-hulled MENTAL into second with finishes of 1-2-4-2-2-1-3 for 15 pts-- by the way the graphics are awesome!  Stephen Dabrowski sailing NIGHT HAWK finished third amassing a 3-3-2-4-3-2-2 record for 19 pts.  In fourth was Tom and Carol McIntosh on MISTY and fifth was George Miz sailing his first one-design event in the J/111 on-board IMPULSE.

For more Chicago Sperry Top Sider NOOD sailing information

  

J "Musketeers" Crash The Cabo Race Party

J/111 and J/145 Second In Class, 3rd & 4th Fleet, Respectively!
(Newport Beach, CA)- OK.  The forecasts for the classic 600 nm sprint south down the Cal-Mex coastline to "Cabo" was daunting-- the Friday starting group (including all  J's) looked reasonable, but the Saturday starters looked troublesome.  With any luck, the Class C & D fleet would be treated to early jib reaching that would morph into high-speed spinnaker reaching as the fleet moved south; the winds typically move more into the NW quadrants at this time of year the further south you get.

For the three "J-Musketeers" participating, leading the charge down the track was Tom Holthus' J/145 BAD PAAK from San Diego, CA.  The veteran J/124 GOOD CALL sailed by Tom Barker from San Diego and the "new kid on the block", the J/111 speedster INVISIBLE HAND sailed by Frank Slootman and crew proved to be "double-trouble" for the fleet and their own class.  Given the fact that winds hit 15-20+ knots, it was an epic ride down the coast for this gang of serious speedsters- a trio of trophy-hunting thieves. Other than the unfortunate withdrawal of GOOD CALL within 50 miles of Cabo (due to a crew injury), all three boats would have made it on to the podium!  The two that did grab trophies were Frank's J/111 INVISIBLE HAND getting 2nd in Class D and 3rd overall and Tom's J/145 BAD PAK getting 2nd in Class C and 4th overall sailing under the ORR (offshore racing rule) handicap system!  Here is what happened:

On Saturday Class C and D started in light to moderate winds. By Sunday, a massive front with strong breezes and very choppy waves hit the tail-end of the Cabo fleet (see photo to right), primarily affecting the big boats in Class A & B that started a day later than Class C and D.  A and B basically got hammered and a bunch of top boats dropped out later on Sunday, early Monday morning (California "sleds" and modern, lightweight "wedges of cheese" cannot sail well upwind, period).  Meanwhile, SoCal was drowning in water with record rainfalls generating road closures and massive mud slides.  Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) was washed out and Santa Barbara set a record of 6" rainfall in 24 hours with yet more to come.  Perhaps some of those J/24s and J/105s in SB Harbor may be put to good use as second homes!

By Monday, Class C and D saw light winds south of Cedros Island and made significant headway south along the coast.  Frank's team aboard INVISIBLE HAND reported on SailingAnarchy.com, "C & D divisions had steady but light pressure for the start.  Most everyone worked offshore to pick up a bit more pressure into the evening.  Looks like the boats outside the rhumbline did a bit better on the morning report.  With very little time on the new J/111 we are happy with her performance thus far.  Moves very well in the 14-17 knots we had for the majority of the night and held impressive speeds during the lighter 8-12 knot periods.  Tomorrows GRIB looks quite interesting with some challenging decisions for the next day or so.  We'll keep pressing the cloth and hopefully we won't get smacked by the the Southerly moving through."

On Monday afternoon, fleet compression was occurring as the northwesterlies filled in and continued building behind Class C and D.  With approximately 300 NM to go (finish line off harbor to the right), the fleet saw increasing pressure from the NW, which usually dominates the Baja peninsula this time of year.  By late evening, the night-time pressures increased to 18 knots along the lower Baja California peninsula and the entire fleet flew chutes with increasing speeds through the night, taking advantage of a clear, moonlit sky with warmer winds.  The Monday afternoon Anarchy report from Frank's INVISIBLE HAND was, "Well, as expected, the last 36 hours on the course were full of challenges.  The A & B classes that started Saturday got the full impact of the southerly system and the retired casualty list is larger than those still racing.  The boats in our class (C) had very light winds out of the south.   We looked OK at yesterday's check-in but after 24 hours beating into a light southerly we could not overcome the longer waterline of our class competition so we slipped a place but held the same in the overall.  The GRIBs have been consistent so we still have some running to look forward to over the next few days and hopefully reel in those that slipped by.  To still be in full foulies on the 3rd night was not what we expected and the shorts are still in the crew bags.  This is not what they said it would be in the brochure!  The boys on deck just unfurled the Code-0 and dropped the Light #1 to see if we can get a bit more out of the new J/111.  We've got our work cut out for us, back to the grind."

By Monday nightfall, it was amazing to see the Class C and D boats locked in a very strategic duel with roughly 170NM to the finish (winds looking like this photo to right!).  It was a very interesting strategic mix off Cabo San Lozaro in the early hours of the moonrise as the Class C and D boats were making tactical turns downwind and a break for the beach for offshore-wind pressure or better sailing angles by going slightly outside on the right side of the course.  It was in this part of the race were some boats made significant gains and others lost out some distance on their competitors--- the J/111 INVISIBLE HAND happened to be one of the latter.  The afternoon Anarchy report from INVISIBLE HAND stated, "we were finally able to stop sailing upwind Monday and had a spinnaker up by late afternoon.  The morning check-in showed what we expected with us still in 3rd in class since the prior 24 hours still included a lot of upwind work.  Since dark we started to put on pace with winds of 10-20 knots.  There were pretty large swells rolling through with another direction wind wave so driving was challenging as the stern quarter kept getting checked around.  The 6am morning scheduled radio report had us 17 miles behind the Beneteau First 40.7 NOAS 2 with 179nm to the finish.  To our surprise we spotted them and crossed several miles in front by 2:45pm this afternoon.  So we made up quite a bit of miles in just under 9 hours with boat speed in the 10-13 knots range.  We have about 90nm to the finish so we hope to be able to make up more of the time lost on course while sailing upwind.  The swells have now reorganized and are allowing us a much better average not fighting to keep the boat on course.  Finally feels like we entered a Mexico race, the Sun is finally out and so are the shorts. Hopefully the wind will hold and we will finish in the wee hours Wednesday morning."

By Tuesday midday, it was clear that all three boats were simply flying down the race track to Cabo.  Tom's J/145 BAD PAK was averaging 10-12 knots under spinnaker, gybing back and forth to maintain speed and angle.  Perhaps one of the best navigated J's was Tom's J/124 GOOD CALL.  For most of the race it was pretty certain GOOD CALL was likely winning Class D and was well positioned to take overall honors for the fleet.  The boys on the J/111 INVISIBLE HAND were both planing and surfing at times up to 15 knots and having an amazing ride.  However, they took a few meanders both right and left that chewed up a few too many miles versus their competition, first gaining big chunks of distance, then losing ground quickly in an hour or two.  By Tuesday afternoon, the gang on the J/145 BAD PAK sailed a great race, kept pressing hard, finishing at 4:14 pm off the beach at Cabo.  Just before the finish, a crewman was injured on GOOD CALL, necessitating an emergency VHF call, help from the Mexican Navy and the withdrawal of GOOD CALL (we hope he's OK).  Locked in a boat-for-boat battle with a First 50 and the First 40.7, INVISIBLE HAND played the last few gybe angles into Cabo well to pass both, but then in yet another nail-biting finish, lost the First 50 Sarasvati II within the last 0.5 mile at midnight Tuesday.  INVISIBLE HAND finished at 00:31:22 am!  Congratulations to all three J's for great sailing, great seamanship and heads-up sailing at the end of the day.   For more Cabo Race tracking and sailing information.  See this great example of how to use Facebook for sailing events and regatta reporting.  

Classic Cabo Race- Preview

J "Musketeers" Speeding Down The Beach!
(Newport Beach, CA)- Forecasts are looking good for a classic offshore California event, the Cabo Race to take place this coming weekend.  That classic sprint going south down the California and Mexico coastline to that quintessential beach town called "Cabo".  With any luck, the fleet will be treated to early jib reaching that turns into more high-speed spinnaker reaching as the fleet moves south and winds typically move more into the NW quadrants.

For the J trio participating, leading the charge down the track should be Tom Hothus' J/145 BAD PAAK from San Diego, CA.  BAD PAAK is a veteran SoCal offshore racer and is a known speedster in these conditions, hoping to add a bit more silverware to their already impressive collection that includes TransPac Race wins.  Running neck and neck down the coast may be the veteran J/124 GOOD CALL sailed by Tom Barker from San Diego and the "new kid on the block", the J/111 speedster INVISIBLE HAND sailed by that fun-loving crew from San Francisco Bay, Frank Slootman and crew.  Given the fact that winds could hit 15-20+ knots with TWA's on starboard tack running around 110 to 140 degrees, it could be an epic ride down the coast for this gang of serious speedsters- a den of trophy-hunting thieves thicker than the "three musketeers."  We wish them luck and look forward to following their progress down the track.
For more Cabo Race tracking and sailing information.