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

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

Gorgeous J/Fest West On the Bay!

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

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

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

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

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

J-Cup Back To Hamble!

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

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

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

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

Blustery Cold Conditions @ Warsash IV

(Warsash, England)- An exhilarating day’s racing was completed for the fourth gathering of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series on 6th April 2014. Competitors come from near and far for this early season contest and journeying through the driving rain to their boats early on Sunday morning, the sailors might well have been thinking an indoor sport could have been a better choice. During the racing however the visibility cleared, the deluge stopped giving way to glimpses of warm sunshine.

The weather forecast had suggested a brisk south-westerly in the 14 to 20 knot range but with, unusually, the possibility of double that in the gusts. The Black Group committee boat set up station at Bart’s Bash buoy just above the North Channel. Courses were set, largely cross-tide, cascading east with windward legs towards the Isle of Wight shore, giving protection from the heavier seas building up from the Western Solent. Nonetheless, flag “Yankee” was hoisted requiring life jackets to be worn. IRC1 and IRC2 shared a course and completed 15 miles. J/109 and IRC3 had a similar designed circuit of 12.5 miles. Tacticians were kept busy at times hugging the shallower water to avoid the worst of the rising tide on windward legs. Given the strong winds, there was many a spinnaker trawled in the water. Warsash Sailing Club member Iain Mcluckie, the Club’s photographer, multi-tasked to rescue several boats. There was close racing in all classes with many boats nip-and-tuck on the beats- altogether an exhausting but rewarding day’s racing.

In IRC1 the J/111 J-DREAM sailed by David and Kirsty Apthorp holds a five point class lead in the Series. Trailing them in second for the series is Simon Boadle’s MUNKENBECK and in third is Charles Ivill’s team on ETB TYRES- JUST LIKE THAT!

Tired but elated sailors gathered at Warsash Sailing Club after racing, well deserving the free beer! Tracey Gray, Investment Manager from Brooks Macdonald, presented the weekly champagne prizes to class winners and Douglas Struth of the J/80 DSP won the jacket donated by SLAM UK. Next week the pace hots up, with the start of the Spring Championship on 12th-13th April. 80 boats are already entered and more are welcome in all classes. The second weekend of the Spring Championship follows on 26th-27th April. There will be a party at Warsash Sailing Club on the two Saturday nights (12th and 26th April) with live music, food and a friendly bar available. The Spring Series continues on 13th April, then takes a break over the Easter holidays before reconvening for the grand finale on 27th April.  For more Warsash Spring series sailing information

Warsash Series Reaches Halfway Mark

(Warsash, England)- The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series reached the midpoint on Sunday 30th March this past weekend. Following last week’s heavy conditions, again there was a change back to bright sunshine accompanied by a light south-easterly. In fact, for some hardy sailors it got warm enough for honest-to-goodness “shorts & shades” weather!

The Black Group committee boat set up station at East Knoll, giving an initial windward leg for all classes to Fastnet Insurance buoy south of Lee-on-the-Solent. Courses were tight – IRC1 having 13 marks over 15 miles and the course setters mixed in plenty of starboard roundings to ring the changes. All the starts went remarkably well. The breeze, while fairly constant in direction, occasionally dropped from 11 knots down to 8 kts. Tacticians were fully occupied trading less tide for more wind. Given several marks in common to all classes, rounding could be tricky with many and varied designs in one place at the same time. The strong ebb tide on the windward legs caught some boats out judging the layline incorrectly, causing them to make several attempts to round, short tacking close to the buoy.

In IRC 1 class, the J/111s are having close racing around the dozen plus marks set out each weekend.  JITTERBUG continues to lead the class now by only one pt.  Their 1-2-3 score for 6 pts just nips  David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM with a 4-1-2 for 7 pts.  Tied for third on 14 pts apiece are Will Naylor’s crew on BRITISH SOLDIER and Simon Boadle’s MUNKENBECK.  Revving up their engines this past weekend with a solid race was Charles Ivill’s ETB TYRES, taking a first in class and also 2nd in IRC overall!

Competitors made brief visits to Warsash Sailing Club after racing, probably anxious to fulfill their Mothering Sunday responsibilities. A couple of class winners even missed collecting their weekly champagne prizes presented by Lisa Vincent from Brooks Macdonald. With so many class leaders close on points, there is everything to play for going into the second half of the Series next Sunday 6th April. Thanks for contribution from Louay Habib.  For more Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series sailing information

J/Fest San Francisco Preview

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

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

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

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

Wet & Woolly Warsash II

(Warsash, England)- To say there was a distinct turnabout in conditions for the second spring series race would be an understatement for the intrepid teams that gathered together to go sailing on the capricious Solent. From the “shorts & shades” balmy weather of a week ago, “wellies, woollies & slickers” were the chosen armour on a chilly weekend that brought a mixture of sunshine and heavy rain or hail showers and a strong breeze. Inevitably this took its toll on boats, equipment and sailors but the race officers set tight challenging courses keeping all the crews busy – and warm. To the course setters’ delight, this week the wind remained constant allowing true beats and runs for all classes throughout the morning.

Given a forecast north-westerly of 13-20 kts with gusts to 26 kts and just two hours after low water at the starts, the Black Group committee boat took up station at North Ryde Middle buoy. IRC1 and 2 were given a 16 mile course with 11 marks, alternating long and short legs. Although many starts were close, with jostling on the line, they were all clear. Tidal tactics were important crossing the main channel between Peel Bank and South Ryde Middle. The sun appeared from time to time but so did the lively squalls accompanied by rain and hail.

In IRC 1 class, after nearly three hours’ racing, the J/111 J-DREAM sailed by David and Kirsty Apthorp finished 26 seconds ahead of sistership JITTERBUG sailed by Cornel Riklin. Notably, this tight finish was produced after JITTERBUG had paused to stand by an MOB situation where JITTERBUG, quite rightly, requested redress from the RC/ Protest committee.  With seven J/111s vying for position, the standings are getting interesting already. JITTERBUG is leading the class with a  1-2 for 3 pts and J-DREAM has now jumped into second position with a 4-1 for 5 pts.  The biggest gainer week over week was Will Naylor’s crew on BRITISH SOLDIER, taking a 7-4 for 11 pts.

After a tiring but exhilarating morning competitors were pleased to swap stories in the Warsash Sailing Club bar later where Jonathan Broad from Brooks Macdonald presented champagne to the weekly class winners. The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series returns on 30th March with a reminder for competitors that British Summer Time starts that day too.  Thanks for contribution from Louay Habib.  For more Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series sailing information

Warsash Sailing Series Springs Into Action

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

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

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

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

Warsash Spring Series Preview

(Warsash, England)- It’s that time of year again on the wild & woolly Solent!  Time to remove the winter warps, dust off the old stallion, bend on the sails and take another spin around the cans.  Who has the Solent mark chart?  Anyone, anyone??  God Forbid anyone forgets that single most important bit of kit for navigating the zillion sponsored marker buoys deployed around the Solent.  For sure, veteran sailors of this local body of water are usually some of the world’s better sailors— damn hard to find all the marks for starters, but then one has to factor in massive currents, whirlpools, enormous 40 kt container ships bigger than skyscrapers zipping around the channels and sand banks like a “dodge’em ball competition” and the capricious winds & weather that are never, ever what was forecast.  While the UK MET Office is pretty good at weather forecasting most times, somehow that little river of water that flows between the Needles, across the Ryde Sands and past the Forts between the mainland and Isle of Wight often confounds even the savviest of meteorologists.

The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series starts this weekend and runs all spring from March 16th to April 27th. The Warsash Sailing Club has a 50-strong race management team that is second to none, taking great pride in conducting fun, often challenging, races over the course of the series.  After all, it is Great Britain’s premiere season-opening event and nothing is spared to ensure the sailors go home happy with grins plastered on their faces (some might say that may have been induced by “Guinness”?).

The regatta attracts passionate sailors from across the UK.  Over 100 entries are registered with good one-design fleets of J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and J/111s.  Also sailing are J/92s, J/97s and J/105s!

Seven J/111s will be vying for class bragging rights within IRC-1, for both handicap and one-design honours.  The regatta promises to give all 111 teams great training for the upcoming J/111 World Championship being held at the Royal Yacht Squadron on Cowes, Isle of Wight in August.  Will Duncan Mcdonald’s SHMOKIN JOE team get back on form and finish “in the chocolates”?  Are David & Kirsty Apthorp leading their J/DREAM team to the ultimate dream- winning the inaugural J/111 Worlds?  Or, are veteran crews like Simon Boadle’s slippery silver MUNKENBECK, Will Naylor’s BRITISH SOLDIER or Cornell Riklin’s JITTERBUG capable of upsetting their apple cart?  All these boats are welcoming new J/111 teams like James Arnell’s JEEZ LOUISE (past J/109 winning crew) and Chris Jones & Louie Makin’s new JOURNEYMAKER II (former top J/105 winning offshore crew).  Watch this space, it promises to be a fun series.

In IRC-2, the lone J/109 YEOMAN OF WIGHT is being sailed by David Aisher.  IRC-3 has four J/Teams participating, including two champion J/97s, Nick & Adam Munday’s INDULJENCE, Charles Ivill’s ETB TYRES/ JUST LIKE THAT.  Joining them are Jim Bedford’s J/92s BOJANGLES and Natalie Jobling’s J/105 MOSTLY HARMLESS.  Sailing IRC-4 is past winner J’RONIMO, David Greenhalgh’s J/92.

As anticipated, the J/109 fleet is showing up with an excellent group of seven boats.  Amongst the leading contingent should be familiar names like JAGERBOMB (Paul Griffiths), JUST SO (David Mcgough), JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain & Jean Franks) and OFFBEAT (David Mcleman).  The Royal Air Force crew on RED ARROW will be led by Marcus Wilson.

The J/80s have a dozen good crews lined up to sail this spring, including a French team.  Like their 109 colleagues, there are both new and familiar faces in the crowd.  Patrick Liardet’s AQUA-J, Jon Powell’s BETTY, Mike Lewis’s JESTER, Allan Higgs’s JUICY, Nicholas Allen’s NINJA have been consistent performers near the top of the fleet.  Frenchman Yannig Loyer has brought J/OUT-OF-THE-BOX over to train themselves with good competition in the spring.

The half-dozen J/70s have several new teams joining the fray.  In addition to Marie-Claude & Paul Heys on BRAVO JENNY JONES and Malcolm & Tristan Jaques on DJANGO, the class welcomes new Warsash entries like Colin Simonds’s DOOLALLI, Mike Flood’s J7T, Ian Wilson’s JOYRIDE and Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY.

As well as six Spring Series Sundays, the Spring Championship is being held over the final two weekends of 12th/13th and 26th/27th April. Warsash Sailing Club extends a warm welcome to all competitors at Shore House. A selection of hot and cold food is available each Sunday as well as two barrels of FREE BEER! Weekly class winners are also presented with a bottle of champagne by title sponsors Brooks Macdonald.  A free water taxi is in operation on Sundays before and after racing to and from berths up river as far as Port Hamble.  As was mentioned above, it’s just darn hard to beat such great regatta organization!  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com.  For more Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series sailing information

J/111 West Coast Circuit Update

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

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

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

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

SPACEMAN SPIFF Wins Key West!

(Key West, FL)- There was plenty of final day drama at Quantum Key West 2014 as the winners of several classes were determined during the last race. And, conditions could not have been better for those winner-take-all scenarios with the southernmost point of the United States delivering the strongest winds of the regatta. NNE breezes in the 18-25 knot range made for some spectacular racing on all courses and enabled all classes to complete 10 races for the five-day event.

PHRF 1 Class was up for grabs going into the last race and SPACEMAN SPIFF, the J/111 owned by Rob Ruhlman of Cleveland, Ohio, seized the moment by winning. This was the 13th trip to Key West and the first class victory for the SPACEMAN SPIFF program. “We’ve been trying to win this regatta for a while and it feels good to finally break through. It feels even better because of the quality of competition we faced. This is some of the closest PHRF racing in which I’ve ever participated,” said Ruhlman, who had his wife and son aboard. “We really had a blast this week. It was great sailing and all the people in the class are so friendly. We passed TEAMWORK on the way into the harbor and their entire crew applauded us.”

TEAMWORK, a J/122 skippered by Robin Team of Lexington, N.C., came up short in its bid to three-peat in Key West – finishing 4.5 points behind SPACEMAN SPIFF.  In fact, Robin’s team had to win a tie-breaker over Eddie Fredericks’ crew on the brilliant orange J/111 FIREBALL to capture second overall.  Mid-week, the TEAMWORK crew were on a roll, rattling off four straight bullets to jump up the ladder into contention, however a seventh race 7th position hurt their chances at grabbing the brass-ring.  Sailing very strongly all week was “Fast Eddie’s” FIREBALL team, trading the lead with the SPIFFER’s until the last two races when a 5-4 tally dropped them into the tie-breaker with TEAMWORK.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.

Sailing video interviews:

Rob Ruhlman- J/111 Spaceman Spiff owner and winner of PHRF 1
Robin Team- J/122 TEAMWORK owner, 2nd in PHRF 1 and past Key West champion.

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Epic Sailing off Key West- Day 4

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

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

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

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

Friday’s racing promises to have another epic, even windier day, with 15-25 kts wind forecasted from the NNE. Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Spectacular Sailing- Day 3 in Key West

(Key West, FL)- Broad smiles and weary bones usually means a successful day on the water for sailors. There was plenty of both on the docks around the Conch Republic on Wednesday after organizers of Quantum Key West 2014 completed three races in strong winds.

Northerly winds that held steady from 12-20 knots provided the best racing conditions yet for the 10 classes on three divisions. After completing three races combined on Monday and Tuesday, the competitors were thankful for the full day's work.

Spaceman Spiff and Team Fireball, a pair of J/111s, are duking it out in the eight-boat PHRF 1 class. Spaceman Spiff, sailed by Rob and Ryan Ruhlman of Cleveland, Ohio, pulled ahead by 2.5 points based on the results in Wednesday's last race. Spaceman Spiff tied the J/122 El Ocaso for third place on corrected time while Fireball, skippered by Eddie Fredericks of Annapolis, suffered a sixth place finish.

"We feel good about the way the boat is moving. I think the key for us has been minimizing mistakes and recovering from the few we have made," Rob Ruhlman said. "We have sailed conservatively, especially at the starts."

PHRF 1 was deemed the most competitive class at Quantum Key West on Wednesday and that earned Teamwork the Mount Gay Rum Boat of the Day honor. Skipper Robin Team steered his J/122 to three bullets as Teamwork jumped from sixth to third in the overall standings.  "We had a little pep talk this morning at breakfast and reminded everybody what we are capable of when we are focused and determined," Team said. "We had epic conditions today and our team loves that type of breeze. Our tactician, Jonathan Bartlett, was on fire. He hit every shift all day long." Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Another Epic Key West Sailing Forecast!

(Key West, FL)- This year’s Quantum Key West Race Week is gearing up for its trademark week of racing on the aquamarine waters off the coast of the Conch Republic. As the sailors make their way down the Florida Keys by air, water and land over the weekend, it looks like they will be greeted by either the tail feathers of another “polar vortex” spinning madly across America or they’ll be hammered by a “clipper system” ripping SSE across the continent spinning up all kinds of winds.  By Monday, the “good word” from the colorful Key West Chamber of Commerce is that sunny, benign weather will caress the fleet with near-perfect Caribbean-like conditions all week— some forecast!  Realistically, various weather forecast models (GFS, NAM, ECUWF) show 8-12 kts from NW to NE quadrants for Monday, Tuesday followed by increasing winds from the NW to NE in the 10 to 20 kts plus range from Wednesday to Friday’s closing day.

There will be nearly 130 boats sailing, but what’s different, like a lot different, about this year’s Key West is that J/Teams comprise two-thirds (66.0%) of the fleet with 85 J’s sailing.  In other words, Key West is now the de-facto “Winter J/Fest”!  That’s a good thing since the new regatta HQ at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill, situated on Caroline St between Whitehead St and the infamous Duval St will be over-run by members of the J/Tribe sailing J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, and J/125!

The PHRF fleets 1 & 2 will be sailing with a variation of Rod Johnstone’s J/PHRF ratings, meaning all J’s will be rated quite fairly against one another.  Robin Team (Lexington, N.C.) and the boys aboard the J/122 TEAMWORK will look to repeat in PHRF 1 while going against another J/122 and four J/111 designs in this incredibly competitive eight boat class.  In fact, the TEAMWORK gang may be in for the fight of their lives against the “rogue’s gallery” of J teams in the class, many whom have won Key West Divisions in the past.  For starters, Jim Madden’s J/125 STARK RAVING MAD will have an all-star team from San Diego, CA ensuring he’s going fast in the right direction.  Challenging them will be Rick Wesslund’s “new” EL OCASO, a J/122 that’s quite fast and no question will include many of his past Key West winning teams.

Joining the PHRF 1 class will be four J/111s, any one of which are capable of winning.  Consequently, they’re also the hardest to handicap as everyone continues to improve significantly.  FIREBALL’s crew will be led by tactician Kristen Robinson from Annapolis. Rob & Ryan Ruhlman from Cleveland, OH are back in Key West with their new SPACEMAN SPIFF (watch out, they improved dramatically at the J/111 NA’s in Chicago after taking delivery of the boat just 3 days beforehand!).  Brad Farber’s UTAH from Macatawa Bay YC has several Chicago-Mac winning crew aboard. And, three-time Key West participant and multiple podium finisher, Doug Curtiss, has the colorful WICKED 2.0 sailing with his champion Buzzards Bay crew aboard.

Rick Wesslund was a regular at Key West from 2004 to 2010 with his J/120 EL OCASO program and returns after a three-year hiatus with his newly-purchased J/122. "This is our debut regatta and we are really eager to put our best foot forward. We are cautiously optimistic, but know this will be a real good performance test for the boat. Robin has a terrific team and that is always a well-sailed boat so we will have to be on top of our game in order to win," said Wesslund, who earned the PHRF Boat of the Week honor in 2006.   Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal Photos and Tim Wilkes.com Photos.

For Key West sailing video entertainment, look at this beautifully produced summary from Chris Odom @ Chris Odom Photos- nice sequences of J/70s, J/80s, J/109, J/111, J/44, J/122 in the 3-minute clip.   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J-DREAM Crowned J/111 Hamble Winter Series Champ!

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

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

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

Hamble Winter Series- Weekend VII

(Hamble, England)-  The penultimate weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series saw a chilly and gusty breeze that shifted regularly between 002 and 022 degrees, demanding frequent tacks and rewarding tacticians with their heads out of the boat. Despite only reaching 18 knots, the wind was gusty enough to keep trimmers on their toes.

In some classes, boats that have been dominant throughout the series consolidated their overall lead, despite not topping the fleet in Sunday’s race.  In IRC 0, David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/111 J-DREAM continued to sail a consistent series in their class and maintained their strong record with a 3rd this past weekend to hold on to their bronze podium position as well as their gold position in the J/111 one-design class overall.


Finally, David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM are leading the J/111 class, ahead of Andrew Christie’s ICARUS in second and Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG in third.

Prizes were generously provided by Driver’s Dry Berthing at a prize-giving back in the Hamble River Sailing Club club house. See you next week on the water for one more race! Thanks for the contributions from Ben Meakins.  For sailing photo credits-  Paul Wyeth Pictures   For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/111 Worlds & European Circuit Announcement!

(Cowes, IOW, England)- The European J/111 circuit is shaping up to be an exciting season for 111 sailors from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from Italy to Ireland!  There are events taking place on the Mediterranean as well as in “classic” sailing ports along the North Sea and the Channel, all leading up to the first J/111 World Championships to take place in the famous waters of the Solent and hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron off Cowes, England from August 20th to 24th!

Teams from Northern Europe as well as the Mediterranean can look forward to early season warm-up regattas that include Vice Admirals Cup, North Sea Regatta, Normandy Week and Giraglia Rolex Cup prior to the J/111 Europeans being hosted in 2014 in conjunction with the massively popular Cowes Week event in early August.  The Europeans will serve as a “Pre-Worlds” for the 111 teams participating in J/111 Worlds two weeks later.  Below is the schedule for the major J/111 events in the 2014 J/111 European Circuit:

• May 9-12- Vice Admirals Cup- Cowes, England
• Jun 6-9- North Sea Regatta- The Hague, Netherlands
• Jun 9—15- Normandy Week- Le Havre, France
• Jun 14-22- Giraglia Rolex Cup- St Tropez, France & San Remo, Italy
• Aug 2-5- J/111 European Championships- Cowes, England
• Aug 20-24- J/111 World Championships- Royal Yacht Squadron- Cowes, England
• September- Benelux J/111 Regatta- Breskens, Netherlands
• October- Tour de Corse- Bonifacio, Italy

For more J/111 Class sailing information, charter boat information, please contact J/Composites (jcomposites.eu) or J/Boats- ph# 401-846-8410.

Hamble Winter Series- Weekend VI

(Hamble, England)- After weeks of gales, it was with some trepidation that the Garmin Hamble Winter Series fleet nosed out of the river on Sunday in time for their start. Fears of wintry weather were misplaced, however, and some hours later the fleet returned with grins on their faces. ‘Awesome day on the water’ and ‘Champagne sailing conditions’ were some of the phrases heard bandied around the clubhouse after racing by competitors sporting that most unseasonal of things – sun-kissed faces.

The north-west 15-18 kts breeze provided some delightful but testing sailing conditions for the assembled racing yachts, with big shifts offering up big gains for some competitors with their eyes out of the boat and big losses for the less fortunate. One race was sailed.

In IRC 0, David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J/111 J-DREAM continued to sail a consistent series in their class and maintained their strong record with a 2nd this past weekend to hold on to their bronze podium position as well as their gold position in the J/111 one-design class overall.   For sailing photo credits-  Paul Wyeth Pictures   For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information