J/Teams Sailing Fast In Charleston

J/111 Wins PHRF A, J/120 Wins PHRF C, J/29 Wins PHRF F, 22s-24s-80s Have Epic One-Design Sailing
(Charleston, SC)- Again, the regatta management team at this year's Sperry Topsider Charleston Race Week and the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina knocked it out of the park, hosting another great event, fine-tuning on-shore festivities even better than before and on-the-water making the most of what Mother Nature had to offer.  And, no question the fleets were challenged by this year's sailing conditions; ranging from a gorgeous, sunny Friday with NE 8-15 kt breezes, to a partly cloudy Saturday with Easterly 5-12 kt winds, to a rainy cloudy Sunday finale with a finicky, variable N-NW 5-12 kt crap shoot.

In the end, it was good competition across the range of fleets both offshore for the big boats and inshore for the one-design fleets.  The PRO's at CRW should be commended for their remarkable adroitness at managing their respective fleets and getting off as many races as they did in such challenging weather conditions.  As a result of their efforts, several epic battles ensued in both the offshore handicap fleets and the inshore one-design fleets.

For the offshore gang, the J's were sailing in PHRF B and PHRC C on the north course and in PHRF F on the south course.  Sailing in one of the most competitive offshore fleets, PHRF B, the J/111 RAGIN sailed by Bob Moran and crew from Annapolis, MD raced a great series to pull off a well-deserved win, posting a 2-7-5-3-1-2-1-1 scoreline to take the series with 15 pts.  Giving them a tough battle all weekend long was early class leader, the J/122 TEAMWORK sailed by Robin Team's crew from North Carolina.  Their 1-3-4-5-6-4-4-2 score for 23 pts was just good enough to maintain second place.  It was self-evident by Sunday that the top five teams in this class were going to settle their scores on the last race.  Steadily climbing up that ladder was Doug Curtiss's J/111 WICKED 2.0, earning a hard-fought third place with a 7-4-7-1-2-1-3-13 for 25 pts.  Fifth in PHRF B was Henry Brauer's J/111 FLEETWING with a score of 6-8-2-4-4-6-2-4 for 28 pts.  As anyone can tell you that saw the racing on Sunday, anyone could have won on the last day, it was the luck of the draw on several occasions with regards to wind shifts and massive holes magically showing up across the race course.  In the J/111 One-Design scoring, it was RAGIN 1st followed by WICKED 2.0 in 2nd and FLEETWING in 3rd.  Of note, the J/111 RAGIN won the "Palmetto Cup" for Best Offshore Performance Award for top offshore team in the most competitive class!  Kudos to Bob Moran and team winning such a prestigious award in their first major regatta on the J/111!

In PHRF C, the J/120s were a big factor in the overall results despite having two very fast and smart teams aboard some 35 foot J's from across the decades.  In the end, it was local favorites Bill Hanckel on the J/120 EMOCEAN that swept the fleet, scoring a 3-1-1-1-1.5-1-1-5 for a grand total of just 9.5 points for first place.  Were it not for one bad race, Gary Weisberg's crew on the J/109 HEAT WAVE were just one heartbeat away from giving the EMOCEAN crew serious anxiety attacks.  HEAT WAVE's 4-8-3-2-1.5-2-2-1 for 15 pts was a solid score to earn them a silver on the podium.

Perhaps the donnybrook of the event aside from these other two divisions outlined above were the famous, fabled "29s" in the J/Family of designs.  A modern J/92 versus the J/29 mastheads of old, wow was that a fight to the finish!  And, what great racing these teams had over the course of seven races.  Beaming from ear-to-ear after they crossed the finish line in the last race were Ira Perry's crew on the J/29 SEEFEST, winning by the "hair on their chinny chin chin".  One point!  SEEFEST's 2-2-3-2-3-4-3 for 15 pts just squeaked by Dave Pritchard's J/29 AMIGOS which had accumulated a 4-5-4-ocs-1-1-1 for 16 pts!  My goodness.  Plus, Jim Mackevich's J/29 FOR SAIL held on tough to manage a 6-4-2-3-2-2-5 score for 18 pts to secure third.  Incredibly, past multiple Key West PHRF Champion, Steve Thurston's J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN sailed to a consistent tally of 1-1-6-6-4-3-4 for 19 pts, only good enough for 4th place!  Yet another J/29, John Amyot's BLITZ! from Canada not only won races, too, getting a 3-7-5-1-5-5.5-2 for 21.5 pts, but could only hang on for 5th place.  This group of five 29 ft J's were a seriously tough group of hombres-- fun sailing for all.

On the inshore side of things, there were epic battles and some dominating performances.  First, the epochal armageddons that always evolve in the closely fought J/24 class.  Amazing isn't it?  After 35 years of sailing, the J/24s still produce some of the world's best sailors and best class battles.  This time, some familiar faces were again at the front of the fleet.  While getting out of the starting blocks a bit slow on the first day, Mike Ingham and his Rochester Team of J/24 jockeys simply put themselves into cruise control and knocked out a steady 3-7-2-8-1-1-2-2-5 for 23 pts to become a repeat CRW J/24 Champions.  Second was Travis Odenbach, sailing the great yacht HONEY BADGER to a fast out-of-the-box 4-3-1-1-2-2 but fading to black with a 12-1-11 for 25 pts.  Third was Chip Till's gang on the infamous MURDER INCORPORATED, talk about blasting out of the blocks in a track meet-- their 1-1-4-dsq-6-3-1-13-7 was both heroic and tragic all at once- a Shakespearean play in the making.  What gives guys? Had to be the toxic "dark'n'stormies".  Perhaps if they race the Annapolis NOODs they can fight for retribution rights.

On the domination game side of things, it's pretty clear the J/22s had to contend with a multiple World Champion that hasn't lost his touch over time and a newcomer in the J/80s had everyone scratching their heads and singing the blues in their beers.  In the J/22 world, Greg Fisher simply demonstrated to many that he's been a class-act for a long time, winning with grace and style with a solid 2-2-1-1-4-8-3-1-4 for 18 pts to take the J/22s by a substantial margin.  Second was Jackson Benvenutti's team starting fast, then hoping to hang in there and scoring a steady 1-3-5-4-3-5-1-5-6 for 27 pts.  Third was another Odenbach sailing, this was the "Jack" version sailing MKI to a 3-9-2-9-2-6-2-3-1 for 28 pts, just missing the silver on the podium.  Fourth was Todd Hiller with LEADING EDGE and fifth was Mike Marshall WHARF RAT.

The J/80s had fantastic, very competitive sailing on their circle-- always challenging and not without its surprises.  Somehow divining the intricacies of this course better than most anyone else was Bill Rose on KICKS.  Screamingly fast and smart on the first day, they never let up on the fleet.  Their 1-1-2-4-1-3-4-5-3-dns for 24 pts was sufficient to win the J/80s by a lot!  Second was top J/105 sailor Brian Keane racing SAVASANA to a 3-2-5-1-5-11-2-6-4-5 for 33 pts.  Alex Kraus sailed COOL J to third overall with 44 pts total, just beating out class leader Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO with 46 pts in fourth.  Capturing fifth was Nizar Abuzzeni sailing ARROW.

How did it all pan out on a daily basis?  Here are summarized reports from Dan Dickinson, "media man" for the Sperry Topsider CRW.

DAY 1- Nature Shines On First Day Of Racing- Stronger-Than-Expected Wind and Waves Ignite Race Week— Charleston proved itself once again to be one of the world’s most reliable sailing destinations today, with mother nature unwilling to accept forecasts of a day with little breeze.

Offshore, around a hundred racing boats from 26 to 72 feet long set off into sporty conditions — an unexpected 12 to 16 knots of wind and large, choppy seas. The PHRF Class C is proving a true clash of the titans, with local legend Bill Hanckel’s J/120 EMOCEAN just a point ahead of 2011 Champ Tim Tucker’s C&C 115 Rock Star, while just one point separates the J/122 TEAMWORK, the X-41 Sarah, and the OD 35 Fearless, the top three boats in PHRF B.

On the inshore race courses, Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week’s biggest ever inshore fleet fought and scrapped for every inch on the course, sometimes taking it too far.  2011 Charleston Race Week champ and many-time J/24 North American, National, and European Champion Mike Ingham had a tough day on the water, though not as tough as he thought. “With the current flowing out, we got caught in a couple of bad spots during the starts and ended up over the line early twice,” Ingham explained. “When we got back and found out we were in second place, we couldn’t believe it.”

DAY 2- Mixed Conditions Tighten Up Fleets While America’s Cup Visits Charleston— Nearly two hundred sixty racing teams hit the docks this morning, ready to battle their opponents on the second day of racing. Instead of Charleston’s usually reliable sea breeze, the offshore courses faced unstable, patchy winds that allowed only two races over the course of the day.  A fierce battle has broken out in the B Fleet, with Greg Manning’s Rhode Island-based X-41 Sarah tied on points with Bob Moran’s Annapolis-based J/111 RAGIN’. Two-time Charleston Race Week champ Robin Team (J/122 TEAMWORK) had a disappointing day, dropping to third place, with another J/111, WICKED 2.0 from Dartmouth, Mass, breathing down his crew’s neck.“

Charleston Native Bill Hanckel’s team on board his J/120 EMOCEAN was nearly unbeatable in today’s shifty wind, though not quite: Gary Weisburg’s J/109 HEAT WAVE corrected to the identical time as Hanckel’s crew – down to the hundredth of a second in Race 5. “We thought we lost to Heat Wave in that race,” said Bill Hanckel. “Pretty amazing to see an hour-long race come down to a hundredth of a second, and it’s a sign of how tight the racing is out there.” Despite a recent leg injury, Hanckel is sailing hard, with son Will on the helm. “Surgery on my leg would’ve cost the same as getting the bottom of EMOCEAN into race shape. You can guess what I spent the money on!!”

The inshore courses saw consistently higher breeze than offshore, allowing another four races to be completed across all three circles. Considering the shifty conditions and unpredictable wind velocity, it was a surprise to see the leaders remain the same across the inshore classes. College of Charleston Sailing Director Greg Fisher continues his stranglehold on the J/22 fleet, Bill Rose aboard KICKS extended his lead over the J/80 Class to 8 points, and in the J/24 Class, Annapolis sailor Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER holds a four-point lead over the surging Mike Ingham and his team on board US 4558, who won the day with a 1-1-2-2 scorecard.

The evening’s beach party had an extremely special guest on Saturday, and over 1,500 sailors crowded around the big stage to welcome the America’s Cup to South Carolina for the first time in its 161-year old history. Representatives of America’s Cup Defender Golden Gate Yacht Club flew the prestigious trophy to Charleston to share their vision for the 34th America’s Cup with the huge crowds of passionate sailors attending Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week. “What an unbelievable reception!” said GGYC Commodore Norbert Bajurin. “We really are bowled over by the welcome we’ve received here, and the level of interest from Charleston Race Week sailors in the next America’s Cup competition.” GGYC’s Vice Commodore is long-time Cup veteran Tom Ehman, who delivered an exciting multi-media presentation for the crowd. “We’re hugely grateful to Norbert and Tom for working so hard to get the Cup here, and to our sailors for turning out in such incredible numbers,” said Randy Draftz, Event Director. “We just hope they bring it back next year!”

DAY 3- A Wet Finale— The heavy weather forecast for Charleston failed to materialize on Sunday, and unsettled conditions meant different challenges throughout the three race areas. Within a 10-mile radius, both the offshore and inshore racing classes sailed between 0 and 3 races for the final, deciding day of the country’s largest keelboat regatta.

“These were some of the most challenging conditions we’ve seen ever at Race Week in Charleston, and it’s a credit to these race committee workers, the vast majority of them volunteers, that we got so many races in this week,” said Event Director Randy Draftz. “This event couldn’t be run without the nearly 300 volunteers that so generously donate their time, their energies, and their boats to this event, and we want to give all of them a special thanks for making Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week one of the best regattas anywhere.

A huge rivalry came down to the wire on Sunday in the J/24 class, where Travis Odenbach led Mike Ingham until the final race of the week. Both teams are from Rochester, NY, and both skippers are preparing for the huge J/24 World Championship in Rochester later this summer.  “We’ve been racing against each other for a decade, and we’ll probably be racing against each other for a decade more,” said Odenbach, whose HONEY BADGER took second place by a 2-point deficit.  “Going into the last race today we were down by a few points, and we got the start we needed,” explained Ingham. Odenbach didn’t stand a chance.  “Mike got ahead, and every tack, he slammed us back, just as he needed to,” he said. This is Ingham’s second consecutive victory at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, and he says he’ll be back to go for the hat trick.  “Where else would I want to be in April?” he exclaimed.

Greg Fisher took the 15-boat J/22 class by nine points, earning the College of Charleston’s Sailing Director the Charleston Race Week Perpetual Trophy for top one-design performance. A huge cheer went out from the crowd for the adopted Charlestonian, who sailed with wife Jo-Ann, College of Charleston freshman and varsity sailor Allie Blumenthal and longtime crew Jeff Eiber. The regatta's other perpetual award, The Palmetto Cup, which is given to the top performing boat in the PHRF classes, was awarded to Bob Moran and his crew on board the J/111 RAGIN' out of Herndon, VA Moran and his talented crew competed in PHRF Class B, in which they also won class honors.

The J/80 class rounded out the J/Boat one designs, and Bill Rose on KICKS continued his dominant performance, clinching the victory with a race to spare. Brian Keane’s Massachusetts based SAVASA took second place.

The local favorites aboard the J/120 EMOCEAN were overjoyed at their victory in PHRF C.  “We put the band back together and everything just fell into place,” said helmsman Will Hanckel. “Eight of the original 11 EMOCEAN crew were with us this week and their skill and our communication level aboard made things almost easy."  Sailing Photo Credits- Meredith Block/ BlockSail.com.  For more Charleston Race Week sailing information

J/111- "Ready, Set, Go"

(Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland)- Recently, the boats.com editorial staff took a little side-trip to a gorgeous mountain lake high in the Swiss Alps to experience super-fast flat-water sailing on the J/111 with J/Swiss dealer Peter Bangerter (current holder of the J/70 speed record of 16.8 kts).  Joining Peter was boats.com editor Michael Good for a fun, fast ride and day spent sailing on Lake Neuchatel.  Here's Mike's commentary:

"Excitingly fast, light, and handsome, the J/111 could turn into a top choice for racing sailors--- we were about to run out of room on the lake, and beating into the breeze on the return trip would be quite a haul. The Swiss J/Boat dealer Peter Bangerter suggested turning back, and his words suddenly interrupted the helmsman’s flirtations with the thrill of speed. Reaching at up to 14 knots, the J/111 was motoring down Lake Neuchatel, running as if on tracks, fabulously well controlled and accelerating in the puffs like a sport boat – that’s terrific sailing and a lot of fun."  Read the rest of Mike's review of the J/111 here on boats.com.

J's Lovin' Fresh Warsash Sailing

(Warsash, So'ton, England)- The second half of the Warsash Spring Series arrived with a "bang" on 15th April after a break for Easter. Following three Sundays of light and fickle breezes, competitors were greeted with a brisk if chilly northerly of 12-14 knots, which unexpectedly rose to over 20 knots by late morning-- indeed, fresh to frightening with a bit of nip in the air!

The Black Group fleet raced from a start line on Ryde Middle bank on courses designed to include the occasional reach, interspersed with beats and runs. The start sequence stayed on schedule until an over eager IRC3 class forced a general recall. All classes shared common marks for the start and end of each race with the middle section of each course suitably adjusted to suit the different classes.  In IRC 1 class, the J/111 JEEZ LOUISE skippered by James Arnell sailed for the first time in the series and finished 3rd, just beating out Ivan Trotman's J/122 JOLOU in 4th.

The J/109 class has a dozen entries this year and so far each race has produced a different winner. This week it was newcomer Jonnie Goodwin’s HARLEQUIN that was top boat. This was his first race in the series and the team put in a very strong performance to beat David & Mary McGough’s JUST SO by over four minutes. If HARLEQUIN competes similarly in the next two weeks, there could well be a shake up in the results. At this stage, Mike & Sarah Wallis' JAHMALI are leading with a 2-2-1-3 scoreline for 8 pts, followed in 2nd by David Mcleman's OFFBEAT with a 4-1-3-4 tally for 12 pts.  Lying third id Owain Franks & Jean Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX with a 5-6-2-6 with 19 pts.  Less than four points behind in 4th and 5th, respectively, are David & Mary McGough's JUST SO and Paul Griffith's JAGERBOMB.

In the mixed J/Sprit class, another newcomer had a good day. The J/105 JOURNEYMAKER V (Chris Jones), as the biggest boat in the class, reveled in the conditions to take line honours but three minutes behind him and less than a boat’s length apart Tony Mack’s MCFLY just beat the J/97 INDULJENCE (Nick & Adam Munday) to the line to take the class win on his first outing. Class leader J'RONIMO (David Greenhalgh & John Taylor) could only manage fourth in their slightly smaller J/92 for a 1-1-1-4 record for 7 pts.  Second is Nick and Adam Munday's INDULJENCE with a 5-2-2-2 scoreline for 11 pts.  Third is Andy Howe's J/92 BLACKJACK with a 3-3-3-6 score for 15 pts.  Fourth is John Cooper & Ian Townend's J/92 JAMMIN and fifth is Chris Jones' seasoned offshore campaigners on JOURNEYMAKER 5.

On the White Group sportsboat course, the J/80s were given a gate at the bottom of the course. In the first strong breeze of the year, for many of them the retrieval of gennakers proved to be a significant factor and some ended up having to sail longer windward legs than expected. In the first race it became apparent that boats sailing to the shifts made the most gains. Under the lee of the Meon shore the northerly wind was much more susceptible to shifting and the boats that chose to go for the laylines tended to lose out. Two boats dominated the J/80 class. Rob Larke (J2x) won all three races and he was followed home each time by Ian Atkins in boats.com.  After a series total of twelve races, J2X is leading by over 20 pts.  Lying second is Nick and Annie Haigh's SLIGHTLY STEAMY with 43 pts, followed in third by Stew Hawthorn's J'AI DEUX AMOURS with 62 pts.  Fourth is Patrick Liardet in AQUA-J with 64 pts and fifth is Ian's boats.com with 75 pts.

Next weekend the pace hots up with racing on both days for the Warsash Spring Championship, including a section with trialists for the Dolphin Brewer’s Commodore’s Cup. The fifth week of the Warsash Spring Series continues on Sunday 22nd April.   Sailing photo credits- Eddie Mays  For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information

J/111 SoCal Boatshow

(Newport Beach, CA)- J/111 will be on display at the April 19-22- Newport Beach Boatshow.  Learn more from Jeff Brown and crew at JK3 Yachting why this remarkable 36 footer has taken the world by storm over the past year.  With one-design activity growing in Europe and America, now's the time to jump aboard and have some fun in 2012 and look forward to Key West in 2013!  Recently, the J/111 One-Design Class in SPI Ouest France saw fantastic racing from teams across Europe, expect more in the Solent and Cowes Race Week.  Next up in America are class racing events in Charleston, Annapolis, Newport, Chicago, Harbor Springs and San Francisco.  Contact Jeff Brown and crew at jeff@jk3yachts.com or cell#619-709-0697.  The boatshow information for the Newport Show.

J/111 JAKE Wins Sydney Ocean Series

(Sydney, Australia)- The amazingly long summer series that are sailed Down Under have no peer "Up North".  Remember, Aussie/Kiwi sailing seasons in the southern hemisphere are much, much longer than any experienced up north-- "summer" lasts over six months!  As a result, any sailboat that goes the distance over the course of the summer in these long, testing sailing seasons is deserving of any championship silverware they win.  It just so happens that one of those teams is the J/111 JAKE that has been turning heads off the Sydney Heads for several months.  Here's their report of their final race of the season series:

"With the start close to Potts Point in beautiful Sydney Harbour and the wind edging either side of south, it made for a spectacular spinnaker start heading down the harbour. As with all of this season since our J/111 JAKE was launched, our competition consisted of much larger, more expensive boats. We really feel like a dinghy on the start line however with kites set through the start in the 13 -14 knot breeze we were amongst the leaders towards the Lady Bay mark at South Head. We managed to hang onto our kite longer than most and made up some ground on the 45 and 50 footers. Kite finally down to get out of the harbour and the 80 footer BRINDABELLA already storming out the heads and heading north before the freshening southerly.

We found ourselves 2 sail reaching between “About Time” the  Cookson 12 and “St Jude” the Sydney 47 as our line to clear the rocks at North Head came into view. Up with our 120 sq.m. reacher. ‘Bang!’ the kite filled with around 20 knots in it. JAKE leapt out of the water with the crew on "About Time" cheering and clapping at the sight.  The skipper from "About Time" said afterwards, (“JAKE flew past us going to the Island - she almost lifted out of the water - we could see her keel.”). Our J/111 accelerated at such a pace exploding over the waves - we had soon left "About Time" and "St Jude" behind with one of our crew commenting we were 5th boat on the water and what a sight behind with around 15 much larger boats already in the rear-view mirror. We had not sailed in this breeze since the very first offshore race and coincidently the same course at the beginning of the season in October. This time we were ready. We had learned much about the J/111 since then and with rig tweaked for the conditions we were off. The speedo rapidly clicking, 8 to 15 knots almost instantly, then 16, 17 we were flying, the boat was on rails – solid, comfortable and so easy to steer, the crew elated we finally have JAKE in some breeze again. We wanted to keep close inshore so prepped for our first gybe, a little nervous but wait for the next wave, hitting 16 knots nooo problem, sweet as with only a few knots wind speed to boat speed difference - the gybes are so easy. Nervousness gone, the crew are playing spinny tweakers to try and get even more out of JAKE.  Breeze building slightly and now in the mid to upper twenties, confused sea but we’re making the most of the available waves. The tip of the sprit buries a few feet, no problem, crew a little further aft. Four behind the helm know and JAKE picks up another few tenths, then 18, 19, 19.1 knots....

Long Reef, just over halfway to Pittwater is looming fast so we gybe again to give it plenty of clearance. Behind us some boats are having trouble. A 50 footer ‘Never A Dull Moment’ living up to its name kite affray and struggling to get it down, off our port quarter the Sydney GTS 43 looks in trouble, they broach a few times and are soon heading back to safe harbour waters. Our friends on "About Time" have a little Chinese gybe but soon recover. JAKE is solid and the ride is surprisingly dry, water squirting out from under the mast area of the boat 10 feet either side as we nonstop plane north to Lion Island. The speedo starts doing crazy things as it exits the water. ’We are creeping up on Merlin’ calls one of the crew, she’s a fifty footer, ‘19.6’ someone shouts through the spray. Hedgy who is on his second only sail in JAKE says the top speeds are impressive but more impressive is that we are not dropping below 16 knots for many minutes at a time, the last  run was almost  5 minutes doing over 16 knots. Lion Island in Pittwater is soon in sight and we must be careful not to get under the high cliffs too early and into the wind shadow. So we throw our final gybe back toward the land absolutely screaming down the front of wave (back at the club a crew member says he saw 21.4 just before the gybe). We don’t want the ride to end and wish it was the Newcastle race we did a few weeks ago, being another 40 or so miles further north.

We are soon under the wind shadow which is unavoidable and recognized that we probably went a little too far out on the last gybe. The crew trim the boat forward again and comment we feel like we have stopped. Only doing 9.5 knots now as we head into the Lion Island mark. Merlin the 50 footer goes around it a minute ahead of us. We are 4th or 5th boat around the top mark. It’s hard to tell as the Pittwater fleets are now sailing in the same area.  It’s also an amazing site as our 36 footer settles into the long beat back to Sydney to see boats like DK 43s, Beneteau 45s, Sydney 47s and other 40 to 45 footers still sailing towards us with spinnakers set. The breeze has freshened and we see 28 knots of wind often. The J/111 is sweet to windward, very stiff and hardly slams in the building waves. We concentrate hard as some of the bigger boats begin to claw a few minutes back on us during the long beat home but checking our watches we know we have done some significant damage to them on time already. A few larger boats pass us close to Sydney, but JAKE triumphs with a third on IRC and second place overall in Sydney’s division one Ocean Pointscore Series.

Almost as impressive is the 3rd overall in the Short Ocean Point Score Series which Jake had to miss 3 races due to Sail Expo and other commitments. This astonishing 36 footer has proved itself in the most competitive local fleets around in a wide variety of conditions from gale force winds to glass-outs and drifters. It’s been a tale of David and many Goliaths. JAKE will be on the market to make room for the new J/70.  However, another J/111 is on the cards afterwards, these boats are just too much fun.  Our very best regards to all our competitors, and our crew for another fantastic sailing season filled with thrills…"  Thanks to Bobby Joe and Marie.  :) 

Charleston Race Week Preview

(Charleston, SC)- With 260 teams entered to sail this year's Charleston Race Week with a nice mix of inside the Bay one-design fleets and offshore big boats, it's safe to say the event started years ago by Brad Van Liew and friends and now spearheaded by Randy Draftz and crew has firmly established itself in the midwinter sailing circuit.  Hosted by the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina that sports a great harbor, beautiful resort hotel, giant swimming pool and a soft, sand beach, the event has become the "Southern Hospitality" version of the famous Caribbean regattas (e.g. St Maarten, Rolex St Thomas, St Barths, Antigua).

As the regatta's reputation has grown over time, it has continued to attract an ever greater number of one-design classes from across the country and a large group of passionate offshore sailors as well.  The J clan of sailors have certainly embraced the event, with 78 boats attending, J/Boats is by far the biggest sailing brand in attendance, with 30% of the total boats sailing (and easily the largest number of sailors!).  This J contingent is spread amongst the 57 one-designs- J/22's (15 boats), J/24's (24 boats) and J/80's (18 boats) and 21 offshore boats spread across 4 PHRF Divisions.

The J/22 class have World Champion Greg Fisher and team sailing on USA 1586 who will likely be challenged by such teams like Todd Hiller from Annapolis YC sailing LEADING EDGE; Kurt Swanson from Pennsylvania sailing SLINGSHOT; Annapolis sailor Kathy Parks on SUNDOG; and J/22 NA's hosts Chris Princing and crew on TEAM TAWAS.

With two dozen teams showing up from across the country, it's clear the J/24s are always going to have a good'ole fashioned mud-slinging in the trenches.  Several good teams have a potential to make their presence felt, including Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER from Annapolis, MD; Chip Till's crew on MURDER INCORPORATED from Wrightsville Beach, NC; and World Champion Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY on USA 5448.  Nevertheless, there will be other teams that are sure to mix it up with these competitive crews to force some roller-coaster rides in the standings-- always happens, always will!

Several J/80 class leaders are in the mix including Chris & Liz Chadwick on CHURCH KEY from Annapolis, MD; Chris Bulger on GOOSE from Buzzards Bay, MA; Andy Burton on GROMIT from Newport, RI; Brian Keane on SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA; and Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO from Fort Worth, TX.  This is a tough crew as evidenced by the fact most sailed Key West Race Week in January and the recent Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.  No way to predict this outcome as it all depends on team "karma"-- some will be more dialed in than others by the time crucial races are settled on Sunday afternoon! In the end, the J/80 teams certainly have a lot of fun sailing in Charleston!

Offshore the racing will be close and competitive in the four PHRF divisions.  In the PHRF B Class, it's a class dominated by J's, with 7 of 11 boats and several of them veterans from having raced one another in Key West Race Week 2012 for the top of the podium.  The biggest J sailing will be the J/130 SUGAR MAGNOLIA sailed by David Hackney from James Island, SC.  The two J/122s have proven they're extremely difficult to beat on windward-leeward courses and the teams present will give no quarter to anyone.  Leading the J/122 charge is likely to be Robin Team's TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC, but John Thouron's team on DUNDER from Waterbury, VT will be working hard to match the Key West Race Week champion's speed and smarts.  A quartet of J/111s will be racing not just as a one-design J/111 sub-class, but also doing their best to upset the proverbial apple-cart of fellow PHRF classmates.  Key West Race Week has proven the J/111s are entirely capable of being competitive in both modes.  Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 and Henry Brauer's FLEETWING are both veterans of the Key West Race Week gun-battle.  Entering the fray will be Marty Roesch's VELOCITY and Bob Moran's RAGIN' from the Chesapeake Bay J/111 fleet.  No predictions made here, like the movie, it's simply a "shoot-out at the OK Corral" amongst this fleet of sailors.

PHRF C promises to have some great racing with J/Teams comprising 5 of the 8 boats in class.  The three J/120s include past Charleston Race Week Champion, John Keenan's ILLYRIA from Mt Pleasant, SC and giving them a run for the money will be other local J/120s- Bill Hanckel's EMOCEAN and Rick Moore's MOOSE DOWN.  Mixing it up in this fleet will be the J/109 HEATWAVE sailed by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA and the local J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier.

While the J/105s don't have a class, many have competed quite successfully as offshore handicap racers.  Lurking in the shallows and ready to pounce on their innocent rivals in PHRF D will be two local J/105s that have enjoyed offshore success.  They are Ed Parker's THE CITY BOATYARD and Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL.  With any kind of breeze, it's doubtful their fleet competitors of Alerions and Beneteaus can hold them back.

Perhaps the "sleeper" handicap fleet of the event has to be the PHRF F Class, with J's representing 7 of 10 boats.  But what a clash of titans it promises to be!  For starters, you have "Mr. GILL" (Dave Pritchard) from Atlanta, GA sailing his J/92 AMIGOS with a bunch of buddies from Lake Lanier Sailing Club-- they're always on the podium it seems in any event they sail--and they look good doing it, too!  Pressing them hard are some "classic J/29s", including past Key West Race Week Champion Steve Thurston on the MIGHTY PUFFIN from Bristol, RI.  Hanging tough with them will be other J/29s like John Amyot's BLITZ! from Lake Ontario, Jim Mackevich's FOR SAIL from Edison, NJ, and Ira Perry's SEEFEST from Buzzards Bay, MA. Not to be discounted will be a fast J/27, Robert Key's AUDACIOUS from Columbia, SC and the modified J/80 JAVELIN sailed by Tom Gore/ John Yorkilous  from the Chesapeake Bay.   For more Charleston Race Week sailing information

J/111 Sailing Report- SPI Ouest France Regatta

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- John Van de Starre's J/111 X-CENTRIC RIPPER sailed a fantastic SPI Ouest France Regatta.   Here's their report on what it was like to sail the J/111 one-design class in La Trinite sur Mer, France:

"Last month , our team, unexpectedly, got the fantastic opportunity to start the season in La Trinite sur Mer. The Easter regatta, called “ Spi Ouest”, is an annual sailing regatta with international participants. Here the first J/111 One design regatta in Europe would take place and we were invited by the J-Europe factory to participate!

After the winter series, we made a great effort in a short period to prepare the boat for La Trinite. There were 10 J/111 enlisted, coming from France, Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, the UK and Holland. Paul Heys, the UK J-agent (last year 3rd in Cowes week) was there and so was Didier le Moal, CEO of J/Boats Europe with a professional crew.

DAY 1- Good Friday was a splendid day with 25 kts of wind from the NE and sun, so magnificent sailing conditions. This day, our class was starting with the First 31.7 class on course B. Also the M34 and Grand Surprises with a field of 44 boats were on our course. Our first start was good and we were first at the top mark.. Downwind we were too precautious with our A5 asymmetrical, because we wanted to spare the new 130 m2 A2 with 25 kts of wind. At once we were overrun by the planing French boat helmed by Didier with its large spinnaker. After the second upwind leg, we came 2nd at the upwind mark, it became painfully clear how incredibly busy it can be at the top mark. We wanted to round the mark after a starboard tack but surrounded by lots of Grand Surprises, we were stuck in the pack. On top of that, one of them hit us and its mast came between our forestay and our mast. No escape possible with 25 kts of wind. Fortunately, with utmost physical efforts, we could get free and continue the race without substantial damage and no dismasting!

We had to turn a 720 degrees and became 5th in position. Finally, we finished 3 rd but realized that we were very lucky to be able to continue racing . Without a mast, the racing season would be over…….Race 2 was not really good, too precautious choosing the A5 and struggling with flocks of other boats , we became 4th. Race 3 was a beautiful 15 miles coastal to round fixed cans. We had a good start and could take charge after some sensible decisions. This resulted in a first place!! Conclusion of the day: stay out of the crowd and hoist the large spinnaker.

DAY 2- Looks again to be a top-day. We started with 10 kts of wind, many wind shifts, and again a first place. However, in the 2nd race, we were put back to earth. After a start over port, we could not climb out of the field and were forced to continue too far. We could not get the speed of the last race and with defensive tactics, we could press out a 3 rd place.

With new energy we started another coastal, but again not enough speed. We were ending up at the back of the field………. What is the matter??? There is only one possibility and that is that something is wrong under water. Underway we saw some seaweed in the water, so maybe there is some stuck at the keel, saildrive or rudder. During our daily drink on the mooring pontoon, we could borrow a wetsuit, luckily for some of us a small one, so Pascal our bowman was the only lucky one to fit in. As Pascal is a brave man, he goes under the boat in the ice cold water and at the rudder he found seaweed. We found the reason of our bad performance! Our self-confidence was damaged a bit, but we started day 3 with full enthusiasm. Race 1, less wind, 6 kts, looking out for pressure. Especially downwind, the dices are thrown. Are you choosing depth and less speed or more speed with less height. We kept on watching VMG and gusts and tried to find the right mixture. Especially the French boat “ J-Lance” with Didier goes like hell and wins this race. We became 2nd. Race 2 is like a one design race should be, 8 knots within 50 meters from each other , changing positions all the time, great racing!! We fought hard and ended 3 rd. Race 3 was top of the bill. Another first place!!

DAY 4- Early start at 09.30 hrs. We sail race 1 with 20 kts of wind. We have a safe 3 rd pace in general ranking with only 1 point difference between # 2 “ J-Dream” and # 1 “ J-Lance” and us 4 points behind the latter. With some luck, we could climb one or two places if we were going to win two races. Unfortunately, after one race and a 3rd. place, the committee decides to send us back to the marina. J-Lance became the winner, with J-Dream second and Xcentric Ripper third.

Spi-Ouest, a splendid event. What an excellent racing weekend!! I have to say that one design sailing in J-111 is great. It is very close racing. Every tiny mistake is being punished straight away and winning is really winning. A fine result and a very good team spirit and atmosphere on board of our Xcentric Ripper!

Participating Spi-Ouest gave us the opportunity to work on our tuning and boat handling and we became very confident in the new season, starting with the Van Uden Reco races in 2 weeks!"