Rolex Middle Sea Race Preview

(Gzira, Malta)- A record entry of eighty-six yachts so far, from all over the world, is expected on the start line of the Rolex Middle Sea Race. With less than a month to go to the start the organising team at the Royal Malta Yacht Club is making final preparations for the arrival of several hundred visitors. Many of the competing yachts have already arrived and are safely sheltered in Ta'Xbiex Marina and many more will be arriving over the next few weeks.

The history of the Maltese Islands is intertwined with that of the Mediterranean Basin, with the major civilizations of the area having moored on Malta due to commercial interests with merchant galleys, or even in military operations with fully armed warships. From the times of the ancient Phoenicians to Malta's role as home port for the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet, Maltese ports have hosted a diverse range of sea craft from various countries. Now that Malta is an independent republic and a member of the European Union, its harbours are known best to commercial ships, cruise liners, chartered and private yachts as well as nautical aficionados. The coastline's craggy inlets and bays, most of which wonderfully secluded and inaccessible from land, provide the privilege of mooring for a swim or lunching on board in privacy.

The locals know these waters well.  Last year, Lee Satariano's all Maltese team, racing J/122 ARTIE, pulled off a stunning victory to win the race overall and Satariano is relishing this year's race:  "The crew of ARTIE-RTFX ARE all up for it again this year and hope to push the boat to the limit. We have a great team on board who have been sailing together for the past few years. It's ARTIE's 3rd Rolex Middle Sea Race and we hope to make it third time lucky! The race can hold many twists and turns right from the straits of Messina, the wind shadow round Stromboli and the different elements around the course, all of this and many more make it a spectacular and exciting race every year. We have the boat and the crew to make it possible to win again, so we'll be up there once again giving it our best shot. If you are coming to compete for the first time, I can tell you that the atmosphere at the Royal Malta Yacht is just so special, the whole set up is just marvelous, great credit must go to the committee and staff for all the hard work from months before and right through the race."  With real-time tracking, armchair sailors around the world can cheer on the local Maltese crew on the J/122 ARTIE!

As Lee and Christian know all too well, they will have their greatest challenges coming from other members of the J/Team.  Starting off with a sistership sailed by passionate offshore sailors from Malta, the J/122 OTRA VEZ sailed by Aaron and Edward Gatt sailed a very strong race last year, even leading the race for awhile, but fell into one of the famous holes north of Sicily before turning south.  Fellow Malteseans and friends from Hamburg, Germany is the J/133 OILTANKING JUNO sailed by owner Sonke Stein and skipper David Anastasi; they, too, were winning last year's race with just 15 nm to go but got tanked finishing in the light airs in the harbor! Finally, the "dark horse" by far will be the J/111 J-STORM sailed by Massimo Colosimo from Italy-- last year on their delivery they damaged the boat and sails so never made the race.  This time around they, too, like the J/122 and J/133 will be looking for redemption and help from the capricious, legendary sea-going Gods of Neptune, Odysseus and others who've plied these waters for eons.  Anyone know where the "Sirens" are singing nowadays?  For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information

Challenging Sailing- AYC Fall Series

(Rye, NY)- At some point, the streak of three beautiful weekends of sailing on Long Island Sound was going to break.  However, no one expected it to be such a demanding two days of sailing for the final weekend of racing in this year's AYC Fall Series.  With a combination of variable light winds Saturday and Sunday it was anybody's guess as to what was going to be a successful strategy for the weekend.  Nevertheless, some boats faired much better than others.

Some boats got HUSTLERED in PHRF 4, some were confounded by a CONUNDRUM in J/105s.  Yet others were a DRAGON working on a WING and a PATRIOTic prayer in IRC 3.  A GOLD DIGGER named MAXINE was up to the CHALLENGE, but a RESOLUTE VAMP named BEAGLE got all the GLORY in the J/44s.  ANDIAMO had to say "BRAVO" for an admirable, debut performance in PHRF 1.  In the J/109s, SKOOT was not so RELIANT on her STRATEGERY in every race; but NORDLY's BLUE SKY proposition to be the BIG BOAT was not received favorably by others. Then, in the J/105s it appears that CONUNDRUM was intent on confounding KINCSEM with an ECLIPSE.  But it was apparent the real REVELATION was that LOU LOU didn't have the GUMPTION during the MORNING GLORY of Sunday to SHAKEDOWN PLANET CLAIRE.  Perhaps the most JADED with their heads mostly in the STRATOSphere was GHOST DOG who was walking in CIRCLEs with BAD MEDICINE after having their eggs SUNNYSIDE UP!  All editorial lampooning and kidding aside, here's what did happen in these various fleets this past weekend. :)

The J Teams were well-represented across the spectrum of one-design sailing and IRC/ PHRF Handicap racing with a total of 102 boats sailing. In the one-design world were big fleets of nine J/44s, eight J/109s, twenty-one J/105s and six J/80s.  In the handicap arena, the J/122s, J/133 raced in IRC 3 while J/111s sailed PHRF A and the J/70, J/29s and J/92 sailed PHRF 4.  All in all, fifty-six J's were sailing or about 55% of the total fleet, the overwhelming brand leader in the regatta!

The competition in IRC 40 was closely fought, but in the end it was Andrew Weiss' family team aboard the J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON that started in first and never relinquished their lead, winning with six 1sts and one 2nd for a net 6 pts overall!  Giving them run for the money but seemingly just off the pace tactically was the beautiful J/122 WINGS sailed by Mike Bruno, managing 16 pts net, sufficient for second place in class.  Fourth was Steve Furnary's PATRIOT with 24 pts net.  Sixth was Ron Richman's J/133 offshore champion ANTIDOTE with 28 pts net.

In PHRF A, the J/111s led all teams home with Paul Strauch's ANDIAMO winning with five 1sts and two 2nd for 7 pts net.  They were followed home by the vastly improved BRAVO team led by Sedgwick Ward with two 1sts and five 2nds for 10 pts net!

In PHRF 4, the J/Teams dominated.  The infamous J/29 HUSTLER sailed by the Esposito family with John and Tony led the charge to the top of the fleet on the first day and never looked back, accumulating eight 1sts and one 2nd to crush their class with a perfect counting scoreline of simply 1sts.  Second was the J/92 HOUND DOG sailed by Christian Uecker with a total of 17 pts net.

In the one-design world, the J/44's had great sailing amongst the eight boats participating.  Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER got their "mojo" together for the first regatta in quite some time and pulled off a well-deserved victory in a tough fight for the top three overall between the DIGGER, MAXINE and CHALLENGE.  Second was Bill Ketcham's MAXINE with 16 pts net, just one point back from DIGGER.  Third was Jeff Willis' CHALLENGE IV with 17 pts net, nearly pulling off an upset victory overall had they won the second to last race.  Len Sitar's and AJ Evans' VAMP finished fourth, beating Don & Dick Rave's RESOLUTE that finished fifth on a tie-breaker "count-back".

The J/109s had a "runaway" after the first weekend with Jim Vos' SKOOT team (pictured above) compiling an impressive record for the regatta to win with just 18 pts net.  Matt Baker's RELIANT hung on strongly to secure second place after the first weekend and won a tie-breaker over Jack Forehand's STRATEGERY with both teams scoring 23 pts each.  Fourth was Bob Schwartz's NORDLYS and fifth was John Pearson's BLUE SKY.

J/105s had a huge turn-out for the AYC Fall Series, one of their best in years with twenty-one boats participating!  It also marked a subtle "changing of the guard" as a new sheriff showed up in town and ultimately walked off with all the silverware.  Third after the first weekend, Harald Edegran's and Jeremy Henderson's CONUNDRUM sailed a fleet-leading 1-3 on the last weekend to sew up their first major regatta win on Long Island Sound in J/105s. Next on the scoreline were two long-time J/105 class veterans.  Second was Joerg Esdorn's and Duncan Hennes' KINCSEM with 30 pts, narrowly beating Damian Emery's ECLIPSE with 32 pts.  Fourth was George and Alex Wilbanks' REVELATION and fifth was Paul Beaudin's LOULOU.

Finally, the J/80s also had a runaway with Gary Panariello's team on COURAGEOUS finishing with 11 pts net as a result of five 1sts and four 2nds!  Second was Dan Goldberg's FRIVOLOUS with 19 pts net and third was Mike Zupon's JUGGERNAUT.   For more American YC Fall Series sailing information   For AYC Fall Series scores

Fantastic AYC Fall Sailing- J/Teams Rule!

(Rye, NY)- Following on the previous weekend's IRC East Coast Championships hosted by Riverside YC in Greenwich, CT, it was American YC's turn this time around.  It was yet another gorgeous weekend of racing on Long Island Sound with six to seven races sailed in 8-16 kt breezes with big puffs, holes and wind shifts that rewarded a combination of smart sailing and a bit of luck.  The J Teams were well-represented across the spectrum of one-design sailing and IRC/ PHRF Handicap racing in a strong turn-out of 102 boats registered.   In the one-design world were big fleets of nine J/44s, eight J/109s, twenty-one J/105s and six J/80s.  In the handicap arena, the J/122s, J/133 raced in IRC 3 while J/111s sailed PHRF A and the J/70, J/29s and J/92 sailed PHRF 4.  All in all, fifty-six J's were sailing or about 55% of the total fleet, the overwhelming brand leader in the regatta!

The competition in IRC 40 was very close and the starts were difficult with many of the top boats pushing the line hard at the favored end.  After the dust cleared, it was pretty clear that Andrew Weiss' family team aboard the magnificent J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON were out for redemption from their performance the week before in the IRC East Coasts.  Starting in first and never relinquishing their lead, Andrew's team dashed off five 1sts and one 2nd to be leading their IRC 3 class with just 5 pts (net).  Second is the other beautiful J/122 WINGS sailed this time by Mike Bruno, managing a 2-2-10-4-3-2 for 13 pts net.  Fourth is currently Steve Furnary's PATRIOT with a 3-4-53-5-4 for 19 pts net.  Sixth is Ron Richman's J/133 offshore champion ANTIDOTE.

In PHRF A, the J/111s are leading with Paul Strauch's ANDIAMO currently leading with four 1sts and two 2nds for 6 pts net followed by a much improved, fast-sailing BRAVO sailed by Sedgwick Ward's team with four 2nd and two 1sts for 8 pts net!

In PHRF 4, the J/Teams are giving everyone headaches, starting with the famous J/29 HUSTLER sailed by the Esposito family with John and Tony continuing to lead the charge.  HUSTLER's six 1sts and one 2nd mean they have a perfect scoreline of 6 pts net.  Second is the J/92 HOUND DOG sailed by Christian Uecker with a 3-2-2-2-1-2-3 tally for 12 pts net.  Kerry Klingler and Rick Lyall (of J/109 STORM fame) are sailing their new J/70 and currently sit in fourth despite not finishing 3 races.

In the one-design world, the J/44's had tight, fun racing amongst the eight boats that were sailing.  Many of the mark-roundings were so close virtually all the boats were taking the corners of the course as a group!  So far, Jim Bishop's team on GOLD DIGGER have got their boat-speed back onto form and are rumbling around the racetrack in first place with a record of four 1sts and two 4ths for 8 pts net.  Second is Bill Ketcham's MAXINE with a 2-4-1-5-2-2 record for 11 pts net.  Third is Jeff Willis' CHALLENGE IV with a 3-5-3-2-4-1 for 13 pts net.  Len Sitar's and AJ Evans' VAMP is fourth and Don & Dick Rave are fifth sailing RESOLUTE.

The J/109s have had one boat jump out in front of the pack with a six point lead while the next four boats are all fighting for the balance of the podium all within 3 pts of each other.  At the top is Jim Vos' SKOOT with a 3-6-1-2-1-2-1 for 10 pts net.  Matt Baker's RELIANT has 16 pts net for second, John Pearso's BLUE SKY has 19 pts net for third on a tie-break with Jack Forehand on STRATEGERY.  Bob Schwartz's NORDLYS is in fifth with 20 pts!  Incredibly close sailing for this group, most likely making for some anxious moments this coming weekend on Long Island Sound!

J/105s are enjoying one of their best turn-outs for the AYC Fall Series in years, with twenty-one boats participating!  At the top of the pack are some of the long-time class leaders.  Topping the leader board for this past weekend is Damian Emery's ECLIPSE with a 3-6-1-4-1-7-3 for 18 pts net.  Second is Joerg Esdorn's and Duncan Hennes' KINCSEM with a 5-2-3-5-6-1-6 for 22 pts net.  Third is Harald Edegran's and Jeremy Henderson's CONUNDRUM with a 1-3-9-6-11-3-1 for 23 pts pts.  Rounding out the top five is Paul Beaudin's LOULOU in fourth with 27 pts and fifth is George and Alex Wilbanks' REVELATION with 29 pts.

Finally, the big news for J/80s is that this is the first year the J/80s have had a one-design start in the AYC Fall Series!  The racing is close and fun.  Gary Panariello's team on COURAGEOUS is leading with four 1sts and three 2nd for 8 pts net.  Just behind is Mike Zupon's JUGGERNAUT two each of 1sts, 2nds, 3rds and a 5th for 12 pts.  Third is Dan Goldberg's FRIVOLOUS 16 pts net followed by Dave Wenstrup on MERLIN in fourth and Mike Beers' MITT-SEA in fifth!  For more American YC Fall Series sailing information

J/111 Wins ORC Class- Zuiderzeeweek!

(The Hague, The Netherlands)- Some more "most excellent" news from the Netherlands world of sailing.  After a summer-long campaign it looks like the J/111 LALLEKONING owned by the Swiss couple Mr and Mrs Sigg, became the Overall Winner of ORC Class 1 in the “Zuiderzeeweek 2012”!  The Sigg's managed to win their first offshore event against a gallery of tough competitors, including such notable boats like the Dehler 41, an X41, an X46 and even a well-sailed J/125.  Congratulations to the Sigg's for a great job!

J/111 BLAST Nova Scotia Update

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- After a remarkable season of sailing in the Nova Scotia offshore circuit, the BLAST team from Halifax are still celebrating.  We also got a nice update from BLAST owner Mark Surrette-

"BLAST started the 2012 season with the objective of having a winning season while having a lot of fun. We put together a crew that was a composite of youth and veterans. We decided that having a pedigree in dinghy sailing was critical if one was to sail the J/111 to its potential. We put one of Canada's best Finn sailors on the helm and beside him an outstanding Laser/Byte sailor trimming main.  In the cockpit we had a couple of veteran big boat sailors along with a strapping 20 year old for power and the panel.  On the bow we had a veteran of dozens of big boat campaigns matched with an outstanding mastman from a Swan 56.  Navigation and tactics were handled by a couple of old veterans and we added in guests from Farr 40's and Soto 33's when we needed extra talent.  Without a doubt the crew was the highlight of the year and they galvanized into a cohesive group with great mutual respect very quickly.

The entire crew loved sailing the 111.  Responsive, quick, nimble with lots of gears and potential. Not much more to ask for.  One big learning we had was our ability to tweak the rig far more than we had thought.  We found a significant number of gears through rig tune and were able to turbo the boat for most any wind condition.

Our competitors during the season included another J/111, Soto 40, Farr 40, Farr 11, Mumm 30's, ID 35, C&C 115's, Tripp 40, J/120's, J/109, and a variety of other boats.  On each occasion we either won the race or had the ability to win.  The boat always performed. If we lost a race it was usually due to tactical decisions.

Our year unfolded much better than we had even hoped. BLAST won the RNSYS Opening Regatta, Chester Race Week and most importantly the Prince of Wales Regatta.  The Prince of Wales is the oldest trophy in North America--- even older than the America's Cup!

As our season grows to a close we are looking at what's next...?  Maybe Key West, Charleston, Block Island?  For sure the Halifax Race is on the agenda.  Alas, the winter planning begins as we look forward to some exciting J/111 class racing!

Sailing Shootout @ IRC Champs

J/122 & J/35 Win Class, J/105 Wins PHRF Classic
(Greenwich, CT)- The sailors on Long Island Sound were blessed by remarkably spectacular sailing conditions this past weekend.  With the passage of a monster front, the backside of the Low produced two straight days of North-Northwest winds in the 5-20 kts range with mostly flat waters and just local motorboat chop to contend with across the course.  With temps in the low 70s, puffy white clouds scudding across the skies, there was a lot to be grateful for amongst the hardened veterans of Western Long Island Sound sailing.  Why?  Pure & simple.  The twin developments of global warming and lots of concrete and real estate development along both shores of Long Island, New York along the south and NY/CT on the north means that Long Island Sound often turns into a "parking lot" for sailboats having to deal with the dual, competing sea breezes trying to form on both shores! That's a lot of roof-tops and black-topped roads to compete with for wind!  In the last decade, Long Island Sound sailors have been suffering the same fate as their friends in the Chesapeake Bay and Tampa Bay far to the south.

The thirty-three boats that showed up for the US-IRC Championship of Long Island Sound and PHRF Fall Classic hosted by Riverside YC were incredibly appreciate of what Mother Nature had to offer for their weekend of sailing.  In the PHRF Classic Racing Division, the J/105 STRANGE BREW sailed by Randy Bourne walked away with class and overall honors with a 1-1 for just 2.0 pts!  That's a clean sweep, eh?  Ken Hall's J/100 NEVERMORE sailed well to grab 5th and fellow J Sailor Brian Warner raced his J/35 IMPROMPTU to 6th in class.

Over in IRC 4 Class a true "storm" was brewing.  In the end, Mark Parry's & Lawrence McGrath's J/35 BLUE MOUSE sailed a solid series and won class with three 1sts and two 2nds for a total of 7 pts.  However, arch-rival Rick Lyall and crew on the champion J/109 STORM was badly damaged by an out-of-control Express 37 DRACO that lost steerage while ducking and slammed into the port quarter, creating a massive hole, taking out the stern pulpit and damaging the wheel.  Fortunately, no one was hurt other than some bruised egos.

In IRC 2 Jim Bishop's J/44 IRC Modified speedster sailed a very strong series but suffered a somewhat similar fate as their classmate in IRC 4- STORM.  After compiling a 2-2-3-3 and easily in contention for 2nd, Jim's team managed to foul (or get fouled) by a competitor in their class at the start of the last race and, as a result of boat damage, had to take an RAF immediately after the start.  As a result, they finished third in class, still respectable considering the consequences.

The biggest battle for the weekend happened to be in the IRC 3 class with a bunch of "hot" boats sailing for honors of "big dog on campus" in the mud-puddle known as Long Island Sound- it consisted of two J/122s, a J/111, a Summit 35 and two well-sailed Farr 30s.  From the beginning, it was clear the two J/122s were going for class supremacy from the starting gun of the first race.  Imagine this, two J/122 Champion teams dueling "mano-a-mano" for LIS IRC Champion.  One is the Bermuda Race Champion, Block Island Champion, Vineyard Race Champion (CHRISTOPHER DRAGON) and the other is J/122 North American Champion, Block Island Race Week Champion, and New York YC Annual Regatta Champion (WINGS).  It was a battle of the gladiators of offshore and course-racing in the J/122 world.  On WINGS was Tom Boyle and Mark Ploch and on CHRISTOPHER DRAGON was Andrew Weiss and Butch Ulmer-- an all-time classic match-up.  Then, as spoiler was the J/111 PARTNERSHIP sailed by yet another champion J/122 team (offshore champions, too) led by David & Maryellen Tortorello and David Hirsch.  The sailing results don't spell-out how close the actual racing was amongst these three boats.  In short, the first day's sailing in 12-19 kts of NNW breeze was much to the liking of the J/122s.  But, a miscalculated bottom mark rounding by the J/111 PARTNERSHIP in Race #3 could easily have changed the results-- since PARTNERSHIP rounded the mark in first boat-for-boat but hit the mark and performed a poor penalty turn.  Sunday's racing was full of drama, starting with the J/111 winning the first race on elapsed and IRC handicap, then nearly pulling it off again with a dramatic comeback to win  on elapsed again but losing IRC handicap by mere boat-lengths. Kudos to Tom Boyle and the WINGS team for winning with a steady 1-1-2-2-2 for 8 pts total. Second was Andrew Weiss's veteran campaigners on CHRIS DRAGON with a 2-2-1-4-1 tally for 10 pts.  And, third was the Tortorello's PARTNERSHIP with a 4-3-3-1-3 score to complete the J/Team's sweep of IRC 3.  For more Long Island IRC Championship & PHRF Classic sailing information

J/111 BLAST Wins Sailing Tri-fecta

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- Hat's off to Mark Surrette's J/111 "Blast" for their remarkable season sailing in Nova Scotia's major offshore regattas this summer.  BLAST completed the perfect "tri-fecta" by winning the Prince of Wales trophy on Saturday at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (this trophy is older than the America's Cup trophy) and by placing second on Sunday they won the weekend.

Some of their competition included Farr 11's, a Soto 40, a J/120, 3 C&C 115's, a J/109 and 2 Mumm 30's.  All well-sailed boats and tough competition for the J/111.

Of note, Mark's team on BLAST also won Chester Race Week Alpha 1 class and the RNSYS Opener in June!