Tunnicliffe and Team Capture First Title
(Rochester, New York- October 7-10, 2009)- Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and her team of Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won US SAILING's 2009 Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship. At the gala Rolex Awards ceremony held at the Rochester Yacht Club, Tunnicliffe and her team were awarded US SAILING's perpetual Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel & Gold Datejust presented by Jaimie Carlsen of Rolex Watch U.S.A.
"We're very excited," said Tunnicliffe, Olympic Gold Medalist and a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, moments after returning the dock. "We wanted to win this event for a while and finally we've done it. We're super psyched!" Both Vandemoer and Capozzi also are members of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
After yesterday's disappointing day off from racing, due to lack of suitable wind conditions, the fleet was anxious to get out onto the Lake Ontario race course. With only one day of racing and three races completed, Tunnicliffe lead the 35-boat fleet with a narrow two-point margin over Jennifer Provan (Toronto, Ontario, CAN). The final standings would come down to today, the final day schedule for racing. The RYC Race Committee, lead by Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart, took advantage of today's spectacular conditions - 15-18 knots of wind - and held three races.
"We were really happy about our first day," continued Tunnicliffe, 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "None of us have fleet raced for at least two months, and we are all a bit rusty in our fleet race tactics. Once we got a chance to get our heads around the tactics, we got locked in and dialed in, and we did really, really well."
Her team's five-race score line was 3-6-1-1-1 and with an unbeatable margin they decided not to participate in the final race. "It's one of those big decisions, do you race or do you not? We felt we wanted to stay out of everyone's way. We knew it was close for second (place), so thought we would stay out of the way and not influence anything."
The final race, with 10-12 knots of wind, was won by Nicole Breault (Old Lyme, Conn.) with Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in second and Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) in third.
"It was so nice to have good breeze," said Breault. "The wave action made the shifty-ness really about boat speed, and we finally started to click as a team. It felt really good and the day was great. We wish there were a couple more days of racing, but that's the way it goes."
Second overall was Cory Sertl, who counts this regatta as her 11th (including two wins in 1985 and 2001). She clearly relished having the regatta on her home waters at her home club. "It was really fun sailing and great to be out there," said Sertl, a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Her 'Team Lucy' included Annemarie Cook, Jane Mastrandrea and Amy Moran. Sertl's and Moran's daughters, Katja and Merritt, sailed together with the world renowned founder of TeamOne Newport, Martha Parker ("Princess Martha"), on the bow to keep them out of trouble and headed generally in the right direction.. They finished 13th overall. "They did just fine," continued a beaming Sertl. "They were really fast today off the starting line and held it for a really long time. Their speed was awesome today."
For Cronin, who won the regatta in 1991 as crew, her overall third place finish is satisfying. According to Cronin, who marks this regatta as her ninth, her results were starting to look like a terrible trend. "I won this event in 1999," she said. "I was second in 2001, third in '03, fourth in '05, and that was my goal, to break the curse.
"We had a great day today," continued Cronin of her 'Team Spidey,' Kim Couranz, Margaret Podich and Kate Fears. "We worked really well together, and I thought it was a challenging day of sailing because the waves were ahead of the breeze." Three teams finished the regatta tied on points - Cronin, Dominique Provoyeur (Cape Town, South Africa) and Jennifer Provan. A count back system, detailed in the sailing instructions, was used to break the tie, putting Provoyeur into fourth and Provan in fifth.
"We can't really be too disappointed," said Provoyeur, who has competed in this regatta four times. "The fourth is our best result yet, but obviously when you are so close you think what could have gone better. I woke up this morning a little anxious for the final day of racing and knowing there was a bit on. There was breeze and we were in a position close to first. We tried to take the attitude that we want to go sailboat racing, but the wind was up and the swell was bigger than what we had had. We tried to start well and see what would happen, really one race at a time." Provoyeur sailed with Louise Meek, Tiffany Baring-Gould and Saskia Butcher.
Rounding out the top 10 teams: Jennifer Provan (CAN) in fifth, Marieke Poulie (Maarssen, NED) in sixth, Amanda Taselaar (Scarsdale, N.Y.) in seventh, Breault in eighth, JoAnn Fisher (Annapolis, Md.) in ninth and Kaitlin Storck (Huntington, N.Y.).
Until this regatta, Tunnicliffe had held the record as the youngest competitor, having set the mark as a 14-year-old skipper in 1997. At that time, she confided that one day she would win the regatta. "I always thought it would be cool to do really well one day," she said. "This is my fifth time sailing the regatta, my fourth time skippering it. We were getting to the point that we need to get up there sometime soon. I'm happy we sailed really well together and did so well. I have a fabulous crew. Debbie, Molly and Liz sailed together a few times before, and the chemistry has worked perfectly. It makes my life so easy on the race course and they make me look really good."
For more information- where fans around the world can go to view photos from official event photographer Dan Nerney. Daily highlights videos produced by Tucker and crew from T2P.tv
Monday, October 26, 2009
US SAILING’S 2009 ROLEX Next Step Program
Twenty Five New Junior Women Sailors Graduate!
(Rochester, NY- October 4) – This past weekend, 25 young women sailors traveled to the Rochester Yacht Club to take place in the Next Step to Rolex Program. The young women, ranging in age from 14-17 and representing junior programs from across
the U.S. and as far away as Hawaii, were selected to participate in the once-of-a-lifetime keelboat clinic, the core outreach program of US SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. Organized by 1988 U.S. Olympian and two-time
winner of the Rolex IWKC Cory Sertl (Rochester), the weekend featured all-day clinics with the focus on making the transition from dinghies to keelboats.
“The girls really came with a lot of experience in different kinds of boats,” said Sertl, noting that the caliber of sailors participating was more advanced than when she first coached the program, in 2001. “They picked things up quickly and we got more accomplished than we ever thought we would.”
In addition to Sertl, a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, coaches included Sertl’s Rolex IWKC crew Amy Moran, along with 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and US SAILING’s 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Justin DaMore, RYC’s sailing director Jon Faudree and RYC’s junior sailing director Liz Bower.
The program utilized International J/22s, the same keelboat used in the Rolex IWKC, with four sailors on each accompanied by a coach. The weekend centered around teamwork, communication and the skills essential to racing keelboats. Easily identified by their bright buoy-yellow caps, with the Rolex IWKC logo and ‘2009 Next Step to Rolex’ embroidered on the back, the young women concluded their learning experience with a video debrief by coach Faudree, who followed the J/22s throughout the
two days. For comparison, he showed the same maneuvers executed by Tunnicliffe and team on a J/22. The enthusiastic group noted the significant difference in style and boat handling.
“We talked about doing a mini regatta at the conclusion,” said Sertl, “but we didn’t want to risk having the boats damaged before regatta. For most of the girls, their time-on-distance wasn’t as good because they’re new to these boats. They were all together, learning to sail in a non-competitive atmosphere. They’re always in a competitive environment when they’re racing, so they were comforted by the fact they didn’t have to race.
Three of RYC Next Step to Rolex Program participants will get to take what they’ve learned straight to the race course this week when they make their debut as a team in the Rolex IWKC. Merritt Moran, Katja Sertl and Julie Wiesner will team up with veteran bow person Martha Parker (Newport, R.I.) for racing this Wednesday through Saturday.
The Next Step to Rolex Program was established in 1997 to expose and mentor juniors interested in taking the “next step” toward advanced women’s sailing. Since its creation as a complementary component of the Rolex IWKC, the Next Step to Rolex Program has served as an inspiration for hundreds of young women from across the U.S. and abroad.
For more information about the 2009 Next Step to Rolex Program, contact Cory Sertl at corysertl@gmail.com or the Rochester Yacht Club at 585-342-5511.
(Rochester, NY- October 4) – This past weekend, 25 young women sailors traveled to the Rochester Yacht Club to take place in the Next Step to Rolex Program. The young women, ranging in age from 14-17 and representing junior programs from across
the U.S. and as far away as Hawaii, were selected to participate in the once-of-a-lifetime keelboat clinic, the core outreach program of US SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. Organized by 1988 U.S. Olympian and two-time
winner of the Rolex IWKC Cory Sertl (Rochester), the weekend featured all-day clinics with the focus on making the transition from dinghies to keelboats.
“The girls really came with a lot of experience in different kinds of boats,” said Sertl, noting that the caliber of sailors participating was more advanced than when she first coached the program, in 2001. “They picked things up quickly and we got more accomplished than we ever thought we would.”
In addition to Sertl, a two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, coaches included Sertl’s Rolex IWKC crew Amy Moran, along with 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and US SAILING’s 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Justin DaMore, RYC’s sailing director Jon Faudree and RYC’s junior sailing director Liz Bower.
The program utilized International J/22s, the same keelboat used in the Rolex IWKC, with four sailors on each accompanied by a coach. The weekend centered around teamwork, communication and the skills essential to racing keelboats. Easily identified by their bright buoy-yellow caps, with the Rolex IWKC logo and ‘2009 Next Step to Rolex’ embroidered on the back, the young women concluded their learning experience with a video debrief by coach Faudree, who followed the J/22s throughout the
two days. For comparison, he showed the same maneuvers executed by Tunnicliffe and team on a J/22. The enthusiastic group noted the significant difference in style and boat handling.
“We talked about doing a mini regatta at the conclusion,” said Sertl, “but we didn’t want to risk having the boats damaged before regatta. For most of the girls, their time-on-distance wasn’t as good because they’re new to these boats. They were all together, learning to sail in a non-competitive atmosphere. They’re always in a competitive environment when they’re racing, so they were comforted by the fact they didn’t have to race.
Three of RYC Next Step to Rolex Program participants will get to take what they’ve learned straight to the race course this week when they make their debut as a team in the Rolex IWKC. Merritt Moran, Katja Sertl and Julie Wiesner will team up with veteran bow person Martha Parker (Newport, R.I.) for racing this Wednesday through Saturday.
The Next Step to Rolex Program was established in 1997 to expose and mentor juniors interested in taking the “next step” toward advanced women’s sailing. Since its creation as a complementary component of the Rolex IWKC, the Next Step to Rolex Program has served as an inspiration for hundreds of young women from across the U.S. and abroad.
For more information about the 2009 Next Step to Rolex Program, contact Cory Sertl at corysertl@gmail.com or the Rochester Yacht Club at 585-342-5511.
ROLEX Women's Keelboat Championship
Top Women's Teams Face Off This Week
(Rochester, NY- October 6) - This year's US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship has 35 teams representing five countries (Canada, Great Britain, Netherlands, South Africa, United States) and 15 U.S. states gathered together at host Rochester Yacht Club (RYC). Off the mouth of the Genesee River on Lake Ontario, four days of racing will take place, Oct. 7-10, under the leadership of Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart and the RYC Race Committee. The biennial regatta, celebrating its 13th anniversary of offering women of all abilities the opportunity for top-level competition, features evening social activities and culminates with the traditional Rolex gala and awards presentation where the Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the winning boat's skipper.
The second place team at the 2007 Rolex IWKC was lead by RYC's team skippered by Cory Sertl, who has competed in the regatta 10 times, winning twice - as crew for Betsy Alison in the inaugural event in Newport in 1985 and as skipper in 2001 in Annapolis, Md. A 1988 Olympian and two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, Sertl kept her 2007 team together and set her sights on this year's title. Together with crew Amy Moran, Annemarie Cook and Jane Mastrandrea, they will be focused not only on doing well in the regatta but also on one other team in particular, the team that two of their daughters are part of. Moran's daughter Merritt, a RYC sail instructor and high school sailor will helm an entry including two high school sailors, Sertl's daughter Katja, and Julie Wiesner, with top-level bow person Martha Parker and 10-year-old Bridget Lawless, the youngest skipper in the history of the event, rounding out the five-person team.
Follow the 2009 Rolex IWKC. For regatta photos.
(Rochester, NY- October 6) - This year's US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship has 35 teams representing five countries (Canada, Great Britain, Netherlands, South Africa, United States) and 15 U.S. states gathered together at host Rochester Yacht Club (RYC). Off the mouth of the Genesee River on Lake Ontario, four days of racing will take place, Oct. 7-10, under the leadership of Principal Race Officer Hank Stuart and the RYC Race Committee. The biennial regatta, celebrating its 13th anniversary of offering women of all abilities the opportunity for top-level competition, features evening social activities and culminates with the traditional Rolex gala and awards presentation where the Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the winning boat's skipper.
The second place team at the 2007 Rolex IWKC was lead by RYC's team skippered by Cory Sertl, who has competed in the regatta 10 times, winning twice - as crew for Betsy Alison in the inaugural event in Newport in 1985 and as skipper in 2001 in Annapolis, Md. A 1988 Olympian and two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, Sertl kept her 2007 team together and set her sights on this year's title. Together with crew Amy Moran, Annemarie Cook and Jane Mastrandrea, they will be focused not only on doing well in the regatta but also on one other team in particular, the team that two of their daughters are part of. Moran's daughter Merritt, a RYC sail instructor and high school sailor will helm an entry including two high school sailors, Sertl's daughter Katja, and Julie Wiesner, with top-level bow person Martha Parker and 10-year-old Bridget Lawless, the youngest skipper in the history of the event, rounding out the five-person team.
Follow the 2009 Rolex IWKC. For regatta photos.
J/22 North Americans
Flip Wins Showdown at OK Corral!
Heath, TX (September 30, 2009) - Phil "Flip" Wehrheim, of Rochester, NY, scored bullets in three of four races to rule day one at the Genesta J/22 North American Championship at Rush Creek Yacht Club. Sailing with Max Skelley and Greg Koski, Wehrheim controlled the other 36 teams, and finished the first day with just 8 points. They held their lead by only by one point heading into the final day of racing. Scott Young of Austin, TX placed in the top three in each of Thursday’s races, including a first in the last race of the day. With one throw-out coming into play, Wehrheim’s team sat with 15 points to Young’s 16 going into Sunday. With seven races completed, Terry Flynn held the third-place position with 21 points, and Kelson Elam followed him with 25 points. Elam won Thursday’s first race, and Wehrheim won the middle race. Competitors saw a wide range of weather on Lake Ray Hubbard, including rain to start and sun to finish. Most of the day, winds blew between 8-12 knots, building to 18 in the final race.
However, Sunday became anti-climactic for the leaders because all racing was canceled due to no wind! Competitors were postponed on shore until early Sunday afternoon. An attempt to complete at least one race proved unsuccessful, as the light winds never settled, and teams were sent back to shore. The top 10 were: Flip Wehrheim (15 points), Scott Young (16), Terry Flynn (21), Kelson Elam (25), Chris Doyle and Eric Faust (tied at 33), Rob Johnston (35), Dave Kerr and Marvin Beckmann (tied at 56) and Max Scott (58).
The J/22 Class and the competitors wish to thank Genesta as the title sponsor, Rush Creek Yacht Club, PRO Mike Anderson and the entire race committee. For more regatta info.
Heath, TX (September 30, 2009) - Phil "Flip" Wehrheim, of Rochester, NY, scored bullets in three of four races to rule day one at the Genesta J/22 North American Championship at Rush Creek Yacht Club. Sailing with Max Skelley and Greg Koski, Wehrheim controlled the other 36 teams, and finished the first day with just 8 points. They held their lead by only by one point heading into the final day of racing. Scott Young of Austin, TX placed in the top three in each of Thursday’s races, including a first in the last race of the day. With one throw-out coming into play, Wehrheim’s team sat with 15 points to Young’s 16 going into Sunday. With seven races completed, Terry Flynn held the third-place position with 21 points, and Kelson Elam followed him with 25 points. Elam won Thursday’s first race, and Wehrheim won the middle race. Competitors saw a wide range of weather on Lake Ray Hubbard, including rain to start and sun to finish. Most of the day, winds blew between 8-12 knots, building to 18 in the final race.
However, Sunday became anti-climactic for the leaders because all racing was canceled due to no wind! Competitors were postponed on shore until early Sunday afternoon. An attempt to complete at least one race proved unsuccessful, as the light winds never settled, and teams were sent back to shore. The top 10 were: Flip Wehrheim (15 points), Scott Young (16), Terry Flynn (21), Kelson Elam (25), Chris Doyle and Eric Faust (tied at 33), Rob Johnston (35), Dave Kerr and Marvin Beckmann (tied at 56) and Max Scott (58).
The J/22 Class and the competitors wish to thank Genesta as the title sponsor, Rush Creek Yacht Club, PRO Mike Anderson and the entire race committee. For more regatta info.
J/22 Northeast Regional Championship
Doyle's MO'MONEY Cashes In!
(Lake George Club- Sept. 26-27)- As has been the case for a number of years, the Lake George Club have been incredibly gracious hosts at a remarkably beautiful venue- Lake George in upstate New York. Heck, how can you beat sailing on fresh water, nice breeze, spectacular mountain scenery and early fall foliage? This year's regatta, away from the beaten path for sure, attracted more boats (thirty five) than either the J/22 Midwinter or J22 East Coast Championship this year. So, J/22 one design sailing is alive and well in upstate New York.
Showing that he' s not lost his touch at all racing J/22s was Kevin Doyle and his merry bandits (Vic and Aaron Snyder) aboard MO'MONEY. They sailed a nice regatta to overcome any last minute challenges from Mark Sertl's MONEY FOR NOTHING. Third overall was Tom Sitzmann's LOYAL 9, followed in fourth by Jon Hoffer's NUTHA'SHIFF and Peter Doyle's FROSTY.
For more info:
http://www.thelakegeorgeclub.com/ActiveSeasonFolders/sailing/race-results/current-year.asp
(Lake George Club- Sept. 26-27)- As has been the case for a number of years, the Lake George Club have been incredibly gracious hosts at a remarkably beautiful venue- Lake George in upstate New York. Heck, how can you beat sailing on fresh water, nice breeze, spectacular mountain scenery and early fall foliage? This year's regatta, away from the beaten path for sure, attracted more boats (thirty five) than either the J/22 Midwinter or J22 East Coast Championship this year. So, J/22 one design sailing is alive and well in upstate New York.
Showing that he' s not lost his touch at all racing J/22s was Kevin Doyle and his merry bandits (Vic and Aaron Snyder) aboard MO'MONEY. They sailed a nice regatta to overcome any last minute challenges from Mark Sertl's MONEY FOR NOTHING. Third overall was Tom Sitzmann's LOYAL 9, followed in fourth by Jon Hoffer's NUTHA'SHIFF and Peter Doyle's FROSTY.
For more info:
http://www.thelakegeorgeclub.com/ActiveSeasonFolders/sailing/race-results/current-year.asp
Huge J Fleet Sailed SW NOOD Regatta Houston
Being HAPPY Pays Big Time
(Houston, TX- Sept. 26-27)- Sixty nine boats showed up for this year's edition of the SW NOOD in Houston, Texas. Showing up in force and demonstrating with their feet the great fun, camraderie and joy of sailing their boats were forty J owners (nearly 60% of the fleet!). But, how much fun would they have drifting around the buoys in Galveston Bay? A few comments like "it ain't ever happen here before" were a familiar refrain when the fleet looked out over the mill pond known as the Bay. Despite the less than satisfactory winds, the RC did a great job of getting off six races and the fleet, as usual, loved the on-shore festivities.
In the thirteen boat strong J/24 Texas World Championships (just kidding), it was clear that being HAPPY was key. Bob Harden, the winner on MR HAPPY, has been sailing the J/24 for more than 30 years. He's learned quite a bit about the boat in those three decades. Of course, one of the most important lessons is, never get too confident. With one race remaining in the Sperry Top-Sider Houston NOOD Regatta to win the J/24 class, Harden's veteran team from Austin, Texas, on MR HAPPY was in second, one point behind Corey Harding's HAPPY DANCE (who also had the tie break). Boat names aside, one boat wasn't going to be so pleased with the outcome of the final race.
Harden won the start, and then did his best to keep at least one boat in between him and Harding to ensure the class win. His come-from-behind victory also earned him overall regatta honors for the final NOOD regatta of the 2009 season, a prize that comes with a Suunto Elementum Ventus watch and a Sunsail charter boat for the 2009 NOOD Caribbean Rendezvous in the British Virgin Island in November. The finalists for the overall winner, who also received Suunto watches, included Yandell Rogers in the J/80 class. Harden's crew on Mr. Happy included: Mike LeFebvre, trim; Tom Lappin, compass,
Eric Nelson, head cheerleader; Jay Sacco, bow. -- see Stu Streuli's interview on Sailing World:
http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/houston-tx/2009-sperry-top-sider-houston-nood-coverage-1000075680.html
As for the other classes, they too had a light air affair like the J/24s. The seven boat J/22 class went down to the wire for the two leaders, Chris Wilke on BLEW BY YOU and Ruthie Lambert on OUT OF SIGHT. Wilke managed to win the last race and win the J/22 class by one point, with Lambert in second. Third a few more points back was Richard Voyles on MUST GO FASTER-- hmm, an appropriate name when faced with daunting competition named BLEW BY YOU or simply OUT OF SIGHT!
In the fourteen boat J/80 class, Yandell Rogers showed them all how it's done by taking four firsts in six races to win with a total of sixteen points-- his one bad race, a ninth place, putting a blemish on a near perfect record. Al Poindexter's ANDALE was second and Bruno Pasquinelli racing TI'AMO in third.
The J/105s had a nice turnout of six boats with Bill Zartier's SOLARIS pulling out all the stops in the last two races- getting a 1-1 to win the J/105 class over Malcolm Bremer's BABE. Third a ways back was JB Bednar's STINGER.
For more info: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas
(Houston, TX- Sept. 26-27)- Sixty nine boats showed up for this year's edition of the SW NOOD in Houston, Texas. Showing up in force and demonstrating with their feet the great fun, camraderie and joy of sailing their boats were forty J owners (nearly 60% of the fleet!). But, how much fun would they have drifting around the buoys in Galveston Bay? A few comments like "it ain't ever happen here before" were a familiar refrain when the fleet looked out over the mill pond known as the Bay. Despite the less than satisfactory winds, the RC did a great job of getting off six races and the fleet, as usual, loved the on-shore festivities.
In the thirteen boat strong J/24 Texas World Championships (just kidding), it was clear that being HAPPY was key. Bob Harden, the winner on MR HAPPY, has been sailing the J/24 for more than 30 years. He's learned quite a bit about the boat in those three decades. Of course, one of the most important lessons is, never get too confident. With one race remaining in the Sperry Top-Sider Houston NOOD Regatta to win the J/24 class, Harden's veteran team from Austin, Texas, on MR HAPPY was in second, one point behind Corey Harding's HAPPY DANCE (who also had the tie break). Boat names aside, one boat wasn't going to be so pleased with the outcome of the final race.
Harden won the start, and then did his best to keep at least one boat in between him and Harding to ensure the class win. His come-from-behind victory also earned him overall regatta honors for the final NOOD regatta of the 2009 season, a prize that comes with a Suunto Elementum Ventus watch and a Sunsail charter boat for the 2009 NOOD Caribbean Rendezvous in the British Virgin Island in November. The finalists for the overall winner, who also received Suunto watches, included Yandell Rogers in the J/80 class. Harden's crew on Mr. Happy included: Mike LeFebvre, trim; Tom Lappin, compass,
Eric Nelson, head cheerleader; Jay Sacco, bow. -- see Stu Streuli's interview on Sailing World:
http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/houston-tx/2009-sperry-top-sider-houston-nood-coverage-1000075680.html
As for the other classes, they too had a light air affair like the J/24s. The seven boat J/22 class went down to the wire for the two leaders, Chris Wilke on BLEW BY YOU and Ruthie Lambert on OUT OF SIGHT. Wilke managed to win the last race and win the J/22 class by one point, with Lambert in second. Third a few more points back was Richard Voyles on MUST GO FASTER-- hmm, an appropriate name when faced with daunting competition named BLEW BY YOU or simply OUT OF SIGHT!
In the fourteen boat J/80 class, Yandell Rogers showed them all how it's done by taking four firsts in six races to win with a total of sixteen points-- his one bad race, a ninth place, putting a blemish on a near perfect record. Al Poindexter's ANDALE was second and Bruno Pasquinelli racing TI'AMO in third.
The J/105s had a nice turnout of six boats with Bill Zartier's SOLARIS pulling out all the stops in the last two races- getting a 1-1 to win the J/105 class over Malcolm Bremer's BABE. Third a ways back was JB Bednar's STINGER.
For more info: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas
J/Fest West 2009 Run By The Crews
CC RIDER Cruises off into the Sunset
(San Diego, CA- Sept. 26-27)- May the best cooks win, or so it seemed for the crews participating in this year's J/Fest West in San Diego. This year’s theme was all about the crew. So Saturday night all the skippers donned chef’s hats and aprons, tended bar, flipped burgers and waited the tables. A great time was had by all.
Forty-two J's sailing one-design in J/120s, J/109s, J/105s and J/80s participated in this year's J/Festival on the waters off fabled Point Loma, San Diego. As this time of year it's hard not for the Weather Gods to cooperate and deliver less than stellar conditions. As one might expect, the "brochure conditions" were good enough to get in five races over the two days.
In the ten boat J/120 class Chuck Nichols crew aboard CC RIDER sailed an extremely consistent series to win their division by five points, counting a third as their worst race and winning tow of five races. Second was John Laun's CAPER with a 1-1-2 but fell off the clifff relative to Chuck's crew when they picked up two fifths in the first and third races. Third on the podium was Jed Olenick sailing DOCTOR NO (remember the TV show?? Awesome, eccentric time traveler, wasn't he??).
The nineteen boat J/105 class was the largest class in the event (as seems to be the case nationwide in most major events)! DC won (yea, not THAT one) with his wife Sharon and crew aboard...Dennis and Sharon Case are perennial favorites whenever they put together the full court press and pull out all the stops to put on their best efforts-- their efforts did not go unrewarded, getting first place by six points over Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE. JAVELIN was only one point back and the crew aboard Doug and Pam Werner's boat wished they could have bought back their 6-5 combo in races 3 and 4!
The nine boat J/80 class was a closely fought battle between Bob and Nick Caldwell's SLEEKIT and Curt Johnson's AVET. At the conclusion of racing, SLEEKIT won by two points based on the ability to win the last race while AVET could just manage a third. Mark Hunter's IN-APPROPRIATE was eight points back in third overall.
The J/109 teams, while having just four boats in their fleet, more than made up for their relatively low attendance with the rollicking good times they had ashore. Nevertheless, no one could take away from Tom Brott's ELECTRA winning every race. Great job guys...next time not only will the skipper be the cook/bartender, but the whole crew!! Perhaps that will slow them down, eh? John Shulze's LINSTAR was second and Jim Vickers was third with JOYRIDE.
Craig Leweck from Scuttlebutt had an enlightening and fun interview with Jeff Brown, leader of J/Boats efforts on the West Coast and creator of the J/Fest events on the West Coast. Please read more of the interview here:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0928/
(San Diego, CA- Sept. 26-27)- May the best cooks win, or so it seemed for the crews participating in this year's J/Fest West in San Diego. This year’s theme was all about the crew. So Saturday night all the skippers donned chef’s hats and aprons, tended bar, flipped burgers and waited the tables. A great time was had by all.
Forty-two J's sailing one-design in J/120s, J/109s, J/105s and J/80s participated in this year's J/Festival on the waters off fabled Point Loma, San Diego. As this time of year it's hard not for the Weather Gods to cooperate and deliver less than stellar conditions. As one might expect, the "brochure conditions" were good enough to get in five races over the two days.
In the ten boat J/120 class Chuck Nichols crew aboard CC RIDER sailed an extremely consistent series to win their division by five points, counting a third as their worst race and winning tow of five races. Second was John Laun's CAPER with a 1-1-2 but fell off the clifff relative to Chuck's crew when they picked up two fifths in the first and third races. Third on the podium was Jed Olenick sailing DOCTOR NO (remember the TV show?? Awesome, eccentric time traveler, wasn't he??).
The nineteen boat J/105 class was the largest class in the event (as seems to be the case nationwide in most major events)! DC won (yea, not THAT one) with his wife Sharon and crew aboard...Dennis and Sharon Case are perennial favorites whenever they put together the full court press and pull out all the stops to put on their best efforts-- their efforts did not go unrewarded, getting first place by six points over Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE. JAVELIN was only one point back and the crew aboard Doug and Pam Werner's boat wished they could have bought back their 6-5 combo in races 3 and 4!
The nine boat J/80 class was a closely fought battle between Bob and Nick Caldwell's SLEEKIT and Curt Johnson's AVET. At the conclusion of racing, SLEEKIT won by two points based on the ability to win the last race while AVET could just manage a third. Mark Hunter's IN-APPROPRIATE was eight points back in third overall.
The J/109 teams, while having just four boats in their fleet, more than made up for their relatively low attendance with the rollicking good times they had ashore. Nevertheless, no one could take away from Tom Brott's ELECTRA winning every race. Great job guys...next time not only will the skipper be the cook/bartender, but the whole crew!! Perhaps that will slow them down, eh? John Shulze's LINSTAR was second and Jim Vickers was third with JOYRIDE.
Craig Leweck from Scuttlebutt had an enlightening and fun interview with Jeff Brown, leader of J/Boats efforts on the West Coast and creator of the J/Fest events on the West Coast. Please read more of the interview here:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0928/
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
J/22 Match Race Clinic
Any Southern California sailors want to go to a match racing clinic at San Diego YC Sept 18-20 with racing Oct 4th? Please spread the word even if you can't make it. Six J/22's, no need to be on a team, Whit Bachelor will be leading it.
Registration at: http://www.matchracesandiego.com/
SAN DIEGO J/FEST 2009
Southern California ’s J/Fest is at the San Diego Yacht Club September 25-27. J/Fest is Southern California ’s largest and most attended regatta… exclusively for J/Boats. Don't miss out on the biggest J/Boat event of the year! This year J/Fest will be focused on celebrating and thanking your crew and those who contribute to the camaraderie and success you have during the sailing season. There will be exciting one design racing, great prizes, and fun parties. Register for J/Fest today at http://www.sdyc.org/raceinfo/races09/jfest Questions? Contact J/Concierge Amanda Denton at JK3:amanda@jk3yachts.com
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
J/22 Eastern Great Lakes Championship
Doyle Reigns Supreme Again
(Buffalo, NY- July 18-19)- Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY excelled in the wind and waves at the 2009 J/22 Eastern Great Lakes Championship at the Buffalo Yacht Club. In breeze of 15-25 knots and waves up to eight feet, team SOLID LAYER bested 42 other teams over eight races. Following Chris Doyle were Jim Barnash on THUNDER CHICKEN (Rochester, NY) and local Kevin Doyle on MO'MONEY. The event also featured the popular Raw Bar on Saturday night. Don't forget, the Buffalo Yacht Club is hosting the 2010 North American Championship!
For complete results:
http://www.ewyc.org/CRW2009
(Buffalo, NY- July 18-19)- Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY excelled in the wind and waves at the 2009 J/22 Eastern Great Lakes Championship at the Buffalo Yacht Club. In breeze of 15-25 knots and waves up to eight feet, team SOLID LAYER bested 42 other teams over eight races. Following Chris Doyle were Jim Barnash on THUNDER CHICKEN (Rochester, NY) and local Kevin Doyle on MO'MONEY. The event also featured the popular Raw Bar on Saturday night. Don't forget, the Buffalo Yacht Club is hosting the 2010 North American Championship!
For complete results:
http://www.ewyc.org/CRW2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
J/Fest Northwest
Burnell's J/109 TANTIVY Wins(Seattle, WA- June 20-21)- Corithian YC member Stuart Burnell and the crew of his J/109 TANTIVY took top honors in the annual J-Fest regatta, winning the Francis LeSourd Trophy. The regatta was held on Puget Sound off the Shilshole Bay Marina.
Overall it was a well attended J/Fest NW with thirty-nine boats racing in seven fleets, two as PHRF handicap and five as one-designs- the J/24, J/30, J/35, J/105 and J/109s.
In the PHRF handicap classes, the J/100 TOURIST won the only PHRF Class 1 race they could fire off due to extenuating circumstances. The J/46 CLAYMORE and the J/35 BLUE STREAK finished second and third, respectively. The PHRF Class 6 managed to get in four races and the team of Moynihan/Conway simply put the rest of their fleet into a clinic of how to race around the track, garnering four first in their J/29 WINGS. The lone J/60 SKYE ROCKET raced by Mckinnon was second and Schutte's J/80 TAJ MAHAL was third.
For the one-designs, the J/109 TANTIVY raced by Stu Brunell sailed an almost perfect series, too, garnering four firsts in six races to win by seven points over Greene's IT'S ONLY ROCK'N'ROLL, Woodfield's SHADA slipped into third by one point after not covering the ROCK'N'ROLL team well enough. In the J/35s, White's GRACE E sailed in a very competitive class to just beat out Deyo's DIVERSION by three points, who in turn won on a tie-breaker over Berge's THE BOSS. In the J/105s, the largest and most competitive fleet with ten boats, Schlitz's MONEY SHOT won on a nail-biting finish based on results of the last race...they had to at least tie or beat by one boat over Diercks' DELIRIUM in order to win. Finishing third just off the pace but coming on strong in the last four races was Kristen's JUBILEE only three points back. The J/30s had a fun time racing around the track themselves with the team of Gardner/Adair sailing ROUNDER atop the leader board with Bottles' CELEBRATION two points back in second and the team of Marsden/Geck racing BOB (what about Bob??) in third. The J/24 class saw Milne's TREMENDOUS SLOUCH beat out Brown's MOUSE TRAP and Mason's RYLAH to win all the marbles in this classic class.
Bob Ross and his staff at Sail Northwest organize the popular event for J Boats and use the Corinthian YC race committee and clubhouse to support it. The Francis LeSourd Trophy is named for the sixth commodore of CYC. It was donated by his law firm as the J-Fest best-performance trophy in 1998, when the firm sponsored the regatta.
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week
Wind Lovers Rule in 20 knots of Long Beach Breeze (Long Beach, CA- June 22-26)- The last anybody checked, fun had not been outlawed during a recession---after all, wind is free and there was plenty of it Friday, and a thousand or so mostly working class sailors are making the most of it during Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week. Sailors from these parts will tell you that San Diego 100 miles to the south is not the windiest venue on the West Coast. "That's why we enjoy coming up here," said Chuck Nichols, owner of J/120 CC RIDER. Few complaints about the weather conditions were heard from the 135 boats competing in 18 classes on three race courses inside and outside the Long Beach outer harbor. Only 8 knots of wind was forecast for the first day of the West's largest keelboat regatta, and that's what everyone saw through the first race in early afternoon. But by Race 2 the southwest breeze had started to build and the better sailors went with it, bringing smiles to the faces of the volunteers from Alamitos Bay and Long Beach Yacht Clubs who are running the traditional event on and off the water. By Sunday, it was so windy that even the local Alamitos Bay and Long Beach Yacht Clubs that organized the event were impressed by the benevolence of nature that blessed the West Coast's largest keelboat regatta.
Ultimately, Chuck Nichols, Chris Snow and Mark Surber came on strong in the last two races Sunday to win, respectively, the J/120, J/24 and PHRF-1 classes, reveling in winds of 15 to 20 knots. Running away from their classes in the J/109s and J/105s were Tom Brott and Gary Mozer, respectively.
The ten boat J/120 Class were looking forward to the carpet of whitecaps as they sailed out of the Alamitos Bay jetty on Sunday. "We don't get this much in San Diego," said Nichols, racing his J/120 CC RIDER. "But we've had the same crew [of 10] for seven or eight years and our average age is over 50, so it's good to know we can still sail in heavy air." While other boats were rounding up or spinning out here and there, Nichols said, "I think we were the only one in our class that didn't wipe out. We have really good communication for trimming and adjusting and keeping the boat sailing under us." Rounding out the leaders of the ten boat J/120 class were John Laun aboard CAPER in second by only one point and eight points back was Jed Olenick's DOCTOR NO.
Surber's DERIVATIVE, a J/125 racing PHRF Class 1, finished fourth and sixth in the early light-air races Friday and Saturday but ran off two seconds and three firsts in the windiest races over three days. "The windier it is the better it is for us," said Surber, a Coronado YC member. "It's what makes Long Beach a great event. We just kept driving as hard as we could thinking that sooner or later something may come our way." Lorenzo Berho's gorgeous J/145 RAINCLOUD finished seventh but reveled in the windy conditions of the last day.
Only two of the seven J/24s raced Friday, leaving Susan Taylor's TAKE FIVE with an early 1-1 lead and everybody else with a steep hill to climb. Like Surber, Snow's BOGUS started slowly with a fourth place in Saturday's first race, but then hooked into the big breeze to run off four consecutive wins to match Taylor in points and edge her on a tiebreaker---his four first places. Rounding out the top three was Pat Toole's team aboard 3 BIG DOGS, finishing a scant one point behind Taylor and Snow on their tie-breaker....almost the bridesmaid, almost the winner, too!!
In the J/105 class, Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION sailed away from all their competitors with a fairly dominating performance, garnering five firsts in seven races to win by thirteen points over Doug and Pam Werner's JAVELIN. In third was Bill Logan's PHOLLY eight points further back.
The J/109s saw a similar, electrifying performance to Mozer's with Thomas Brott flying around the course in ELECTRA to win by eight points counting five firsts and two seconds-- yikes, an average of first! Well, kind of. Still a dominating performance over Steve Crooke's SUGAR and Chris Mewes' SHADOWFAX, second and third respectively. We are certain by now that the others are probing Brott for some of his speed secrets by now!
The West Coast Championship was the main event for the five boat J/29 class. Bruce Lotz aboard SEDONA showed the fleet how to get it done and with four first places managed to win by just three points over Larry Leveille's RUSH STREET. Bob Lenard averaged third to get third overall.
The J/80 class was perhaps the closest racing fleet other than the J/24s. Gary Kamins's FIRED UP was crowned champion with Gregg Kelly's MERKIN and John Steen's UNDERDOG finishing second and third, respectively.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
J/22 World Championship
Netherlanders Crush the Competition (Riva del Garda, Lago di Garda, Italy- June 10-14)- Joe McCorkell on USA 1577 offers his report from the J/22 World Championship in Italy: Tuesday was the first day of the J/22 World Championship. The boats struggled out of the harbor as the shore and sea breeze fought, then like a brick wall we were hit with 15-20 knots, and we are off! There are 36 boats, with the largest fleet coming from The Netherlands. The Netherlands teams showed their skills in heavy air today with all top 10 boats coming from there. Marvin Beckman's team and ours struggled from time to time downwind in the 25-30 knot breeze with both teams wiping out at least once and looking at their keels. Every day there are different morning conditions, and we think, "hey maybe there will be no breeze today. At noon, we are proven wrong every day as the switch is flipped, and 15-20 knots are piping down the lake. These are definitely some tough conditions, but for the most part, we (the 2 American teams) have switched to European driving mode and ride high and plane all the way down, as opposed to the low and soak mode we are used to back in the States
Predictions regarding Gaston Loos winning would definitely come true! Hailing from the strongly competitive contingent from the Netherlands, Loos won followed by fellow countrymen Kasper Kieft in second and Ronald Veraar in third. Meanwhile, Jeroen Den Boer, the 2006 World Champion, finished in fourth position. The American teams could fair no better than tenth for Marvin Beckman and twelfth for Joey McCorkell. For more info.
BoatUS Santa Maria Cup
Top International Women Match Race on J/22s in Annapolis (Annapolis, MD -May 27-30) - Enduring a week of brutally light and fickle winds, the women’s world top ranked match racing champion Claire Leroy (FRA) conquered the field to win the ISAF Grade 1 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup women’s match race event. Following the first three days, the event had yet to complete a single round robin schedule of nine races. For the fourth and final day on Saturday, the light winds permitted a 9am start to complete the round, but with time now running short, the second round robin series was scratched, and the top four teams advanced to the semi-final round.
By virtue of their round robin scores, the semi-finals saw top-seeded Leroy blank fourth seed Elizabeth Baylis (USA) 2-0, while second seed Genny Tulloch (USA) also dispatched third seed Katie Spithill (AUS) 2-0. It wasn’t until after four o’clock that the Final/Petit-Final Knockout Series commenced with Leroy vs Tulloch in the Finals and Spithill vs Baylis in the Petit match. Leroy cleanly defeated Tulloch in the first match, with Tulloch unable to overcome two penalties in the second. With time running out, Spithill defeated Baylis in the single Petit match to determine the final scores.
Peter Howson commentary: It's been a rough season for marquee sailing events in Annapolis so far this year. It seems the weather has been one week off on the wind every time and the Boat US Santa Maria Cup was no exception. After a spectacular Memorial Day weekend and the cancellation of the pro-am (sponsored by a local lingerie shop: awesome) because of too much wind, the racers have endured several days of barely enough wind to race. Today was another drifter. The press boat left the dock at 11:00 and hit the race course just in time to wait for a good 3 hours before the breeze picked up. 
Three hours of floating around watching boats full of women sunbathe... for once waiting out a calm didn't totally suck. In fact I'm sure once "Mr. Clean" (Sailing Anarchy) sees the photos he'll be putting this regatta on his schedule even if it is in Annapolis again. This is an impressive fleet by any standards. The big guns according to the media guide are Genny Tulloch, #1 match racing skipper on the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics, Liz Baylis and the San Francisco Match Women's Racing Team, Katie Spithill ranked #7 in the world by ISAF, and last but certainly not least, #1 in the world (again, according to ISAF) Claire Leroy of France. There are also 6 other women fielding teams from five different continents, all of whom could knock your ass off the racecourse without breaking a sweat. The day started with Liz Baylis and Claire Leroy tied for first with 6 wins each and Baylis had beaten Leroy in a prior flight. RC finally set a course and they got off a full flight of races. With wind blowing just barely 5 knots most of the time, these races were all won at the start. With a short course it was pretty tight quarters and there were some challenges at the windward mark when some boats misjudged the set of the current and had to tack a couple of extra times putting them smack dab in the middle of the following race. Leroy picked up another win and Baylis dropped one to that Spithill girl so Liz was down one at the end of the day. Genny Tulloch came away with the only US win against Ramires of Portugal.
Regatta Debrief: Genny Tulloch, currently ranked as the top women’s match racing skipper on the US SAILING Team Alphagraphics, provides a recap from last week’s ISAF Grade 1 BoatUS Santa Maria Cup women’s match race event: 
“The Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis was unfortunately not shined upon by the wind gods, and we had four light air days where the breezes were fighting with each other rather than cooperating on our behalf. Sadly I had caught a pretty bad cold on the flight to Annapolis, so while many of the other teams were sunbathing in bikinis, I was still in a jacket, sneezing anytime a zephyr of 2 knots came through. “We knew the weather was bad when we were told Thursday night (after 2 days) that the Santa Maria Cup had never been this far behind in races before, and then we went out and were only able to get one race the next day. We finally finished the first round robin, racing its final race on Saturday, which left us ranked second on a tie-break, as we had beaten both Katie Spithill (last year’s Match Racing World Champion), and Liz Baylis (last year’s second place in World Champs) in the round robin races. “The breeze then died again and we sat out there for about 6 hours as our Northerly gradient fought the Southerly seabreeze, neither one staying long enough to actually get a start off for our semi-finals, though the other match raced one race with three different 180 degree shifts—kites up on the downwind, then sailing upwind on the downwind leg and kites back up for the upwind leg, etc. We were happy not to have raced in that. They finally moved us straight to the finals matches at four, so we were up against Claire Leroy (currently ISAF ranked #1 Women’s Match Racer) to see who would get the win.” Event website. Further info. Photo credits: Sarah Proctor.
Sailing World Detroit NOOD
Frank Kern Wins J/120 Class! (Detroit, MI May 29-31)- The host Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI had 191 boats competing in 20 classes. Frank Kern's Carinthia, took a seven-boat J//120 class by 3 points over second and six points over third. Five of seven boats won races in the J/120 class, six of seven recorded a top-two finish.
The assessment of the competition for the J/120s at "Day-twaah" was insightful: "In spite of the large spread of the J/120 class IRC ratings, these boats are very close in speed and any one of them can win the NOOD based on tactics and crew ability. Jerry Bresser of Flyin' Irish comes in from his 2008 one-design victory in the Bayview Mackinac. Don Hudak's Capers returns from his overwhelming 2008 victory of the J/120 class in Harbor Springs. Henry Mistile Night Moves will be defending his 2008 NOOD victory, which he won in the last race. Marv Ihnen's Ihnsanity will be returning with his first place success in the DYRA series on Lake St. Clair. Bob Kirkman's Hot Ticket, although he didn't claim any bullets in 2008, will be returning with a veteran J/120 crew and is always in the thick of competition. Frank Kern's Carinthia did not race in last year's NOOD, but will be coming back with a class triumph in the Chicago Race to Mackinac class and winner of the J/120's Great Lakes Trophy. Competition in this class is very competitive and these veterans of the J/120 class should have another close battle for victory." Ultimately, Frank and crew prevailed. For more info.
J/22 Worlds Sailing on Romantic Lake Garda
44 Entries from Six Countries Will Enjoy Breathtaking Scenery (Riva di Garda, Lake Garda, Italy)- Not to be outdone by the J/80's in Spain, the J/22's are hosting their World Championships this year on the spectacular location of Lake Garda deep in Italy's famous northern Lakes District. Renowned for gorgeous cobalt blue waters, strong adabatic winds gusting up and down the mountain valleys, enormous rock and mountain formations thrusting skyward precipitously along the lakeshores and simply extraordinary Italian home-style hospitality, it's hard to imagine how anyone of the forty-four boats entered to date are going to have a bad time! Toss in a fair dose of great Italian wine, fresh bread, some extraordinary northern Italian cuisine and you have a recipe for a gastronomic World Championship--- nearly to rival the sailing itself! We wish all competitors fun, fair winds and many a splendid evening along the shores of the sybaritic, romantic waters of Lago di Garda. For more J/22 International Class Info. For more J/22 Worlds Info.
BoatUS Santa Maria Cup
Top International Women Match Race on J/22s in Annapolis (Annapolis, MD- May 26-29)- Today also marks the first day of racing at the BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup, an international women's match racing regatta held in Annapolis, MD. US Sailing Team members Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.) will be among the ten skippers competing in the event alongside other well-known skippers such as 2002 US SAILING Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.) and the world's top-ranked women's match racer Claire Leroy of France. For More info.
Seattle SW NOOD
A bit of a drifter, but the tent party was HOT! (Seattle, WA May 15-17) Leave it up to the locals in Seattle to make the most of seemingly nothing. On Puget Sound, when the wind is light and shifty, you don't hear a lot of complaining. Racers are used to variable conditions; with the Olympic Range towering to the west and the entire North American continent to the east, weather systems frequently lock horns over the Sound, resulting in confused wind patterns and Seattle's characteristic lingering rain. The regatta was characterized by light, variable winds. That's not to say the weather wasn't beautiful-- with clear skies and stunning views-- and it's certainly not to say that the racing wasn't tight. There were 17 classes racing, but only 8 classes got enough racing to generate any results- 3 of those fortunately enough were the J Classes- the J/80s, J/105s and J/109s.
The six boat J/109 class was won by Robert Arney on It's Only Rock & Roll with a first and second. The J/105s had Jerry Diercks on Delirium scream around the course to net a first and third to triumph over their nine boat class. And, perhaps the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers, was the incredibly tight racing amongst the six boat J/80 class. There was a three-way tiebreaker with four points a piece that was broken in favor of Dave Schutte on Taj Majal, followed by Chris White on Crazy Ivan and Mike Brewis on Swish.
Gene Brown and Pete Bristow, who crewed aboard Edward Pinkham's J/109 Jeopardy, were pleased with their boathandling. "Any day we don't have trouble with our spinnaker sets and takedowns," said Brown, "that's a good day." Over a plate of tasty, local barbeque, SW columnist spoke with Jack Seznick, who grew up on the bluff behind the Corinthian YC and reckons he's been sailing these waters for thirty years. For the past three years, he's been working with the crew of the J/109 J-Tripper, co-skippered by Dave Dack and Rick Nordquist. Before purchasing their J/109, Dack and Nordquist were only occasional racers. Since Seznick hopped aboard, however, the team has made drastic improvements to their boathandling and their scoreline. Seznick finds the steep part of the learning curve extremely rewarding. "When I joined the team," he says, "I told the guys, 'I want to be a part of this crew, but we've got to keep it fun."
Strategy in the light air was critical and local talent certainly had their advantages. As in other tidal locales, the key to success is often deciding where to position oneself in relation to the fast-moving current in the middle of the Sound. At times, there is a "toilet bowl" effect, as the tide flowing out of Lake Union and through the locks moves through the marinas and swirls out along the shore, providing for a peculiar, near-shore lift. See Sailing World for more info/ results. Photo credits- Tim Wilkes
Monday, February 23, 2009
Fisher Captures J/22 Midwinters
Tampa, Florida, USA ....... Greg Fisher of Annapolis, MD prevailed as the 2009 J/22 Midwinter Champion at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. With a total score of 17 points, Fisher edged out a fellow Annapolis racer, Jeffrey Todd, who finished with 19 points. Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY rounded out the top three with 30 points.Sailing with Jeff Eiber and Todd Hiller, Fisher used consistent scores in the top four, dropping his lowest score of nine. The winners for Friday’s races were Todd, Kelson Elam of TX and Daniel Ramsay of LA. Temperatures cooled on the final day of racing, but winds in the low- to mid-teens allowed the Race Committee to complete 3 races. Phil Wehrheim of NY and Terry Flynn of TX close out the top five overall. Visit www.diyc.org for complete results.
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