J/22s and J/80s Sailing In Group Experiential Learning (GEL) programs

GEL has renewed its bronze level partnership with the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG). Initiated in 2009, GEL has delivered high-impact team building and leadership training experiences for USSTAG sponsors.

The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is made up of the country’s top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England.

As part of the partnership in 2011, GEL will introduce some of USSTAG’s non-endemic sponsors to the sport of sailing, while offering sailing veterans the opportunity to sharpen their skills and enhance their teamwork on the water. Many GEL events will feature participation by USSTAG’s Olympians and Olympic hopefuls.

"We take great pride in helping USSTAG with sailing programs which support team members’ Olympic and Paralympic dreams and the business objectives of USSTAG’s other sponsors. The relationship also provides special opportunities for our own clients to sail with and simultaneously support the athletes,” said Jay Palace (San Francisco, Calif.), President of GEL.

GEL will host two introductions to their signature program “BoatWorks” in a one-day complimentary experiential sailing program for leaders and HR professionals. The first “Taste of BoatWorks” will be held on May 26 in partnership with Courageous Sailing Center, sailing J/22s in Boston, Mass. On June 29, the second “Taste of BoatWorks” will be held in partnership with J World Annapolis, sailing J/80s in Annapolis, Md. At both locations, participants will be introduced to GEL’s facilitated leadership development program offered across the country at various US SAILING-accredited Keelboat Sailing Schools.

Later this summer, GEL will team up with the Courageous Sailing Center to organize a special introduction to sailing and racing for USSTAG’s title sponsor AlphaGraphics all sailing on J/22s. Franchise owners from the New England area will sail side-by-side with USSTAG members on the Charles River. The afternoon of racing on the J/22s will strengthen relationships and give participants a unique glimpse into the training, preparation and focus required to win medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We are excited to continue and enhance our relationship with GEL,” said Katie Smith (Newport, R.I.), USSTAG’s Commercial Manager.  “We had a very successful event in Naples, Fla. last year where AlphaGraphics executives and franchisees got the opportunity to race on J/80s (see photos) with Olympian Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) and gain insight to the teamwork and challenges involved with racing.  GEL did a phenomenal job translating the passion for sailing into easily accomplished onboard activities. It was a very positive experience for everyone involved.”  For more information about the GEL USSTAG sailing experience program.  

 

J/22 Warming Up Regatta

(Brassermeer, Netherlands)-  Every year the J/22 fleet that sailed on the big inland "sea" called the Brassermeer that border Germany and the Netherlands host two beginning and season ending events- appropriately called the "Warming Up" and the "Cooling Down" regatta.

Most teams arrive on Friday afternoon and rig by Saturday morning.  This year started off with a beautiful mill pond- water smooth as glass and reflecting all the clouds and sun perfectly!  By late afternoon, a mild thermal winds kicks in to start to move the boats.  Said one J/22 sailor, Thomas Gutenstein, "When a few small wind lines show on the water we go out - even if's no racing, just for fun, we sail a round. I am amazed how little we need to move the J!"  After three races, the teams retire back for dinner in the clubhouse.  Thomas continues, "we sit together with the four German teams, "talk shop" and end the day. Of the Dutch team, only the "Gill Racing Team" and part of the Regatta Committee is there. Most Dutch to operate the sailing as we go to the gym: Go there - Sports - have a beer or coffee and then again from home!"

After the races on Sunday with a total of four completed in the light wind conditions, all the crew puts their boats away and head for home.  The remarkable aspect of sailing in Europe is that teams can come from all over the Continent and get to the sailing area, literally, by plane, train and automobile in just a few hours or less.  Said Thomas, "by 1900, JAY-2-PLAY is ready to be towed home and Sophie and Martin are sitting in the train to Schiphol Airport, Martin flies to Frankfurt and Sophie takes the train to Hanover! Till next time!  Thomas."   For more J/22 sailing stories in the Netherlands.   

J's Invade Annapolis NOOD

The Battle (and the Party) Rage On!
(Annapolis, MD)- After last weekend's Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, there will be plenty of scores to settle at the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.  Next weekend's STS Annapolis NOOD will see 221 teams racing in 16 one-design divisions. An enormous turnout of 138 J's (62% of the entire fleet!) are sailing in seven fleets, including thirty-seven J/22s, thirteen J/24s, twenty-nine J/80s, fourteen J/30s, twenty-eight J/105s, seven J/35s and ten J/109s.

The 37-boat J/22 class will be the largest in Annapolis. Expect a good battle between Todd Hiller's LEADING EDGE and Travis Odenbach's INSTIGATOR teams; Hiller and Odenbach finished third and fourth, respectively, in Charleston.  However, some additional hot sailors locally and from the Newport contingent will certainly be factors on the leader-board, including Tim Healey's SAILORS FOR THE SEA from Newport, RI, a past J/24 and J/22 champion; Carol Cronin sailing HPS, a past Women's keelboat champion from Jamestown, RI; Allen "Albie" Terhune from Arnold, MD; Kevin Doyle and Victor Snyder on MO'MONEY from Youngstown, NY; and Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY from Annapolis, MD.  Shaking off some ice and rust from the Great White North will be the long-distance travelers from Toronto, ONT, Stu Lawrie on CATCH 22.

Of the 29 teams registered for the J/80 division, 12 competed at CRW, including top-five skippers Kerry Klingler from Larchmont, NY; Will Welles from Newport, RI on RASCAL; Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, Texas on TIAMO; Thomas Klok and Will Crump on GULDFAXE from Copenhagen, Denmark and Annapolis, MD; and John White from Annapolis, MD. However, upping the ante considerably will be the presence of past World and Key West Champion Glenn Darden from Ft Worth, TX sailing LE TIGRE, fresh off the Texas J/80 Circuit.

In the 13-boat J/24 division, expect Chris Jankowski's STREET LEGAL crew to be hot coming off a second-place finish last weekend.  But, giving them a serious run for the money will be Mark Hillman sailing WIP and class centenarian Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET (showing the kids again how to get it done!), amongst others.

Within the J/105 fleet will be several strong teams that will all factor during the races and some of whom will be on the leader board at the conclusion of racing on Sunday.  Amongst those teams will be several top Annapolis J/105 sailors like Peter McChesney sailing THE MYSTERY MACHINE, Carl and Scott Gitchell steering TENACIOUS, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY, Chris and Carolyn Groobey on JAVA and Andy Kennedy on BAT IV.  Solid out-of-town teams that also had success in regional and National J/105 events include Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT and John Gottwald racing EAGLES WINGS from Chicago, IL.

The J/109 teams are all looking forward to another competitive, but fun, regatta.  Said Steve McManus on SAYKADOO, "Bill Sweetser is a great guy, and his boat RUSH is the top boat in our fleet. He is also very understated. At any rate, Bill is hosting a party at his home in Annapolis for the J/109 crews on the Saturday evening.  Last year, all the skippers and crew were there!!"  Say no more, these guys know how to have a good time!  Two good out-of-town teams joining the fun will be Craig Wright's AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, NC and Adrian Begley's MAD DOGS from Atlantic Highlands, NJ.

The J/35s have several familiar faces showing up at the OK Corral to determine who's going to win the gun-fight.  Amongst them are names like AUNT JEAN sailed by Jim Sagerholm from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, Peter Scheidt's MAGGIE and Chuck Kohlerman's MEDICINE MAN.

Big brother of J/24 lives!  As #2 in the J family of boats, the J/30s continue to enjoy a renaissance and this year is proving to be one of the strongest J/30 one-design class reunions post last year's well-attended J/30 Nationals in Marblehead, MA.  With fourteen J/30s on the line, there will be some strong competition.  As in last year's NOOD and Annapolis Race Week, amongst the leaders will be Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello on BEPOP; Larry Christy's BIG KAHUNA team; Ron Anderson sailing INSATIABLE, Bob Putnam skippering BETTER MOUSETRAP and George Watson racing AVITA.  Thanks for Mike Lovett/ Sailing World for contributing to this story.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes Photography- http://www.timwilkes.com  For more Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Annapolis sailing information.   

J's Enjoy Spring Sailing Fling in Charleston

J/122 GAMBLER & J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN Triumph, J/111 2nd
(Charleston, SC- Apr 14-17) - Springtime in Charleston is one of the more perfect places to spend the spring season and nature smiles especially fondly on Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week every year. For local Charleston resident and J/22 competitor, Greg Fisher, it's all about the community. The multiple world champion and former sail designer recently left the sailmaking industry to accept the position as Director of Sailing for the College Of Charleston. "The amazing thing about Charleston sailors is how they come together as a community for important events," Fisher said. "Hundreds of passionate sailors and their families get together to support Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, Charleston Community Sailing and the College, and it really feels like you're part of a big family when you're with them."

While the rest of America was fretting about tax filing deadlines, Charleston Harbor gave sailors a tax day gift - nearly perfect weather for sailboat racing on Friday. "I don't think I've ever had a day with such perfect sailing weather," said a competitor on the offshore PHRF course. "We had tight racing with 15-18 knots out of the East - perfect wind, perfect waves, and warm sunshine all day."

Racing offshore on the north/south courses were the big boats.  The new J/111 VELOCITY finished the day in fourth in a very competitive PHRF B Class with a 3-4-4 record. "This was the boat's first day of racing ever, and we're having a good time figuring her out," explained trimmer Dave Malkin of Annapolis. "We're definitely looking forward to even more breeze tomorrow." Kemah, TX J/122 owner Doug Shaffer leads the class with just four points in three races aboard GAMBLER, getting a 1-1-2 score.  In second was yet another J/122, Robin Team's TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC with a 4-2-1 record, getting stronger every race as their team dials it in to be a class leader.  Having a tough time against their stablemates were the two J/120s, John Keenan's ILLYRIA and Rick Moore's MOOSE DOWN, finishing further down the ladder.

In PHRF A, the J/124 WICKED sailed by Doug Curtiss and crew from Branford, CT lay in a three-way tie for second with a 2-3-4 score.  Just behind them were the two J/130s, David Hackney's SUGAR MAGNOLIA and Noel Sterret's SOLARUS.

In PHRF C were the 35 footers-, including the J/35, J/109 and three J/105s.  After the end of a glorious day of racing, the J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier from Charleston, SC sailed a solid 4-5-6 to lie 4th for the day.  Ric Campeau's J/109 HOODOO had some flashes of brilliance but couldn't put it all together, ending up with a 7-6-9 for 6th.

Over in PHRF D, a real fight was taking  place for the top three positions on the podium.  Leading the charge was the masthead/outboard J/29 FOR SAIL skippered by Jim Mackevich from Edison, NJ with a 4-2-1 record for 7 pts.  Just behind them by one point was Steve Thurston sailing MIGHTY PUFFIN, another masthead/outboard J/29, sailing to a 2-1-5 record for 8 pts.  Just off the pace was Dave Pritchard's J/92 AMIGOS sailing to a 7-4-3 tally.

On the inshore one-design courses, the J/22s, J/24s and J/80s were having a great day sailing, with all three classes getting in four races.  Sailing on the new Course "0", the J/22s and J/24s were sailing in the easterly breeze with the windward mark set about 85 degrees from the start line.  While the first race was affected by the strong ebb current flowing out of the harbor, after 12:18pm the next three races were fought in a building flood current.  If you haven't heard about it before, there's no question that current is a factor in setting your course strategies and tactics, on some courses more important than others.  For the J/24s and J/22s, the first beats were influenced by the presence of the giant sand spit called Shutes Folly Island with a little fort at the SE end of it- Castle Pinckney.  The combination of less adverse current near the island and the puffs backing left most of the afternoon meant the fleet had to play middle left nearly all day.  At the end of the day, it was pretty clear the top three in the very competitive 25 boat J/24 class traded places taking most of the podium finishes.  Leading the charge was past J/24 Champion Mike Ingham, from Rochester, NY, who had the wind and current scenario wired, sailing to a very consistent 1-3-1-2 record for 7 pts.  Sailing STREET LEGAL into second for the day was Chris Jankowski from Richmond, VA with a 3-2-2-3 tally for 10 pts.  And getting stronger by the race was John Surguy's team on VANISHING ACT from Marlboro, NJ, sailing to a 4-4-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts to secure third place for the day.

The J/22s had a very strong sixteen boat fleet and the competition for the top spots was going to be tough with some excellent teams fielded not only from local Charleston sailors, but also from very strong J/22 one-design class fleets in both Rochester, NY and Annapolis, MD.  After the first two races, it was obvious that a near match-race was forming for the top spots between Chris Doyle sailing SOLID LAYER from Rochester, NY and Greg Fisher from Charleston, SC.  After the first two races, Chris had a 1-2 and Greg had a 2-1.  As the afternoon wore on, Chris and his SOLID LAYER crew made their move and established primal supremacy in the J/22 fleet, getting two more bullets to finish the day with a 1-2-1-1 for 5 pts.  Greg's team sailed well to finish the day with a 2-1-3-3 tally for 9 pts.  Behind them was another match race shaping up between Todd Hiller from Annapolis, MD sailing LEADING EDGE and Travis Odenbach from Rochester, NY sailing INSTIGATOR.  This duel ended up tied for the day with Todd scoring a 3-3-2-6 and Travis with a 4-4-4-2, the tiebreaker going in favor of Todd.

A great turnout of twenty-six boats meant the J/80s were going to have a good series with some very competitive teams attending.  Plus, a fun, fast course with less than 1.0 nm windward-leeward legs meant that skippers, tacticians and crews would be busy.  Unlike the J/22 and J/24 Course "0", the J/80s were sailing on Course 1 along the southern part of the harbor.  The PRO set the windward mark at about 90 degrees and basically never changed it all day.  The winds built from 6-12 to 9-17 knots from the East by mid-afternoon, making for epic, brilliant sailing, perhaps the best course for sailing in the entire regatta (based on hearsay at the Goslings tent afterwards!).  Like the Course "0" sailors, the J/80s saw the winds oscillate significantly, but the right side of the course along shore only paid off twice on 8 total windward legs over 4 races! Fast out of the blocks was Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, TX sailing TIAMO to a 1-1-4-6 score for the day for 12 pts.  However, the team of Henry Brauer and Will Welles sailing RASCAL from Marblehead, MA/ Newport, RI sailed consistently well, never finishing out of the top three, rounding either the first or second mark in first place in every race, to get a 3-3-1-2 record to end the day with 9 pts to be at the top of the leader-board.  In third due to a tie-breaker with Bruno's TIAMO team was Kerry Klingler's team from Larchmont, NY sailing to a 5-2-2-3 for 12 pts.

The talk of the dock after the spectacular day's racing was whether or not the dire predictions for Saturday's sailing would come true- a weather forecast that included no less than trailer-destroying tornados, frightening line squalls, severe ginormous thunderstorms, massive car-destroying hail stones, monster micro-burst puffs and gale-force wind conditions. If Friday's conditions provided a chance for racers to knock the rust off, Saturday would undoubtedly separate the top teams from those who could use a bit more practice-- or the crazed from the simply normal.  As Saturday dawned, it was clear the prognosticators were correct, the forecast was more accurate than most had hoped; in fact, the storm front killed nearly 50 people in tornados less than 100 miles away.  As a result, Regatta Chairman Randy Draftz was put in the unenviable position of having to cancel racing for the first time ever in the race week's history.  Nevertheless, many were sanguine about the dilemma and felt it was a good call.

Multiple J/24 World Champion Anthony Kotoun of Newport, RI was one of them, and the Virgin Islands native who has sailed the past four Charleston Race Weeks, shared his thoughts on Charleston Race Week: "I just love this regatta," he said. When pressed on why, he mentioned the parallels with Caribbean regattas. "I just came back from sailing in St. Thomas at the Rolex Regatta, the BVI at the Spring Regatta and St. Maarten for the Heineken event, and Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week is the only event in the country that's got a flavor like those." Kotoun cited "great breezes, beautiful surroundings, and the regatta village here on the beach that's really something you don't see anywhere but the Caribbean."

An earlier start time for Sunday saw frantic preparations as all boats were seen pulling piles of extra sails and gear off their boats to lighten their loads for the expected forecast of a dying 5-10 kt wind. The offshore courses saw sufficient sailing breeze through most of the day, with the first race run under very light northerly conditions and the final race in a moderate Charleston sea breeze of 10 knots.

The biggest boats at the event had an exciting, three-way battle for the lead in PHRF A, with the J/124 WICKED ending up third after the smoke cleared.  WICKED missed 2nd by 1 pt and first by just 2 pts, a shift here, a puff there and the tables would have turned completely in their favor.

In PHRF B, Doug Shaffer's J/122 GAMBLER simply sailed away, leaving the fleet in their rear-view mirror, winning the last two races to win by 9 pts over the J/111 VELOCITY.  After their Friday "practice race" day, the gang on the J/111 VELOCITY got their act together, retuned the rig, trimmed the sails faster, avoided some big holes and even led the entire fleet around one leeward gate to secure 2nd overall with a solid 2-2 showing on the last day for a total of 15 pts.  Third was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK, sailing an uncharacteristic 7-3 to finish 3rd with 17 pts.

The mighty struggle between the 30 footers in PHRF D was finally settled in favor of Steve Thurston's well-sailed J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN, getting a 4-1 to win with 13 pts.  Jim's J/29 FOR SAIL had a slow day, getting a 7-5 to drop to 4th after leading on the first day.  Dave Pritchard's J/92 AMIGOS got their mojo on and managed to peel off a 1-2 for the best record on Sunday to get 3rd overall with 17 pts.  The Palmetto Cup, which is awarded each year to the best boat competing in the PHRF (handicap rating) classes, went to Steve Thurston and his crew from Bristol, RI racing aboard the mighty yacht  MIGHTY PUFFIN!

Inshore, conditions were more fickle and no races were completed on the J/24 and J/22 race course, with only one completed on the J/80 course.  Former North American and National J/24 Champion Mike Ingham was disappointed that his class didn't see enough wind for a final race today, though he was happy to take the victory in the most competitive J/24 fleet that Charleston has seen in several years. "We last sailed here for our National Championship about six years ago, and it's just as great as I remembered," said Mike. "On Friday, we got four solid races in, and just kept our noses clean and tried to sail smart. It worked."

For the J/80s, it was a beautiful, but disappointing day.  The one and only race was punctuated by a series of events for the leaders and the entire fleet that could best be described as "unfortunate".  The PRO elected to start the race in a rapidly dying breeze from the NW (it was forecast to die by 11am) at precisely 10:40 am after it was obvious the Viper 640 fleet that started at 10:35am were struggling getting to the first windward mark.  Toss in a dying breeze with massive holes, 40 degree shifts and a full-moon ebb tide flowing at 3 knots and what do you get?  A very ugly picture that many sailing in England's Solent are all too familiar with.  Out of 26 boats only 5 managed to finish the race (exactly 1/5th of the fleet) and the rest scored TLE (time limit expired!).  Not exactly a "fair or reasonable" race for all involved, e.g. an awfully expensive one-day regatta!  Nevertheless, not often you see top three finishers scored with TLE's as counters!  Kerry Klingler's team avoided the mishaps and secured a finish to win with 15 pts with a 5-2-2-3-3 score.  In finishing second, the Brauer/Welles team got caught by the finish line buoy, literally, and instead of winning the regatta was forced to take a TLE, scoring 3-3-1-2-TLE for 16 pts.  Third was Bruno's TIAMO team who seemingly took an involuntary tour of Fort Sumter over on another course as they were getting flushed out to sea, finishing with a 1-1-4-6-TLE for 19 pts.  Thanks to Mike Lovett's contributions from his Sailing World Forum report (http://www.sailingworld.com).

Sailing Photo Credits:
Meredith Block- www.blocksail.com
Priscilla Parker- www.priscillaparker.com

VIdeo coverage:
  - OTWA  Sailing Coverage- Day One
  - T2P.TV- Day One Summary

For more Charleston Race Week sailing information   

J/22 Art-quality Fine Prints

(Newport, RI)- WG Sofrin Fine Prints is pleased to announce the introduction of a customizable J/22 combination sail-lines plan print. This print was developed in conjunction with the J/Boats design team using the original design data from Rodney Johnstone. This soon to be classic keepsake is perfect for any office, home, or club. The print is produced using the archival inks on acid free select print stock.

WG Sofrin Fine Prints specializes in offering a customizable print service. Originally Sofrin entered the fine print industry through a project he developed with MIT. Presently Sofrin's work is collected around the globe, and his original work can be viewed upon appointment at the MIT Museum.  Please contact will@willsofrin.com with any questions or to request the custom order form.   

J/22s for Canadian Women's Sailing Championship

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- The  Canadian Yachting Association Women's National Keel Boat Championship will be held this year at Hudson Yacht Club, June 3-5.  The Friday will be a clinic, with on water coaching, followed by a debriefing.  Saturday and Sunday will be a regatta, with the top Canadian boat to be awarded the CYA WNKC trophy.

This year's choice of boat is the J/22, and while there are a few loaner boats available, they're hopeful that most competitors will be able to bring their own.  For any Canadian women planning to sail in the Rolex Women's Worlds in Rochester, NY just across Lake Ontario, this event will be great practice (pictured here is the Canadian Team that sailed the Sundance Cup in Fort Worth, Texas).  Registration is open now and may be accessed at J/22 Canadian Women's Keelboat Sailing Championship.   

Storck Wins J/22 Sundance Cup

(Ft Worth, TX- Mar 10-12)-  Fort Worth Boat Club hosts the Sundance Cup every year, a Women's Invitational Match Racing event (WIMRA). They put on a fantastic event and went above and beyond to make everyone feel welcome. It was an awesome venue and event in all respects.  It was another strong turnout of women sailors for one of the more fun match events on the women's WIMRA circuit.

Sailing well in her first time on Lake Ray Hubbard was Kaitlan Storck. In the final Kaitlan beat Maegan Ruhlman to win the Sundance Cup.  Third overall was Rebecca Dellenbaugh, fourth was Amanda Callahan and fifth was Nicole Buechler.  A great time was had by all with a great variety of wind and weather, light winds to blowing a near gale.

One of the sailors from White Rock Lake blogged about her experience- here are some highlights of "Pam's Patter" commentary-  "How do you take four experienced female sailors and instantly find their strengths and weaknesses and make them look like the first Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Olympics? Women's match racing and then add a little wind for good measure. Things happen fast and a couple of seconds here and there of inefficiency or hesitation and the seconds add up quick and things can and do get ugly. I spent two days doing a women’s match racing clinic in Fort Worth and then two days of match racing followed by the finals and I have only one thing to say … OUCH!! I’m bruised from head to toe (Doug says I look like a leopard) and after watching the younger and more experienced female match racing sailors in the finals, I feel very old and slow.

This was an incredible experience. Being horribly humbled isn’t fun but Dave Perry said he got his behind kicked in his first match racing regatta so I guess I’m in good company. We had a perfect score of 0-12 meaning we lost all 12 matches that we sailed. Another ouch!

However, being eliminated meant I was able to jump on an umpire boat and be a fly on the wall and watch the finals up close and personal. These girls are amazing sailors. I thought things were happening fast on my boat and we were just a little slow but things were happening so fast the umpires could barely speak fast enough to keep track of the movement. Two umpires follow each match and they get as close to the competitors as the competitors get to each other. At one point we were an obstacle and the girls were circling us. Each umpire role plays as the port or starboard boat and they do a sort of play by play in their own shortcut language ‘I’m port, give … tacking, done’. My favorite was ‘get off my boat, get off my boat’ when one umpire would inadvertently switch boats. I was impressed by the umpiring and realized I’d been looking for that shortcut language to run through my head when I’m racing to constantly keep track of who has rights."  For more J/22 Sundance Cup Match Race Sailing information.   

J/22 "Warm Up" Germany/ Holland

(Brassermeer Sea, The Netherlands)- The start of the J/22s in the 2011 season has traditionally been the "Warm Up" on the "big sea" (actually a lake).   In addition, the regatta is one of the first in the German standings, so most teams that want to be competitive for the season participate in the event, over twenty-one teams showed up for this year's event.

As one competitor remarked after the first day of racing, "at a dinner in the clubhouse, we sit together with the four German teams, "talk shop" and end the day. Of the Dutch teams, only the "GILL RACING TEAM" and part of the Regatta Committee is there. Most of the Dutch seem to operate in sailing like we go to the gym: Go there - Sports - have a beer or coffee and then go home!"  Too funny.

The first event took place under very mild conditions for the weekend. The forecast was sun, but not much wind. Saturday morning, all 23 teams, including four German boats, went out to test themselves for patience. Everyone drifted to the starting boat.  At about 1400 hours the wind came and eventually the fleet made ​​two starts. It was bizarre racing, with winds fluctuating from 2 to 6 knots and at least 30 degrees wind shifts.  At the end, it was SIKA TEAM first, HENRI LLOYD second and TEAM HELLY HANSEN third.  The day ended with a Happy Hour of the J22 class and a delicious dinner of Ron.

Sunday morning was even flatter than the day before.  After what seemed an eternity, the fleet finally gets in three races. SIKA TEAM with Ronald, Robert and Joost took all the loot.  All in all it was a beautiful weekend and the struggle for the season series champion is very much open and up for grabs.  For more J/22 Netherlands sailing information.   

Trophee Banque Populaire Atlantique III- J/22 Sailing France

J/22s Having Fun in France
(Nantes, France)- The weekend started out nicely with a good wind from the ENE, plenty of sun and a lot of enthusiasm from the fleet to go racing.  As anticipated, it was going to be a battle between the EUROPEAN HOMES and SOFFE.  But the weather, the crazy conditions and the other teams had something to say about how this would all end up for the regatta's top positions.

After facing challenging sailing conditions all weekend, it was the team of Bernard Andre, Pascale Andre and Remi Nobileau aboard MAJIC that triumphed against the leading teams with a strong series of 1-2-11 to win with a high point score of 31.75 points.  Second was the team led by Emmanuel Bollore on DELFINA with a 2-4-5-2 for 23 points on high point.  Third was SOFFE sailed by Claire Pouteau with a strong record of 5-1-2-6 and just missing second place by 3/4 point, getting 22.25 points overall.  Antoine Royne and crew aboard EUROPEAN HOMES had to settle for fourth place with a 4-3-4-3 record for 22 points.  Imagine that, a 2nd in the last race for Antoine and crew on EUROPEAN HOMES may have netted them at least a 2nd place!   

J/22s Match Race Sailing in South Africa

(Northvaal, South Africa)- The first of the Northvaal match racing series was held in conjunction with the prestigious Round the Island race at LDYC on the Vaal dam.

Eight teams from Northvaal and KZN sailed in a knock out series covered by the webcam from LDYC. Competitors waited and spectated from a barge anchored at the starboard end of the start line. Short courses and intense racing kept everybody’s attention for the entire event. The wind settled into a comfortable 5 knot easterly, which persisted the entire day.

The First match saw the team of Ewald Sternalgel against Keel Boat week winners Richard Wiederholt’s Team. Ewald’s experience in match racing showed as he quickly forced Richard into a penalty situation before the start securing a win.

The only two KZN teams drew each other in the first round taking the J22 boat handling in their stride. Luke Wagner from PYC lost to Andrew Tarbaton by a penalty on the finish line. OH! So close.

The third match saw Paul Thompson from DAC up against local Dirk Manten. Match racing being a discipline that South African sailors don’t often participate in, resulted in the crews taking on the challenge conservatively but despite this, spectators enjoyed very entertaining racing. The result! Dirk came out on top in that one.

Shellee Nel and her ladies crew took on Graham Baker in the final match of the first round. Shellee pushed Graham off to the port side to have a clear start, which gave them a small lead, which they maintained for the rest of the race. The girls are a challenge to be reckoned with!

The subsequent knock out rounds were just as exciting for spectators as competitors but ultimately Ewald declared the winner with Shellee Nel second and Richard Weiderholt the winner of the Losers knock out.

This new dimension to J22 sailing is exciting and challenging so we hope the subsequent match racing challenges will see more teams participating. Watch this space and check the new web page for more.  For more South African J/22 sailing information.   

The Road to Rolex Women's Worlds

J/22 Women's Teams Training Worldwide 
(Portsmouth, RI)- When Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (IWKC) returns to Rochester Yacht Club for its 14th edition, August 29-September 1, 2011, it will be the sixth time in the event’s history that racing has been conducted in J/22s. Easing the way for women sailors new to the J/22, US SAILING is organizing a series of "Road to Rolex" clinics to help develop teams and encourage their participation in Rolex IWKC.  The first one at Davis Island Yacht Club in late February that took place in conjunction with the J/22 LayLine Midwinters was a great success. Two-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Sally Barkow, an accomplished match racer, 2008 Olympian and member of the US Sailing Team, led the two-day women-only clinic with a focus on boat-handling and aggressive starts.

Translating the lessons from the clinic into performance on-the-water, the Cleveland-based team led by Susan McIntyre (Bay Village, Ohio) won the three-race clinic series after posting finishes of 2-2-1.  Besides escaping the cold winter weather, McIntyre, who plans to enter Rolex IWKC, had signed up for the clinic to learn more about downwind sailing.  “The clinic was amazing. We didn't know we could learn so much in two days but Sally made it possible,” said McIntyre. “There were numerous things that she taught us that we can take home and practice on our own such as the figure eight drill. The starting drills and tips were also very helpful. It was an excellent clinic.”

While the "Road to Rolex" clinics are designed to prepare competitors for the Rolex IWKC, participants do not have to be attending the Rolex IWKC to join in the clinic. Chalk-talks, on-the-water sessions and video debriefs will culminate with a short race series which determines the clinic winner who becomes the recipient of a $200 credit toward her entry fee to the 2011 Rolex IWKC. Over the coming months, nine additional clinics will be conducted around the county, including South Africa.  For questions, contact Taran Teague at email- Jtteague@aol.com or website- http://www.riwkc.ussailing.org.  For complete "Road to Rolex" sailing clinic schedule and sailing information.