J/24 Dominates Hot Rum!

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J/70s & J/105s Lead Their Divisions
(San Diego, CA)- The Sinhoffer Hot Rum Regatta series always seems to be full of surprises for all who’ve sailed the event over the course of time.  Such a seemingly simple course, using the classic “pursuit-style” starting sequence with small(slowest) boats starting first and fastest last, is never quite what it seems as the boats head out to the starting line.  Other than weather that can be impacted by late summer highs bathing the fleet in warm sun and light winds or massively fast weather systems blown down from the Bering Straits whipping the eastern Pacific into a frenzy and throwing overcast clouds, 15-30 kts SW winds and 10-15 seas at the fleet, the big “gotcha” is often how the winds (or lack thereof) flow over the monstrous promontory known as Point Loma.  As a result, many a Hot Rum Series leader has seen their chances blown in the final few hundred yards sailing into the finish line off Shelter Island.

This year’s three weekend series saw just about every weather condition imaginable.  The first weekend was fraught with almost no wind with most big boats barely finishing and most littler boats having to take DNFs (sometimes entire divisions!).  The second go-around saw a gorgeous sunny day with 5-8 kts of breeze from the West.  Then, the final weekend was cool, partly cloudy with foggy drizzle and a strong breeze of 10-20 kts from the SW.

For the first time in years, the little boats predominated.  In fact, it was the “classic” J/24 CAROLINA sailed by Ben Nieting that not only took overall honors, winning the last race overall, but also winning Class 5!  Not far behind them overall was Dennis & Sharon Case’s J/105 WINGS, taking sixth overall and first in Class 3 and in ninth overall was Jim Madden’s J/125 STARK RAVING MAD IV.

On a class basis, the top dog in Class 1 for J/125s was Madden’s STARK RAVING MAD, taking 7th.  Just behind was Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE in 9th and third of their group was Tim Fuller’s RESOLUTE in 12th.

The next class was a really mixed bag of boats that ranged from 28 to 44 feet.  Class 2 had a raft of J/120s and J/124s.  Top J team was John Laun’s J/120 CAPER, taking 4th in class and top J/120.  Next was Mike Hatch’s J/120 J-ALMIGHTY in fifth place followed by Chuck Nichol’s CC RIDER.  Seth Hall’s gorgeous, navy blue J/124 MARISOL took 11th in class.

The J/105s generally seem to dominate Class 3 by sheer numbers as well as by some remarkable performances.  Not surprisingly, a perennial contender topped the fleet, Dennis & Sharon Case’s J/105 WINGS.  They were followed by “birthday boy” Steve Howell (sailing with wife Lucy) on the ever popular BLINK!, taking third in class.  Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE sailed nicely to take fourth.

With a fast-growing and strong presence already in Southern California, it was only a matter of time that J/70s started to pop-up on the radar screen and do some damage even in the handicap-racing world.  Sailing in what is arguably one of the toughest fleets, Jeff Brown’s J/70 took top honors followed by Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR in third overall in class.  Next up with a good series was Tomm Reilly’s J/100 JASWINDER.  Of note, the J/70 fleet was not going to be denied, winning every race in class with Eric Kownacki’s DFZ taking one and Karl Pomeroy’s ZERO TO 60 taking the other.

The heart-warming story for this Hot Rum Series had to be the family crew and friends aboard Ben Nieting’s biege-colored J/24 CAROLINA, winning both counter races with ease!  Just off the pace was David Cattle’s beautifully restored J/27 BLACKADDER notching a well—earned 5th overall.  They were followed by yet another J/24, Mark Clements’ BRIGADOON in sixth overall!  Of note was a nice series sailed by Robert Noe’s pretty J/30 MAD HATTER— a beautifully maintained white boat that took 11th!   Sailing photo credits- San Diego YC/ Bronny Daniels- Joysailing.com   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

ZIPPER Jams Jamaica Jammin’ Regatta In MoBay!

(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- The Jamaica Jammin’ Regatta sailed in the clubs J/22 one-design fleet has a wonderful history of great sailors and great sailing, all in the challenging waters of Montego Bay, Jamaica.  They’ve had sailors from all across the globe, including the UK, Cayman, Bahamas and, of course, Jamaican teams from Kingston and Montego Bay, participating in past regattas.

This annual regatta is an open invitation to the global sailing community to bring a crew to Jamaica, race someone else’s boat (at no cost), get home hosted (at no cost) and get the ultimate high on a great race track for a very modest entry fee.  The perfect regatta for these tough economic times: something to look forward to during the dark winter months of our northern neighbors.

After the largest turnout ever in 2012 with every J/22 in the country sailing, 2013 was always going to be tough get all the boats back.  A late cancellation from the Cayman youth sailing coaches meant that Mark Edmunds and his dedicated followers from Cayman waved the flag this year and eight boats entered the fray.  Bruce J, we missed you again! And, young Tracy from Canada – make sure next year you plan a little better!

The forecast for Friday was 22 gusting 28 knots. Actual wind was 5 to 18 knots and so easterly that the race committee had trouble getting a mark remotely square.  Saturday turned out to be more breeze than Friday with 14 to 18 and occasional gusts of 25 kts from the ENE.  There was no local knowledge that helped as it was a case of spot the puffs at the top of the course and make sure to sail them!

The gusts were strong enough to bury Geronimo’s mast for a couple of minutes and spill all 4 crew into the water followed by an immediate broach on the other side followed by an extended period of sideways drift towards the reef with the spinnaker run to the stops.  The skipper was given special recognition at prize giving (and graciously accepted!) for rescuing themselves and the boat with all hands on deck!

One-design yacht racing in Jamaica? It’s all about clean starts, protest free, fun racing in challenging conditions.  Nothing beats it.  At the prize-giving, each crew member on the first, second and third place boats received fabulous handmade Frank May trophies with a stained timber plaque and resin hulls.

Repeat winner was Peter Harper and team sailing their yacht ZIPPER from Montego Bay YC.  Displaying much better form and jumping one notch higher on the podium in this year’s event was Mark Edmunds sailing DEFENDER to the silver from Cayman Islands Sailing Club.  Leaping up the ladder this year was Bob Mallasch’s team on their mighty yacht AYAHSO from Montego Bay YC, taking the bronze overall!

Jammin’ is a regatta of volunteers and amateurs getting together to do something they love.  Boats are loaned for the use of visitors, home hosting is arranged for those that need and land-based entertainment sorted.  The regatta first started in 1989 as the Jam-Am Invitational when there were close ties with the US J/22 sailing fraternity.  The regatta was designed as an open invitation to the USA and designed with the emphasis on fun.

The regatta evolved into an international invitational open to entries from the entire planet.  Jammin’ is now held at the beginning of December ever year for any sailors who are willing to come and risk the warm tropical trade winds, sun and the blue waters of the Caribbean. The whole event revolves around having fun on and off the water.  The winner of the event by extension is a J/22 Global Champion and obviously a “Living Legend” as every year the entire world is invited to come and play!

“Thank you’s” are due to the following for making the event happen:

• Montego Bay Yacht Club, MBYC Management Committee, Judith, Heather and Davia, MBYC Dockmaster, David and assistant Anthony, and Robbie Joseph’s “Seahorse Grill”;
• Bryan and Lyn Langford for the use of the “Pursuit” as start boat – you guys are the best!  Bryan and Lynda Langford for the prize-giving venue – Landfall- this has become the best part of the weekend;
• Race committee volunteers Robin Delisser, Lyn Langford and Carole Small- we hope that the gift of abacus and Vienna Sausages will help in the counting of laps next year;
• Carole Small for organization of names and food for prize-giving;
• J/22 owner Frank May for lending his boat while he went back to the course;
• Frank May – handmade prizes and mark management; and
• Lyn Langford for all her silly prizes.

Last, but not least, we are extremely grateful for our Sponsors:

• Biggs BBQ restaurant and bar on the hip trip for the Jammin T Shirts;
• Slam Condoms – for those quieter moments on the course; and
• Draught beer, mon!  Of course, something no sailor could do without!

For more Jamaica Jammin’ J/22 International sailing regatta information. 

Gurgel Tops Alster Act J/22 Match Race Regatta

(Hamburg, Germany)- The 23rd Alster Act Match Race hosted ten teams this year from five countries across Europe.  This ISAF Grade 3 match-race event was hosted by the Hamburger Segel Club on the famous Alster Lake in the middle of Germany’s second largest city- Hamburg!  The weather conditions proved to be perfect for match-racing the fleet of six J/22s for most of the weekend until the breeze started to diminish on Sunday afternoon.

While 65 matches were scheduled, the regatta PRO wisely decided to adjust the match race schedule to complete the semi-finals and finals earlier than scheduled.  As a result, 45 matches in the round-robin were sailed, enough to produce a good ranking table for the final rounds.  The HSC Race Committee led by Jens Hahlbrock and his team managed a well organized event with satisfied participants.

The top team this year was HSC’s own Max Gurgel sailing with his team of Daniel Zenker and Robin Zinkmann.   Second was the Danish crew Christian Tang with crew Leif Ole Daetz and Jeppe Dybkjaer Ditlev.  Taking third overall was the initial regatta favorite, the Polish team of Patryk Zbroja and team of Maciej Gonerko and Krzysztof Zeludziewicz.  Fourth was the German team led by Florian Haufe with crew Steffen Hessberger and Max Boosfeld.  Fifth was yet another German team, Felix Oehme and his team of Niklas von Meyerinck and Felix von Meyerinck.   For more Alster Act J/22 Match Race sailing information

Benelux J/22 Winter Regatta

(Braassermeer, Netherlands)- The Benelux J/22 sailors are nothing if not organized and, most importantly, quite passionate about continually improving their experience as J/22 teams.  Their “winter” and “spring” training weekends have produced compelling results over time as teams from the Netherlands and Belgium have placed, or won, in major events like the J/22 Europeans and the J/22 Worlds.  In fact, many teams are keying in on the next J/22 World Championships 2014 to be held in South Africa for the first time!

Stan from the J/22 JABBADABBADOO filed this report for their most recent training weekends:  “Weekend 1- The first training and races of the winter series took place in perfect conditions. On Saturday and Sunday 10-12 kts north and Sunday with 12 to 18 knots. Both days had lovely sunshine and about 17 degrees celsius— not bad!  We looked back at the cold spring on the Braassermeer and the Cooling Down events which had all-or-nothing winds; compared that, this past weekend was simply delicious!

Saturday’s training day was organized by the J/22 Class and Falko Braun. He managed to keep the teams close together despite the different levels of the participating teams. It was an interesting day. A new German team trained with us and was full of enthusiasm about the new insights and boat-handling they learned— they turned out to be a formidable sparring partner to tune with.  We worked on upwind boat speed. For downwind speed, Falko taught all teams to sail with a “free kite.” The wind was perfect for roll-tacking practice. Gybes and even ‘mexican drops’ were practiced.  After lunch and briefing we practiced time-on-distance, a number of starts and two short races . Before we knew it the afternoon was over and we all agreed to debrief in a restaurant in Leiden .

On Sunday, with more wind we focused on sailing many short races.  They were very intense, short laps around the buoys; the races were 30-40 minutes.  XJE had learned the time-on-distance exercise well the day before and took a good start in the first race.  In the second, race we started first but with XJE right next to us. In the last race it was a true match race.  It was very shifty and wind gusts caused considerable spectacle on the short course.  The third start was very nice with all the boats on the line and everyone at luffing at the gun!  Everyone is learning fast!

After several years of just sailing regattas, I am happy to train again, and finally by an external coach to get clues on how to sail better and faster. Falko shook things up for us and forced us to get out of our comfort zone and push the envelope of performance— it brought great satisfaction to see us better develop as a team.

For the second weekend of winter training and competition, the WVB decided this year to sail three races a day and keep the pace going with fast-action.  In short, very intense rounds where boat-handling will keep crews busy even in a winter storm!!  Perhaps most importantly, top Dutch sailor Ronald Veraar will lead the training.  Ronald is a former European champion and current European champion as “Corinthian” in both the J/22 and the M24 classes. That promises a mountain of gold tips!  We look forward to more of this all winter!”   For more J/22 Benelux sailing information

British Win J/22 2K Team-Race Germany

(Hamburg, Germany)-  The J/22 class in Germany and the Hamburger Segel-Club in Germany created a fun, new regatta to be sailed on the Alster Lake as a team race and called it the 2K International Cup.  The regatta saw very close competition amongst the teams that participated from Italy, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.  Here was the report from Manuel Huensch on how it all went down on the lake:

“Day three dawned with gale force winds as the 2K International Tour moved to the final stages of the regatta. With nearly all of Stage 1 complete and a forecast for strengthening breeze the PRO Stefan Roth, wisely chose to move as quickly as possible to the finals.

A quick repercharge round brought Yacht Club Costa Smeralda from the Italian island of Sardinia into the ring to face long term rivals but good friends Spinnaker Club from Great Britain.  At three-up in un-reefed J/22’s, the lightweight Brits were at a significant disadvantage.  As a result, the outcome of the race all depended on getting at least second on the starboard laylines coming into any of the marks.

Again and again, their success here gave Spinnaker the ability to pass their opponents back into a losing combination before the tightest of races to the finish.

Winning 2-0, Spinnaker watched with interest, and maybe concern, as the young Dutch  team from DMTRA also won their semi-finals elimination stage 2-0 against Bayerischer Yacht Club.

Emboldened by their impressive scoreline, the Dutch DMTRA team brought aggression and impressive speed to bear against Spinnaker in the final stage of the regatta.  In the first Race, the British Spinnaker team were again struggling with their lack of weight on the rail.  Spinnaker had to dig deep into their tactical repertoire to fend off the challenge. Despite a penalty at the windward mark, tight defensive work by Spinnaker's Sam Littlejohn got teammate Tom Hebbert's boat back into the game, and soon to victory in Race 1.

The outcome of Finals Race 2 was virtually over before it started.  Just about everything went wrong for the Dutch DMTRA team, leaving Spinnaker an easy 1-2 combo at the finish for both the race win and the International 2K Cup overall win.

In the Petite Final, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda also had to draw upon all their skills to win against Bayerischer Yacht Club.

Brilliantly organized and run by Hamburger Segel-Club, the club's board ended the event by announcing their decision to host a 2K event again next year! In the meantime, plans to run a German 2K clinic led by top 2K sailors is well advanced; especially after having gotten “schooled” by the well-sailed Spinnaker team with their brilliant team-racing tactics!”  For more International 2K Team-Racing Cup sailing information

NEW J/Calendar 2014- Hot off the Press!

The Perfect Gift For People Who Love Sailing!
(Newport, RI)- For 2014 we've created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world.  Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places.

The 2014 sailing calendar features photos (pictured here) of flying J/70s off Key West; a fleet of J/24s dueling upwind off Monte Carlo, Monaco; surrealistic scenes of J/80s off Santander, Spain and sailing off “the cathedral” in Palma Mallorca; a fleet of J/120s crossing Alcatraz Island on San Francisco Bay; J/111s sailing in front of the spectacular Chicago skyline; a J/42 cruising along an idyllic Maine coastline; and other gorgeous images of J/105s, J/22s and a J/125.  A great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew (see gallery)!   Order your 2014 J/Calendar today, click here.

J/Teams HOT In SD Rum Series

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(San Diego, CA)- San Diego's favorite Fall racing series is in full swing! For three Saturday’s (November 9th, 23rd and December 7th), the San Diego Yacht Club plays host to the annual Hot Rum Series— a fun-loving “free-for-all” that generally sees the fleet starting inside of San Diego Harbor, takes them on a “tour” that heads out past the majestic Point Loma, around some buoy set offshore, then “back home to the barn” to again finish inside the channel just off Harbor Island.  It’s an annual ritual for many SoCal sailors and, for most, it’s pretty random how one finishes based on how the wind blows (or not!).  For those not “in-the-know”, it’s consistently one of the largest PHRF “pursuit-style” races run annually— with the little boats (like 21 footers) starting first and the big boats (e.g. over 70 foot ULDB sleds) starting last; whomever crosses first wins!  To say that it’s a blast and lots of fun doesn’t adequately describe the experience of having the likes of famous local boy Dennis Conner come flying by you on his custom 60 foot sloop, appropriately called STARS & STRIPES (like this ->>)!

Many J/Teams participate in this festival of sailing, more fun than being an actual race.  In PHRF Class 1, four J/125s are sailing and leading that pack after two weekends is Jim Madden’s STARK RAVING MAD.  He’s followed by Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE, Viggo Torbenson’s TIMESHAVER and Tim Fuller’s RESOLUTE.

PHRF Class 2 has a flotilla of J/120s and a gorgeous J/124.  At this stage, top dog in the J/Fleet is Mike Hatch’s J/120 J/ALMIGHTY followed by Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL.  The J/120s CAPER (John Laun) and CC RIDER (Chuck Nichols) are just behind them.

The J/105s are usually so dominant in PHRF Class 3 that most years they occupy the entire top five.  However, at this stage the J/105s are taking up just 5 of the top 10 slots.  Top boat is Dennis Case’s WINGS, followed by Dag Fish’s VIGGEN, Steve & Lucy Howell’s BLINK! and Ed Sanford’s CREATIVE.

The seven J/70s in PHRF Class 4 are knocking it out of the park so far!  First in class is Karl Pomeroy’s ZERO TO SIXTY followed in second place by Jeff Brown’s “J70 Team”.  Dave Vieregg is sitting 3rd in J/70s and fifth in class on SOGGY DOLLAR.

Amazingly, the classic J/24 CAROLINA sailed by Ben Nieting is winning class and a fellow J/24 sailor is lying sixth in class, Mark Clements’s BRIGADOON.  Dave Cattle’s J/27 BLACKADDER is ready to pounce in the next race from his seventh place spot in the standings!   Sailing photo credits-  Bronny Daniels/ Joysailing.com   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

J/Teams Lovin’ St Croix

DARK STAR, PALADIN, EL SHADDAI-- Stars in Caribbean Sailing
(Christiansted, St Croix, USVI)- For starters, what’s not to like about the basic premise of St Croix’s International Regatta hosted by the St Croix YC on their famous beach?  For one, the winning skipper’s weight in rum is first overall prize; secondly, there are three spectacular days of racing in classic Caribbean sailing conditions; and lastly, there are  live bands each night on the beach with awesome “island-style” hospitality!

The history of the event is somewhat amusing because of it’s unusual first prize! In 1992, Commodore Nick Castruccio organized the first St.Croix Yacht Club International Regatta, he convinced Mumm’s Champagne to sponsor the event, and encouraged his sailing friends from across the Caribbean to compete. The three day event was held in October, on the weekend of Columbus Day/ Puerto Rico Friendship Day, and 69 boats attended the first year. Peter Holmberg of Team Heineken, winner of the racing spinnaker class, received his weight in Mumm’s Champagne (and being a somewhat large citizen that he is, Mumm’s was not sure if this was such a great idea!). Nevertheless, a tradition was born!

After a series of hurricanes in the 1990s, resulting in the loss of the main Yacht Club dock three times, the event was moved to February, allowing StCYC to replace the dock after hurricane season. Better weather and better planning on the Yacht Club’s part have resulted in dock retention since. In 1999, Mumm’s (not too surprisingly) withdrew as the event sponsor and was replaced by local companies that sponsored the event through 2007. The winning skipper now received his weight in Cruzan Rum, thanks to the local St Croix distillery. And so it is.

The event is somewhat unique from a regatta format as well since there is a “pre-regatta” called the Commodore’s Race Trophy.  This enables the locals, in particular, to get their acts together, work out some of the rust accumulated from the summer and get the teams “gelling” like a well-oiled machine— at least, that’s the challenge!  The first event produced some great racing with J/Teams pretty much dominating the entire regatta.

In CSA Racing, taking 1st was Jonathan Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR.  In fact, J/Teams took four of the top six places.  Following them in 3rd was Paul Davis’s J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7, in 5th was Angela Mayala’s J/80 SUN BUM II and in 6th was Robert Armstrong’s somewhat infamous J/100 BAD GIRL.

The CSA Non-Spinnaker also saw very spirited racing with the winner being Stanford Joines’s J/36 PALADIN looking magnificent.  Third was Dave Tomlinson’s J/24 EL SHADDAI.

Now that most teams had a bit of practice under their belts, it was high time to up the ante and put on the full-court press to determine the podium finishers for the “big one”, the St Croix International Regatta trophies and, of course, the skipper’s weight in rum for winning their respective divisions.

The CSA Racing saw a very closely fought competition, but getting the short-end of the stick on a tie-breaker and having to settle for second (and no rum) was Jonathan Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR.  Ouch!  That must’ve been a bummer.  Also sailing a lot faster and smarter was and taking third on the podium was Robert Armstrong’s J/100 BAD GIRL.

Flip-flopping positions from the first regatta, the CSA Non-Spinnaker winner this time around (and quite happy to weigh-in on the rum award!) was Dave Tomlinson’s J/24 EL SHADDAI. Stanford Joines’s J/36 PALADIN sailed a solid regatta but simply could not hold back the rum-thirsty boys on EL SHADDAI!!  Amazing motivation that is!   Sailing photo credits- Rob Jones   For more St Croix International Regatta sailing information

Silvestri Leads California Dreamin Series

(San Francisco, CA)-  This past weekend the St Francis Yacht Club hosted the first stop of the three event 2013-2014 California Dreaming Match Racing Series using its fleet of identical one-design J-22s.  Despite delays each morning for the wind to fill in, typical for off-season on SF Bay, the RC managed to complete 11 flights for the eight teams.

First overall went to local San Francisco Bay favorite Russ Silvestri and his team of Mario Yovkov, Erica Mattson, and John Collins, who scored 5.5 points.  Second with 4.5 points went to past winner and fellow St. Francis YC member Nicole Breault and her team, followed by a three-way tie among skippers Shawn Bennett (St. Francis YC), Dusty Durant (Long Beach YC) and Jimmy Barnash (Rochester YC) just a half point back.

All of the teams enjoyed beautiful afternoon sailing conditions and tight racing with mixed win-loss records all across the board.  The 8 teams regroup at San Diego YC on Jan 11-12 for the second stop, also in J-22s, and finish up at Long Beach YC on March 1-2 in Catalina 37s.   Sailing photo credits- Cindy Zammit   For more J/22 California Dreamin Match Race Series sailing information

Windy J-FEST SW Regatta

(Galveston, TX)- Lakewood Yacht Club's annual J-Fest Southwest Regatta enjoyed some of the most amazing sailing conditions they’ve enjoyed in years.  Sailed over the November 2nd and 3rd, the sailors were treated to Northerly winds in the 20-25 kts range on Saturday, producing the usual “monster chop” renowned for Galveston Bay.  Then, on Sunday's “easy-going” breezes in the 16-20 kts range made for somewhat better conditions for the fleet of fifty J’s assembled for this year’s hugely popular J/Fest Southwest!

Starting out with the J/22s, their seven boat fleet produced a runaway winner in the “big breeze”.  No question, it was Casey Lambert and crew on BLACKBURN RACING that had the conditions wired, taking all firsts in six races to win by a “Texas-mile”.  Second on the distant horizon was Dov Kivlovitz with 13 pts and rounding out the podium was Chris Morlan’s TILT with 17 pts.

As the largest fleet in the regatta, thirteen J/24’s enjoyed a nice resurgence, showing up to lay it all on the line for Texas domination of the one-design world.  They enjoyed some close competition, but it was clear that Bryan Dyer’s RUMLINE had everyone’s number in the breezy conditions, finishing 1st with just 13 pts.  Second was TROPICAL AGGRESSION sailed by Stu Lindow with 17 pts.  Happily finishing in 3rd overall was HAPPY DANCE skippered by Bill Worsham with 19 pts; taking the tie breaker over GIGGLES sailed by Natalie Penner.

As the “new kid on the block” and one boat shy of the largest fleet, the J/70’s twelve boat fleet also proved to be one of the most competitive fleets at the regatta and, given the windy conditions, clearly the ones that had the most fun going into “planing mode” all over the Galveston Bay race course hootin’ and hollerin’ like cowboys at a stampede!  Appropriately enough, the winner by a comfortable margin was STAMPEDE, Bruno Pasquinelli’s team from Fort Worth Boat Club with a total of 10 pts.  While STAMPEDE has enormous experience sailing in a variety of highly competitive J/70 regional & national regattas, the balance of the top five was extremely tight!  Runners-up was GB sailed by Chris Lewis from Lakewood YC with 18 pts.  Following them in third was JBoats SW sailed by Scott Spurlin from Austin YC with 21 pts.  They just nipped fourth place finisher Sean Nunes from Austin YC with 22 pts.  A wind shift or two made the difference for 5th place finisher AKULA sailed by Rick Bell from Corpus Christi YC with 27 pts.

J/80s had a very competitive fleet of seven boats participating with several world and regional championship teams participating.  Topping the fleet, un-surprisingly, was GC/ QUANTUM RACING sailed by the team of Terry Flynn & David Whelan, representing Fort Worth Boat Club. Against such formidable talent, it was a duel for the balance of the podium with PARSONS PROJECT skippered by Luke McAllum from Houston YC taking second with 18 pts.  They narrowly beat out third place finisher  HENDRIX sailed by Kurt Vanderwall from Dillon YC with 19 pts.

The eight boat J/105 class enjoyed close racing all weekend long.  In fact, the last two races of the regatta completely turned the standings upside down.  Closing with a strong 1-2, it was INFINITY’s Uzi Ozeri from Lakewood YC that took class honors with 18 pts total.  Starting slowly with an 8th in the opening race, BLUE FLASH’s Matt Amo from Fort Worth Boat Club dialed in two bullets in the middle races, but was insufficient to overcome the strong closing of Ozeri’s crew, taking second overall with 20 pts.  Sailing perhaps the most consistent regattas was JB Bednar’s STINGER from Lakewood YC with a total of 22 pts.

Over in PHRF handicap world, the J/PHRF Sym fleet saw Chris Aik’s FOOTLOOSE from Galveston Bay Cruising Association take first overall with 5 pts.  Second was Glenn Stromme’s PRESS TO MECO from the Seabrook Marina Association with 12 pts.  Taking third was TOCCATA’s Gary Trinklein from Galveston Bay Cruising Association.

The J/PHRF Asym fleet had a diverse fleet of seven boats.  Taking first was the J/92 sailed by Kevin Hayes & Mike McGaugh from GBCA with 11 pts.  Albrecht Goethe’s Lakewood YC team onboard the J/109 HAMBURG took second with 16.5 pts.  Making its debut was the J/88 IT’s A THRILL sailed by J/Boats designer Rod Johnstone with 19 pts.  For more J/Boats Southwest sailing information

J/Fest + Harvest Moon Rising!

(Houston, TX)- A lot is happening in parts of grand'ole Southwestern America.  They think big down there whether it's "honky-tonks" with mechanical bulls, epic parties, enormous blond hair, rattlesnake boots, dude ranches and, sometimes, even huge regattas!  First up on the agenda is the Harvest Moon Regatta, or "HMR" as the locals call it.  This year's 27th edition starts the 17th of October and can be a real "trick or treat" event.  HMR was hatched over drinks in the Lakewood YC bar by a few sailors that wanted to use their boats more!  The October weather window between the summer doldrums and the blue northers makes for spectacular sailing along the Texas Coast.  Add in the beautiful "ginormous" Harvest Moon and a course from the Galveston Jetties to Port Aransas and you have the HMR.  Just a 100 plus mile jaunt down the coast with over 200 sailboats!

With several classes there is a place to race or cruise for every type of boat.  The Bacardi PHRF Racing fleet is about 50% J/Boats with the J/105, J/109, J/120, and a J/44 the primary entries.  Every year epic stories hatch of blast reaching at over 15 knots for 8 hours, or drifting in the same spot for hours!  The cruisers seem to enjoy regaling the racers with how they enjoyed watching the race boats zip by with the crew hanging over the lifelines chomping on a energy bar or MRE as they sipped a nice chardonnay and enjoyed exquisite hot cuisine under the bimini.  At Port Aransas all of the sailors come together for a lively party, brag a lot, tell mind-blowing stories (real or not!) and a wonderful time is had by all.  Almost all the boats start back on Sunday- either motor sailing down the cut or back out in the gulf.  It's no wonder this event attracts 200 entries every year to become one of our nations largest offshore point-to-point races! Put this one on your bucket list!  For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information

J/Fest Southwest is next up on the agenda.  Shortly following the Harvest Moon Regatta, be sure to note the deadline Friday is fast approaching!!  The skippers bag has well over $100.00 in product goodies such as Rejex Wax and boat wash, dinner coupons, t-shirt and J/Fest coffee mug!  After Friday the entry goes up by an additional $50.00!

Don't miss the racing action, live music, free beer, Kattack race tracking and thousands of dollars in goodies to be raffled off from Velocitek, Marlow, Torqeedo, Harken, Blackburn Marine, North U.  Along with these great product sponsors we also get financial support from the City of Seabrook, North, Quantum, Torqeedo, Hayes Rigging, Hays Insurance, Sundance Grill, Gulf Coast Marine, and Sundance Grill!

What does all of this mean?  The J/Fest Southwest Regatta committee puts on great racing designed to maximize your time on the water and our sponsors put the shoreside activities over the top to produce one of the highest quality events in the nation with a lot of bang for your buck!  There's a class for every J/Boat ever built and we want y'all to come on down to Galveston Bay and play! Come join the 50 fellow J/Owners already registered! So don't delay register today!   For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information

DAZZLER Glitters @ J/22 Worlds XXX

(Newport, RI)- Allan Terhune and the DAZZLER team won the first race of the J/22 World Championship and never looked back. His crew of Katie Terhune, Kristine Wake and Marcus Eagan are now the 2013 J/22 World Champions (sponsored by Fidelity Investments and hosted by Sail Newport).  Seventy-one teams from Canada, the Cayman Islands, South Africa and the USA competed in the five-day event, marking the 30th anniversary of the J/22.

After dropping a 19th in race nine, Terhune's remarkably consistent scores of 1-2-3-9-2-2-1-4-4 for 28 net points in 10 races kept the DAZZLER gang in the lead. Brad Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM, with Matthew Schubert and Colin Robertson, made an impressive attempt to take over DAZZER with four consecutive bullets, but wound up six points shy and in the silver position with 34 points. Mark Foster with Brian Babbitt and Matt Romberg on TEJAS collected third place with 54 points.

“I had an awesome team. It was a total team effort,” commented Terhune. “Marcus was great on trimming and keeping the boat pointed in the right direction. Katie and Kristine were awesome at boat handling, keeping the mood light and getting everything done.” He also praised the host location, saying, “There’s nowhere better than Newport. Brad Read, Anderson Reggio and the whole SailNewport team are awesome!! We had great sea breezes, we had some Northerlies, we had shifty races, we had a little bit of everything, and that’s what makes it so fun. It was spectacular!”

Only one race was completed on the last day due to light winds. Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM continued a hot streak from Friday by tallying a third-straight bullet in race 10. Foster's TEJAS trailed in second, and Martin Kulman’s NEW WAVE in third. “I’m really excited for Brad and his team,” commended Terhune on his fellow Annapolis-based team. “They sailed a great event and didn’t make it easy on us at the end. They sailed well and fought to the end.”

The first day was notable for light, unstable winds which postponed racing and led to the abandonment of one race. The 71 teams had trouble starting too, with the Z-Flag coming out for both completed races. Despite the conditions, Terhune posted a 1-2 to lead the field.  After Thursday's pair of races, Terhune’s DAZZLER kept up the momentum and had accumulated just 11 points including a first and a second. THREEDORIES.COM, helmed by Brad Julian, held second place with 31 points and Chris Doyle’s THE JUG 4 1 stood two points further back in third.  After two more races were completed Friday, Julian’s THREEDORIES.COM knocked out two bullets to make a move toward the Championship crown. Terhune’s DAZZLER acquired a fourth in race eight but had to settle for a 19 in race nine, leaving them with 24 net points. Julian stood at 33 points. In third place, Chris Doyle’s The Jug 4 1 had tallied 50 points.  Saturday's final race day was marred by a light, unsteady breeze.

In the end, Terhune's DAZZLER team were declared J/22 World Champions.  They were followed by Julian's THREEDORIES.COM in second and Mark Foster's TEJAS from Corpus Christi, TX in third.  Rounding out the top five was Doyle's THE JUG 4 1 from Rochester, NY in fourth and Benz Faget's FATS team from New Orleans, LA in 5th.

Top women's team was Rochester, NY/ Jamestown, RI native Cory Sertl sailing LUCY with Amy Moran, Meg Myles and Annemarie Cook.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.  For more J/22 World Championship sailing information

2013 J/Fest Southwest Announcement

(Seabrook, Texas)- J/Fest Southwest gets better and better every year and provides a lot of bang for your entry dollar!  Once again the skippers packet is going to be chock full of coupons for Seabrook area businesses, and great products.  With great restaurants, and lots of activities for shore side guests there is something for everyone:  Kemah Boardwalk Amusement park, NASA-Discovery Center (worth an entire day), Shopping and Dining.

Sailing from November 2nd to 3rd, the host Lakewood Yacht Club will have real-time race updates for those that want to hang out and see how their favorite sailors are fairing out on the water.  In addition there will be a spectator boat available to take those that want to get up close and personal with the racing action going on amongst 8 fleets!

The newest J/Boat- the J/88 Hull #007 "It's a Thrill"- will be making her debut!  How will she do?  We'll find out soon!  Her skipper will be Rod Johnstone, J/Boats co-founder and Guest of Honor back for his fourth year!  And that means a 4th year of J/Boats trivia!  With all the fabulous prizes that come with the right answers!  Hint: "Mello Yellow" will NOT be an answer this year!

After Saturday's racing the band will start and the music will be heard across the inner harbor as we put our boats away, swap stories, and share a beverage or two.  Back by popular demand comes the "Cajun Feast".  Enough food for three regatta's!

Your skippers packet will include additional restaurant vouchers to be used at LYC for this incredible dining experience!  After dinner several TV's will be replaying the day's race tracks-this has been an awesome prop for the bench racing stories that tend to go long into the night! But really!  It's all about the racing!

All the usual One Designs will be there:  J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105 and J/109!  With a record breaking early entry list topping 34 boats with two months to go this is shaping up to be a killer event!  The first year J/70 fleet will top 10 boats! Lots of fun and the J/70 Saturday post-race debrief by the leaders has been a real hit- everyone is welcome to attend!

And for the real kicker- J/World Annapolis is bringing their talented instructors to Lakewood YC for a 2 day "J/Fest Southwest Racing Clinic" on October 31- November 1st to be run on J/70's and J/80's out of LYC!  It's the best deal in town, just $149/boat!

J/Fest Southwest always has great racing and great sponsors that provide us with a lot of valuable freebies!  Check out the regatta site at J/Fest Southwest and look at the list of sponsors to get an idea of the freebies, and listen to Seabrook Mayor Glenn Royals Welcome video!  Hook 'em up!  Head 'em out to J/Fest Southwest and Race, Dine, and Stay in Seabrook!  BTW ask for the J/Fest Southwest discount at any Seabrook hotel- check the website for a list of participating hotels!  For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information