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Hartog Wins J/22 Hamburg Champs

(Hamburg, Germany)- The J/22 fleet in Germany continues to grow and the Hamburger Segel-Club that sails on the gorgeous waters off Hamburg always seem to enjoy spirited competition amongst friends.  The fleet has expanded and the level of sailing competition has improved considerably.

Over the August 25th-26th weekend, it was pretty clear that Svend Hartog's team on GER 1450 were sailing quite confidently and their record of 2-5-1-1-2 for a 6 pts net total meant they just nipped their friends in second by just one point.  It was a wonderful victory for Svend's team that was comprised of two guys and two girls- Svend and friend Dirk Fischer and Stefanie Schweder and Annie Westschfling.  Sailing incredibly well and giving Svend's team serious competition was Hardy Kleinfeld on GER 1181 with a very steady 1-1-3-2-3 with just 7 pts net (unbelievable to lose with such a steady record!).  Third was Frank Lammerskitten with yet another tough record of 3-4-2-4-1 for just 10 pts net!

While the top three boats were having their own battle  for fleet domination, it was pretty clear that several other battles were emerging amongst other members in the fleet.  The balance of the top five was decided by a tie-breaker!  Winning this gunfight at the OK Corral was Kai Freese on GER 1243 with a 5-2-7-5-5 for 17 pts.  Losing that skirmish was Ingo Hueter on GER 1364 with a 4-6-4-3-6 record for 17 pts (no seconds made the difference).   For more J/22 Germany sailing information 

J/Fest Southwest Success!

J/70s Debut, Enormous Showing for J/22s, J/24s(Houston, Texas)- Lakewood YC hosted the third annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta for sixty-two boats! Awesome atmosphere! Great band and free beer waiting for all the crews as they came off the water! Everyone is in party mode!

The focus of the J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a Regatta venue that is extra fun for J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, children, family, and friends can enjoyed a myriad of activities and tourist attractions in the Bay Area.

One-design fleets that participated this year include the J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and a J/PHRF class.  In the J/22s a great class of fourteen boats sailed with the local host team, BLACKBURN MARINE RACING skippered by Casey Lambert, simply walking off with the overall honors with four straight firsts for 4 pts.  Second was Fred Lindsey's team CACTUS JACK with a record of three 2nds and a 3rd for 9 pts.  Third was RICH SKANK sailed by Brant Koepke's team from Galveston Bay Cruising Association with three 3rds and a 2nd for 11 pts.

The J/24s had an excellent showing with sixteen boats participating.  It was a knockdown, drag 'em out fight for the top three with Corey Harding's team on HAPPY DANCE taking the gold with a 1-3-2-2 record for 8 pts to win by one point.  Second was Bryan Dyer skippering RUMLINE from Fort Worth Boat Club with a 2-1-3-3 tally for 9 pts.  Third was Stu Lindlow on TROPICAL AGGRESSION with a 3-2-1-4 for 10 pts.  Great racing to the end for this trio of teams!

The J/70s had their first one-design racing on Galveston Bay.  It was fun racing for all as the teams were all learning how to get the most out of their new boats.  In the finale, it was Bruce McDonald sailing ROGUE WARRIOR 2 from Houston YC that managed to score four 1sts and a 2nd for 6 pts.  Second was Jimmy Mitchell on BOOMTOWN from Fort Worth Boat Club that managed to wind a count-back tie-breaker based on most 1sts, etc.  Jimmy's 3-1-3-2-3 was good enough for 12 pts, overcoming Dave Hinrichsen's #51 that had three 2nds and two 3rds for 12 pts, too.

The J/80s had a great cross-section of sailors amongst the eight teams, including a team from Dillon, Colorado- Kurt Vanderwal on HENDRIX.  In some respects, this regatta was a great practice warm-up for local sailors all participating in the upcoming J/80 North Americans being held in Fort Worth Boat Club later in October.  Topping out the fleet was local J/80 champion sailor Jay Lutz sailed USA 803 with four straight 1sts!  Jay's performance was all the more remarkable considering the fact that they were up against another J/80 NA and World Champion, Terry Flynn and David Whelan, who ultimately finished second.  The Flynn/Whelan team sailed QUANTUM SAILS/ GULF COAST RACING to four 2nds to easily finish behind their local, friendly competitors.  Third was Alfred Poindexter sailing ANDALE that managed to just secure their position with a consistent 4-5-5-4 for 18 pts.

After the Fort Worth Boat Club's One-Design weekend and racing seminar, it was clear the ten boat class was going to have some very competitive racing as many of the teams had stepped up their game and were sailing their boats much more effectively and faster around the race track.  In the end, local rock star Bill Zartler on SOLARIS again proved to be the "wiseman" of the class and managed to sail to four 1sts and a 5th for 9 pts, easily winning their class.  Behind them was Greg Turman's HORNY TOAD, a well-sailed team that featured some great local talent from the Houston area; their 4-2-4-2-2 record for 14 pts was good enough for 2nd place.  Bill Lakenmacher sailed his RADIANCE to a third place position overall with an 8-6-3-4-1 record for 22 pts, showing improvement every single race.

The J/109s had one of their best showing in years with six boats sailing with one of the local host sailors simply dominating the fleet.  It was the HAMBURG "show" as Albrecht Goethe's teams led the fleet with five straight 1sts for a 5 pts total to win by a landslide.  Behind them was a real donnybrook of a fight for second place with Tom Sutton sailing his LEADING EDGE to a 2-3-4-2-5 record for 16 pts, to win a count-back tie-break based on 1-2-3 tally.  Losing that tie-break battle was Dave Christensen racing AIRBORNE into third place with a consistent 4-2-2-4-4 record also for 16 pts.

Finally, in the PHRF division, Doug Shaffer's beautiful J/122 GAMBLER sailed well as the "big boat" in the division to win with yet another "picket fence" performance- garnering four straight bullets for 4 pts to win class.  Second was Chris Alk's J/27 FOOTLOOSE with 11 pts.  Third was Bob Crutchfield's J/120 BLUECHIP with 18 pts.   For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information

US Women's Match Race Sailing Preview

Top Women's Teams Sailing J/22s @ St Francis YC
(San Francisco, California)- The 2016 Olympic Games may have eliminated the Women's Match Race event, but the beat rocks on this week at the 2012 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship (Sept. 13-16). Six teams from across the United States have come to San Francisco to compete for the title in J/22s at the St. Francis Yacht Club. Typically strong winds are forecast for the event and the teams will be tested not only by each other but by the conditions on the City Front. Furthermore, the US Sailing Championship is a Qualifying Event for the 2012 ISAF Nations Cup Regional Finals.

This year’s roster is highlighted by Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), a two-time U.S. Women’s Match Racing Champion skipper. Tulloch finished just short of winning her third consecutive U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship at least year’s event on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. She lost a thrilling Final match to Sally Barkow, 3-2. Tulloch will be sailing with US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider teammates Jennifer Chamberlin (Washington, D.C.) and Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.), who finished fourth as a skipper at last year’s event. Margaret Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) will also be crewing for Tulloch. She was a crew for Roble last year.

Three-time Rolex Women’s Match Racing Champion Sandy Hayes (Scituate, Mass.) is in pursuit of her first U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship. She will be joined this week by teammates, Cindy Olsen (Scituate, Mass.), Ivy Binns (San Mateo, Calif.), and Krista Paxton (Detroit, Mich.).

Giving these top teams a run-for-the-money will be local StFYC sailors Nicole Breault, Evan Brown, Casey Williams and Julie Servais.  Nicole has won the J/22 SoCal Match Racing circuit and her familiarity with the boats and the local San Francisco Bay conditions will prove to her liking.  For more US Women's Match Racing sailing information
 

J/Teams Support "Sail for Hope" Regatta

(Newport, RI)- This year's regatta marks the 11th running of Sail for Hope. In the wake of the 9/11/2001 attacks on America, a few local sailing enthusiasts scrambled to organize a regatta to honor and support those affected.  The event is the classic "Around Jamestown Island" race that is about 19.5 nm around the East and West Passages of Narragansett Bay.

The first Sail For Pride Regatta rallied over 180 boats and $110,000 designated for charities to support the NYFD firefighters, police and the victims of the attacks and their families. The display of patriotism and generosity on and off the water made a lasting impression in the sailing community.

After the inaugural year, the organizers retired the name Sail For Pride, but continued the event as Sail For Hope, reflecting the Rhode Island state motto and aimed at supporting local charities. Charities supported over the years have included RI Red Cross, Seamen's Church Institute, Newport Harbormaster's Emergency Equipment Fund, local public high school sailing teams, US Olympic Sailing Trials and many more, including a huge fund-raising year in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.  To date, over $800,000 has been raised for a wide variety of charities, including RI Red Cross and the Wounded Warrior Project- an organization that actively puts forth a rehabilitative effort in assisting our warriors to recover and transition back to a civilian lifestyle.

On Saturday, the 6th of October, seventy-seven boats participated, including a large fleet of eleven J/22 one-designs and several PHRF classes. In the J/22 one-designs, it was Whitney Slade and crew that took home the silverware by 3 min 26 secs over Matt Chao's team in second.  Third was Alan Renfrew another 2 min back.  Fourth was Rufus Van Gruisen and third was PJ Maltais.

For the PHRF 6 handicap class, the J/111s sailed well with Doug Curtiss on WICKED 2.0 taking second place and class newcomer David Brodsky and Fred Van Liew sailed their new J/111 ODYSSEY to 5th overall in their first outing!  The J/111s in New England "welcome" Dave and Fred and look forward to sailing with them in the 2013 sailing season!

In the PHRF Non-Spinnaker class, the J/28 WHALAYED sailed by John Whaley finished 3rd overall.  In PHRF 4 class, the J/30 RHAPSODY sailed by Bill Kneller was 2nd overall and the J/24s NIGHTHAWK (Barker, Ryan, McVicker) and BUCKSHOT (Larry Colantuono) were 4th and 5th, respectively.    Sailing photo credits- George Bekris   For more Sail for Hope Regatta sailing information

Koppernaes Wins J/22 Lake George Regatta

(Lake George, New York)- Despite the fact that many J/22 sailors had just come off sailing the J/22 North Americans in East Tawas, Michigan along the beautiful shores of western Lake Erie, the fact that 28 boats still made the pilgrimage to Lake George is testimonial to its long-term attraction to sailors from around the eastern parts of America!  Missing to some degree were the top boats from both Annapolis and Rochester, nevertheless the competition was spirited and it was great to see other teams in the hunt to haul in some silverware.

To say that sailing on Lake George is a breath-taking experience may perhaps be an understatement.  Surrounded by gorgeous, verdant green rolling mountains that are already showing the changing of colors in the fall to bright hues of reds, organs, yellows and purples it's hard to concentrate on the racing.  However, after two good days of sailing, it was clear a new winner was crowned for this event, John Koppernaes and crew, winning with a 16-2-6-2-2-5 record for 17 pts net.  Perhaps the steadiest team on the lake this weekend was Ron Harris' team, compiling a 7-3-1-6-4-7 for 21 net pts, having to throw out only a 7th to place second overall (on a "no-throwout" basis they would easily have won the event).  Third just one point back was RJ Moon's team that started off fast and "faded to black" with a 5-1-2-11-19-3 tally for 22 net pts (perhaps the party Saturday night contributed to the nasty scoreline on races #4 and #5.  Rounding out the top five were Bob Mendenhall in fourth and Trevor Collins in fifth.  For more J/22 Lake George Open/ Northeast Districts sailing results 

Martha Stewart Loves Sailing!?

(New York, NY)-  Martha Stewart thinks sailing and boating is fun!?  Yes. Martha, the doyenne and fashionista of all things for home lifestyle, design, food, clothes and gardening also happens to be a lifelong boater, sailor herself.  When she heads up to Mt Desert Island for brief moments of respite to recharge her batteries, like many of us do, she relaxes in her beautiful home that overlooks Seal Harbor and the Eastern Way towards Little Cranberry Island (a.k.a. Islesford).  In fact, her self-professed "best lobster roll ever" happens to be at the Islesford Dock Restaurant, who's proprietors are Dan and Cynthia Lief (themselves refugees from the madness of working in New York City and working at Goldman Sachs).  How does she enjoy her time in Maine?  Martha often hops into her 36 ft Hinckley Picnic Boat with a pile of friends and dashes around the gorgeous Maine islands in Frenchman's, Blue Hill and Penobscot Bays, trying the lobster rolls in Islesford, Frenchboro, Stonington and Northeast Harbor-- all of them hard to beat since they're so delicious.  She also hops aboard various friend's beautiful sailboats to go out for daysails around the Cranberry Islands, the Ducks or simply for a picnic on the famous Marshall Island sandy beach or at the famous "Dancing Rocks" on Baker Island.

This past weekend found Martha down in New York city supporting the New York Harbor School.  There she found common ground with long-time J sailors Dawn Riley and local Newporter/ Jamestowner Hannah Swett-- both of whom have cut their teeth sailing J/22s and J/24s for decades as they grew into the talented, world-renown women sailors they are today.  Martha was in "good hands" with Hannah and Dawn and thoroughly enjoyed her weekend with these gals and, most importantly, supporting a wonderful program supporting dis-advantaged public high school kids from New York City's various burroughs- the Bronx, Manhattan, Harlem and so forth.  Here is Martha's account on her "Martha Blog" of her recent experience:

"I have become very interested in The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a wonderful small public high school located on Governors Island (in Upper New York Bay just off the southern tip of Manhattan Island), founded by Murray Fisher.

The school partners with New York City's maritime community (such as sailing Manhattan YC's red J/24s) and uses New York Harbor's marine resources to create an extraordinary public high school experience that instills in its students the skills and ethic of environmental stewardship. Harbor School's mission is to graduate students prepared for success in college and who have earned a technical credential in one of the six marine fields: Aquaculture, Marine Biology Research, Marine Systems Technology, Ocean Engineering, Professional SCUBA diving, and Vessel Operations.

Last Thursday I had the thrilling opportunity of sailing in the second annual Harbor School Regatta to benefit the Harbor School. Hannah Swett, one of my Godchildren, who comes from a very famous sailing family in Rhode Island, invited me to sail with her and her mother, Ellie Burgess, upon the historic America's Cup 12-meter boat, Intrepid.

I first met Ellie many years ago when were neighbors in New York City. I had many exciting sails with her and her family and learned what I know about sailing from them. Hannah's sailing credentials include Collegiate All-American, multiple World and National champion, Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, America's Cup Sailor, and was nominated for Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Please enjoy these sailing photos of the Regatta (MYC J/24s and the 12 Meters INTREPID and AMERICAN EAGLE) taken by photographer Lori Hawkins.

Koppernaes Wins J/22 Lake George Regatta

(Lake George, New York)- Despite the fact that many J/22 sailors had just come off sailing the J/22 North Americans in East Tawas, Michigan along the beautiful shores of western Lake Erie, the fact that 28 boats still made the pilgrimage to Lake George is testimonial to its long-term attraction to sailors from around the eastern parts of America!  Missing to some degree were the top boats from both Annapolis and Rochester, nevertheless the competition was spirited and it was great to see other teams in the hunt to haul in some silverware.

To say that sailing on Lake George is a breath-taking experience may perhaps be an understatement.  Surrounded by gorgeous, verdant green rolling mountains that are already showing the changing of colors in the fall to bright hues of reds, organs, yellows and purples it's hard to concentrate on the racing.  However, after two good days of sailing, it was clear a new winner was crowned for this event, John Koppernaes and crew, winning with a 16-2-6-2-2-5 record for 17 pts net.  Perhaps the steadiest team on the lake this weekend was Ron Harris' team, compiling a 7-3-1-6-4-7 for 21 net pts, having to throw out only a 7th to place second overall (on a "no-throwout" basis they would easily have won the event).  Third just one point back was RJ Moon's team that started off fast and "faded to black" with a 5-1-2-11-19-3 tally for 22 net pts (perhaps the party Saturday night contributed to the nasty scoreline on races #4 and #5.  Rounding out the top five were Bob Mendenhall in fourth and Trevor Collins in fifth.  For more J/22 Lake George Open/ Northeast Districts sailing results

J/Fest Southwest- Oct 13-14

(Houston, TX)- Lakewood YC on Galveston Bay in southern Texas along the Gulf of Mexico is again hosting the Third Annual J/Fest Southwest.  Open to all J/Owners, the focus of the J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a Regatta venue that is extra fun for J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, children, family, and friends can enjoy a myriad of activities and tourist attractions in the Bay Area. Goodie bags for skippers will contain coupons for family fun.

One design fleets slated for the J/Fest Southwest Regatta include J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105 and the J/109’s. It will be a circuit stop for the J/22’s and the J/24’s. All J/Boats are welcome to race in the PHRF classes and in the J/Cruise class. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate, and the regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting formats for the non One Design racers. This year we expect to see a couple of hot J/70’s flying around as well!   For  more J/Fest SW sailing information

J/Fest Southwest- Oct 13-14

(Houston, TX)- Lakewood YC on Galveston Bay in southern Texas along the Gulf of Mexico is again hosting the Third Annual J/Fest Southwest.  Open to all J/Owners, the focus of the J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a Regatta venue that is extra fun for J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, children, family, and friends can enjoy a myriad of activities and tourist attractions in the Bay Area. Goodie bags for skippers will contain coupons for family fun.

One design fleets slated for the J/Fest Southwest Regatta include J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105 and the J/109’s. It will be a circuit stop for the J/22’s and the J/24’s. All J/Boats are welcome to race in the PHRF classes and in the J/Cruise class. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate, and the regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting formats for the non One Design racers. This year we expect to see a couple of hot J/70’s flying around as well!   For  more J/Fest SW sailing information

J/22 Team Race- Sailing Report

St Francis YC J/22 Team Race Invitational "insider's view"- we received a great report from Nicole Breault, one of the winning skippers from StFYC from their escapades the past weekend team-racing against some of California's best sailors from San Francisco down to San Diego.  Nicole said,

"Last weekend the St. Francis Yacht Club hosted a team racing regatta for some incredibly talented teams from west coast clubs including San Diego YC, Seattle YC, and Newport Harbor YC. Racing was held in J/22s on the famed waters of the Golden Gate, right in front of the clubhouse, and we experienced the notorious winds and current of the Bay.

Of the two StFYC teams in the event, ours was pieced together only a week before by Scott Sellers. He had lost his other two crackerjack skippers to scheduling conflicts, and replaced them with me and Shawn Bennett. Shawn and I are pretty fast sailors, and have match racing backgrounds, but the amount of team racing we each had done in the past 20 years was minimal. Nevertheless armed with a positive attitude and a bunch of very capable people crewing for us, we headed into battle together.

Spectators on both Saturday and Sunday were treated to exciting action. There were dozens of tactical mark traps and hi-low plays that kept the racing close for the most part. In addition, much to the dismay of Diego (StFYC’s J/22 bosun), we had several spinnaker-clad broaches, including a full-on death roll capsize by Shawn!

After three round-robins, the top four teams moved into semifinal, first-to-two-wins series. Racing was amazingly tight in both brackets with San Diego prevailing over Seattle and our StFYC team (Red) edging out the other StFYC team (Blue). We were having a hard time believing at this point that we had sailed into the finals. There were so many All American caliber sailors on the race course… no doubt any of these teams could have won the event!

Ultimately, we split wins against San Diego in the finals and the regatta win came down to the last race between us and San Diego. I will remember that last race for a long time! We were mixing it up around the top of the course, and one of their guys fouled and had to spin. We looked good down the run, but Brian Hayes had plans for us at the leeward mark! He was in the one and pulled of a mark-trap that left us in four, five, and six, chasing with just the last beat to go! Luckily, we had a strong, flooding current to extend the sailing time of the leg… and the wind was both puffy and shifty. Shawn and crew tacked around the leeward mark and scooted left up the beat, heading into a lefty on the shore. Scott and I, and our crews, headed right and hitched into solid right pressure at the top of the beat. Their guys were stuck in the middle trying to cover. In the end, all boats converged across the finish line within seconds of one another. My boat got the one, Shawn’s boat tacked at the pin and spectacularly shot the line for the two, and Scott’s boat photo-finished with the others! Incredible!

Our hats go off to all the teams we raced last weekend. The tough, friendly competition was fantastic! Looking forward to the next chance to play!"   Formore J/22 StFYC Team Race sailing information