Doyles Dominate CORK Race Week

Chris Doyle Wins J/22 Canadian Championship
(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)- In 1969 a group of enthusiastic sailors decided to establish CORK to host international sailing events off Kingston. The area offers some of the best fresh-water sailing in the world, excellent wind and wave conditions, and a short distance from shore to the race courses. Leading up to the 1976 Olympics, the CORK regatta offered excellent training for sailors, coaches and officials and has since become a fixture on the international calendar. CORK has hosted championships for international classes out of the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour for the past 36 years.

Working closely with the Ontario Sailing Association and the Canadian Yachting Association, the annual CORK Regatta has a total participation of more than 1,000 boats, it is a magnificent two week sailing festival, attracting sailors not only from North America but from all over the world.

This year's event pretty much served up what most expect of Kingston's fabled sailing conditions. Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and the head of the St. Lawrence River, the combination of land mass, islands and thermal effects produce excellent wind and wave conditions with very little current.  Winds during July/ August are predominantly from a south-westerly direction, with an afternoon wind range of 10-15 knots.  The J/22 sailors were got what they expected for their 2012 J/22 Canadian Championship held as part of CORK Race Week.  Sailed from Aug 24th to 26th, the nineteen J/22 teams enjoyed six races over Saturday and Sunday on Lake Ontario.  In the end,  Chris Doyle, Will Harris and Adams Burns finished in first, Michele Cimon, Johan Koppernaes and David O’Sullivan in second and Kevin Doyle, Victor Snyder and their crew in third.  Chris Doyle's team was just smokin'hot, scoring five 1st and dropping a 2nd to win the regatta by a landslide with only 5 pts.  Hard to beat a perfect score, eh!?  Michele Simon's Canadian team wished they could take back their first race, but she and her team fought back hard to hold off yet another member of the Doyle family from Rochester, Kevin Doyle, to grab 2nd overall with a 6-4-2-2-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts net.  Third was Kevin Doyle's gang from Rochester sailing to a 2-3-2.5-4-2-17 to finish with 13.5 pts net.

The Canadian teams sailed well, showing they're no pushovers by the top American teams.  Other than the two Doyle family teams, the Canadians grabbed three of the top five slots.  In fourth was Trevor Collins sailing with Doug Mair and Alexandra Leus and in fifth was Ron Harris sailed with Pete Amos and John Marten.  For more J/22 Canadian Championship and CORK Race Week sailing information

Doyle's Dominate CORK Race Week

Chris Doyle Wins J/22 Canadian Championship
(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)- In 1969 a group of enthusiastic sailors decided to establish CORK to host international sailing events off Kingston. The area offers some of the best fresh-water sailing in the world, excellent wind and wave conditions, and a short distance from shore to the race courses. Leading up to the 1976 Olympics, the CORK regatta offered excellent training for sailors, coaches and officials and has since become a fixture on the international calendar. CORK has hosted championships for international classes out of the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour for the past 36 years.

Working closely with the Ontario Sailing Association and the Canadian Yachting Association, the annual CORK Regatta has a total participation of more than 1,000 boats, it is a magnificent two week sailing festival, attracting sailors not only from North America but from all over the world.

This year's event pretty much served up what most expect of Kingston's fabled sailing conditions. Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and the head of the St. Lawrence River, the combination of land mass, islands and thermal effects produce excellent wind and wave conditions with very little current.  Winds during July/ August are predominantly from a south-westerly direction, with an afternoon wind range of 10-15 knots.  The J/22 sailors were got what they expected for their 2012 J/22 Canadian Championship held as part of CORK Race Week.  Sailed from Aug 24th to 26th, the nineteen J/22 teams enjoyed six races over Saturday and Sunday on Lake Ontario.  In the end,  Chris Doyle, Will Harris and Adams Burns finished in first, Michele Cimon, Johan Koppernaes and David O’Sullivan in second and Kevin Doyle, Victor Snyder and their crew in third.  Chris Doyle's team was just smokin'hot, scoring five 1st and dropping a 2nd to win the regatta by a landslide with only 5 pts.  Hard to beat a perfect score, eh!?  Michele Simon's Canadian team wished they could take back their first race, but she and her team fought back hard to hold off yet another member of the Doyle family from Rochester, Kevin Doyle, to grab 2nd overall with a 6-4-2-2-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts net.  Third was Kevin Doyle's gang from Rochester sailing to a 2-3-2.5-4-2-17 to finish with 13.5 pts net.

The Canadian teams sailed well, showing they're no pushovers by the top American teams.  Other than the two Doyle family teams, the Canadians grabbed three of the top five slots.  In fourth was Trevor Collins sailing with Doug Mair and Alexandra Leus and in fifth was Ron Harris sailed with Pete Amos and John Marten.  For more J/22 Canadian Championship and CORK Race Week sailing information

J/111s BLAST Chester Race Week

(Chester/ Halifax, Nova Scotia)- Chester Race Week started out slowly and with challenging weather, but ended with glorious sun and good wind. The competitors were happy with the race management and the evening parties, which didn't start until 9:30pm and were extremely well attended with 3 great local bands and wonderful Dark'n'Stormies at the bar!

The regatta featured a huge turn-out of J's ranging from the classic J/22s, J/24s, J/27s, J/29s, J/30s, J/35s and J/36 to J/92s, J/109, J/120s, J/111s, J/42 and J/44- a total of thirty J's in all, about 36% of the fleet of 92 handicap racers.

Leading the charge in the Alpha 1 Division were the two J/111s, BLAST (Mark Surette from Royal Nova Scotia YS) and STAMPEDER (Dave Connolloy from Chester YC).  BLAST managed to pull off a strong series counting six 1sts, a 2nd and 3rd to finish with 11 pts net, well clear of the next boat by ten pts!  STAMPEDER sailed a very nice series to collect a 7-2-2-3-6-2-5-6 for 33 pts net to grab fourth in their division.

In the Alpha 2 Division top dog was the famous J/92 POOHSTICKS (Colin Mann from Lunenburg YC), pulling off a 7-1-6-6-3-4-5 for consistent finishes to grab fifth in their division.  Finishing just behind were the J/35s and J/36s, most all suffering from a controversial second race DSQ factored into their scores!

In Bravo 1 Division the J/30 FLUX (Jordan MacNeil RNSYS) sailed a consistent regatta, garnering a 5-3-4-5-scp-1-4-2 for a net of 24 pts, finishing 4th by virtue of losing a tie-breaker for 3rd overall.  Johnny Wynacht, Canadian J/24 and J/29 National Champion sailed the first J/70 in Nova Scotia, finishing a credible 6th in their first outing with a slow start, but rapid finish-- scoring 9-9-6-7-1-4-3-8 for a 38 pts net, just 12 pts from the podium.  Not bad for the first day sailing the J/70 and not knowing which strings to pull first!

In Bravo 2 Division the J/30 GROOVIN (Greg Hammond) finished second with a consistent record of 4-4-3-1-2-2-5-1 for 17 net pts.  The J/22 CHEAP THRILL (Karen Fowler) was sailed fast by her lady helmsman, gathering a respectable (and very fast) 2-2-4-7-dnc-6-4-6 for 31 net pts.  Other than her DNC, Karen would have easily factored into the top three!

In the Distance 1 Division the J/120s performed brilliantly, with the J/120 BRILLIANCE (Richard Calder from RNSYS) scoring a 4-3-1-1 for 9 pts net to handily win their division.  Fourth was the other J/120 BLACK PEARL (Ross Leighton from RNSYS) with a 3-6-7-2 for 18 pts net.

In Distance 2 Division the J/109 WISC (Paul Rafuse from RNSYS) sailed beautifully to get 4-1-7-4 to finish with 16 pts net, good enough for 2nd in their division.  Also sailing well was the gorgeous J/42 CASTANEA (Paul Conrod from RNSYS) that managed a tally of 2-6-3-7 to net 18 pts, just 2 pts off 2nd.  Close racing, indeed, in this group of fast cruiser-racers!

Finally in the two J/One-Design divisions you have a literal wolf-pack of J/24s and J/29s sailing, neither fleet was won in a runaway.  In fact, the regatta outcome hung in the balance of the last race or two for both fleets!  In the J/24s, it was Greg Blunden on ADRENALIN RUSH that won a tiebreaker over Hamblin's JAMMIN. Blunden's `-5-3-1-1-3-2 for 12 pts net won on 1sts over Hamblin's 9-1-2-2-3-2-2 for 12 pts, too.  Third on the podium was decided by yet another tie-breaker!  "Holy Tie-breaker Hell" said Robin to Batman.  How can this be?  Ross Romney's RUSH HOUR managed to score a 6-6-1-4-2-5-4 for 22 pts and Ted Murphy's JUVENILE DELINQUENT tallied a 4-7-4-5-4-4-1 for the same 22 pts, but lost.  The nod went to Ross's RUSH HOUR crew to fill out the 3rd spot on the podium.

In J/29 World, with even more on the line with the recent J/29 North Americans having been run nearly concurrently, it was going to be "local bragging rights" to see who could party hardest, go the fastest, sail the smartest to win this division!  In the end, it was pretty remarkable to see Andrew Childs' team on SILVER WOMAN top the 29 charts with a spanking of the class- a 1-1-4-4-2-1-3 for 12 net pts laid down the gauntlet for all to match.  Next up was past champion SCOTCH MIST IV sailed by Chris Mac Donald with a 6-2-5-2-1-4-2 for 16 net pts.  Third sailing well were Matt & Scott Christie with a somewhat steady 3-3-3-5-8-2-1 for 17 net pts (imagine what might have happened had they not had to toss an 8th!).  Fourth was the Williams/ Matthews crew on PARADIGM SHIFT and 5th was Jim Mason's SATISFACTION.  Sailing photo credits- Heather McGuire/ Tim Wilkes - timwilkes.com   For more Chester Race Week sailing information

J/22 Family Sails One-Design Regatta

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- The National YC One-design regatta was held July 7-8, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario.  The J/22 FLAWED LOGIC was sailed by Chris Hobbs AND his entire family, including Will (2), Ilaria (4) and wife Toni. They finished first and second in two individual races to end up second overall out of 7 J/22's. Sweet!

The funniest part is watching this video and seeing the kid's head in the cockpit! Said Chris about their barn-burning performance, "The morning after the regatta, Ilaria had a pencil in an empty plastic cup and was stirring air. When I asked her what she was doing, she said 'stirring epoxy'. The people at her daycare must wonder about us!"  Enjoy watching this J/22 family sailing their J/22 off Toronto.

Montreal J/22 Fleet is on a Roll!

(Montreal, Canada)- In the past few months, the J/22 fleet has almost doubled in size- and the sailors are loving it.  Here's their report-

"2011 was a fantastic year for the Montreal chapter with three new J /22 boats added to the fleet. And guess what, another two boats are joining for the 2012 season. These new players are not coming from HYC but from OKA Yacht Club. A total of thirteen confirmed J/22 will be jostling for position on the start line this coming season. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such enthusiasm in the area. Something must be going on, so beware all racers this is highly contagious and you might be the next victim, the only remedy is to stay far away from the fun.

Class president and 2011 Canadian champion Ron Harris and crew John Martin orchestrated an evening, with a focus on two main areas: protests & rules, and tactics specific to J/22’s in a regatta. The clinic underlined critical points of contention with topics like; do not fear the protest room - one design vs PHRF/club racing starting tactics - J/22 class rules – and a review of the ever so important mark rounding rules and tactics.

Rules were read and explained, and with the help of a magnetic board different situations found on the race course where carefully examined. It made for a great forum where everyone could join in to provide further explanation or ask clarifications about a situation they had encountered.

In the course of the night it became clear to everyone that there are times where perspectives or opinions concerning a situation can come in conflict. Throughout the clinic emphasis was put on the fact that J22 racing is a gentleman’s sport, where fair play and respect of the rules must prevail. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that a church was chosen for the reunion after all!

What every sailor needs to remember is that racing is a game, and there are proper ways to settle differences between players. Being involved in a protest does not mark one as evil. It’s a civilized way of settling differences and it’s part of the learning process; sometimes it is the only way to decide how a rule should be interpreted. It’s not like calling the cops on someone, so we shouldn’t be afraid to protests.

The J/22 teams have a goal in mind: the J/22 worlds in 2013. This event will be held in Newport, Rhode Island, so getting everyone up to speed is essential if our local teams want to fair well in this world class competition. On the water speed tests and clinics are being planned for the start of the 2012 season.

Most of the fleet will travel and attend many of the nearby events such as the Canadian Championship at CORK, to name just one great event. The Montreal fleet has planned for lot of time on the water and class members are very generous with their experience and time, wishing to bring new comers quickly to level.

If you enjoy racing and wish to improve your skills there is no better time than now for anyone thinking about joining this class!"   For more Canadian J/22 sailing information

J/22 Worlds Preview

(New Orleans, LA)- As one of their first major regattas to be hosted in the new club facilities post-Hurricane Katrina, Southern Yacht Club is planning a memorable event for J/22 World's sailors, both on and off-the-water.  For starters, Allstate Sugar Bowl has traditionally been a strong supporter of sailing in the New Orleans area, sponsoring the annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta for college sailors. Their support of the J/22 Worlds is very significant and symbolic, the "re-birth" of world-class events hosted by one of the most gracious clubs to host events in the American "South".  Off the water, the regatta promises an experience that only New Orleans can deliver.  The entertainment starts Tuesday, October 11 with a competitors’ meeting and reception at Southern Yacht Club with hors d’oeuvres featuring local seafood and other tastes of New Orleans.  Wednesday, October 12 will feature a French Quarter party for participants, scheduled at the famous Tropical Isle Bar’s balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. There is nothing like a "Tropical Isle Hand Grenade".  Before racing starts on Thursday morning, the famous Café Du Monde will serve "café au alit" and "beignets" to all competitors to get the regatta going in a traditional New Orleans style. That evening, Southern Yacht Club will host a seafood party on the lawn of the club featuring south Louisiana’s finest offerings of shrimp, jambalaya and other tasty examples of local cuisine.  The French creole influence is unmistakable, and delicious!

On the water, October on Lake Pontchartrain generally offers excellent sailing conditions, with warm temperatures and breezes that can range from 5-25 knots. Because Lake Pontchartrain is very shallow, averaging 14 feet deep, north winds with a 25-mile fetch can kick up a short, steep chop that challenges the best sailors.  With sixty-six boats from the Cayman Island, Canada, Germany and the USA, the fleet looks to be as competitive as it's been in years.  In fact, several notable World Champion and Olympian sailors are well-represented in the stellar field of sailors.  For starters, Soling and Star World Champion John Dane is sailing with a family crew!  And, another local sailor, Dwight and Beau LeBlanc- former Star and 12 Meter America's Cup veterans- are sailing as a team.  Renowned Annapolis J/22 sailor Albie Terhune has a strong team attending.  Local "Norleans" star Benz Faget is fielding a strong crew.  Class stalwart and past President, Galen Freeman, from Brentwood, TN, promises he won't hit anybody (although he may assert "senior moment rights" at appropriate opportunities!  Travis Odenbach, fresh from winning the J/24 COC in Lake George, is hoping to not embarrass himself and finish in the top 3.  Both Doyles, Kevin and Chris from upstate Kenmore, NY hope to be a factor amongst the leaders.  Another J-class champ, Travis Weisleder- from Richmond, VA- may or may not have the horsepower to keep all these champions in check to grab the brass ring.  The Hiller family gang from Annapolis (Todd and crew) are always a factor.  Then, of course, you can't forget the fact that Terry Flynn from Houston, TX- past J/22 World Champion may have designs to ensure they're at the top of the leader-board, too!    For more J/22 Worlds sailing information

  

J Sailors Dominate New York YC Rolex Invitational

* Friend, 470, J/24 and J/105 sailor- Terry McLaughlin along with fellow friend, J/24 sailor John Hele (owner of DARING), won the NYYC Invite Cup on Swan 42s.  In fact, the entire top FIVE finishers in the NYYC Invite Cup were all comprised of top J sailors in various J classes.  Besides John and Terry, Ken Colburn and Phil Lotz were champion J/105 sailors themselves racing for NYYC; Peter McChesney and friends from Annapolis YC in third were champion J/22 and J/24 sailors (many in the crew); Billy Lynn and friends from Eastern YC in fourth were champion J/22, J/24 and J/105 sailors; and in fifth was Jim Madden from Newport Harbor YC of STARK RAVING MAD fame (J/125) and BRAND NEW DAY (J/65 Bermuda winner).  Apparently, unless you had some form of "J/One-Design" experience, you were "toast" in this event-- the evidence is clear and unmistakable.

For Terry Mclaughlin and John Hele, it was a "redemption" regatta.  In a reversal of fortunes from the inaugural event two years ago, they cleaned-out their competitors starting from the very first day. Terry/ John and crew sailed a nearly flawless series with seven top five finishes out of eleven races. In races where they were deep in the fleet, they inevitably overhauled the boats ahead. Terry said, “I think we came back quite well this series. It's important because you can’t get off the line in great shape or get around the first mark in great shape for eleven races in a row.”

McLaughlin won a silver medal in the Flying Dutchman class in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and was the skipper of CANADA I in the 1983 America’s Cup challenger series. These days Terry's business is importing the famous DUBARRY clothing and footwear from Ireland, and his sailing more relegated to occasional racing with friends-- like J/105s for serious competition with Ken and other friends in Toronto! Gotta test out those boots, eh!?

In a new addition to the event, the team leading in points at the end of each day flew a “gold” spinnaker in the following day’s races (e.g. a "borrowed" idea from that famous French bike race- The TOUR DE FRANCE- remember the famous "yellow jersey"?).  Cute!  The Royal Canadian team quickly took that honor after the first day and never relinquished it for the week (one wonders, was it as fast, or faster?).

  

Harris Wins J/22 Canadian Nationals

(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- This past weekend, the J/22 class had Kingston YC host their Canadian National Championship in Kingston, Ontario, site of the famous CORK Regatta held every August and also a past site of the Olympic Sailing games.  The venue is fantastic for sailing as the eastern end of Lake Ontario almost always generates a reliable southwest sea-breeze in the afternoon that can blow from 8 to 15 knots.  In addition, Kingston itself is great place to visit- it's a historic port, home to the world-renown Queen's University and has Fort Henry guarding the western approaches to the St Lawrence Seaway.

A competitive fleet of J/22s assembled for the start of racing Saturday morning.  The day started off with light breeze and, ultimately, the wind picked up around 4 pm from the southwest (the classic sea-breeze), enabling the J/22s to complete four races for the day in a great sailing breeze.

Sunday morning started off significantly better with a steady 10-15 knot breeze from the southwest. The J/22’s finished the day with three races, making it a seven race series. Ron Harris, Pete Amos and John Marten, from Hudson, Quebec, were crowned the 2011 J/22 Canadian National Champions, coming in first place four out of the seven races. Gordon McIlquham, Mary Ann Turcke, Emily McIlquham and Meredith Megarry, of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club placed second, and David Doyle, Mark McLean and Lindsay McMurray also of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, came in third.    Sailing photo credits- Geoff Webster- PhotoOne Gallery     For more J/22 Canadian Nationals Sailing information

  

Love Wins J/22 Ontario Champs

(Toronto, ONT, Canada)- The 2011 J/22 Ontario Championships were held at National Yacht Club during the Toronto Area Hospice Regatta.  The TAHR is a one-design regatta to benefit Perram House, one of the few true hospice facilities in Toronto.  As part of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance, there is a chance that the regatta winner will be invited to the Hospice National Championship.

Clearly, it was a tennis-like 6-Love game for the team on STAMPEDE sailed by Jeff Love- winning with 4 firsts and 2 seconds to win by five points after six races.  Second was Stephen Jones sailing THE BOAT, starting out strongly with 2 firsts, then ending up with a 2-3-4-2 to finish with 13 points.  Third was Paul Davignon's THREE'S COMPANY with a 5-8-4-2-2-4 for 25 points.

For more J/22 Ontario Championships sailing information.

  

Nicole Bastet Wins Canadian Women's Sailing J/22s

Nicole Bastet win's Canadian Women's Championship- perhaps following in the great family sailing tradition that includes renowned Canadian yachtsman, Evert Bastet, Nicole showed the girls in Canada how to sail J/22s fast and with fewer mistake than most to squeak out a win for Hudson Yacht Club despite lots of drama going on behind her for the next three spots.  Hosted by Hudson Yacht Club (near Montreal, Quebec) and sailed in J/22 One-Designs, the top teams that sailed this year's Women's Keelboat National Championship in J/22s were also looking forward to attending this fall's Rolex Women's World Championship sailed in J/22s at Rochester, NY.  In a rather dramatic turn-around, Nicole Bastet won despite having two bad races on the first day, starting off with a 1-9-8, then closing with three firsts to win by two points!  Her drama was nowhere near what was experienced by the next three boats, fighting hard to beat one another going into the last day.  When the dust and scores were settled, Marg Hurley from NSC sailed a consistent a 4-5-1-5-2-2 for 14 pts to win on a tie-breaker over Melodie Gummer with a 3-2-2-4-3-4.  The top teams are already looking forward to their trip to Rochester to hopefully win the Rolex!   For more Canadian Women's Keelboat sailing information

  

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.   

McIlquham Wins J22 Canadians

(Port Credit, Ontario)- Port Credit Yacht Club put on a great 2010 Canadian Championship regatta from July 10 – 11. Despite fairly light wind, the Race Committee did a fantastic job and were able to get seven races off. 

Newcomers to the fleet, Gord Mcilquham, his wife Maryann Turcke, and their 2 daughters, Emily and JJ, showed us all how it’s done, walking off with the trophy sailing PRUDENCE to a solid 6-3-1-1-2-3-2 record for eighteen points.  It was pretty clear they were learning the ropes as they went along, starting out slowly but finishing with a flourish!  Second just five points back was Travis Odenbach sailing INSTIGATOR sailing to a 7-2-2-2-8-1-1 record, nearly pulling off the Championship themselves excepting a "hairball" fifth race where they got in trouble and dropped off their regatta winning pace.  Third was American Kevin Doyle sailing  MO'MONEY.

The Canadian J/22 fleet continues to grow on Lake Ontario.  Join them and have some fun! A few new boats showed up this year: the winning boat PRUDENCE from Royal Canadian YC, Jerry Wendt from Niagara YC, SPACEBALL from Nepean (Marg Hurley) and ECLIPSE from BHYC (Brian Young). Thanks to EVERYONE for coming out!  For more J/22 Canadian Championship sailing info.