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(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
J/24, J/80 & J/105s Sailed
Dozen+ Races!
(Seattle, WA)- Yes, it was an amazing fact. Long known for its famous
late spring monsoon season with next to no wind, the Pacific Northwest version
of the Sperry Topsider NOOD regattas can also produce some spectacular sailing
conditions with the mighty, snow-capped Cascades Mountain range in the
background. While perhaps not postcard perfect sailing conditions, the
sailors didn't care (see J/24 team at right)! Wind was all that mattered,
not the wet & wild variety, but just good breezes; the type of conditions
that permitted the PRO's on the various course to seriously crank out some fast
turn-arounds and dozens of starts. For the J/24s that meant an exhausting
sixteen races and for the J/80s and J/105s a dozen races!
As anticipated, some of the top local J/24 teams managed to sail
solid, consistent series to lead the pack of eighteen J/24s-- the largest fleet
at the regatta. Scott Milne's TREMENDOUS SLOUCH fired plenty of finishes
into the top three to secure the top spot with 56 pts. Mike Johnson's
PEARL closed rapidly on the leaders after a slow start, counting 1-1-1-2-1 for
his last five races to snag second overall with 62 pts. Mark Laura's and
Craig Suhrbier's BABA LOUIE were sailing the roller-coaster version of the top
two leaders, winning some races, getting top three's, then bombing a race or
two. Net, net, BABA LOUIE's veterans hung tough and fought off challenges
from others down the ladder to get the bronze on the podium with 81 pts. Fourth
was Brad Miller's HAIR OF THE DOG and fifth was Jeff Bond's JOYRIDE.
The J/80s saw two veterans dueling for the top prize in their fleet, Bill
McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET and Dave Schutte's TAJ MAHAL. However, even after
closing the last six races with three 1sts and three 2nds, the TAJ gang
couldn't muster enough momentum to overcome their early deficit.
Consequently, SKYE ROCKET took the win with 21 pts with TAJ in second with 23
pts. Third went to Bryan Rhodes's CRAZY IVAN with 33 pts.
What appeared to be the only "schooling" taking place at
this regatta was the fact that Jerry Diercks's DELIRIUM team sailed deliriously
well-- smacking their J/105 classmates with all finishes in the top three for
19 pts in 12 races. Starting off with three bullets must've been a bit
mind-numbing for their fellow J/105 sailors. Nevertheless, taking a
beating early but closing with a vengeance in the last six races as Erik
Kristen's JUBILEE, snapping off four 1sts and two 3rd in the end to score 29
pts total to take a solid second overall. Third was Eric Hopper's FREE
BOWL OF SOUP, fresh off their most excellent performance in the Oregon Offshore
Race. The balance of the top five included Jim Geros's LAST TANGO in
fourth and Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE in fifth. Sailing Photo credits- TimWilkes.com. For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information
J/70 Debuts with
Largest Fleet Ever!
(Annapolis, MD)- With 211 boats participating in this year's Sperry Topsider
Annapolis NOOD Regatta, it promises to be quite the "class reunion"
for many J sailors across eastern America. Why? For the simple fact that
156 boats are J/Teams (74% of the whole fleet) competing in eight J one-design
classes (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/30, J/105, J/35, J/109)! In other
words, for the few boats that comprise the six other classes (average of less
than 10 boats per fleet) it may be a tad overwhelming to have nearly a thousand
J Sailors criss-crossing the northern Chesapeake Bay and flooding the evening
tent parties sponsored by Mt Gay Rum and other enthusiastic sponsors!
Leading
the charge again are the J/70s-- setting a record fourth regatta debut as the
largest one-design class. At forty-eight boats (Key West, St Pete NOOD and
Charleston already in the books), the J/70 has completely eclipsed all
attendance records for any sportboat worldwide in inaugural regattas since
sprit-boats first exploded onto the sailing scene with the J/105 in 1991. The
J/70 fleet is on a rapid learning curve and based on performances at past
events, it's clear as mud who will be regatta leaders after the dust settles in
the latest 70 battles. Perhaps most importantly, it was self-evident,
based on the huge "can't wipe the grin off my face" smiles after the
epic first day at Charleston in 15-30 kts of breeze, all J/70 sailors were
having a rip-roaring great time sailing their boats!
After four regattas, the betting will on a number of leading teams that will be
seen somewhere at the top of the leader board for the 70s. Included in
that group may be Tim Healey's HELLY HANSEN, Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, Brian
Elliott's B-SQUARED, Bob Hughes on MUSE/ HEARTBREAKER, Bennet Greenwald's
PERSEVERANCE, Henry Brauer/ Will Welles' RASCAL, Jud Smith's RELATIVE
OBSCURITY, Peter Vessella's RUNNING WILD, Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE, Henry
Filter's WILD CHILD and a cast of local characters each of whom are capable of
good performances, like Peter McChesney's TROUBLE, Tate Russack's DIESEL, and
Cole Allsopp's MOXIE.
Next up are the J/22's with an
excellent showing with twenty-eight boats (second largest J fleet). They
will be vying for class honors bragging rights, as well as getting great
practice for their J/22 World Championships that will be taking place in
Newport, RI later this summer. For those familiar with teams that faired
well in Charleston some weeks ago, it's clear that Chris Doyle and his
"JUG 4 1" gang from Rochester, New York will be the ones to beat.
Giving them serious heartache will be a rogue's roost of J/22 veterans,
including Allan "Albie" Terhune on DAZZLER, Kurt Swanson on
SLINGSHOT, Vic Snyder on MO'MONEY, Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY, super hot sailor
chick Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET, Mark Hillman on HAROLD GOES SKA and perhaps
newcomer "gurl-stud" Jen Gaffney on PIRATE PRINCESS RACING TEAM.
Amongst this crowd, anything goes, as it always has been!
With the third largest J fleet, the
J/80's sailing with 23 boats are fielding a very competitive fleet. Like
their J/22 sisters, for some American teams, the event provides great practice
for J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France. Amongst those teams, look for Brian
Keane's SAVASANA and the Danish family team- Thomas Klok and the Crumps (Will
and Marie) on their boat R80 to be amongst the top teams. Some other
notable veterans in the mix will be Kristen Robinson's ANGRY CHAMELEON, Chris &
Liz Chadwick's CHURCH KEY, Ken Mangano's MANGO and Ramzi Bannura's STACKED
DECK.
The J/105's have a strong showing of an "all Naptown" fleet of
eighteen boats and amongst them are some champion teams from past Chesapeake
Bay and North American regattas. Sure to figure in the running for
overall honors will be a cross-section of the old guard and some new faces,
including Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Andrew Kennedy on BAT IV, Gerritt Schulze on
MAX POWER, Jack Biddle on the infamous RUM PUPPY, Donald Santa on SANTA's REIGN-DEAR
(for real!) and Scott Gitchell on TENACIOUS.
At
fifteen strong, the J/24's are probably now on their fifth generation of owners
and the competition simply does not diminish as the next-gen teams hop in,
learn fast from the veterans, and simply continue to advance the ball in one of
the world's most evenly-matched and competitive ISAF one-design keelboat
classes. Remarkably, one of the most competitive veterans (now working on
his 4th decade!) happens to be a highly respected, most knowledgeable local
J/24 sailor- Tony Parker sailing BANGOR PACKET! He will be challenged by
some "newbies" and some old guard teams, amongst them could be Mike
Marshall from Conanicut YC, Jack van Dalen's ARNOLD GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, Pat
Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR, Mike Hobson's SPACEMAN SPIFF, and Frank McNamara's ZOT.
For the J/109's seven boat class, the event represents their J/109 Mid-Atlantic
Championship! J/109 Fleet 4 provides great hospitality under the
leadership of Fleet Captain Bill Sweetser and his gang aboard the famous
RUSH! Assisting him is 109 class leader Bob Schwartz on NORDLYS from
Manhasset YC and the Western Long Island Sound fleet of J/109s. With many
new faces showing up in the 109 class, it's perhaps one of the most difficult
classes for general prognostication, other than the obvious- Bill and
Bob! Yet, any omniscient observer of this class will tell you there's
always some new surprises in store for these veterans. More news soon on
the outcome!
At ten boats, it's pretty clear the J/30s have not only achieved
"classic" status, but perhaps "legendary" status,
too. The first quintessential cruiser-racer J built in the early 1980s
(some might argue it was the J/24-- not!). Nevertheless, the Chesapeake
crew of 30s are having some fun, that's for sure. And, the NOOD is an
annual reunion of like-minded 30 owners who LOVE their boats and it shows--
some look better than new! TEN BOATS! Amazing. Well, let's
see if the "gurl-boats" have it this year (as owners or
co-owners)! Included amongst the girl teams are Pam Morris' BUMP,
Michel's LEAPFROG, Kathleen's MARY LOU and Sheila's INFECTIOUS SMILE! So
guys, that's a "four-way" that may crush you this weekend, girls's
may rule sooner than anyone imagines!
Finally, the J/35s. Like their "classic" sisterships (at
minimum the J/24 and J/30), they were the second derivative of another boat
that was incredibly successful (the J/36) in the early 1980s. With seven
boats, the J/35s continue to show their offshore performance worldwide is not
just legendary, but fun, too! One of the more famous boats participating
is AUNT JEAN sailed by the Sagerholm/ Christofel team. But, BAD COMPANY, MAGGIE
and MEDICINE MAN won't be far from the limelight. Plus, like her J/30 sisturz'
the 35s could be facing an insurrection from Stephanie Reuer on DAKOTA
GIRL! Watch out, some sparklers may be flying in this rather diverse
group of sailors.
Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal and Meredith Block/ Charleston Race
Week. For more Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Sailing Regatta sailing
information
J/111 2nd IRC, BIG LIFT Takes J/22s
(Stellendam, Netherlands)- With more than 120 boats on the start line, the Van
Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta promised to have lots of action and fun for the
offshore sailing season opener in the Netherlands. Traditionally, the
event is marked by an enormous fish fry and beer party where the local
fisherman host the event, cooking up all kinds of local delicacies, including
even lobster! Plus, the sponsor Pantaenius ensure there's plenty of beer
on hand for the sailors to wash down all the yummy seafood!
The predictions regarding the weather promised a weekend full of sun and plenty
of breeze. Whether there would still be enough wind Sunday was the real
question on everyone's minds as the weekend unfolded.
On Friday afternoon the Stellendam Marina slowly filled with all kinds of
one-design class boats ready for a race weekend at the Haringvliet. For most
sailors the regatta was a short drive, but the Van Uden Reco is worth it! For
the J/22 fleet, two German teams looked forward to joining the party on and off
the water and traveled to Stellendam. On Friday, it was cold and windy, so many
teams launched, went for a quick practice sail then came back in to refuel,
stay warm and prepare for up to eight races on the schedule.
Despite the crazy weather this year Saturday dawned quite warm, so
woolly hats were substituted with long shirts and caps to shield everyone from
the warm sun. It soon became apparent that the wind forecasts were wrong. The
prediction was a Force 5 11-15 kts wind. There was enough wind to get off four
races and the sun made it a perfect sailing day! After a long, exhausting, but
fun day on the water, the sailors all looked forward to the massive outdoor
cookout on shore with ham, hamburgers, fish fry and plenty of beer. A good time
was had by all as the sun sank further behind the shed and the temperature
dropped (it was freezing at night!).
Unfortunately, predictions regards wind on Sunday came truer than anyone
hoped. With plenty of sun in the sky, the wind was hard to find!
However, it began to blow a little more in the course of the morning and the
sailing teams were sent onto the water. It was a good decision, because not
much later there was a breeze at Force 3-4! At noon was the first start for
most classes and courses. For the J/22s, the fleet managed to get in
three short races. However, the offshore boats had less luck, barely
getting in two to three good races (depending on the course), leading to many
boats simply dropping out due to lack of wind.
In the IRC Class, the three J/111s made the best of the conditions,
particularly on Saturday's windier day. As a result, finishing 2nd in IRC
was XCENTRIC RIPPER- John van der Starre- sailing to a 2-1-1-2-5-5 record for
11 net pts. Also sailing but having a hard time on the super-light Sunday
were SWEENY (Hans Zwinjnenburg) and LALLEKONING (M Sigg).
In the ORC classes, the J/105 JIPPA was sailed by Andre Zijderveld in
ORC2. And in ORC3, the J/80s were having fun with a "sub-fleet"
one-design competition amongst each other. Leading the J/80s in 4th was
JOT (M Menck), second J/80 lying 6th in fleet was nJOY (Coen van Even) and
third J/80 was DJ (OJ Golverdingen).
The J/22s had some spirited racing, especially on the windier
Saturday. The nearly windless Sunday jumbled the standings as different
teams excelled in one condition versus the other. Taking the top spot
after finishing Saturday in third overall was BIG LIFT/ Happy Future (Nico van
der Kolk), sailing to a 3-6-4-4-1-2-2 for 22 net pts. Just two points
back after a slow start on Sunday was BIG LIFT/ Happy Star (Jeremy Moens),
recording a scoreline of 5-4-5-1-5-3-1 for 24 pts. Third was BATAVAIA
STAD (Christian Rieckborn) with a 2-1-6-7-7-5-4 record for 32 pts.
Rounding out the top five were JOLLY JUMPER (Ivo Jeukens) in 4th with 34 pts
and in 5th was DE KANTOORBUTLER (Stan Heltzel) with 37 pts. Note, after
the first day, Heltzel was the regatta leader with a 1-5-1-5 but got DSQ'd in
race 5 on Sunday to hurt their chances at a podium finish. For more Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta sailing information
