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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
(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
(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
(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
(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
(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
(Newport, RI)- The 2013 J/22 World Championship, presented by Fidelity
Investments, is celebrating its Thirtieth Anniversary and this year features a
fantastic turnout of 72 teams from Canada, the Cayman Islands, South Africa and
the USA. Hosted by Sail Newport, racing takes place from October 1st to
5th; many special events are planned in honor of the World Championship and to
celebrate the 30th anniversary of the boat. Along with Presenting Sponsor
Fidelity Investments®, other sponsors have joined including Waterline Systems,
J/Boats, Coral Reef Sailing Apparel, Gosling’s Dark and Stormy® and the Rhode
Island State Yachting Committee.
A Legends Regatta on September 30 reunites past J/22 champions as well as
noteworthy J/22 sailors who have been members of the Class during its long
history. After racing, the Legends sailors will join the opening ceremony on
Monday evening to launch the World Championship week. Sail Newport
Executive Director Brad Read says, “The October championship will showcase
exciting racing and most likely a myriad of sailing conditions. The competition
will be very tight.”
Many past class champions are sailing this year's Worlds. The American
contingent has a formidable group of teams participating, including past J/22
World Champion Terry Flynn from Houston YC in Seabrook, TX sailing MARGO; Benz
Faget from Southern YC in New Orleans, LA skippering FATS; Chris Doyle from
Rochester YC in Rochester, NY sailing the famous The JUG 4 1; Brad Julian
sailing THREEDORIES.COM; Mark Foster from Corpus Christi, TX sailing TEJAS;
Will Welles from Newport, RI sailing COUGAR; Travis Odenbach from Rochester, NY
sailing BEAR CLAWS; Cory Sertl from Jamestown, RI sailing LUCY; Kevin Doyle
from Rochester, NY on MO'MONEY; Martie Kullman from Buffalo, NY on NEW WAVE;
Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET from Annapolis, MD; and Jeff Todd from Annapolis, MD
sailing HOT TODDY.
Amongst the leading foreign entries are John Koppernaes from Ottawa, Ontario
sailing RAISED J; Mike Farrington from Georgetown, Cayman Islands skippering
JUST LEASING; Shellee Nel from Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa; and Jessica
Lenz from Fairland, Gauteng, South Africa.
With forecasts for mostly sunny skies and southerly winds the first few days
and switching to light northerlies dying and switching to southwest sea breezes
in the afternoon for the balance of the regatta, the fleet will surely be
challenged by classic Newport fall sailing conditions. The SailNewport
race management team is one of the best in the world and they will likely test
the skills of the sailors in every imaginable scenario, with shifty, puffy
sailing north of Newport Bridge inside Narragansett Bay as well as gorgeous
offshore oscillating sea breezes in ocean swells offshore on Rhode Island
Sound. Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com
For more J/22 World Championship sailing information and "live
updates"
