Heather Gregg-Earl Dominates Nantucket Pro-Am Regatta!

(Nantucket, MA)- Nantucket Race Week’s featured IOD Celebrity Invitational Regatta started with a whimper and finished with a bang. On day one, PRO John Mendez and his hard working team managed to complete just one race in a light northerly, followed by abandonment and towlines to get everyone home. A day later, Nantucket Sound delivered signature conditions, 15 – 20 knots of wind, four tight races with constant changing of positions, and many exhausted crew by day’s end.

In the regatta’s unique format, many of North America’s best sailors act as tacticians, each being matched with a participating helmsman and team whose regatta fees and “bids” for tactician selection raised nearly $50,000 for Nantucket Community Sailing. The local IOD Fleet Association makes its fleet of identical International One Design sloops available for the benefit of the NCS fundraiser.

In the end, Heather Gregg-Earl of Stage Harbor YC and New York YC (J/70 owner and past J/24 Champion sailor and Tufts Jumbo Collegiate All-American Woman Sailor) became the first female winner of the event. Her celebrity tactician was sailmaker and champion Robbie Doyle, along with crew members Miles Cameron, Michael Obuchowski and Will Christenson.

Runner-up Gary Jobson (J/22 owner), President of US Sailing and Honorary Chairman of Nantucket Race Week entered as helmsman for the first time, switching from prior years’ role as tactician (for Democratic Senator John Kerry in each of the past two years). Jobson’s tactician was Dee Smith, who has been consistently near top of this competitive fleet three consecutive times. Together the crew might have been dubbed "Team Who’s Who", with champions and longtime sailing partners Jud Smith, Hank Stewart and Jim Porter.

Nantucket IOD fleet founder Peter McCausland was a strong third place, with tactician Geoff Moore (J/24 Champion) and McCausland’s regular crew members Steve Mead, Fritz McClure, Charlie McGill and Graham Kilvert.

Other Celebrity Tacticians rounded out an all-star roster, together representing countless national, world and collegiate championships, Americas Cup contests, Olympic Games, and offshore events – Chuck Allen, Sally Barkow, Andrew Campbell, David Dellenbaugh, Kevin Farrar, Cam Lewis, Dave Perry, Mark Reynolds and Will Welles (bold are all J/Sailors!). Honorary Chairman Tom Whidden welcomed participants at the opening reception, where Ken Read of Puma Ocean Racing (and past multiple J/24 World Champion) later presented thrilling video of the Volvo Ocean Race. Later, at the trophy presentation, Whidden said, “My wife Betsy and I love to come to this wonderful destination, it's great sailing for a great cause. We appreciate all that Nantucket Community Sailing stands for, and we are delighted to have an opportunity to lend our support.”   Sailing photo credits- Karen Ryan Photography   For more Nantucket Race Week Pro-Am sailing information

J/97 Scotches Cowes Week

J/109 Wins Black Fleet Overall
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As has been the case over the past several Cowes Weeks, the thousands of sailors having fun divining what the weather Gods have in store for them on the capricious Solent will always be a source of endless debate in the Guinness tent-- for both the podium winners that day as well as those who were on the losing end of the bets on which way was better or fastest.  In the end, following on their great performances in Scotland and Ireland, the J/97 FEVER GLENFIDDICH (scotch, that is!) sailed by Grant Gordon and crew had a dominant performance to eclipse IRC Class 5.  Other J/stablemates faired well in the broad cross-section of conditions presented to them over the course of the week.

The regatta dawned bright and sunny on day one with a brisk east to south-east wind averaging 15-20 knots, but with gusts above 25 knots, provided exhilarating conditions for the first day of racing. With the strongest gusts forecast to be in the Eastern Solent, the dayboats in White Group classes starting from the RYS line were sent on a downwind leg to a course in the western Solent, before beating back to finish on the RYS line.

In IRC Class 2, Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas’ J/111 SHMOKIN' JOE led the fleet away, all starting towards the northern end of the line. However, while SHMOKIN' JOE and others were the first boats to cross the finish line, all had been among the seven in the class that were OCS at the start! Ouch.

By the second day the fleet saw plenty of sun and a south-westerly breeze that built to give perfect sailing conditions in 14-17 knots of wind for the event’s Family Day.  An erratically moving weather trough that brought a line of showers and light winds to Cowes just before racing was scheduled to get underway presented a headache for race officials. With the trough forecast to leave a 50-60 degree windshift in its wake, the ideal was to wait for it to pass, but it had earlier stalled for 90 minutes and threatened to do the same over Cowes. To everyone’s relief it moved away just in time to allow the starting sequences to get underway with minimal delays.

The J/109 class enjoyed the closest of racing today, with tightly fought battles right round the 19.6-mile course and a number of protests. At the start, the pack was bunched at the northern end of the line near the committee boat, with Christopher Sharples and Richard Acland’s JOLENE ll looking best placed.

JOLENE ll quickly tacked onto port, with Alex Ohlsson and Neil Maclachlan’s JAI HO following close behind and Dutch entry Arjen van Leeuwen’s JOULE just astern, but to windward. When they passed to the south of Lepe Spit on their way to Cowes Radio buoy, JOLENE ll still looked best placed at the head of the fleet, but it was clear many boats were locked in tight battles.  As they ran past Egypt Point under asymmetric spinnakers on the way to the finish, the leading group was still neck and neck, with each boat surging back and forward by half a length as they alternately picked up speed in a gust, or on top of a wave.

In the most adrenaline-filled finish of the day, JET, sailed by the Stanley, Walker and Williams team, extended into a marginal lead three boat lengths from the line. Two seconds after she took the winner’s cannon, another resounding bang signaled Jonathan Calascione and Jonny Goodwin’s HARLEQUIIN crossing the line. The podium appeared complete when Jamie Sheldon’s JIGSAW finished eight seconds later. With JOLENE ll crossing the line 16 seconds afterwards, the first four boats finished within 26 seconds of each other. However, both leading boats were the subject of protests. HARLEQUIN had accepted a time penalty, leaving her fourth and JOLENE ll third. But JET lost her protest and was disqualified, leaving JIGSAW as winner of the Royal Thames Danish Dish, with JOLENE ll second.  There was still more drama to come in this fleet – the next two boats in the class – JOULE and Tony Dickin’s JUBILEE – finished, just six seconds apart. Less than two minutes after that, the line was thick with J/109s, with seven boats finishing in only 38 seconds.

“The finish was great,” says Ross Walker of JET, the first boat across the line. “It’s what one-design racing is all about – it was fantastic to have four boats finishing in line abreast at the end of the race. Even though we lost the protest we’re still very happy because it was such as great race – the course setters did a grand job and the lead changed several times.

‘The class this year is still very competitive, but it has more of a family and friends feel than in the past. Most of my crew are teenagers, who are having the time of their lives – we have two of the children of the crew of BASIC INSTINCT [another J/109] on board, as well as my goddaughter, while my daughter is racing on JIGSAW.”

In the J/80 class, Gillian Ross’s ROCK & ROLL started closest to the outer distance mark, nicely powered up and close to the line, and was first to tack offshore. Doug Neville-Jones’s JASMINE started towards the inshore end and was similarly well placed close to the line.  A few minutes into the race, Jamie Diamond’s RASCAL, the most inshore of the fleet, appeared to hook into a favourable wind shift. AQUA-J, sailed by the Stuart, Evans and Simonds syndicate, also clearly liked the look of the left-hand side of the course, tacking onto starboard and passing ahead of RASCAL. The rest of the fleet at this stage, however, opted to stay offshore in the stronger tide.

By the finish Simon Ling’s RAFBF SPITFIRE held a big lead, almost three minutes ahead of another Young Skipper’s trophy contender, William Goldsmith’s EXESS, who in turn enjoyed a three and a half minute advantage over JASMINE in third place.

By the time of the Sportsboat start at 1125, the sun was streaming through ever-larger gaps between clouds with increasing intensity and frequency. The majority of the fleet, which is racing under IRC, opted to start at the outer end of the line, with Royal 4, one of the modified J/80s owned by the RYS and Royal Thames YC looking good. On corrected time the lower-rated boats came out towards the top of the fleet. Charlie Esse, Anthony Esse and Jason Sivyer’s modified J/80 DARWIN PROPERTY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT was second.

On Monday, the defining feature of the third day of the regatta was a gusty and shifty southerly wind that varied from less than 10 knots at times to gusts of more than 20. After a bright morning, a band of cloud with showers on its leading edge was moving eastwards towards Cowes, with very light winds forecast to follow in its wake. As a result, relatively short courses were set to make good use of the day’s best winds.

By Tuesday, the fourth day, Cowes dawned with plenty of sun and light southerly winds that started to build at 0900, reaching 10-12 knots by the time of the first starts. Later the breeze increased still further, to give puffs of up to 16 knots by late morning, before easing back to a mean speed of just over 10 knots.

White Group dayboats that started from the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) line headed towards the east, fighting an ebb tide. Despite this, a lot of boats were over the line at the gun, and two starts had to be recalled. At the other end of the spectrum were those who allowed themselves to be swept too far down tide of the start. Most of the successful boats started around one-third of the way out from the shore, where they gained some advantage from a weaker tidal stream but were also able to protect their air from other boats.

Then came an enormous wake-up call on Wednesday-- the proverbial "tempest in a teapot", and then some!  A vigorous and unstable cold front, associated with an un-seasonally deep low pressure system moving across southern England, upset plans for racing at Cowes Week today. Although mean wind speeds for much of the day were not forecast to be particularly severe, the possibility of sustained squalls of 33-34 knots was a serious concern for race officials.

As a result racing was abandoned for the dayboat classes in White Group and also for the smaller boats in Black Group, while the larger boats continued racing. It turned out to be a frustrating morning for many, with big holes in the wind between the showers, along with mammoth wind shifts. Between 1340 and 1350 the wind at Lymington Starting Platform varied from 9 to 33 knots, shifting by almost 40 degrees. Over the next 10 minutes it held a more constant direction, but rapidly strengthened to an average of 27 knots, with peak gusts of over 42 knots.  The squalls moved quickly up the Solent, with the first big gusts hitting Cowes just after 1400, as the leaders in IRC Class 4 were closing the finish. Flogging sails could be seen on boats that weren’t ready for the sudden change in conditions, while those who were prepared to quickly change gear for the stronger winds powered past, making good gains

By the sixth day, Thursday, the weather started settling down as the fleets themselves also started to establish a pecking order with regards to whom had begun to establish almost unassailable leads over their competitors.  With winds averaging 15 knots, with some stronger gusts, the sailors were provided ideal conditions.  This led to a fifth win for Jonathan Calascione and Jonny Goodwin’s J/109 HARLEQUIN, putting them at at the head of the class’s overall standings, while a fifth place for Christopher Sharples and Richard Acland’s JOLENE ll was sufficient to secure second overall. However, half a dozen boats were still in contention for third with two days to go.

Meanwhile, able to secure class victory with a day spare with a third place was Grant Gordon’s J/97 FEVER GLENFIDDICH in IRC Class 5- truly a dominating performance in a very tough class over many past IRC 4/ IRC 5 Cowes Week champions in the class, including Adam Gosling's Corby 30 YES!

The seventh day, Friday, saw racing concluding for the White Group dayboat classes, including the J/80. The first leg was a tight spinnaker reach for most classes, with the most enthusiastic competitors hoisting as early as possible. However, only the best sailors were able to get them filling in the disturbed air on the start line and for some it was initially more of a hindrance than a benefit.

An individual recall on the J/80 start saw the Stuart, Evans and Simonds syndicate’s AQUA-J return to restart. It was only when the X-flag remained up that William Goldsmith’s young crew on EXESS, contenders for the Under 25 Trophy, and lying second overall in the class, realized they also needed to drop the spinnaker and return.  Goldsmith’s crew did well to recover their big deficit, finishing third behind Simon Ling’s RAFBF SPITFIRE and Jamie Diamond’s RASCAL. Ling won the class overall, counting only first places, with Goldsmith second, and a fourth place today was enough to secure third overall for Geoffrey Payne’s SURF & TURF by a two-point margin.

Although a handful of winners had emerged Thursday amongst various classes, Friday was the last day of racing for the overall prizes for Black Group classes. Jonathan Calascione and Jonny Goodwin’s HARLEQUIN had already secured an overall win in the J/109 class, but was out again today, notching up an impressive sixth win to take overall victory in Black Group. Grant Gordon’s J/97 FEVER GLENFIDDICH won IRC Class 5 again to take second in Black Group.

A new prize for 2012 was the J/111 Cowes Week Challenge Trophy, which went to J/111 class winners Jeez Louise, skippered by James Arnell. This is the second consecutive year a Brighton-based crew has won the class, with Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas’ Shmokin Joe winners in 2011.

In the J/92 & J/92s Division, J'RONIMO won with BLACK JACK 2nd and JUST ENOUGH 3rd.  In the J/97 Division, it was FEVER GLENFIDDICH leading the pack home, followed by JACKAROO in 2nd and JET in 3rd.  In the J/122 Division, GHOST was first followed by THE SISTERHOOD in 2nd and MINT JULEP in 3rd.

In the extra-special awards category, the Under 25s Trophy went to the gang on the J/80 EXESS with William Goldsmith!  Job well done mates!

Additional J Boat success was had by the new J/70, which entered the sportsboat class on day six. After a disappointing start at the back of the fleet, the exciting new 23 footer managed to charge her way through the fleet to finish second over the line. After the handicaps had been applied, the J/70 had earned her maiden UK victory!  Sweet!  Thanks for the news contributions by Rupert Holmes.  Sailing Photo credits- Rick Tomlinsom   For more Cowes Week sailing information

J/Boats @ Southampton Show

J/70, J/80, J/109, J/111 & J/122
(Southampton, England)- Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting five J/Boats at the Southampton Boat Show in September, including the new J/70 Speedster which will be making its UK debut.

The J/70 Speedster is J Boats’ first ramp-launchable keelboat - designed to fulfill the growing need for an easy to own, high performance one design, that is exciting to sail, stable enough sailboat for the family, and built to last. A natural evolution of its J pedigree, the J/70’s 23.0 feet of sailing length with high aspect, all carbon rig and deep, lifting keel provides spirited performance and stability that feels like a much larger boat.

The J/80 is a well-founded class in the UK.  Sportsboat classes come and go but the International J/80 (now in her eighteenth year) has truly come of age. The on-going strength of the class was proven this year with the entry of over seventy-five J/80s in the 2012 World Championship in Dartmouth in this summer.  Delightfully easy to sail, yet capable of 18 knots on a breezy day, the J/80 has its own class for the Round the Island Race and at Cowes Week and at many other regattas around the UK .

The J/109 is a fabulously successful cruiser-racer- it's lively enough to hold the interest of youngsters yet stable enough to instill sea-going confidence in sailors of all ages. The boat accelerates in the lightest of puffs, and short-tacks nimbly through narrow channels under mainsail alone. J/109 owners state this racer-cruiser is the ideal marriage of true cruising comfort and sailing performance whether daysailing, racing or cruising.

The J/111 Speedster is a powerful offshore 36 ft speedster as well as an International One-Design race-boat. Following an astonishingly successful offshore record in the first two years, the J/111 has set the precedent for her market.  The J/111 is a purposeful-looking, thoroughly performance-orientated boat.  She is balanced and easily driven as her third place in the 2011 Doublehanded Fastnet Race proves.  There is nothing like the J/111 on the market at the moment- her race results speak for themselves and she has proved herself time and time again across a variety of conditions both inshore and offshore.

The J/122 may be the quintessential 41 foot offshore cruiser racer. With its sailing-friendly deck layout and cockpit design and comfortable arrangement plan below, the J/122 is as easy to handle around buoys as it is handling your guests. Quick and responsive, powerful and stable, easy to handle and a pleasure to steer, plus a roomy hand-crafted cruising interior, the J/122 is indeed what sailing is all about. With a modest displacement, low wetted surface, and a powerful sailplan the J/122 delivers true all-round performance.  Proof? In Key West Race Week 2012, the J/122 was 1st, the J/111 2nd and the J/109 3rd!  Tough choice for cognoscenti of offshore sailing performance, comfort and speed-- a bit like comparing a Mercedes AMG S65 saloon to a Porsche Carrera 4 GTS and a BMW M-Series X5 SUV.  For more Southampton Boatshow information, please contact J/UK Key Yachting at "info@j-uk.com".

J/70 NYYC IQS Preview

(Newport, RI)- This year's NYYC Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series (USQS) will feature twelve new J/70 speedsters! The J/70 will join the NYYC’s fleet of Sonars when 24 of the nation’s most competitive yacht clubs compete in the NYYC USQS off Newport, RI from September 4 to 8, 2012. The top three finishers will earn the right to compete in the 2013 NYYC Invitational Cup presented by Rolex.

The USQS will continue the successful format from 2010 in which teams compete in two fleets of one-design keelboats. By utilizing the J/70, a modern high-performance planing keelboat 23’ in length with an asymmetrical spinnaker – along with the 23’ Sonar with its symmetrical spinnaker -- the NYYC is raising the bar for competitors by testing their versatility across different boat designs as well as allowing the final decision to be made in a boat closer in philosophy to the NYYC Swan 42 -- the yacht used in the international event.

Of the twenty-four yacht clubs participating across the country, several are known to have top crews participating.  Ft Worth Boat Club has Glenn Darden from Ft Worth, TX (also a NYYC member) skippering for their team- Glenn is a past J/80 World Champion, J/105 North American Champion and top NYYC Swan 42 sailor. Also a factor in the top of the fleet will be Eastern YC's Billy Lynn, past Sonar World Champion and top J/24 and J/80 sailor from Marblehead, MA.  Alan Field from Cal YC is sailing their entry, Alan is a champion Melges 24 sailor from Marina del Rey, California.  Past Olympian Andy Lovell is sailing for Southern YC from New Orleans, LA; St Francis YC is sending champion sailor Peter Vessella; and Storm Trysail Club from Rye, New York is sending a "Q-ship" team of undercover agents that includes Jimmy & Brenda Crane.

Many other clubs are fielding top teams, including Bay Head YC from New Jersey (Russ Lucas, Mike Fortenbaugh and Peter Wright); Carolina YC from South Carolina; Edgartown YC from Massachusetts; Fishing Bay YC from Virginia; Florida YC from Jacksonville, Florida; Grand Maumelle SC from Little Rock, Arkansas; Grand Traverse YC from Michigan; Indian Harbor YC from Greenwich, Connecticut; Larchmont YC from New York (Danny Pletsch, Clay Bischoff and Cardwell Potts); Little Traverse YC from Harbor Springs, Michigan; Nantucket YC from Massachusetts; Newport Harbor YC from California; Pequot YC from Connecticut (Dave Rosow and two Dellenbaugh's); San Francisco YC from California; Seattle YC from Washington; Texas Corinthian YC from Kemah, Texas; and Youngstown YC from New York.  The competition promises to be fast, furious and extremely competitive.  Last time around, packs of boats were rounding marks en-masse leading to massive changes around every corner of the race track-- it was a bit like the children's game- "Chutes & Ladders"!  Anything that can happen, will happen.   For more New York YC Invitational Qualifying Series sailing information

J/70 Wins Sportboats- Cowes Week

* STOP PRESS!!  New J/70 Wins Sportsboat Class on Day 6 at Cowes Week.  The first J/70 to arrive in the UK on Thursday (August 16th) sailed in winds of up to 19 knots. The crew included Key Yachting staff and was helmed by J/39 owner Jonty Layfield.

After a disappointing start on the squadron line, the J/70 began its upwind beat at the back of the 18 strong fleet. Upwind speed was good, we soon overhauled the 707s, J/80s, Beneteau 25 and some 1720s. Leg two was a beam reach across the Solent and the first boat round did not set a chute initially as the angle looked a bit shy. The second boat round was a Bavaria B1 being sailed by a top J/80 crew. These guys and two 1720s set their spinnakers and we followed suit.

This was where the J/70 came into its own. Tearing away from its nearby competition, the little sportsboat charged after the frontrunners who had gained some distance in the first beat. The third leg was a run which we sailed from beginning to end on a high octane plane, interspersed with the odd wipe out before we learnt the best jibing technique. We caught and passed the B1, planed through the lee of the leading 1720, and found ourselves in second place on the water to the higher rated Viper 640.

Another long beat to the Western Solent, allowed us to stretch our lead on the B1. This was followed by a full foam up plane back to Cowes for the finish. The final few hundred metres were incredibly tense as the wind faded in the lee of the land. Upon taking our finishing gun, our rough calculation told us that the Viper had won, but our second place looked secure. We then received a very welcome phone call from a J/111 crew, to congratulate us on our victory! We were absolutely delighted with the win, and thrilled by the speed of the J/70, in particular on the high octane downwind legs.

The J/70 travels to Plymouth this August 18th-19th weekend for the next leg of her debut tour!  Come join us!  Contact J/UK at info@j-uk.com.

New J/70 Sailors- Tim Healy & Family

(Newport, RI and Cascade Locks, Oregon)- New J/70 owners include, amongst others, Tim Healy from Quantum Sails. He and his sons recently went for a daysail on their J/70 in Newport, RI this past week.  As Tim passed along, "Timmy and Nathaniel Healy were having a cool time on a hot August day, they loved this boat.  We're looking forward to having them as part of our regular crew soon!  Key West here we come! :)" 

Meanwhile, some other J/70 sailors were enjoying their maiden voyages on the far side of America, in the northwest corner to be more specific.  "Seabird" (Scott Grealish) as his "nom de plume" goes on SA had this to say- "We have sailed hull#18 in Cascade Locks, OR (the Gorge) the past few weeks. I've sailed the boat with my kids and the local pros and my view is that the boat is very versatile. I really could sail it alone with my 11 year old daughter in 10-15kn, and the next night go out with guys in more breeze and have fun both nights.

Re: lee helm. I spoke with Dan kaseler (quantum Seattle) who was on the boat at WIRW and confirmed they went 1" longer than their forestay to get helm in light air at WIRW. We found (limited experience on the boat) that in the breeze we like 1" shorter than the "designed" length. This is a new boat and I'm sure some experience in one design will sort this out soon. Definitely feels closer to my Laser than my old J80 on the helm at any length :)

It's really a nicely built boat that's pretty quick and fun, yet less of a handful than a Melges 24 ( which is a good thing for the target audience, myself included). Resale value will be good. Casual daysailing is possible. My kids actually think the interior is great. My wife is not reluctant to sail the boat. I think they are going to sell these to a wide range of sailors and develop a nice class long term. Lots to like here."

J/70 Whidbey Island Race Week report

(Seattle, WA)- An update from Bob Ross - "The J/70 crew had a great time.  They won almost every start and in the light and fluky winds and were still to the top mark in the top three every race.  Downwind they struggled against the more powered up boats.  Except for Monday the wind never got above 8 knots.  Check out the size  difference between the Rocket 22 & J/70.  And then there was the Dart with a favorable PHRF rating.  The Dart was sailing with the crew hiked out to keep the boat flat in 7 kts TWS while the J/70 had one crew to leeward.  If there was 10 kts TWS or higher the J/70 would have dominated her class.  The three J/80s in the class were 4th , 7th and 9th.

J/70 Crushes Youngstown

(Youngstown, New York)- For the past decade the Youngstown YC has hosted the popular "Youngstown Level Regatta" for a variety of classes.  Over time, it has evolved to address the needs of local racers for both handicap sailing (PHRF and IRC) as well as one-design racers.  This year the sailors were treated to a combination of great sailing (as memorialized by Tim Wilkes great photography- timwilkes.com), great committee work (as demonstrated by few complaints from competitors) and great fun on shore-side festivities (as manifested by a few morning headaches described by a number of crews).

Out of the 150-odd boats in attendance in this corner of New York on Lake Ontario, there were at least 28 J/Teams seen sailing in the vicinity that had managed to honor the local YYC SI's, paid, scored themselves, and walked off with a haul of silverware worthy of good pirates pillaging the Spanish Main off Cuba in the days of old.

Starting with the local J/One-Design fleets, the J/24s had a nice turn-out with some well-known teams like HOWARTH HAMMER sailed by Mike Howarth finishing 1st overall.  Second was a VERY well known local team called MR BUMPY sailed by Kevin McAuley and third was the J/24 JOKER sailed by AJ Ficcardi.  From what we've heard from the local Newport J/24 fleet, "beware", party-animals all these guys are!

In the local J/105 fleet on Lake Ontario, it's clear they take their one-design quite seriously.  What's amazing was to see that a J/105 North American's contender Jim Rathbun was eclipsed by another local sailor, Peter Hall.  Both solid teams, strong sailors.  In the end, Peter's JAMAICA ME CRAZY gangsta's took the gold medal.  Jim's well-seasoned, fast crew on HEY JUDE had to settle for a 2nd to these characters.  Then, another good team in the form of Terry Michaelson's THE USUAL SUSPECTS had to settle for a less than usual 3rd place.

The IRC Fleet has continued to grow over the course time as sailors have looked for better ways to handicap themselves.  This year's event continues to see the fleets diversify and get tighter as the sailors learn (like the J/35 fleet in particular) how to optimize and go even faster.  In IRC 1 Class, it was the J/133 HOT WATER sailed by John McLeod that managed a 4th in class.  In IRC 2, the new gorgeous J/111 LAKE EFFECT sailed by Bob Hesse sailed to a solid 4th overall as they learned how to sail their boat faster and faster.  In IRC 3 the J/109s also hung in there for some great performances, including the J/109 MOCCASIN skippered by Ed Werner to a 4th place overall and the J/109 LIVELY sailed by Murray Gainer to a 5th in class.  For the IRC 4 class, the J/35s simply smoked their "comp", taking 2 of 3 in class with the J/35 CRIME SCENE skippered by J/35 superstar Stephen Trevitt 1st place followed by fellow partner in crime, the J/35 JAEGER skippered by Leszek Siek in 3rd place.

Next in the PHRF handicap world, it was nice to see that in PHRF 1 the J/100 SQUIRMY Joe O'Brien sailed well in their class. So did the new J/70 JUNIOR in PHRF 2 sailed by Morgan Paxhia & Tim Finkle, garnering an unprecedented 1st in class.  In PHRF 3 the J/Teams nearly swept class, with 1st going to the J/34 SOUND WAVE sailed by Fred White, 2nd going to the J/35c MOONRISE skippered by David Braitsch and 4th going to another sistership J35c ROGUE WAVE guided by Doug Clarke.  Next up was PHRF 4 that was simply smoked by some fast-sailing, fast-talking, very clever J/27 sailors.  Three of the Top 5?  Wow.  Way cool.  Awesome, perhaps?  Yeaaah.  So, top dog in 1st was the J/27 NORTHERN SEITZ sailed by the veteran of Lake Ontario sailing wars Mike Seitx. Next up on the podium in 3rd was the J/27 SHADES OF AVALON directed by Peter Winkelstein. Not disappointing his classmates in 4th was the J/27 MESSING ABOUT conducted by Andre Beese.  Can't imagine a more fun group of sailors having fun in some incredibly fast, "classic" J/27s.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes    For more Youngstown Regatta sailing results

J/109 Wins J/Cup Overall

J/111 J-DREAM Wins Tie-breaker!
(Southampton, England)- On Saturday morning the fleet at the 2012 J-Cup Driven by MIQ Logistics headed off the dock to complete the final races in this 63 boat regatta. Tony Lovell and his team from the Royal Southern Yacht Club ensured that each of the six classes got two races away in a northerly breeze, moving left and building to 22 knots in the gusts as the day developed. By 16.00 hours all J-Cup challenges had been settled, two National Championships had been won and the winner of the 2012 J-Cup had been decided.

Mike & Jamie Holmes team on Jika Jika had led the Lombard J/97 UK National Championship fleet from the start of the event. At the first gun on Saturday morning Jika Jika had 6 points on the sheet, Grant Gordon’s Fever was just three behind on 9 and Stuart Sawyer s Black Dog had 12. The team on Jika Jika have done plenty of sailing together over the last few seasons and two more race wins were the result on Saturday: Mike, Jamie and crew triumphed and won the Lombard J/97 UK National Championship convincingly with a net score of just 8 points. Fever took the silver slot with 15 points and Black Dog took the bronze medal and also the North Sails Boat of the Day prize for this class.

With 24 boats taking part the largest class racing at the 2012 J-Cup was racing for the J/109 UK National Championship supported by Sebago. Whilst Steven Tapper ’s Stalker had held the top slot for the duration of the regatta, they did not make it easy for themselves on the last day. In fact the top five boats in this fleet all had a monumental tussle on Saturday with three of them posting (and discarding) their worse results of the whole regatta. Not surprisingly and there were several changes in the rankings. Jonathan Calascione and Johnnie Goodwin’s Harlequin put in the best performance of the whole fleet with a 1, 2 score on Saturday and this earned them the North Sails Boat of the Day prize. Never having to count a score outside the top seven across the eight races sailed, ultimately it was the team on Stalker who finished at the top of the podium and who were pronounced the new J/109 UK National Champions, supported by Sebago. Harlequin took silver, Mike and Sarah Wallis took the bronze in Jahmali, Paul Griffith’s Jagerbomb was fourth overall and Tony Dicken’s Jubilee finished fifth.

David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J/111 J-Dream left the dock on Saturday with 9 points on their card, a two point advantage over Didier Le Moal’s J Lance on 11 points and nerves must have been jangling, especially when Race 7 (the first race of the day) was won by Jamie Arnell’s Jeez Louise, with J-Lance in second. Now the gap between J-Dream and J Lance was down to just one point. The final race of the series was smashed by J Lance and J-Dream took second. So… two J/111s on equal points at the top of the Class : exactly the same situation in which these two boats found themselves at Spi Ouest regatta earlier this year… This time however it was the J-Dream team who took the Class win on count-back. J Lance was second overall and Duncan McDonald and Phil Thomas ’ Shmokin Joe were third. J Lance won the North Sails Boat of the Day prize.

The J/133s and the J/122s raced in IRC 1 at the 2012 J-Cup and the predominantly Solent based fleet included Mick Holland and Carolyn Aylmer’s J/122 Majic form Guernsey along with Herman Bergshaven’s J/133 Madjus from Norway. Having led the regatta since Race 1 Ian Dewhirst and his team on the J/133 Jump stole the gold in IRC 1 finishing with just 8 points. Robert and Jackie Dobson settled for silver in their J/133 Jeronimo and Ivan Trotman took the bronze and the North Sails Boat of the Day prize in IRC 1.

Having had a sticky start to the 2012 J-Cup, the current holders of the coveted silverware Andy Howe and Annie Kelly found improving form throughout the regatta sailing their J/92 Blackjack in IRC 2. Scoring just four points in the final races on Saturday was enough to secure them the North Sails Boat of the Day prize but it was Richard Sainsbury’s team on his J/92 Bojangles who won the class overall from Blackjack in second and Richard Sparrows’s Who’s to No from Ramsgate in third place overall.

The J/80 Class all enjoyed the building breeze and planning conditions on Saturday, and Chris Ducker ’s SLAM finally found some decent form for which the crew were nominated as North Sails Boat of the day. Patrick Liardet’s Aqua J also had a fabulous day and won both races but neither SLAM nor Aqua-J were able to knock Stewart Hawthorn’s J’ai 2 Amours off the highest podium position and the results at the end of the day were J’ai 2 Amours in first, Aqua-J second and SLAM third overall.

The Prize-giving dinner and party for the 2012 J-Cup Driven by MIQ Logistics took place at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday night and 400 competitors were in attendance. Prizes were presented by generous sponsors for first to third place in all classes and for first to fifth for the J/109 UK National Championship fleet. Following a very quick (and debilitating) round of SLAMbucca, armfuls of silverware, glassware, Wight Vodka and caps, SLAM clothes, bags, gifts and Harken goodies galore were offered up to those who were lucky enough to finish on the podium. Then, as has now become the norm at the J-Cup, a number of other very special prizes were also presented.

The Dubarry Boot for Endurance was awarded to David Richards of the J/109 Jumping Jellyfish. David and his crew are regatta stalwarts and do more racing, covering more nautical miles than most in their J/109 and if there is a J Boat regatta to be done, David will be there, fully supportive of the fleet and of the organising team. The second Dubarry Boot, this one for Outstanding Achievement, was presented to Jim Dick of the J/97 Jackaroo. Jim was the founding Chairman of the J/97 UK Class Association and has been responsible for building cohesion in the class and for championing one-design racing. He also won the Scottish Series overall in Jackaroo in 2011, helping in no small way to put the boat on the regatta map.

The Musketeer Trophy is presented for the best two boat team from differing classes and the scores are weighted according to the size of the Class in which each boat competes. This year it was won by the J-Dream (winners of the eight boat J/111 Class) and Harlequin (placed second overall in the 24 boat J/109 Class). The trophy itself is a beautiful silver double Champagne ice-bucket and the winners must return it topped with Champagne at the 2013 J-Cup.

B&G has been a principal sponsor of the J-Cup for ten years and this year a voucher for £3,000 of electronic equipment was on offer. This is clearly a major prize and it went to Mike and Sarah Wallis from Jahmali. Mike and Sarah are valuable long-term members of the J/109 Class; Mike sits on the Committee as the Technical Representative, Sarah organised the Class Party earlier this year. They are competitive racing sailors who each share their well defined sense of fair play and friendship with the other owners and crew in their fleet and are deserving and popular winners of the B&G prize.

In addition to all of the other prizes and trophies presented at the J-Cup, this year there was another rather special one to add to the list. ‘H’ Poole was a well known J Boat sailor, all round top bloke and friend to many of us in the fleet. He was tragically killed in a crash between two RAF Tornado aircraft a few weeks ago. Some of H’s closest mates and colleagues who were racing at the J-Cup wanted to present a trophy in his honour and it was a privilege to have H’s partner Beth at the party on Saturday to present the prize. It was awarded for an "individual performance by someone who knew no limits" and fittingly it was presented to Nick Cherry: erstwhile J Boat Sailor (who was racing with Jumping Jellyfish again this year) and who is a recently returned hero of the Figaro single handed series.

The overall and most coveted prize of the whole regatta is the J-Cup itself, a relatively modest piece of silverware by comparison with some of the other beautiful trophies which are contested at the event. In eleven years of running the J-Cup regatta, the J-Cup has never been awarded to the same boat or the same team, twice. A simple piece of silverware it may be but it embodies the soul of the J-Cup regatta and of the unique spirit of friendship, competition and camaraderie which exists between J Boat owners. The overall winner of the 2012 J-Cup Driven by MIQ logistics was Steven Tapper and his crew on Stalker. A determined and focussed progress up through the J/109 rankings over the last three years or so and now a National Championship win in a 24 boat fleet: yes, that’s an impressive result and an extremely deserving J-Cup win.

With thanks to all of the sponsors of the 2012 J-Cup, not least the title sponsor MIQ Logistics, but also to our supporting sponsors SLAM, B&G, North Sails, Dubarry of Ireland, Coast Graphics, Harken UK, Lombard, Sebago and Wight Vodka.  All of the results and information about the 2012 J-Cup Driven by MIQ Logistics can be found online at www.sailracer.org/jcup and the 2013 event will be held in the West Country in August next year.   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com   For more J/Cup sailing information

My First J/70 Sailing Experience- by Flackster

(Stonington, CT)-  New J/70 owner "Flackster (SA pen name)- had this to say about his first experience sailing with his family in a local regatta- "Thought I would chime in on a bit of sailing we did with a J/70 this weekend. My wife and I have bought a boat that will be delivered in time for Key West. We were lucky enough to come up with a J70 to try this past weekend in the local Mudhead regatta here in CT.

Let's start by saying the reason I wanted this boat was to be able to race it BOTH loaded up with my rockstar homies AND my family at different events. My homies are all ex college sailors who are still at the top of their game. My family is a 7 year old boy, 10 year old girl, and wife of unknown age. The kids have been sailing opti's for a few years and have more experience then the wife.

For the homies I knew events like Key West and Charleston will be a blast... I mean we have fun sailing Shields, Swans, and anything in between... so as long as there are 20 plus boats... we will have a blast like we always do. Must say I am better at crushing the tent party now then I am on the water these days.

The family part I was not so sure of. So sailing the boat this weekend offered me a good look. Right off the bat I was happy with the fact I was rigged and sailing in 1 hour. For a first timer with a new boat that was pretty good. I needed to find a friend to hoist the mast, but after that all the jobs were done by the family. My 7 year old son lowered the keel with our battery drill. Have to say that is a way better system then any other lifting keel boat I have sailed. On the water the boat was stable and solid and made my family feel pretty comfortable on the sail out. While racing my daughter trimmed the jib, my son did the pole controls, and my wife grabbed the spin sheet and said "So you let this out till it curls then pull it in right?" and we were off. The kids managed to take the chute down with some early drops and for a first day out I thought the crew work was really easy for everyone. Most of the controls have lots of purchase so everyone could adjust what was needed as we talked about what and why we were doing it.

The breeze was about 6-10k for two 5 mile races. My wife flew the chute all day, and in the last leg of the last race I even give her a break and flew the chute while driving... almost like a laser. She got the hang of jibing it as well... and if I turned the boat right, and controlled the main, our jibes were actually pretty good.

My kids took turns diving the boat between races and felt right at home cruising around the start line.

Things I liked... purchase everywhere and ease of controls. It will be easy for anyone to crew or drive on this boat. I'll still have to see if the winch is really needed in big breeze as we did not need it on this day. The high boom made seeing the course obvious for both the crew and driver and was really easy to tack and jibe under for everyone. Fun to be able to show the kids what was going on down to leeward and teach them a bit about how the race was developing. The boat had plenty of power upwind to feel lively in these conditions.

Things I'm not sure of... the size of the chute. I'm not sure if a bigger chute would help the boat be more fun in lighter conditions. We heated it up a ton in 10k and the wife could still fly it fine. With the winch I'm thinking some more sail area might add to the wow factor off the wind for everyone.

Things my wife did not like... legs out hiking. If she had one thing she would change it would be to not have to swing her legs in and out of the boat. She thought that was a bit hard with the low lifelines and she was a lot more comfortable sitting legs in. I have to say legs in driving with that padded lifeline was very cosy.

All in all the next photo is of 3/4's of the team AFTER the last race. The kids are already circling regatta's like the St Pete and Annapolis NOODs where they want to Road Trip to! Might be a battle between the Family and the Homies for future regatta dates! A great problem to have!

As for speed and results... if it was a 50 boat OD fleet I think we would have been about 40th and about 3 min behind the leaders. We lost to some pretty well sailed Vipers and a M24 by about 5 min, and beat an ok sailed J80 one race, they beat us the next. All in all I did not buy this boat with the idea of ever sailing PHRF again."

First J/70 Midwinters @ Key West!

(Key West, FL)- It’s official!  The first J/70 Midwinters will be taking place at Quantum Key West 2013 Race Week this coming January.  In support of the worldwide launch of this exciting new class, Premiere-Racing will provide a stand-alone J/70 racing circle just west of Sunset Key (only a 20 minute sail from the Truman Annex launch ramp).

A special entry fee of $700 includes ramp-launching and trailer storage at the Truman Annex for the week, which will be a big help for those looking to “do Key West” on a budget. For dealers/owners looking to ship their new boats directly to Key West from Rhode Island, there will be an opportunity to share trucking expense as part of a multi-boat shipment.  Please let us know if you are interested and we’ll circulate information as soon as it’s available. Once the boats are in Key West, there will also be delivery and storage services available for the rest of the J/70 circuit events following Key West-- St. Pete NOOD Regatta in February, Bacardi Sailing Week in March, Charleston Race Week in April, and Annapolis NOOD Regatta in May.  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J/70 UK Sailing Tour

(Hamble, England)- The first J/70 arrived in the UK last weekend and has already been causing quite a stir in the Solent. Local sailors were able to get their first glimpse of the long awaited high-performance one design at the J-Cup 2012, generating much shore-side chatter about the possibility of a J/70 class of its own for 2013.  This week the J/70 will embark upon a tour of the biggest marinas in the South and West Country. Her first stop will be Royal Harbour Marina in Ramsgate, coinciding with Ramsgate Week. Her tour will come to a close in Dartmouth in early September, just in time to arrive back home for the Southampton Boat Show.  The J/70 Tour dates are the following:

Ramsgate: 2nd – 3rd August Royal Harbour Marina
Hamble: 4th – 10th August Port Hamble Marina
Cowes Week: 11th – 17th August Cowes Yacht Haven
Plymouth: 18th-19th August Queen Anne’s Battery
Fowey Week: 19th-25th August TBC
Dartmouth Week: 30th August – 2nd September Royal Dart Yacht Club
Hamble: 3rd – 13th September Port Hamble Marina
Southampton Boat Show: 14th – 23rd September

For anyone considering a J/70 for the 2013 season, trial sails will be available on all of the dates enumerated above.  For those interested in arranging a sail, please call Key Yachting on +44-2380-455669 or email- gemma@keyyachting.com.

J/70 48 North Review

(Seattle, WA)- Dan Kaseler and team for 48 North magazine took the first J/70 on Puget Sound out sailing in the last three weeks to both test the boat and get prepared for racing PHRF Class in Whidbey island Race Week.  The team were able to sail in a wide variety of weather conditions, from drifting to low 20s on the wind-scale.  Please be sure to read more about their experience, you can download the J/70 48 North sailing review PDF article here.    For more 48 North J/70 sailing review info

DELIRIUM Reigns @ Whidbey Island

(Oak Harbor, Washington)- After a Thursday afternoon of sunshine and breeze and an evening of music and food in the rum tent on the lawn of the Oak Harbor Yacht Club, the racers aboard the 115 race boats competing in Whidbey Island Race Week 2012 stumbled from their nearby tents and returned to the waters of Penn Cove the morning of Friday, July 20 for one final day of fun.

The J/105s always put on a Corinthian show of good sportsmanship and solid competition and WIRW 2012 was no exception, with bullets sprinkled among the fleet, and daily awards going to almost each of the eight entries. But it was Jerry Diercks and his Pacific Northwest posse aboard DELIRIUM who walked away with the big win at the end. The three amigos campaigning Corinthian Yacht Club-Portland’s FREE BOWL OF SOUP (Doug Schenk, Eric Hopper & Matt Davis) took second overall with 24 points. And just one point behind stood Bellevue, Washington, based Erik Kristen and his JUBILEE.

In PHRF Class P2, representing Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, Jack Prentice and his crack crew of kids and adults aboard the J/109 DIVA took an early lead and never looked back (though they threw a rare fifth place in at the end of the week’s racing just to sandbag a bit). Third place was anybody’s guess, and in a suspenseful finish to the week’s racing—finally earning a bullet—it was S. Adam Korbin’s J/109, ASTRAL PLANE and his crazy Canadian crew from Royal Vancouver YC who celebrated their bronze win like partiers of an Olympic caliber.  Joe James J/109 TANTIVY was fourth and the J/35 GRACE E sailed by Brian White was 6th.

Yet another tie-breaker was needed to decide the overall finisher in PHRF Class P3 with Bob Mayfield and Pat Nelson’s J/29 Slick taking second, with just ten points. Fourth was the J/33 CORVO sailed by Tom Kerr and 5th was Pat Denney's J/29 HERE & NOW.

In PHRF 8 class, the J/70 DA SPENCER sailed by Mike Pitt managed to hang tough, doing better race-by-race to earn a well-deserved 4th.  Just behind in 5th was the J/80 TAJ MAHAL sailed by David Schutte with yet another J/80 SKYE ROCKET sailed by Bill McKinnon on 7th.  For more Whidbey Island Race Week sailing information