J/70's Sail Travemunde Week

Great Racing in Bundesliga Between German Clubs (Travemunde, Germany)- The J/70 Bundesliga yacht club participants were looking forward to sailing on Travemunde's famous bay on the Baltic Sea; renown for the sea-breeze that often fills in the afternoon at 10-15 kts from the northeasterly quadrants- often oscillating from 40 to 75 degrees.

The second regatta of the Bundesliga took place in front of Lübeck, sailing in a "stadium-style" racing right along the Travemunde waterfront.  The regatta organizers did a fabulous job of running thirty races for three flights over the two days for the eighteen teams that were competing.  The weather Gods cooperated, offering up sunny days with nice sea-breezes every afternoon-- that's what the chamber of commerce promised, right!?

Demonstrating how close the competition was for all the teams, the top three was determined on a three-way tie-breaker with 25 pts total each.  Winning the regatta with most firsts was the Bayerischer YC, second was the North German Regatta Association and third was YC Berlin Grunau.

"The leading clubs are all sailing on the same level. Everybody has won races and sometimes have also landed back in the field," says Walter Roth sailing with Yacht Club Berlin Grunau.  And, he adds that "having short, fast consecutive races means bad ones are quickly forgotten!  The BYC team with skipper Christian Schäfer and crew John Kaske, Philip Hibler and Walter Roth have been improving constantly.  Their victory in Travemünde means we now move into second place in the overall Bundesliga series!"

The YC Berlin Grunau continues to lead the Bundesliga series as a result of their third place finish in Travemunde. "For us, everything went as planned. We defended our championship lead and want to continue our good performance in the next regatta in Hamburg," said the team manager of YCBG.

The second place team in Travemünde, the North German Regatta Association, underlined their ambitions in the Bundesliga. "We're used to match race sailing, but we quickly adapt to these exciting new boats- the J/70s. This has definitely helped us on the first day of racing," explains Florian Weser. He generally match races with his teammates Klaas Höpcke and Niklas Meyerinck. "The NRV team is now ranked third in the Bundesliga series and we intend to get better!" added helmsman Johannes Polgar.

As one of the primary sponsors of the Bundesliga series sailed on J/70s, SAP's Sail-TV has been providing both locally live TV broadcasts as well as live internet broadcasts on-line.  The popularity of the event not only throughout Germany, but across Europe, has been increasing dramatically!  Watch for other versions of this J/70 circuit in other European countries next year!  Sailing Photo credits- Lars Wehrmann   For more J/70 Bundesliga sailing information   For more Travemunde Woche sailing information

Ullman Wins Fiesta Cup J/70s

(Santa Barbara, CA)- As they have for the past six years, Santa Barbara YC's gracious team of volunteers pulled out the red carpet for all crews sailing their famous Fiesta Cup Regatta. With PRO Brad Schaupeter coordinating on-water activities and Regatta Chair-woman Jane Watkins looking after the ever so popular on-shore festivities, the host's promise of a fun regatta with great sailing exceeded most sailors expectations.

The sailing was about as challenging as many of the locals have seen for the event.  Saturday's forecast was for light winds from the S-SW.  However, with the "June gloom" fog dissipating early, cool Pacific waters in the low 60s, and razor-clear blue skies, the classic WSW winds the area is renowned for settled in- starting in the 195-210 degree range early afternoon and swinging as far as 250-270 degrees in late afternoon.  Perhaps critically for many, the amount of loose kelp and weed in the water was enough to create a lot of headaches for many crews trying to shed that speed-destroying stuff.

For the J/70 class, it was a weather/ wind scenario often seen by local champion Dave Ullman, who managed to rattle off a 1-2-3 to take the early lead.  Just behind them was Craig Tallman's team on JAYA with a 5-1-2 and the duo of Tom Jenkins & Eric Kownacki on DFZ in third with a 4-5-1.

Sunday dawned with a completely different scenario for the fleets as there was the remnants of an offshore hurricane coming up the coast of Mexico that weakened dramatically into a mushy Low pressure system, but still spun high-level clouds and gradient winds into the region from the ESE quadrants.  The winds were shifting erratically from 150 to 180 degrees with significant wind streaks ranging from 4 to 8 kts; plus toss in a few weed/ kelp "pods" that were sometimes impassable, meant only one thing for the J/70 and J/105 fleets-- chaos.

Despite the crazy conditions, Dave Ullmans' J/70 team hung on for the class win.  And, previous day's second place team also managed to do the same- Jenkins/ Kownacki on DFZ- to secure second place with a strong 2-1 showing in the last two races.  Just behind them was a different story with Kenny Kieding's SMOKE & MIRRORS sailing a brilliant first race to win and taking a 4th in the second race of the day to take the third position on the podium by just one point.

As many have come to appreciate over the past few years, the Fiesta Party on Saturday night delivered on great music (good band!) and plenty of tasty Tex/Mex tidbits to satisfy the hungriest of sailors.  Plus, having plenty of free beverages supplied by regatta sponsors Fess Parker's Winery and Vineyard and Cerveza Pacifico added to the overall camaraderie on the beach in front of the yacht club.   Sailing photo credits- Jane Watkins/ Taggart Lee  For more Santa Barbara YC Fiesta Cup sailing information

Big J/70 Fleet Sailing Youngstown Regatta

(Youngstown, NY)- It what may be the 40th, and last, Youngstown Level Regatta hosted by the Youngstown YC, sailors in the northeast have showed up 180 boats strong to celebrate a wonderful four decades of summer sailing tradition at the western end of Lake Ontario.

The J/70 class debut is making a huge splash with sixteen teams showing up as the largest fleet in the event.  Notable New York locals sailing are Tim Finkle on JUNIOR, Marty McKenna on USA 168, Don Finkle on SEAWEED and Kris Werner sailing SUPERFECTA.  Visiting sailors that could give them lots of headaches will be past J/80 World Champion Kerry Klingler sailing MENACE; Morgan Paxhia sailing PENNY PINCHER from Newport, RI; J/24 champion sailor Marc Pincus sailing PIPISTRELLO from Miami, FL; Ed Furry from Culver, IN sailing SAIL22 FALE;  Martin Kullman skippering TOUCH 2 PLAY from St Petersburg, FL; Andy Papierz sailing DYANMO from Port Credit, ONT, Canada; and Brandon Flack from Stonington, CT driving TORQEEDO.  For more Youngstown Level Regatta sailing information

J/70 New England's Preview

(Marblehead, MA)- This year's Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD regatta will also be featuring the inaugural J/70 New England Championship, hosted by the famous trio of yacht clubs in the harbor- Eastern YC, Boston YC and Corinthian YC.  In addition to the J/70 class there will be fleets of J/105s and J/24s participating.  Of the 150+ sailboats participating, by far the largest brand represented are J's with 42 boats (28% of the fleet) sailing in the waters off Marblehead.  The wind forecast for Friday looks a bit "iffy" as a large Low pressure system offshore will be pumping Northeasterly winds into the harbor all day, with steadily increasing winds forecast to hit 20-30 kts by late evening Friday. The scene inside the harbor may be "touch & go" with huge waves rolling into the docks, making launch and recovery a bit delicate, one might say!

A fair number of recent J/70 regatta winners will be participating amongst the fleet of seventeen J/70s.  They include the winners of St Pete NOOD, Charleston, Annapolis NOOD, Bacardi Newport, Cal Race Week and Long Beach Race Week-- Joel Ronning on CATAPULT and Bennet Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE!  Tough hombres these guys are!  Several locals will be quite competitive in their home waters, including Etchells 22 World Champion Jud Smith sailing with his wife Cindy, Dave Franzel on SPRING, Tyler Doyle and Ted Johnson on VITAMIN J.  Notably, two women skipper/owners will be sailing, including Newporter Suzy Leech on JUNKANOO and Nancy Glover on WINTER WIND from Marblehead.  Finally, the "long distance" award may have already been won by the German team on ROSAROTER PINGUIN led by Juergen Waldheim from Berlin!   For more J/70 New England's & Marblehead NOOD sailing information

J/70 Teams Love Bacardi Newport Regatta

(Newport, RI)- As has been the tradition for years, the SailNewport team led by Brad Read and a select group of PRO's provided excellent race management over the course of the two-day Bacardi Newport Regatta to ensure most classes had four good races.

As the largest fleet in the regatta, remarkable considering it's "the new kid on the block", the J/70s managed to put twenty-two boats on the line for a highly competitive and fun event. Perhaps most importantly, the fleet has demonstrated that newcomers to the fleet can be quite competitive against earlier season "veterans" and sail quite well.  Following on earlier season success, Joel Ronning's CATAPULT team from Lake Minnetonka, MN sailed well with a 1-7-7-1 series for 16 pts to just beat out Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE team that sported a 9-4-2-2 scoreline for 17 pts-- it all came down to who-beat-who in the last race.  Taking third was Bennet Greenwald with a 4-1-6-10 tally for 21 pts-- fresh off wins on the Pacific Coast at Cal Race Week and Long Beach Race Week.  Dave Franzel's SPRING sailed a solid series, capturing a consistent 6-8-5-4 for 23 pts for fourth and lying fifth was newcomers TOUCH 2 PLAY sailed by Martin Kullman with a 5-6-1-12 record for 24 pts (nearly pulling off an overall win in their first try were it not for the last race "bomber" race!).  For more Bacardi Newport Sailing information

J/70 Regatta Updates

(Newport, RI)- After a strong showing at recent summer regattas, J/70 sailors along the eastern seaboard of America should consider the J/70 New England Championship in Marblehead, MA as well as the Fall Fling Regatta in Hampton, VA held after the J/70 North Americans in Annapolis, MD.

J/70 East Coast sailors should have a wonderful time sailing in the Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD Regatta, as they're simultaneously hosting the J/70 New England Championship over the July 26-28 (Friday-Sunday) weekend.  Over a dozen boats are already registered including a German team.  So if you're are looking for a chance to get in a good weekend of racing at the end of July, head on up to Marblehead for one of the true Mid-Summer classics.  Plus, the J/70 teams will be able to launch their boats at Eastern Yacht Club at no cost and should be able to either raft up on the Pleon Yacht Club floats or share moorings that will be available through the Eastern Yacht Club.

Later in the fall, Hampton Yacht Club is hosting the J/70 class in their Fall Fling Regatta held from November 16th to 17th.  One of the best fall regattas you can participate anywhere on the East Coast-- the water is still warm, the southern hospitality even warmer and gracious and it has to be one of the most fun regattas socially for those who have ever experienced what it's like to sail in the southern Chesapeake Bay area.  Furthermore, a "best practices/ tuning /what-we-have-learned" clinic will be provided to J/70 sailors as part of the regatta held the day before the regatta on Friday, November 15th.  Please be sure to contact Steve Taylor at email- Steve.Taylor@wartsiladefense.com.  For more J/70 one-design regatta information, please visit the J70 class site

Fiesta Cup Regatta Preview

J/70s Debut Strong Fleet Sailing
(Santa Barbara, CA)- J/70s will be making their debut in the Santa Barbara YC's 7th annual Fiesta Cup Regatta, one of the more renown West Coast events on the California summer sailing schedule.  The Fiesta Cup is a popular event for a number of reasons; the Santa Barbara YC provides excellent race management for the sailors and, perhaps most importantly, hosts the fabulously fun Fiesta Party on Saturday night.  Regatta Chairman Jane Watkins promises a celebration of all delicious things Mexican- margaritas, tacos, music and other deliciously tasty tidbits and beverages supplied by Fess Parker's Winery and Vineyard and Cerveza Pacifico.

With nine boats sailing, the J/70s should see fun, competitive sailing in the windy, wavy, sunny conditions Santa Barbara offers sailors.  With WNW breezes and often 4-6 foot storm-driven ocean swells running around the point, the J/70s should enjoy extended surfing and pretty wild "planing mode" rides when conditions permit-- hopefully, avoiding the monster kelp that often has a nasty habit of finding rudders and keels and wrapping themselves around your boat at the most inopportune time!  Sailing will be a combination of notable locals like Dave Ullman, Ken Kieding on SMOKE & MIRRORS, George Moll on DEVIANT, Eli Parker & Mike Drammer on ECLIPSE and John Coye on SLOOP JOHN B.  Visiting sailors include Craig Tallman on JAYA, Tom Jenkins & Eric Kownacki on DFZ and Dan Gribble & Kurt Wiese on GO-RILLA.  For more Santa Barbara YC Fiesta Cup sailing information

J/70 Newport Cup Experience

(Jamestown, RI)- Nick Johnstone (son of Peter J of Gunboats fame and varsity sailor on the College of Charleston Sailing Team) is interning at the J/Boats office for summer 2013, enjoying a wide variety of experiences regards business, boat building & design, sales, marketing, maintenance and so forth.  Recently, Nick and friends had a chance to do some demo sails and also participate in the famous IYAC Newport Cup Race-- the highly popular "around Jamestown Island" race of about 21nm.  Here's Nick's account as a "virgin round islander" sailing the J/70:
"The Newport Cup Around Jamestown Island race was put on and hosted with ease and incredible organization by IYAC and its sponsors. The weather couldn’t have been better and a nice light, but building southwesterly breeze filled the harbor for the start.

The J-70 was fortunate to get a handful of boats entered in the regatta. I put together a crew of friends all currently on the college sailing circuit and we were all excited sail together. None of them had prior experience in the boat, but with the simplicity offered by the J-70 deck plan, they were quickly able to figure out their roles and what was required of each other.

Before going out, I happened to make possibly the single biggest mistake before racing a keelboat regatta. I forgot to clean the bottom. The bottom hadn’t been cleaned in over 4 weeks, which is an incredibly long time for a non-drysailed keelboat with no bottom paint. My friend Bobby went over and tried to clean a bit of it off with an extra t-shirt we had before racing, but the scum had amassed to so much that he used up an entire T-shirt cleaning just an eighth of the bottom of the boat and we were running out of time. The bottom reminded me of what the bottom of the Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean must look like. It was very bad. So key advice to anyone racing, clean you’re bottom!

The second we cast off the mooring, I could feel the boat stick to the water and I knew right away this was going to be a long race. We got off the line and tacked out on a nice lane on port out to the right side of the course, but with the growth on the bottom of our boat in the light air and big chop, we might as well have thrown out an anchor. The entire fleet rolled us and a large lefty that rolled in didn’t help either.

We rounded the windward mark in DFL, or last place as some like to call it, but were determined to catch up even with our handicap. Soaking low on the downwind and playing the breeze better more intelligently than the rest of the fleet off of the western Jamestown shore, we caught back up right into the middle of the fleet. The breeze then shifted to a more due west direction, steadied out, and the fleet again pulled ahead of us. This was pretty discouraging, but it was too nice a day for us to be let down.

At this point we all switched off and took turns skippering and doing other positions in the boat and just enjoyed the rest of the race as more of a day sail. We ended up finished in dead last place and I can honestly say I can’t remember the last time I lost a regatta (never), but great weather, good friends, and a simple easy boat to sail made it all bearable!"

Bacardi Newport Preview

(Newport, RI)- What has become a right of passage for New England summer sailors is the annual pilgrimage to Newport to sail what many consider one of America's best run regattas-- the Bacardi Newport Regatta.  Hosting nineteen one-design classes is never easy, but the management team of PRO's led by Brad Read always manage to make it happen no matter what cards the weather God's have thrown down on the table.  So far, the prognosticators indicate this year's event taking place from July 12th to 14th may end up with some classic Newport sea-breeze conditions.

The J/70's are "the new kid on the block" and as the world's fastest growing sportboat class is fielding a fleet of twenty competitors.  And, there's no doubt it will be quite a competitive affair with several top teams participating from the winter/ spring events like Key West, Charleston, St Pete and Annapolis.  Look for some of these teams to be in the top five, including James Allsopp's MOXIE, Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE, Dave Franzel's SPRING, Blake Kimbrough's NOSTALGIA, Joe Bardenheier's MUSE, Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE and Jud Smith's Marblehead team.

For the sixteen J/24s, it' a double-whammy, a District 2 Championship World's Qualifier and US Adult Sailing Championship Qualifier.  As a result, Tim Healy is leaping back into the J/24s sailing HELLY HANSEN.  They will be challenged by arch nemesis Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER, Steve Wood on TASMANIAN DEVIL, Frank McNamara on ZOT, Ian Scott on CRACK OF NOON and Aidan Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS.

Nine J/22s will be racing and for many it may prove to be good practice for the upcoming J/22 Worlds sailing in Newport in October 2013.  Expect to see amongst the top boats champion J/22 sailor Chris Doyle sailing JUG 4 1, Brad Julian skippering JULIAN ASSOCIATES, Lowell Thomas on CHAOS and Matt Dunbar on WHARF RAT.  For more Bacardi Newport Sailing information

J/70 JUGADOR Nationals Video!

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The J/70s in the UK recently held their J/70 UK Nationals at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.  One of the teams, Jack Davies's JUGADOR had some fun with GoPro video on-board. 

Said Jack, "Here is a video of us on the J/70 JUGADOR. The video was compiled from footage taken over the weekend of the inaugural British J/70 National Championship held out of Cowes, UK. Hope you enjoy! It features a bit of heavy airs downwind sailing and some lighter airs stuff, and a healthy broach at the end! If anyone would like to keep up with how J/70 sailing in the UK is developing, and with how Team Jugador are getting on then click "Like" on our Facebook page."   Watch J/70 Team JUGADOR's sailing video here.

J/70 Teams Enjoy Sunny, Breezy Long Beach Race Week

(Long Beach, CA)- Sailing in the Los Angeles basin offers the locals a wide variety of sailing conditions.  The topographical features of the region are dominated by the mountain ranges and valleys that traverse the area from the northwest to the southeast, often providing enough heating to generate reliable sea-breeze conditions along the coast.  While downtown L.A. and Palm Springs may be boiling in 90 to 115 F degrees, the sea coast is basking in sunshine and cool breezes blowing onshore in the 210 to 240 degree range.

As one of the classic California summer regattas, this year's Long Beach Race Week delivered on that promise with WSW breezes, some fog and cool conditions.  Friday's sailing saw lots of fog the morning burn off and produce gorgeous sailing in the afternoon with 8-14 kts breezes from WSW.  Saturday's sailing saw the wind in a more southerly quadrant and with three races scheduled, the PRO's were busy changing marks to the west all day as the wind clocked from 190 to 235 degrees.  Sunday dawned sunny onshore but by midday the tail feathers of a front passing by the south produced the most southerly breezes of the weekend, ranging from 160 to 210 degrees with some grey overcast skies for some fleets.

The host clubs, Long Beach YC and Alamitos Bay YC, provided excellent race management across three circles (North- J/24s; West- J/120s, PHRF 1; South- J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, PHRF) for the 18 classes.  Six one-design J fleets participated, including J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/120s. In addition, the two PHRF divisions had several offshore J teams sailing.

The eight teams sailing the J/70 class saw San Diego YC member Bennet Greenwald continuing his winning streak in J/70s sailing PERSEVERANCE to take top honors with five 1sts in their score card of seven races.  Behind them it was quite a tussle for the top five.  In the end, Craig Tallman from Kings Harbor YC took second sailing JAYA with mostly 2nd and 3rds for a total of 20 pts.  Third was the team of Tom Jenkins and Eric Kownacki on DFZ just three points back.  Fourth was Karl Pomeroy  in ZERO TO 60 and fifth was Dan Gribble and Joe Wiese in GO-RILLA.  For more Long Beach Race Week sailing information

J/70 Great Lakes Update

(Youngstown, NY)- J/70's continue to expand their presence on the Great Lakes, from Lake Ontario westward across Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan as well as in the many lakes across the states and provinces in the region.  J/70 fleets have developed in Toronto, ONT; Erie/Western, PA; Buffalo, NY; Youngstown, NY; Rochester, NY; Canandaigua/ Finger Lakes, NY; Lake George, NY; Rocky River, OH; Cleveland, OH; and Chicago, IL.  Events for J/70's have been proliferating and highlights include:

The 20th Anniversary of the Cleveland Leukemia Cup Regatta at the Cleveland Yachting Club on July 18-21.  If you have never been to CYC, it is one of the premier yacht clubs in the midwest if not the country.  Wonderful fresh water sailing on Lake Erie and parties that rival any event.  Most importantly, all the proceeds are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Please attend, you can find more information here.

The 40th Annual Youngstown Level Regatta will be held July 27-28, in Youngstown, NY.  This is the largest event on the Lake Ontario South Shore and is known for quality racing and really fun shoreside social activities.  There are currently 15 J70s registered and we should be able to hit 20 or more.  YYC has two hoists and there is also a ramp near the club, launching and hauling is at no charge.  Registration is open at Yacht Scoring here, if you have not already signed up please do so now.

Inaugural J/70 Great Lakes Championship at Buffalo YC, August 10-11.  As of this morning there are 17 J/70 entries with more sure to follow.  BYC has a good dry-sail area with two hoists and is convenient to downtown Buffalo.  This event is a natural for any J/70 coming to Western NY for the Youngstown Level Regatta two weeks prior.  Leave your boat here and do two events for one trip.  Registration is open on Yacht Scoring here.

Jud Smith J/70 Clinic at Buffalo Yacht Club Friday August 9, prior to GLC:  Jud Smith is a well-known sailmaker at Doyle Sails Marblehead, World Champion and an active J/70 owner who will be there to pass on what he has learned so far by campaigning his own J/70.

Don't pass this up!  To encourage participation in both regattas, we are offering to tow your J/70 from Youngstown to Buffalo following the event and store it there until the GLC (a 30 mile trip).  No charge for moving the boat or storing it for two weeks.  All you have to do is take the rig down and prep the boat for towing after the event.  If you need to leave the boat in Buffalo for a time after the GLC that is OK too.  Simply send an email prior so they may plan accordingly.  They want to make sure you enjoy your stay in Western NY so you will come back again!

SAIL22:  We highly recommend Ed & Becky for parts and service for your J/70.  They own and race a J/70 and know what they are talking about.  They offer a wide variety of aftermarket goodies for your J/70 and they are super easy to deal with.  They are also at many class events.  You can find SAIL22's services here.

Finally, here's a quick guide for J/70 owners of current major American sailmakers that have done their homework and have updated designs based on the experience they have had racing and testing so far.

Tim Healy of North Sails has a string of J/70 wins already. He has put together the following tuning guide (it's highly recommended reading) on the North Sails One-Design website.

Quantum's Marty Kullman J/70 Tuning has taken over the lead in the J/70 class for Quantum Sails.  Here is a link to an article Marty wrote after the Cedar Point regatta last month.

Dave Ullman, Erik Shampain and Greg Koski have been developing the Ullman Sails and recent results (like winning Cleveland Race Week) show they're in the game.  Here's the link to the Ullman Sails articles and guides on performance and tuning.

Jud Smith and Mark Ploch of Doyle Sailmakers have been making significant advances over the last few months.  Mark's recent 2nd in the New York YC Annual Regatta and Jud's 2nd in Charleston Race Week is an indicator of how far they've come in the past year.  Here's their link to J/70 tuning guide.

Kris Werner of Haarstick Sailmakers is a new J/70 owner in upstate NY.  Many sailors in the area have used Haarstick Sails in the past and have a relationship with them.  Haarstick is now developing sails for the J/70 and you will soon see Kris out on the circuit with his new boat.   More J/70 one-design speedster sailboat information