YOUNG GUNS K.O. J/70 Fall Brawl

(Annapolis, MD)- Eastport Yacht Club race committee hosted their annual Fall Brawl regatta for 25 ambitious J/ 70 sailors this past weekend on the Chesapeake Bay. The race committee wasted no time making sure their starting line was clear for starts and did a great job in keeping things moving. The regatta was held over two days in moderate to heavy air and lumpy seas with five races on Saturday and three more to wrap things up on Sunday. Competitors came from up and down the East Coast, with out-of-state sailors — primarily from Massachusetts and New York — outnumbering locals in the top 10 by the time the racing was done.

The YOUNG GUNS team came up from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and dominated the 24-boat J/70 Fall Brawl fleet from the start last weekend. St. Mary’s was led by Venezuelan Olympic hopeful Victor Diaz de Leon, borrowing a boat from the skipper on whose team Diaz de Leon had sailed a couple weeks earlier in the J/70 North Americans.

Their first day’s keeper finishes of 1-1-3-1 put the YOUNG GUNS so far ahead of the pack by the time the fleet came ashore on Saturday evening that they could afford to slack off a little on the second day and still take the overall win by a comfortable margin.

Taking a comfortable second was Jud Smith, amassing a solid record on day one to stay in the hunt with a 10-2-5-4-1 scoreline.  Going into the last day of racing, Smith still had a solid mathematical chance of grabbing the lead, but a 9-4-5 tally added a quick 18 pts to their score to keep them in second.  Meanwhile, the YOUNG GUNS gang rattled off a 7-3-6 to safely hold on to their early lead.

Finishing solidly in third overall in the eight-race, one-throwout series was Annapolitan John Aras’ team, including John Dolan, Alex Stout and Mark Eagan.  “We only just got the boat a couple of days before the NAs,” Aras said, “so we’re still figuring it out. The learning curve is pretty steep.”  Aras, who also was the top Corinthian (amateur) sailor in the event, said the conditions and the tight competition were challenging throughout the weekend, describing solid southwesterlies coupled with big chop on Saturday and puffy, shifty northerlies on Sunday that swung 20 degrees or more. “Getting through that chop was a bit of a challenge,” he said.

“It was all about trying to be consistent and not making too many mistakes, hitting the shifts and keeping clear air, ” he said. “A little mistake could cost you five or six boats pretty quickly.”  With five top-five finishes and only one keeper worse than 10th, Aras and his team showed that they’ve picked up a lot of boat knowledge in a short time.  “It was a lot of fun,” Aras said. “There was good breeze and Eastport did a good job with the courses.”

Rounding out the top five was Andrew Criezis in 4th with WHIQUILA and taking fifth was Blake Kimbrough on NOSTALGIA.

The fleet was tightly packed most of the time, and the conditions clearly took a toll as nearly everyone, including the top sailors, had one or more finishes they would have preferred to forget.  In fact, the EYC Race Committee led by PRO Keith Jacobs had to weather their share of challenges, too, particularly on Saturday when the weather mark blew away in the building breeze during the day’s last race and the mark boat crew had to sub in suddenly for the missing cylinder.  Thanks for contributions from Todd Hiller- USA #207- and Dan Phelps/ Spinsheet.com.   Full results and photos can be found here (and here).   For more J/70 Fall Brawl sailing information

J/70 Big Boat Series- The Sailing Experience

(San Francisco, CA)- Recently, Andy Schwenk from Anacortes, Washington, had a chance to sail a J/70 in this year's Rolex Big Boat Series.  The J/70's were a new addition to the event to provide all day entertainment for those recent America's Cup sailing addicts that enjoyed St Francis YC's most extraordinary setting along the San Francisco Bay waterfront.  After all, with a bar, grill, restaurant and starting line all, literally, experiencing the saltwater spray from waves crashing on their waterfront, having a fleet of the world's fastest growing sportboat playing like dolphins during your luncheon couldn't be more fun to watch!  Here's Andy's take on the entire experience:

"The J/Boats line have book-ended my sailing career to date. In 1980, back when I was 15, a neighborhood friend took me to St Francis YC for the J-24 North Americans. Fast forward to the present, September 2013, I had the pleasure of being invited to the Big Boat Series hosted by St Francis YC to sail on a new J-70. About 1' shorter than a J-24, the J-70 is as different as a boat can be besides the emblem up on the mainsail. When I sailed in 1980 you could order a J-24 in any color of the rainbow, the J-70 seems to be available in every color as long as it's white. One thing that hasn't changed is the wind in San Francisco Bay. Another is if they dropped a J-24 off a tall building it would be hard pressed to break 15 Knots, the J-70 carried us downwind @ 16 knots whooping and hollering and in full control!

In the 33 ensuing years from 1980-2013 I have completed 37 Trans-Pacific voyages, won a Moore 24 National Championship, and sailed with friends and family every chance I've had. And I can tell you the J-70 is a special boat. She's easily trailered behind most any vehicle and I can even put the light little carbon mast up by myself. The hiking rules are two people with legs in, two people with legs out. Any two people, big, small, fat or tall, you don't have to only choose your crew by their physical attributes.

In 1980 our J-24 had 4 winches, in 2013 the J-70 had 2 and we never even used them in wind up to 25 knots. Okay, so I'm 6' 2" 225 lbs and a former Army Ranger but I know the winches are there for a reason, nonetheless, pull real hard and it all comes in real easy. The tuning guide is helpful and rig tension seems surprisingly important, but that individual with the tiller still rules the school. Upwind and down, reaching (yes we overcooked a few laylines) and listening to the feedback from the helm drove the boat. Get ready to play the vang, the outhaul, in-haul the jib sheet, and keep weight forward.

Check the results from Big Boat Series and you'll see we didn't win, but hey the skipper hadn't entered a regatta since college (20 years ago) our crew of four didn't even know each other's names until the day before the regatta and we still pulled a first and a third in a seven race series. I've always felt that fractional rigged boats favor good focused sailors; the J-70 is no different - little adjustments pay off big. Try vang sheeting rather than dropping the traveler when it gets windy, adjust the 4/1 jib halyard when it goes light. I don't know that we ever had the jib leads correct but we sure adjusted them a lot. It is likely if you are used to a nervous curl on the luff of the spinnaker you are going to have to get used to smaller adjustments. Of course if you are out to win, this treatise assumes a fresh bottom, first class sails, and motivated crew.

The J-70 is a special boat at a critical time and she likely owes her sportiness to the "Fast is Fun" cult ULDB's of the 70's and 80's. So what happens when you wipe out a J-70? Well we saw a few and she has plenty of reserve buoyancy and lead in the keel to keep her up and on her feet, (and she has a kelp cutter to). Criticisms? Is there something I did not like about the boat? I'm a thirsty fellow, what is the plan for the cooler? Why not fiber standing rigging? A central bilge pump would be handy on breezy, wet days.

Did I mention this is a comfortable boat? Huge cockpit, all the controls within easy reach and nothing to trip over on the cockpit floor. The stock non skid grippiness is just about right, but you can't go wrong by adding some Raptor deck to the fold. The helm is surprisingly light and balanced for a transom hung rudder and we could easily tell when the skipper felt over powered on the runs and were able to ease the vang or spin sheet before he lost control. The jib simply rolls up on a Harken under deck furler, There is even hardware on the boom for a mainsail reef but ours wasn't fit with a reef point, nor did we ever feel it was needed.

The spinnaker is dead simple and no one in our class completely shrimped it all week long, though it typically gets a little wet on the hoists and douses. The rig tension is controlled through an ingenious system that locks the upper and lower shroud together so you can easily slip a handy plastic bar in the turnbuckle and twist away. I'm sure this will take some practice as any adjustment directly affects forestay tension and your ability to point. We tended to go a little tighter than what the tuning guide called for and it seemed to work for us. The leech tension on the main was controlled through the use of the vang and seemed more important than backstay tension upwind.

Light air performance? I don't know that we had our legs over the side at each start, with the lighter winds in the starting area, but there was word, and it may be true, she feels fully under control on the upwind legs, but why speculate? Why not go for test a sail?"    Sailing photo credits- Pressure-Drop.us/ Erik Simonson.

J/70 Segel-BundesLiga- Thrilling 4th Regatta

"Locals" Wurttemberg YC Win Fourth Stage!
(Friedrichshafen, Germany)- The fourth regatta of the J/70 Deutsche Bundesliga was hosted by the Wurttemberg YC located in Friedrichshafen from the 27th to 29th of September.  The sailors experienced everything from light airs and super flat water to strong steady winds with choppy seas on the gorgeous Lake Constance (a.k.a. the "Bodensee").  The host team won the regatta-- Wurttemberg YC-- with skipper Max Rieger, his brother Moritz Rieger, Thomas Dietsch and Felix Stemmer.

With seven wins in twelve races, the team from the WYC had "tough sledding" to rise to the top, especially since the second place team, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee were counting eight 1sts in their scoreline!  Said the relieved skipper of WYC, Max Rieger, "We may have had home advantage on Lake Constance, but one cannot expect it to help at all in the difficult, shifting winds. But, we are very satisfied with the result!"

Only two points behind the leader was the team from the Wannsee in Berlin- Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee.  Their team comprised of Kathrin Kadelbach, Ulrike Schumann, Nils Schröder and Malte Kamrath started off with two bullets, struggled in the mid-series of races and closed fast with five 1sts and one 2nd to nearly pull off an upset.

The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein team from Hamburg, including Carsten Kemmling, Klaus Lame, Weser and Florian Haufe, finished the regatta with a string of five bullets to rapidly close on the leaders and take third overall.  It wasn't enough to overcome the stronger start of the other teams, but it certainly kept the others anxious as they closed to within 4 pts of the lead and only 2 pts back from second!  As a result, the team successfully defended their overall Deutsche Bundesliga championship lead going into the fifth and last stage of the event in Berlin.  Said NRV Team Manager Klaus Lame, "we wanted the team that would sail in Berlin to race here on Lake Constance and gain the experience necessary to hopefully win the title!  We're fortunate to have succeeded after sailing in these difficult conditions this weekend!"

The last regatta for the Bundesliga takes place from November 8th to 11th sailing at NRV's yacht club on the Wannsee in Berlin.  The question of which clubs are in the best position for the season finale in Berlin certainly became clearer after the Lake Constance event.  With 66 pts, NRV is leading by just 4 pts and they're hoping the "home-town" advantage will play in their favor.  Lying second is the fast-learning Wurttemberg YC team with 62 pts overall and they're excited about sailing on the Wansee.  Another "local" Berlin team, the YC Berlin-Grunau are sitting in third overall with 60 pts, struggling a bit after winning the first event in Tutzing at the beginning of the season.  They, too, are hoping that sailing home-town waters will bring them better luck!  Fourth is Bayerischer YC with 56 pts and fifth is Chiemsee YC with 54 pts. Of the eighteen teams participating, it's conceivable that up to eight teams have a mathematical possibility of winning or leaping onto the podium in Berlin!  Don't count out other teams like "locals" Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, Deutscher Touring YC and Konstanzer YC!

Are the teams having a lot of fun and, as some have asked, is this the future of regatta sailing?  Maike Christiansen from the magazine Segeln.de in Germany was posing that question to the various sailors and team managers during the last event in Friedrichshafen.  Here's Maike's commentary:

"The Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga, a struggle for status as the best sailing club in Germany, is nearing the end of its first season sailing the new J/70 sportboat.

Short, fast races. Sailing J/70s with just main, jib and asymmetric spinnakers. The crews, some of whom have never sailed together before, others fielding strong, established teams, give nothing away at any corner or leg of the race course. Sometimes only centimeters determine who will be first to the finish, who can cheer loudly for their team.

Back on land, the sailors forget everything about the day on the water.  With gourmet chefs providing delicious food and with plenty of drink and music, the sailors sit together and exchange ideas, exchange tips and anecdotes about sailing J/70s, make new acquaintances and refresh old ones again. When sailing the Segel-Bundesliga everything mixes together: young and old, followers of traditional sailboats and sailors of modern skiffs, America's Cup participants, German champions and those who have won the regatta on the village pond around the corner, match race experts and fleet racing sailors.  Yet, in the first German yacht club competition in the sport of sailing, it's not the individuals, but the sailing clubs that are in the foreground. In a series of five regattas spread over the whole of Germany (like the "stages" in the Tour de France), eighteen teams fight for victory.

One may argue whether such a regatta series really has significance as to which club is the best and also whether such a comparison is at all meaningful!  However, with the Segel-Bundesliga, where teams train all year together, can the event - apart from the name - at least not really compare?!

Nevertheless, the facts and realities mean one thing-- the format has a future. The facts are (i) that J/70s are strict one-design class sailboats made to travel easily; (ii) the sailors can travel quickly on a weekend to all of the events; (iii) the J/70s are great for the German lakes and bays for sailing many short, tight races; and (iv) the sailing teams can depart after the sailing without having to worry about boat transport or maintenance.  In short, the "sailing" and "social" activities are at the forefront of the regatta experience. The format is particularly attractive for good sailors who have to contend with the responsibilities of study, work, family, and so forth-- leaving precious little time available for any recreational activity, especially sailing on weekends with friends! That the five Segel-Bundesliga regattas have been elevated to a higher context - the championship of all German sailing clubs- it will be asked, has the sailing in the event taken on even greater significance??  Yes, it has because it addresses the most important point: It's FUN!

It's fun to compete on athletic keelboats with other teams that are just thrown together as their own crew! It's fun to tack under Jochen Schumann and force him to tack away! It's fun, not as a "lone wolf", but being part of a sailing team representing your club! It's fun to meet the regatta sailors from various boat classes to see and meet old friends!  The Segel-Bundesliga provides students with a "sense of community", attracting younger and older sailors and it makes you want to sail.  How can you expect anything more from an event like this?  Hard to beat sailing J/70s on a wild plane across some of the most picturesque bays and lakes in Germany with friends-- young and old, newly made or known for decades!  Looking forward to Berlin already!"   Friedrichshafen Sailing video highlights on YouTube
Facebook Sailing photo credits: Segel-Bundesliga / Lars Wehrmann
For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

J/70 Genoa Boat Show Report

"A Charming Little Princess"
(Genoa, Italy)- The J/70 was exhibited last week at the 2013 Boat show in Genoa. According to Paolo Boido, "The 23 footer won the interest of the public and the honor of being a winner on stage. J/Boats Italy showed up with two J/70's, one in the Stand and one ready for sea trials-- special thanks to Quantum Italy who supplied sails and assistance for the sea trials.

In five days we sailed fifty-seven times with all kind of sailors, most of them unknown and in all types of weather conditions; including the last two days when it blew up to 30-35 kts!  It didn't take long for us to record some nice reports from the enthusiastic J/70 sailors:

- a Genovese university professor of foreign languages wanted to go for a test sail. She was very embarrassed, admitting that she never gone sailing in her life!  But, when she saw the J?70, she decided to give it a try.  She was not properly dressed for sailing, soon she was totally wet in a cold afternoon with 25-27 kts of breeze.  Remarkably, she loved the experience and enjoyed sailing the J/70 so much we had a hard time convincing her to sail back!

- a business executive showed up for a test sail properly dressed for a day at the office with suit and tie!  When he got back to the dock, he showed us the new Velocitek he just bought in the show.  He explained that he turned it on at the beginning of test sail-- it showed an average speed downwind of 17.8 kts in winds of just 15-25 kts.  At first, he looked at the numbers in disbelief, thinking that he just bought a new instrument that was wrong and was planning to make a warranty claim and get a new one!  He showed it to the Velocitek guys, they tested it and said it was fine!  The man's jaw dropped in disbelief-- 17.8 kts average downwind!

- a Star Boat sailor friend of mine decided to take a test sail with his 11 yrs old daughter who's an active Optimist pram sailor.  The little girl, all of 60 lbs of her, was allowed to steer in 30+ kts breeze and she didn't want to give back the tiller to her Father!  In fact, she sailed very fast downwind under spinnaker!

The J/70 demonstrated once again the versatility of the boat for all ages groups and experiences-- it was a great show of power, stability, speed, safety, performance, and easy handling!  Thank you Alan and the J/Boats design team!  Amazing boat!"  Regards, Paolo.  For more J/70 one-design speedster sailing information

Sun & Fun Dominate J/Fest San Diego

(San Diego, CA)- After a weekend of everything J/Boats at San Diego YC’s J/Fest, the fleets of one-design J/120s, J/105s, J/109s and J/70s were blessed with nice breezes for all three days. The fleet of thirty-one boats were treated to the memorable San Diego YC hospitality that many sailors look forward to in this magical part of the sailing world.  It's no wonder that more US Navy flag officers retire to this corner of America than any other, the weather is amazing, gorgeous temperate weather, cool breezes and great sailing all year round.

The J/70s debut as a class with their five boat fleet was a lot of fun racing offshore on San Diego Bay.  Having been traveling to the last three major J/70 events on the West Coast, Dan Gribble's GO-RILLA, Eric Kownacki/ Tom Jenkins' DFZ, and Karl Pomeroy's ZERO TO 60 were likely to have the upper hand-- and they did.  Demonstrating excellent race course awareness, extraordinary speed and consciousness as well adroit boat-handling bordering on the professional level was the DFZ gang from Manhattan Beach YC.  Eric K and Tom J showed the locals how it's done, taking a 1-1-1-2-1 for a masterful win in the J/70 class.  Second was Gribble's GO-RILLA and third was Pomeroy's ZERO TO 60 going more like ZERO to 30-- next time Karl, prime the pump with "av-gas"! :)  Sailing photo credits- San Diego YC/ Bronny Daniels.  For more J/Fest San Diego sailing information

EOS Tops J/70 Big Boat Series

(San Francisco, CA)- The 49th edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series sailed from the 26th to 29th, September, was yet another great event for the history books.  The RBBS took center stage on San Francisco Bay immediately after the thrilling finale of the 34th America's Cup when Team Oracle (expat- Kiwi version) made their unprecedented comeback to win the Cup over Emirates Team New Zealand (real Kiwi version) against unprecedented odds.  This year's RBBS featured the HPR National Championship (with J/125s in the mix), the J/120 North American Championship, a great J/105 fleet and the exciting debut of the J/70 one-design class.

A dedicated spectator-friendly race track was setup for the J/70s. And, as promised by Norm Davant, RBBS Regatta Chairman, it fulfilled the “fast, exciting, racing along essentially the same track as the America’s Cup race courses, with the starts and finishes in front of St Francis YC and major viewing areas.”

Recognized as one of the premier West Coast regattas, the Rolex Big Boat attracts professional and corinthian sailors from around the world. The four day regatta provided the 100+ boats just about every weather condition possible within the "classic" SF Bay westerly sea-breeze.  Every day started at the light end of the range, 8-12 kts from the West with very little fog and slowly built to the expected 12-20 kts from the WSW each day at the sunny end of the range.  It was idyllic, gorgeous sailing most of the time for everyone.

Thursday's sailing kicked off with two races in light to moderate breezes and a strong flood tide that kept the sailing teams in working hard to outwit each other.   New this year were first-place trophies for daily races and "Boat of the Day" awards. The J/70 LITTLE HAND, owned by Frank Slootman of Pleasanton, Calif. won the latter award for the first day.

Friday's sailing started off with a one-hour postponement ashore, followed by another hour of waiting on San Francisco Bay-- neither dashed spirits nor inhibited competition for the sailors.  In fact, just as it did yesterday, the wind faithfully filled in as a westerly—light at first but packing the same punch, at 18-20 knots, by the end of the day— to overpower the morning easterly and accommodate two races for everyone.  In the J/70s, a second set of three races was added to three races from yesterday and began to tell a story of “consistency pays off.”

“You’ve got to be in the right place with full speed and clear air,” said St Francis Yacht Club Commodore Jim Cascino, who skippers the J/70 EOS, currently leading their class. “If you do that, as we were fortunate enough to do over these two days, it makes a big difference.”

Sailing on Cascino’s four-person crew was Stu Johnstone, whose family developed the J/Boat line of boats (there are 40 total sailing here, the majority in one-design classes and the others in HPR and IRC) and this latest class, which has become wildly popular in the short year and a half since its launching. His description of the EOS team’s “little scare” in today’s second race, when the team rounded a mark the wrong way, captured the excitement and variety built into the design of multiple race courses used here.

“We started in front of Alcatraz Island and beat all the way up to the Sausalito side of the Bay towards the Golden Gate, and then took off on a screaming plane, reaching, then running all the way down to Treasure Island,” said Johnstone, explaining an approximately eight-mile race that took about an hour and a half to complete. “That was where we rounded the mark first and saw the entire fleet round the other way on starboard, so we went around and corrected ourselves. We were last at the bottom mark.”

The EOS team fought back to second by playing the famous “current cone” alongside Alcatraz and then screaming along the waterfront downwind off of Crissy Field to catch boats. “We hung in there, and then we had this crazy jibing duel back and forth to the finish (off the race deck at St. Francis Yacht Club).”

Saturday's racing was simply classic SF Bay sailing.  As 22 J/105s came running down San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge rising from behind their colorful spinnakers, other boats sailed upwind toward them in a freshening 8-12 knot westerly that enabled the fleets to comfortably negotiate the current and wind for optimum speed. It was the third glittering day of sailing for the fleets.  Jim Cascino’s EOS maintained their lead the J/70 class.  In fact, Commodore Cascino's J/70 EOS was named Boat of the Day on Saturday. 

For Sunday's traditional “Bay Tour” finale— the single long race that wraps up each class’s series and determines final winners— the fleet’s final push to the finish was tame in comparison to previous days when boat speeds were jacked up by brisk breezes and a strong flood tide, but the end result was all that mattered.

In the J/70's, St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Jim Cascino won half of his eight races to win their class, but only after winning a tie-breaker in overall scoring with Frank Slootman’s (Pleasanton, Calif.) LITTLE HAND sailing with trimmer/ tactician Bill Erkelens (manager of Larry Ellison's SAYONARA offshore program).  Taking third for the regatta were Mark & Cameron Howe on RED.  The J/70 fleet were not without their mishaps interpreting how to sail the race course and navigating certain race amendments.  In the fourth race, Cascino's team was winning and rounded the leeward mark the wrong way, self-correcting the rounding incorrectly, still finishing 2nd in the race, but having to withdraw for re-rounding incorrectly (got it?-- it's called "the string theory").  In the final "around SF Bay tour" race on Sunday, Cascino's team was winning again by a significant margin but rounded the leeward mark as a "mark", not as a "gate", as did most of the rest of the fleet-- consequently retiring again! Lessons learned?  Navigators are important on J/70s if sailing in San Francisco Bay-- bring the GPS!

In the end, another memorable Rolex Big Boat Series, punctuated by the "beer girls" serving local micro-brewery brews every evening as each team docked their boats, full trays of beers in hand for every member of the crew!  And, who can forget "breakfast" served each morning at the head of the dock ramp, with fresh-made coffee, eggs cooked to your liking, fresh pastries and other sundries.  The sponsor's Rolex and their partners Mt Gay Rum and the St Francis YC team ashore did a masterful job of ensuring all crews were happily taken care of in every way possible-- kudo's to Commodore Jim Cascino and the entire StFYC crew!  Time for a day off, one would presume before next weekend's infamous "Stag Cruise" to Tinsley Island in the Delta!?
Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster.    For daily video recaps by T2P-TV with the famously gorgeous rockstar Annie Gardner.   For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information

MUSE Crowned J/70 North American Champion

Heather Gregg-Earl Sweeps N.A.'s, Corinthians & Top Women Skipper Trophies!
(Annapolis, MD)- The mighty MUSE became the first J/70 North American Champions over a ginormous fleet of ninety boats! The co-owners from Boston, MA- Heather Gregg-Earl and Joe Bardenheier- had a complete Tufts "Jumbo" Sailing team crew that included fellow alumni Stuart Saffer and Billy Lynn.  By scoring a ninth in the final race they narrowly secured their victory in the seven-race series. The North American Championship was held at the Annapolis Yacht Club by J/70 Fleet #1 and title sponsored by Hillman Focused Advantage Fund. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA finished second overall and Tim Healy’s HELLY HANSEN placed third.

“We didn’t know we won the regatta until we got to the dock!” beamed Bardenheier. “We just figured if we stayed in the top 10, we might end up pretty high in the event. We didn’t look at the scores all day.” In fact, MUSE was 13th after the first day, when they tallied two fifths plus a 55 due to having to overcome the challenge of a penalty turn. “Today we sailed very consistently and just stuck with it. We had great teamwork and good communication the whole time.”

In addition to the remarkable performances of the top three, the balance of the top ten included Peter McChesney's TROUBLE gang from  Annapolis, MD in 4th; Bob Hughes's HEARTBREAKER gang (including Morgan Reeser) from Ada, Michigan also had a "Heather-like, phoenix-from-the-ashes" performance to comeback deeper than her to capture 5th; in 6th was Joel Ronning's CATAPULT team (including Chris Larson) from Lake Minnetonka, MN; 7th was Doug Strebel's BLACK RIVER RACING team from Dallas, TX (including Jay & Jody Lutz); taking 8th was John Brigden's COOL STORY BRO team (including Chris Snow) from Menlo Park/ San Francisco, CA; 9th was Martie Kullman's TOUCH 2 PLAY team-- there's may have been the "hard luck" story of the regatta getting "black-flagged" in race 4 after sailing fast & smart enough to win the regatta; and 10th was Henry Filter's WILD CHILD team (including Moose McClintock) from Annapolis, MD.

What is perhaps most notable regards the first J/70 North Americans is that not only did a woman skipper win it, Heather Gregg-Earl on MUSE, but that three women finished in the top 20 in such a ginormous regatta with 89 boats!  In addition to Heather, Jenn Wulff from Annapolis, MD skippered JOINT CUSTODY to an 11th overall and Suzy Leech from Jamestown, RI sailed JUNKANOO to 18th overall-- remarkable performances by all three women and proof that a J/70 can be easily sailed and handled by top women anywhere in the world.  Imagine that!  These three women, collectively, beat several top World Champions in classes like 470s, Etchells 22s, Lightnings, Farr 40s, Melges 24s, Melges 32s, J/22s, J/24s and J/80s!  You go gurlz!!

The host Annapolis YC and its Race Committee PRO, Sandy Grosvenor, performed magnificently and managed to keep the aggressive fleet of 90 boats from Bermuda, Canada, Mexico and the USA in check most of the time.  Considering how hard the fleet pressed the line, it was surprising to see how few "black flag" general recalls had to be implemented on the three-boat starting line.  And, even more impressive, was how well-behaved the fleet was in upwind/ downwind crossings and in mark roundings.  With enormous packs of boats criss-crossing constantly, many felt it was always better to "wave people across" than to have them tack or gybe on your air and block your path to where you wished to go.  Considering the size and competitiveness of the fleet, some members of the Jury expressed amazement that so few protests were lodged over the course of the three day event.

The weather forecast for the event was providing both the RC PRO and the sailors some anxious moments.  While Thursday's sailing provided a good test of the fleet, it was light, full of holes and very shifty from the N-NE at 4-8 kts, but enough for three decent races.  Friday's sailing was cancelled since the wind never filled and settled in, welcome to the darker side of the notorious Chesapeake Bay!  However, Saturday's conditions permitted four good race in breezes that started from the N-NE in the 12-15 kts range and diminished to 6-10 kts by the last race.

Excitement ran high for the first day of racing, with lots of anxious moments for everyone as the fleet learned quickly what to do and, especially, what NOT to do.  The leaderboard changed with every race, but it was Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from san Diego, CA that had the lead after three races with an identical scoreline of 4-4-4.  It was a stunning performance for the first day of sailing.  Just behind them was Joel’s Ronning’s CATAPULT from Lake Minnetonka, MN that notched 22 points after finishes of 15-6-1 for second place. Martie Kullman’s TOUCH 2 PLAY was third with 18-1-22 for 41 points.

In the anxiety-ridden first race, the first test for all 90 teams to determine who was fastest, smartest or luckiest, Kerry Klingler’s MENACE seized the moment and took the first victory.  They were followed by Bodo von der Wense on TURBO DUCK and Douglas Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING close behind. Kullman’s team took the win in race two, trailed by two Annapolis "locals", Peter McChesney's TROUBLE in second and Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD in third. Ronning's CATAPULT snagged Thursday’s closing contest, and rounding out the top three were John Aras and Tyler Doyle.

Geoff Becker, sailing on Team HELLY HANSEN with Tim Healy had this report for Day One:  "Light and shifty winds and almost 90 boats in the fleet, then add a high level of talent and you are in store for some major mood swings.

After Day 1, it is clear that there are going to be highs and lows for everyone. Team Helly Hansen saw ups and downs today, and finished the day with a 23rd, 31st and a 9th. Believe it or not. But, that is good enough for 12th overall and only one point out of 10th.

The depth of talent in this regatta is outstanding. There are dozens of professionals and dozens more excellent amateur sailors all on the same course. Small mistakes, especially early in a race, will find you well back from the lead pack and struggling to find clear air, much less any passing lanes. Keeping your nose in clear air and being able to sail at full speed will surely help get you up to the front 1/3 of the fleet. If you are then able be on the favored side of the course, well that’s a bonus and might thrust you into the top 10.

On the way to the racecourse in the morning our team had a discussion about our overall strategy for this regatta knowing that there were so many boats and this was a no throw-out regatta. To us, that meant we had to work hard to pass boats no matter our position or situation. It was likely that most teams, including ours, would have difficult races back in the fleet. Overall positions in the regatta could easily come down to how many boats could be passed from the first mark to the finish. Staying focused and patient would be our biggest asset on the day, and each point would matter to our overall position.

In race 1 we had a good start and were able to sail clean to the left side, which we thought was better, but found that the right side had a bit more wind and we got to the first mark in the 30s somewhere. After the first mark, we were able to scratch back to our 23rd and felt pretty good about it. For race 2, we were too aggressive on the line, started OCS and had to return and re-start. Our return was quick, we found a clear lane and survived to finish in 31st. The final race of the day, Race 3, we saw better pressure on the right, started near the right and had a clear lane to the right. At the first mark we rounded third! Yay! On the second upwind leg we again went to the right, but another pack of boats found more wind on the left and sailed around us. Fortunately we were able to stay inside the top 10 and save our best race of the day.

I can say that our patience was tested and at times it looked like we had no good options for gaining in a race. Something that has been said on our boat many times before became our mantra today…Day-by-day, race-by-race, leg-by-leg, puff-by-puff. Staying in the moment and keeping our focus on our best options each leg of each race was something we tried very hard to achieve today. Truthfully, there were several moments today when that ideal was challenging and it seemed like we had no best option, but for the most part we kept our heads and continued to look for gains on the course.

While our scores are not outstanding, we finished the day ready to work hard tomorrow. Light air, so many boats and mental highs and lows can be some of the hardest conditions to face on a racecourse. Tomorrow we plan to keep our pre-race focus positive and fight hard in every race, on every leg and for every point."

After the "lost day" Friday, the fleet was anxious to get rolling for the final day.  Saturday’s conditions cooperated to allow four races in streaky, shifty NE winds that started around 12-15 knots and leveled off to 6-10 kts by the end. Keane crossed the line first in the day’s initial bout, with Healy and MUSE rounding out the top three. Douglas Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING won the next contest, trailed by Robert Hughes’s HEART BREAKER and John Killeen. Keane returned to victory in Saturday’s third race, while Jennifer Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY placed second and Joe Colling/Ian Moran third. The final battle saw Cole Allsopp’s MOXIE take line honors, followed by Hughes and Bruno Pasquinelli.

Again, Geoff Becker on Team HELLY HANSEN had some great insights about sailing in this epic fleet. "The final day brought an early first start (10am), moderate shifty winds and 4 races! Because no races could be completed on Day 2, the RC needed as many races as possible on the final day. This meant that more than half of the regatta was to be decided on this final day of racing.

Team Helly Hansen was able to endure the fickle and streaky conditions to finish the event 3rd overall, with scores of 2nd, 6th, 22nd and an 8th on the final day of racing. Consistency was something all the teams wanted, but for this regatta it was difficult to achieve. Fortunately, we were able to stay out of major trouble and keep our boat going toward the better side of the course, most of the time.

Looking at the scores from this regatta, they show an effective illustration of one of the topics from my J-24 North American Blogs. Thinking of a regatta score in terms of an average, a score of ‘par’ can be found. A ‘par’ score in sailing is basically the average score per race versus the overall regatta score. By thinking of a ‘par’ score, it makes looking at the larger picture easier when you do finish 25th or even worse. For example, if a boat finishes 5th and 15th for a score of 20 points in two races, the average score would be 10th and thinking in terms of two 10th place finishes often offers a more positive outlook.

Looking closely at the scores for the J-70 North Americans, it is easy to see that every boat had big scores. Add to that that this regatta offered no drop races, and the average scores were much higher than would normally be expected. The winner of the event averaged over 13.5 points per race and even counted a 55th. Our team, finishing in 3rd overall, had an average score of almost 14.5 points per race and only one race in the top 5. Again, these averages are higher because of the lack of a drop race.

After some experience looking at race scores, a winning average score can often be estimated before the event begins. Some elements that effect the forecast of an average regatta score are, number of boats, depth of the fleet, consistency of the sailing conditions and number of races. During the J-70 event it became obvious early that the regatta would have a high average score for the overall. There were 89 boats, including a large number of high level crews, which combined with the fickle conditions made consistent top finishes more than challenging.

Ok, why does guessing an average score before the event matter? The answer is simple, "peace of mind." Knowing that the regatta will likely have a high average score, when your boat finishes a race in 25th place, that score doesn’t sting as much making it somewhat easier to re-focus for the next race. Basically, having an average score in mind helps even out the highs and lows that will surely occur during a long and tough event allowing the bad races to be put into the big picture more easily!"  Thanks for Geoff's contributions-- see more of his blogs at http://sail1design.com/airwaves-sailing-news/regatta-news-results/1184-j70report.

Next up on the J/70 world sailing circuit is the 2014 J/70 Midwinters hosted by Premiere Racing during the Key West Race Week from January 19th to 24th, 2014.  Already over two dozen J/70s are registered, by far the largest one-design fleet in the regatta.  Register now at http://premiere-racing.com.  The scuttlebutt on the streets and party tent were that over half of the J/70 NA's teams will be sailing Key West-- the party and the fun continues!  In fact, J/70s will have their own race course in Key West!   Sailing photo credits- Dan Phelps at Spinsheet.com  For more J/70 North Americans sailing information

J/70 Sweden- "Boat of the Year" Nominee

(Stockholm, Sweden)- Remarkably, the J/70 one-design speedster has a chance to add yet another award - Årets Segelbåt - Sailboat of the Year in Sweden. Unlike similar competitions in Scandinavia, the jury consists of three women and three men who are all considered expert sailors and are recognized for their objectivity in assessing sailboats.  In February 2014, the winners in the categories of "Family", "Luxury", and "Performance" will be revealed at the Göteborg Boat Show.  The primary goal is to put Scandinavian boats up against others from around the world in their home waters and let "looks, performance, finish, environmental considerations and quality" decide which boat is the best for its purpose.  The J/70 is up against the XP-33 and the Far East 26.

Says the Editor, Curt Gelin, "the motivation to nominate the J/70 is the following: Good looks and superb sailing are the main ingredients in the new J/70.  This sporty One Design can be towed behind a family car and can be used as a weekender for seasoned sailors keen on getting 'back-to-basics' and young racers looking for excitement.  Its design and construction are good for the environment and the carbon mast is good for the performance. A nice price combines to make a tempting package!"  More news in the future on how the J/70 performs in her competition!  Sailing photo credits- Peter Gustafsson at Blur.se