Delta Ditch Run Preview

A Cannonball Rally For Huge J/70 Fleet!
(Stockton, CA)- The Richmond YC and Stockton YC are hosting their incredibly fun, infamous, outrageous race that runs for 67 nm up the “delta” that forms the northeastern part of San Francisco Bay and heads off into the estuaries of the “flatlands”.  Notoriously windy most times, it’s a mad dash up the Sacramento River from Richmond YC’s starting line in NE Bay to Stockton YC’s finish in the muddy estuaries of the San Joaquin River.

With a fleet of 125 boats registered so far, it looks to be a full-on, crazy, wacky race.  With 30-40 foot carbon catamarans whistling down the straits at 75 kts, avoiding mudbanks along with J/22s, J/70s and dozens of others, you can bet there will be stories to tell after this event (e.g. groundings, dismastings, cart-wheeling humans into marshes full of mating snail-darters, etc, etc).

Last year, a number of J/70s did the race and nearly won the entire thing despite making all kinds of rookie mistakes in boat-handling and boat-speed.  This year, there is an entire armada of experienced J/70 teams tackling the race hoping to beat the fable Moore 24’s who’ve been a stalwart of the race for years. This year’s rogues gallery of competitors include DIVERSION (Chris Gabriel from Santa Barbara YC), the famous ZERO TO 60 (Karl Pomeroy- Newport Harbor YC), PERFECT WIFE (Chris Andersen- St Francis YC), CAKE (Scott & Leslie Deardorff- Santa Barbara YC), ECLIPSE (Mike Drammer, Shaun Hughes, Andrew Nunn- Santa Barbara YC), SPITFIRE (Tyler Karaszewski- Santa Cruz YC), 1FA (Scott Sellers & Geoff McDonald- St Francis YC), SUGOI (Mark Nelsen), DFZ (Eric Kownacki & Tom Jenkins- Monterey Bay YC), BOTTLE ROCKET (David Schumann & Jeff Thorpe- from San Francisco YC), and LOOSE LUCY (Justin Kromelow- St Francis YC).  God Speed to this group! My God how much fun could that possibly be planing downwind for 67 nm in perfectly flat water!?

Fun and games for who’s top J/Team?  Might be worth a magnum of Veuve-Clicqout champagne!?
Better yet, there’s a famous BBQ combined with one of the top classic and blues bands in Northern California that finish off the day of racing in grand style!  The party band, for over a decade the “Blue-a-Fuse” gang has been one of the top classic rock and blues bands in Northern California.  They go back to the roots of modern music.  They cover fun, upbeat, danceable tunes by great artists like Santana, Van Morison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and many more...this band ROCKS!

Even better yet, for you armchair-racing fans, there is a new race-tracking “app” on the Android or iOS devices that are being provided by RaceQs for the Delta Ditch Run.  Totally cool stuff.  Even Manhattan YC in southern New York City uses RaceQs for their Tuesday night races!  Check out some Manhattan YC races here.   For more Delta Ditch Run sailing information

Seattle NOOD Debuts J/70 Class!

(Seattle, WA)- This year’s Sperry Top Sider Seattle NOOD Regatta brought tears of joy and smiles all around to the sailors for one simple reason- wind!  At least enough of it so that most fleets got in a least six if not ten races over the three day event.

Friday was a rather auspicious start for the regatta.  A consistent 10-15 kts southerly allowed some classes to complete as many as five races.  For the second day of sailing, there was still wind, but just a bit less.

Sailing ten races in the regatta were the inaugural J/70 class.  Clearly, the fleet loved the first day of sailing with a combination of planing and soak modes all day long.  Sailing super-fast out of the box on that day was the experienced team aboard DaSPENCER, skippered by Mike Pitt, taking two bullets to lead the fleet after day one.  However, as the wind dropped off over the next two days, so did Team DaSPENCER’s fortunes.  In the end, JUST LISTED sailed by the Sail Northwest team took top honors with 13 pts.  They were followed by Andrew Mesher’s PERIDOT in second with 24 pts and in third was DaSPENCER with 27! Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com.  Sailing World video interview - Dave Reed and Chris Snow   For more Sperry Top Sider Seattle NOOD regatta sailing information

Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga Starts With Three-Way Tie!

Norddeutscher RV Win The Tie-Breaker
(Starnberg, Germany)- After an intense qualification regatta a few weeks back, eighteen clubs participated in the Bundesliga season opener on Lake Starnberg at the Bayerischer Yacht Club. The thirteen sailing clubs that qualified from the first season in 2013 were joined by five “newcomers” that had qualified in early April- Bodensee Yacht Club Überlingen, Düsseldorf Yacht Club, Kieler Yacht Club, the S.C.”Wappen von Bremen" and the Seglervereinigung Itzehoe.

Prior to the start of the regatta, Ilya Wolf (BYC team manager) said, "Our team is perfectly prepared. We are looking forward to the coming weekend and are proud host of this event. We are very excited about participating with the Segel-Bundesliga. It is a very good opportunity for our young sailors and a great way to promote sailing to everyone."

Recognizing the importance of this season long series that culminates with the Finale in Hamburg, many clubs pulled out all the stops to get their top sailors to hop aboard the teams as either crew or skippers.  Among the most prominent sailors in Starnberg were four German Olympians. Sailing for Württemberg Yacht Club was Stefanie Rothweiler (two-time Olympic 470s); sailing for Wansee was Ulrike Schumann (Olympics in Ynglings); and Kristin Wagner (Olympic Yngling) and Patrick Follmann (Olympian 470) were both sailing for Deutscher Touring YC.

With so much talent and tactical horsepower aboard the various boats, the racing was going to be close.  In fact, far closer than anyone could have imagined!  After the first day of sailing, three teams were tied on points- Bayerischer YC, Deutsche Touring YC and Flensburg SC! Lots of sunshine and light 7 kt winds greeted the fleet, enough to get in seven races.  "The weather conditions were not optimal. In fact, it was often difficult.  But, we are extremely pleased and excited that we were able to get a good start in the new season on home turf," concluded Christian Schäfer, helmsman of the BYC boat.

The second day offered sailing at its best. Starting out with a bit of rainy weather, by afternoon, the weather had cleared and the good breezes enabled twenty-four races to be sailed! The defending champions, Norddeutscher RV, had an impressive day of sailing.   "The field is so close and tight that a single mistake is sufficient to be passed from the very front to the very back of the pack. With good starts and safe maneuvers, we were able to stay up front most of the time. Our goal is the top three," stated Florian Weser from the NRV team.  In fact, after Saturday’s racing, they did much better than that; Team NRV was leading after ten races.  Following them were Wannsee in second, Deutscher Touring YC in third and Konstanzer YC in fourth.

After Sunday’s sailing, only 39 of the 45 scheduled races were completed, 13 for each club.  In the end, the defending Segel-Bundesliga 2013 champions, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, took first place overall by breaking the tie-breaker with seven race wins over their competitors.  The other two teams tied on 44 pts each were Verein am Wannsee and Deutscher Touring YC, taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.

"For us it was a roller-coaster of emotions. The quality of sailors and the competition were extremely high. All in all, we really sailed well and look forward to enjoying our first win," commented NRV teammate Carsten Kemmling.

Second-placed VSaW Team manager Ulrike Schumann said, "After the bad start, we pressed the reset button and then it all ran much smoother. We want to win this year, that's our goal!"

Next stop on the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga is July 19-21 as part of Travemünde Sailing Week on the Baltic Sea.  Remember, all races are broadcast via “live stream” on the Internet, so thousands of sailing enthusiasts in Germany and around the world can watch it “live” on the water.   Sailing photo credits- DSBL/ Lars Wehrmann    Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing video:   Day One    Day Two   Day Three   For more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

Poole Regatta Preview

(Poole, England)-  The Poole Regatta is a huge bi-annual event held over the 3 days of the late May Bank Holiday Weekend starting 24th May.  In addition to the IRC series, there are a number of national championships being run as part of the regatta, including J/24s, J/70s and J/80s.

The one-design side of things is pretty remarkable, three International J one-designs are sailing their UK Nationals at this event!  What is even more impressive is that all three fleets have excellent attendance, the J/24s have 19 boats registered, the J/70s have 13 and the J/80s have 16.  Fun and games for all!

For the J/70 UK Nationals it is a compulsory qualifying event for teams that wish to go to the 2014 World Championship in Newport, RI.  Many of the top UK teams are attending, including Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM (top finisher at Key West Race Week), Simon Ling skippering TEAM RAF SPITFIRE Powered by SLAM and Marie-Claude Heys on JACOBS COAT.  In addition, participating is the American team of Jen & Ray Wulff from Annapolis, MD; they are sailing a chartered J/70 called JOINT CUSTODY.   For more Poole Regatta sailing information

Sailing J/70s Fast Off Malta- 18.6 kts!

(Gzira, Malta)- The gang from Malta were having fun sailing their fleet of J/70s in the often epic sailing conditions they encounter in the middle of the Mediterranean- 18.6 knots boatspeed!!  Things get especially fun and the amp-meter goes off the charts when they get the tail end of giant mistrals that blow across from France and Italy, often churning up enormous 10-15 ft waves and 40-60 kts winds from the NNW.  Catch the tail end of one of these on a spectacular sunny day and you can have the ride of your life in 20-30 kt winds and ginormous left over waves!  Watch this video made by the Maltese gang (Christian Ripard steering with friends) on their J/70s ripping around the Med.

J/70 CALVI NETWORK Triumphs in Scarlino

(Scarlino, Italy)- The J/70 class continues to grow in Italy, with increasing participation by top Italian sailing teams in this new class.  Many are planning to participate in the upcoming J/70 European Championships being sailed at Riva del Garda from September 23rd to 27th.  Some teams are also considering sailing in the J/70 World Championships in Newport, RI from September 8th to 13th at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court.

An emerging leader in the Coppa Italia J/70 Circuit is one of Italy’s top sailors- Carlo Alberini sailing his renowned CALVI NETWORK.  Carlo has sailed for years at the top of the game in the M24 and M32 classes around the world as well as sailing in the European offshore circuits on the Mediterranean.  His “Lightbay Sailing Team” are now currently leading the Coppa Italia J/70 Circuit.

This past weekend, the third event in the circuit was sailed off picturesque Scarlino, a beautiful seaside town in Tuscany.  The J/70 teams enjoyed six races during the weekend sailing in the challenging waters of the Gulf of Follonica, bordered to the west by Elba Island, to the north by the headlands of Piombino and to the south Punta Ala.

On the first day of sailing, Carlo and crew aboard CALVI NETWORK sailed “lights out”, taking three bullets and managing to keep themselves out of trouble.  With the wind from the South up to 20 kts with short waves and irregular chop, sailing upwind took some skill to navigate the seas, rewarding those who had fine-tuned their sail-trimming skills.  Downwind was full-on planing-mode, extremely exciting and fast downwind with gennakers flying.

While CALVI NETWORK enjoyed their evening with newfound J/70 friends, it was clear some of them were listening to “go-fast” tips on sailing their boats.  As a result, there were three different winners on the second day of sailing- PENSAVO ITA-262 (1-5-5) sailed by Beppe Zavanone; MAGIE ITA-455 (3-1-4) skippered by Gianluca Grisoli; and ITA-570 (7-4-1) led by helm Andrea Zaoli.  Hanging on tough was CALVI NETWORK, sailing to a 2-3-2 to clinch the regatta and the overall lead for the Coppa Italia circuit; their team was comprised of  Carlo (owner-driver ), the Slovenian Olympic sailor Karlo Hmeljiak (tactics), Irene Bezzi (mainsail trimmer) and Sergio Blosi (trimmer).  Just behind them in the standings were PENSAVO in 2nd, MAGIE in 3rd, SPIN ONE with skipper Peter Saccomanni in 4th and Zaoli’s team in 5th.

The next stage of the Italian Cup will be staged again in the waters off Scarlino between May 31 and June 2.  Thereafter, the last two events are both being sailed at Riva del Garda- the first one on 26-27 July and the last one from 23-27 September for the J/70 European Championships.

For more Italian J/70 sailing information, please contact Paolo Boido at J/Boats Italy- email- jboats@jboats.it or mobile# +39-335-688-5005.

Seattle NOOD Regatta Preview

(Seattle, WA)- From May 16th to 18th, the one-design focused Sperry Top Sider Seattle NOOD regatta will be held in the waters of Puget Sound.  One hopes the sailors will be blessed with great sailing on Friday with sun and good breeze since the weekend forecast looks very “classic” Seattle (a bit of wind, some rain and misty southerly breezes.

Joining the fray are one-design fleets of J/24s, J/70s, J/80s and J/105s.  The most significant fleet happens to be the venerable J/24s, with a dozen of the area’s veterans going at it hammer and tong.  Potential fleet leaders could be Chris Snow & Pat Dore on BABBA LOUIE, Scott Milne on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH (a past NOOD 24 winner) and Jasper Van Vliet from Mill Valley, CA sailing EVIL OCTOPUS!

The J/70s are starting to prosper in Seattle and this will be their debut in the Seattle NOOD.  Hard to know how it will shake out for this fleet other than the fact that Mike Pitt’s DaSPENCER has the most experience so far.  Andy Mesher’s PERIDOT and Bill Henry’s RIP VAN WINKLE will be doing their best to overcome their experience deficit in the 70s with plain smart sailing.  Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson and Tim Wilkes.com.  For more Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information

Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga - Premiere League Begins!

(Starnberg, Germany)- The second stage of the 2014 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga is about to commence this weekend on the Starnberger See- a beautiful lake SSW of Munich surrounded by gently rolling hills to the north and just 15 miles north of the majestic German/ Austrian Alps.  Host for this event is the Bayerischer Yacht-Club Munich situated at the very northern end of the lake.

Sailing in this weekend’s event are the top eighteen clubs that pre-qualified from the first event held from April 4th to 6th in Glucksburg (a total of sixty-one teams participated).  The Bundesliga is now split into two “leagues”- the Premiere League sailing in J/70s for the next four stages and the Bundesliga II League.  The five clubs who qualified for the “Premiere League” from the first Glucksburg event, were the winners Kieler YC, the Bodensee YC Überlingen, the Seglervereinigung Itzehoe, the Segelkameradschaft "Wappen von Bremen" and the Düsseldorf YC.

Joining them will be the top five teams from the 2013 DSBL, including the champions Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, followed by Württembergischer Yacht-Club in second and Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee in third, Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau fourth and Chiemsee Yacht Club fifth.  The winner of the first event at Tutzing last year (also on the Starnberger See) was Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau; they certainly hope to repeat that performance again this year!

In addition, the following clubs will also have strengthened their teams, including the host Bayerischer Yacht-Club, Berliner Yacht-Club, Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (the host for the next event in Tutzing), Flensburger Segel-Club, Konstanzer Yacht Club, Lübecker Yacht-Club, Mühlenberger Segel-Club, and Schweriner Yacht-Club.

The teams hope the weather forecast (http://bit.ly/1qAdgv2) improves a bit, nevertheless, it looks like there will be breeze all weekend long.   After the passage of a Low pressure system on Thursday, it looks like Friday will be in the 50s F. with WNW winds in the 6-12 kts range, followed by the passage of another Low pressure system Saturday bringing some cool rain and WSW winds in the 5-10 kts range.  With any luck, Sunday’s forecast for partly sunny skies in the mid-60s F. may effect the forecast light SW winds (hopefully a sea-breeze can build on the northern end of the lake!).  For more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information

J/24 Champion Sailor Terry Hutchinson Joins Quantum Sails

(Traverse City, MI)-  Quantum Sails is pleased to announce the addition of Terry Hutchinson as Executive Vice President for Business Development Worldwide.  Much of his work will be with the company’s racing division, overseeing development of the company’s high-level performance products and customer racing programs as well as providing overall sales leadership. He will report to Quantum President Ed Reynolds.

Hutchinson is not new to the business side of sail making. After graduating from college with a business degree, he played a very successful sales role at Reynolds’ original sail loft in Traverse City, MI. “Terry makes things happen,” says Reynolds. “He brings a strategic discipline, deep dedication, and high level of energy to everything he does.” Reynolds continues, “As a professional sailor, Terry has a user’s perspective and finger on the pulse of the market; he is aware of trends and keen observer of how things change. He is a proven leader, setting high expectations, continuously challenging himself and his colleagues. His experience, commitment, and leadership will be great assets to the company and the clients we serve.”

While at Old Dominion University, Hutchinson was named All-American four times and selected twice for collegiate sailor of the year. Terry is a six-time world champion in the J/24, TP 52, Farr 40, and IMS classes and a winning tactician of the Louis Vuitton Cup. In 2008, Hutchinson was named Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, earning the coveted award on the fourth time he was shortlisted.  Hutchinson has been part of four America’s Cup campaigns: in 2000 he served as the mainsail trimmer on America One; in 2003 as tactician for Stars & Stripes, and in 2007 as tactician for Emirates Team New Zealand helping lead the team to the only sweep in Louis Vuitton Final history. Hutchinson served as skipper of Artemis Racing and won the 2011-12 AC World Series Match Racing Championship.

Since 2008, Hutchison has served as both helmsman and tactician with the TP52 program Quantum Racing, winning three world championships and three circuit championships. Along with his corporate responsibilities, Hutchinson will continue in his role as tactician for Quantum Racing.

“As a professional sailor, I’ve had the opportunity to compete at the highest level of the sport with several different sail manufacturers providing me with an understanding of strengths and weaknesses in the industry. What’s clear to me is that Quantum shares my values and principles: hard work, commitment to excellence, and integrity. This relationship with Quantum starts a new chapter for me and is a step in raising my game both on and off the water.”

Adds Hutchinson, “I’m looking forward to working closely with programs wanting to take their performance to the next level as well as Quantum’s internal product development and sales teams. It’s an exciting move for me.”  You may contact T-Hutch at ph# +1 443-994-4663 or email- thutch@quantumsails.com

Blustery Finish For AYC Spring Series

Big One-Design Battles For J/70s, J/105s, J/109s & J/44s.
(Rye, New York)- For the second and final weekend of the American Yacht Club Spring Series, the sailors could not have seen two radically different days for sailing.  While Saturday was somewhat sunny and benign with reasonable winds, Sunday’s racing was beyond epic, like other events in the northwest, this Long Island Sound adventure also made for a “fresh to frightening” day.  For some it was simply too much and many boats didn’t even venture out on Sunday with winds gusting up to 30 kts from the WNW all day.

The J/70s were the largest fleet in the regatta and, arguably, one of the most competitive.  Unlike the previous weekend, no one in the top three managed to stay in the top three!  The ultimate winners were the brother team of Scott & Alex Furnary sailing NO NAME YET to a total of 22 pts, finishing the regatta with three 2nds and taking their first regatta win!  Second overall was Carrie & Ed Austin on CHINOOK and third were the Ploch sisters (Megan & Madelyn) sailing SUGAR DADDY- in fact, winning the last windiest race!  Fourth was Dan Goldberg sailing BAZINGA and fifth was Trevor Roach on SEMI-CHARMED.   For more American YC Spring Series sailing information

SAVASANA Overall Annapolis NOOD Winner!

J/Crews Enjoyed Awesome Weekend of Sailing
(Annapolis, MD)- With 200+ boats participating in the Annapolis NOOD the crew at Sailing World officially announced the end of winter on the East Coast. Earlier this year, Ken Read challenged the sailing community to step up and build better events. “Field of Dreams” was not referencing sailing when that voice whispered to Kevin Costner “if you build it they will come,” but that is a great movie and sailing should take the advice. Build a better regatta experience and chances are your event’s participation will grow.

The Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas is a perfect example of an event that is working hard to grow participation. With three down and three to go, NOOD Regattas are working with partners to add more onshore activities to the regatta program. Event organizers, Sailing World and long-time event supporter North Sails have teamed up to offer sailing performance analysis, One-Design Dock Talks, awards for the top performing local sailor, and after sailing parties.

The end goal? Make regattas fun for all sailors. Because who doesn’t want to have fun?

Annapolis NOOD got off the a soggy start as eager sailors crammed into the tent on Thursday night to attend a local weather knowledge talk with North Sails’ Chris Larson. “North Sails Local Knowledge is a program we added to the NOOD Regattas this year,” said Larson. “It’s an opportunity for both local and out-of-town sailors to brush on local conditions. May offers the most diverse and enjoyable sailing conditions in Annapolis. As the ‘local guys,’ we want to arm people with as much knowledge as possible so they can maximize their regatta experience.”

If you were sailing a J-Boat during Annapolis NOOD, chances are you had a chance to join one of the many scheduled Dock Talks. The highly competitive J/70 class boasted the event’s highest entry list with 54 boats. Rumor is 70+ sailors almost sunk the dock during a post race chat with North Sails’s Tim Healy and Will Welles!

For the first day of racing on Friday, breezy conditions on Chesapeake Bay welcomed the sailors. The favorable winds granted a full day of racing for competitors with most classes getting in three races.

With 56 entrants, the J/70 class is by far the largest of the regatta, and one of the most competitive. As expected, mark roundings were crowded, putting a premium on boat-handling and positioning. Skipper Martin Kullman from St. Petersburg, Fla. improved race-by-race throughout the day, culminating with a first place finish for Touch2Play in the final race of the day and holds the class lead. Skipper Joel Ronning and crew aboard Catapult, one of the class’s top professional teams won the first two races, but stumbled slightly in the third race, and currently sits in fourth place overall. The Minneapolis-based team is keen to avenge a narrow defeat in last year’s regatta to Bennet Greenwald, the regatta’s overall champion in 2013.

On Saturday, when southerly winds finally filled in the afternoon, racing got underway and most classes completed one race. The light-winds and strong current, however, made it extremely challenging, even for the most experienced local teams that are accustomed to such conditions.


The J/70 class finally started after two general recalls, sailing in extremely challenging conditions that required boat speed and patience. Brian Keane’s Savasana showed their experience early in the race as they built a lead that no other team came close to challenging. Keane’s win put them solidly in the series lead going into the final day of racing.


For the third and final day skipper Brian Keane on SAVASANA had a single goal to preserve his lead in the J/70 class- to avoid any “dingers.”  “It was the biggest flood effecting the Chesapeake in 15 years, which meant there would be a lot of current ripping out, and the wind was all over the place,” said Keane. “We knew everyone was going to be up and down, so we wanted to make sure we’d be consistent and just sacrifice the first and seconds to makes sure we had top finishes.”

“With the tide as strong as it was it really played a factor on the starting line, and we saw boats clustering and we avoided them in order to be able to get away, use our speed, have a lane, and tack when we wanted to tack.”

In the first of two races on the day Savasana finished ninth, its highest finish in the six-race series, which preserved their lead with one more to go. In the last race, sailed in shifty 10-25-knot westerly in the shadow of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, they did all they could to avoid high-risk situations. Their final result was a sixth, which gave them an 8-point victory over Doug Strebel’s Black River Racing, from Kemah, Texas.

“We felt really fast downwind,” said Keane, whose crew included Olympic 49er sailors Thomas Barrows and Joe Morris, and Ron Weed. “The key in the they type conditions we had today is sensing when to step up and put the boat an plane. That was key and I think we were doing better than anyone else, especially in the second race.”  As overall winner of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in Annapolis, Keane and his crew have earned a berth at the NOOD Championship in the British Virgin Islands in October, which will be sailed in 44-foot charter boats provided by Sunsail.

Behind Keane’s SAVASANA and Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, the balance of the top five in the J/70 class was Martie Kullman on TOUCH2PLAY in third, Bryan Cameron on B-SQUARED in fourth and Allan Terhune on OCHO CINCO in fifth (aboard were current J/22 and J/24 World Champions and J/70 Key West winners)!


The next NOOD Regatta will be in Seattle, WA on May 16-18, which will include the NORTH Rally Race. After making its debut at the San Diego NOOD, this one day, random leg, PHRF-scored race is geared for new-to-racing sailors, families, custom boats that don’t fit within the One Design concept of the NOODs as well as the avid racer that only has one free day.

Scuttlebutt is such a fan of the Seattle NOOD North Rally Race that the first five people to contact us will have their $55 entry fee paid for them. Be sure to enter by May 9 as the $25 late fee is not part of this offer. Entry includes the Saturday party and two drink tickets.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com.    For more Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information

J/Teams Prevail @ Yachting Cup Regatta

(San Diego, CA)- Record temperatures and the sizzle of Cinco de Mayo celebrations set the stage for the 42nd running of the Yachting Cup Regatta on May 2-4. Hosted by San Diego Yacht Club, 11 fleets competed in one design and PHRF handicap divisions.

The regatta kicked off with a single random leg “Beer-Can style” race inside San Diego Bay, with 80 degree temperatures and winds gusting to 13 knots providing near Caribbean conditions. “By having today’s start at 3:00pm, it gave crews and skippers a chance to get organized, work a half day, or just gradually ease into the regatta,” noted event Chair Julie Servais. “The idea was to provide some diversity to the race schedule, and since random leg racing typically requires fewer crew, boats that couldn’t gather their full crew wouldn’t be a disadvantage.”

After their dominating first day, the Kownacki/Jenkins team on their J/70 DFZ took top honors with a closing scoreline of 4-1-3 to win with 14 pts total.  World renowned world champion in all things dinghies and keelboats, David Ullman, managed a strong challenge to DFZ to take 2nd overall with 17 pts. Third was John Fuller sailing BLISS in his first major J/70 regatta, taking the tie-break over Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR team at 21 pts each.  Fifth in the 70s was the Gribble/ Weise duo on GO-RILLA at 27 pts.
  Thanks for contribution from Scuttlebutt Sailing News.  Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels       For more San Diego Yachting Cup sailing information

Warsash Spring Series Grand Finale

(Warsash, England)- After the Easter break, the closing races in the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship took place over 26th/27th April 2014. Having had no problems with gales or flat calms, the event has been a great success all round, with new entries joining week by week as the weather became warmer, especially for the open sportsboats. Over the eight race days, the 100 plus team from Warsash Sailing Club has run over 170 separate races and each week title sponsors Brooks Macdonald have welcomed competitors back to the Club with champagne prizes for the lucky class winners.

Saturday- Spring Championship Day 3

This was an exhausting but exhilarating day, especially for the sportsboats in White Group which experienced gusts to 33 knots and lulls at 18 knots. Understandably, there were a number of broaches. Boats.com (Ian Atkins – J/70) shredded her spinnaker during Race 2 but fortunately had a spare and still managed to win their race. Whilst most of the J/80 fleet stayed out for four races, several eventually stuck to white sails rather than risk using, and possibly losing, a spinnaker. Some in the J/70 classes decided, having worked so hard for the first two races, to call it a day.

The RAF-crewed J/70 Team Spitfire RAFBF clinched a win by just one second from Django (Malcolm and Tristan Jaques) in the first race, the remaining contests going to Ian Atkins’ Boats.com. Betty (Jon Powell) took two wins in the J/80s; Jester (Michael  Lewis) and Rock and Roll (Gillian Ross) coming up trumps in the others.

Sunday- Spring Series Day 6/ Spring Championship Day 4

Sunday morning found the breeze had dropped to 16/20 knots. By the end of the morning the rain cleared and crews finished the day wearing sunglasses. Two races were scheduled for Black Group, starting with a two hour course for Race 1, reduced to 45 minutes for Race 2. The design was principally windward/leeward with beats south-easterly against the tide which continued to build during the day. Race 1 used the area between Ryde Middle and East Knoll banks and Race 2 to the east of the North Channel. All classes, except IRC4, started at East Knoll with an initial windward leg to Bart’s Bash followed by an exhilarating sleigh ride downwind. During this leg some chose to make a speedy swap for bigger headsails, ready for the next beat, to power more easily through the Solent chop. This being the final day of racing, many competitors needed to cover others, thinking about their placing overall as well as in individual races.

The White Group committee boat had a busy time when one boat picked up a laid mark and started dragging it along. A replacement mark was deployed but that too was caught and removed by another boat; the two giving the impression of an unexpected “gate” on the course! In the confusion, the race was abandoned and restarted. Boats.com took the first race in the J/70s by 24 seconds from Team Spitfire but dropped to sixth place in the second race when Django was the winner. In the J/80s, Betty has performed consistently very well and this year wins both the Spring Championship and Spring Series. She finished with an eight second win over Juicy in Race 1 and was runner-up to Aqua-J in the remaining races.

CRO White Group Peter Knight commented that this was the first time in his memory of the event that the Black Flag has stayed firmly below decks for the whole Series. He puts this good starting discipline down to an increasing number of boats having invested in new electronics to mark the start line.

For the two sportsboat classes sailing in the White Group, it was a tale of two worlds for the J/70s and J/80s.  JOYRIDE skippered by Ian Wilson took the J/70 spring series with a total of 65 pts.  Taking second in the series was Malcolm & Tristan Jacques on DJANGO with 78 pts and third was Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY with 85 pts.  In the J/70 Championship series, it was clear that Ian Atkins’s team on BOATS.COM had benefitted from their experiences sailing in Key West Race Week, taking ten 1sts in fourteen races to win overall.  Second was Simon Ling’s RAF SPITFIRE crew with 34 pts, just one point ahead of Malcolm & Tristan Jacques DJANGO in third.

The final weekly champagne prizes were presented by Brooks Macdonald Director John Wallace, accompanied by his daughter Eleanor. The SLAM jacket went to Brian Moreton of the J/70 Jukebox. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com  For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information

AYC Spring Series Starts Strongly

(Rye, New York)- Counting their blessings that the weather forecast would hold and produce suitable winds, the seventy-eight boats participating in the American YC Spring Series were not disappointed.  After two days and six races, the various fleets couldn’t have been more pleased with the performance of AYC’s excellent RC work.

 The largest fleet is also the youngest and also marks its debut in the AYC Spring Series!  With fifteen boats registered, the J/70s saw spirited competition across the board.  Currently leading is class newcomer David Murphy sailing COOKIE MONSTER to an amazing five 1sts in a row!  Just behind them is John Brim’s RIMETTE only five pts back.  Lying third is Scott Furnary on NONAME YET.  Dave Florence in BUZZZ is 4th and Carrie & Ed Austin sailing CHINOOK are sitting in 5th.

Next weekend may see an entire flip-flop in these standings, especially in the one-design classes.  A change in the weather, a new moon blooming, Mars ascending over Venus, just about anything can influence the karma of the leading teams.  Check the standings after next weekend here, could be an eye-opener!  For more American YC Spring Series sailing information

CALVI NETWORK Wins J/70 Italia Cup II

(San Remo, Italy)- The Yacht Club San Remo organized the second stage of the "Coppa Italia J/70”, a national circuit of six events that takes place throughout the summer season across Italy.  So far, the series has achieved great success and it is generating a lot of interest in this new international one-design class.

Over the April 25th to 27th weekend, eight races were completed in winds and waves that varied from light airs to breezy, puffy conditions— exactly the type of weather where the J/70 has demonstrated its potential and performance.

It was a tough struggle for the leading positions, with different winners in each race.  There is no question the Italian J/70 sailors are learning fast, with good competition and are having fun sailing the J/70.  There is a nice mixture of young and old alike on the teams along with increasing participation by women.   

Carlo Alberini, skippering CALVI NETWORK, won the second stage of the Coppa Italia J/70.  Following them in second was MAGIE sailed by Mr Grisoli from Soldano and in third was PENSAVO PEGGIO sailed by Mr Magni from Tortarolo.

At one point on the third day TERIBLE, sailed by the newest entry in the Italian J/70 class- Claudia Rossi from Negri,  remained in the fight for the podium during the course of the entire event.  However, a difficult last race cost her a chance for a top three position, having to settle for fourth overall.  Rounding out the top five was SPIN ONE with skipper Mr. Saccomani from Eulisse.

After Alassio and San Remo, the Italian Cup now moves to double weekends of sailing at Scarlino Marina (10/11 May & 31 May/2 June) and finally Riva del Garda (26/27 July & September 23/27).

This last weekend will complete the Italian J/70 Circuit and will be considered the J/70 European Championship 2014, the first in the history of J/70 class.  For more International J/70 class sailing information

Annapolis NOOD Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- Another epic Sperry Top Sider Annapolis NOOD Regatta is in the making this coming weekend on the Chesapeake Bay.  What has now become an annual right of spring in the Bay area, the Annapolis YC, famous for being one of the most gracious and accommodating hosts clubs anywhere, somehow fits in over 200 boats at its various facilities.  157 J teams are sailing (79% of the fleet!).  With three separate racing areas, eight one-design fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/30s, J/35s, J/105s, and J/109s are looking forward to a wonderful weekend of racing, great social activities and a chance to sit back, relax, and catch up with friends who’ve been buried in snow this past winter.

The forecast for the weekend looks promising.  With the clearing out of the massive low-pressure front inflicting enormous damage with tornado’s, thunderstorms and hurricane force winds across the Midwest midweek, the sailors should benefit with cool, classic spring weather on the Chesapeake for the weekend.  Breezes are forecast to be in the SW-NW quadrants from 5-12 kts all weekend long.


As the largest fleet in the regatta with fifty-seven boats registered, the J/70 fleet again has many new faces in the crowd joining class veterans from the past year.  Past leaders from the winter circuit in Tampa Bay, Key West, Bacardi Miami and Charleston are all present.  As one of the last major regattas prior to the J/70 North Americans in Rochester, NY and the Worlds in Newport in September it will be a good test for many of the crews. With teams from fourteen states across America and even a team from Great Britain, the jury is out on how the top teams fair sailing the shifty breezes and tricky currents on the Chesapeake Bay.   For more Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information