Lovely, Windy Poole Regatta

Great Sailing for J/70 Nationals
(Poole, England)-  This year’s International Paints Poole Regatta was blessed with great breeze and awesome race committee work, making it fun and exhausting for all!  The regatta is a huge bi-annual event held over the three days of the late May Bank Holiday Weekend.  In addition to the U.K. National Championships for J/24s, J/70s and J/80s being run as part of the regatta, there was excellent IRC handicap racing, too.

First, the J/70 Nationals.  The report from Paul & Marie-Claude Heys comes from the perspective of sailing their J/70 JOSEPH’S COAT: “The regatta is run by a consortium of the Poole Yacht Clubs and was a brilliant example of how a regatta should be run; swift launching of trailerable boats by the Parkstone YC travel hoist crew, excellent on-the-water race management, a prompt results service and a delightful clutch of socials spread between Parkstone Yacht Club, Poole Yacht Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club. Congratulations and thank you to the hardworking army that made it all happen.

Race day 1 was planned as a four race day, the morning races were sailed in 10-12 knots which was enough to see the J/70s planing downwind. There is a big difference in the downwind sailing styles of the J/70 and the J/80, with the 70s opting for an aggressive crew weight aft, bow up ‘hot angle’ mode and the 80s sailing in a deeper displacement mode. PRO Peter Sexton set the J/70s on their way six minutes ahead of the J/80s, this worked really well with no resulting traffic issues.

The first bullet for the J/80s went to Ben Richards and Andrew and Julia Dallas on Boysterous, with new class chair Mike Lewis second on Jester.

Races 2-4 of the J/80 series were won by Patrick Liardet’s Aqua- J which when added to a third in race one left Patrick sitting on a solid overnight lead.

In the meantime, on the J/70 circuit, defending National Champion and European Champion, Ruairidh Scott, having now teamed up with Ian Atkins to own and sail Boats.com, took the first two bullets. Ian Southworth helming Simon Ling’s Team RAFBF Spitfire won races 3 and 4, with Boats.com taking two seconds and thus the overnight lead. Team RAFBF Spitfire appeared to find the lighter conditions in the afternoon very much to their liking. Other noticeable results on day one were a second place in race one of the J/70 series for Charlie Esse’s Baby J, and class chairman Simon Cavey’s pair of thirds on Just 4 Play.

Race day 2, the Sunday, was again to be a four race day. The wind had increased to 15-22, which meant both fleets were planing downwind, with the J/70s sailing at 15 knots+ of boat speed for long periods. Others were drifting sideways with their keels horizontal for brief and embarrassing periods!

Boats.com showed the benefit of their experience and the hard work that they have put in during training to score an outstanding four firsts, Team RAFBF Spitfire took four straight seconds, the lead pair now opening up a points gap on the rest of the fleet. Charlie Esse’s Baby J completed the podium for the day with a flush of thirds.

The final day was, as forecast an ‘off the land’ 8 knots, making Poole bay nice and calm, thus giving the sailors some respite after a windy Saturday. For the third day in a row, PRO Peter Sexton got the fleet away on time. In the J/80 class, any one of three boats, Juicy, J.A.T. and Aqua-J, could win the series, so the pressure was high!

For the J/70 title Boats.com only needed to punch in one good result from the two final races, with a second as discard they were in a strong position. Their only possible challenger was Team RAFBF Spitfire who looked solid for a top two result. First to the top mark in race nine, was Joseph’s Coat helmed by Marie-Claude Heys, who had predominately worked the right hand side of the course. Boats.com assumed their normal position at the head of the fleet just before the end of the run. Team RAFBF Spitfire was a little further back in the pack. On the next upwind leg, Boats.com placed a general cover on the bulk of the fleet whilst Team RAFBF Spitfire headed hard left and found a nice shift that propelled them into a big lead at the final windward mark. Boats.com reeled them in on the final run closing them down but not passing.

That second place was enough for Boats.com to take the title, so they sailed in, to beat the queue for the crane leaving Team RAFBF Spitfire to pick up a fourth bullet in race ten, followed by Dave Atkinson sailing Jawbreaker in second and then Just 4 Play in third.

Boats.com were the deserved winners, with Spitfire a very solid second and Ian Wilson’s Wilson Covers being helmed by Geoff Carveth knocking Baby J out of third.

For the J/70s as a young fleet, techniques are still being developed to get the best out of these fast-planing machines, the build up to September’s inaugural World Championship continues with Boats.com looking the class act.

At the final prize giving, Boats.com was awarded the Kleinwort Benson ‘Boat of the Regatta’ trophy as an accolade to their tally of twelve points from ten races. Top boat out of 180 competitors, well done Ian Atkins, Ruairidh Scott, Dan Brown and Ben Field! Oh, and to their coach, the legendary Q.P. Saltonstall!”   Sailing photo credits- David Harding   For more Poole Regatta 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

J/70 RASCAL Wins Bacardi Miami Sailing Week

(Coconut Grove, FL)-  Forty J/70 teams trekked to southern Florida for the fifth annual running of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank, held from March 6-8 on Biscayne Bay. What’s not to like about the venue and sailing on the Bay with great breeze and sunny skies. There were 192 boats registered across six one-design fleets, with competitors from 15 foreign nations (Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine) travelling great distances (at great expense) to compete against top American sailors.

The ever-growing popularity of the J/70 class was again in evidence at BMSW where entries were up over 100% from their strong debut in last year’s event.  The class had many of the leading J/70 teams participating.   On the first day in moderate 8-12 kts SSE breezes, Heather Gregg-Earl (Boston, Mass.), the 2013 J/70 North American Champion, posted finishes of 3-5 to take the overall lead with eight points.  BMSW defending champion Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) had nine points, followed by Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.) with 11 points, and two skippers tied with 12 points each: Venezuela’s Victor Diaz de Leon and Peter Duncan (Rye, N.Y).

On a champaign sailing day with nice breeze and white caps flickering across sunny Biscayne Bay, only one race was sailed Friday in the J/70 fleet (much to the disapointment of many J/70 sailors).  Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.) took the win and moved from third into the lead of the overall standings, tied on points (12) with BMSW defending champion Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) who finished third.  Peter Duncan (Rye, N.Y) finished second and stands third overall with 14 points, followed by Boston’s Heather Gregg-Earl who finished 14th and has 22 points.  Fifth in the overall standings with 23 points is New Orleans sailor Tim Molony who placed fifth in the race.  “Three general recalls this morning and a couple of black flags, so we held back, played the game and did not push too hard,” said Welles after today’s race. “In the big puffs we worked the main upwind and then managed the angles well on the downwind. With 40 boats it was good fun, really tight close racing.”

Sadly, day three was a “glass out” and no racing took place.  With scores of 10-1-1, Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.) took the win in the J/70 fleet with 12 points, winning the tie-breaker over BMSW defending champion Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) who had finishes of 7-2-3.  Peter Duncan (Rye, N.Y) took third with 14 points; followed by Heather Gregg-Earl (Boston, Mass.) with 22 points; and Tim Molony (New Orleans, La.) with 23.

“Out of all the regattas this was a really great one to win,” said Welles.  “We had a great start, good team work, nice speed and a little luck. The first day we had about 10 kts, second day we had about 20 kts. So, I would say today [Saturday] they made a good choice to not race. Coming from Newport, we really love coming to BACARDI and we are so glad they invited the J/70  class to be part of it.”  Sailing photo credits- Cory Silken  For more BACARDI Miami Sailing Week information

San Diego NOOD Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The next installment of Sailing World’s NOOD Regattas will be taking place this weekend in San Diego from March 14th to 16th.  In addition to the one-design and handicap classes, a new “event” has been added into the mix, the “North Sails Rally Race” that takes place on Saturday only.  J/Sailors will be a significant component in the regatta, with forty-four teams participating in the large one-design classes of J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, and J/120s. J/Crews will once again be the “life of the party” at San Diego’s NOOD, as 44 “J’s” of 114 boats (39% of the fleet) will have over 250 crew members socializing around the expansive decks and lawns at San Diego YC.

The J/70s have the largest fleet in the regatta with sixteen teams hoping to grab one of the qualifying spots for the J/70 Worlds in Newport, RI this September.  There are several wily veterans mixed in with a host of new teams just starting their J/70 circuits this year.  Amongst the veterans, you have Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT crew from Wayzata YC in Minnesota, Eric Kownacki & Tom Jenkins on DFZ, Dan Gribble/ Kurt Weise on GO-RILLA, Jeff Brown from the host San Diego YC, Craig Tallman on JAYA, Bennet Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE and Karl Pomeroy on ZERO TO 60.  Amongst the fleet newcomers in the regatta are several talented teams from other classes that have hopped into 70’s for more fun in the sun!  Santa Barbara YC’s Scott Deardorff is campaigning CAKE this year (already entered in the J/70 North Americans in Rochester, NY), Beverly Burr is skippering CHICK BOAT from Westlake YC, Patrick Toole is driving ECLIPSE (another Santa Barbarian team that are also J/24 North American Champions!), Dave Vieregg is leading SOGGY DOLLAR, Scott Grealish from Portland, OR is skippering SPLASH and top J/105 sailor Rich Bergmann is sailing ZUNI BEAR.   For more Sperry Top Sider San Diego NOOD sailing information

J/70 West Coast Circuit Update

(San Francisco, CA)- The West Coast is getting busy, particularly since the hottest ticket in town is becoming the next boat and crew to qualify for the 2014 J/70 Worlds in Newport.  Fleet growth in San Diego/ Los Angeles in SoCal; in the greater San Francisco Bay area; and in the Pacific Northwest around Seattle, WA has increased dramatically in recent months.

San Francisco Report- from Sail California
“The J/70 class has grown rapidly on San Francisco Bay, with 11 boats already sailing and with more arriving all the time.  Most importantly, the J/70 Fleet 19 has outlined a great series of races that include the World’s qualifiers.”  Here are the events:

• Mar 8-9- Big Daddy Regatta- Richmond YC
• Apr 5-6- J/Fest San Francisco Bay- St Francis YC
• May 17-18- Elite Keelboat Regatta- San Francisco YC (Worlds Qualifier)
• May 31- Delta Ditch Run- Richmond, CA- Single-handed Sailing Club
• Jun 27-29- Long Beach Race Week- Alamitos Bay YC (Worlds Qualifier)
• Jul 19-20- High Sierra Regatta- Fresno YC
• Aug 16-17- Summer Keelboat Regatta- San Francisco YC
• Aug 30- Jazz Cup-  SBYC
• Sep 11-14 Rolex BBS StFYC
• Oct 25-26 Great Pumpkin RYC

Seattle Report- from Sail Northwest
“The Pacific Northwest has 3 qualifying spots! J/70 Fleet 17 has 2 qualifying berths at the Seattle NOOD's Regatta and one berth for the Northwest Championship (TBD).

And, if that isn't enough to entice you into competing in the exciting new sportboat fleet that is taking the country by storm you will also have your very own official Pacific N.W. J/70 Worlds photographer following you around the course in Newport, Rhode Island!

Jan Anderson (a renown Seattle yachting photographer) and her boat-boy “Skip” will be on site and making an effort to capture your boat in the excitement of sailing the first ever J/70 Worlds!

The J/70 is exploding in growth worldwide with 86 (nope, this is NOT a typo) boats racing Charleston Race Week. This is nothing short of amazing given that two years ago there were none in existence. J/70’s are reserved through hull #630 as of today! I can only imagine what will happen when McConaghy Boats gets up to speed with their production in China!”  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal/ Jan Edney

Healy Crowned J/70 Midwinter Champion

(Key West, FL)- There was plenty of final day drama at Quantum Key West 2014 as the winners of several classes were determined during the last race. And, conditions could not have been better for those winner-take-all scenarios with the southernmost point of the United States delivering the strongest winds of the regatta. NNE breezes in the 18-25 knot range made for some spectacular racing on all courses and enabled all classes to complete 10 races for the five-day event.

The most impressive performance of the regatta was skipper Tim Healy and his team on HELLY HANSEN, which won the 60-boat J/70 class in convincing fashion. Healy, from Newport, RI, repeated as class champ in Key West by winning two races and placing second or third in five others. HELLY HANSEN clinched the regatta by finishing third in Race 9 and therefore did not sail the final race, using that as its throw-out. Geoff Becker and John Mollicone combined on tactics and trimming while Gordon Borges worked the bow for Healy, who is also a standout J/24 sailor.

“Obviously the biggest key to success is having a good team. My guys did an awesome job of boat-handling and tactics,” Healy said. “We sailed here last year so we had a real good feel for the race course. This team has also sailed J/24s together the past few years so we have a comfort level that makes a big difference.”

Healy and HELLY HANSEN came away with the biggest prize – capturing Quantum Sails “Boat of the Week” honors. “We had a huge class down here last year with a lot of really good sailors so it’s a great accomplishment to come out on top. Winning Key West is definitely one of the highlights of my career,” said Healy, a 42-year-old resident of Jamestown, RI. Eight different boats took first place during the week.

Behind them the standings were closely fought for the top five.  Other than having to drop a 28th in race 4, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA sailed a very strong series and were in the hunt as regatta leader until the 8th race when they had to count a 13th.  The SAVASANA crew reveled in the windy conditions on Friday and sailed to a 204 to wrap up second overall with 48 pts.

The “come-back kids” had to be Ian Atkin’s crew on BOATS.COM with Rory Scott skippering.  After starting out slowly with an 11-10-OCS, the J/70 UK National Champions managed to get their act together and sailed strongly to jump into third overall for the regatta, finishing with an emphatic win in the very last race! That’s wonderful news for European J/70 teams to understand that top sailors in their region are every bit as fast as the top American teams.  Follow Ian’s and Rory’s J/70 experiences here on their BOATS.COM blog.

As a winner of some of the regional J/70 events over the 2013 sailing season, many expected Joel Ronning, a long-time Lake Minnetonka, MN sailor, and crew aboard CATAPULT to be contenders.  Indeed they were, sailing extremely well in the first and last days of the regatta to sew-up fourth place with 71 pts.

Another “come-back” story was wily veteran David Ullman sailing US 32 to a fifth place finish.  After starting with a 39-14 the first day, Ullman and crew clawed their way back into contention by winning a race and placing in the top ten six times.

Top woman skipper, repeating the same feat from last year’s Key West, was Heather Gregg-Earl from Boston, MA.  Heather’s team on MUSE persevered and despite being over early in the last race and literally starting DFL about 300 yards behind the fleet, she climbed back into contention to capture a 19th in the last race and finish 14th overall.

HOT MESS, skippered by Rob Britts of St. Petersburg, Fla., was crowned as Corinthian champion of J/70 class. Britts posted six wins and three seconds within the 14-boat sub-class comprised of all-amateur crews.

As an illustration of fleet depth and competition, eight teams won races with, oddly enough, only two teams taking two wins in the total of ten races— Healy’s HELLY HANSEN and James Allsop’s MOXIE.  To finish in the top five would take at least an 8th place average and to finish in the top ten meant you had to average 12th or better!   Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.

Sailing video interviews:

Tim Healy- Team Helly Hansen- J/70 Midwinter Champion & Overall Race Week Award winner.  Tim is also current J/24 World Champion.
Alan Terhune- J/22, J/70 boat owner, skipper & crew providing perspectives on sailing J/70s in Key West.  Alan is also current J/22 World Champion.

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Epic Sailing off Key West- Day 4

(Key West, FL)- It's been said the only certain things in life are death and taxes. But, for sailors “in the know”, you gotta add to that list a full week's worth of racing in Key West. Thursday’s sailing was simply spectacular, with a classic NNE breeze blowing 10-20 kts, clear blue skies, and white caps dotting the seas over turquoise waters.

The strong northerly winds allowed for another three-race day on all courses. Hap Fauth, skipper of Bella Mente, felt exhilarated as he stepped onto the dock following Thursday's action.  "We had absolutely fabulous conditions out there today," Fauth declared. "Anybody who complains about any aspect of this regatta has a screw loose. This is just fantastic sailing."

So far, Tim Healy’s HELLY HANSEN has put forth an impressive performance in the J/70 class, largest of the regatta with 60 boats. Healy, the defending class champ in Key West, has placed first or second in five races and counts no lower than a fourth in accumulating 15 points. SAVASANA, the second place entry skippered by Brian Keane, is a whopping 27 points astern.

Healy won two races on Thursday and finished fourth in the other to earn the Industry Partner Boat of the Day honor. He received the beautiful handcrafted Ship's Bell Clock trophy from Chelsea Clock. Geoff Becker and John Mollicone are teaming to call tactics while Gordon Borges works the bow aboard HELLY HANSEN.

"The big takeaway today was that you can't get too focused on one side of the course. We saw big shifts both ways and there was plenty of pressure on both sides," Healy said. "Our strategy has been to choose a side, but not be the furthest boat out there. You don't want to get pushed all the way to the edge."

Just behind the two leaders and only four points out of second is Great Britain’s Ian Atkins and his team sailing BOATS.COM.  The come-back of the week award must surely go to David Ullman sailing USA 32 after their slow start on the first day of racing.  Starting off with a rather humble 39-14, Ullman’s team added a 5-4-1-7-19-7 for a total of 57 pts to leap into fourth overall after ending the first day’s racing in the high 20’s.  Fifth is Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT with 60 pts.

Friday’s racing promises to have another epic, even windier day, with 15-25 kts wind forecasted from the NNE.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Spectacular Sailing- Day 3 in Key West

(Key West, FL)- Broad smiles and weary bones usually means a successful day on the water for sailors. There was plenty of both on the docks around the Conch Republic on Wednesday after organizers of Quantum Key West 2014 completed three races in strong winds.

Northerly winds that held steady from 12-20 knots provided the best racing conditions yet for the 10 classes on three divisions. After completing three races combined on Monday and Tuesday, the competitors were thankful for the full day's work.

There is a new leader in the J/70 class, the largest of the regatta with 60 boats. Tim Healy steered Helly Hansen to 2-2-3 on Wednesday to take control with a low score of 29. Catapult, skippered by Joel Ronning of Minneapolis, MN, is 12 points behind in second. Third is Brian Keane on Savasana and leaping into the top five was Dave Ullman on US-32 with a 5-4-1 on the second day of sailing.  Notably, Ian Atkins's "boats.com" also jumped into the top ten with a great day of sailing.

Geoff Becker is calling tactics upwind on Team Helly Hansen while John Mollicone is doing the honors downwind for Healy (Jamestown, RI), the defending regatta champ. "Going downwind we were in-between planing and displacement mode so you had to decide when to keep the bow up and the jib out," Healy said. "There were big gains and losses to be made downwind."  Healy explained that a J/70 begins to plane in around 15 knots of breeze and attempting to do so when the wind is not strong enough causes the boat to really slow down. "It's crucial to know when to soak it low," he said.
Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Slow Start to Epic Key West Race Week

(Key West, FL)- The prognosticator “extraordinaires” of all things weather were, for one of those rare moments, remarkably accurate in their predictions for a light air day with next to no wind or just enough wind to make it happen.  As it turns out, the light southerlies driven by a “pancake flat” mini-High shadowing the Florida Keys and into the Straits of Florida that border Cuba to the south were enough to get two of the three race courses racing on the first day.

While Division 1 managed to sail two races on super-shortened courses (with breezes fluctuating wildly from 3.2 to 4.4 kts and swinging from 220 to 270 degrees), the other fleets on Division 2 and 3 had even less to contend with.  Neither the gradient breeze nor the sea-breeze  along the coast fully developed during the day.  The J/70 fleet with 62 boats strong sat around for 5+ hours on the water and the RC PRO wisely canceled racing for the day.  Nevertheless, there’s a fun blog being written by UK J/70 sailor Ian Atkins sailing “boats.com” with a number of his mates who’ve raced with him on the Solent off Cowes (read more here)

Aside from D-1, the other “lucky dogs” for the day were the Division III teams sailing on the course that is further east along Key West.  Waiting until at least 1530 hrs, their RC PRO managed to squeeze in a race for all three classes— the two PHRF fleets and the J/80s.

For the rest of the week, most weather models are in agreement that Tuesday will see a building breeze for the rest of the week with plenty of sunshine.  Sailing photo credits- Ken Stanke/ kenstanek.com    For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Another Epic Key West Sailing Forecast!

(Key West, FL)- This year’s Quantum Key West Race Week is gearing up for its trademark week of racing on the aquamarine waters off the coast of the Conch Republic. As the sailors make their way down the Florida Keys by air, water and land over the weekend, it looks like they will be greeted by either the tail feathers of another “polar vortex” spinning madly across America or they’ll be hammered by a “clipper system” ripping SSE across the continent spinning up all kinds of winds.  By Monday, the “good word” from the colorful Key West Chamber of Commerce is that sunny, benign weather will caress the fleet with near-perfect Caribbean-like conditions all week— some forecast!  Realistically, various weather forecast models (GFS, NAM, ECUWF) show 8-12 kts from NW to NE quadrants for Monday, Tuesday followed by increasing winds from the NW to NE in the 10 to 20 kts plus range from Wednesday to Friday’s closing day.

There will be nearly 130 boats sailing, but what’s different, like a lot different, about this year’s Key West is that J/Teams comprise two-thirds (66.0%) of the fleet with 85 J’s sailing.  In other words, Key West is now the de-facto “Winter J/Fest”!  That’s a good thing since the new regatta HQ at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill, situated on Caroline St between Whitehead St and the infamous Duval St will be over-run by members of the J/Tribe sailing J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, and J/125!

Newport-based Tim Healy will be back to defend his title in J/70 class aboard TEAM HELLY HANSEN, which has attracted a whopping 62 boats. Runner-up Brian Keane’s SAVASANA (Weston, Mass.) and third place finisher Bruno Pasquinelli on STAMPEDE (Dallas, Texas) will also be back as the J/70 class contests its second Midwinter Championship.  They’re up against a formidable array of teams from across the world, not just top Americans, but also teams from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada and Bermuda.  The top boats from the Tampa Bay Quantum Winter series will be attending, including the top three- Jud Smith on AFRICA, Rob & Sandy Butler on TOUCH 2 PLAY and Rob Britts’s HOT MESS.

The balance of the J/70 fleet is deeply talented with any number of teams capable of top ten finishes.  Amongst the top foreign teams could be one of Great Britain’s top J/70 crews, Ian Atkins sailing BOATS.COM; from Puerto Rico is Marco Teixidor skippering CACHONDO; from Bermuda is Chuck Millican racing ELUSIVE; and from Mexico is Julian Fernandez Neckelmann’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO.

Several Etchells 22 World, North American and Jaguar series champions are sailing J/70s, namely Jud Smith as mentioned, but also Peter Vessella sailing RUNNING WILD, Peter Duncan helming RELATIVE OBSCURITY and Jim Cunningham on LIFTED.

Other contenders that have won or were “in the chocolates” in various J/70 regattas in the past year include Brian Elliot’s B-SQUARED, Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, Bob Hughes’s HEARTBREAKER, Kerry Klingler’s MENACE, James Allsopp’s MOXIE, Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE, Dave Franzel’s SPRING and Dave Ullman’s US 32 from Newport Beach, California.

Designers Rod and son Alan Johnstone will be sailing the latest RAGTIME and welcoming other renown class newcomers like Johnny Demourkas sailing GROOVEDERCI from Santa Barbara, CA (Farr 40 and J/105 West Coast Champion); John Brim from Fisher’s Island skippering a “baby RIM” called RIMETTE; Johnny Wynacht sailing STRANGE BREW from Nova Scotia (Canadian J/24 champion and J/29 sailor); Richard Bergmann on ZUNI BEAR II (of J/105 Zuni Bear fame); John Arendshorst on 20/20 RACING from Macatawa Bay; Chris Whitford sailing a baby HOT LIPS (top Farr 40 team from Chicago); Stu Williams on CLOUDSOURCED from Whitefish Bay; Malcolm Gefter sailing CELERITAS from Newport (long-time M32 and Swan 42 sailor); and Tim Molony skippering JOUST (with his New Orleans friend, Olympic medallist Johnny Lovell, as tactician!).

The dynamic match-racing duo of Taylor Canfield (current World Match Racing Champion) and Stephanie Roble (USA #1 Women Match Racer) are sailing as tacticians and could be the proverbial “dark horses” in the fleet. Taylor is sailing with Dan Cheresh’s EXTREME team from Macatawa Bay and Steph is helping Juddie Smith’s Marblehead team on AFRICA.

Amongst the record nine women J/70 skippers (15% of the class!) will be current J/70 North American Champion Heather Gregg-Earl skippering MUSE along with Suzy Leech sailing JUNKANOO, Catharine Evans steering MOJITO, Maegan Ruhlman on SPACEMAN SPIFF, Kathy Parks on SUNDOG, Amy Neill on NITEMARE, Kirsten Berry sailing DANGER MOUSE, Carrie Austin skippering CHINOOK and Tris Worth sailing ALIBI.

Dave Franzel attended what was known as Key West Race Week way back in 1981 as crew for a J/24 program. The founder of the Boston Sailing Center returned 32 years later as a J/70 skipper and was crowned as Corinthian champion after finishing eighth overall in the 39-boat fleet.  "I had an absolute blast. It was one of the best regattas I've ever been to. It made me wish I hadn't waited so long to come back," said Franzel, a resident of Somerville, Mass. "I was very impressed with the race management. The courses were sound and the starting lines were solid. We got in 12 races in five days and you can't ask for more than that."

The Demourkas family from Santa Barbara, CA are back again.  This time, John Demourkas will be racing his new J/70 GROOVEDERCI in the class as the couple makes their annual winter pilgrimage from Santa Barbara.  His wife Deneen is sailing her M32 GROOVEDERCI, commenting that, "John and I have been attending this event the last 14 years and we love the relaxation Key West affords, particularly after a hectic holiday season.  And then there is Race Week, which always delivers. You can pretty much guarantee great sailing conditions, beautiful weather and good competition. Why wouldn't you be here?"

NOTE- the North Sails J/70 team is providing FREE pre-regatta clinics in Key West— come one, come all! Here's what’s happening:

• Saturday 1-4 pm- North On-the-water clinic (run by Tim Healy, Allan Terhune, Andreas Josenhans and Chuck Allen) with starting drills and short course races with complete photo and video coverage.
• Saturday 5:30 pm- Clinic Debrief at the North U. Regatta HQ (725 Caroline St, formerly West Marine)- review photos and videos and pick the brains of top J/70 sailors in a relaxed and casual environment. Refreshments courtesy of North Sails.
• Sunday 10 am- North Dockside clinic- will be held at Tim Healy's boat located near the ramp at the Truman Annex. Bring your questions and a notepad to get the latest, hands-on, tuning tips

For Key West sailing video entertainment, look at this beautifully produced summary from Chris Odom @ Chris Odom Photos- nice sequences of J/70s, J/80s, J/109, J/111, J/44, J/122 in the 3-minute clip.    Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal Photos and Tim Wilkes.com Photos.   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Countdown to Key West

(Key West, FL)- Racing teams from across the country and around the world are getting ready to compete in the waters off America's southernmost city during the 27th annual Quantum Key West Race Week, scheduled Sunday through Friday, Jan. 19-24.

The "wow" factor is clearly in play again for the 2014 edition. All three divisions will feature well prepared programs gathering to enjoy great competition and renowned Key West sailing conditions, as they pursue coveted podium finishes.

The incredibly popular J/70 class is coming off a very successful Key West debut with the fleet topping 60 boats for their 2014 Midwinter Championship. Returning veterans and newcomers to Key West will experience big fleet racing with exciting starts, tight mark roundings, and close finishes. Both the J/70 Open and Corinthian winners will be recognized with daily and series trophies.

For those who can't be out on the race course, there will be plenty of ways to follow the racing. Last year was a first for "Key West Live" coverage (#QKeyWest) and there will be more real time bloggers and video coverage to keep everyone connected this year.   Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal
For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

J/70 BVI Spring & Rolex Cup Regatta Invitation

(Tortola, BVI)- The organizers of the two principal Caribbean regattas in the Virgin Islands have teamed together to offer J/70 teams a unique package for participating in the famous Rolex Cup Regatta in St Thomas, USVI and also the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival in the British Virgin Islands!

The Rolex St Thomas International Regatta, sailed from March 28-30th, 2014, is etched into every racer’s mind as the "Crown Jewel" of Caribbean racing-- where sailors can experience reliable breezes, warm azure waters and world-renowned Island hospitality. If you’ve sailed there in the past, you know that the competition and the camaraderie are unsurpassed.  For Rolex Cup Regatta sailing information

The BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, sailed from March 31st to April 6th, 2014, lives up to its tagline- “Warm water and Hot Racing!”  Replete with Swimsuit Shows, Aerialists and acrobats, amazing music from famous Caribbean bands like “Quito & The Edge”, “Hudson and the Hoo-Doo Cats”, “Final Faze” - they're all part of BVI Regatta Village Life every day— see more of their version of “fun-in-the-sun” on their Facebook page.  For BVI Spring Regatta sailing information

How does it all work?  Kestrel Shipping has organized a simple on/off program to make it easy to ship directly from Palm Beach, FL to Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands with J/70s on their trailers.  Trailer storage and slips are available at Nanny Cay Resort & Marina.  Round trip shipping is $5,800.00 USD plus US & BVI Customs, clearance/ delivery all works out to about $7,500 for all transport.

For accommodations, consider chartering a Moorings sloop or catamaran for ten days as the “mothership” for prices ranging from $5,600 to $11,500 (for up to two crews!).  Check out Moorings.com for charters.

Enjoy sailing out the Sir Francis Drake Channel to race in St Thomas then return to the British Virgin Islands to race the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival!  Depending on sailing conditions, you can sail each way or have the mothership tow the boat.  An amazing ten days of sailing in two of the best regattas in the Caribbean!

If you have any questions about the race, please contact Judy Petz- email- judy@bvispringregatta.org.  If you have questions about shipping/logistics, please contact Chris Haycraft at Island Shipping- chris@islandshipping.com or ph# 284-541-7034.

J/Teams HOT In SD Rum Series

(San Diego, CA)- San Diego's favorite Fall racing series is in full swing! For three Saturday’s (November 9th, 23rd and December 7th), the San Diego Yacht Club plays host to the annual Hot Rum Series— a fun-loving “free-for-all” that generally sees the fleet starting inside of San Diego Harbor, takes them on a “tour” that heads out past the majestic Point Loma, around some buoy set offshore, then “back home to the barn” to again finish inside the channel just off Harbor Island.  It’s an annual ritual for many SoCal sailors and, for most, it’s pretty random how one finishes based on how the wind blows (or not!).  For those not “in-the-know”, it’s consistently one of the largest PHRF “pursuit-style” races run annually— with the little boats (like 21 footers) starting first and the big boats (e.g. over 70 foot ULDB sleds) starting last; whomever crosses first wins!

Many J/Teams participate in this festival of sailing, more fun than being an actual race.  The seven J/70s in PHRF Class 4 are knocking it out of the park so far!  First in class is Karl Pomeroy’s ZERO TO SIXTY followed in second place by Jeff Brown’s “J70 Team”.  Dave Vieregg is sitting 3rd in J/70s and fifth in class on SOGGY DOLLAR.  Sailing photo credits-  Bronny Daniels/ Joysailing.com   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

J/Fest San Diego Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego J/Fest boasts a long history of being one of the most fun and well attended regattas in Southern California.  And, it's exclusively for J/Boat owners! The regatta is open to one-design classes as well as a J/PHRF fleet!

Hosted by San Diego YC the J/Teams will enjoy three day of competitive, fun buoy racing from September 27th to 29th.  Friday is the fun, casual race around set marks and government marks, followed by two days of course racing on Saturday and Sunday.  Inside the bay will be the smaller boats (like J/22, J/70 and J/80) and offshore will be the larger boats (the J/105s, J/109s and J/120s).

While the sailing is always nice in sunny San Diego, J/Fest is perhaps most renown for its onshore festivities.  Saturday evening is the traditional J/Fest Party, basically a giant cook-out on the lawn with live music and lots of awesome swag and giveaways from the sponsors.  The fun factor is a key element of the event, a reason why over fifty boats have attended every year.

The J/105s have yet another great turnout with most of the top local teams sailing, including Chuck Driscoll's BLOW BOAT, Steve & Lucy Howell's BLINK!, Rick Goebel's SANITY, Dennis & Sharon Case's WINGS, Rich Bergmann's ZUNI BEAR, Jon Dekker's AIR BOSS and Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION 2 fro Los Angeles.

The J/120s have traditionally offered very tight competition with a modest-sized fleet.  Again, a number of local favorites are sailing and should be factors at the front of the fleet.  Familiar faces like John Laun's CAPER, John Snook's JIM, Chuck Nichols' CC RIDER, Gary Winton's SHENANIGANS and Mike Hatch's J/ALMIGHTY have all had their fair share of great performances in J/Fest.

The J/109 class will see past local and regional champions sailing again, including Gene Pitkin's GERONIMO, Rex Butler's JD, John Shulze's LINSTAR and Daylen Tercen's GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

The J/70s will debut as a class and their six boat fleet should present a lot of fun racing 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, Karl Pomeroy's ZERO TO 60 and Craig Tallman's JAYA may have a leg-up on the fleet. Nevertheless, 70 sailors have proven they're climbing the learning curve fast in this simple boat, so expect to see good competition from Hugh Bennet on CHEETAH CUB and Sean O'Keefe on DECOLORES 3.  For more J/Fest sailing information, please be sure to contact Joanne O'Dea at joanne@jk3yachts.com.  Or, go to the San Diego YC website.

J/70 Loves Airlie Beach Outing

(Airlie Beach, Australia)- According to the Airlie Beach Chamber of Commerce, "Airlie Beach Race Week is known amongst sailing aficionados as one of the most "bucket-worthy" regattas in the world.  It’s got a laid-back attitude, perfect weather with solid trade-wind sailing, the town is a backpackers’s paradise full of hot young chicks and cheap booze, and it all comes at the perfect time for winter-bound Aussies.  Airlie is also one of the best jumping-off points to explore the Great Barrier Reef; perfect for an extended trip with some sailboat racing in the middle.  It’s a long haul from most places and you might die if you swim in the water, but on a positive note, they’ve got the best drinks cooler in all of sailing on the dock."  And, most notably, they actually deliver on that promise!

Officially promoted as "The Abell Point Marina Airlie Beach Race Week", the event started off in magical conditions for all the 110 boats across the 11 divisions.  The breeze was a kind south-east eight to 10 knots inshore and up to 15 knots offshore as PRO Ross Chisholm sent the fleet off on Course 7 around the Double Cones for all.  There were plenty of battles, among the small and big boats, with some of the high achievers falling by the wayside in the soft wind and tricky tides. In the Sports Boat the skippers kept themselves under control for the first race, starting cleanly.  And, that's pretty much how it went for the rest of the week of sailing, save for one near windless but gorgeous day on the water.  The final day of racing brought smiles to the face of the sailors and race committee as the breeze kicked in as forecasted.  It was Whitsunday sailing at its best with 10 to 15 knots south-east, a manageable swell and good racing around Pioneer Bay.

Sailing their J/70 JUNIOR for the first time in the regatta were Ray and Jill Carless from Sydney.  Here's their report of the experience which, apparently, neither would trade for the world!

"Airlie Beach is situated in the middle of the stunning group of seventy-four  Whitsunday Islands which are part of the Great Barrier Reef and is an amazing location for this iconic Australian winter race week.

With very little time to practice and still quite new to the J/70, we quickly recruit two new crew members for this highly competitive winter paradise regatta.  With the boat packed we made the 1,800km three-day drive from Sydney with ease towing the J/70 with a 2 liter diesel VW.

The line-up of sports boats were typical of the high performance machines raced in Australia and New Zealand, some up to 8m, a number with wings and trapezes, most much lighter than the J/70 being built of carbon fibre.

The wind conditions were predominantly up to 8 knots with the windiest reaching 15 knots on the first day and every day in crystal-clear, sun-sparkled, aquamarine waters.

With an impressive scoreline of 3-5-5-3-4-3-4-2 and a drop of 8th, our performance for the week improved as the two new J/70 crew got used to the boat.

In short, we had a fantastic time! The J/70 is amazing! Anyone who doubts this is a good and economical way to run a modern sports boat should look at our results.  We were the only boat in the fleet to have Dacron upwind sails and only one of each sail, ie. 1 main, 1 jib, 1 spinnaker, as per the J/70 class rules.

All of the other boats were sporting exotic sails and most had multiple jibs and spinnakers.  This sounds too expensive and complicated to us, we just want to go sailing and have fun!

That we did and had a great time with a very good result as we get to learn the J/70. There is obviously more to be had out of this great little machine from the J/Boat stable and little wonder over 500 have now been sold in a very short space of time.   

How best to sum it all up?  Long drive, blue sky, little wind, much fun, great result!”

Sailing photo credits-   Shirley Wodson - Shirley Wodson Photography     Julie Geldard - Video Picture Promotions

Airlie Beach Race Week YouTube sailing video highlights:     Day 1 Sailing summary   Day 2 Sailing summary    Day 3 Sailing summary   Day 4 Sailing summary   For more Airlie Beach Race Week sailing information

J/70 Stars at SAILFEST!

(Weymouth, England)- Fresh from her class racing debut AAM Cowes Week and the 2013 J-Cup, the J/70 Sportsboat will be making a star appearance at GJW Direct SailFest later this month. The team from Key Yachting Ltd (the UK dealer for the J/70) will be at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the afternoon of Friday 23rd of August until Bank Holiday Monday 26th of August and will be offering trail sails in the J/70 for anyone who is keen to try this hot little sportsboat for themselves.

GJW Direct SailFest is a brand new summer sailing festival which combines coaching, fleet and handicap racing on the Olympic waters in Weymouth. Inspired by the Olympic Games, SailFest presents the opportunity to race on the same waters with support from Olympic classes coaches. There will also be events for spectators on shore at WPNSA, including live video feeds from the race-track, workshops, demonstrations and the opportunity to get out on the water for a Try A Boat session. Anyone who is interested in sailing (especially those who are new to the sport and who are keen to give it a try) are invited to attend. You can see the full schedule of activities at SailFest both on and off the water at http://sailfest.sailracer.org

The J/70 is a 7 metre performance sportsboat. The first boat was built in 2012 and it has proved a phenomenal success with fleet growth both in the UK and around the world exceeding all expectations. It is an incredibly exciting boat to sail and has proved popular both with first time boat buyers and experiences racing sailors alike. It is fast and light, has lifting keel which makes the J/70 very easy to tow behind the family car and it planes in just 14 knots of breeze. Stable and manageable across the full range of wind-speeds irrespective of age or experience, the J/70 is the perfect family sportsboat and is an ideal option for those sailors who are considering the step up from dinghies to keelboats.

SailFest at WPNSA runs across the whole of the August Bank Holiday weekend and the J/70 will be available for visitors to the event to sail every day. If you would like to try the J/70 for yourself, irrespective of age or experience, Key Yachting and SailFest would be delighted to make the arrangements for you. Please just simply register your interest at http://sailfest.sailracer.org  or alternatively, give Key Yachting a call on 02380 455669 or email- J70@keyyachting.com.  For more information on the J/70 Sportsboat

J/70s Love Champagne Sailing At Cowes Race Week!

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- As Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2013 drew to a close on Saturday evening, organisers Cowes Week Limited (CWL) reflected on another highly successful regatta which saw an increase in overall entry and visitor numbers, plus online interaction figures which already surpass the totals seen for the whole of 2012.

With the exception of a forced lay-day on Tuesday 6 August, the conditions provided some champagne sailing throughout the Week and at the overall prize-giving on Saturday evening, there were many happy faces. Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week Limited commented: “It’s been a fantastic, very rewarding week. The weather Gods have been smiling on us and it’s a testament to the huge efforts of our entire team that this year’s regatta has been so successful”.

Martin Gilbert, CEO of title sponsor, Aberdeen Asset Management, added: “There was a terrific buzz around this year’s event and there was a tremendously exciting atmosphere. Our guests all had a great time and it felt like the event achieved even more positive press coverage than in previous years. We’re all tired but happy after the week, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

The number of crews participating in the Aberdeen Asset Management Under 25 Trophy grew significantly following the introduction of the youth initiative by Aberdeen in 2012 and over twenty boats raced for the Trophy this year. The crew of Under 25 year-olds racing the J/80 J.A.T claimed glory at the end of the Week and were second in the Young Skipper's Trophy-- plus skipper Chris Taylor also won the J/80 series!

Five J One-Design classes participated in this year's Cowes Race Week (J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/111), a record number of fleets for any sailboat brand by a significant margin and in six of the nine IRC handicap racing and cruising classes, J/Teams placed several teams in the top ten plus winning two of them.

In the world of one-design sailing, the J/70s sailed a novel "short series" from Saturday to Tuesday, sailing two races per day, then for those who stayed for the duration of the week, an overall J/70 series winner was declared as well.  In the nine boat J/70 class, it was TEAM RAF SPITFIRE led by Wing Commander Simon Ling that took the overall series trophy.  Following them was JUGADOR skippered by Jack Davies in second and in third was  WILSON COVERS sailed by Ian Wilson.  The balance of the top five was NORTH SAILS (Ruairidh Scott) and DJANGO (Malcolm Jaques), 4th & 5th respectively.  Sailing photo credits- Rick Tomlinson    For more Cowes Week sailing information

Greenwald Tops J/70 New Englands

(Marblehead, MA)- The Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD regatta featured the inaugural J/70 New England Championship and fleets of J/105s and J/24s-- all co-hosted by the famous trio of yacht clubs in the harbor (Eastern YC, Boston YC and Corinthian YC).  Of the 150+ sailboats participating, the largest brand represented were J's with 42 boats (28% of the fleet) sailing in the waters off Marblehead. The sailors were treated to a wide variety of weather conditions and in the end, the J/70s had very close racing with just 15 pts separating the top six.

Continuing their string of 2013 regatta wins in J/70s was Bennet Greenwald's team on PERSEVERANCE, taking the top spot by the narrowest of margins over local Marbleheaders- Jud & Cindy Smith on USA 179.  In fact, both boats led the fleet from the very first day and after three days of racing ended up tied on total points, but after the toss race was factored in Greenwald's team won by just two points net.  Joel Ronning's CATAPULT team again managed to finish on the podium, taking third overall with 20 pts net.  Local hero Tyler Doyle (some of famous sailmaker in Marblehead, Robbie Doyle) sailed his best regatta so far, taking fourth in class.  Also sailing a strong series was the team of Heather Gregg-Earl & Joe Bardenheier on MUSE Powered by Atlantis Weathergear for 5th place.  Heather was also top women J/70 skipper, followed closely by Suzy Leech on JUNKANOO in 6th.  Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com.   For more J/70 New England's & Marblehead NOOD sailing information