Xiamen University Wins College Regatta

(Xiamen, China- Apr 4-6)- The Xiamen Sailing Club hosted the first ever China College J/80 Regatta over the weekend of April 4th to 6th.  The regatta played host to college sailing teams from Xiamen Universities and Taiwan Universities.

Seven races were held over three days, including two distance races to Kinman Island, Taiwan lying just offshore from Xiamen, China.  Nineteen teams participated, including a team that had the Vice Mayor of Xiamen as an honorary crew-member participating in the race over to Kinman Island.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating elements of this regatta was how well coordinated the "diplomatic exchange" of sailors took place, on the fly, on the water, in real-time as the teams sailed across from Chinese water to Taiwanese waters!  The Chinese Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast Guards were very supportive, handling escort across the borders to allow this event to happen seamlessly and with extraordinary decorum. It was remarkable to see the two "Coast Guards" line up in a line on either side of a "GPS line" in the water to show both respect for each other, but also to fly signal flags and exchange pleasantries as each boat sailed across into another country.  Cool stuff!

After the three days of sailing, Xiamen University came out on top.  Perhaps it was not by chance, since the two teams from Xiamen University consistently participated in the J/80 Winter Series held this past winter in J/80's every Sunday.  Practice does make perfect.  It showed, they won with ease.  But, it was not without irony that the other universities then requested to get more practice time on the J/80s for their next season!  Perhaps it didn't hurt that "boat captains" like those pictured here helped tend to  lines and fenders when the J/80s went sailing.

Events like this are fantastic for promoting the sport of sailing in Asia and China.  J/Boats Asia and Hudson Yacht and Marine supplied a brand new fleet of boats for the event.  To promote diplomacy and good will between China and Taiwan and get more students sailing is well worth the time, said Jim Johnstone from J/Boats Asia.

Watch this space!  In July, the Xiamen Sailing Club of J/80s will be hosting the Chinese National College Sailing Championships in the same fleet of J/80's!

  

Interface Concept J/80 Cup

(Vallée des Fous, France)- This year's Interface Concept J/80 Cup, was won by the crew of the boat INTERFACE CONCEPT 2, skippered by Eric Brézellec and sponsored by the CEO of this company, Bruno Rolland. Jean Michel Lucas, President of the Club de la Vallée des Fous was the organizer of the event. About 130 competitors participated during the three days event which was attended by 25 J/80s from across from the western coast of France, from Cherbourg to La Rochelle. The whole idea behind the regata in the "valley of fools" is to have fun and enjoy sailing with friends.

However, on the morning of registration, the organizers learned of the death of Hubert Desjoyeaux, the elder brother of Michael who was sailing in the J/80 regatta. A great sailor in his own right in his young years and the leading composite race-boats builder in France for 27 years, Hubert Desjoyeaux passed away yesterday at 52, following a several months battle with cancer.  The early Formula 40 tris, Sport Elec (Jules Verne holder), several ORMA 60s, Vendee globe winners PRB, Foncia and other IM0CAs, more recently BP V and the first two MOD 70's have set his yard at the very top, and will carry his legacy.  On Sunday morning, everyone wanted to show their affection to Hubert Desjoyeaux and relatives accompanying the boat carrying the ashes were scattered behind Penfret, to Glénan. An emotional moment before the last two races played out on Sunday.

While Eric and his team sailed to a convincing win with a 12-1-2-4-bfd-4-1-2-1-1 with 16 points after two throw-outs, it was anything but an easy battle for the next two spots on the podium.  The next four boats fought like valiant knights for the top three and none of the 2 through 5 positions were determined until the final race!  What a finish for this competitive fleet!  And, perhaps of some significance was the girls are going for it and getting it!  Second was Maxime Rousseaux's team on CN ST CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTE with a slow start, but strong finish scoreline of 11-10-1-8-4-3-3-1-4-4 for 28 points after two toss races.  Third only one point back was Patrick Bot's team on ECOLE NAVALE CG 29 with a 6-4-7-6-1-1-2-bfd-2-19 for 29 points.  Fourth was Christine Briand, she sailed a very consistent score of 2-2-6-3-5-20-4-5-3-10 for 30 points, had it not been for a 10th in the last race she could easily have finished second in the regatta!  Fifth was Simon Moriceau on INTERFACE CONCEPT with a 4-5-3-2-2-16-9-6-5-13 for 36 points.   For more J/80 France sailing information

  

KSSS Saltsjöbad J/80 Regatta

(Stockholm, Sweden)- This year, the Saltsjöbad Regatta was sailed in good conditions hosted by the Royal Swedish YC- KSSS. Lots of sun, wind and a race committee which did a superb job. They got in six races! The Sundstedt team won but not without a good fight from the rest of the fleet!

Ingemar Sundstedt will compete for the J/80 World Cup in Copenhagen this year. While some other famous J/80s like KISSER showed up on the starting line with Jim Rotsman and Daniel Winberg in control; their guest performance on Saturday was amazing and they sailed as good as usual.  We look forward to seeing more of them on the water!

Lars Gellerhed's MK PRODUCTS team continues to show off, they gave Sundstedt a real match for the winner's circle and finished second in the regatta with a 4-1-3-1-2-2 record for 9 points (1 toss). In third place was HAPPY sailed by Johnannes Bergh with a 2-5-6-5-4-3 for 19 points.

The racing was incredibly close, rarely more than boat length difference between 1st and 6th boats!!  Really fun racing on the bay.  On Sunday it was behaving quite decent, but on Saturday was a whirlwind and the wind fluctuated between 2 and 9 m/s.   The sailing over the weekend gave everyone very good training-- light, medium and strong wind.

An extra big "Thank You" to Jenny who had a tough year starting on Sunday-- they had a crash and ended up in the mound of stones at the pier. Bruised and stiff they sailed both races on Sunday and despite 70 kg underweight they sailed very well.   For more J/80 Sweden sailing information.

  

"GREAT SAILING" Wins J/80 Grand Prix Iberdrola

(Barcelona, Spain)- The Real Club Nautico de Barcelona hosts what has become a fantastic fixture in the Spanish J/80 sailing spring circuit each year, the Grand Prix Iberdrola.  A first-class event, the RCNB was blessed with remarkably good weather conditions this year for the entire regatta.

After four races were held on the second day of the regatta, CROCS sailed by Javier Aguado was leading, followed by GREAT SAILING's  Jose Maria van der Ploeg, and in third was FORTY FIVE sailed by Roman Solete Turro.  Challenging this trio was the fact that on Sunday, two more races were held in a a solid 15-18 knot breeze to determine the ultimate champion.  After the smoke cleared in two intensely fought races, it was Jose Maria van der Ploeg on GREAT SAILING that won, followed by CROCS skippered by Javier Aguado and TURISMO DO ALGARVE sailed by Hugo Rocha.  Remember these guys?  They all sailed in the regatta in Palma Mallorca the previous weekend.  Said Jose from Yacht Club Balís -  "We are very pleased to have competed in the Grand Prix Iberdrola, and win. It is our fourth race in J/80. The first three were in Palma Mallorca and we were excited to come to Barcelona, ​​where my son for eleven years has been part of the crew!"   For more J/80 Barcelona sailing information

  

French Win J/80 WMRT #1

(Marseilles, France)- Damien Iehl and his French Match Racing Team made the perfect start to their World Match Racing Tour season after defeating Bertrand Pace's Aleph Sailing Team in an all French Final at Match Race France in Marseille. Surprised?  Most French sailors in J/80s wouldn't be.  After all, only 107 J/80s recently sailed Spi Ouest-France.  Many French sailors are fast in J/80s.

This was Iehl's second ever victory on the World Match Racing Tour following his win at Match Race Germany in 2008 (also in J/80s) and his early justification for being awarded a Tour Card for the 2011 season. The victory caps a week in which the Frenchman has been in majestic form, firstly by Qualifying in second position, then defeating the 2003 Tour Champion Jesper Radich (DEN) 3-1 in the Semi-Finals and finally Pace in the first all French Final on the Tour since 2007.  Sailing Photo by Nico Martinez/ www.nicomartinez.com.   Sailing Photo Gilles Martin-Raget / Match Race France

  

OLJ SPIRIT HATAMURI Wins J/80 Italians

(Chiavari, Italy- May 13-15)- In their usual sublime, easy-going but elegant style, the Yacht Club Chiavari hosted the J/80 Italian Championships.  The fleet was blessed with nice weather, warm temperatures and nice breezes across the Mediterranean Sea.  It was a closely fought regatta for the top two and perhaps an even tougher fight for third spot between three boats over the course of seven races.  The first day was light offshore scirocco breeze of only 5-8 knots that died in the afternoon, permitting two races to be run.  On the second day, more scirocco breezes from ESE of around 150 degrees and never more than 10 knots, but it was sufficient to get in three races.  At the end of the day, it was time to return to port and happy hour at the Marquee Club, with beer, white wine, peas, salami and cheese for everyone!  The third day started out with storm conditions blowing 30-35 knots from the northeast and raining, a classic winter day in Italy.  The Race Committee at YCC wisely decided to postpone racing and were rewarded with a great day for sailing by midday, winds 15-25 knots from the northeast with 30 degree shifts.

Winning this year's  event was Federico Rajola sailing OLJ SPIRIT HATAMURI, managing the win the last race of the series to post a score of 1-6-1-1-3-2-1 for 9 points (dropping a 6th).  Losing out in the last race was the regatta leader at the time, Carlo Cesaris sailing J-VIVADO.  Carlos and crew sailed a beautiful series but simply lost it in the end, getting a 2-2-3-2-1-1-6 scoreline for 11 points (also dropping a 6th!).  Fighting it out for the bronze medal on the podium were past winner Massimo Rama sailing his well-traveled JENIALE!, Paolo Montednonico skippering MONTPRES and Giorgio Guzzi steering ORSO J.  Going into the last race, it was anyone's guess who would triumph in this horse race.  In short, they nearly all managed to tie each other in a three-way tie for third!  But, it was Massimo's JENIALE! that withstood a last minute dash of his competitors to secure a third with a scoreline of 3-5-2-3-4-4-5 for 21 points.  Tied for fourth and winning the tie-breaker was Paolo's MONTPRES with a 6-1-4-6-12-3-2 tally for 22 points.  On the losing end of that stick was Giorgio's ORSO J with a 5-3-5-4-2-7-3 for 22 points.   For more J/80 Italian Championship Sailing information

  

J/80 Best Sportsboat in China

(Shanghai, China)- This past week saw over 27,000 visitors from 70 countries attend the largest boatshow in China, the China International Boat Show in Shanghai.  Considered the most prestigious in all of China, the event also hosts the Asia Pacific Boating Awards.  With over three dozen panelists selecting the winners for each category, it was not surprising that the creme'd'la'creme rose to the top.  Winner of the this year's CIBS Best Sportboat Award was the International J/80, recognized for being the world's leading one-design sportsboat class with over 1,600 boats competing worldwide.  J/80 is also the premier sportsboat in China.  On hand to accept the award was J/Boats China's representative Jimmie Johnstone.
For more J/80 sailboat information

  

IURISNAUTIC Wins J/80 Copa de Espana

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- As predicted, the Copa de Espana for the J/80 class in Spain was every bit as competitive as a J/80 World championship, but there was a surprise victor!  Cesar Espinosa sailing IURISNAUTIC ended the first day of racing in first and managed to hold off all contenders to become the Copa de Espana Champion 2011.

On Saturday, the fleet racing began in the waters off Palma with 2 World Champions, 2 class Olympic Medallists and 14 Palmistas from the local fleet, all strong teams.  And, it was a "local Palmista" that sailed a very strong series to win the day.  IURISNAUTIC sailed by Carlos Espinosa of the Club de Mar in Palma was ranked first with Jose Luis Serra at the helm and tactician was none other than Tono Piris-- now that's called "stacking the deck" in your favor-- all smart sailors.  In second for the day was the PalmaVela winner MAPFRE sailed by Carlos Martinez from the RCR Santiago de la Ribera club.  And, third for the day was J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares sailing his well-known, and famous, HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA from the Canary Islands.

For the second day of the Cup of Spain there were less stable conditions for the participants. Saturday's test was marked by the struggle between the top three overall. The second set of races on Sunday for Carlos Espinosa's IURISNAUTIC showed that the lead in the opening day was not a gift!  Ultimately, they were proclaimed Champion.  Sailing strongly on Sunday to jump onto the podium was TURISMO DO ALGARVE sailed by Olympic medallist Hugo Rocha and Gonzalo Araujo just three points behind.  Third place was Carlos Martinez's MAPFRE. Fourth place went to another J/80 World Champion, Ignacio Camino sailing his famous NEXTEL ENGINEERING and in fifth place was HM HOTELS sailed by Javier Chacartegui. It was a great day of racing in the Bay of Palma, plus the local Palma J/80 fleet paid a tribute to the late Severiano Ballesteros-- a famous Spanish athlete/ golfer.   For more Copa de Espana J/80 sailing information.  Sailing photo credits- Jesus Renedo- SailingStock.com

  

COYOTE And J/120 Dominate Tour de Belle-Ile

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- Aurelie and Romain Pilliard, organizers of the Tour de Belle-Ile, are amazed at success of the event, which this year attracted 486 boats on the same line, against 329 last year.  It's seemingly a gathering of those who love the fun and challenge of "round island" events, the "tour" is like England's famous Round Island Race (Isle of Wight), Newport's Around Jamestown Island, San Francisco's version (the 3BF- Three Bridge Fiasco) and Brazil's Round Ilhabela.  Friends and family from all over France gather together for a 41 nm jaunt around the spectacular scenery of Belle Ile, marked by its mountainous terrain and enormous cliffs with picturesque lighthouses perched atop verdant green rolling hills.  It's always a challenging race and the massive fronts that come rolling off the Bay of Biscay often see the less prepared "running for the hills", so to speak, headed back to the cozy confines of La Trinite sur Mer's harbor.

The big French offshore tri's show up.  So do top Volvo 70 teams like Franck Camas on GROUPAMA 70.  It's certainly thrilling to watch these monsters roar through the fleet at obscene speeds (15-25 knots) with spray flying everywhere, disappearing in a cloud of salt mist over the horizon, certain to finish in under 3 hours. This year, one of these monsters set a new record- 2 hrs 42 minutes- Sebastien Josse on the 77 ft tri- GITANA 11. As one of them said, "I shall return.  It was very nice! A very nice tour of Belle-Isle!"

There were a number of J's sailing the event.  The top dog was Yves Lanier's J/120 LES 4 VENTS- BREST from Centre Nautique de Lorient, winning Group HNA with 21 boats.  In the same division was Gaetan Bodmer's J/92s MAORO from CV de Morsang sur Seine in 8th overall.  Incredibly, a J/24 was racing in a fleet of mostly 25-30 footers and finished in 7th, Antoine Vanek's SEA TADDLE in Group HNC.

In Group IRC3, the top J was Frederic Guillemot's J/105 MISS J just missing the top 3 by 5 minutes, ouch, and instead getting a 10th overall-- it was a very tightly fought race in this group, surely the last few shifts coming into the finish line causing many tacticians anxiety on which way to go.

Perhaps the big story was the large J/80 fleet of 14 boats, the largest one-design class in the Tour de Belle-Ile.  And, it included several notable, famous French sailors- Mr. America's Cup/ Louis Vuitton- Bruno Trouble on-board his COYOTE (pictured right) and also Yannick Tabarly, the son of the very renowned offshore sailor Eric Tabarly of PEN DUICK fame.  It was a tough fight for this group.  Starting out fast downwind, the J/80s got down to the SW tip of the gorgeous Belle Ile knowing that after they past the eastern tip it was going to be a tough, uphill windward battle to the finish.  As they demonstrated in the J/80 Worlds in Newport, Bruno's "Jurassic Park" team were as tough as Tyrannosaurus Rex!  Bruno's COYOTE team won by nearly 9 minutes over Yannick Tabarly's ALARME DELERUE PROXEO sailing for Ecole de Voile Oceane.  In third was Hubert Wargny sailing AXELLE J from Yacht Club d France, fourth was Eric Bastard sailing SENJI from Societe Nautique Trinite sur Mer and fifth was Patrice Mack sailing GIGA also from SN Trinite s/Mer.

We got a full report from friends Francois Thobie and crew on LE SALON- THE PLACE TO BE- BE J's: "It is these "races" that we remember! It is these events that we refuse to miss, for the atmosphere, for the journey, and for all those little things that make the "Tour of Belle Isle" different from what we used to live in the Coupe de France.  There is also this wonderful picture that gives us the wild side, and this, whatever the weather, and also the now "famous" night crew who arrive late while their competitors have been spending many dance hours on rhythms in the discos.

The Tour of Belle Isle is a great feast, to which BE J's makes a point of honor to take part each year.  The main difference this year was the weather. Uncertain until the final hours before departure, even to the point where it was discussed to run the fleet inside the protected Bay of Quiberon.

Once outside, the starts were delayed. It leaves us time to go play with the spi, that's when BE J's beat its record day surfing to just over 16 knots! That's good start…

However, what to do on the start (picture at right)?  Especially, in the company of nearly 500 competitors! BE J's is among the smaller boats of the fleet, it will therefore have to find a hole among all these bows (some cruisers, proudly display their anchors on their bows- yikes!). Without doubt it's a tactic to scare the opponent who would dare to assert its priority over the line ... a bit like judo with a dagger in the pocket of the kimono!

After the start, everyone follows a brisk pace out to sea and the waves are becoming bigger and bigger, a surfing condition that J/80 loves flying fast, in total control, with hundreds of liters of water rolling across the deck--- we go very, very fast!

To go around the island is fine, but then you have to get back upwind! After the tip of the shoals off the east end, we find ourselves handicapped by our jib halyard, which prevents us from properly flattening the sail. Arriving on the southeast side of the island, along the wild coast, we also face an enormous 3 meter swell in which we seem very small.  From that point, going upwind to return home to La Trinite is a long time!

We are not alone in the breakers off the wild south coast, we have many J/80s in view! The return from the tip of Taillefer will only be a continuation of the competition with one of our top J/80s GIGA.  In fact, with one tack to the finish line in Trinidad, only 30 seconds separated us!  So small a distance after only 40 nm of sailing!  Amazing.  One-design sailing is so fun.

BE J's finished the Tour in 7 hours, 30 minutes, the final ranking of 6th place (out of 14) ... but we have no time to lose, a rum tai punch is waiting for us at the regatta tent. Thank you to the SNT for this tour, you can count on BE J's to be there for the 5th edition! And, congratulations to Bruno and Team COYOTE!"  For more Tour de Belle Ile Sailing Information.    For more of BE-J's /80 sailing stories, please see their site.
Sailing photo credits- Christophe Launay- SeaLaunay

  

How J/80 GULDFAXE Won Annapolis NOOD

By the Slimmest of Margins- Mike Lovett at SAILING WORLD interviewed the crew of Tom Klok's J/80 GULDFAXE that just won a three-way tie for first in the J/80 class and earned the overall victory at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.  After a weekend of big breeze and dramatic wind shifts on Chesapeake Bay, you might not expect an out-of-towner to come out on top of the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD, where members of the Capital City's strong racing community accounted for the majority of the 220-boat fleet. Nonetheless, when the overall winner was announced, it was Copenhagen resident Thomas Klok—whose team won a three-way tie for first place in the 29-boat J/80 division—who came bounding up to accept the silver dish, as well as the real prize, an invitation to join the winners of seven other NOOD regattas at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands this November.

The Guldfaxe team has a unique dynamic. Klok is the owner/ main trimmer. His brother-in-law, Will Crump, drives the boat. Klok's sister, Marie Crump, handles foredeck duties. The trio also works together in the management consulting business, which is why they refer to fourth crew member, Scott Collins, as their therapist. "A lot of people wonder how we can work together and sail together," says Will Crump. "Somehow, we make it work. I think it's because we can be honest with each other. Sometimes, it's hard for family members who sail together to be honest with each other about what needs to change."

SW: What were your expectations coming into the event?

Will Crump: There were three world champions in the fleet, and this is probably the toughest J/80 regatta in the U.S. this year. So we didn't have great expectations, aside from looking at it as practice, because we'll be going to Copenhagen for the worlds later this year.

Klok: We got the boat about a year ago for the worlds in Newport (R.I.). I lived in Newport for a few years, and when found out the worlds would be in my home turf two years in a row...So we did the worlds in Newport last October, then we left the boat here and sailed Charleston Race Week and this event, then we'll be shipping the boat to Denmark in about a week.

SW: With the worlds in Newport last year, there was a lot of enthusiasm for the J/80 in the U.S. Have you noticed a tapering off since then?

Will Crump: Not at all. It's actually ramped up. People came out of that event saying, "What a phenomenal boat and class." There's still a lot of development going on in the class. There a lot of difference between what the various sailmakers are offering, yet everyone's going about the same speed. So there's a lot of opportunity for people to get into the class and have fun figuring out the boat.   Read more here at Sailing World's forum site.

  

J/80 Trio Battles For NOOD Supremacy

DAZZLER Blinds J/22 Competitors
(Annapolis, MD)- While the script called for battles to rage on after Charleston Race Week in some classes, it was not to be.  Instead, an entirely new cast of characters stepped onto the stage for this spring's Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta and established their roles as top dogs for the weekend.  And, what a roller-coaster it was for nearly every fleet on the water.  With three forecasts from North Sails Weather Services that were basically dead wrong for all three days, it was up to the skippers and tacticians to break out their "divining rods" and simply find the most wind with most favorable current advantage.  Most experienced Annapolis sailors will often error on the side of the current play versus the wind play, sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't.  And, this chaotic and somewhat schizophrenic wind/current condition had some skippers apoplectic and their tacticians simply catatonic! It was not a pretty picture.  Nevertheless, the enormous turnout of 138 J's (62% of the entire fleet!) sailing in seven fleets (thirty-seven J/22s, thirteen J/24s, twenty-nine J/80s, fourteen J/30s, twenty-eight J/105s, seven J/35s and ten J/109s) simply stepped up to the challenges and made the most of them.

As the largest fleet in Annapolis, the 37-boat J/22 class saw the only "runaway" winner, ironically, for the entire regatta.  Al Terhune sailed DAZZLER to a remarkably consistent score of 7-5-1-1-2-8-1-5 for 30 pts.  His competitors were not nearly so lucky, most gyrating through dramatic highs and deathly hallows lows.  Brad Julian sailing JULIAN ASSOCIATES managed to tally a scoreline of 6-1-5-7-1-6-17-2 for 45 pts.  From there it was a huge jump in scores to a battle for third overall that hung completely on the outcome of the last race.  Amongst that trio were Travis Odenbach sailing INSTIGATOR and the Newport contingent of Tim Healy on SAILORS FOR THE SEA and Carol Cronin on HPS.  When the smoke cleared on Sunday, Carol Cronin had made a strong bid for third but came up just short, her 4-7 on Sunday not enough to overcome two deep (21-24) scores, settling for fifth overall with a tally of 8-21-4-24-8-5-4-7 for 81 pts.  Hanging on my his fingernails was Tim Healy, getting a 2-6-8-31-4-16-12-1 for 80 pts to secure fourth.  And third was Travis on INSTIGATOR, managing to breath a sigh of relief after getting a 4th in the last race to score 1-8-15-2-5-25-19-4 for 79 pts.

If the J/22s were having a 8-round dog-fight for 8 races to determine the top five, the J/80s were having a slug-fest while riding a roller-coaster up and down the standings at 100 mph.  Crazy. Desperate.  Ecstatic.  Wild.  Psychotic. Name an adjective within those broad terms and you may only begin to understand how rapidly the J/80 teams were moving up and down the standings race-by-race.  Even the local sailors from Annapolis were beyond frazzled.  Consider this, two World Champions in the J/80 class (Glenn Darden and Kerry Klingler) didn't even make the top five in this highly competitive fleet of 29 teams.  To add to the insanity, the winner was chosen based on a THREE-WAY tie for FIRST place!  Pass the Pepto-Bismol, please-- a few upset stomachs and ulcers brewing shortly! Nevertheless, it took a Danish brother/sister team (Tom and Marie Klok) and Marie's husband Will Crump on GULDFAXE to win the 3-way tie-breaker with 1-7-5-19-3-1-5-12 score for 53 pts.  Second in the tie-break was MORE GOSTOSA sailed by Jeff Kirchoff and Kevin Hayes with a 2-12-10-2-11-3-2-11 tally for 53 pts.  Surely the "we got robbed" story must go to Bruno Pasquinelli's team on TIAMO, at one point easily winning going into the Sunday, but having to eat a 13-10 on Sunday to end up with a scoreline of 5-3-9-6-5-2-13-10 for 53 pts-- ouch!  If the top three was not a crazy enough scenario, a similar situation shaped up for 4th and 5th overall also with a tie-breaker only 6 points back from the three "leaders".  In this case it was ANGRY CHAMELEON sailed by J/80 class leader Kirsten Robinson, getting a 6-15-4-9-2-13-8-2 score for 59 pts.  She won the tie-break with Gary Kamin's team on FIRED UP RACING with a 3-2-8-8-4-17-9-8 tally for 59 pts.  Of note, the only three race winner was Glenn Darden on EL TIGRE, riding a huge roller coaster up and down the track to just finish out of the money in seventh.  Perhaps most importantly of all, the overall STS Annapolis NOOD Winners  and qualifiers for the Caribbean NOOD Championship were---- GULDFAXE!  Yes, Marie, Will, Tom and Scott- we wish them all God Speed and lots of umbrella drinks to celebrate with, too!

In the 13-boat J/24 division, Chris Jankowski's STREET LEGAL stayed hot from their previous regatta but a class veteran (30+ years!!) in the form of Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET from Georgetown, MD really did show the kids how to get it done-- talk about a "schooling", finishing with double-bullets on the last day!  Tony's team sailed a solid regatta to get a 3-1-5-2-2-5-1-1 score for 20 pts.  BTW, the difference in age between the winner and the runner-up was less than the difference in the ages of the boats- 32+ years!!  They were followed by MILLENIUM FALCON skippered by Paul Van Ravensway to a 1-3-1-7-1-2-4-11 score for 30 pts.  Finally, hanging tough for their second straight regatta was Chris' team on STREET LEGAL, getting 9-2-4-1-4-1-2-9 for 32 pts and just barely missing out on a second straight silver for the month of April.

The 28 boat J/105 fleet also had some dramas on the last day, particularly with nearly 1/3 of the fleet called over early during the start of the first race on Sunday.  Amongst those called over was Cedric Lewis' MIRAGE and any hopes of finishing first were dashed, at least temporarily.  After hitting four corners in a row, like a mirage shimmering on the horizon, the real MIRAGE staged an extraordinary come-back to win the 7th race!  The drama didn't end there.  Climbing the leader-board rapidly was Peter McChesney on THE MYSTERY MACHINE, and indeed, a mystery it must've seemed to some of their competitors.  Finishing off the regatta with a 1-2-2-1, Peter and crew nearly won, losing only by 2 points.  Ultimately, Cedric and the MIRAGE gang hung on to get a 5-4-2-2-4-1-1-10 for 29 pts.  Peter's crew sailed well, managing a 7-2-5-11-1-2-2-1 for 31 pts under the challenging conditions.  Fourth, just barely, was INIGO's Jim Konigsberg sailing to a very steady scoreline of 6-11-6-9-9-3-6-6 for 56 pts.  Breathing down their necks, literally, was Carloyn and Chris Groobey's team on JAVA, starting out strong with a first and ending strongly with a 3-4, to get a 1-7-8-17-6-12-3-4 score-line for 58 pts for fifth overall.

Low point scorer for the regatta just happened to be one of the surest bets to get it, Bill Sweetser's champion J/109 team on RUSH.  Not only a gracious host, but a great competitor.  Hard not to like sailing in the J/109 class when the class act of the regatta is also a great party host!  At the end of it all, the J/109 fleet had great competition and the boys from New Jersey on MAD DOGS certainly made their presence felt, winning three races to Bill's four.  It's a bit ironic that the two good out-of-town teams joining the fun, Craig Wright's AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, NC and Adrian Begley's MAD DOGS from Atlantic Highlands, NJ were the ones to give the locals a "run for the money".  In the end, Bill's team sailed to a  1-1-4-3-1-1-2-3 for 16 pts.  Second was Adrian's MAD DOGS with a 3-2-1-1-4-2-1-8 for 22 pts and third Craig's AFTERTHOUGHT with a 2-4-2-23-7-3-4 for 27 pts.

Following a similar theme as in other J classes, the J/35s had their fair share of drama to determine who would win the J/35 class.  The last race ultimately determined the outcome here, too.  Peter Scheidt's MAGGIE survived their roller coaster experiences to win with a 2-1-7-1-1-4-1-2 record for 19 pts.  Getting edged out in the last race was AUNT JEAN sailed by Jim Sagerholm from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, finishing second with a 1-3-1-2-2-5-2-5 for 21 pts.  Third was last year's bronze medallist, Chuck Kohlerman's MEDICINE MAN with 5-2-3-4-3-4-1 scores for 27 pts.

With fourteen J/30s on the line, there really was some strong competition amongst these 30 foot cruising-racing classics.  Even though they won last year, Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello on BEPOP had to fight like crazy to stay out of trouble and ahead of Bob Putnam skippering BETTER MOUSETRAP and Dave McConaughy's USA 90 during the last two races on Sunday.  Nevertheless, avoid the traps they did and Bob and Mike's BEPOP took it all, winning by only one point with a 2-3-4-1-1-7-6-2 for 26 pts.  BETTER MOUSETRAP took second overall with a 3-2-2-7-5-5-2-1 score for just 27 pts.  USA 90 sailed by Dave McConaughy was a contender for the lead, but had a slow day Sunday to finish out-of-the money, getting a 1-4-5-4-4-1-4-7 record for 30 pts-- it all came down to last race for the whole top three!   Sailing photo credits-  Tim Wilkes Photography    For more Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Annapolis sailing information.

  

J/80 Circuit Returns to Newport!

(Newport, RI)- Following up on the wildly successful 2010 Worlds, J/80's will be back in Newport this summer for 3 great events over a two week period. First up is the inaugural Newport edition of Bacardi's international sport boat event Bacardi Newport Sailing Week June 23-26.  On July 8th there will be a one day advanced J/80 speed clinic providing a great opportunity for teams to address any weaknesses from the Bacardi regatta and tune-up for the final event on the Newport mini circuit.  The annual Newport Regatta will take place July 9-10.   All three events will be run from Sail Newport's facilities at Fort Adams Park with storage available enabling competitors to rig once and focus on sailing. Register today!  Photo credit- Paul Todd- Outside Images NZ.
     Bacardi Newport Sailing Week June 23 - 26-  http://www.newportsailingweek.com
     J/80 Speed Clinic- July 8th- email- goose@j80fleet9.com
     SailNewport Regatta - July 9-10-  http://www.sailnewport.org

  

J/80 Copa de Espana Features Olympic & World Champions

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- This weekend's Copa de Espana for the J/80 class in Spain is nearly as competitive as a J/80 World championship, especially since many of the top J/80 teams worldwide come from Spain. Hosted by the Real Club Nautico de Palma, the thirty teams will be competing on Palma's gorgeous bay, with spectacular green mountains as a backdrop and the famous Cathedral La Seu along the waterfront, it will surely create a memorable and beautiful canvas for those sailing this weekend in Palma.

As a reflection of the fact that the J/80 has grown into the most important one-design racing boat in Spain, there will be many highly competitive teams taking part in this year's regatta, including many top Olympic and World-class sailors.  Featuring amongst them will be HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA skippered by ex-J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares Alvarez from the Canary Islands.  Also sailing is another J/80 World Champion, NEXTEL ENGINEERING, skippered  by Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez.  Rounding out some of the potential leaders will be local Palma team PORTCALL COMPOSITES led by Jose Carlos Frau Greenfield, the recent PalmaVela winners MAPFRE with Carlos Martinez and crew hoping to repeat their performance; Barcelona 1992 Gold Medallist Jose María van der Ploeg will take the helm of the J/80 GREAT SAILING; Montreal 1976 Silver Medallist Toño Gorostegui will be onboard CANTABRIA INFINITA; and Portuguese sailor Hugo Rocha, Bronze Medallist in Atlanta 1996, will skipper TURISMO DO ALGARVE.  For more Copa de Espana J/80 sailing information.  Sailing photo credits- Chapifoto.com