J/80 North Americans Preview

(Larchmont, NY)- This weekend Larchmont YC is hosting the J/80 North American Championship from September 28th to October 2nd.  Twenty-seven teams from across the country are sailing in what may be one of the most competitive J/80 fleets assembled in awhile.  While the recent J/80 Worlds in both Newport, RI and Copenhagen, Denmark were tough fleets with upwards of seventy boats, this shoot-out on Long Island Sound will have four J/80 World Champions, five J/80 North American Champions and several Key West Race Week Champions across multiple classes- J/80s, J/105s and PHRF! That's what one might call a "stacked deck"!

Expect to see amongst the leader-board teams like Kerry Klingler (NA and World Champion) from Long Island, NY; John Storck sailing RUMOR (Key West and 2010 NA's winner) from Long Island, NY; Glenn Darden/ Reese Hillard sailing LE TIGRE (Key West, NA's and World Champions) from Fort Worth, TX; Brian Keane skippering SAVASANA (Key West J/105 Champion) from Buzzards Bay; Curt Johnson helming AVET (J/80 Pacific Coast Champion) from Los Angeles, CA; Gary Kamins/ Jay Lutz sailing FIRED UP (Key West, Worlds and NA Champions) from Houston, TX/ Los Angeles, CA; and Bruno Pasquinelli skippering TIAMO (NA and Buzzards Bay Champion) from Houston, TX.   For more J/80 North American Championship sailing information

  

J/80 China Rising

(Xiamen, China)- J/80s continue to expand their fleets and events across the vast shorelines and river deltas of China.  This fall there is a good chance for those who sail in Asia/Pac to hop aboard a J/80 and help grow the sport of sailing to an enthusiastic group of budding sailors.

The first event is the China Club Match Racing Championships, being held on October 1st through the 7th in Xiamen.  Currently there are 48 Chinese teams registered for the largest J/80 event in the Asian Market.  This event will be larger, in fact, than last year's Asia Games that saw strong participation from Asian sailing teams from across the region.  That's enormous growth in such a short period of time.  For a sense of perspective on the wealth and growth of this region and why the middle-class want to experience new outdoor activities that are supported by their governments (like sailing- the ultimate "green", environmentally-friendly recreation), the "Golden Triangle" is defined as Japan/ Korea to the East, China to the North, the "island nations" to the South (Philippines/ Malaysia/ Singapore/ Indonesia), Hong Kong and India as part of "the West"-- it's collective GDP of $15+ trillion far exceeds that of America or Europe--- with projections by 2025 to eclipse both USA and Europe combined (e.g. so what are 2.5 BILLION people going to spend their leisure time doing?  Sailing is cheap, comparatively speaking).  Ever wonder why Macau, China (one of the 16th century's most prolific trading ports) is the gambling capital of the world today? Hmmm. Good thing that J/80s will be sailing on Wuyuan Bay off Xiamen.  For more sailing and regatta information.

Next up on the schedule will be the J/80 Fall Regatta in southern China.  This event runs from October 14-16 and will be sailed off LiuZhou, GuangXi, China.   For more sailing information, please visit http://www.cnmcr.com (if you can't read Chinese, please contact Jim or Cindy below for an introduction on how to sail the event).

Finally, if you haven't been able to make travel plans to get to either Xiamen or Liu Zhou to sail J/80s, you can always catch up with the local J/80 sailors in Xiamen at this fall's Xiamen Boatshow from November 4th to 7th.  As Jim, Hudson and Cindy have explained many times, there is such enthusiasm for sailing locally that they're literally booking people weeks in advance to get on board the boats.  The Xiamen Boatshow is a great way to meet them all.  More Xiamen Boatshow details can be found here.

For more Chinese sailing and Xiamen show information, you can always email J/Boats Asia- Cindy Chen (cindy.cheng@hudsonyacht.com) or Jim Johnstone (jimjboats@gmail.com).

  

ECC VIVIENDAS Wins Trofeo Iberdrola

(Bilbao, Spain)- This year's Trofeo Iberdrola again established itself as one of the leading regattas held in the Bay of Biscay, marking the start of the fall sailing season in southern Europe.  True to form, the top Spanish J/80 sailors were a factor at the top of the fleet, including three J/80 World Champions!  In a very competitive regatta marked by significant swings in position on each leg, the winner of this year's event was Pichu Torcida sailing his famous J/80 ECC VIVIENDAS, just squeaking out a victory over Iker Almandoz by one point!

As past J/80 World Champion 2010 in Newport and one of Spain's best sailors, Pichu had to work very hard on the second day of the regatta to win.  As one of the favorites, Pichu won both races on the second and decisive day over Almandoz's team on ESPALARTA GOLD SAILING.  Pichu said, "on the last day, the fourth and fifth races were thrilling for us."  Behind the first two spots, the double J/80 World Champion, Ignacio Camino sailing his equally famous boat NEXTEL ENGINEERING, was third, just three points behind the winning boat from the Real Club Marítimo de Santander. Fourth place was MARIFLOR skippered by Alexander Diaz and the fifth and sixth places went to the Basque sailors, AS DE GIA sailed by Jose Azqueta and PAKEA BIZKAIA sailed by Peru Mugica, both tied with 21 points.   For more J/80 Spain Trofeo Iberdrola sailing information

  

J/80 Special Race Package

(Newport, RI)- For the Fall Boatshows, there are a select number of J/80s available on a Fall promotion special of $51,900 including Triad Trailer and Waterlines faired keel!  Have fun in one of the world's strongest International One-Design keelboat classes.  At this fall's boatshows, learn why the J/80 has taken Europe by storm (Spain, France, England, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy) and strong one-design J/80 fleets in America, Hong Kong and China.  A strong class leadership and passionate sailors around the world make for great sailing on three continents.  Contact your local J/Dealer  or J/80 Class leader (http://www.j80.org).

  

Doreste Triumphs At J/80 Open Spain

(La Manga, Spain)- As part of their efforts to grow tourism in La Manga, Spain, the local Chamber of Commerce and tourism authorities created the Open J/80 Championship La Manga to attract an international clientele of sailors and sporting enthusiasts.  The Director General of Sport and Physical Activity, Antonio Peñalver, helped start the International Open J80 La Manga del Mar Menor to be held from 7 to 10 September. Peñalver noted the importance of these events that "enhance the image of the Mar Menor as a tourist destination while presenting its waters as the most suitable for water sports."

Attending the event were a "who's who" of Spanish J/80 sailors and other International sailors.  These sailors included the Spanish contingent-  Carlos Martinez, Rayco Tabares and Hugo Rocha, plus Glenn Darden (top USA team), Massimo Rama (top Italian team),  Mikael Lindqvist (top Swedish team), Vitalli Tarakanov (top Russians team).

From this star-studded cast, whom might emerge as the ultimate winner sailing against some of the world's best J/80 sailors?  Incredibly, it was Canarian sailor Gustavo Martinez Doreste sailing the equally tongue-twisting UNA MOSCA EN MI SOPA (A Fly in my soup) to an impressive 24 pts after nine races, just under a 3rd average in this fleet of champions.  Second was Hugo Rocha on TURISMO DE ALGARVE sailing to 28 pts.  Third was Javier Aguado on CROCS with 31 pts.  Fourth Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA and fifth was Carlos Martinez on MAPFRE.  The Americans Glenn Darden on LE TIGRE were 8th, the Swedes Mikael Lindqvist were 9th and the Russians Vitali Tarakanov were 11th.  For more J/80 Open La Manga Regatta sailing information

  

Chameleons Win J/80 Jamboree

(Lake Winnepesaukee, NH)- Congratulations to the crew of Angry Chameleon, overall winners of the 2011 J-Jamboree! As one of the members from Sailing Anarchy put it- "home from the J Jamboree in New Hampshire. We had two days of excellent racing (even if the breeze only let us get one race in yesterday). It was a classic example of how a regatta should be run; easy-going registration, free beer, nice people at the yard launching and hauling the boats, and a good party on both nights. Oh yes, and excellent race management! I think PRO Gregg Anthony had the most challenging job out there, trying to keep legs and lines square and attempting to find a steady breeze during 180-degree shifts on Sunday. The racing was spectacular in gorgeous surroundings, even if the wind was a bit fickle at times.

Kristen and Brian on Angry Chameleon got some lucky breaks calling the breeze for a win in race two. Then they were lucky in race three and won. And they were lucky and got first in the next two races, too. OK, maybe it was brilliance combined with blazing boatspeed. And they won the party, as well."  Can't argue with that one!  After all, winning both the races AND the party is something akin to the "Holy Grail"??  Congratulations to a job well done by the ANGRY CHAMELEON crew!  For more J/80 Jamboree sailing information

  

SAIL Magazine- One-Design Best Around the Buoys

(Boston, MA)- SAIL's Best Around the Buoys is a grass-roots racing initiative to reward one-design sailors for their team's performance at the local racing level and encourage racers to set a goal of racing on the national level. One team will be selected based on its local-sailing resume and will earn a free entry to Quantum Key West Race Week, Jan 16–20, 2012, on board a race-ready J/80.

Best Around the Buoys Highlights are the following:
- Winning team earns regatta entry, housing, dockage, entry in the J/80 class at Quantum Key West Race Week (airfare not included)
- J/80 well-equipped by industry partners
- New suit of North racing sails
- Go-fast bottom paint job supplied by Pettit
- Hardware and team kit by Harken Yacht Equipment

To enter, fill in the information at the link below.  Include your 2011 Race Resume (minimum 3 one-design events) and a 200-word maximum essay on why you think your team is ready to compete at Quantum Key West Race Week.  Just one entry per team (crew of 4). Entries close Oct 19th, winner announced in November.   SAIL Magazine Best Around Buoys J/80 information

  

Brezellec's IC2 Wins J/80 Pornic Cup

Dramatic Three-way tie Determines 2-3-4!
(Pornic, France)- So far, it has been a remarkable sailing season for Eric Brezellec and his winning team aboard INTERFACE CONCEPT II.  After winning the French J/80 Nationals as practice, Eric's IC2 team went on to the J/80 Worlds and finished as the top French team behind the Spanish sweep.  Continuing his winning ways, Eric has clearly begun to master the J/80 and is sailing at a world-class level, as evidenced by his remarkable performance at the J/80 Pornic Cup, winning by 21 points overall!

The Club Nautique de Pornic hosted 29 participants, ran seven good races and ensured that all J/80 teams had a fantastic time sailing as well as enjoying onshore festivities-- hard to beat great French wine and cuisine, isn't it?!

Eric's IC2 team sailed to five 1sts, one 2nd and one 3rd, tossing the 3rd to win!  Perhaps the most dramatic and intriguing part of the regatta was the fight for the balance of the podium, with five boats vying for 2-3 going into the last race.  At the end, it was another strong French team skippered by perhaps one of the top women keelboat sailors in France, Christine Briand sailing J'IL DE RE, that won the battle and the war. As one of the the only other two teams to win a race, Christine's J'IL DE RE team sailed to a 6-4-1-9-3-8 to win by a tie-break over third place finisher Nicolas Troussel racing RENOSTYLE to a 3-2-9-10-2-2-10.  Fourth, losing out the tie-break was Gwenole Bernard sailing MARINE LORIENT, the second women skipper in the event.  Fifth only one point back was Gaetan Aunette sailing SAMBA.
For more J/80 Pornic Cup sailing information