J/80s Spain Report

(Feb. 17th)- The Spanish J/80 teams press on regardless of wind, weather, European Ice Age and anything else that may be thrown in front of them.  This past weekend was no exception.  Of note were the training sessions conducted by past J/80 World and European Champions, highlighted by the participation of Murciano Carlos Martinez (3rd in the 2009 Worlds in Santander, Spain and 3rd in the 2008 Worlds at Kiel, Germany), the Spaniard Jose Maria Torcida (2007 World Champion in La Trinité, France and 6th in the 2009 Worlds in Santander, Spain).

RCNB Winter Trophy 

(Barcelona, Spain)- This past weekend, Real Club Nautico Barcelona conducted six races in excellent wind conditions- shifty fifteen knot winds from the southwest.  The RC PRO setup a nice 3.5 nautical mile windward leeward course.  Jordi Negroni won two of the three races Saturday while FORTY FIVE, skippered by Richard Terrades, continued to dominate the rest of the races. For more Spanish J/80 sailing info.

Castro Ricardo III Trophy

(La Coruna, Spain)- This past weekend saw the start of the Castro Ricardo III Trophy for the J/80 class, hosted by Real Club Náutico de La Coruña.  The fleet was greeted by two solid days of racing with widely varying conditions.  On Saturday, it blew hard from the NE at 20-25 knots and two fun, fast races were sailed.  Ultimately, it was a dogfight between MELTEMIA skippered by Fernando Lago, MARINA CORUNA skippered by Paul Chavert and IN ITINERIES skippered by Miguel Fernandez.  Miguel Fernandez sailed well on the final downwind leg of the last race to win.  On Sunday, it started light from the south at 6-7 knots, but later built to a gusty 20-23 knot winds, testing the crews again in large choppy seas and shifty breezes.  Overall the J/80s are led by MELTEMI followed by IN INITNERIES and MARINA CORUNA.  For more Spanish J/80 sailing info.

J/80 RCN Clinic a Success

(La Coruna, Spain- Feb. 8th)- There was a lot of intense activity at Real Club Náutico de La Coruña during the past weekend with the celebration of "CLINICA CORUNNA J/80."  RCNLC hosted this training for the local J/80 fleet.  Renowned J/80 sailors were invited to conduct the clinic, including Murciano Carlos Martinez (3rd in the 2009 Worlds in Santander, Spain and 3rd in the 2008 Worlds at Kiel, Germany), the Spaniard Jose Maria Torcida (2007 World Champion in La Trinité, France and 6th in the 2009 Worlds in Santander, Spain) and Peru Bilbaino Mugica. At 1030 hours the J80s began with a lecture-panel led by Carlos Martinez, on the set-up and speed for J/80s. When finished, the crews got aboard their J/80s for a very constructive on-the-water training session.  Each of the guest coaches sailed on the boats with their owners and crew, focusing on boat-handling and boat speed. Upon returning to the club from these on-the-water sessions, everyone analyzed training videos of the day, examined the pictures, always striving to improve tuning, speed and maneuvering.  The day ended with a dinner where sailors and guests continued their discussions of the tips and trick learned from the days' training session. For more Spanish J/80 sailing info.

J/80 Lacre Memorial Trophy

(Santander, Spain)- This past weekend, Toño Piris-Santi Lopez-Vazquez onboard YATES & THINGS continued their winning ways in the J/80 Santander fleet, they continue to lead the Lacre Memorial Trophy series.  Not to be outdone, Pichu Torcida-Alex Muscat sailing ECC VIVIENDAS got the win in the second race of the day was the best boat of the day and is second overall.  True to the determination of the Santander sailors, the freezing cold did not deter the twenty five crews from going to the starting line.  The teams were greeted by a moderate southwest breeze blowing 8-10 knots, which permitted the RC to conduct two races.  After some spirited racing that saw boats play both sides of the course and shifts influenced by the renowned "Moors" section of grassy beach off Santander (see J/Sailing Calendar photo), the teams are looking forward to more racing next weekend.  Lying third after the dust settled is FONESTART sailed by Jaime Piris, fourth is SPACIO 10 raced by Paul Santurde and fifth is BANCAJA sailed by Javier López-Vázquez and Alvaro Mazarrasa.  For more Spanish J/80 sailing info.  

J/80s and J/World Annapolis Partner with USSTAG/GEL Sailing Program

* J/80s at J/World Annapolis were used for a USSTAG/ GEL program with US Olympian Graham Biehl.  Donna Berry from GEL had this to say about the program-  "I wanted to share the following sailing story with you involving the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, sailing experiential learning company Group Experiential Learning, J World Annapolis and Olympian Graham Biehl.

It’s not every day that one gets to meet an Olympic sailor, let alone race with one.  On February 4, 2010 in Naples, Fla., AlphaGraphics, the title sponsor of the US Sailing Team, took its sponsorship to the next level with a pioneering event that intertwined world-class sailing with corporate relationship building.   AlphaGraphics brought its top franchisees out to sail and race with US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) team member Graham Biehl, a 2008 Olympian and 2012 Olympic hopeful, in an event organized by fellow sponsor, Group Experiential Learning (GEL), the country’s premier provider of experiential outdoor and sailboat-based leadership development, team building and corporate entertainment programs.  Ninety-five percent of the participants had never sailed, let alone raced, prior to the afternoon on the home waters of the Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club, but tight racing ensued, facilitated by a highly experienced coaching team from J World Annapolis, a sailing school partner which powers many GEL programs.   Participants were divided into four teams on J80s, with each team guest-coached by Biehl during one round of the four races which comprised the regatta.

“Our role as a title sponsor of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics has really evolved into a greater and greater relationship year-after-year,” said Kevin Cushing, CEO of AlphaGraphics.  “Our event was a great example of how the members of the team are more engaged with our franchisees and our franchisees are engaged with them.  Graham Biehl was present on every boat giving us tips and having a blast with our franchisees.  It was a once-in-a-life experience.”  

Added Dan Cooney, Commercial Director for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, "We were thrilled to have our team-building partner GEL lead our title sponsor AlphaGraphics and their top franchisees through the paces on the water, culminating in some competitive but friendly racing.  It serves to deepen and add value to these relationships."

The day’s outcome?  Sixteen key franchisees and AlphaGraphics employees experienced an unprecedented opportunity to compete with and against a young Olympic athlete, and got a glimpse into the teamwork required to battle wind, currents and competitors in the intense world of sailboat racing.  Several teams won individual races and the regatta did award trophies, but as Kevin Cushing pointed out, the victories are truly measured in the smiles of the participants and the deepened relationships between AlphaGraphics and its vital franchisees.  

J/80 Spain Winter Series Update

The J/80 fleets in Bilbao, Santander and Palma Mallorca, Spain continue strong racing with some series leaders emerging.  Come rain, snow, cold or violent squalls, nothing seems to deter this group of sailors from having great sailing on the water and camaraderie in the local harborside pubs after sailing.

Winter Trophy 2010

(Bilbao, Spain- Feb 6-7)-  Winter Trophy 2010 and has a clear candidate for title: Peru Mugica and his crew of PAKEA BIZKAIA. A first and a second on the third weekend helped Peru Mugica consolidate his lead with eight points, five less than the AS DE GUIA VIII's skipper Joseph Azqueta, who finished third and fourth.  In third place overall is FREUS's  Cristian Jauregui with seventeen points.

On a cold rainy day with little wind, the race committee postponed for two hours.  Then, they got two races off, the first one being light winds and strong currents making for challenging tactical decisions and the second marked by a powerful squall shifting the winds into the north.    In the first race, Zubiaga Ramon sailing MANDOVI led the race from start to finish after a difficult start.  MANDOVI chose to duck a bunch of transoms on port to get to the favored side and simply sailed away with the race.   Behind them, Peru Mugica staged a great comeback to finish second by the end of the race. The second race was considerably closer and much windier for the fleet.  The leaders all went to the right side of the course, playing the shifts.  In the end, victory belonged to Peru's PAKEA BIZKAIA followed by Cristian's FREUS and Joseph's AS DE GUIA VIII' in third place.

After the racing a dinner was held at SALTILLO's.  After the cold and rain, the warm atmosphere and great food and drink made for some amusing stories and celebration-- a lot of potato's were eaten!  More Spanish sailing news here.  

The J/80 Mafias Trophy- Spain

SPACIO 10, ECC VIVIENDAS, YATES&THINGS Win

(Santander, Spain- Feb 6-7)-  On the final day of the first trophy of the year, Pichu Torcida continued his winning ways from the 2009 season.  Pichu's ECC VIVIENDAS sailed extremely well, winning two races on the last day, to finish just two points back from Mafias Trophy winner, Paul Santurde on SPACIO 10.  SPACIO 10 consistently led the series, despite not winning any races.  And, thanks to an extraordinarily consistent series of 2-2-2-2 in the first four races, Santurde managed to hang in there for the overall win.

Like their friends in Bilbao, heavy rain in the afternoon on Saturday in Santander Bay did not stop to the fleet from having an interesting day of racing.  There was high tide, the wind blew between 15 and 18 knots from the west, and the race committee managed to run five races.  There were 22 boats on the starting line.  Unusually, the fleet went right the first time, without needing to have to repeat the same tactic later in the day.  In later races, the fleet was distributed equally throughout the race course. Some sought more favorable tide, some surfed the channel area of the bay and others simply played the left side, sailing further south. 

While ECC VIVIENDAS was winning the last two races, SPACIO 10 was wrapping up the series with a solid performance.  With their fourth consecutive second place, Santurde's SPACIO 10 secured winning the Mafias Trophy.  Antonio Piris sailed his YATES&THINGS very well to finish third for the series, followed by Alberto Padron's MABLE V and Jamie Piris' FONESTAR in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Next weekend the Santander J/80 fleet starts the Waxy-Memorial de Antonio Pereda Trophy during the month of February.  More Spanish sailing news.  

J/80 UK Nationals- Cardiff, Wales, UK

(Cardiff, Wales, UK- May 5-8th)- The Tacktick Suunto J/80 UK National Championship 2010 will be hosted by the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club from May 5-8th.  The J/80 is fastest selling sportsboat in Europe and with this in mind, marine electronics specialists Tacktick have agreed title sponsorship for the J/80 UK Nationals.  James Hewitt, Sales Manager for Tacktick Suunto said, "We are delighted to kick start what we hope will be a long standing association with the UK J/80 Class. We see the Tacktick Race Master as the perfect product for this performance sportsboat. Of course the Suunto range of watches also hold massive appeal across all J Boat sailors from the J/80 to the J/133, as does our entire range of wireless, self powered marine electronics." This is the second time the J/80 National Championships have been fought in the waters of Cardiff Bay. The racing is extremely tactical, tidal considerations are clearly important and racing here on short windward-leeward courses presents a real challenge and reaps it’s own rewards for the clever sailor. Facilities at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club are superb for sportsboats and the Class is very pleased to be back.  Thirty plus UK boats are expected at the event in June, along with visitors from Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The growing domestic fleet welcomes many new owners in 2010 and the spring date for the Tacktick Suunto J/80 UK Nationals means that this is the first time most teams will be lining up against each other in advance of the J/80 Europeans on Lake Garda in June and the J/80 Worlds in Newport at the end of the summer.  Photo Credit- ChapiFoto.  For more J/80 regatta and sailing information.  

J/80 Spain- Winter Sailing Report

The teams in Spain continue to be a dominant force in the J/80 class.  With several Olympians, World Champions from various classes participating, it's not surprising the Spanish teams continue to be competitive on a world-class level-- after all, the Mediterranean is their backyard.  And, of all things, even with strange (but interesting) events like the Americas Cup 33 DOG Match with a bunch of big cats taking place in Valencia, the Spaniards are intent on winning yet another J/80 World Championship.  Who's to argue with their success?  Cats be damned.  One-design is where it's at (ironically, Ellison, Bertarelli know that, too!).  Here's a synopsis of their activities this winter.  The Palma Mallorca fleet is active, as always in one of the more spectacular sailing settings one could ever imagine worldwide-- famous church, beautiful bay, great breeze as your settings and backdrop.  The Bilbao and Santander fleets continue to race and conduct training sessions for their teams. Photo Credit- Jesus Renedo.

Bilbao Winter Trophy

(Bilbao, Spain- Feb. 3-4th)- This past weekend, the J/80 fleet in Bilbao had two days or racing with fourteen boats on the line. After some delays on Saturday, the fleet enjoyed a beautiful fifteen knot breeze from the southeast but fighting a strong 1.5 knots current.  The first race was won by Pakea Freus followed by Christian Jauregui.  The second race was held with less wind, and was also very competitive among the top finishers. It is worth noting again that Freus and Paul Riquelme with their boat VIAJES IBERIA will be one of the rivals to beat at the top. The end result was the first race went to Peru Pakea Mugica and the second to the Jose Azqueta.  More next week on how these rivals begin to duke it out leading up to this years European events.  Photo Creidt- VeoVeoImg.com

Real Club Náutico Training Session- Clinica Coruna

(Santander, Spain)-  On February 6, RCN will be hosting a training program for J/80 teams to get them up to speed for the 2010 sailing season.  In attendance will be some of Spain's more renowned J/80 sailors, including Carlos Martinez (Peraleja Golf), José María Torcida (ECC Housing) and Peru Mugica (Pakea Bizcaia).  The program is a very full day with the intention of learning the most from their distinguished guests and, most importantly, to spend a fun day at sea.  Photo Credit- ChapiFoto.com

For more J/80 Spain regatta and sailing information.  

Beautiful Key West Race Week

SAVASANA Wins J/105s, LE TIGRE Triumphs in J/80s

(Key West, FL- Jan. 18-22)-  This year's Key West Race Week was sponsored by Nautica Watches along with popular supporter Mt. Gay Rum.  It was a great cocktail and recipe for success, making for many happy winners celebrating with drinks plus a new watch!  Check out the photos of all the J's racing on the J/Boats Facebook page! (email us if you want high-resolution photos- contact us at J/Boats).

The weather was nearly postcard perfect, hard to go wrong sailing on aquamarine seas, sunny, with gentle breezes and 70 degree temperatures during the day.  The fleet was treated to a typical cold front scenario where the incoming front pulls in SSW breezes and over the course of several days veers from NNW to SE.  The fleet of 134 boats saw J/Boats having the largest total fleet of boats at the event- over one-third were J's ranging in size from the "classic" J/24 upwards through the range including J/29, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/122, J/125 and J/44.  The races generally got off without a hitch due to the seasoned expert PROs like Ken Legler and others who stayed on top of the shifty, streaky breezes.  Races started on time at 10:30 am and most fleets generally completed two races and were heading home by 2:00 pm.

On the Division 1 course, David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH sailed well in IRC-B Class. At one point they had a solid lead but a few slow starts, missed windshifts and streaks rapidly jumbled the standings over the last two days.  Nevertheless, David and crew managed to hang in there to get a podium finish- 3rd overall for the week.  Their good fortune was counter-weighted by the roller coast rides seemingly experienced by Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK and Jim Bishop's beautifully repainted J/44 GOLD DIGGER.  Both sailed well in a couple of races but had difficulty maintaining any consistency due to the very shifty, streaky wind conditions on Division 1 course-  large black holes materialized frequently, swallowing up any unsuspecting boats and never let them go. 

The Division 2 course with J/105s and J/80s had incredibly competitive racing.  For the J/105s, it's Brian Keane's SAVASANA that took home the gold, finishing in first by a significant margin of sixteen points....almost not having to sail the last day because their lead was so large.  However, the next three places from second to fourth was wide open until the last day.  Essentially, a three-way tie exists between Ken Colburn's GHOST, Scooter Simmons BLACKHAWK and Damian Emery's ECLIPSE.  In the end, it was Ken Colburn on GHOST that prevailed, finishing second for the week followed by Scooter Simmons sailing BLACKHAWK to third place and Damian Emery slowing down a bit onboard ECLIPSE  on the last day to finish fourth.

The J/80 Midwinters lived up to its promise to be an indicator for the J/80 Worlds of how tough it would be to win in this closely fought class.  The top five was truly a horse race with anyone still having a mathematical chance of winning with just two days (four races) to go.  Each day brought a new leader to the top of the pack.  The last day created a lot of anxiety for the leaders. However, Glen Darden on LE TIGRE managed to overcome an early race deficit, with Rod & Jeff Johnstone sailing LITTLE FEAT in the lead, to just catch one more boat by the finish to finish fifth and win the regatta.  Rod & Jeff sailed extremely well on a challenging day to get two firsts to rapidly close the gap with LE TIGRE at the start of the day.  Those efforts, however, were not enough to overcome a slow start with two 7's on the first day, LITTLE FEAT finished second by a point.  Early regatta leader Will Welles on board RASCAL experienced some minor (but expensive) mistakes mid-week to fall off their consistent early showings, garnering a third overall.  Conversely, Al Minella sailing RELENTLESS have a "barbell" shaped results table, with great results midweek but a few mid-pack races at the beginning and end of the week.  Past J/80 World and NA Champion Kerry Klingler racing LIFTED had 1-2-3s in his record, but couldn't maintain any consistency to crack the top three, finishing fifth for the week.

LE TIGRE, co-owned by Glenn Darden and Reese Hilliard of Forth Worth, TX, Darden has competed in eight Key West race weeks, but has never taken a top win. Until now.  An experienced racing sailor and collegiate champion at Tulane, Glen is a past J/105 North American Champion and has won the J/80 Worlds. This week, the team placed third or better in seven of 10 starts in capturing the J/80 Mid-Winter Championship, which was contested as part of Key West 2010.   "We had a great battle with Jeff and were just able to hold on", said Darden, who had Ullman pro Max Skelley aboard as tactician.

Another Texan, Jay Lutz calling tactics on SWE 803 said, "The depth of the competition was much better than ever before".  Magnus Tyremans entry (SWE 803) placed sixth in fleet, not bad for the tough, 19-boat class battle. Blake Billman was on the bow and Cal Herman worked the middle. Winning race 2, and finishing in the top ten consistently, the SWE 803 team followed the suspense of the final races between Le Tigre and Little Feat. "The lead boat LE TIGRE almost lost it", Herman said. One extra point and that would've been the case. 

You can read more about what happened on the J/80 race course by reading Chuck Allen's Sailing World blog at http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen

The Stock Island located Division 3 course for PHRF boats saw two fantastic performances by two enthusiastic J Owners.  In PHRF 1, Jim Madden's  very fast J/125 STARK RAVING MAD and his fun-loving, happy-go-lucky crew from the San Diego/ LA area (including Gary Weisman and Benny Mitchell), had another great time in Key West and sailed away with PHRF A with eight bullets!  

In PHRF 2, Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH led for most of the week but Thursday's windy day generated an uncharacteristic 4-3 for the day to drop him down to second overall by just one point. Their five firsts in ten races are an average of just over second place, it was testimony to their consistency and how well they sailed their J/109 RUSH.  Perennial Key West participant, Steve Thurston's MIGHTY PUFFIN, got in some good sailing and good times during the regatta, sailing to a sixth overall.

In PHRF 3,  the three J/24s stayed remarkably close to one another all week long.  Mark Milne's BLAH BLAH BLAH "won" the J/24 Class award, finishing second in the overall standings.  Just behind was Naroski/LeBlanc's NOJOE in third.

For Key West Race Week regatta information and sailing results.  

Key West Race Week on a Budget

Key West on a Budget-  J/80 owner Jeremy Reynolds was skeptical when it was suggested he enter Key West 2010, presented by Nautica. The Maryland resident started doing a mental checklist of the costs associated with doing a regatta off the southernmost point of Florida and just shook his head. “I saw the dollar signs going cha-ching, cha-ching in my head,” Reynolds said. That was before J/80 class president Kristen Robinson showed Reynolds a detailed spreadsheet of how to attend the annual race week in Key West on a reasonable budget of less than $8,000.

Perhaps the most notable cost-cutting method involves working a package deal for most of the J/80s to launch and berth at Old Island Marina. Robinson negotiated a discount on the splash fee and storage rate with the Stock Island facility. Robinson also helped the J/80 teams contain their housing costs by calling around to numerous Key West realtors and comparing rates.

Robinson, who posted a “How to do Key West on a Budget” article on the J/80 website, was asked why she puts so much effort into assisting other J/80 owners with their Key West plans and plotting out a budget for the regatta. “Because if I’m going to make the effort to come down here I don’t want to race in PHRF. I come to Key West for good one-design competition so the more boats the better,” said Robinson, who believes other class presidents or representatives should put forth the same effort for a regatta the caliber of Key West.

Premiere Racing president Peter Craig is extremely impressed by the ability of J/80 owners to put together a Key West campaign on an affordable budget. “The J/80 class increasing to 19 boats in this economy is one of the great success stories of this event and should be listened to carefully by the owners in other classes,” Craig said. “The J/80 folks have figured out how to do Key West without breaking the bank by working collectively. They have clearly shown that it can be done.”  Learn more about sailing Key West on a budget at the J/80 Class  

Key West Race Week- Day 5- Gorgeous Finale

SAVASANA Wins J/105s, LE TIGRE gets J/80s, STARK RAVING MAD Dominates PHRF A
(Key West, FL- Jan. 22)- This year's Key West Race Week was certainly one of the nicest sailing weeks in recent memory.  After the tropical downpours on Sunday, Monday dawned with gorgeous weather, nice winds that would prevail for the week.  Despite a gloomy Tuesday, the wind, sun and conditions provided competitors with a variety of shifty, streaky winds that would make it challenging for any sailor to get around the race track without making significant mistakes. 

On the Division 1 course,  David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH sailed well in IRC2 to finish third. The light air and large wind streaks wreaked havoc on the fleet on the last day.  If you got caught out on some of them upwind or downwind, the speed differences were simply too enormous to overcome any lost distance.  As a result, Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK and Jim Bishop's J/44 GOLD DIGGER had unusually variable performances to finish out of the running.

The Division 2 course with J/105s and J/80s had competitive racing for the entire week.   However,  for the J/105s, it was Brian Keane's SAVASANA that simply sailed off with the series lead after Tuesday.  However, the next three places from second to fourth were completely wide open going into the last two races on Friday.  Essentially, a three-way tie existed between Ken Colburn's GHOST, Scooter Simmons BLACKHAWK and Damian Emery's ECLIPSE.  Whoever prevailed on Friday's light air would determine the pecking order.  Ultimately, Ken Colburn on GHOST finished second and Scooter Simmons finished third. 

The J/80 Midwinters concluded with Glen Darden on LE TIGRE barely hanging on to win by one point over Rod and Jeff Johnstone on board LITTLE FEAT.  In fact, going up the last windward and downwind leg, the Johnstones were winning the regatta (they got two firsts on Friday) because Glen and team were lying in sixth place.  However, LE TIGRE passed just one more boat to eliminate the losing tie-breaker scenario and won the regatta.  Third place went to Will Welles RASCAL with much improved Al Minella's team on RELENTLESS finishing fourth and current NA/ past World Champion Kerry Klingler sailing LIFTED finishing fifth. You can read more about what's happened during the J/80 Midwinters by reading Chuck Allen's Sailing World blog at http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen

The Stock Island located Division 3 course for PHRF boats saw great performances from the J/125 and J/109.  In PHRF 1, Jim Madden's J/125 STARK RAVING MAD sailed away with PRHF A with eight bullets, winning class with a seventeen point lead!   

In PHRF 2, Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH sailed extremely well but two fourths earlier in the series hurt their chances to win class overall, losing by just one point with a 2-1 finish on Friday.

In PHRF 3,  the three J/24s had a fun week.  Mark Milne's BLAH BLAH BLAH finished second and just behind was Naroski/LeBlanc's NOJOE in third.  For regatta information and sailing results, please go to:  http://www.premiere-racing.com/KW10_Results/kw10_results_reports.htm   

J/80 ECC Viviendas Trophy Series

(Santander, Spain)-  The J/80 class in Santander put an end to the 2009 season, with the conclusion of the last two races of the ECC Viviendas Trophy sailed in great northwest breezes, sunny skies and steep waves.  It was a fitting end to the season considering how many times racing had to be postponed/ canceled.  The big waves were a delight for all the sailors as it made for fun, long, fast surfs downwind under the big asymmetric spinnakers.

At the end of the racing, it was YATES & THINGS sailed by A Piris that managed to stay ahead and put up the rest of the away to win the race with great ease. SPACIO 10 raced by Paul Santurde soared to second and in third finished  Javier López-Vázquez in BANCAJA.  The 2010 season will begin on January 9th with the so-called MAFIA TROPHY-- gee, we wonder what the implication is for the winners?  Photo Credit- Jesus Renedo.  For more sailing and regatta information.    

J/80 Palma Otonocon Trophy

(Palma, Majorca- Nov. 28)- Palma's fleet continues Otoñocon Trophy celebrating the fourth day. On Saturday 28th of November they played two more races of the championship. For the time being leading the fleet is 'Portcall' by Jose Carlos Frau, followed by 'Jose Luis Ferrer Winery' Roses Antonio about unreachable 23 points of difference. Close on the podium is 'Expresso' by Jaime Fiol and Eduardo Horrach.  For more sailing and regatta information.

J/80 MUNDIALITO CUP

Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS Wins

(Santander, Spain- Nov. 29) - This trophy is hosted each year in Santander with many of Spain's best sailors invited to climb in different boats and spend a weekend with their Cantabrian friends and sailors.  This year, Pichu Torcida continued his winning ways racing ECC VIVIENDAS and winning over the twenty four boat fleet.  His VIP "luxury guest" was Malaga Mainemare Vivi and rounding out his crew were Alex Muscat, Pure Ruigómez and Charly Martinez.

The weekend of racing started out with a postponement on Saturday as winds were gusting upwards of forty knots.  On Sunday morning, the sailors enjoyed a beautiful day, with two closely contested races, especially between ECC VIVIENDAS and MAGNIFYING GLASS. The winds were very shifty and puffy and, along with high tide, permitted the boats to play the shores and the beaches for tactical and strategic advantage.

While ECC VIVIENDAS won, Cesar Obregon and David Marazo sailed to a regatta-winning combination of 1-2 on Sunday but were disqualified for inadvertently touching the mark with their boom.  Of note were some good performances from the "guest" sailors.  YATES & THINGS, with Toño Piris at the helm and Vicente Tirado as a guest had a 4-11.   PROPERNOR led one race with current World Junior Champions  Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos on board.

After ECC VIVIENDAS in second place was  SPACE 10 sailed by Chuny Bermudez de Castro.  And, in third overall on the podium was FUNDESTIC sailed by Antonio Gorostegui.  For more sailing and regatta information

Commodores Trophy- Espana

ZEIK Wins Big In Gale Force Winds
(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña.  It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.

On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters.  The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day.  Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races.  However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former.

For more sailing information and regatta results.

Bancantabria Sailing Cup

FUNDESTIC (Toño Gorostegui)  Winning Overall
(Santander, Spain- 8-9 November)-  The forecast for bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, with orange alert announced and forecast winds of force 7 to 8, meant that the Third Act (Series) of the Bancantabria Sailing Cup was going to be an experience to say the least.  Fortunately, the Race Committee elected to setup the courses in the inner bay, therefore enabling the J/80s to have two fun, very windy races.  Only twelve of the thirty boats raced in the demanding conditions.  And the end of the weekend, it was Tono Gorostegui who maintained their composure to maintain the overall lead sailing FUNDESTIC. 

Leaders for the weekend (Act III) were Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS; then RAITA finished second and Tono's FUNDESTIC got third.  The provisional Overall standings for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup has Tono's FUNDESTIC in first with 8 points, Paul Santurde's SPACIO in second with 12 points and Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS in third with 13 points.
For more sailing and regatta information.

French J/80 Nationals

Luc Nadal's GANJA Dominates Championship
(Cherbourg, France- Nov. 7-11)- A record turnout of forty eight J/80s showed up for this year's French J/80 National Championship in Cherbourg.  The hometown hosts were fabulous and put on quite a show despite the somewhat difficult weather conditions they were presented with over the course of the four day regatta. Light shifty four knot winds and flat water to moderate rolling seas blowing upwards of twenty knots offered the fleet tremendous challenges.  It was very difficult to stay out of the bottom of the fleet and maintain some kind of consistency.

However, Luc Nadal and his team aboard GANJA sailed magnificently, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the board to win by nearly thirty points over his next competitor.  Their record of 2-1-9-1-7-1-1 for 22 points speaks for itself...four firsts was unequalled in the fleet.  Second overall was Jean-Yves Jaffrezic racing ATLANTIS with a record of  5-8-21-12-1-3-1 for 51 points, beating JACUZZI on a tie-breaker.  Ludovic Gilet raced the renowned JACUZZI into third place with a 1-6-13-3-5-19-4 also with 51 points but lost tie on most firsts.  Fourth was the famous French woman sailor Christine Briand just three points back sailing J ILE DE RE and finishing behind her was Frederic Denis on ECOLE NAVALE CG29 with 63 points.

On a personal note, it was nice to see Pierre Follenfant- a former 470 and FD sailor whom Drake and Stu sailed against when they were kids in the 470 class in the mid-1970s sailing a respectable series to finish 11th in this highly competitive fleet!  We're glad to see old warhorses like us can still hang in there with the top players in the class!

For more sailing and regatta information.

Bancantabria Sailing Cup

HOUSING ECC Wins Fundestic Trophy
(Santander, Spain- Oct. 14-26)- Hosted by the FCV (Federacion Cantabra de Vela) in Santander, Spain, the Bancantabria Sailing Cup had a strong turnout of thirty-one J/80s.  The Cup is a series of races taking place over several weekends sailing in the spectacular waters off Santander in often warm, sunny conditions.

While the last weekend of the two week event was nearly a wash-out, the sailors had an enjoyable time racing for this past weekend's Fundestic Trophy.  Pichu Torcida racing ECC HOMES managed to take home another win.  Pushing him hard was Jaime Pris onboard FONESTAR to take second overall and coming in third place was Adrian Zamacona racing MABLE. Notable amongst the competitors in this year's even was the return, after months of absence from racing J/80s, of the 49er Olympic Sailing medalists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez. Iker and Xabi went sailing with friends aboard PROPERNOR-- looks like they'll need some practice after posting a twelfth in their first outing.

For more sailing information and regatta results, please visit J/80 Spain Class site.

2010 J/80 European Championship Sailing on Lake Garda

(Lago di Garda, Italy)- Get ready for some fantastic sailing on the famous, windy Lake Garda next summer, as the Italian J/80 Class Association invites you to the 2010 European Championships.  The event will be hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine Yacht Club and take place June 21-26. The Italian National Championship will be held two weeks prior (June 11-13) at the same venue.   Italian hospitality is renowned and the FVM YC promises that this will be one of the BEST European one-design events ever held on the Continent.   Put it on your schedule now, book a gorgeous villa with lots of friends, eat lots of tasty, fresh Italian pasta cuisine, enjoy great Italian red and white wines and go have a great time!  The event weblink is up and running and complete sailing instructions, sailing venue and other regatta information will be posted there in the near future.  http://www.j80euro2010.it/

Texas J/80 North Americans

Klinger Grabs Three-Peat
(Houston, TX- October 23-25)- Kerry Klingler has been sailing J/80s for a number of years.  Yet, despite the talent and the CV that might favor a "three-peat", Kerry was perhaps the least confident of the class leaders going into this year's J/80 North Americans.  With six previous J/80 North American Champions in attendance, including a current J/22 International Class World Champion Terry Flynn, it was not readily apparent who would come out on top of the heap of such a talented group of sailors.  As Terry said. "it was closest competition ever in NAs amongst the top 10....it could've gone either way."

The first day was perhaps the best for the fleet as it was a windy, puffy northerly gusting to twenty knots on Galveston Bay.  It made for difficult conditions to stay consistently in the top five against the tough fleet of NA Champions.  On the second day, there was no wind in the morning and the fleet had to wait for a light, shifty sea breeze to develop out of the southeast.  By the third day of racing, a solid sea breeze filled in making for extremely tight, fun racing amongst everyone-- the very tight mark roundings had an enormous impact on race outcomes. 

Prevailing through the smoke and fog of battle was Kerry Klingler and team again aboard their J/80 LIFTED with a  1-4-1-5-[13]-1-4-5 record for  a total of 21 points.  Hanging tough was Terry and David Flynn, finishing second with a 3-1-[8]-7-1-5-3-2 for 22 total points! Third overall was Glenn and Reese Darden sailing LE TIGRE to a 4-2-6-[10]-5-4-2-3 record for 26 points.  Special mention must be made of Jay Lutz- the victim of an extraordinary accident at the J/80 Worlds in Santander, Spain.  Now fully recovered, Jay "feels like new again" and sailed to a respectable fourth overall onboard the appropriately named PAINKILLER JANE with a  6-[9]-4-4-3-3-7-1 tally for 28 points.



For more sailing information and regatta results.

J/80 Tour Update

Word on the street is that upwards of a dozen J/80s have been bought  for competing in this years' upcoming J/80 Tour that starts with the Nautica Key West Race Week in Key West, Florida and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  J/80 Class leaders at the recent J/80 North American Championships in Houston, Texas have seen strong enthusiasm for the J/80 Tour.  For more information on this circuit, please contact J/80 Class reps at the J/80 Class Association- http://www.j80.org

J/80 Atlantic Coasts- France

Team ATLANTIS- Lawrence Sambron Wins.
(Lorient, France- Sept 19-20)- Twenty-one teams gathered in Lorient this past weekend to race the "Atlantic Telegram" regatta, emblematic of the J/80 French Atlantic Coast Championships.

Under very light winds and somewhat unstable weather conditions, the ATLANTIS Team skippered by Lawrence Sambron with the crew of Jean-Yves Jaffrezic, Pierre-Yves Tinel and Stephane Guilbaud won the regatta.  The ATLANTIS team was closely followed by Sylvain Pellissier and Dominic Vittet racing their J/80 VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE. The J/80 from La Trinité, AXELLE, raced by Damien J Zucconi finished third on the podium.  JACUZZI from Breton was fourth and Gilles Drouet from Cherbourg was fifth.

This regatta was good practice and an indicator of which teams will be contenders for the upcoming French J/80 Nationals which will be sailed in Cherbourg, France from November 8 to 11. After the French J/80 Nationals, the J/80 French Class will announce the winners of the hotly contested J/Cup in France for the J/80 Class--- so far, everything is still in play for the top spots for many of the crews. 

Lawrence Sambron commenting on his win had this to say about his team and the event: "It was the first time we had come to the Atlantic Coast and raced on the Bay of Biscay.  We were seduced by the awesome racing, the beautiful waters and the warm welcome on this site. On the water, we started well on Friday and we continued our momentum.  Jean-Yves Jaffrezic tactics were excellent in conditions that were not obviously clear for most crews this particular Sunday. We got a good result and this is good preparation for the J/80 French Nationals to be held in Cherbourg in November. The
outlook is positive so far!"
For more info.
http://www.cnlorient.org/photo/classements/ATG2009/J802.htm