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

  

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- 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