J/80 in Barcelona Sailing School

(Barcelona, Spain)- Sailing director, Eva Piulats, says "We're opening a new sailing school in Barcelona...the novelty is that we have a beautiful J-35 in our fleet along with J/80 sailboats! We are proud to have such a performance boat for sail-training."

Furthermore, Eva says, "As founder of the brand new company "Barcelona Sailing School", I have a background in sciences in my early ages and then more than a decade of sailing experience in several seas and countries. And from the beginning, I had the chance to work with the dealer of J-Boats in Spain, Mr. Pedro Egea, manager of the company Catamaran Center SL & Yate Center. He made me love J-Boats by sailing them and I was clearly set up for the decision.

So, when I wanted to turn my career into another field and be devoted to training, I decided to focus on J-Boats. We planned to use J-35 for offshore regattas and preparing skippers to cruise on their own. We also offer other activities in J-80 for day-sailing!"  For more Barcelona Sailing School information- L'Equip de Xaloc

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.

  

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