Month: August 2022

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Cowes Week is one of the United Kingdom’s longest-running and most successful sporting events and is a key highlight of the British sporting summer. It has been held in early August every year since 1826, except during the two World Wars. For the 196th edition, 800+ boats were treated to gorgeous sailing for seven days on the capricious Solent waters. J/Boats owners and crew continued their strong performances across the board. 
IRC 1 DivisionThe fourteen-boat IRC 1 Division saw Frenchman Gilles Fournier’s J/133 PINTIA take the silver medal after winning the last three day’s races in a row! Their colleagues on the J/122e MOANA, Frans & Michelle Van Cappelle, sailed a consistent regatta to finish just 2 pts off the podium, having to settle for 5th in a tie-breaker! 

IRC 2 DivisionThe nineteen-boat IRC 2 Division saw David Franks’ J/112e LEON have a spirited battle against Adam Gosling’s YES, scoring just 1sts and 2nds, but that wasn’t sufficient enough for them to top the leaderboard, missing the win by a mere 3 pts and taking home the silver medal. 

IRC 4 DivisionA trio of J/92S was racing in the eight-boat IRC 4 Division. However, it was Bob Baker’s J/97 JAYWALKER that won four races to top the leaderboard with just 9 pts net. Past class winners, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO, sailed a solid series with three 2nds and a 1st in their scoreline to take the silver medal. Jack Banks’ J/92 NIGHTJAR sailed a consistent series to take 4th place, including a victory by the all-women crew on Tuesday- Ladies Day!

J/109 ClassThe nine-boat J/109 Class saw the top Dutch team on JOULE, led by Arjen van Leeuwen & Silvy Leijh, continue their early season success and post a scoreline of all firsts (5) and seconds (2) to win comfortably. John Smart’s JUKEBOX had all podium finishes as well, but was no match for the Flying Dutchmen! The JUKEBOX boys took the silver with 12 pts net. Rounding out the podium was the trio of Clementi/ Sheldon/ Walker on BROWN TEAL. Past class winners filled out the top five- Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN’ in 4th and Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN in 5th place.

J/70 ClassAs the biggest class in the regatta, the thirty-two boat J/70 class enjoyed tight, competitive racing up and down the waterfront, the fleet making picturesque starts immediately in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Winning the week-long series was Tim Ryan’s VAMOS. The balance of the podium included the foursome sailing DADS’N’LADS (Ole Bettum, Tim Simpson, Markus Bettum, and Hector Simpson). Third went to Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA 8. The rest of the top five included David McLeman’s OFFBEAT in 4th and Ray Mitchell’s ESCAPE in 5th place.  Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth  For more Cowes Week sailing information

(Annapolis, MD)- During a crash course in sailing a J/70 class sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay, one writer throws caution to the wind and rekindles her faith in new adventures. Here is Lauren Matison’s awesome article from CONDE NAST TRAVELER magazine…
“I’m in the sailing capital of America on a 22-foot J/70 called the “Danger Mouse” when I learn that helming a boat going 11 knots will blow you right out of your comfort zone.
“Everyone ready to jibe?”, I manage to squeak. 
“Ready!” says the newbie crew, before moving across the boat. I stand up and do the tiller tango: glide sideways, duck under the boom, steer towards the next mark on the horizon, and don’t hit the deck. At one point, the sail catches a puff of wind, and some salty words like “Holy Helly Hansen!” fly out as I steady the tiller, which I surprisingly love operating. 
As the J/70 surfs downwind, the bright red spinnaker sail with its fearsome cartoon mouse cuts a striking figure against the blue ombré sky. The estuary around us pulses with nautical enthusiasts: an older couple out for a day sail, a fleet of toy-sized 420s practicing race starts, sightseers on the Schooner Woodwind, a man and his dog in an inflatable dinghy. It’s just a regular Wednesday afternoon in Annapolis, Maryland.
I’m here to spend two days becoming a sailor in the Chesapeake Bay, where regattas have been held since 1910. I navigate around the maritime traffic and turn us towards the city’s outer green banks that beckon with big waterfront homes and slivers of sand. Kristen Berry of Gale Force Sailing talks about how to see gusts approaching and interpret wind by the fluttering telltale strings on the sails. We’re about to jibe again when a United States Naval Academy training boat appears on our port side, leaving waves and “Whoas!” in its wake. 
I sense the hours are going by as I read the wind and alternate roles, completely dialed in and carefree like the osprey cruising alongside us. Mostly, I love holding that tiller and the empowering jolt that comes with it. I soon discover it’s also fun handling the main sheet, the line that controls the position of the sail; I can use it to get the boat to catch more wind and heel on its side, a wild off-kilter feeling.
In a fleeting moment, I realize that I haven’t thought about my usual anxieties—my daughter’s belly aches, climate change, the next freelance writing gig—since I left dry land. I learn that this is part of the whole experience: “There aren’t too many other activities that combine the physical and the cerebral the way that sailing does,” says Berry, who teaches first-year students at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, as well as underserved New York City kids through the Hudson Community Sailing school. “It’s something that you are fully present in; it’s hard to find that elsewhere these days.” 
I begin to see sailing in a new light—as a transformative sport, a paean to adventure. I confide to my shipmates that I, ever the gung-ho helmsman, had barely made it on the trip. Earlier that morning, aboard the Amtrak train from New York to Annapolis, I was a nervous wreck, all bouncing knees and cracking knuckles. I was thinking about an incident years ago, on a sailboat in San Francisco, when I had a panic attack because a tangled line caused the boat to heel suddenly on its side. (If only I’d had lessons back then.) Suffice it to say, that close call left me terrified of capsizing and I hadn’t been on a sailboat since—not when we visited my in-laws in Florida and not when a local guide in Norway offered to take me on a sail around the Lofoten Islands.
But life works in mysterious ways. When my family moved from Brooklyn to a lake house in Connecticut 10 months ago, my six-year-old son couldn’t wait to explore the water, which happens to get the perfect amount of wind for learning to sail. With unpacked boxes still lining the hallway, I bought a beater Optimist dinghy on Craigslist for $200. Shortly after that, I booked a train ticket to Annapolis. I partially hoped to overcome the fears I might otherwise pass on to my two young kids; but also, as a burnt-out parent, I saw this experience as a great excuse for a solo kid-free escape—something I hadn’t had in four years.
In Annapolis, after long hours on the water, I wander around the city in my Helly Hansen jacket with that out-of-body bobbing sensation beginner sailors get back on land. I’m homesick for the sailboat, the adrenaline rush, the lapping of waves against the hull. I miss the ease of offline mode, gripping the tiller instead of my phone, concerned only with matters of the wind. I prefer the sailor version of me—free-spirited, clear-headed, energized by the pursuit of a new skill, however daunting—not the mercurial lapsed adventurer, drained from two years of raising kids and working through a pandemic without a real break.
I walk along the brick sidewalks and smile at fellow sunburnt sailors like we’ve been up to something together. A narrow lane next to the Iron Rooster, a popular brunch spot, leads to the colorful front doors on Pinkney Street and exquisite 18th-century buildings named Shiplap House and Hammond-Harwood House. Tucked away in Old Fox Books is Brown Mustache Coffee, where a Brooklynite-turned-Annapolitan barista makes a superb latte and talks up her new hometown. I tell her I wish I had more time to catch concerts at Rams Head Tavern and eat grilled scallops with fermented fish peppers at Preserve.Beer and snacks at Forward Brewing a new brewery in Eastport Maryland
At the Museum of Historic Annapolis, I learn that this city was the nation’s first peace-time capital in 1783 and that, in January 1784, up the road at the Maryland State House, the U.S. Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, formally recognizing America’s sovereignty and ending the Revolutionary War. There are moving stories of prominent Black residents like John Maynard, whose home from 1847 still stands at 163 Duke of Gloucester St, and I want to linger over every exhibit covering the following 175 years of historical events— but I’m due back at the marina.
Passing the Annapolis City Dock, I spy the legendary 58-foot ocean racing yacht “Maiden” in a temporary slip; the first all-female crew to sail around the world did so on this boat, but nobody’s home for an autograph. I meet Berry and our two other crew members to watch Annapolis Yacht Club’s Wednesday night race from a motor boat. We zip up the bay to get close to the action, slowing at one point to see three generations of a family tacking beautifully on a J/105. Berry pushes the throttle and I am thoroughly drenched from the spray, but too enthralled by the race to care.
What I’ve missed isn’t being out on the water; it’s being out in the world on my own again, connecting with different people in a new place, testing my limits, and nurturing a deep restlessness that’s as vital as a rudder. These past two years, I’d forgotten how many solo adventures right my ship. After the last few long trips trekking through Patagonia and Peru, I returned home with relaxed shoulders and renewed resilience.
“Just imagine that the only things you have to help you sail are the natural things around you.”
That afternoon, when the boat heeled and I was pumping my fists in the air instead of panicking, I felt that familiar dramatic shift when you allow yourself to be vulnerable, admit to ignorance, and are open to change. Learning to sail in America’s sailing capital is to be under its spell; I am caught up in the dream of a life spent floating between sea and sky. As we zoom across the bay to observe spinnakers launching, I’m surprised that this is the first time I’m learning a new sport in the place where its culture is so celebrated.
I’m thinking I’ll need to change into some dry clothes when I’m told we’re going to be following sailors to their favorite watering holes, starting with “level four” painkillers at Pusser’s and Boatyard Bar lagers with beer-battered fish tacos. Somewhere around glass three, or maybe four, my ears begin ringing with Berry’s kernels of sailing wisdom from earlier that day: “Human nature wants us to keep pulling.” “Ease out, slow down.” “Once you’re empowered to know what you should be doing, then experiment.” “When often in doubt, rarely in error.” At the time, he was responding to questions about sailing. But hours later, it hits more like solid life advice.
On our last night, the “Danger Mouse” group takes a water taxi across the harbor to Eastport’s new nano-brewery, Forward Brewing, to drink Kölsch-style pints of Annapolis Boat Yard and plunge crostini into a smoked catfish spread. Down the block at Davis’ Pub, we settle into a picnic table with glasses of Sancerre and crab dip pretzels, looking like a bunch of sloshed and satisfied sailors.
Riding home on the train, I know that my next solo getaway won’t be long from now. I also know that on the lake this summer, the thing I’ll be passing on to my kids is a sailor’s high.”  Thanks for this contribution from CONDE-NAST TRAVELER.

Chicagoan Heaton Crowned J/70 New England Champion
(Marblehead, MA)- The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week, it’s been said, is a regatta of mental endurance. With four days of races and no discards, every race and every point counts. There can be no quit until the final leg is sailed, especially in the waters off Marblehead Harbor where the local sailors know that the wind and weather conditions are never the same from one day to the next. And no lead is ever safe.

There were close battles across the fleet, and especially so in the J/70 division, which had two 2023 J/70 World Championship qualifying berths to play for: one for a pro team and one for an all-amateur squad. The latter was bagged by locals Charlie Pendleton, Jim Raisides, Abi Borggaard, and Wade Waddell on BAD HOMBRES after a roller coaster of a regatta. They struggled on Friday, recorded their best results on Saturday, and then almost lost it all on the final day.
“On Friday, we had our worst ever day at Race Week,” Raisides said, “but it speaks to the resiliency of the team that we went out and there on Saturday and had three top-10 finishes and were the third boat overall for the day—that shows a good team.”

The foursome on BAD HOMBRES was OCS in the first race of the final day, had to return to the start, and managed to climb back to score a 20th in the 30-boat fleet. With only one race remaining, they put their disappointment behind them and focused on getting back the points they’d given up.
“Our whole thing was to just keep playing forward and working for points,” Raisides said. Scoring an impressive 11th in the final race was enough to win the berth by a slim 2 points.
The other world-championship berth went to John Heaton’s team on EMPEIRIA, the top J/70 of the weekend, which stunned the fleet on Saturday by winning all three races.

“It was a beautiful regatta, with epic conditions for Marblehead,” said Heaton, whose team of Zeke Horowitz, Zach Mason, and Will Felder mastered the changing winds that spanned from south to west, to light and strong, especially on Saturday.

“A lot of it is due to the guys, and that the boat is set up so I can drive it without intervention,” Heaton said. “I was just driving and the whole time the crew was talking about where the wind was, the clouds, and the shifts. We had good starts and good speed, but these guys were banging the shifts perfectly. It was a proud day for me to watch the team click so well together.”
Rounding out the podium for the J/70s was David Hughes’ SMOKESHOW in second (with a crew of Chris Larson, Al Terhune, and Paul Sevigny) and Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS taking third (with a crew of Steve Hunt, Jeff Reynolds, and Erik Shampain). 
The balance of the J/70 Corinthians behind Raisides’ BAD HOMBRES was Alden Reed’s EYC RESOLUTE in second with a crew of Alex Cook, Clinton Haes, and Hannah Lynn) and Eddie Keller’s KEY PLAYER in third place (with a crew of Chris Keller, Bill Lynn, and Petey Lynn). 
Winning the J/70 Mixed+ division was Tyler Doyle’s CLOWN CAR with a crew of Elizabeth Eissner, Ronald Homa, and Jennifer Lambertz. Second went to Holly Fabyan’s ASTERIA with a crew of Miranda Bakos, Mark McHugh, and Nick Sertl. Rounding out the podium was Liz Dubovik’s WINTERWIND with the all-women’s team of Alix Israel, Shannon Lockwood, Katie Rodger, and Alexandra Romagnoli.

With eight boats, the J/105 Class saw the only runaway winner in any class at the regatta. Starting in first place on day one, Charlie Garrard’s MERLIN team of Scott Alexander, Gretchen Fisher, Jack Garrad, Janet Quigley, and Alec Torrie never relinquished their lead, closing with a trio of bullets on the final day to win with just 12 pts total in 8 races!

While counting all podium finishes, Rob Marsh’s BLOWBOAT team could only muster a silver medal with 20 pts total. Rounding off the podium with the bronze medal was Tom Root’s EL JEFE with 31 pts total. The balance of the top five was Steve Hollis’ SIROCCO in 4th and Ric Dexter’s BROUHAHA in the fifth position.   Sailing photo credits- Paul Todd/ OutsideImages.com  For more Sailing World Marblehead Regatta sailing information

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- After eleven races held in predominantly full-planing conditions, the J/70 UK Class Mini-Series at Cowes Week concluded after four days of top competition with thirty-two J/70 teams racing. It was “Aussie Rules” in the Open Division and a youth team winning the Corinthian Title (beating Dad, no less)!

Tim Ryan’s VAMOS team (Robert Greenhalgh, Jess Grimes & Charlie Gundy) from Sydney, Australia was the Open Division winner at Cowes Week. Sam Haynes’s CELESTIAL team (David Chapman, Lewis Brake & Lachlan Pryor), also from Sydney, Australia, was runner-up, with Charles Thompson’s BRUTUS just three points behind in third. In the Corinthian Division, Max Clapp’s LITTLE J was the winner with Jack Davies’ YETI as runner-up. Ole Bettum, Tim Simpson, Markus Bettum & Hector Simpson racing DADS‘N’LADS was third.

“We qualified out of Australia for the Worlds in Monaco later this year, so we have plans to compete at a few events including the Europeans, “ commented Tim Ryan. “Rob Greenhalgh is on the Vamos crew, he is from here and he said we should do Cowes Week. I have never been to the regatta before, but it has been great, we have loved it. Cowes Week is such a massive challenge with the tide and also the wind has been super-strong. The competition at Cowes Week has been very good, some of the boats are so quick. Although we got one OCS in the first race, we got the win by being consistent for the rest of the regatta. We are not the quickest in this fleet by any stretch (of the imagination). Sam Haynes is a good friend from Sydney, and he has got Celestial up to speed. It has been good fun racing Celestial here and they will also be at the Worlds. During Cowes Week we have not had a moment’s rest for four days. We have had a lot of fun; the whole thing has been just fantastic, and we will be racing for the next three days.”

The Corinthian team on LITTLE J are all 26 or under: Max Clapp, Mathieu Cadei, Horatio Sykes & Felix Trattner.
LITTLE J had a great final day of the Mini-Series scoring a 3-7-2 to win the Corinthian Division and top youth team and also placed fifth overall. But LITTLE J had another ambition that they fulfilled. “We also dreamed of beating dad (Graham Clapp racing JEEPSTER), so that was really cool, but I am not sure I should mention it to him too much!” commented Max Clapp. “We didn’t really change much on the final day, I guess we were just more focused, and the boat speed was up. It has been a great Cowes Week: racing in a big fleet with some top boats is what it is all about.”
Racing at Cowes Week continues for three days for the J/70 Class, but the next Grand Slam meeting will be the final of the seven-regatta 2022 program: Grand Slam #7 will be held as part of the One Design Championships held at the Hamble River Sailing Club 01-02 October.  Watch J/70 Royal Yacht Squadron starting line video clip on Facebook
Sailing photo credits: Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures   Full results for Cowes J/70 Mini-Series   For more J/70 UK Class sailing information. 

SITELLA Crowned J/111 Great Lakes Champion
(Harbor Springs, MI)- The Little Traverse Yacht Club’s Ugotta Regatta sailed off Harbor Springs, MI, was blessed with three straight days of gorgeous sailing conditions from July 29th to 31st. For the hundreds of sailors that had endured the extreme weather of both Mackinac Races (Chicago- windy & storm & rainy, Bayview- hot, sunny & no wind), it was a welcome reprieve to get out on the water in “shorts & shades” and simply enjoy a beautiful day on the water. 

For the thirteen-boat J/111 fleet sailing their 2022 Great Lakes Championship, the LTYC PRO managed to run five races, including the “round the bay race” on Sunday. Not surprisingly, the competition at the top of the leaderboard was fast and furious between the two protagonists, Ian Hill’s SITELLA from Hampton, Virginia, and Scott Sellers’ NO SURPRISE, the hometown hero from Harbor Springs. Sailing with a star-studded team that included multiple World Champion Terry Hutchinson onboard calling tactics, SITELLA just squeaked by for the win with a 1-3-1-1-2 tally for 8 pts. Determined to give them a strong run-for-the-money, Seller’s NO SURPRISE team peeled off four deuces in four races and won the finale to take the silver medal with 9 pts. Rounding out the podium was Brad Faber’s UTAH with a record of 6-1-3-3-5 for 18 pts. The rest of the top five was Steve Young & Brad Kimmel’s DIABLO in fourth and Roland Rayment’s ROWDY in fifth place. 
The winner of the J/111 Corinthians division was the Young & Kimmel duo on DIABLO, followed by Rayment’s ROWDY in second, and Tom Dickson’s WARLOCK in the third position. 

The five-boat J/88 class had a nice mix of teams from Chicago, Michigan, and Minnesota. The unexpected first-time winner was Dave Dennison’s PIRANHA with an amazing record of four bullets and a deuce for 6 pts! Past winner Andy Graff on EXILE has his hands full taking on the smart and fast PIRANHA crew, but his 2-1-3-3-2 tally for 11 pts was good enough to earn the silver medal. Rounding out the podium was Scott Sorbie’s LEGACY with scores of 4-4-2-2-4 for 16 pts. 

With eighteen boats, the J/70 class was the largest and most competitive class in the regatta. After eight races, no team had established any dominance as virtually every boat in the top five had at least one double-digit score. In the end, John Evans’ AIRPLANE team of Reed Baldridge, Chris Busch, and Abie McLaughlin counted three bullets and two 3rds in their scoreline of eight races for a total of 32 pts. After starting with a lack of local knowledge, Tim Finkle’s JUNIOR crew of Andy Green, Bryan Mackey, and Morgan Paxhia were quick learners of the nuances of the Bay. They started with a 13-6, but closed with a 2-1-1 to race up the leaderboard and onto the podium in second place! Conversely, Bob Willis’ team on RIP RULLAH (Matt Clark, Will Holz, Ned Turney) started fast with a 2-1 but closed with a 5-13-4 to drop into the bronze medal position on the last day. Rounding out the top five were Don Glover’s MISS KILLER and Martin Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS in 4th and 5th, respectively. 
In the J/70 Corinthians division, winning was Finkle’s JUNIOR, followed by Willis’ RIP RULLAH in second and Johnsson’s AQUAHOLIKS in third place. 

The ORC C class of seven boats was treated to a sweep of the podium by two J/122s- Matt Songer’s EVVAI with the gold medal followed by Matt Schaedler’s BLITZKRIEG with the silver. 

A similar scenario played out in the eleven-boat PHRF B Class, a full-on sweep by J/Crews. Winning was Richie Stearns’ J/105 HOKEY SMOKE (with team of Lori Stearns, Freya Olsen, Marci Grunnert, Annie Baumann, Linda Bradford, and Holly Davis- pictured here). They were followed by Robert Evans’ J/109 GOAT RODEO in the silver position, then Sam Rosenbaum’s J/99 RAMBLER earning the bronze. For more Ugotta Regatta sailing information

(Mariehamn, Finland)- A fleet of twenty-two J/70 teams from across Scandinavia are looking forward to the J/70 Nordic Championship, hosted by Åländska Segelsällskapet in Mariehamn, Finland from August 8th to 11th, 2022. Teams from Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain will have the pleasure of sailing in the “land of the Midnight Sun” where the sun, even in the first week of August, just dips below the horizon for near everlasting light! 
Notably, there are three women skippers from Finland in the fleet; Lotta Virtanen’s BS Women’s Team, Marja Jaatinen’s FIDELIO Team, and Helena Skogman’s HSK Team. Because of the enormous influence of the growing J/70 sailing leagues in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, several top Swedish J/80 crews have converted over to J/70 sailing, those teams participating in the Nordic Championship include Mikael Lindqvist’s HAPPY YACHTING, Hans Liljeblad’s SWEET ALICE, and Jan Bjornsjo’s ACE OF BASE. The loan Norwegian team from the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club is Per Kristian Ervik’s TEAM PENT.  For more J/70 Nordic Championship sailing information