J/Newsletter- September 28th, 2022
The penultimate week in September is proving to be the week of North American Championships for several large J/One-design classes in the USA, along with events in Chicago, San Francisco, and way, way Down Under in Sydney, Australia.
For starters, the “endless summer” experienced by our friends in Australia is truly amazing. Never getting into the near-freezing temperatures the northern latitudes experience in their winters, Australian sailors recently had the opportunity to sail their J/99 in another long-distance offshore race and collect even more silverware for their trophy rooms.
Then, on the North American continent, there was a string of North American Championships that took place across the country. First, was the J/88 North Americans for twenty-four boats in Chicago, Illinois, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, with sailing on Lake Michigan. Next was the J/70 North American Championship that took place at Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga, Ontarion, Canada for twenty-two teams. Next was the J/80 North American Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, hosted by Sail Newport for thirty-eight teams from seven nations. Then, there was the J/30 North American Championship sailed off Annapolis, Maryland for fifteen teams; hosted by the Eastport Yacht Club.
Finally, the J/22 Northeast Championship was hosted by the Lake George Club in Lake George, New York. Off to the midwest, the J/105 Great Lakes College Regatta was hosted by Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago, Illinois. Then, an event of women sailors enjoyed the famous Red Bra Regatta in San Francisco, California, benefitting the Girls United Charity to support young women around the world.
J/45 SAILING Magazine Cover Girl!
(Newport, RI)- The J/45 just made the cover of SAILING Magazine’s 2022 October issue, their largest issue of the year, which hits the newsstands this past week, and is the preview issue before the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis from October 13th to 17th.
The J/45 will make its USA boat show debut at Annapolis. All J/Sailors and J/Lovers are invited to join us on the J/Stand in Annapolis where we will be displaying the J/45, J/112E, J/99, and J/9. Sailing photo credits- Onne van der Wal. Learn more about the J/45 offshore cruiser here.
DUTCH Crowned J/88 North American Champions
(Chicago, IL)- With twenty-five teams sailing the four-day regatta, the 2022 J/88 North American Championship will certainly go down in the history books as the largest fleet ever for this less than a decade-old class. Teams came from eleven states- Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Ontario (CAN), Michigan, Florida, Minnesota, California, Maryland, and Ohio… literally, from all across the USA.
The Chicago Yacht Club hosted the event and their Race Committee/ PRO Team did an admirable job running twelve races in the four-day series. It was a challenging event for the sailors from a weather perspective.
The first day saw the fleet sailing in classic Northerly big breezes, contending with massive 4 to 6-foot “washing machine chop” bouncing off the city bulkheads, with winds in the 15 to 22 kts range. Then, the next two days saw variable breezes from the southerly quadrants (southeast to southwest) that varied from 6 to 14 kts.
The finale again saw the winds switch back into the north/northwest quadrant in the 8 to 20 kts range. What characterized the racing was that winds were both inconsistent and wildly variable all four days.
In the end, it was the combination of John & Jordan Leahey’s DUTCH (below) that not only won the title overall but also won the Corinthian Division, too! They started the regatta on the wild lumpy breezy first day with three straight firsts to lead the fleet. They never looked back as they sailed well enough to not sail the last race and win the championship.
Taking the silver medal was Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION and Andy Graff’s EXILE completed the podium with the bronze medal. Rounding out the top five was Dave Tufts’ GAUCHO in fourth place and Dave Dennison’s PIRANHA in fifth position.
In the Corinthians Division, the DUTCH team won, PIRANHA was second, and Grace & Michael Gillian’s JULIA took third place. For more J/88 North American Championship sailing information
Smith Crowned 2022 J/70 North American Champion
(Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)– The J/70 North American Championship was hosted by Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga, ON Canada over the weekend. Conditions went from wild to weak over the eight races. Jud Smith’s TEN bested twenty-two other teams to earn the title with crew of Marc Gauthier, Carlos Robles and Patrick Wilson (19 points). Cate Muller-Terhune’s CASTING COUCH had a stellar regatta placing second at 24 points. David Jannetti’s VERY ODD rounded out the top three with 26 points.
Jim Raisides & Charlie Pendleton on BAD HOMBRES topped the Corinthian Division, followed by David Kerr & Lee Sackett on USA 1516 and Jean Marc Papin’s PEN SEGAL. For more J/70 North American Championship sailing information
LE TIGRE Wins J/80 North American Championship
(Newport, RI)- From September 23rd to 25th, Sail Newport hosted thirty-one teams from five nations- the USA, Canada, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium. Virtually every single boat registered for the regatta is also sailing the J/80 Worlds.
As a “pre-worlds” event, the teams certainly found the regatta a great “practice race” to determine boathandling, boat tuning, and strategic optimization throughout the long weekend.
In the end, a past J/80 World Champion and J/80 North American Champion, Glenn Darden from Fort Worth, Texas, led his talented team on LE TIGRE (below) to the 2022 J/80 North American Championship win. It was clear after the first day of racing when LE TIGRE started with a 1-1-3 scoreline, they were not to be denied and ran off with the championship win with just 9 pts net. Darden’s crew consisted of a few all-star crew like Willem van Waay, Victor Diaz de Leon, and Rod “Caracas” Favela (two Venezuelans on the team).
Taking second was Per Roman Pepequin’s GP BULLHOUND from Sweden, closing the last two races with an emphatic 2-1. Third place went to Dan Wittig’s TURBO SLOTH with 22 pts net.
Rounding out the top five was Irishman Pat O’Neill’s LEAD MINE in fourth place and Ryan Walsh’s PEARLY BAKER in fifth place. Sailing photo credits- Anna Suslova. For more J/80 North American Championship sailing information
WILDCAT Runs Wild @ J/30 North Americans
(Annapolis, MD)- The 2022 edition of the J/30 North American Championship had yet another banner turnout of fifteen teams. The Eastport Yacht club hosted the teams at their facility in Eastport, Maryland from September 23rd to 25th, with sailing taking place on the northern parts of the Chesapeake Bay.
After the seven-race, one discard series it was Russ Atkinson’s WILDCAT (below) that took the honors for being crowned the 2022 J/30 North American Champion. WILDCAT won counting all podium finishes.
The balance of the podium saw Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello’s BEPOP take the silver with 18 pts net, followed by Bruce Irvin’s SHAMROCK in third with 25 pts net. Rounding out the top five was Rob Lundahl’s RAG DOLL in fourth, then Doug Wallop’s CANNONBALL 2.0 in the fifth position. Sailing photo credits- Wilbur Keyworth Photography. For more J/30 North American Championship sailing information
J/99s Continue Winning Ways in Australia
(Sydney, NSW, Australia)- J/99 RUM REBELLION won the 88.0nm Flinders Islet Race off the east coast of New South Wales, Australia. After 15.5 hours of racing, the J/99 RUM REBELLION topped the podium winning IRC and line honors Two-Handed division and coming in third overall in IRC Division 2 with the fully crewed boats. This is absolutely fantastic sailing from the two-handed team. Plus, it proves yet again the versatile design of the J/99 in all wind and sea directions and conditions.
The winning skipper- Graeme Dunlop- explains what took place on their epic race-winning performance:
“On 24-25 September, the 2022 edition of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Audi Centre Blue Water Pointscore series Flinders Islet race was run, with Shane Connelly’s J/99 RUM REBELLION sailed by Graeme Dunlop and Tony Sutton winning two-handed line honors and the two-handed IRC win – a testament of how good these boats are in all conditions.
Upwind in messy seas and downwind in the light breeze the J/99 shined. Picking the shifts, sailing high and fast to the island, and getting some nice deep angles on the way home was key to the win.
The race itself was relatively straightforward and risk-averse. A southerly breeze filled in before the start making for a fast downwind start and the team on RUM REBELLION elected to two sail reach out of Sydney harbor to conserve energy and protect the inventory as we knew the next few hours beating into a southerly was going to be tough.
Sailing out of the Sydney Heads mid-fleet, RUM REBELLION went offshore in 1 -22 knots with TWDs of 170-195 degrees, chasing current and waiting for the SE shift. Tacking back to shore on the SE shift allowed the J/99 to take advantage of the current and set up a nice lay line into the islet. A SW shift with a rain cloud forced a couple of tacks at the island.
Rounding the island and heading out to sea into pressure, the team then waited for more SW which came as expected and the team gybed back in. We got some nice pressure off a localized rain system, and then the land allowed the team to sail deep angles and avoid having to gybe back out to sea.
As a result, this set up a drag race with the Sydney 36 on the way into Sydney harbor, some smooth gear changes, and the right sail selection allowed them to cross the line around a minute before the competition.
It was a great race for the J/99 and the team is looking forward to the rest of the series.”
The final Results for the RUM REBELLION were:
1st IRC Two Handed
2nd ORCi Two-Handed
2nd PHS Two-Handed
2nd IRC Overall Corinthian
3rd IRC Overall Div 2
Sailing Photo credit: Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster information
URI Crushes Great Lakes College J/105 Regatta
(Chicago, IL)- For the first time since the pandemic of 2022, the Storm Trysail Club and the Columbia Yacht Club hosted the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in Chicago, Illinois from September 23rd to 25th. The college teams could sail either J/105s or Tarten 10s. The racing took place on Lake Michigan off the spectacular Chicago city waterfront, one of the most impressive vistas in the world, with a number of the world’s tallest buildings serving as a backdrop for the little white sails out on the water.
Winning the J/105s was the University of Rhode Island team led by skipper Bowton Eaves with a crew of Parker Brown, Alden Coldreck, Tom John, Anthony Kozaritz, and Ava Wilson. Their performance was extraordinary. After starting in third place on the first day, they closed the regatta with a 1-1-1-2-2 tally for 15 pts total.
Taking second place was the University of California San Diego team led by skipper Sebastien Franck with a crew of Noah Barton, Tobie Bloom, Amanda Brooks, Ian Johnston, Andrew Keller, and Svenja Leonard. Starting with three bullets, the team faltered in the next five races to fall from grace with the sea and end up just barely hanging on to second place with 23 pts.
Just one point back in third place was the US Naval Academy, led by Patrick Fisher with a crew of Nick Gibbons, Luke Moore, Austin Nolan, Kit Oney, and Jack Ubert.
Thanks to the owners of the J/105s for supplying the fleet for the intercollegiate sailors: PEREGRINE (Megan Stoll), KINSHIP (Josh Lutton), SEALARK (Clark Pellett), IT WASN’T ME (Branwell Lepp), and PHANTOM (Peter Schwarzbach). Sailing photo credits- Stephen “Block Island Steve” Cloutier. For more Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailing information
DELICIA Wins J/22 Northeast Championship
(Lake George, NY)- The gorgeous Lake George Club rolled out their proverbial red carpet for the J/22 Northeast Championship this past weekend from September 23rd to 25th on the spectacular Lake George in the Adirondack Mountain range.
The regatta is a popular one for both American sailors as well as Canadian J/22 teams across the border, nearly half the fleet came from Canada.
However, it was American Kirk Reynolds’ crew on DELICIA that simply “ran the table” in the six-race, one discard series, and won the regatta with the extraordinary tally of six straight 1sts! Taking second was Victor Snyder’s MO’MONEY with a 3-2-2-4-4-5 record for 15 pts net. Third went to Michele Cimon’s RAISED J team with a 6-3-7-10-2-2 for a 20 pts net. For more J/22 Northeast Championship sailing information
J/Women Crews Love Red Bra Regatta
Empowered Women Empowering Women ♥️
(San Francisco, CA)- This past Saturday, September 24th, the South Beach Yacht Club on the southern part of San Francisco Bay hosted their annual Red Bra Regatta. The event was all about fun and supporting other women. Specifically, the regatta supported Girls United for the third year this September!
Girls United is an amazing organization that organizes clubs and student-led advocacy for girls in Kenya, as well as training female teachers to be role models for these girls.
Run out of Flying Kites Academies, Girls United empowers young women in many ways, including skill-building workshops as well as providing access to information on important topics like reproductive health. The aims of Girls United are clearly aligned with those of the Red Bra Regatta and its motto- “Empowered Women Empowering Women.”
This year, we ask that you give any amount that feels meaningful to you- no amount is too small. If you want to further increase your impact, you can share this on your personal page. Let’s keep empowering each other! Please consider a donation here.
Many passionate women J/sailors participated in the event and while having fun they also managed to win some silverware!
In the PHRF Spinnaker A Class, it was a J/Women’s team clean sweep of the top five! Libby Zhang’s J/105 ROULETTE teams (above) won her class with a pair of bullets. Taking second place was Caitlin Gutekunst’s J/88 BUTCHER team (below) with a pair of deuces. Then, third place went to Anne Thomas’ J/100 WINDSOME! Fourth place went to Kate Molitor’s J/105 SHARKEY, fifth went to Samantha Clarke’s J/105 AIR JALDI, and sixth was Valerie Bucholz’s J/88 SPLIT WATER!
In the PHRF Spinnaker B Class, it was Robin Van Vliet’s J/24 LITTLE WING that won her class with a pair of bullets, too!
What’s amazing about this women’s regatta? Of the sixteen women’s teams participating, J/women’s teams accounted for 44% of the fleet- nearly half! You go girls!!♥️♥️♥️
A quick history of the Red Bra Regatta from Libbie Sheldon: “The Red Bra Regatta started with Nancy DeMauro using it as a protest flag in the Jazz Cup. She was egging me on to participate in the Jazz Cup so we could race against each other. I accepted the challenge and Tad (my husband) was the PRO for the race. As soon as I crossed the start line, she protested me for having an unfair advantage with the PRO and, subsequently, removed her red bra and “hoisted” it as the protest flag. Her tactic worked; we laughed so hard we were distracted and she won the race. The challenge continued for two more Jazz Cups. After the third Jazz Cup we decided that it would be fun to have an all-women’s race. We wanted a non-threatening environment where women could race against each other, elevate their skills, and also have fun. The red bra was a symbol representing our racing together. It seemed fitting to call the race the Red Bra Regatta.”
Follow the Red Bra Regatta Facebook group For more Red Bra Regatta sailing information
UPCOMING EVENTS:
J/111 North Americans Preview
(Cleveland, OH)- The Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio will be hosting the 2022 J/111 North American Championship off the iconic waterfront city that includes the famous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame right on the city’s waterfront. The four-day event will have a fleet of eight incredibly talented teams from across the USA from California to New York. Racing will take place on Lake Erie from September 26th to October 1st and is sponsored by Sailing Inc. and Tito’s Vodka from Austin, Texas.
Several championship-winning J/111 teams are participating in the event, including Andy Ward’s BRAVO, Bill & Jackie Baxter’s FIREBALL, Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK, Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY, and Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF. For more J/111 North American Championship sailing information
J/105 North Americans Preview
(Belvedere, CA)- The San Francisco Yacht Club will be hosting the twenty-eight-boat fleet of some of the fastest and smartest J/105 sailors in the world this coming weekend on San Francisco Bay. The forecast looks wonderful, and if the results of the recent Rolex Big Boat Series are any indication, the racing will be fast and furious and insanely close and competitive.
Certain to be factors at the top of the leaderboard will be Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s ARBITRAGE, Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK, Ian Charles’ MAVERICK, Tim Russell’s NE*NE, Randy Hecht’s NIUHI, Doug Bailey’s AKULA, John & Mike Rivlin’s PEACHES, and Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION. Sailing photo credits- ROLEX/ Daniel Forster. For more J/105 North American sailing information
Changing of Colors J/24 Regatta Preview
(Lake George, NY)- The 44th annual Changing of Colors Regatta will again be hosted by the famous, gorgeous, Lake George Club with racing taking place on the equally amazingly impressive Lake George in the heights of the Adirondack Mountains.
An impressive fleet of twenty-two J/24 teams will be participating in this weekend’s events. Some of the leading teams that are participating include Scott & Keith Bridge’s POWDER WHORE, Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS, Lee Ann Zaretsky’s LADY MINX, Will Fastiggi’s FAWN LIEBOWITZ, Kirk Reynold’s TYRUS, and Rodger Voss’ SPIRIT. For more J/24 Changing of Colors Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What J/sailors, friends, and family are doing worldwide each week
Watch this J/112E KAZI video! A beautifully choreographed and published sailing video of the famous KAZI sailing magazine review of the J/112E offshore cruiser racer sailboat. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOWZoTtiCLY
J/111’s On-going Adventures in Greece
(Athens, Greece)- We get yet another report from the owner of the J/111S Spyros in Greece. He has been having fun sailing throughout the eastern Aegean Sea archipelago all summer long. Here is his latest commentary:
“Last Saturday we sailed to Poros, 21 miles out of Athens. This is the finish buoy of the second leg (photo above). We used it as a turning buoy to turn back to base.
This regatta was merely a training sortie for the upcoming Greece Doublehand National Championship next Saturday.
Although we were third place in both legs, the DNC of the last leg kept us off the podium. More news coming soon!”
NEW J/Gear September Special- 20% off
(Newport, RI)- The J/Tech Shell is a lightweight solution for easy storage and use during adverse weather conditions. It can be used for layering over vests or long sleeve performance gear.
The fabric is 100% polyester with a water-resistant finish and the lining is also a 100% polyester mesh in the upper back for increased comfort and air circulation.
The shell features a roll-away hood, vented back yoke, adjustable cuffs with tabs, and adjustable shockcord at hood and hem. It is a nice and versatile shell jacket for the fall.
Men’s-
http://jgear.vsport.biz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_16&products_id=358
Ladies- http://jgear.vsport.biz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_16&products_id=359
Sailing Calendar
Boat shows 2022:Oct 13-17- Annapolis Boat Show (J/99 & J/45)- Annapolis, MD Dec 3-11- Salon Nautic- Paris, France
Boat shows 2023: Jan 21-29- Boot Dusseldorf Boat Show- Dusseldorf, Germany
Regattas:
Oct 1-8- J/80 World Championship- Sail Newport- Newport, RI Oct 7-9- Women’s J/70 SAILING Champions League- Lausanne, Switzerland Oct 11-15- J/109 North American Championship- Pequot YC- Southport, CT Oct 14-22- J/70 World Championship- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco Oct 22-23- J/Fest Southwest Regatta- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX Oct 26-30- J/24 North Americans- Severn Sailing Association- Annapolis, MD Oct 29-30- Fall Brawl- Eastport YC- Annapolis, MD
Dec 1-3- Jammin’ J/22 Jamaica Regatta- Montego Bay YC- Montego Bay, Jamaica
2023 Jan 16-20- The Southernmost Regatta- Sailing Inc- Key West, FL
CSA Caribbean Sailing Calendar Jan 18-23- Barbados Sailing Week- http://www.barbadossailingweek.com/ Jan 29- Feb 3- Grenada Sailing Week- http://www.grenadasailingweek.com/
Feb 14-18- RORC Caribbean Series- http://caribbean600.rorc.org/ Feb 20-24- RORC Caribbean 600 Race- http://caribbean600.rorc.org/
Mar 2-5- Heineken St. Maarten Regatta- http://www.heinekenregatta.com/ Mar 24-26- St Thomas Regatta- http://stthomasinternationalregatta.com/ Mar 27- Apr 2- BVI Spring Regatta- http://www.bvispringregatta.org/
Apr 16-22- Voiles de St Barth Regatta- http://www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com/ Apr 29- May 5- Antigua Sailing Week- http://www.sailingweek.com/