J/111 SHAMROCK Crowned Overall Champion!
(Chicago, IL)- The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta series returned to Chicago Yacht Club with 130 keelboat teams competing in 13 separate fleets. It was an action-packed weekend of sailboat racing on Lake Michigan for one-design classes of J/70, J/88, J/105, J/109, and PHRF handicap racing for the North Sails Rally. The first two days produced gorgeous sailing of the benign variety from the east to southeast quadrants over the first two days. On the Sunday finale, the forecasted northerlies of 15 to 30 kts and massive waves associated with an enormous frontal system ultimately materialized, with the CYC RC/PRO team wisely flying the “AP/A” flags to cancel the day’s racing. Here is how the regatta unfolded over the two days.
Day 1While Daniel Floberg was at work on a glorious summer Friday in Chicago, he turned the family J/88 MISTY to his friend Will, who started in high gear on opening day by not just winning the first race of the morning— by a Lake Michigan mile— but then winning the next one and finishing fourth in the third to close the day with a 1-point lead in the seven-boat class.
For the first day of this early-season Chicago summer classic, three races were scored across all four race circles, and with winds on the tamer side, conditions were ideal for race teams new and old to reacclimate with their boats and their positions after the long offseason.
For Tod Patton, the professional sailmaker and skipper of the J/122e BLONDIE, today was an opportunity to better understand a boat that is new to the team.
“This is the first buoy race regatta we’ve done since we’ve gotten the boat,” Patton says, “and given that we’re happy with our results today— the crew work was great and that certainly helped.” With a trio of second-place finishes in the six-boat PHRF division, Patton’s BLONDIE padded themselves a 3-point lead.
Jeffrey Davis’ team on the J/111 SHAMROCK also put a pair of wins on the scoreboard to lead their division.
In the J/109 fleet, George Miz’s team on SMEE AGAIN got off to a rocky start with a fifth in the first race after seemingly getting caught out on the morning’s first big wind shift. But, with that result behind them, they rallied with a 1-2 for the next races and closed the day tied at the top with Peter Priede and his team on FULL TILT, winners of the final race of the day.
For Mark Fruin and his teammates on the J/105 NYCTOSAUR, today on Lake Michigan was a banner day and an even better start to their season. After winning the first-race wire-to-wire they finished second to Josh and Laura Lutton’s KINSHIP in the next. Their win in the third race, Fruin says, was all on account of a full-speed start. From there, however, he doesn’t remember much. He was doing his job concentrating on driving and letting the crew do the rest of the good work, including his tactician, Bob Berstein, a local champion with plenty of experience on Lake Michigan. “It was all about the right side today and Bob put us in some great places,” commented Fruin.
For Saturday’s coming races, Fruin says the plan is to stick with what’s been working: “We’ll just listen to Bob, put ourselves in clear air, and sail fast.”
On the regatta’s one-design circle, which features the J/70, it was Rich Witzel’s team on the J/70 ROWDY that went undefeated to build a 9-point lead over Dick Kalow’s crew on SUPERIOR 1.
Day 2Davis’ J/111 SHAMROCK went on a winning streak, posting three straight bullets for the day, and as a result, sat 5 points atop its J/111 one-design division.
In the J/109 division, Team NORTHSTAR won two of three races to move into the overall lead by a single point over George Miz’s SMEE AGAIN.
In the PHRF 1 fleet, Tod Patten’s J/112e BLONDIE posted three wins to put them solidly at the top of the standings with one more race day remaining.
Richard Witzel’s ROWDY, with tactician Carlos Robles calling the shots, remained the top J/70 with top-5 consistency in what is a fleet stacked with pro talent. ROWDY entered the final day of racing with a 14-point lead over Fernando Perez Ontiveros’s BLACK MAMBA, from Mexico. Bob Willis’ RIP RULLAH was the top Corinthian, currently sitting seventh overall in the 24-boat fleet. William Howard and his junior sailing teammates on the GROM SQUAD were the top junior team.
Day 3Inside Chicago Harbor, the northerly wind blowing through the protected mooring field was deceiving. Conditions appeared benign enough to send some sailors out for the final day. But, out beyond the breakwater, whitecaps frothed and the weather stations reported the truth: it was gnarly out on Lake Michigan, just too much for safe racing. Ahead of the official 0900 morning signals, organizers made the preemptive call and hoisted “AP over A” on the yardarm; so, racing was abandoned and the previous day’s preliminary results were, therefore, the final results.
From among the winners of 17 individual classes and 162 teams, one overall winner was later selected to represent the Chicago regatta at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Caribbean Championship in October.
Jeff Davis, skipper and owner of the J/111 SHAMROCK, emerged as the challenger, and while his team delivered the boat back to its homeport of Cleveland, Ohio, the veteran skipper shared his thoughts on the weekend’s races and the developing dynamics of his winning crew of Bob Knestrick, Danny Corrigan, Samantha Foulston, Stu Johnstone, Michael Lis, and Travis Odenbach. SHAMROCK won five of six races. Here was our interview with the winner.
SW: Sometimes, winning a three-boat fleet can be just as difficult as a larger fleet, especially when everyone’s at the same level as it was for the J/111s this weekend in Chicago.
JD: Yes, we’ve raced against each other in the past, so they’re fairly well-matched boats. The J/111 class is fairly strict, so we’re very competitive, all of us. I think this weekend was a function of the fact that we tend to be light-air sailors and inland lake sailors, and so for us, we thrive in these kinds of conditions.
SW: Flat-water, light-air, shifty conditions are your strength then?
JD: They really are. The boat is really set up for light air. I think the crew, we’ve all been sailing together probably for about 15 years. And since our base is in Cleveland, Ohio, for us, it’s a light-air lake. So, these conditions really fit our boat, our rig, our tune, and ourselves. We set up the boat for a light breeze. But as most sailors know, you gotta pick the shifts. And there’s a little bit of luck involved.
In the first and second races, we did a good job of really picking the right shifts and the right side of the course to be on and we had good starts. In the third race, we wound up second and it was really a function of us being on the wrong side of the course. And it’s really hard to come back from that. You know, when your competitor keeps picking the right shifts, you just never catch up.
SW: Having only two boats to beat, how did that change the tactical approach to the weekend?
JD: We tended to stay pretty close together, in part because we’re using this for North Americans, which will be here at the Chicago Yacht Club later in the year. So, we wanted to see what kind of conditions we would have and what kind of conditions that we would be competing in, and what the setup of our boat was going to be like compared to others. There was a little bit of match racing going on and a little bit of that in terms of our tactics.
SW: Speaking of tactics, you had a new crew calling the shots this weekend.
JD: We did. We’ve been sailing for about 15 years with Wally Cross who was unable to sail this regatta, so we had a new sail trimmer/ strategist. Travis did a great job. He built on what we have been working on with Wally at Quantum Sails, and Travis just expanded the base for us. He brought in some new ideas, but he amplified some of the things that we normally do… like listening to Stu J. call the tactics and wind as we go around the course… Stu’s a brilliant tactician… unparalleled by anyone else in my experience. Stu J. is like our “wind whisperer”… from God’s lips to his ears.. amazing!
SW: What were some of Travis’ ideas that made a difference over the weekend?
JD: We’ve spent a lot of time tweaking the rig. Travis was more inclined to just set the rig to the standards that we have developed and not make as many changes. His focus was a little bit more on strategy, especially at the start.
SW: Did you notice the change from the first day of racing into the second?
JD: I think each day and each race we got better and the chemistry developed more. We did have one day of practice which helped us a lot. Then, what you gradually see is we’ve developed a language. After you’ve been sailing with somebody like Wally Cross and the same team for 15 years, you get accustomed to the communication style everybody has.
Travis was new and he had to try to adapt to our communication style and we had to adapt to his. It made a huge difference once we started getting on the same language, especially in the starts, and the comfort in the corners. The corners are where you’re usually gonna mess up. And, because we all spoke the same language and we got more comfortable with each other, it just got smoother and the crew work got better.
SW: You’ve got a big event coming up later this summer.
JD: We do have the J/111 North Americans coming back here to Chicago and it’s something that we’ve been working on for most of the year. Last year, we had a very disappointing North Americans for us. It was based in Cleveland. But, we were over early in the first two races, and the fleet is so tight and so competitive. We wound up fourth. But, this year, we’re looking forward to coming back and we’ve got something to prove!
J/70 ClassIn the 24-boat fleet, it was a bit of a shocker for most teams to witness a stunning string of four bullets in the first four races for a local “homeboy”- Rich Witzel. Rich and his ROWDY team blitzkrieg the fleet with smart sailing and good speed and closed out the regatta with a 4-3 to win with just 11 pts. Behind them, it was another story. Three boats dueled for the balance of the podium until the final race. By just two points, Fernando Perez Ontiveros and his Mexican BLACK MAMBA team from Valle de Bravo grabbed the silver medal with 26 pts. Taking the bronze medal was Jim Prendergast’s USA 167 with 28 pts. Rounding out the top five was Bryce Kaloow’s SUPERIOR 2 from Minneapolis, MN in fourth place, and taking fifth place was another local “homeboy”- John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA.
J/88 ClassThe seven-boat fleet experienced extremely tight racing for all seven races. It was not until the last race that the final standings were determined. Ending up tied at 19 pts each were Andy Graff’s EXILE and John & Jordan Leahey’s DUTCH. EXILE won the tiebreaker “countback” by winning their last two races to take the title over DUTCH. Similarly, by only one point, Dan Floberg’s MISTY took the bronze over Grace & Mike Gillian’s JULIA! Rounding out the top five was Alex Abell’s PAJAMA PARTY.
J/105 ClassSimilar to their 88 colleagues, the J/105s also had to settle the score on a tiebreak and countback scenario. It was Mark Fruin’s NYCTOSAUR tied on 14 pts with Josh & Laura Lutton’s KINSHIIP, both boat’s first-ever battle for the lead in the hard-fought, hotly-competitive Chicago J/105 fleet. Both boats won two races in the six-race series, so the tie was broken on 2nds, with the nod going to the NYCTOSAURs! The third step on the podium went to a 20+ year Chicago J/105 Class veteran- Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM.
J/111 ClassWhile Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK ran away with class honors after posting five 1sts in six races, it became a close battle for the balance of the podium between Tom Dickson’s WARLOCK and Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi’s MOMENTUS. That outcome was determined by the last two races when WARLOCK took two 2nds to MOMENTUS’s two 3rds. WARLOCK earned the silver with MOMENTUS settling for the bronze.
J/109 ClassThe eight-boat J/109 class saw a three-way battle emerge for class honors over their six races. With all three boats having somewhat roller-coaster scorelines, it was “clear as mud” which teams would emerge victorious in the end. Ultimately, it was Team Northstar on NORTHSTAR that won the series with a 1-6-3-1-3-1 for 15 pts. Just one point back was the quartet on SMEE AGAIN (Miz/ Dreher/ Hatfield/ Neenan) with a 5-1-2-3-2-3 tally for 16 pts. And, just one point in arrears of them was Bob Evans’ GOAT RODEO with a 2-2-6-2-1-4 scoreline for 17 pts! Close, fun racing was had by all!
PHRF Spinnaker ClassIn the fleet of a half-dozen boats, not many were likely anticipating a complete blowout of the fleet for class honors. But, that is exactly what took place as Tod Patton’s J/112e BLONDIE, sailing its inaugural regatta in Chicago waters, won with three 1sts and three 2nds for a 9 pts total.
ORC 1 & 2 ClassesThe ORC offshore divisions sailed a government marks race course offshore, with a total of 17 boats participating. Starting in a light southwester, the wind backed into the southeast in the 6 to 9 kts range, and the fleet enjoyed a nice long day of taking a tour up and down the picturesque Chicago waterfront and skyline. In ORC 1, taking 3rd was Jens Papoutsis’ J/133 RENEGADE, followed in 4th by Arne Fliflet’s J/120 MAZAL TOV. Taking 4th in ORC 2 was Mike Hettel’s J/105 GLOBAL NOMADS. Sailing Photo Credits: Walter Cooper/Sailing World. Sailing World photo gallery here. For more Chicago Sailing World Regatta Series sailing information
