J/Newsletter- November 30th, 2022
With this week marking the start of December, there’s no question that our friends Down Under in Sydney, Australia are quickly turning their thoughts to their most famous offshore race- the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race that takes place on Boxing Day, December 25th out of Sydney Harbour. Several J/Teams are part of the preparation, including J/99s and J/122s. More news and developments on that later.
Meanwhile, over in the Europe and the United Kingdom, one winter series wound down while others are starting up! On the Solent in England, the Hamble River Sailing Club concluded their well-regarded Winter Series with their twelfth and final race. It was a showcase event for a certain J/109 team, while others like J/92 and J/80 had nice performances.
Over on the continent, the Italian J/24 Winter Series 2022/2023 started in Cervia, Italy. The Nautical Club Amici Della Vela of Cervia is hosting a good fleet of fifteen teams. Similarly, the RZV Naarden club is hosting the start of the J/80 Frostbite Cup in Naarden, The Netherlands for twenty teams. Then, the French J/80 Class held their annual awards for the J/80 Coupe de France- the classifications included General, Women, Masters, Youth, Mixed, and Club teams…lots of silverware was handed out!
Jumping down to the Caribbean, we find that Montego Bay Yacht Club will be hosting their famous Jammin’ J/22 Jamaica Regatta from December 2nd to 4th. The field of twelve teams from across the USA, Europe, and the Caribbean are excited to get out on the gorgeous emerald blue/green waters of Montego Bay!
Over in the America’s, the San Diego Yacht Club will be hosting their third and final race of their famous Hot Rum Series off San Diego, CA. Will the two leading J/105s maintain their overall lead? Will the J/145s usurp the current podium with a mighty, last-ditch effort to crack the top three? Both teams are sitting just 1 and 3 pts off the podium!
J/Community Down in the J/Community section, there is a great report from top Swedish woman J/24 sailor Monica Persson. She and her marauding bandits of Viking women from Sweden sailed in the Lady Liberty Cup off Manhattan, New York. Manhattan Yacht Club was the host for the dozen teams, an all-women event in their fleet of J/24s on the Hudson River.
Enjoy Ashley Love’s thoughts and perspectives on sailing the inaugural J/70 Mixed+ Regatta in St. Petersburg, FL. The event was hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club for a fleet of 18 teams that were a 50/50 mix of men and women.
Then, the J/24 class completed scanning and posting over 55 J/24 Magazines in Acrobat PDF format (over 5,000 pages). That archive starts in 1978 and goes to 2011! Have fun reading… you will see MANY of the world’s top sailors mentioned in multiple regattas over time. Renown sailors such as Ken Read, Terry Hutchinson, Dave Ullman, Ed Baird, Jim Brady, Brad Read, Ed Adams, Tony Rey, Tim Healy, John Mollicone, Will Welles, the “Honeybadger guy” Travis Odenbach, Mark Ploch, John Kolius, David Curtis, Vince Brun, Ian Southworth, Bruno Trouble, Eddie Warden Owen, Keith Musto, Mark Foster, Augie Diaz, Francesco de Angelis, Ian Bashford, Franco Brcin, Mauricio Santa Cruz, Chris Larson, Charlie Scott, Larry Klein, Russ Silvestri, Bill Shore, Ed Reynolds, Larry Leonard, Don Trask, the Seattle Mafia (Buchan’s, McKee’s, Mark Laura, Keith Whittemore, Brian Thomas, etc), and the list goes on and on… you can rest assured it will take more than a week to read through it all… a walk down memory lane for many of you… a challenge to you all to understand why and how the J/24 influenced the world of sailing beyond anyone’s imagination.
CRUISING WORLD Sailboat Review: Race-ready and Cruising-compatible J/45
Race-ready and cruising compatible, the handsome and powerful J/45 presents an offshore sailor with options. (Annapolis, MD)- Sailing performance was definitely a factor for Erik Asgeirsson when he began his search for a new sailboat. Currently the Fleet Captain at the American Yacht Club in Rye, New York, he’s a racing sailor and has been part of a crew who campaigned his uncle’s J/35 around the buoys for many seasons. But, after years of owning a Pearson 10M, and with four daughters between the ages of 8 and 14— not to mention a fondness for the rocky coast of Maine— he also wanted a family-friendly cruising boat, which will be shared with a co-owner and his family at the club.
By luck, Al Johnstone and the team at J/Boats had just such a dual-purpose vessel in mind when they sketched out their newest model, the J/45. They envisioned a performance-oriented, offshore-capable sailboat that would be equally at home both on the Newport Bermuda Race starting line and on an extended cruise to anywhere… Read the rest of the very informative review by CRUISING WORLD’s Mark Pillsbury here. Learn more about the J/45 offshore performance yacht here
J/109 Crushes Hamble Winter Series. Crowned “Yacht of the Series”!
(Hamble, England)- There is really only one place to start this week. Mike and Susie Yates J/109 JAGO were awarded “Yacht of the Series” and the Paul Heys Trophy winner. This very well-sailed J/109 had a remarkable season. They excelled offshore with a third overall in the UK Doublehanded Series, including a first place in the Doublehanded Nationals, and then scoring a perfect twelve first places in the twenty-one-boat IRC 2 Class at the Hamble Winter Series.
Last year Mike was very disappointed when he did not retain the Paul Heys Trophy for the best-performing J/Boat. “You told me last year I had to sail faster,” said Mike on Sunday. And, he certainly did, adding the major prize- Yacht of the Series- during the process!!
The final Sunday of the 2022 series was a rather damp affair, cloudy with a bit of drizzle. The breeze was SW 5-9 kts dropping to 4 kts in patches towards the end. The CV Wetwheels set up a quarter of a mile inshore of John Fisher (4Q). PRO Kathy Smalley and her trusted Lieutenant, Peter Bateson, decided to give the IRC Classes a “round the cans” course, but with a windward/leeward flavor. The windward mark was West Knoll (3Y) followed by a range of leeward marks for the different classes. All classes had the final 3 marks in common in case course shortening was needed, but it wasn’t, so Jane (4E), Royal Southern (4S), and of course, hamblewinterseries.com (4J) to finish, was the order.
IRC 2 Division In IRC 2, Mike Yates’ J/109 JAGO won their final race by over FOUR minutes on IRC corrected time.. yet another stunning result. Their outstanding performance was unprecedented in the annals of HRSC Winter Series history! After discarding THREE 1st places, JAGO completed the regatta with just 9 pts net! Fellow J/109 owner Chris Burleigh, sailing JYBE TALKIN’ also sailed well to get the bronze medal– two J/109s on the podium! Then, finishing 5th for the series was Rob Cotterill’s J/109 MOJO RISIN.
IRC 3 Division In IRC 3, the battle continued until the end for the third step on the podium between David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO and Russ Bowdler’s J/80 JUSTIFY. Ultimately, the Greenhalgh family’s J/92 J’RONIMO took the bronze, with Bowdler’s J/80 JUSTIFY finishing in fourth place. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
Coupe de France J/80 2022– Magnificent Triumphs and Discreet Glories!
(La Rochelle, France)- Marc Le Borgne reports on the season-long Coupe de France J/80 series. “The good thing about J/80 is that each regatta offers everyone, whatever the final classification, the possibility of glorious moments, sometimes furtive, often spectacular, but always memorable for the crews concerned.
The classification of the Coupe de France does not take into account all these individual successes but, for those who take the time to examine them, it gives a fair measure of the joyful spirit of competition that reigns within the J/80 Class.
In this regard, 2022 was a great success, as evidenced by key figures:
119 participating teams (+37% compared to 87 crews in 2021)
21 Youth teams (2x compared to 2021)
Incredibly, in the history of the J/80 Coupe de France, this was the first time ever there was a tie on points (338) between 1st and the 2nd places.
On the strength of their three victories (GPEN, European, Nationals) it’s the Ecole Navale crew of Pierre Laouenan that takes the top step on the podium. It helped that the Ecole Navale crew for the Nationals were a bunch of “heavyweights”: Christian Ponthieu, Sophie Faguet, Pierre Loic Berthet, and Jean Queveau. It was enough to snatch victory from the APCC–PL Yachting Armen Habitat crew of Simon Moriceau, leader until the start of the last race of the season. The series was also well underway for the APCC champions with a victory at SPI OUEST France, consolidated by another victory in Lorient (Télégramme). But, the Brestois, by winning the Europeans and the Nationals, caught up to the APCC boys in the number of points and wins by the count of victories.
The Nationals is definitely a good marker of racing talent, because the top 4 in the National are also the top 4 in the Coupe de France. It was another crew from the Ecole Navale-Club Ailée led by Patrick Bot who took the third step of the podium, while Frank Lavenant’s young Malouins, despite their fine victory at the Normandy Cup, had to be content with the 4th place.
YOUTHS Therefore, we aren’t surprised to see Frank Lavenant dominating the Youth ranking. He and his teammates can draw inspiration from the trajectory of one of their predecessors- Quentin Delapierre. If you recall, Quentin, after a brilliant start in the J/80, is now standing up to the extreme rigors of the America’s Cup on the Sail GP circuit, where he currently occupies 3rd place ahead of Ben Ainslie and Jimmy Spithill!!
The young Brestois of Jean-Baptiste Bernard and the Saint-Malo team of Titouan Sessa complete the podium of the Youth classification.
Note that, for the first time since this ranking has existed, in 2022 there were more “Youth” teams (21) than “Master” (19) crews… rather encouraging for the J/80 class!
MASTERS The Masters (3 crew members, including the skipper, are over 45 years old) outcomes was not surprising. Why aren’t we surprised to see Jacques Hubert dominating the Masters ranking head and shoulders above everyone else? It must be said that he has again “put together the whole package” this year by participating in all the events of the circuit. Even if only the best 4 (out of 6) are taken into account, his pursuers (Ludovic Gilet and Bruno R de Véricourt) could not do anything. Jacques can particularly congratulate himself on his 8th place at the GPEN and 13th at the Nationals.
WOMEN Fortunately, Emilie Petitbon and her “Eau Feminine” crew came to the Nationals to demonstrate that a women’s crew could perform veyr well in J/80s. We will have to wait until 2023 – and perhaps a dedicated marketing plan – for the 4 crews in this ranking to be joined by some of the 40 who participate annually in the Women’s Cup on the APCC J/80s.
MIXED We counted six mixed crews (+50% female), which is not so bad. There were also 18% of women at the Nationals. We are not at parity but it is better than the Route du Rhum! The winner of this ranking, Frank Lavenant (him again) also sends an encouraging message because he is also a “hopeful” crew: diversity is the future! On the 2nd step of the podium, we find the crew of the J’Rouette club skippered by Ludovic Bueno. These 2 crews raced respectively 6 and 5 regattas on the circuit, which demonstrates a remarkable level of commitment. Les Malouin(e)s skippered by Titouan Sessa– another promising crew– finished 3rd in this mixed ranking.
CLUBS Finally, the classification of Clubs (cumulative of the 3 best individual performances in each of the 6 regattas of the circuit) has, this year again, fluctuated a lot. In the end, it was the Club Ailée de l’Ecole Navale that clearly won after having dominated 4 of the 6 regattas on the circuit. The APCC, thanks in particular to a great delegation to the Atlantique Télégramme in Lorient and the energetic contribution of the PL Yaching Armen Habitat crew (Simon Moriceau), steals 2nd place from the Malouins (SNBSM) who brilliantly complete the podium.
Some whisper that it takes a Ph.D. in data mining to decipher the rankings of the Coupe de France J/80. But, that shouldn’t discourage sailors who know the D1 D2 D3 tensions of their rig by heart to within a half-turn of the turnbuckle for all wind forces.” For more J/80 Coupe de France sailing information
San Diego Hot Rum Series III- Final Update
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego Yacht Club’s incredibly popular Hot Rum Series started on November 5th with races scheduled on November 19th and December 3rd, 2022. With 128 entries, the event is as popular as ever for Southern Californians. It’s one of the most popular “pursuit style” races in America, where the slowest boat starts first hours ahead of the biggest and fastest boats, and whoever crosses the line first wins! Starting and finishing just off the western end of Shelter Island, the fleet heads out en-masse through the Point Loma passage to two buoys offshore and returns to the same start line to finish the race just off Shelter Island.
This coming weekend will determine both the Overall fleet winners and the Class winners. A lot is on the line for several J/Teams.
After the first two races, two J/105s are dominating the top of the overall standings. Leading is Jim Dorsey’s J-OK with a 3-2 tally for 6 pts. Second is Rick Goebel’s SANITY with a 2-4 for 6 pts. Sitting in 7th place is Dave Vieregg & Bennet Greenwald’s J/105 PERSEVERANCE with a 6-10 for 16 pts.
In the 19-boat PHRF 1 “big boat” division, the J/145s are doing well. The top 145 is Ernie Pennell’s MORE MADNESS with a 4-5 for 9 pts and sits in 4th place. Rudy Hasl’s PALAEMON is next with a 2-8 for 10 pts to sit in 5th place. With such roller-coaster finishes, the table is set for those two boats to “knock it out of the park” and rally for podium finishes in the end!
In the huge 38-boat PHRF 3 division, the podium is occupied by all J/105s. Leading is Jim Dorsey’s J-OK with a 2-1, but is tied on points with Rick Goebel’s SANITY with a 1-2. Third is Vieregg/ Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE with a 3-4. With such close racing, anything goes amongst these top three boats going into the final race this weekend! For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information
Dutch J/80 Frostbite Cup in Full Swing!
(Naarden, The Netherlands)- It was very close to canceling the second Frostbite Cup on November 6th. Fortunately, the Gooimeer Lake is inland and the J/80 fleet could count on steady winds of force 4 (12-16 kts), with peaks to force 6 (22-27 kts)!! These conditions and the arrival of extra teams created a new energy on the water and resulted in an almost completely different top three than during the first competition day of the winter season. The RZV Naarden Race Committee and PRO team did a great job managing the very competitive fleet of twenty teams in demanding weather conditions.
Team DON JUAN started with a seventh place, but made up for everything by getting a 1-3-1 for the day to be declared the day’s winner! They were closely followed by Team DE SJAAK in second and Team RED HERRING in third place.
Despite the relaxed atmosphere in the clubhouse of RZV Naarden after sailing, it seemed that quite a few teams had a bone to pick with each other at the bar. Robert De Liefde from Istanbul, Turkey also noticed that. He made his entrance into the J/80 class during this second Frostbite Cup.
“Everyone is very fanatical,” said De Leifde. He continued, “we as a team were very satisfied with the race committee. The track was in good shape. A quick start was made and we were back inside before the weather turned really bad. A top committee! And, a world of difference from what we are used to in Istanbul.”
Robert is the new owner of the J/80 JSB, it was the boat of reigning Dutch J/80 Champion Jorrit Beekman. With his registration, the Frostbite Cup has become even more international, because this team is (partly) from Turkey! The big question is of course: why would you want to sail in the Dutch winter, while the weather is still wonderful in Istanbul?!
Eyes on the J/80 World Cup In addition to the Frostbite Cup, the Turkish team sails ten months a year, every week, in the mouth of the Bosphorus. It is only too cold in January and February. As an old acquaintance of Frostbite Cup pioneer Bernard Holsboer, Robert was aware of the success of the winter series in the Netherlands. With the prospect of the J/80 World Championship in Baiona, Spain, the Turkish team decided to sail the six remaining races in the Netherlands.
“Vaurien and I want to go to Spain again, we love sailing there. The Frostbite Cup is therefore a stepping stone for us to the National Championships at the end of March, the North Sea Regatta, and, if it all works out, also the J/80 World Cup in Spain. The reason to prepare in the Netherlands is simple; here we sail one class. In Istanbul we sail ORC/IRC,” said Robert.
The Dutch J/80 class has a formidable opponent in Robert! Robert has been actively competing with Vaurien for more than 15 years. For the new team, he has asked Martijn De Liefde and old friend Benny Kouwenhoven to complete the partly Turkish crew. In the 470 class, Benny has clearly earned his spurs in the sailing world. There are team members from Turkey with Olympic, Admirals Cup, and Volvo Ocean 70 experiences, among others. Nevertheless, the team consists of amateurs, according to Robert.
The team looks back with satisfaction on its first appearance in the Dutch J/80 fleet. Robert explained, “despite the rigging being too tight, I made a steering error on the first start, the gennaker ended up under the boat twice, we unintentionally got involved in a starboard-port mishap, and we were allowed to buy another team’s leniency with beer! So, we finished sixth in our first outing… a bit rough to say the least! However, we certainly enjoyed the event!”
The Dutch J/80 gets the same name as her Turkish sistership- JERAPI. “The name is a conjugation of the two words- J/Boats and Therapy,” explained Robert. “I don’t need to explain that any further, do I?! This Dutch J/80 is a good boat, which we can certainly take to the J/80 World Cup in Spain. Our boat in Istanbul is not suitable for this, with a swim ladder on the back and winches that are too heavy. We look forward to the upcoming Frostbite Sundays! Our JERAPI team invites enthusiastic J/80 sailors to come to Turkey in 2023 to sail the Bosphorus Cup on that famous body of water!” Thanks for this story from Ellen Hamelink. For more Netherlands J/80 class sailing information
Cervia J/24 Winter Series- JOANNA Wins Act I
(Cervia, Italy)- With the last three races held last Sunday off the Milano Marittima beach, the first round was completed for the 2022-2023 J/24 Winter Championship in Cervia, Italy. Hosted and organized by the Nautical Club Amici Della Vela of Cervia, the fifteen teams that are entered will sail the series that runs from 23 October 2022 to 13 March 2023.
With three victories on the day, it was ITA 271 JOANNA, owned by Fabrizio Dallacasa and skippered by Andrea Collina, that compiled an impressive record of 7-1-1-1-2-4 to win the first heat with just 9 pts net.
However, not giving them an inch during this first act was ITA 499 CAPTAIN NEMO, owned and skippered by Guido Guadagni. They also had two victories in their scoreline of 1-9-2-3-1-3 for 10 pts net.
Third place went to ITA 505 JORE, owned by the brothers Alessandro and Alberto Errani and skippered by Marco Pantano. They had a reasonably consistent tally in this tough fleet, with scores of 4-4-4-6-3-1 for 16 pts net.
Rounding out the top five was Giuseppe Monari’s ITA 373 ARCHE (Massimo Magnani skippering) in fourth place and Mauro Martelli’s ITA 382 VENTO BLU in fifth place.
After the break for the Christmas holidays, the Championship will resume with the second Act which includes three weeks of sailing: February 12 and 26th and March 12th. For more Italian J/24 Class sailing information
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jammin’ J/22 Jamaica Regatta Preview
(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- If you’re a J/22 sailor, it’s hard to imagine a better regatta than the Jamin’ J/22 International Regatta, which is set to unfurl on the waters of Jamaica’s beautiful Montego Bay and the nearby vicinity on December 1-3, 2022. The event, which is being hosted by the Montego Bay Yacht Club, typically supplies boats, sails, and equipment, allowing visiting participants to focus on winning races rather than organizing their kit. To facilitate this, local J/22 sailors participate in “qualifiers” that allows the strongest teams to represent Jamaica. The rest of the fleet is then loaned to the visitors in a lottery system.
In honoring the “international” component of Jamin, local teams will each represent a foreign fleet for the day of racing. Jamaica will be represented by the recent Nationals champion RENEGADE, which will be skippered by the veteran Jamin competitor Richard Hamilton.
Once on the island, participating sailors can look forward to great racing. Provided that the weather Gods cooperate, the event is planning on running four races per day… trade winds permitting, of course.
Some time ago, David Schmidt from SAIL-WORLD.com checked in with Spencer May to learn more about this classic warm-water One-Design regatta.
SW: Can you tell us about the regatta’s culture?
Spencer: Jamin’ has a longstanding culture of inclusion and hospitality. Offering North American and the rest of the world sailors an opportunity to sail and enjoy pristine conditions (warm prevailing trade winds and the clear, warm water of the Caribbean Sea) in early December, with the U.S. and Canada usually battling snowstorms.
During the event’s infancy, the late Tony Hart (the original “host”) would take visiting sailors on excursions to some special places around the island. Good Hope in the interior and Sea Grapes Villa in Discovery Bay were both incredible day trips for the visiting teams. Homestays were common and visitors would usually extend their trip to explore Jamaica on either end of the three-day regatta.
Jamin’ has a culture of fun-loving friends gathering to compete and create memories, with laughter and smiles galore (and plenty of cold drinks!).
SW: What kind of competition levels are you expecting this year?
Spencer: With our Nationals behind us, we have a very good idea of the level of competition…HIGH!
SW: Do you have your eye on any pre-racing favorites in both classes? What about any dark horses?
Spencer: Using our 705-pound limit on the boats keeps everyone honest and if the wind is light for any races that will give the three-person teams an advantage over the teams that sail just below the limit.
In the absence of last year’s 30th-anniversary race winner, Mike Farrington, it will once again give local heroes a chance to shine!
SW: Does the event planning to hold post-racing festivities/parties?
Spencer: Of course, we are going to be hosting the traditional “theme” parties… different each year. Such as “hawaiian”, “pirates”, “disco”, etc. .
In the ’90s there was a tradition of a boating “Parade of Lights” in the past and it was revamped last year for the first time in recent history. Open to motorboats, cruisers, and catamarans, all clad with festive lights and blasting holiday tunes.
On a quiet evening (just after sunset) we will leave the club and do a few laps around the harbor, gleefully singing and drinking on our boats with friends and family, celebrating together! J/22s are traditionally towed behind one of the larger motorboats.
SW: Can you tell us about any efforts that you and the other regatta organizers have made to try to lower the regatta’s environmental footprint or otherwise green-up the regatta?
Spencer: We utilize one five-gallon bucket per boat for the entirety of the event to dish out the ice/food/drinks/welcome packets and t-shirts. These buckets are re-used year after year.
SW: Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
Spencer: We have had 30-plus years of historic events, creating lifelong friendships from all over the world, and it has been incredible to build those relationships and see some familiar faces over the decades.
Many of the members have connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Anyone interested in seeing future event details should also follow along. Follow Jammin J/22 Jamaica Regatta here on Facebook For more Montego Bay Yacht Club sailing information
J/Community
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Swedish Women’s Team Lady Liberty J/24 Regatta Experience: Culture, Food, Sailing?
(New York, New York)- “What an amazing experience! What an adventure! So cool to be sailing J/24s past the Statue of Liberty in New York”, exclaimed Monica Persson. Here’s her story of how a Swedish women’s J/24 team got organized and headed to New York to go sailing on the Hudson River.
“The weekend of September 16th to 18th, 2022 was the Lady Liberty Regatta. The Manhattan Yacht Club hosted a dozen women’s teams from around the world in the women-only regatta, with sailing taking place on New York Harbor next to the Statue of Liberty. There were crews from five countries: our team was from Sweden, a team from England, a team from South Africa, a team from Canada and the other eight teams were from all over the USA. An American team traveled from Washington state- a trip longer than our trip from Sweden!
Sweden was represented by the Swedish J/24 Class Association’s team with helmsman Liselotte Sjoberg and crew: Kristina Tillerkvist- genoa and jib trim; Monica Persson- spinnaker trim; Ci Eriksson- mast and tactics; Cecilia Lundgren- foredeck. We are members of different clubs: Delfinen in Vejbystrand, Malmo Sailing Club, Halmstad Sailing Club, and Angelholm-Skaldervikens Sailing Club.
An invitation came to us in the Swedish J/24 Association during spring, but my J/24 racing calendar for 2022 was already filled with one big regatta each summer month: Kiel Week in June, J/24 World Championship Corpus Christi, Texas USA in July, J/24 Swedish Championship in Falsterbokanalen in August. I did not think I could sail more this year! LOL!
At work, they could hear me talk about this invitation, and my colleagues insisted I should go. As the chair of the Swedish J/24 Class Association, I started spreading the word and idea around to several of the many women J/24 sailors I have raced against during the 25(!) years I have actively sailed J/24s.
At this point, there were only two spots out of 12 left for the regatta. A fantastic chance! And, I loved the idea of sailing a J/24 at the Statue of Liberty! I hoped that some women J/24 sailors in Sweden would take the chance.
Until this turning point…at a board meeting, the question was suddenly directed at me, “Why don’t we, the Swedish J/24 Association, gather a ladies’ team together?”
This was the first time I considered that it might even be possible for me to make a second trip to the USA this year.
“Yes, I’m on!” I heard Kajsa responding! Then I could only respond, “If you’re on, then I’m on!”
After that, we started asking around those who we thought would like to join our ladies’ team, and within 1-2 weeks we were a team! Amazing!
We entered, getting the last spot, and started planning travel, accommodation, getting time off from work, and training opportunities.
We got 4-5 training opportunities together where we sailed Tuesday evening in Angelholm and a local regatta in Halmstad. However, all these sailing opportunities were in light wind conditions, but all were very useful training opportunities.
Then our adventure began!We packed up, loaded all into the van, and took off to the airport. We were so excited, this is going to be so much fun. Sailing the J/24 at the Statue of Liberty in New York! On September 14, we flew across the Atlantic Ocean to New York. I had never been to New York, so it was going to be really exciting. It would be my third trip to the US and only the third time I would race the J/24 in the USA. In 2019, I sailed the J/24 Worlds in Miami, and in July this year (2022), I sailed the J/24 Worlds in Corpus Christi, USA. And, now we would sail race the J/24 at the Statue of Liberty. Hugely surreal!
We arrived at JFK International Airport on Long Island. Then, after clearing customs and retrieving our bags, went to settle into our hotel in Jersey City. Upon arrival at the hotel, we headed straight up to the Skybar on the 14th floor of our hotel to soak up the view. We were completely blown away by the view of Manhattan’s skyline. And, in front of us 14 floors down, we had the Hudson River where we were going to sail for several days.
Sightseeing in New York!We woke up super early due to jetlag and had a good breakfast because this day we were going sightseeing in New York. My only wish for the day was to go up Rockefeller Center (70 floors up!) and look at Manhattan from above. We had a plan that we would take the ferry over to south Manhattan and start our sightseeing there. But, once the ferry arrived we jumped onboard without checking where it was going. Oops, it took us up to midtown instead!! LOL.
We walked through town, passing Times Square and Rockefeller Center, where Kristina and I went up to the top and got a fabulous view. It was glorious beautiful weather and clear blue skies. You could see south as far as the Statue of Liberty in one direction and north to Central Park its large expanses of green grass and trees. Amazing! In Central Park, we got together with Liselotte and Ci again. Liselotte’s only wish for the day was to go jogging around Central Park. Kristina went with her on the jogging round. Ci and I lay down on a rock in the park sunbathing while waiting for them to come back from jogging. Such a wonderful relaxing moment in this “garden” in the middle of New York.
Next, we were going to meet up with Cecilia in Brooklyn. We took the subway there and went to a Skybar where we got a fantastic view of Manhattan from the other side. We enjoyed the afternoon in the sun at this Skybar. Time for dinner, and we had gotten a recommendation about a restaurant called TAO, in the middle of Manhattan. We made our way there and had a fabulous dinner and experience. We were pretty tired of jetlag at this point after a whole day of sightseeing. A super nice day! Well back at the hotel, we immediately fell asleep.
Sightseeing from our J/24 (SWE blue/green spinnaker) by the Statue of Liberty and practicing sailing.
We woke up early again at eight, and had breakfast overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan— stunning view!
After a 20-minute walk to the harbor on the Jersey City side where the Manhattan Yacht Club is now located, we found this cozy little harbor full of boats. In front of MYC along the jetty, we see a long line of J/24 club boats, neat and tidy laying side by side. All J/24s carrying the American flag and a yellow smiley flag hoisted in the front. We were early so we sat down by one of the clubhouses to relax in the sun.
We took some team photos. We wondered when more sailors and officials would arrive. Soon some arrived with whom we started mingling. And, we found the registration at the other little clubhouse. We were the first team to register, so we were assigned boat No 1 for practice sailing during the day. We had to update ourselves on how to handle the engine. The engine shall be used whenever going out and back into port- those were the rules.
Soon, we were ready to head out to feel the waters and see the Statue of Liberty! It turned out to be very little wind this Friday. Even too little wind for sailing. Instead, we took the opportunity to motor down to the Statue of Liberty. A real sightseeing from the water! We joined the English team with Lorna and Sarah, who we know from many years before.
There was a lot of activity on the busy Hudson River waters and in the sky above us. There were ferries with tourists coming from the right and left, so it was a matter of keeping your eyes open both near and far not to get in the way of a ferry! In the air, helicopters hovered with tourists who flew around seeing the Statue of Liberty from above. Sometimes there were four helicopters in the air at the same time!! Chaos on the water, chaos in the skies! Lots of noise and lots of movements and activity. A very busy area. We’ve never seen anything like this!
It was time for the practice race. Not easy to sail in current and light wind. The start was from the MYC floating clubhouse called “Willy Wall”; it was anchored just outside Ellis Island. The wind decided whether it would be an upwind or downwind start. Before the start procedure, there was a recorded sequence played, “Are you ready to rumble? Five, four, three, two, one!”There came the five-minute signal! Such a funny starting procedure. We were ready and everyone onboard worked well together having fun. We got three practice starts, and then they let us go. We were satisfied with the practice we got and felt ready for Saturday’s competition.
Once in port at the MYC clubhouse, there was a get-together mingling and snacks. Everyone was excited, and we talked to the English, South African, and Canadian teams. The first thing the Canadian helmsman Cathy Shaw says is, “I have sailed against a Swedish sailor Marit Soderstrom, but that was 30 years ago!” I reply, “Oh, what a coincidence! I just received an email reply from Marit! She is working at the Swedish Sailing Association. We have to take a selfie and email her back with regards from you!”
All said and done, the next day we got a reply from Marit with, “Big hugs to Cathy Shaw and good luck to the Swedish team!” So, giving Cathy a big hug back from Marit was the first thing I did when meeting her at the harbor. A really fun thing that the world is so small, sometimes. And Cathy was so happy!
Saturday came and now it was competition day! The boats were drawn. The MYC Commodore gave a speech with an emphasis on avoiding a collision. We were drawn to start in boat No. 5, and between each race, we would motor into the harbor to change boats for the next race. We sailed another J/24 each race.
The day started with waiting for the wind. While waiting for wind, the race management entertained us with music from the floating clubhouse “Willy Wall”. You could make a wish for music to be played from the “Willy Wall”. We were the quickest, making the first wish- ABBA’s Dancing Queen! One song after another was played while waiting for the wind.
Finally, there was actually enough wind so they could start the first race. Spinnaker starts. In the second start, we, unfortunately, had an early start pushed over by the current. So, we had to make a restart, but it wasn’t a disadvantage. Instead, we got free wind and could sail the spinnaker catching up with the gang. At the first mark rounding, we were good again, back with the rest. In the third race, we could not avoid a minor collision from happening (no damage and no one was hurt) which unfortunately meant that we and the other boat had to withdraw from that race.
That was unfortunate, but it was stated in the Sailing Instructions- “No Collisions”! Yes, a lot was happening on this first day of racing! But, we took our penalties, kept going in good spirits, and caught up.
In the evening, there was a regatta dinner and mingling out on the floating clubhouse “Willy Wall”. It was a magical place in the middle of the Hudson River! It was absolutely magical to see the Manhattan skyline light over the water and the Statue of Liberty. We were treated to a buffet inside the floating clubhouse. Then afterward, there were drinks and dancing on the open top floor. Dancing was an MYC thing, and mine too. Awesome party!
Sunday, we started with a yoga session which felt so good for us. Breakfast and then a walk to the port. We had a really good Sunday ahead of us. It was a new day and three new races. In the first and second races, we sailed very well. We rounded the first mark near Manhattan as the first boat in both races!!
“This is how it should feel, ladies. This is where we should be. Enjoy such a nice feeling and well sailed by our team.” We came third in this race, satisfied with our performance and flow.
In the last race, we, unfortunately, got to sail with a boat where the traveler had been damaged in the race before we took over this boat. The attempts to repair were not at all 100%, but not much we could do about it. It was sad though, as we had such a good flow in the first two races of the day. Our trend of performance was going upward, but it was nothing we could do in this just-damaged boat.
Once ashore again, it was time for the award ceremony, handing over our club pennants Delfinen, Malmo SS, and Halmstad SS. Group photos and food and mingling. I think we closed the “After Sail” party at the clubhouse. Then, we wanted to continue our “After Sail” party at our hotel’s Skybar. But, we were in for a surprise. If the saying goes, “New York, the city that never sleeps,” clearly we had found an exception! The Skybar at our hotel was surprisingly closed at 10:00 pm. So, we asked the concierge and he recommended going to a pub just a block away. As it turns out, that’s where MYC members usually get together after the “Willy Wall” closes! That was a pleasant surprise!
We had great fun together as a team, experienced New York, and met many new friends, friendly New Yorkers, and lovely lady sailors from England, Canada, South Africa, and all over the USA at the Lady Liberty Regatta.
We were sixth overall and peaked in the fifth race with third place, where we were leading the pack from the start with spinnaker and rounded the first mark first! We took that great feeling with us, “This is how it should feel, ladies. This is where we should be. Enjoy!”
We thank the Manhattan Yacht Club and all officials and sailors for a fantastic regatta! More about Manhattan YC here- https://myc.org/
Big thanks to our Swedish team! I had a great time, a “once-in-a-lifetime experience!” And, we have had so much fun that we would love to come back!
We also had the great honor of meeting the lady working at the United Nations, who was arranging the J/24s from Manhattan sailing with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
At the end of August 2019, these J/24s met our Greta Thunberg (our famous, young Swedish environmentalist) and Boris Herrman’s Open 60 MALI, when they sailed across the Atlantic arriving in New York. Epic! Most of these J/24s and boats meeting Greta Thunberg were helmed by women.
What’s next? This year 2022 has been filled with so many big J/24 sailing events, and our Swedish J/24 sailors have been traveling a lot. We will reload our energy during the winter and continue the J/24 Tour in 2023.
The SWE-JCA Board is currently finalizing plans for the 2023 J/24 Swedish Championship. All J/24 owners in Sweden gather and come sail the J/24 Swedish Championship 2023! We need you to participate to continue keeping the Swedish National Championship status for the J/24 Class. As soon as we have more information, we will inform you. We are happy to once again say: Welcome to Sweden! 2023 J/24 Swedish Championship! J/24 in our hearts and friends for life!”
Thanks for this contribution from Monica Persson, Chair, Swedish J/24 Class Association (SWE-JCA).
Lady Liberty 2022 results: 1. Lorna Graham – Royal Yachting Association, United Kingdom 2. Katie Morgan – Manhattan Yacht Club 3. Amy Woodard, James Island Yacht Club, South Carolina 4. Danielle Gallo – Manhattan Yacht Club 5. Ginjer Yachechak – North Flathead Yacht Club, Montana 6. Megan Robertson – Royal Cape Yacht Club, South Africa 7. Liselotte Sjöberg – Sailing Club Delfinen, Sweden 8. Anne Mooney – Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, New York 9. Michele Cimon – Nepean Sailing Club, Canada 10. Nadia Daggett – Davis Island Yacht Club, Florida 11. Bonnie Kirchner – Beverly Yacht Club, Mass
My Thoughts and Perspectives on Sailing with a 50/50 Mixed women’s & men’s team.
By Ashley Love- Editor in Chief at T2PTV: Sailing on Demand
“The Mixed+ event was a great continuation and evolution of the idea of a new division in the J/70 class. The turnout for an entirely new event on the busy fall/winter calendar for this particular boat was solid and the teams were exactly what you would expect. My biggest impression from the team line-ups was a shuffling of the deck.
There were teams there that have sailed together a lot, but MIXED up positions on the boat, both with what hands and minds are doing. There were teams made up of people who’d only raced against each other and got to sail with each other, MIXING it up to make competitors into teammates.
There were teams that had people on board who’d never sailed a J/70 before, MIXING experienced J/70 sailors with people coming from other classes that bring in their own experiences (mostly dinghy).
Notice how I haven’t even mentioned the words “men”, “women”, or “co-ed” even yet. That’s because what this event did was add to what the J/70 fleet and ANY fleet out there needs. There was no subtraction. No anti-men, no “you’re not invited” or “you’re kicked off the boat to make room for this other thing”. This new event brought vessels to an additional event and were sailed by young and old, new and experienced, dinghy and keel-boaters, people who obviously were looking for a reason to shuffle the deck and try something new. And what happens when we try something new? We all have AH HA moments. We all can prove that we’re strong enough, smart enough, organized enough, dedicated enough to level up. The student becomes the teacher, the skipper becomes the speed team, the trimmer becomes the brain trust, the front becomes the engine room.
And what comes from this? Networking, snowballing, confidence and connections to plan to compete in other boats on other starting lines. Stagnancy in mind and routine in action can kill the sport and any fleet inside the sport. The one-designs that so many love aren’t going to change in equipment, so we need to constantly push for a new approach. New events with stipulations isn’t limiting, it’s a way to shuffle the deck.
The way I grow the fastest has been from team racing and stepping onto a Sonar with 3 other people who are entirely new every week. New to Sonars, new to team racing, new to sailing with each other, or all three. The way you click faster and faster with people to clue into strengths, weaknesses, needs in the small picture and in the big, on and off the water is what translates to any sailing experience. Of course, we need to know how to physically do a job, but if we’re physically fit and capable of many roles, the mental part of competition is what can get a dedicated team off the ground, build a team over time, or add that last 5% to a team. Shuffling the deck gets everyone that experience.
Owners may need more confidence that they can switch from verbal driving at the start to “we want the boat third” and do it themselves. Strategists who’ve been feeding information to the tactician for years may need the chance to call it all themselves. Jib trimmers may need to see how heavy and choppy the conditions can get before they reach their limit. Everyone needs these opportunities in an environment where it’s OK to try, because everyone is. It’s OK to fail. It’s OK to get back up and it’s ok to surprise yourself and OK to see something new in new people or people you’ve known for decades. That’s what this event did. For everyone. Cheers, Ashley”.
J/24 Magazine Archive is now Online!
Find all the trivia you’d ever want to know about famous America’s Cup, Olympic, and World Champion sailors that “sharpened their teeth” sailing in the world’s largest one-design keelboat class- the J/24 class (now 5,700+ strong!).
The J/24 class admins scanned and posted over 55 J/24 Magazines in Acrobat PDF format. That archive starts in 1978 and goes to 2011!
Have fun reading… you will see MANY of the world’s top sailors mentioned in many regattas over time. Luminaries such as Ken Read, Terry Hutchinson, Ed Baird, Jim Brady, Brad Read, Tony Rey, Tim Healy, John Mollicone, Will Welles, the “Honeybadger guy” Travis Odenbach, Mark Ploch, John Kolius, David Curtis, Vince Brun, Ian Southworth, Eddie Warden Owen, Keith Musto, Luca & Toni Bassani (Wally Yachts), the Sergio Loro Piana family & sons (Italian fashion), Mark Foster, Augie Diaz, Francesco de Angelis, Ian Bashford, Franco Brcin, Mauricio Santa Cruz, Chris Larson, Charlie Scott, Bill Shore, Don Trask, the Seattle Mafia (Buchan’s, McKee’s, Mark Laura, Keith Whittemore, Brian Thomas, etc), and the list goes on and on… you can rest assured it will take more than a week to read through it all… a challenge to you all to understand why and how the J/24 influenced the world of sailing beyond anyone’s imagination.
Starting in 1978, J/Boats co-founder Bob Johnstone and his son Stuart started publishing the first International J/24 Class Magazine. After the first few years, the publication became the principal focus of the class administrators (Executive Director, et al) to publish it semi-annually- Winter/Spring and Summer/ Fall.
Here is the link to that archive from 1978 to 2012 of full copies of each magazine in Adobe PDF document format.
Here is the link for all current J/24 News from 2013 to 2022 (current). Also all in Adobe PDF document format.
NEW J/Gear Holiday Special- 20% off (Newport, RI)- The Holiday J/Gear Special is 20% off EVERYTHING on the J/Gear website (except 1/2 models and custom prints). The discount code is- JB2022HS.
The discount will run from November 1st through December 15th. Nevertheless, we encourage early ordering to meet custom requests.
The J/Class logo is embroidered and you may customize it for the whole crew. For more ordering information
Sailing Calendar
Boat shows 2023: Jan 21-29- Boot Dusseldorf Boat Show (J/45 debut)- Dusseldorf, Germany
Regattas: Dec 1-3- Jammin’ J/22 Jamaica Regatta- Montego Bay YC- Montego Bay, Jamaica Dec 17-18- BACARDI J/70 Winter Series I
2023 Jan 16-20- The Southernmost Regatta- Sailing Inc- Key West, FL Jan 18-23- Barbados Sailing Week- Bridgetown, Barbados Jan 27-29- BACARDI J/70 Winter Series II- Coconut Grove (Miami), FL Jan 29- Feb 3- Grenada Sailing Week- St. Georges, Grenada
Feb 14-18- RORC Caribbean Series- English Harbour, Antigua Feb 20-24- RORC Caribbean 600 Race- English Harbour, Antigua
Mar 2-5- Heineken St. Maarten Regatta- Simpson Bay, St. Maarten Mar 9-11- BACARDI J/70 Regatta- Coconut Grove (Miami), FL Mar 24-26- St Thomas Regatta- Red Hook Bay, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands Mar 27- Apr 2- BVI Spring Regatta- Nanny Cay, British Virgin Islands
Apr 6-10- SPI Ouest France Regatta- La Trinite sur Mer, France Apr 16-22- Voiles de St Barth Regatta- Gustavia Harbor, St. Barths Apr 20-23- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC Apr 29- May 5- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
