J/Newsletter- May 18th, 2022

May 18th, 2022

The Sun Never Sets on J’s Sailing Worldwide

The beginning of the summer sailing season has essentially started this past weekend in most countries across the northern hemisphere. There was a lot of activity in Europe and the USA and sailors certainly experienced an amazing breadth of sailing conditions… from fresh to frightening to near-complete “glass outs”.

In Europe, the various J/70 sailing leagues are starting to roll, as well as their respective J/70 fleets in most countries. In the middle of Europe, the Swiss J/70 Women’s Cup started in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland for eighteen teams, hosted by Yacht Club Bielersee. Nearby, the German J/70 Class kicked off their season in several different venues. The growing Berlin J/70 fleet enjoyed close racing on Lake Muggelsee. Meanwhile, the MaiOR Regatta took place in Kiel, Germany with sailing taking place on the Baltic Sea. Their neighbors in Scandinavia were also enjoying their initial summer events. The Swedish J/70 Sailing League started this past weekend in Skanor, Sweden for a fleet of eighteen sailing club teams. Then, just across the Baltic Sea straits, the J/70 Denmark Grundig Sailing Cup took place in Horsens, Denmark, hosted by Horsens Sejlklub.

Heading west across the English Channel to the United Kingdom, we find the J/70 South Coast Championship that took place on the Solent, hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Meanwhile, simultaneously, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) De Guingand Bowl Race saw several J/Teams garner well-deserved silverware for their offshore racing efforts, including an unprecedented sweep of IRC 1 Class by a J/121, J/111, and J/122.

Meanwhile, over in America, there was activity taking place from coast-to-coast. The huge Annapolis Sailing World Regatta had 120 J/Teams sailing over the three-day weekend. The proverbial “J/World” event saw good competition amongst the J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/30s, J/35s, and J/105s. Despite difficult weather conditions, the hosts (Annapolis Yacht Club, Severn Sailing Association, & Eastport Yacht Club) managed to keep the sailors having fun and entertained. Also on the east coast was Larchmont Yacht Club’s Edlu Distance Race. Because of very light winds, the entire fleet sailed the short 18.0nm course… sailing were a range of J/Teams- J/44s, J/105, J/100, J/92, J/99, J/42, J/111, J/112E, J/121, and J/133. Finally, out in the Pacific Northwest, the Sloop Taven YC’s Race to the Straits took place north of Seattle, WA. The event is two races- Shilshole to Port Townsend and return and party at Northwest Maritime Center. A large contingent of J/crews enjoyed the racing, such as J/30s, J/27, J/80, J/29, J/105s, J/99, J/120, J/109, and J/111.

RORC Vice Admiral’s Cup Preview

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- A 50-strong entry will contest RORC’s Vice Admiral’s Cup this weekend, with up to eight short, sharp races scheduled across three days for the six classes competing. Light to moderate airs at the start of each day are forecast to build from the southwest, with gusts potentially reaching 25 knots on the opening day, creating conditions that will test crews’ reactions to the limit and provide fast planing conditions, especially for the lighter designs. The fleet includes the J/109 and J/111 one-design classes, both have long been stalwarts of the regatta. The format of Vice Admiral’s Cup racing means they always enjoy extremely tight racing that both tests and hones all aspects of boat speed, maneuvers, and tactics. At last year’s event, for instance, both classes had races in which all the podium places were determined by a difference of less than 50 seconds!!

Sailing the seven-boat J/111 class will be Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB, Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG, Andrew Hubbard’s JOLENE, Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II, Tony Mack’s McFLY, Tim Tolcher’s RAGING BULL, and Simon Grier-Jones’ SNOW LEOPARD.

Also looking forward to close competition will be one of J/Boats’ signature racer-cruisers, the classic J/109. Eight teams will be participating in this weekend’s thrash around the cans, including Mike Yates’ JAGO, William Stock’s JENGU, Rosie Berry’s JENIE, John Smart’s JUKEBOX, David Richards’ JUMPING JELLYFISH, Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN’, Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN’, and Jamie Will helming the Royal Air Force Sailing Association’s team on RED ARROW. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth Pictures For more RORC Vice Admirals Cup sailing information

San Francisco Bay J/105 Women’s Invitational Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- The SF Bay J/105 Women’s Invitational is happening this Sunday at St Francis Yacht Club. Eight teams are planning to sail in this event which has been organized to celebrate women sailors participating in SF J/105 Fleet 1 and empower women to take the helm of one of the most successful one-design boats racing on the Bay. The regatta consists of 3 races, back-to-back plus a collaborative post-racing debrief and awards party.

Commented the principal organizer, Bruce Stone (owner of J/105 ARBITRAGE), “at the end of 2019, the J/105 Class called on local fleets to consider ways to promote more gender parity in our sport. While our Fleet has a healthy number of women participating, the owner-skippers are disproportionately male, which also transfers into a mainly male Fleet and Class leadership. Following on a successful regatta created by Toronto’s Fleet 4, we are running an SF Bay Fleet 1 variation of the theme on May 22.

Intending to build female participation as skippers, crew, and potentially as owners, we have asked J/105 owners to enter their boats with the proviso that there be a woman driver. A guest skipper may be a regular crew member already on the team, someone they invite, or an experienced sailor we recommend.

The St. Francis YC is excited to support Fleet 1’s agenda for this special event. Key modifications to the Fleet/Class Rules include (a) waiving the Owner-Driver Rule and (b) waiving the weight limit. The latter allows for the required owner’s rep on board and/or the guest skipper to be a simple addition to the whole regular team.”

The response was overwhelmingly positive, with more skippers than boats excited to participate. In the end, here are the eight women skippers and a brief backgrounder on them:

Csilla Andersen for #374 Strangelove – won the first race she ever drove on the Bay in the J105 she and her husband Paw are partners in film and gaming production
Nicole Breault for #116 Arbitrage – loves sailing and long walks on the beach, sailed for Yale, kidnapped by Bruce Stone, match races a lot, very excited to drive the 105 for a change
Chloe Lepert for #103 Aquavit – grew up in SF Bay area, learned to sail here, raced for MIT, sailing coach for Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation and Stanford University summer program, now a data scientist for Meta and regularly sails Aquavit
Kristin Maberry Simmons for #40 Blackhawk– a professional architect by trade, she is a regular crew member and wife of Ryan, grew up racing as a junior/high schooler, is highly skilled, represents St Francis YC in fleet and team race challenges.
Marcia Bever for #32 Melilani – active sailor from South Beach YC in San Francisco, fast and furious career racing since 2019
Libby Zhang for #85 Roulette – sailed for MIT, helped organize the event, Roulette regular crew member
Shannon Kaiser for #26 Donkey Jack (aka “Jenny”) – originally from Ohio, now raising her kids with husband Rolf in Tiburon, background in primary education, commandeers Donkey Jack for B Series events under the alias Donkey Jenny
Kate Gregory Molitor for #468 Sharkey– team captain for Marquette Sailing, coached sailing before business career, long time crew for Moonshine before starting a family (now a mother of twins), has rejoined the fleet aboard Sharkey

For more St Francis YC Women’s Invitational sailing information

USA J/24 Nationals Preview

(Oak Point, Texas)- The 2022 USA J/24 Nationals will be sailed north of downtown Dallas, Texas on a huge reservoir known as Lewisville Lake. Hosting the event after a long hiatus is the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club, with two dozen boats entered from across America, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The sailing is challenging on the lake as it can often be shifty and very puffy, typical of lake sailing on the plains.

Who are some of the top teams to be competing for National Championship honors? Certainly, these teams should feature at the top of the leaderboard; Keith Whittemore’s FURIO from Seattle, WA; Mike Marshall’s AMERICAN GARAGE from Newport, RI; Nobuyuki Imai’s SIESTA from Wakayama, Japan; Travis Odenbach’s BOGUS from Rochester, NY; Chris Holmes’ BAD MOON from Aledo, TX; Carter White’s WIND MONKEY from Fishers, IN; Paul Foerster’s GRAND SLAM II from Rush Creek, TX; Will Fastiggi’s FAWN LIEBOWITZ from Burlington, VT; and Jasper Van Vliet’s USA 5277 from Richmon, CA. Follow USA J/24 Nationals on the Facebook group here For more USA J/24 Nationals sailing information For more Dallas Corinthian YC/ J/24 Nationals regatta information

Swiftsure Race Update

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- Over one hundred fifteen yachts are entered in the 2022 Swiftsure International Yacht Race that will start on Saturday, May 28th. The fleet will use either PHRF or ORC rating system for one of the four courses ranging from 79 to 138 nm that start and finish in Victoria, BC. Dozens of J/Teams are participating in this famous offshore event in the Pacific Northwest. Below are the courses and the J/Teams sailing each race.

The Cape Flattery Race (PHRF handicapped boats) goes from the Clover Point start, leaves the mark at Neah Bay to port, and crosses the finish line across Victoria Harbour– 101.9 nautical miles. Registered to sail the race so far include Scott Campbell’s J/121 RIVA, Christina Wolfe’s J/111 RAKU, a half dozen J/109s, a trio of J/120s, a duo of J/99s (Stephanie Arnold’s DASH and Dave Miller’s ONE LIFE), and half-dozen J/105s. For more Swiftsure Race sailing information

NEW J/Gear MAY Special- 20% off!

(Newport, RI)- The J Striped Polo features a blended material for comfort and performance. 95% Polyester, 5% Spandex. Classic Feeder Stripe with a fashionable self-tailored Collar. The J/Class logo of your choice is distinctly embroidered on the sleeve, and you may customize with your yacht name and sail number. For more J striped polo shirt ordering information

Sailing Calendar

May 23-28- J/24 US Nationals- Dallas Corinthian YC- Oak Point, TX
Jun 3-6- J/22 Europeans- North Sea Regatta- Scheveningen, The Netherlands
Jun 3-5- Bayview One-Design Regatta- Bayview YC- Detroit, MI
Jun 3-6- J/22 Europeans- North Sea Regatta- Scheveningen, The Netherlands
Jun 10-12- Chicago Sailing World Regatta- Chicago, IL
Jun 17-26- Cleveland One-Design & Offshore Race Week- Edgewater YC- Cleveland, OH
Jun 17-19- J/70 Nantucket Summer Open- Great Harbor YC- Nantucket- MA
Jun 23-26- J/70 Corinthian Nationals- Edgewater YC- Cleveland, OH
Jun 23-25- Edgartown Race Weekend- Edgartown YC- Edgartown, MA
Jul 2-9- J/80 Europeans- Centre Nautique de Saint-Cast- Saint-Cast, France
Jul 3-8-J/22 Worlds- Point YC- Durban, South Africa
Jul 12-16- J/109 East Coast Championship- New York YC- Newport, RI
Jul 14-22- J/24 Worlds- Corpus Christi YC- Corpus Christi, TX
Jul 16- Bayview Mackinac Race- Bayview YC- Port Huron, MI
Jul 23- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL
Jul 28-31- Marblehead Sailing World Regatta- Marblehead, MA
Jul 28-30- J/46 Camden Classics- Camden YC- Camden, ME- contact Tom Babbit- [email protected]
Jul 28-30- J/42 Camden Classics- Camden YC- Camden, ME- contact Galen Todd at 207-542-3239 or [email protected]
Jul 29-31- Ugotta Regatta- Harbor Springs, MI
Jul 29-31- J/111 Great Lakes Regatta- Harbor Springs, MI
Aug 18-20- Ida Lewis Distance Race- Ida Lewis YC- Newport, RI

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

Swiss J/70 Women’s Cup 2022 Starts

(Biel-Bienne, Switzerland)- The Swiss Sailing League Women’s Cup 2022 started this past weekend in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland for a fleet of eighteen club teams with 4-5 women sailors per boat, hosted by Yacht Club Bielersee. Over forty women benefitted from having participated in the prior week at the sailing sports center in Tenero du BASPO; the women were coached by Federica Salvà (ITA), Gaëlle Cevey (SUI), Silke Basedow (GER), and Elodie-Jane Mettraux (SUI).

The Yacht Club Bielersee Principal Race Officer Lorenz Muller had this to say about the regatta, “we were fortunate this weekend. Fantastic sailing made for many happy women. Fantastic weather conditions and wonderful sailing in Biel.”

After an eight-race series, it was Club Nautique Morgien that won the regatta by sailing so consistently that they scored all podium finishes, winning 5 of their 8 races! Their team consisted of Manon Kivell, Nathalie Brugger, Noemie Fehlmann, Maud Jayet, and Fiona Testuz.

The YC Bielersee, the host for the event, took the silver by winning 4 of 8 races. Their team consisted of Lea Tschudi, Barbara Brugger, Dominique Muller, Chantal Suri, and Nicole Bolliger.

Rounding out the bronze step on the podium by winning a tie-breaker on 20 pts was the Regattaclub Oberhofen, sailing with their crew of Lisa Thonen, Angelika Siegfried, Selina Adam, Romea Fries, and Salvina Fries. Losing that countback on the tiebreaker was Yacht Club Arbon with the team of Livia Naef, Nathalie Winiger, Tessa Egli, and Dani Rast. For more Swiss J/70 Sailing League Women’s Cup information

Light, Challenging Annapolis Sailing World Regatta

(Annapolis, MD)- While Mother Nature may not have cooperated for this past weekend’s Annapolis Sailing World Regatta, there is no question the 175 boats participating had a good time both on and off the water, such as the nature of sailors to “make lemonade from lemons” no matter what the scenarios. It was a record-setting weekend in one respect, 120 J/Teams of various stripes participated, a whopping 69% of the fleet! The J/22s, J/24s, and other classes racing closer to the entrance to the Severn River enjoyed more localized wind throughout the weekend while the classes racing further out in the Chesapeake Bay were less fortunate. On the circle with J/35s, J/105s, and J/80s— the latter being the two of the regatta’s larger classes— only two races were completed over three days, putting a premium on top finishes. Here is how it all went down in the various divisions for one-design classes of J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/30s, J/35s, and J/105s.

Jeff Todd and his teammates on the J/22 HOT TODDY finished second in their class at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Annapolis more times than they can, or care, to remember. But, this weekend they finally broke the curse with a win in their 22-boat fleet. After sailing five races in extremely challenging conditions: light winds, strong currents and a talent-packed fleet of competitors, Todd, and his crew prevailed with a consistent string of top-five finishes.

“We are experienced Chesapeake Bay sailors, so we’re used to dealing with the conditions we had this weekend,” Todd said. “These are our normal sailing conditions, which may be frustrating for others, but we’re used to it.”

Todd contributed his team’s success over the three-day regatta to good starts and boat speed, but mainly to his team keeping their cool when things went wonky. “We were always in the hunt at the first weather mark and a couple of times we passed people on the run,” he says. “In the short, half-mile legs we had, we had to get a good start and stay ahead. We set the rig loose, the headstay loose, and just tried to keep the boat moving and find the breeze. The boat needs power.”

Rounding out the top three behind HOT TODDY was Brad Julian’s YARD SAIL in second and Dodge Rees’ UNCLE FLUFFY in third. The balance of the top five included Chase Quinn’s OSPREY in fourth and Sandy Adzick’s HOT TICKET in fifth place (also 1st in Mixed-Plus Division J/22).

On the same course was the J/24 Class. Winning was Pat Fitzgerald’s RUSH HOUR, followed by Pete Kassal’s SPACEMAN SPIFF in second, and Sam McGuire’s BLOW’VIATE in third place.

J/80 division winners Will and Marie Crump and Thomas Klok’s R80 won the only race on Saturday and finished fourth in Sunday’s only race—and just barely—to win the division.

“The last race was really crazy,” Will Crump says. “We actually won the pin end, and in this kind of race, what you’d normally expect would be to win the pin, go into the positive current, extend, tack, and then cross the fleet.”

But that’s not how it played out.

“We got out there and realized there was more wind in the middle of the course,” Crump says. “So we got antsy and tacked back into the middle of the course.”

They rounded the first mark eighth in a cluster of J/105s and J/80s and battled their way toward the front of the fleet.

“It was hard to get clear air on the way down the run, but we found the best breeze we could. We may have lost a couple of boats early but then gained a few back.”

On the next leg, they decided to “do something totally different” and sailed toward the western shoreline in search of more breeze. “That didn’t work out either,” Crump says, and it wasn’t until they started the final downwind leg (still in ninth) when they lucked into a localized streak of wind. “We picked up four or five boats to cross the line in fourth place,” Crump says. “It was just enough.”

Behind R80, it was Tom & Jennifer Kopp’s KOPP-OUT that took the silver, with Derick Lynch’s OUTLAWS rounding out the podium. The rest of the top five included Kevin Hayes & Jeff Kirchoff’s MORE GOSTOSA in fourth and JR Maxwell’s SCAMP in fifth place.

On the very same racecourse, Cedric Lewis and Fredrik Salvesen’s J/105 Mirage was having its own battle. Having won the previous day’s race they were in command, but then found themselves going head-to-head with Ray Wulff’s team on Patriot when the race committee set the fleet off into the unpredictable and light wind.

“We got a clean start—not the perfect one—and after a long and crazy race, we finished a foot behind Patriot,” Lewis says.

That set up Mirage with a 1-point lead going into what was expected to be the regatta’s final race, which Patriot was winning by a large margin before the race committee canceled it on account of too little wind.

“We’ve won this regatta so many times and never won the overall,” said Mirage’s navigator Molly Wilmer. “Honestly, we always thought it was rigged against us, so this is amazing and we will definitely be there. We’re going for sure, and we’re going to win it.”

Just finishing out of the chocolates one point back was Ray Wulff’s PATRIOT in second, with Andrew Moor’s Canadian team on THUNDERSTRUCK on the third step of the podium The rest of the top five included Angelo Guarino’s CRESCENDO in fourth and David & Beth Scheidt’s SMOKE’N’OAKUM in the fifth position.

The trickiest of all the race circles was that set in the middle of the Chesapeake’s strongest current and packed with J/70s and J/30s.

In the J/70s, Ian Hill’s SITELLA was leading the regatta before the final day’s only race. John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA got the better of the start and went on to win the race while SITELLA battled to recover from mid-fleet.

“We got fouled in the start and that put us on the back foot a bit,” said Terry Hutchinson, SITELLA’s tactician. “But we had a good first beat, got around the top mark in 18th, and clawed our way back to 11th from there.”

Patience, he says, was the key to SITELLA saving enough points to win by 2, and Hutchinson credited crewmates Dan Morris and Dave Hughes— a two-time Olympic sailor— for ways to get back into the race. “Dave was a huge help,” Hutchinson said. “This is the first time we’ve sailed together, and I can see why he has sailed for our country twice at the Olympics. He’s really good.”

It was tight for the top five slots. Second to SITELLA two points back was John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA, third went to Dick Kalow’s SUPERIOR I taking a tie-breaker at 19 pts each over David Schoene’s UNOS (also winning Corinthians), and fifth went to Jim Golden’s DERECH) (second in Corinthians). Coincidentally, finishing 6th and 3rd Corinthians was Peter Firey’s PHOENIX.

Winning the J/35s was Jim Sagerholm’s AUNT JEAN, a repeat winner for the past few decades. Second was Roger Lant’s ABIENTOT and third was Bruce Artman’s T-BONE.

Winning the J/30s on a tie-breaker was Bruce Irvin’s SHAMROCK, with Pam Morris’ BUMP losing that countback to take the silver. Third was Ron Anderson’s INSATIABLE.

Making the podium in the ORC Division was John Bell’s J/88 HIWASEE in third and in ORC Doublehanded was Ben Jatlow’s J/100 WILD THING in second place.

With the regatta’s awards presented at host Annapolis Yacht Club after racing on Sunday afternoon, Commodore Ed Hartman drew the regatta’s overall winner from amongst individual class winners, and it was Team Mirage that finally earned a coveted berth at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Caribbean Championship in October. For more Annapolis Sailing World Regatta sailing information

J/Teams Sweep IRC Class in RORC De Guingand Bowl Race

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The fifth race of the RORC Season’s Points Championship is the De Guingand Bowl Race, scheduled to start at 09:30 BST on Saturday 14th May to the west, from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line, Cowes. Fifty-seven teams were entered from at least nine different countries including Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States.

With the wind speed varying from zephyrs to over 20 knots, the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s De Guingand Bowl Race tested the international fleet right through the spectrum of skill sets. The RORC Race Team chose a diamond shape course of approximately 115nm with the Isle of Wight at its center. After racing the Western Solent and through Hurst Narrow, the fleet was set a rounding to the west of a Line of Longitude off Sandbanks. After leaving St Catherine’s Point to Port, the next waypoint was east of a Line of Longitude south of Littlehampton. Turning back towards The Solent, the course took the fleet to Starboard of the Nab Tower, to Port of No Man’s Land Fort, and a Race Finish at Mother Bank.

The start was in light upwind conditions, but as the fleet headed west, the breeze built, giving faster conditions through to Hurst Narrow. Managing the ‘change in gear’ was a key to best performance. Out of the lee of the Isle of Wight, the main strategic aim was not only finding the best breeze but also where to cross the line of latitude off Sandbanks. A pack of boats went for the North Channel, looking to pick up more breeze inshore. The majority of the fleet took a more direct southerly offshore route. The spread of the fleet at the line of latitude was over 5 miles but the YB AIS tracker revealed an advantage in staying inshore. For the leg to St. Catherine’s Point, the tide came more into the equation; tidal relief was along the island shore but required a boat to sail more miles to gain a tidal advantage. This proved to be a decisive section of the race, with boats going inshore making significant gains. Staying offshore south of the island proved to be a gain with lifting pressure towards the next waypoint. As the leading boats approached the line of latitude off Littlehampton, a frontal system arrived from the south. The wind was gusting to over 20 knots with distant rumbles of thunder and the associated light show. This change required forward planning for downwind sail choice, as well as the angle of attack for the finish.

Leading an unprecedented sweep of the podium by J/Teams in the thirteen-boat IRC One Division was Derek Shakespeare’s J/122 BULLDOG, he was followed by Laurent Charmy’s French J/111 SL ENERGIES GROUP FASTWAVE in second, and Michael O’Donnell J/121 DARKWOOD in third.

In the seventeen-boat IRC Three Division, Mike Yates & Mike Stannard’s J/109 JAGO grabbed the bronze medal, leading their other J/109 colleagues- Rob Cotterill’s MOJO RISIN in 4th and Henry Wilson’s JOLLY JACK TAR in 6th.

The sixth race for the RORC Season’s Points Championship will be the North Sea Race, starting on the 27th of May, hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club. The 181nm race starts outside Harwich and meanders around the Galloper wind farm before heading north to Smith’s Knoll Buoy and across to the famous sailing city of the Hague and the Scheveningen Yacht Club. For more RORC De Guingand Bowl Race sailing information

Åmålsviken Takes First Swedish J/70 Sailing League at Skanor

(Skanor, Sweden)- This year’s first competition in the Swedish J/70 Sailing League was conducted in a sunny Skanör for a fleet of eighteen teams from across Sweden. Halmstads Segelsällskap took the lead on Friday and kept it until it was time for the finale. The finale has double points awarded and there is ample opportunity for teams to assert themselves and force big changes in the standings. In the end, that is exactly what happened in the first regatta in Skanor.

In the end, the surprising outcome was the huge swing in the standings in the “sudden death” final race. Halmstads scored last in that finale to post a punishing 12 pts to end up second place. Winning was the Segelsällskapet Åmålsviken team by destroying their competitors in the finale. Third went to Sotefjordens Segelsällskap that had an equally stunning poor last race by taking 5th.

“In the finals, we were completely clean from all boats all the way. With a little extra luck that the boats that were closest to the scoring, Halmstad, and Sotefjord, got a penalty or get stuck a little at the start. All the stars stood in the right direction all the way,” said Tomas Skålén, coach for Allamålsviken.

Big thanks to all the officials, sponsors, and others involved in making the arrangement so incredibly successful! The next competition takes place in Långedrag, Sweden on June 17-19th, 2022. Follow the Swedish J/70 Sailing League here on Facebook:

Sensational Fruhlingswettfahrten J/70 Regatta

(Berlin, Germany)- A Great event in glorious weather! First of all, a big compliment to the Berlin Yacht Club for the great event and especially to the race director Axel Paul, who managed five classes very confidently and quickly, despite the strenuous NE wind direction on the shifty lake conditions in the middle of Berlin on Lake Muggelsee!

Thirteen J/70 teams participated, ten from Berlin and three from the Hamburg Alster Lake fleet. It was incredibly fun, close, hot, fast-paced racing action over the two days of racing.

On the first day, Erik Witzmann’s JAN H made it clear that he wanted to have a say here on his home territory! After three races in demanding conditions, he was at the front of the field with a 1-2-4 tally. After the day’s races, the BYC then invited everyone to BBQ and Happy Hour on the terrace, plenty of sun and pleasant temperatures sweetened the already great day of sailing.

For the second day of sailing, despite a slightly different forecast, the conditions were pretty much the same as the day before! There were still two races on the schedule – easy at the start at 11 a.m….the fleet was finished racing well before the last opportunity to start!

Erik Witzmann’s JAN H team (Andreas Wiener, Wolfram Kramer, Sophia Witzmann, Sophie Zimm) did not let the lead from day one go away and finished the regatta with a 6-point lead on the top step of the podium with a consistent record of 1-2-4-8-2 for 9 pts net.

Second was Arne Claus’s JETPACK team (Paul Konig, Julia Zemke, Birthe Herziger) with an insane roller-coaster scoreline of 2-11-1-1-8 for 12 pts net.

Third was Mike Przybyl’s GER 931 crew (Paul Estrada Pox, Hannes Papenthin, Elias Bottger), with a record of 11-1-2-5-5 for 13 pts net. In fact, they had to win a countback on a tiebreaker at 13 pts each with Eiko Powilleit’s WIKI WIKI team (Tobias Fink, Stephan Molle, Robert Heymann) with an 8-3-5-4-1 tally. For more German J/70 Class sailing information

Ottosson Eclipses J/70 Denmark Grundig Sailing Cup

(Horsens, Denmark)- The first regatta of Grundig Sailing Cup 2022 took place off Horsens, Denmark, hosted by Horsens Sejlklub. After three good days of sailing, and with fourteen races in winds from 8 to 25 kts, the winners were the Swedish team skippered by Henrik Ottosson. Their extraordinary performance was such that it might have been classified instead as the “blood red” lunar eclipse!

In the first nine races, Ottosson’s SWE 1570 team posted seven bullets! They closed out the regatta with evermore consistent sailing to win with just 23 pts net. Second was Claus Hovgaard’s Danish crew on DEN 1342, winning two races, taking three 2nds, and on their way to counting 36 pts net. The bronze step on the podium went to Chris Norgaard’s DEN 1318 crew, finishing just three points back. Sailing Photo Credits by Peter Brøgger – Sejlsportsfoto

JELVIS Wins J/70 South Coast Championship

(Cowes, England)- The J/70 South Coast Championship was hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. Race Officer Philip Warwick and his RYS RC/PRO team were roundly applauded by the fleet for running six excellent races in highly changeable conditions. The start to Day One was delayed waiting for a sea breeze to fill in and that patience was rewarded with three races in a 7-11 knots southwesterly with brilliant sunshine. The final race of Day One finished after 6:00 pm. The Race Committee was back on station the following day by 9:45 am for three more races; a rain-affected day in a southerly front with the wind speed providing planing conditions for the J/70 fleet.

Winning the weekend RYS South Coast Championship, against a strong field including Olympic medalists and multiple World Champions, was Martin Dent’s JELVIS. They continue their good form, winning the first three Grand Slam Events of the 2022 Season.

Martin Dent commented, “this weekend the J/70 racing was, as usual: epic racing! While our scoreline was strong, the racing was incredibly close, with multiple lead changes and finishes with sometimes three boats overlapped crossing the finish line. Philip Warwick (Race Officer) did a fantastic job, holding his nerve and well-positioned in the Solent to give us three good races on a difficult Saturday, and on Sunday, when the breeze was up, it was spectacular. The detail that the RYS team race team went into, not only setting start lines with perfect bias but also the gate, to balance the one-sided racecourse was first class.”

Jonathan Calascione commented, “early in the season it is good to have a mix of conditions. With the big events coming up like the Nationals, the Europeans, and the Worlds, you don’t know what conditions you are going to get, so did get a range of conditions this weekend was very useful. The South Coast Champs was a Grand Slam event and very well managed by my club, so I was very glad that they did a good job. Calypso is delighted with the result and our start to the season. Calypso has gone back to being a Corinthian team, as we were 2015-19. Our ambition is to push the Pro teams and who knows, it would be really cool for a Corinthian team to win the Nationals. It is also great to see young sailors coming into the class like Finley (Dickinson), we want the J/70 UK Class to be the place where young sailors want to race at a very high level.”

Dent’s JELVIS scored four bullets in the six races held to win the Open category. Calascione’s CALYPSO with Geoff Carveth at the helm was the best Corinthian team for the regatta.

In the Open Category, taking the silver was Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, Sam Carter’s BRUTUS was third, Calascione’s CALYPSO fourth, and Nick Phillips’ CHAOTIC fifth place.

The next J/70 UK Class Sprint Series event will be Round Two, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club as part of their Champagne Charlie Platinum Jubilee Regatta (4-5 June). The next J/70 UK Class Grand Slam event will be Round Four with the Southern Championships, hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club (11-12 June).

Kemmling Tops J/70 MaiOR Regatta

(Kiel, Germany)- The first major regatta of the season on the Baltic Sea for sailors in Kiel saw a dozen J/70 teams assemble on the inner bay for the MaiOR (May Offshore Regatta). Hosted Kieler Yacht Club managed to run a nine-race series for the fleet over the three-day event. Sailing on the inner bay proved fortuitous, as the localized heating enabled sea breezes to develop and provide the fleet good racing around the cans.

In the end, nine races were completed despite the sluggish conditions – two were a bit borderline – but there was always excitement. It was a smooth start to the season. The learning curve of newcomer Martin Menzner and his crew was remarkable, they’ve been the best German J/80 sailors for many years. Menzner and other top sailors from Kiel have now switched to the J/70 class and many are hoping to qualify for the J/70 World Championship taking place in Monte Carlo, Monaco in October 2022.

Winning the event was Carsten Kemmling’s crew on GER 928, counting five 1sts and three 2nds for a smoking hot 11 pts net for the nine races. Second was Soren Hadeler’s GER 644 team with 22 pts net. And, taking the bronze was the only Danish team, Johnny Jensen’s DEN 1417 with 32 pts net.

J/Crews Garner Silver in Race to the Straits

(Seattle, WA)- Hosted annually by Sloop Tavern Yacht Club in Seattle, WA, the Race to the Straits featured two days of racing from Shilshole to Port Townsend and return over the May 7th to 8th weekend. When the fleet arrived at Port Townsend, they were treated to an amazing “Halfway Party” at the Northwest Maritime Center. The racing didn’t disappoint either, with the usual challenging conditions facing the fleet, having to deal with current, holes, streaks, and various forms of commercial traffic doing their best to frustrate the sailors. In the end, many J/Crews earned their fair share of silverware, and then some!

PHRF Class 1 Singlehanded Division was a sweep by J/Teams. Winning was Jim Bottles’ J/30 CELEBRATION, followed by Ulf Georg Gwildis’ J/30 IMPULSIVE in second and Reed Bernhard’s J/109 MOUNTAIN in third.

PHRF Class 4 Doublehanded Division saw Phil Dean’s J/80 RUSH take the bronze, followed by Morris Lowitz’s J/80 UPROAR in 4th and Leo Morales’ J/27 WIZARD in 5th place. Sixth was Ryan Porter’s J/80 JOLLY GREEN and 7th was Lek Dimarucot’s J/80 UNDERDOG 7th.

PHRF Class 6 Doublehanded Division had John & Jessica Kazaras’ J/29 RUBY in fourth place.

PHRF Class 7 was the J/105 division. Winning was Tom Kerr’s CORVO 105, followed by Erik Kristen’s MORE JUBILEE in second, and Jonathan Saunders’ EL GATO in third place.

PHRF Class 8 Doublehanded had more good performances from J/Crews. Taking the bronze medal was Tad Fairbank’s J/100 SELAH, while David Miller’s J/99 ONE LIFE in fourth place.

PHRF Class 9 Doublehanded saw Jim Hinz’s J/120 HINZITE winning, followed by Kirk Fraser’s J/109 ECLIPSE in second place.

PHRF Class 10 saw the two J/111s finish together. Fourth was Chris Lanzinger’s HOOLIGAN with Christina & Justin Wolfe’s RAKU in 5th place. Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson Marine Photography For more Race to the Straits sailing information

Zephyrs Predominate in Edlu Distance Race

(Larchmont, New York)- On Saturday, May 14th, the Larchmont Yacht Club hosted its popular spring offshore classic- the Edlu Distance Race. A fleet of fifty-four boats, including 22 J/Teams (41.0% of the fleet), raced the shorter course- the Twenty-Six Foot Spot Buoy- 18.0nm. A wise decision considering the light air conditions facing the fleet on Saturday and, notably, an extremely high “no-show” attrition rate due to the near glass-out weather conditions. Consider this simple fact, a J/160 won a class and overall honors sailing an 18.0nm in 4 hours 22 minutes elapsed time… a fresh-to-frightening lee rail cocktail party at an eye-blistering, skin-pealing 4.18 kts. A tall tale to tell at the yacht club bar after racing.

In ORC Division, the US Merchant Marine Academy’s J/44 KINGS POINT COMET took the bronze medal.

For the PHRF Doublehanded Division, Jon Yoder & Bill Gassman’s J/100 BLACKCOMB took the bronze, followed by Josh Burack’s J/105 PEREGRINA in 4th place and Lawrence Azzaretti’s J/122 BOULDERADO in the sixth position.

PHRF III Division saw just two finishers after 6 hours of sailing 18.0nm… a gruesome 3 kts average for 33 footers! Second was EJ Haskell & Jim Weil’s J/92 VIXEN.

The scenario for PHRF II Division was equally as debilitating. Second place went to Iris Vogel’s J/88 DEVIATION, followed by Nicolas Delcourt’s J/88 OH JEE! in third, and Kurt Locher’s J/42 ATALANTA in fourth place.

Only the PHRF 1 Spinnaker Division saw a decent number of finishers for the proverbial big boat division. Winning was Len Sitar’s J/160 COUGAR, winning Overall PHRF honors, too. Third was Bill & Jackie Baxter’s J/111 FIREBALL, fourth Arthur Hanlon’s J/112E DAUNTLESS, 7th Dale & Mike McIvor’s J/133 MATADOR, and 8th Steven Levy’s J/121 EAGLE. For more Larchmont YC Edlu Distance Race sailing information