Wednesday, April 28, 2010

J/122s In American YC Spring Series

Great Sailing for J One-Design Classes

(Rye, NY)- Eighty one teams are participating in the AYC Spring Series.  And, as usual, being the wonderful hosts that they are for the opening of the Long Island Sound offshore sailing season, the team at AYC did a remarkable job to run five to six races (depending on course and class) this past weekend in the western reaches of the Sound.  Sailing within site of downtown NY and it's eponymous Empire State Building, the AYC Race Committee ushered the sailors out on the water Saturday morning with some degree of protestations as it looked like a proverbial mill pond out in the middle between the Long Island and Connecticut shorelines.  Nevertheless the AYC PRO's on both the East Course and the West Course persevered, the wind settled into the SSW building from zero up to 13 knots by late afternoon, enabling the East course to run four races and the West course three on what turned out to be a gorgeous, albeit challenging, day for sailing.  By Sunday, the same ginormous Low Pressure system that was terrorizing the American Midwest and South with tales of the world's largest and longest lasting F4 power tornado cutting a 200 mile buzz-saw path several miles wide through the southern heartland turned out to be true, unfortunately.  With thousands of lightning bolts spraying the landscape per hour, there was simply nowhere to hide in that region.  However, the explosive cocktail of warm Gulf of Mexico winds and cold Arctic/ Canadian air masses colliding with brutal fury dissipated by the time the continental-spanning monster front hit the NY region.  Luckily for the sailors, the forecasted 0 knots of wind gusting to 0 knots and incessant drizzle magically transformed into a great day of sailing in Easterly breezes.  With only two races scheduled for Sunday, both course started the first series of races in the 6-10 knot wind range and increased to 12-16 knots by the end of the second race.

The winning formula for success on Saturday in the southwest breezes was fairly typical for the conditions-- it meant playing shifts towards the right-middle of the course, staying in wind streaks and less adverse ebb-tide before sailing across the Sound to the windward mark placed near the Long Island shore.  Sunday, the strategies changed quite dramatically with easterlies and strong ebb.  As large cloud cells rolled through, the wind direction varied from 70 to 90 degrees, with enormous, gusty wind streaks filling in from both sides of the course.  While certainly keeping the RC mark boats on their toes, the tacticians had their hands full keeping their boats in the hunt for good positions to close out the first weekend of sailing.

J/122 one-design sailboat- 
cruising- racingThe J/122 One-Design class saw Tom Boyle and Mike Callahan aboard WINGS figure out the tricky conditions and sail into contention in this tightly fought class, with three firsts and three seconds to be winning by a scant one point margin over Andrew Weiss' family racing CHRISTOPHER DRAGON that managed to garner a 3-1-1-3-2-1 tally.  Lying third is Barry Gold and Jamie Anderson sailing SUNDARI to 2-3-4-2-3-5 finishesPhoto credits- Alan Clark/ Photoboat

For more race and sailing information on the American YC Spring Series.  Share

Sparkling Solent for Warsash Finale

J/122 JINJA Sets the Pace With 2nd, 3rd

(Southampton, England)-  Warsash Sailing Club was a busy place over the weekend of 24th/25th April when the Warsash Spring Series and Spring Championship reached their final stages. Conditions in the Solent were ideal and provided some of the best racing so far this season.

For the second weekend of the Warsash Spring Championship, in the Big Boat IRC division, Ian Matthews' team on the J/122 JINJA sailed well to garner third overall.  Neil Martin's J/133 JAMMY DODGER managed to get seventh followed closely by the J/122 JERONIMO sailed by Jackie and Robert Dodson.


The multi-week Warsash Spring Series finally came to a stunning, gorgeous conclusion, basking in near glam St. Tropez like conditions with sun-a-plenty and good breeze to boot.  At 0830 when the committee boats left the Warsash Sailing Club pontoon for the final day of racing in the Warsash Spring Series the day was grey and drizzly, with poor visibility. It seemed very unlikely that the superb conditions of the Spring Championship the day before would be repeated but slowly, as the first start time approached, the rain died and by 1000 the south-westerly breeze was starting to fill. By midday the Solent was basking in sunshine and the breeze was up to 15 knots – a perfect way to finish the country’s premier early season racing event.


J/109 one-design sailboat- 
sailing Warsash Spring Series
The Black Group race team had a particularly complex day’s racing. Not only was there the normal schedule for the Spring Series, but the Spring Championship was also to be concluded which meant two races for Spring Championship entries in IRC1 and IRC2. The steady wind direction made course setting reasonably straightforward and all classes could share the initial legs on a beat to South Bramble with the tide followed by a gybe at Flying Fish and run to a laid mark. Finishing was also at a common mark and the overall length of course was adjusted as appropriate to the time scale. Going into the final day, only a few classes, including the J/109s,  were a foregone conclusion and even then final places further down were still in contention.

IRC1’s first start was subject to a general recall and postponed until after IRC2 whilst other classes got away cleanly. In the end, Ian Matthews' J/122 JINJA sailed a nice series to get second overall.  Team Jellyfish sailed their J/122 JOLLY JELLYFISH into fifth overall after being a contender for top three over earlier weekends.  Neil Martin's crew on his J/133 JAMMY DODGER started slow but picked up some steam to ultimately get eighth overall in a large, competitive fleet.





Full results on the Warsash Sailing Club's Regatta Website      Photo Credits- by Eddie Mays  Share

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

J's Enjoy Gorgeous Sailing At Charleston Race Week

J Sailors Love Southern Hospitality!

(Charleston, SC- Apr 9-11)- After the first two days at 2010 Charleston Race Week brought winds of up to 20 knots, the final day of racing eased up to just 8-12 knots of warm wind blowing across the harbor. For the 184 teams competing, not a frown was seen on the hundreds of faces at the awards ceremony on Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina's sandy beach. "The city, the weather and the event organizers couldn't have presented this town any better," said local sailing coach Ryan Hamm, whose J/24 PIGS FLY TOO finished in 6th place. "The competition is stiff, and it's great to see so many sailors learn to love Charleston.

Chilly temperatures greeted the record fleet of racing sailboats on Friday. Braving 55 degree-morning temperatures and a wind-chill driven by the 20-knot breeze made the racing "a serious adrenalin rush", as competitor Peter Crawford put it. Temperatures reached the 70s by noon, providing picture perfect sailing conditions to start race week off with a bang. "I don't know if conditions could be any more perfect than today," said Christof Wieland, who traveled all the way from Germany to compete in his second Charleston Race Week.  By Saturday morning, more nice wind, warm sun and waves graced Charleston with picture-perfect conditions. For the second straight day, winds up to 20 knots propelled the J fleets across all four courses.  Sunday dawned with a big change to the previous two extreme sailing days, with just 8 - 12 knots of warm wind blowing across the harbor.

In the first ever IRC fleet at this race week, the J/122 TEAMWORK that won last year's handicap class sailed nicely to finish third overall.  Seemingly, the crazy currents, tide lines and wave conditions conspired to favor the larger boats, the winner was a custom IRC RP52 called VINCITORRE with straight firsts.

For more regatta/ sailing information on Charleston Race Week.  Share

Warsash Spring Series Week 4

J/109 sailing in Warsash 
Spring Series in England (Hamble, So'ton, England)- Back after an Easter break, the Warsash Spring Series continued on April 11 with the entries topping 200. There were challenging conditions for Week 4 with the wind ranging between 9-14 knots. The general mean direction was from the northeast, but local conditions prevailed on the three separate race tracks.  Jon Spencer, in charge of the White Group J/80s was closest inshore and reported the wind moving to the east each time it faded. In the middle of the Solent at ‘Flying Fish’ buoy, Black Group CRO David Greenway found the wind sufficiently stable to set the same basic course for all the keelboat classes, with only a minor adjustment for the smaller boats. The only interruption to a smooth start sequence came between the J/109 and IRC3 starts, when a second outer distance mark was laid to achieve a square line.

IRC1 got away on time and JINJA, Ian Matthews’ J/122, took a flyer from the pin end of the line and established a winning lead within the first 10 minutes of the race.   JINJA is the fourth different winner in IRC 1 so the class is wide open with two races to go. Another J/122 JOLLY JELLYFISH has sailed consistently well to remain second overall in the series standings.

Full sailing results on the Warsash Website   Sailing Photos by Eddie Mays  Share

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

SNIM Enjoys Spectacular Mistral

J/122 sailing SNIM in
 Marseilles, France

J/122 J Lance IV Excels

(Marseilles, France)- It was a grandiose final in Marseilles to round off the SNIM (International Nautical Mediterranean Week), where a series of races were launched in the northern harbour in a steady 20-25 knots of NW wind and a big swell after two days of Mistral. And when the Mistral comes into play, the spectacle is well worth a look: surfing, broaches to windward and leeward and a lot of boats heeling a bit too much!  It has to be said that the tough conditions have forged the SNIM's reputation over the years, to the extent that today it has become a real trademark of the competition.

For a lot of crews the SNIM marks the end of the winter and the weather really threw everything at the competitors. With Southerly wind, Easterly wind and then a steady Northerly, followed by a powerful Mistral, there really was something for everyone. “That’s what the SNIM is all about: blue, white and wind” resumed the President of the Société Nautique, Bernard Amiel.

In IRC Class 2 with twelve boats, the J/122 J LANCE IV sailed by George Asperti and crew reveled in the windy conditions to sail a nice series and finish third in a very competitive class. 

   
For more information on SNIM Sailing results.   Photo credits by Gilles Martin-Raget  Share

J/CUP 2010 France

J/Cup Mediterranee 
France

(Hyeres, France)- This year's fourth edition of the J/CUP in the Mediterranean will be sailed from June 4th to 6th off the island of Ill de Porquerolles, just south off the coast of Hyeres, France.  The island of Porquerolles will, again, be dressed in all her finery to host this year's event. The sailing is beautiful, if not spectacular, and the hosts are looking forward to welcoming J sailors from all over Europe.  A fleet of twenty-five J/24s, J/92s, J/100s, J/109s, J/122s and J/133s participated in last year's event.  We hope the defending champions from Yacht Club de Monaco (the J/24 "TOPP TOO" sailed by the Rodelato Brothers) and their friends show up again along the J/122 KAYA and the J/109 MAJOR TOM who joined them on the podium.  Great sailing and, most fun of all, fantastic food and wine will be part of the weekend's festivities at the vineyards and waterfront restaurants on this wonderful island. Will the popular band "KASHMIR" show up for this year's event?  Come join us and find out!  For more J/Cup Med Regatta information, please contact Pierre DUCHEIN at K-YACHTING/ J-BOATS Méditerranée.  Email- pierre@k-yachting.com or Call +33(0)498 003 846 or web http://www.k-yachting.com
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