J/122 ANAM CARA Completes Tough Van-Isle Race

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- No matter how many times teams have sailed the Around Vancouver Isle race, they know they can expect at least one or two epic passages on one of the nine legs and most of the time that would be on the desolate western coast offshore into the Pacific.  This year's Leg Eight-  from Winter Harbour to Ucluelet - is a 138 miler that can make or break the entire event for some boats. It can best be summed up as epic.  It was a very hard leg.  One sailor stated, "it was the toughest race I have ever been in."   Seasickness was rampant in the fleet leaving many crews shorthanded to deal with the tough conditions.  With wind in the high 20's and square confused waves, the consensus was it was the waves and not the wind that made the leg so miserable.   All but the first few boats made an immediate transition from SE to NW winds as they got down the course and most finished under spinnaker.  Nevertheless, after surviving the leg, the awards ceremony held at the new community center in Ucluelet was a huge success.  The fleet raised over $8500.00 for the Coast Guard Aux. Unit 38, who stood by all day and night to escort the boats into Ucluelets' inner harbour.  A salmon BBQ was enjoyed as the stories from this leg grew and the waves got bigger!

J/109- Team Mojo account of this epic leg:  "The west coast of Vancouver Island is a graveyard to boats and beside the other boats competing in this race, a very lonely place. There is nothing else out there but whales and big rocks until the end of this leg.  By 2300, we were thirty miles offshore, beating into a gale.  We were fully powered up with a double reefed main, traveller down and a small no.3 jib. Seas were 2-3 meters.  Going out, we would hit the waves and slam very hard from time to time.  Every wave you smash into sends a wall of water and spray at the guys on the rail and over the boat and slows you down.  At times you think the boat will break in half.  At 1800 I decided to go down and start to get dinner ready to feed the guys.  I lashed myself to the stove in order not to get sent flying across the cabin, boiled water and poured it into those adventure meal packs.  I managed to do all seven meals without injury and without getting sea sick. Being down below for an hour in those conditions is tough.  I am quite happy to say we managed to do the race without anybody getting sick.  Many boats were not so lucky and some had most of the crew incapacitated."

"We accelerated with each wave and it felt like we were flying.  It was dark so visibility was poor since it was raining, but we were going like hell. The next 5 hours were just insane.  I would rotate two guys to rest and warm up down below.  Per and I have developed a little system for driving Mojo hard in breeze so we stayed together till morning, keeping Mojo upright and watching the speedo hit 9 knots as we seemingly launched off the waves in the dark.  From time to time, I would doze off to be awakened by the lurching motion as we launched yet again off another ramp.  So that's what we did until sunrise.  It was a cold, wet, and difficult night.  I just wanted to go to sleep so bad, but had to keep fighting to stay awake and warm. It's not natural! You have to stay awake, you cannot leave and go hide in a warm spot. Just 4 more hours...just two more...the sun will come up in one hour... And then it's light and your body chemistry comes back to normal.  You are tired, but the struggle is over.  That is the nature of night racing."

"The front had also passed in the night and all of a sudden we went from sailing upwind to sailing downwind. The guys were tired but after a terrible attempt to put up our spinnaker, which ended up in the water, we finally got it up and managed to sail down wind the next 65 miles. The sea state was very confused for the first two hours because of the change in wind direction 180 degrees but we finally got Mojo going and racing to the finish.  What a leg to be remembered."

For the final Leg Nine headed back to Victoria, the long awaited westerly breeze finally showed up, in spades.  A solid 20 knots and big swells on the start line at Amphitrite point made for perfect surfing conditions as the 38 boats remaining in the race headed for home.

For Division 1, the J/122 ANAM CARA hung into their top five position overall.  For more Vancouver Isle 360 sailing results

  

Rolex New York YC Regatta

(Newport, RI) – With 135 boats competing (nearly one-third were J/Boats), the New York Yacht Club’s 157th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, held June 10-12, broke all of its past attendance records, and with winds whipping into the high teens for buoy racing over the weekend, it certainly is in line for being the most memorable Annual Regatta in recent history.

The oldest regatta in the country kicked off with an optional 18-nautical mile Around the Island Race on Friday that saw the IRC 3 class led home by George Shaw's J/122 TUMBLEWEED from Marblehead, MA, only to lose on handicap to a sistership Andrew Weiss' J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON for first overall.  Third was the J/122 WINGS sailed by the very capable Bruno/ Callahan/ Boyle team.

Saturday and Sunday saw unusually windy conditions relative to what was forecasted by the NOAA Met office for the waters of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.  Saturday was especially windy and rough with winds blowing in from the ENE at 15 to 22 knots with a huge quartering swell on starboard tack rolling in from the SW.  Sunday's racing for J's occurred up the Bay in the area north of Newport Bridge, nearby to the Quonset Naval Airbase.

The most competitive division happened to be IRC 4 that had J/111s, J/122s and J/44s all competing against one another.  It was a very tough class.  After the dust settled amongst this group, whoever got a "lane" to keep the boat going fast until the first shift had a huge advantage.  Top dog amongst this trio of boats was Bruno/ Boyle/ Callahan racing their veteran champion J/122 WINGS to second place.  Fourth was Annapolis-Newport winner Andrew Weiss' CHRISTOPHER DRAGON. For more Rolex New York YC Annual Regatta sailing information

  

J/122 NA's Preview

(Block Island, RI)- For many summer starts in New England with the biennial summer-time classic, Storm Trysail's Rolex Block Island Race Week.  With wonderful sponsors like Mount Gay Rum and Rolex, it's hard not to like the fact that if you happen to win some races, you not only get some Mount Gay Rum to share with crew, family and friends, you could walk off with the ultimate prize of the week- a shiny new stainless steel Rolex Submariner watch.  135 competitors will be fighting for all that hardware.  Again, J's will be by far the largest brand represented at the Rolex BIRW with 41 boats sailing, about 1/3 of the fleet.

The premiere fleet will be the J/122 class.  Amongst the J/122s, past NA Champion Mike Bruno/ Tom Boyle/ Jim Callahan from American Yacht Club will be hoping to extend their winning streak. 

For more Rolex Block Island Race Week sailing information

  

The DRAGON Devours Annapolis-Newport Race

(Annapolis, MD)- With one of the biggest turnouts in 28 years, the J Team contingent were certain to factor in amongst the leaders of the PHRF and IRC classes racing this year. The race course runs south on the Chesapeake Bay for 120 miles to the Bay Bridge Tunnel, then 20 miles out into the Atlantic to the Chesapeake Light Tower and finally up the coast to Newport for a total of 473 miles.

The IRC Division III saw Andrew Weiss's J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON from Larchmont, NY and American YC finish first, winning by five hours corrected over the famous Bermuda Race winning 48 footer, CARINA sailed by NYYC Rear Commodore Rives Potts, in second.  Third was Paul Milo's determined crew aboard their J/109 VENTO SOLARE from Leesburg, VA just off the pace enough to, in fact, miss winning overall.  Just 24 hours out from the finish, it was a nearly a boat-for-boat dead heat between VENTO SOLARE and CARINA as to who would get to the finish first.

Finally, the J/Family wishes Jim Muldoon and friends on his maxi-sled DONNYBROOK a speedy recovery from bumps and bruises sustained while pulverizing an uncharted rock-pile just off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.    For more Annapolis-Newport sailing and tracking information

  

J/122 ANAM CARA Enjoying Vancouver Isle Race

(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)- Forty-one boats enjoyed crystal-clear conditions and 15 knots out of the northwest this past Saturday for the start for the 580-mile Telus Van Isle 360.  The race begins and ends just off the picturesque town of Nanaimo, situated on Vancouver Island's southeast shore. From here, the fleet will race in 10 different stage races, ranging from 22 to 138 nautical miles in length, working their way clockwise around the entire island. While some of the passages are a bit headier than others, bad weather can become a constant companion at any point. The race gets its reputation as a serious adventure race primarily due to the sporty offshore legs that negotiate Vancouver's wild western coastline, but the inside legs challenge sailors with impressive currents and tides while simultaneously rewarding with an abundance of sea life and some of the prettiest country anywhere on planet earth...when it's not raining.

Leg 1 started with a 12 knot westerly breeze making for a downwind start out of Nanaimo's beautiful harbour.  Once rounding Gallows Point the wind picked up to 18 - 20 knots on the nose which gradually eased to 12 knots at the finish.  A bright sunny day with perfect visibility and Mount Baker clearly visible to the south.  At 22 nm this is the shortest leg of the race and is commonly referred to as the bunny hill, but the sailors are happy to be into it and are thinking ahead to the challenging legs to come.

On Leg 3 that started in Comox, the RC's PRO injected a little humor when they hoisted a blue Canucks jersey in place of the 'P' flag.  It didn't help the Vancouver Canucks ice-hockey team, though (they're competing in the Stanley Cup ice hockey finals against the Boston Bruins)!  A long start line made for a civilized but busy start with all boats getting away clear in 10-12 knots of westerly breeze.  Once clear of Cape Lazo the fleet sailed into a solid 18 - 20 knots of wind on the nose.   All but the last few boats got in before the tide turned in Discovery Passage taking advantage of the strong positive current.  The top half of the fleet were sailing at times in 5 to 6 knots of positive current.  Several boats mis-judged their closing speed and ended up reaching upwind to clear the mark.  This area has some of the strongest currents in the world at times getting up to 16 knots.  Many thanks go out to the RipTide Pub for the excellent venue and the Discovery Harbour Marina for hosting the fleet at their fantastic facility.

For Leg Four - Campbell River to Hardwicke Island - 24.50 nm- the race got underway in Deepwater Bay, 10 nm north of Campbell River with a 15 knot westerly.  The fleet sailed into a typical Johnstone Strait westerly with winds in the high 20's and and ebb tide making a nasty chop.  Some boats ate it up, others did not like it at all.  In Division 2 a tight battle rages between the J/109's, with ASTRAL PLANE, DIVA and TANTIVY taking first, second and third place on this leg.  ASTRAL PLANE currently leads in the overall standings with TANTIVY following in second.  In Division 1 ANAM CARA was first and is now lying 3rd overall.  The entire fleet was treated to a sit down salmon BBQ at the Marine Harvest Canada site in Chancellor Channel.   The BC Salmon Farmers Association once again cooked a fabulous meal.   It was clear that everyone in attendance appreciated what a special event this was and the scenery is spectacular.   For more Van Isle 360 sailing information

  

Big J/122 Crew @ New York YC Regatta

(Newport, RI)- This year's 157th Rolex New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta has attracted a large J fleet racing across the spectrum of classes in this year's event, 28 boats in total (nearly 1/4 of all boats sailing).

Sailing in the IRC classes will be extremely competitive.  The loaded J-fleet in IRC 4 includes  five J/122s- past North American Champions WINGS sailed by Mike Bruno/ Tom Boyle/ Jim Callahan from American YC, Andrew Weiss's winning family team aboard CHRISTOPHER DRAGON from New York YC, Bill Coates' OTRA VEZ from Galveston Bay Cruising Association, Steve Furnary's PATRIOT from American YC, and George Shaw's TUMBLEWEED from Boston YC.   For more Rolex New York YC Annual Regatta sailing information

  

J/122 ARTIE Slam Dunks SLAM Regatta

(Malta)- Lee Satariano’s J-122 ARTIE was second in the first ever SLAM sponsored Mellieha Bay Regatta.  ARTIE was second in IRC Class 1 and Second Overall.  The regatta was organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club in conjunction with RLR Yachting, local agents for SLAM.

Racing consisted of a short coastal race on Friday followed by a well attended “Happy Hour” at the Yacht Club bar.  Racing continued on Saturday and Sunday around the North shore azure waters of the Maltese archipelago.  Interestingly, ARTIE drew first blood in Race 1 by winning the race.  However, the J/133 JUNO came back over the next two days to take the overall class win and IRC title.   For more SLAM Regatta sailing information

  

J's Triple-winners in Block Island Race

(Stamford, CT)-   It was yet another "classic" Block Island Race.  A navigational challenge it will always be and those who got it right simply spanked those who didn't.  There were several significant decision points in the race, including (i) how soon to dive for the Long Island Shore in the dying northerly after the start to get the developing southerly breeze, (ii) how far in do you go to take advantage of the flood, changing to ebb counter-current along the shore and, finally, (iii) going out and back to Block Island, do you latch on to the Plum Gut "current elevator" or take the chance that there's even more current and breeze out in the Race past Gull Island and Valiant Rock?

Peter Rugg (New York, N.Y.) on the J/105 JADED (pictured above) saw the advantage of going to the Long Island shore right away, but since he started first in the 11-boat double-handed class (sailing with Dudley Nostrand of Hamilton, Mass.), he had no other classes to follow there. “The NOAA forecast said five knots out of the southeast for the next couple of days, but because we didn’t have that at the start (it was out of the east and even a bit north of that), we didn’t think it would hold. We were the first boat to tack to the Long Island shore, and when we saw other boats sailing there in a 15-knot southerly to southwest breeze, we said ‘holy smokes this is important.’”

About a mile from Plum Gut, Rugg noted that only those with code zero sails were able to stay high enough on shore to avoid “running into competing doldrums” in the middle of the Sound. “When we got close to the Gut, the breeze died, but we had just enough wind to squeak around the corner and be flushed through the Gut on a fair current,” said Rugg.

Rugg said JADED ran into a bit of a drifter on the north side of Block Island near the "1BI" turning mark, but the south side greeted them with more wind, some chop, and the lasting impression of baby nurse sharks all around. “The last two miles to the finish were the worst,” said Rugg. “The wind dropped, the tide was taking us away from the mark, and we were rolled by another double-handed boat. We just had to finish before we gave away our time to the other boats.”

The IRC 40 Class saw the J's dominate, taking 8 of the top 10.  First was Phil Gutin's J/44 BEAGLE, narrowly beating Andrew Weiss' J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON by only 8 minutes after 28 hours of sailing in mentally taxing conditions.  Eighth was George Marks' J/122 GEORGETOWN III.  For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information.

  

Good Show for J/122 In Myth of Malham Race

"The Practice Race for the Rolex Fastnet Race"
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC's Myth of Malham Race is considered a good dress rehearsal as well as being a qualifying race for this year's Rolex Fastnet Race and 125 yachts braved a windy forecast to compete in the race. The race to the Eddystone lighthouse and back was a giant windward-leeward race course of 230 miles.  With a WNW wind between 15 and 25 knots and yachts experiencing gusts of over 30 knots it was a tough test and an excellent warm up for the fleet who had to beat all the way to the Eddystone lighthouse off Plymouth and experience a fast run back to the Solent.

The J's overall did well despite the challenging conditions, some teams reveling in the big breeze and big chop and making the right decisions on the long beat to weather.  The critical decision was weather to play shifts up the beach "inshore" or go "offshore" and make the "longer, strategic play" for a frontal wind shift.  If you got it wrong, it was horribly wrong.  J's were in both camps on this decision!

In IRC Class 2, it was a real battle between the J/122 JOOPSTER sailed by Neil Kipling and an Oyster 48.  Winning line honors was Neil's JOOPSTER by over 12 minutes, but ended up on the short end of the stick on IRC handicap to finish second in class.

The next race in the series is scheduled to start next Friday 3rd June. The 180-mile North Sea Race from Harwich to Scheveningen in Holland. The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship consists of a testing series of races, which attracts an international and varied fleet. Trying to win the Season's Points Championship is a real challenge for the serious offshore sailor. This year the Championship includes the tactically and physically challenging Rolex Fastnet Race, the oldest and most prestigious offshore yacht race in the world.   Sailing photo credits- Hamo Thornycroft   For more RORC Myth of Malham sailing information

  

J/122 Wins Swiftsure Cape Flattery Race

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- While Storm Trysail hosted the east coast spring classic offshore race on the "right coast", on the "left coast" the Royal Victoria Yacht club in Victoria, British Columbia hosted the Pacific Northwest’s Premiere Yacht Race-- the 68th running of their spring classic- the Swiftsure Lightship Classic Race.  As one of the oldest long-distance races in North America, starting in 1930, the Swiftsure has always been a test of seamanship and tactical skill.  This year, the story was no different, challenging the sailors with very light airs and lots of current off the start and the initial beat NW into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A very light breeze built a bit a few hours after the start, and the boats inched along the Canadian shore of the Straits by short tacking for current relief.

The wind built to about ten knots and lasted until about midnight, then shut off. Boats drifted in the dark for hours praying for wind, and wondering if their competitors had taken the tried-and-true Canadian shore return route or gambled and gone on the American side of the Straits. This year, the gamble paid off to go West along the American shore.

In the morning, the westerly filled in nicely for a great spinnaker run down the Straits, with steep, 6-foot swells pushing boats toward the finish line. Early finishers had max winds of about 18 knots, but later finishers had a 37 knot tail wind and a 5 knot positive current pushing them through Race Passage, significantly benefitting the smaller (or slower) boats.  In short, the results reflect the fact it had become a small boat, slow boat race for handicap honors, although there were a few exceptions in the standings.

In the 108 nm Cape Flattery Race, one of the three events one can sail in the Swiftsure 2011 International Yacht Race, it was Tom Kelly's gorgeous navy-blue hulled J/122 ANAM CARA from Portland YC that took overall and Class L-1 honors, completing the course in 23 hour 35 minutes and winning by over two hours on handicap time!   Sailing photo credits- R Beberidge   For more Swiftsure Race sailing information

  

Strong J Teams Racing Annapolis-Newport

(Annapolis, MD)- With one of the biggest turnouts in 28 years, the J Team contingent are certain to factor in amongst the leaders of the PHRF and IRC classes racing this year.  The event is also serving as a "feeder/ qualifier" race for the big boats doing the Trans-Atlantic Race later this summer.  The race course runs south on the Chesapeake Bay for 120 miles to the Bay Bridge Tunnel, then 20 miles out into the Atlantic to the Chesapeake Light Tower and finally up the coast to Newport for a total of 473 miles.  A cool feature of this year's race is that each boat will carry a Yellowbrick GPS transponder that transmits boat speed and position information every 30 minutes via the Iridium satellite system. Every hour and half-hour all of the boats will automatically send a position report simultaneously.

The IRC Division is loaded with all the big offshore maxi's, but certain to give them a "run for the roses" will be seven J's that have serious offshore racing experience under their belts, including winning many of the most prestigious offshore racing trophies in the Northeast-- like STC Block Island Races, Stamford Vineyard Races, Rolex Bermuda Races, just to name a few.  Amongst this contingent is Andrew Weiss's J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON from Larchmont, NY.  Watch these teams and cheer them on.  You can see their progress here.  For more Annapolis-Newport sailing and tracking information

  

Vancouver Isle 360 Race- Competitive J/Fleet Sailing

(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)- Officially known as the TELUS Van Isle 360, this biennial 580 nm point-to-point race circumnavigating the wild and rugged Vancouver Island is an extraordinary experience.   Starting next weekend, the race is sailed in multiple legs and the course provides inshore, offshore and overnight legs (10 of them!) through some of the most stunning and challenging waters on the planet.  If ever an island was meant to be raced around it is Vancouver Island. Her dramatic beauty, majestic mountains and natural harbors provide an awesome backdrop for a race that has become "the must do" event on the West Coast sailing circuit.

The event attracts some of top sailors in the Pacific Northwest. The variety of extremes and conditions challenge even the most seasoned crews. As Canadian Olympic Medallist, Ross MacDonald, quoted in SAIL magazine,  "I can't tell you how many races I sailed in this year, but I can tell you this was the most challenging by a factor of 2 to 1. The current changes every few hundred yards - maybe by 180 degrees - and the wind funnels down off the cliffs....you'd better have your boat sorted out."

A fascinating piece of "Johnstone family" history is attached to the race, in perhaps a rather unusual way.  One of the most challenging parts of Vancouver's circumnavigation takes the fleet through the infamous "Johnstone Straits"-  it's a 68.0 nm channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island that is up to 3 nm wide. It is a major navigation channel on the west coast of North America and is the preferred channel for vessels from the Georgia Strait leaving to the north of Vancouver Island through the Queen Charlotte Strait bound for Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Islands, Alaska, and the North Pacific Ocean, and for southbound vessels from those areas bound for the Port of Vancouver.  The strait is named after Commander James Johnstone, a British naval officer and explorer in the late 1700s. He was master of the HMS Chatham, which accompanied George Vancouver on the HMS Discovery on their famous Vancouver expedition to chart the Northwest coast of the Americas. Johnstone established the fact that Vancouver Island was, indeed, an island (named after his friend George, along with the city, too).  Today, perhaps most significantly, the Johnstone Strait is home to approximately 150 orca whales during the summer months, which are often seen by kayakers and boaters packed with tourists. Scientists including Michael Bigg and Paul Spong have been researching the orcas in the Strait since 1970. Spong established the ORCALab, based on studying the Orcas in their natural habitat.

Enjoying the breath-taking Straits will be a number of highly competitive J's that have a hard time resisting the "call of the wild".  If it isn't the extraordinarily fun times, camaraderie with other sailors, it must be the  singularly spectacular experience of sailing one of the world's pre-eminent "round island" races.  Amongst the fleet will be some familiar faces to J sailors worldwide.  Tom Kelly's gorgeous blue J/122 ANAM CARA is a repeat participant.  Good luck to all on your fortnight long adventures!  For you armchair sailors dreaming about putting this event on your "bucket list", this one's a fabulous one to consider!  They have tracking this year so you can follow the fleet as they drift past orca's and sea otters, pound upwind in vicious current induced chop in the Straits, or plane offshore down mountainous seas on the Pacific side of the island.  Finally, all of the sailors efforts go to a great cause-  the event is providing an amazing $25,000 donation for the Queen Alexandra Foundation in support of "Jeneece Place", a home away from home for children requiring medical treatment and their families in Vancouver.   For more Van Isle 360 sailing information