J/122 Sailing Fast in Australia

(Sydney, Australia)- The J/122 MARTA JEAN recently sailed the Newcastle Race in Australia.  The report from the captain and crew follows:

"10 days prior to the race we had enough crew who were keen to do the Sydney to Newcastle race, and all that was holding us back was a higher level of safety compliance - so we decided to go for it. We had met all audit requirements one day before the deadline for race entry.  This was our first Cat 3 and Ocean Point Score race, following a season of Short Ocean Point Score races in Newcastle (Cat 4).

We sailed with 5 crew from LITHIUM (Sydney based J/122), and 5 of our own crew from MARTA JEAN (J/122 Newcastle based). Essentially we had a lot of generalist skills, and not too many specialists, but we prided ourselves on learning from each others objective feedback and everyones desire to improve boat speed beyond the targets (obtained from polar diagrams for the J122 posted on the web)

24 boats had entered the race, including 17 for IRC.  The race started at 9.00am off Point Piper in Sydney harbour, and would be a 66mn run up the coast(at 010 deg) to the entrance of Newcastle harbour.  The wind was close to forecast, with a norwesterly 15 - 20kn for the first half of the race, swinging around slightly to a northerly 20 - 25kn for the second half of the race, with some soft patches where the wind dropped to 10kn for short periods.  It was a very hot day, with temperatures over 35C so it was important to keep the sunscreen and water up to everyone, so we didn't have anyone suffering from heat stroke or dehydration.

Our J/122 sailed well to windward, and the crew enjoyed the first six hours on the rail on a single tack, making good progress at 7-8kn and maintaining a competitive position in the fleet. As the breeze moved more easterly in the afternoon, the race became more tactical with the impact of adverse currents and wind shifts, with the option to keep in close the coast, or to go further offshore.

We reached the entrance to Newcastle harbour for the final downwind run to the finish line after 9 hours of sailing.  We finished 2nd on PHS and 6th on IRC, which was a great result considering the level of experience and expertise in the fleet. It just goes to show how well you can do with a J?122, even with cruising sails, and a relatively inexperienced crew."  For more J/122 offshore racer-cruiser sailboat information. 
  

J/122 LITHIUM Wins Australia Day Regatta

J/35 and J/80 Win Honors, Too!
(Sydney, Australia)- On January 26th a number of racing events were held to celebrate the 175th Australia Day Regatta, where more than 160 harbour racing yachts, classic yachts, ocean racers and modern and historical skiffs celebrated this remarkable yachting anniversary on Sydney Harbour.

The regatta is the world’s oldest, continuously-conducted annual sailing regatta, a celebration of the arrival in 1788 of the British Admiralty's First Fleet to found the penal colony that eventually became the great Commonwealth of Australia (now you know why Ozzie's often-times proudly call themselves "convicts"- remember the Sydney-Hobart-Tazzie Race story in J/News?).

Despite a morning sea fog that blanketed the city and suburbs and the harbour, the misty conditions cleared somewhat and a light east to north-easterly breeze cooled conditions and provided close racing around fixed marks. A total of 56 yachts competed in the 30nm passage race to Botany Bay in tough beating conditions with the fog playing havoc as bowmen tried to keep a watchful lookout for other competing yachts. Brett Haywoods J/122 LITHIUM claimed 1st on PHS and 2nd on IRC Division 1 in the Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore passage race.

John Amos, the new owner of the J/35 SOUNDTRACK continued the winning ways of this well known Sydney-based boat, not only by winning the spring series at Greenwich Flying Squadron but also an impressive 1st place at that club’s Australia Day regatta!

Ray and Sandra Entwistle’s new J/80 is off to flying start with its debut to Australia, by taking a 2nd in the twilight Australia day race followed by a 3rd in the mixed spinnaker division in the Australia Day Regatta.

  

J/122 GAMBLER/ PowerPlay Enjoy Key West Race Week

(Key West, FL)- A large contingent of J sailors certainly had a wonderful time sailing in this year's Key West Race Week.  With great turnouts in the two strong J one-design classes, the J/80s and the J/105s, everyone was sure to have a wonderful time in nearly perfect Key West conditions.  The six J/24s that showed up in PHRF 3 were wondering where the rest of their buddies were from points north, east and west were hiding! Next time, come on down all!

The sailing was simply wonderful, hard to believe it's possible for the Caribbean trade winds and weather patterns to serve up five straight days of nearly postcard, chamber of commerce conditions when the rest of the world is getting blasted by massive snow storms and extreme cold.  Competitors may have wished for some days of more epic winds, bashing and crashing into ginormous waves, but one can hardly argue with benign 5-18 knot breezes from the ESE to SSW quadrants with plenty of sun!  We even had FOG one morning down in the Keys-- how weird is that?

For Division 1 course, IRC 2 Class saw an enormous fight for who would get the podium honors for third place.  At the end, Peter Cunningham from Cayman Islands Sailing Club seemed to finish on a happy, strong note, getting a 2-4 on the last day to finish 6th sailing the chartered J/122 GAMBLER/ POWERPLAY to a 2-5-7-4-6-5-8-4-2-4 for 47 points, just 5 devilish points from third (other than the overall winner, the J/122 had the best record over the last 3 races amongst their whole fleet).

  

J/122 Wins Australian "Ladies Race"

(Newcastle, Australia)- The J/122 MARTA JEAN finishes the year with a win in the Ladies skippers race. "It’s supposed to be a fun race", said Maureen Rae, "but we couldn’t believe how serious everyone was taking it. I had never taken the helm before in a yacht race, but with support from husband Steve and an unexpected amount of encouragement from friends & fellow lady sailors, reluctantly agreed to skipper our J/122 for this race."

"At the start of the race the wind was quite variable, anything from less than 10knots up to 20knots and a 2 metre swell, so a lot to take in quickly.  However, the boat was just incredibly light and responsive at the helm and much easier than expected to steer," commented Maureen.  "We came in 2nd across the line, just behind one of the leading point score race boats and 1st on PHS."

Husband Steve was overjoyed saying, "My wife will have more confidence to take the helm when we're cruising and she will definitely have to return to the helm to defend her title next year! These boats are just fantastic.  MARTA JEAN is primarily setup for cruising but we are finding ourselves exceedingly competitive on the race track. What a great way to finish the years sailing."

For more J/122 sailboat information.

  

J/122- Milestones & Miles- The 100th Mac Story

* Milestones and Miles: The 100th Mac.  Here's a great read for you armchair sailors wondering what it's like to sail one of the world's more popular offshore classics.  Written by renowned SAIL Magazine contributor from San Francisco, Kimball Livingston shares his experiences racing aboard the J/122 SKYE on his blog-  "I love Chicago for the sheer vertical audacity of it.  An astounding (why here, but why not here?) confluence of energies sets this place apart. And when I flew in for the 100th running of Chicago-Mac, the place was alive. Summer was on. In Millennium Park, the whole world was out .

I was on the final leg of my mission to sail milestone editions of America’s three distance classics: Centennial Bermuda, Centennial Transpac, the 100th running of the Race to Mackinac. The opening decade of the 21st century offered that unique opportunity. Now the decade is winding down, and this is my report.

I sailed Transpac ‘05 on a Cal 40. I sailed Bermuda ‘06 on an Open 50. The final leg would be Mac ‘08 on a J/122 for a grand total of 3,193 rated miles, which is kinda sorta far, except that I have friends who do circumnavigations where that mileage is nothing. And of these distance classics, the Race to Mackinac is the shortest, but it most revels in how hard the race can be—most of the length of Lake Michigan, Chicago to Mackinac Island, 333 miles. This signature event of Chicago Yacht Club has been raced almost-annually since 1898.

If you’re a sailor hereabouts you have to go. Youngsters scouting the docks will ask, “Are you going to Mac?” If the answer is, No, they keep walking.

It’s a cult thing. When you’ve racked up 25 races, you qualify to join the Island Goats Sailing Society, an organization that refers to the experience via these pithy active verbs (their words, not mine): endured, survived, suffered.

I get it. When the wind switches off, the flies arrive. For a while in ‘08 we even had a bat in the rigging. And I’ve never before seen that much lightning from the deck of a boat.

But it’s also so damned beautiful.

It occurs to me that I sailed the 50th Ensenada Race, back in the day, and in the spring of 2008 I was on my way to Mobile Bay for the 50th Dauphin Island Race when I was benched by strep. Milestone event is to journo as flame is to moth. And if you’re a sailor in the bargain, it’s a helluva good excuse. Along the way I got fried, frozen, slammed, sore and high on sailing and life. I made friends, and one friend, well, one friend I lost.

Rich Stearns was our core player aboard Bill Zeiler’s J/122, SKYE (now for sale- see below)—in 2009 and again in 2010 Bill and Rich teamed up to win the doublehanded division—and Stearns explains the Mac as not one race, but four races back to back, through changing geographic zones. This was my second Mac (23 to go) and I’ve built up the conviction that it’s not so hard to win. You just have to be fast enough and smart enough and work hard enough to deserve it; then you need to get lucky several times in a row."  Read the rest of Kimball's story on BLUE PLANET TIMES.

For more J/122 sailboat information and sailing photos. 

  

Australian J/122 Wins Silver Again!

(Sydney, Australia)- A bit like the infamous "Energizer Bunny" on American TV, the J/122 is seemingly indomitable and indefatigable on the world's Seven Seas.  And nowhere can it be much harder to bring home the silver than to compete in Australia's offshore circuit with lots of custom IRC designs that are all designed to act like Aussie 18s offshore and plane away to Cape Horn way, way, way, way East at 100 knots.  As one might expect, at some point you have to "turn the corner".  That's when "real sailboats" designed with realistic "balance" come into their own.  The J/122 sailing in Sydney has bee there, done that.

Like last year, Ray Entwistle's J/122 JACKPOT has finished the CYCA’s Spring Short Ocean Point Score series in the silverware again.  Following on from JACKPOT's previous SOP’s series results of two firsts and a second they again finished equal 1st on points with a Swan 60 and a Beneteau 45. "The J/122 is amazing, she just keeps bringing in the results," said a very pleased Entwistle after Saturdays spring series finale. "At forty feet she is definitely  at the smaller end of this highly competitive Division 1 Sydney  fleet but  takes on all comers.  She continues to punch way above her weight with constant top 3 finishes and surprises everyone how well up the fleet she finishes on the water. The added benefit of this incredible boat is the interior.  In  a few minutes we can remove the racing sails, top up the tanks and fridge, add the dodger and go cruising in opulence. We wish all our crew, competitors  the very best for the festive season and thanks to the staff of the Cruising Yacht of Australia, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Middle Harbour Yacht Club who take it in turns week on week to run this competitive offshore series," says Ray.  "JACKPOT will be back for the Autumn Point Score series starting in January and if you would like to taste victory in this highly competitive div one racing then get yourself a J/122 and join us for some fun at the top of the fleet. If racing is not your thing then go cruising, this boat does both in complete style.  Happy Christmas from the J/122 JACKPOT crew"

    

J/122 OZ Style- Winning Again!

(Sydney, Australia)-  The Australian J/122 JACKPOT continues to lead Sydney’s Short Ocean Pointscore Series amongst a seriously big boat Division 1 Fleet.  A David amongst Goliaths.  Seems to be the J/122 story.  In the Chicago-Mac Race, both J/122s reported sailing past Santa Cruz 70s in 3-5 knot winds while using their Code Zeros.  Then, in long beats to windward, while many modern 50 footers with table-tennis wide transoms are struggling in 4-8 foot chop where "square waves" are common (e.g. not a wave) and most boats simply stop, the J/122 simply behaves like the notorious Energizer Bunny and just keeps on knifing through the maelstrom known as "hell" at a ferocious pace.

"In a dying ESE breeze and a very lumpy seaway it was always going to be a big boat race today", said Ray Entwistle, skipper of JACKPOT.  Furthermore, he said "The J/122 finished second on IRC to the Swan 60 helmed by a ringer-of-a-skipper, the world famous Gordon Maguire from the motherland known as England. The only other 2 boats that finished ahead of us on the water were also much bigger. However, when we looked back and saw what we had beaten on the water its still incredibly impressive. JACKPOT is a standard alloy-rigged J/122 with some cruising options added, so when you see boats like DK 46s, DK 42s, Ben. 44.7s, X-442’s,  King 40s, Cookson 12s, stripped out Ker 11.3 behind us on the water its hard not to fully appreciate just how good the J/122 is. Her performance across the full spectrum of wind and sea conditions is outstanding. For the last 2 seasons the boat has never been out of the top three and continues to consistently impress."  What are you waiting for?  Style, comfort, speed, trophy winner anywhere you go.  A boat the entire family can enjoy.  Shorthanded.  Fully-crewed.  Read some more news about what makes the J/122 a special boat for those who love its multiple-personalities.  For more J/122 Sailing News and Information.