The DRAGON Wins AYC Fall

(Rye, NY)- For the 59 J's sailing in a fleet of 90 boats (60% of the fleet), it was a challenging two weekends of sailing.  No wind, floods, massive shifts.  Perfect conditions with sun crystal clear skies.  OK.  Just another fall day on Long Island Sound in classic mid-October weather.  Granted that, it was still good sailing for all competitors.

The J/122 One-Design class had a solid turnout with six boats.  This time, it was "the DRAGON" showing their forked-tail to the rest of the fleet.  Andrew Weiss and team on CHRISTOPHER DRAGON took three firsts to secure their lead on this competitive class by four points.  Their erstwhile nemesis, the triumvirate of Bruno/ Boyle/ Callahan sailed to a solid second place with three seconds for nine points.  Third was a good showing by Barry Gold on SUNDARI, winning two races, but not being consistent enough with three 4ths to miss first by five points.  For more AYC Fall Series sailing information

  

J/122s Dominate AYC Fall Series

(Rye, NY)-  The forecast was not good.  Cloudy, drizzly Saturday.  ESE nothing, building to nothing.  Sunday, clearing slowly, from the WSW nothing, building to almost nothing.  Seems it was true for most of the East Coast.  Except for those areas that can build sea-breezes from nothing into something, like Newport and Buzzards Bay!  And so it was.

For the 59 J's sailing in a fleet of 90 boats (60% of the fleet), it was an exercise primarily in frustration with the weather Gods.  This time it had less to do with the "classic Long Island Sound" weather conditions producing nothing, but more to the point that wind gradients and weather systems were stalled, pouring buckets of rain on those who needed it the least (already flooded out, mind you)!

Undaunted, the huge turnout of J/Teams nevertheless produced good racing for the ONE race that was conducted all weekend long.  Ouch. The J's sailing in the "handicap racing world" had their work cut out for them in the challenging conditions in both IRC and PHRF.

In IRC 5 Division, the J/122s showed up "en masse" and with five of them entered, it was certain that many would be amongst the leaders of the class.  Sure enough, the J/122s finished 2-3-4-5, led home by Andrew Weiss's family team aboard the famous CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, followed by Mike Bruno and Jim Callahan on WINGS, then Stephen Furnary on PATRIOT and Barry Gold on SUNDARI.

 For more AYC Fall Series sailing information

J's Sweep LIS IRC/PHRF Championship

(Riverside, CT)- At host Riverside YC and Storm Trysail Club this past weekend, there was quite a remarkable display of corinthian sailing by J sailors across the spectrum, from the tippy top of the IRC racing spectrum to the "classic" PHRF warhorses that have proven time and again they're good, competitive sailboats.  J/Team's swept first place in FOUR of the five classes sailing in the 2011 Long Island Sound IRC/ PHRF Championships!  The sailors were all treated to spectacular easterlies with 10-17 knots and clear skies on Saturday's racing.

In IRC 3, Tom Boyle's J/122 WINGS won with three 2nds, a 1st and 3rd.  Andrew Weiss’s J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON won the first two races on Saturday to place second in the IRC 3 division.  Third was Jim Bishop's J/44 GOLD DIGGER winning the last two races to finish just one point out of second.

Sailing photo credits- Daniela Clark/ photoboat.com 

For more Long Island Sound sailing information

  

J/Dragons Eviscerate Vineyard Race

(Stamford, CT)-  Imagine fifteen classes of offshore keelboats racing from the middle of Long Island Sound, out through the infamous "Race", out around Buzzards Tower and back, then imagine one brand of boats and their fun-loving owners that passionately enjoy the sport of sailing and you most likely have a pretty good recipe for success on a race course that provides its participants the ultimate challenge in all-around sailing.  That's exactly what happened in this year's edition of the Vineyard Race.  Six class wins by one brand, nearly 50% of the podium silverware went to J owners across the spectrum.

Labor Day weekend's Vineyard Race is a classic American yachting event; a 238-mile course stretching from Shippan Point, through the swirling currents of the Race or Plum Gut, past Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay, to return leaving Block Island to starboard en route to the finish in Stamford Harbor. Begun in 1932, it has attracted the finest sailors and fastest boats for over 70 years, and its intricacies and challenges bring them back time after time. Those who are successful nearly always credit local knowledge of these tricky waters and a good deal of luck.  The event now has three courses to accommodate the needs of various sailors, from the shorter Cornfield Point course, to the middle-distance Seaflower Reef course, to the original Vineyard course.

The formula for winning was apparently straightforward for most of the class winners.  Andrew Weiss' J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON was perhaps the textbook example of how to win.  On the way out, most of the faster boats sailed rhumbline towards the Race.  Going through the eastern end of Long Island Sound, DRAGON went just north of Plum Island and south of Gull Island, staying in stronger southerly breezes with better current.  From there DRAGON sailed down the middle of channel between Point Judith and Block Island, staying further to right (south) of the fleet.  After rounding Buzzards Towers at the opening of Buzzards Bay, DRAGON headed off on starboard tack for several miles offshore before tacking onto port tack and laying the Block Island mark.  From there, DRAGON headed through Plum Gut between Plum Island and Orient Point and stayed just south of rhumbline headed back to finish line off Stamford's Shippan Point.   For more Stamford-Vineyard Race 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.

  

STC Block Island Race Preview

(Stamford, CT)- A spring classic since 1946, the 66th running of the Block Island Race is an annual rite of passage for many racing yachts.  It's a 185 mile distance race from Stamford, CT eastward across Long Island Sound, around Block Island, RI to port and back to Stamford.  Sixty-one boats will be vying for class and handicap honors, including seventeen J's ranging in size  from 35 ft to 45 feet.

Today, many racing yachts mark the beginning of their northeast summer sailing season by participating in this challenging race.  While seemingly an easy dash east round Block Island and back to the start/finish line, it's infinitely more challenging than what most people expect.  The classic choices of going down the middle of the Sound or hugging either the CT or the Long Island shore is dependent on wind forecasts and tides.  How to get through the notorious "Race", where the eastern part of Long Island Sound literally opens up to the sea over a large undersea cliff, is perhaps one of the most critical tactical and navigational challenges in the race.  With enormous whirlpools and massive amounts of current running up to five knots creating some of the most treacherous, massive square waves in the world, it's the one part of the race where the race is won and lost fast.  Whether to go inside Plum Island through Plum Gut or through the main channel inside Gull Island is a critical decision for the race for any navigator.

In the IRC 40 class, seven of the ten boats are J's in the 40-45 foot range.  Two very well-sailed J/122s will be competing for line and handicap honors in this class, previous winner Andrew Weiss' CHRISTOPHER DRAGON and George Marks' GEORGETOWN III.   For more Storm Trysail Block Island Race sailing information.

  

The "Dragon" Sails to AYC Spring Series Win

(Larchmont, NY)- While not the largest fleet the AYC Spring series has seen in a number of years, the J class presence continues to grow with passionate, enthusiastic owners having fun in both handicap and one-design sailing fleets.  This year seventy-seven boats in nine fleets were in attendance with forty-two J's sailing (55% of the whole fleet) in 3 handicap fleets (IRC and PHRF) and 3 one-design fleets.  Again, the American YC PRO/ RC did a good job of getting in some nice course racing the a wide variety of conditions over the two successive weekends.

Whether there's five J/122s or fifteen of them, the class always has tight racing with  no one boat dominating the class-- the J/122s all seem to be so equal, on any given any boat can win.  This year's spring series that rang true, despite the fact that the Dragon team took the championship.  Sailing strongly this year was Barry Gold on SUNDARI, starting well with a 1st, then adding a 4-4-1 to his tally to just miss first place by 2 pts.  However, tied with SUNDARI at 10 pts even was the trio of Mike Bruno, Tom Boyle and Jim Callahan racing WINGS to a consistent 2-2-3-3 tally, losing the tie-breaker to SUNDARI.  Finishing first was the family team of Andrew Weiss sailing CHRISTOPHER DRAGON with a 4-1-1-2 for 8 pts.  Interestingly, it seemed the regatta was led by the "black ships brigade", the winning boat with green stripes and the second place boat with white stripes!

For more American YC Spring Series sailing results.   Sailing photo credits- photoboat.com

  

J/122 North Americans @ Rolex Block Island Race Week

(Block Island, RI- June 20-24)- This year's Rolex Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week serves as both the 2011 IRC East Coast Championship and the J/122 National Championship. The event also will feature the debut of a new J/111 class and has eliminated former PHRF restrictions that will open up the event to more sailors.  Boats will be competing for individual class trophies daily and Rolex watches as overall prizes for top performances on each of the racing circles. A traditional around-the-island distance race will also be included, with a Rolex watch to be awarded to the top IRC boat.

The J/105 class, which is known for holding the longest one-design participation record in the history of the regatta, has always had a strong fleet and already six boats, out of an expected 24 or more, have signed up. 'There has been J/105 class racing at Block Island since 1996, and we have been there every year,' said Nelson Weiderman (Wickford, R.I.), owner of the J/105 Kima. 'It is a family vacation for us, and I’m hoping to have my daughter and two sons join us with their children. The family thing is big for me, and a week-long event is highly unusual, so there will be beach time for all who do not race.'

Weiderman, who sailed Kima to victory in the 2010 New England Solo/Twin, said he isn’t necessarily expecting to win at Block Island the year. 'Our best year at Block Island was when we came in second (1998),' said Weiderman. 'Coming in top half would be great, but having fun is of primary importance.'

Unlike the veteran J/105 class, the J/111 class will be testing out Block Island Race Week waters for the first time in history. 'There won’t be too many boats at Block Island, since it is the first regatta for the class and only around sixty hulls have been sold,' said David Tortorello (Fairfield, Conn.), owner of the J/111 PARTNERSHIP. 'We sold our J/122 of three years and are waiting on the new PARTNERSHIP, which is still in the box.'

Tortorello is no stranger to the regatta and has participated for many years, including in 2007 and 2009 aboard the J/122 PARTNERSHIP. 'It is more fun than you’ll ever have. The whole group is one big happy family, and Block Island is the best venue around here.'    For more Block Island sailing information.

  

Generations of Dragons Flying Fast

(Larchmont, NY)- Andrew Weiss's J/122 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON recently won her class and the overall trophy in the inaugural IRC Championship of Long Island Sound. This was no small feat since the 34-boat fleet was greater in size than the fleet that sailed at the IRC Nationals earlier in the summer. Dragon also won her division at the 2010 Larchmont NOOD regatta.

At the IRC championship, DRAGON sailed with an all-amateur crew beating the second place boat that was a mostly professionally crewed J/122 with a brand new wardrobe of sails from another sailmaker. "We did to PUGWASH, just what we were able to do with WINGS the week before at the NOOD. We sailed right out from under them and then moved in front of them and forced them to tack away.”

The Dragon program has always been a family program. Andrew crewed with his father Steve on eight CHRISTOPHER DRAGONs going back to 1973. In 1975 his friend Larry Fox joined the crew and has been sailing with Andrew ever since. Andrew did his first Newport to Bermuda race in 1976 on the third CHRISTOPHER DRAGON that was a C&C 42 with Butch Ulmer, Howie McMichael several other prominent Larchmont Yacht Club sailors. They finished an second in class -- a huge accomplishment in one of sailing's most prestigious races. "I remember my father and Butch trying to convey the enormity of what we had done, but I was too young to understand. Thirty years later I took my son Christopher on the Bermuda Race and we won our class. Now the tables were turned I had to explain to my son how much it meant to win the race. He may not have understood, but it sure got him hooked on sailboat racing. He had such a good time that asked me why I hadn't made him to go to junior sailing classes in the past. Chris has been steady crew ever since.”

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON sailing upwind on her way to winning the overall award at the Long Island Sound IRC Championships.   Allen Clark/photoboat.com

Andrew's sister Gavin is also a regular and she brought a friend Byron seven years ago and he had been a steady member of the crew as well. Andrew's good friend Linda Berkley has been sailing on three different DRAGONS going back to the Farr 43. Larry Fox now brings his son the rest of the regular crew is rounded out by friends Jonathan Asch and Drew Stetler, both who have been sailing on DRAGONs going back to 1985.

Before the Long Island Sound J/122 championship, Andrew wrote to his crew, "The last two weekends have been great sailing for CHRISTOPHER DRAGON. Everyone has done a great job and it shows in the results!!! I just added it up. In 11 starts we had eight firsts and three seconds!! Hard to beat that.”

What's better than sailing with your family? Winning with your family.

  

J/122 Repeats Stamford-Vineyard Race

J/122 PARTNERSHIP Flies In Big Seas/ Big Breeze

(Stamford, CT)- The 76th running of the Vineyard Race historically takes place on Labor Day weekend. It is a classic American yachting event hosted by Stamford Yacht Club (Stamford, CT), taking the fleet on a 238-mile course stretching through Long Island Sound, past Block Island, and on to the light tower at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay before returning to the finish in Stamford Harbor. Interest in the 2010 race was high, with 85 entries confirmed, way up from 50 entries two years ago.

And then came Hurricane Earl with reports of 50 foot seas offshore, Category 3 status with winds up to 150 mph, enormous storm surge due to its 940 mb low pressure and hitting the Northeast coast at high tide.  It all sounded a bit like a Hollywood death and destruction movie rolling up the eastern seaboard, mayhem and chaos left spinning in its wake.  As a result, the Race Committee studied the weather projections and by late Wednesday postponed the Friday noon start until 10:00 on Saturday.  It was a good move.  By the early hours of Saturday the storm was over Nova Scotia going out to sea.

The 2010 Vineyard Race provided serious thrills this year, with big seas and breeze in the 20 to 30+ kt range. J/Boats dominated the winner’s circle, with first place finishes in 5 divisions, including PHRF-3, IRC-Doublehanded, IRC-30, IRC-40 and IRC-45.

In the IRC-40 class, J’s took the first 3 positions, with David and Mary-Ellen Tortorello's J/122 PARTNERSHIP in first place- repeating their win the previous year.  The victory for the 122 proves again how successful a design the 122 can be in IRC racing. The 122 also beat most of the next division (IRC-45, starting 10 minutes later) across the line boat-for-boat! We’re happy to see the J/122 flourishing as both a one design class and an extremely competitive boat in IRC-40.  George Shaws' J/122 TUMBLEWEED finished fifth.
 
For more Stamford-Vineyard Race sailing information

For some fun, you might enjoy watching the J/92s Stamford Vineyard Race YouTube video.
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J/122s Sweep STC Block Island Race

(Larchmont, NY- May 31)- In a race where choosing sides is key, the teams aboard the three J/122s in IRC40 Class rolled "sevens" on their dice twice, ran the table and hauled off all the silverware! The 186 nautical mile race began Friday afternoon, May 28, and sent the J/122s and ninety-five other one-design, IRC and PHRF boats off on a course from Stamford, Conn. (where host Stamford Yacht Club is located), down Long Island Sound, clockwise around Block Island (R.I.), and back.   Choosing Plum Gut over an equally notorious passage called “The Race” on the way to Block Island and then again coming back, proved critical to winners in every class.  Plum Gut and The Race are 60 miles away from the start, and there is a 20-minute current change between the two (the Race starts earlier).  “If you are hitting that gate close to the change,” said Race Chairman Ray Redniss, “you have to make a quick choice, and it also depends on the conditions and whether you want to sail on the southern or the northern side of Long Island Sound.”  The Race Committee was forced to postpone the start due to light breezes and that was a worry. “You can start in a lighter air if the tide is taking you down the sound, but when it isn’t, if you delay too long, you run out of tide,” said Redniss.  As it was, most classes started in a 5-6 knot westerly, which built to 10 knots for the larger boats that started last.  And indeed, some boats had to retire when the wind dropped to zero and they could not make headway through the foul tide at The Gut and The Race.

In IRC40 class, the J/122s dominated with a 1-2-3 overall.  Leading the pack was David and Mary Ellen Torterello's PARTNERSHIP, a highly experienced team with thousands of offshore racing miles under their belts.  Second was an equally strong family team led by Andrew Weiss skippering CHRISTOPHER DRAGON just 4 minutes behind.  And, finishing third another 20 minutes back were Mike Bruno and Jim Callahan skippering WINGS.

For more information on sailing the STC Block Island Race and race results.

  

J/122s Dominate Edlu Distance Race

J/122 PATRIOT Crushes Fleet

(Larchmont, NY)- It was a not the best of forecasts for this past weekend's Edlu Distance Race on Long Island Sound.  Cool temperatures, rain, fog, clearing then blowing a gale.  Not your typical glam day on the Sound.  Nevertheless, the forecast didn't deter the enthusiastic fleet from getting out to the starting line early in fog and rain to get down the track in this 64 mile race.  At it turns out, the fleet was severely tested when the forecasters were right (for once) and the weather magically transformed into a 30-40 knot gale with plenty of sun and spray-- "jumping condo's on Long Island  Sound" with single/double-reefed mains and small jibs?  It really did turn into a glam day, a challenging one at that!

In the Double-handed PHRF class, Sandy Weill's J/122 PATRIOT won in pretty convincing fashion in the blustery conditions.  Just behind him were two J/105s, Kevin Grainger's GUMPTION3 in third and Peter Rugg's beautiful green JADED in fourth- both managed to beat home a lot of larger boats.  Both sailboats, the J/105 and the J/122 are proving to be hard sailboats to beat when racing short-handed-- as sailors in the UK and Europe learned a long time ago sailing various J's offshore, the forgiving nature of their hull shapes and the fact that you can sail them "in the groove" longer than most sailboats means you're always going fast no matter what the conditions on all points of sail- uphill or downhill.

The 55th edition of the Edlu Race has a history of adopting to the times.  As Rick Lyall, owner of the J/109 STORM said last year, "it's our first big event.  The Edlu is a short distance race of approximately 32 miles from Larchmont to 11B north of Eatons Neck and back, and does not require the intense crew work of around-the-buoys regattas. It's just the right length for a fun day on the water." To further develop the race, many sailors wanted to include double-handed racing.  Rich du Moulin said, "double-handed racing is growing in popularity. When the U.S went into IRC, we convinced the IRC leaders to allow an owner to hold two certificates at one time on the same IRC boat with the second certificate dedicated to double-handed racing. On my boat, that certificate can only be used for double-handing. The rating is based on a smaller jib and that makes the boat easier to handle. One of our goals is to encourage people to come out and race whether they want to double-hand or sail fully crewed, or go back and forth between the two as I do."  Yet another good idea for expanding participation in the sport of sailing.   For more Edlu Race information     For more photos of the race- Alan Clark-Photoboat.com  Photo credits above:  Howie McMichael