J/122s in Ft. Lauderdale- Key West Race

(Ft Lauderdale, FL- Jan. 13th)- And they're off like a herd of snails in a dust storm, led by of all things ex-J/24 sailor George David's 90 foot sailing machine- RAMBLER.  A fleet of fifty five PHRF and IRC classes took off at noon Wednesday, January 13th, for the 160 nm winter classic that starts off the Ft Lauderdale sea buoy and heads south, then slowly curving west, keeping the string of Florida Keys reef buoys to starboard, finishing in the Key West channel off the old Truman Annex Navy Base.

J's are well represented in both fleets. Racing in IRC B is Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC. Sailing PHRF B is John Gehrig's J/46 FULL DECK from Ft Lauderdale as well as David Bond's J/105 LOKI from Miami, FL.  In PHRF A, Frank Kern from Grosse Pointe Park, MI is racing his well-campaigned and very successful J/120 CARINTHIA.

The race started in light to medium northerly breezes with everyone under spinnakers.  Chasing down streaks and better gybe angles has been the name of the game so far.  Some boats doing better than others as they seek to maximize VMC down course, dodging the reef, playing wind streaks and avoiding as much as possible playing shifts that take you offshore into the teeth of the fast-flowing Gulf Stream just outside the reef lines.

As of 1030 hours EST Thursday, Jan 14th, it looks like Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK is headed for a podium finish in IRC B (currently in 2nd); Frank Kern's J/120 CARINTHIA is also looking at a podium finish in PHRF A (currently 2nd); and John Gehrig's J/46 FULL DECK may get 3rd in PHRF B.  The tale of the tape will tell all if they were successful at maintaing their leads.  For you armchair sailors, navigators, racers, be sure to go to the race site and check out the action happening in real-time.  For more race and sailing information.

J/122 JACKPOT Wins IRC Sydney Series

Entwistle's Team Takes CYCA Short Ocean Series Down to the Wire

(Sydney, Australia- Dec. 5th)- The final race of the 6 race Short Ocean Pointscore Series was held on Saturday 5th December.  It was going to be a nail biter because the first 3 yachts were tied on points for first place, so the final race would decide the winner.  The way the drops were working the J/122 JACKPOT sailed by Ray and Sandra Entwistle needed to win by 2 places to secure the series for IRC Class 1.  That was a tough call given the skill level of the competition.

The fleet awoke to a glorious Sydney summer day, about 25 degrees C, and a soft 8-10 knot E/SE breeze.   The seas outside the Sydney heads had abated, with only a slight swell remaining after the southerly from the previous night.  They were also racing for the ‘David Burke Memorial Trophy’.

With a combined fleet of 22 yachts on the start line ranging from 40 footers to 60 footers - the J/122 at 40 feet was amongst the smallest.  According to Ray,  "Our initial concern was not to be buried at the start by the larger yachts in the fleet.  We stayed back a little at the start which allowed us to come in at the committee boat end and tack into clean air.  We had a pretty clean beat to get out of the heads, and then our tactician Ian picked the wind shifts perfectly to the top mark which was about 6nm offshore. The course was windward / leewards so we popped our 155sq.m asymmetric running kite for the downwind legs, and with first-rate trimming by Hedgey we ran just as square as the symmetric rigged boats. The design work on the asymmetric kites by ‘Ian Short Sailmakers’ is excellent.   After 3 laps around the course we had maintained our lead.  The finish was a kite run/broad reach back through Sydney Harbour Heads, then a quick gybe and a reach down Sydney H arbour to the committee boat at Watson's Bay.  We just simply had a great days' sailing.  The crew worked seamlessly and our J/122 JACKPOT just revelled in the conditions. We came in 1st in IRC, and most importantly, the required 2 places ahead of our main rivals that enabled us to win the series in Division 1."

Ray's perspective on the J/122 after a season's worth of sailing is helpful for those of you considering a great all-round racer-cruising yacht- "The main thing about the J/122’s performance is her consistency.  Our worst result over the 6 race series was third, and given that the series had all types of wind conditions from 6-8 knots up to 30-35 knots, and from windward/leeward courses to 40nm return passage races, there is a lot to be said for her consistent performance.  Her accomplishments are no fluke – this is the same series in which JACKPOT finished equal first in the Australian Autumn, just after she was commissioned.  She just doesn’t have any vices."

"Special thanks to our crew – Ian, Hedgey (Glen), Darren, James, Emmy, Cassandra and Caroline for their consistent effort and skill which really made this race series a lot of fun" said Ray and Sandra Entwistle.

J/122s Dominate Voile de St. Tropez

LANCE J and MADE IN LOVE Take 1-3
 
(St. Tropez, France- October 2-4)- Saturday was the last, but certainly the most exciting, day of racing in the 2009 edition of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Navigators had a tough time on the water as the winds were incredibly shifty and the water choppy, leading to lots of action both inside and outside the Gulf once the classics and modern boats had started and all the spectator boats were on the race course. The wind picked up remarkably outside the Gulf on the Classic Course and stayed steady in force, although unpredictable in direction, at about 10-20 knots.

The J/122 LANCE J won their IRC class amongst a grand prix collection of teams from around the French offshore racing circuit.  Pierre Duchein and team did a nice job to win and were followed by the J/122 MADE IN LOVE in third place overall, led by Jean Marie Patier with two leading French women sailors amongst their crew- Catherine Chabaud as skipper and world renowned Christine Briand as tactician.
 
Photo credits by Gullain Gernier.    

Full results click here.

J/122 East Coast Championship

CHRISTOPHER DRAGON Wins a Cliff-hanger
 
(Rye, New York- Sept. 26-27)- The nine J/122s competing for the East Coast Championship on the second weekend of the AYC Fall series saw extremely close and very competitive sailing.  In addition to some of the local fleet favorites on Western Long Island Sound, some boats came as far as Annapolis- PLUM CRAZY and FLYING JENNY VI- to mix it up with the New York/ Connecticut crowd. This regatta was the culmination of the summer sailing season for the J/122 class- with strong one design showings at the Rolex NYYC Regatta in Newport, Rolex Block Island Race Week and the Larchmont NOODS.

In keeping with the close racing amongst these remarkably evenly matched boats, it was a wild finish to the J/122 East Coast Championships after the dust cleared.  The weekend was tough on everyone- tacticians, crews and crew work in general, putting a premium on starts, course positioning, good execution and good mark roundings.  Coming out of the fog of war in the last race was Weiss's CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, just beating their erstwhile competitors to be crowned the 2009 East Coast Champion.  It was a strong finish for them after a somewhat dismal start in the first two races.  CHRISTOPHER DRAGON won by one point over Skibo's PLUM CRAZY II, the last race determined the outcome of who ultimately beat who for the championship.  Had these two flip-flopped their finish positions of 3-4, respectively, PLUM CRAZY would've won on a tie-breaker with most firsts!  Askew's FLYING JENNY VI ultimately did end up in a tie-breaker for second with PLUM CRAZY, despite winning the last race, and got the short end of that stick to finish third overall.  Showing steady improvement over their summer of sailing was David Murphy aboard their Einstein-inspired namesake, PUGWASH.  Murphy and crew managed to win a race and get two more podium finishes to ultimately end up fourth; an eighth in the last race skewering any chances of their finishing in the top three.  Perhaps they've earned the "Most Improved" Award for the 2009 summer season!
For more info:
http://www.americanyc.com/

J/122 CATAPULT Wins AYC IRC Fall Series

(Rye, New York- Sept 19-20 and 26-27)- In what has become a "de facto" J/Fest East-- the AYC Fall Series had a number of strong J/122 teams competing.

For the first weekend, the J/122s essentially "practiced" for their upcoming East Coast Championship raced this past weekend.  The eleven boat J/122 class was quite competitive, but Stephen Funary's PATRIOT walked off with a win followed by Mike Bruno's/ Tom Boyle's/ Jim Callahan's WINGS in second.  David and Mary-Ellen Tortorello sailed their J/122 PARTNERSHIP well to finish third.

In the IRC40 class, Marc Glimcher's J/122 CATAPULT won on a tie-breaker followed by Tom Carroll's J/133 SIREN SONG from New York, NY finishing in third place.
For more info:  http://www.americanyc.com/

J/122 Cruises from Auckland to Sydney

Sandra and Ray Entwistle, our J/Boat dealers from Australia, had friends sail their J/122 LITHIUM from Auckland, NZ to Sydney, Australia, a distance of 1,350 nautical miles. Here's their story of crossing the Kiwi/Oz version of the English Channel-- "The Ditch" as it's also known is a brief chronicle of the delivery across the Tasman Sea from Auckland to Sydney.
 
“….as for the J/122, she performed like a sailing thoroughbred, clearing every hurdle presented. A long distance voyage like this with wind and sea conditions varying so much would have shown any vices - this flyer is free of vices. She tracked well in all conditions and went as magnificently in 35 knots in a boiling sea, as she did in near dead calm, it is a wonderful boat. The cabin and accoutrements made a very comfortable temporary home that helped provide the author with some regret that this adventure had drawn to a close. Do it again? Yes, on the J/122.
 
Just as we were about to depart on the crossing the weather forecast was both exciting and daunting - a storm was brewing in the vicinity of Lord Howe Island and was making its way across the Tasman Sea to Auckland. On Sunday 19th April 2009 the strong winds were already apparent, so we left Auckland harbour with a small jib and two reefs. 
 
We made good time to Tutakaka (about 90nm) and entered the harbour at about 21:30 hrs in dark and rough sea conditions. The following day we sailed to and anchored at the charming town of Russell in the Bay of Islands, a fisherman’s and sailor’s paradise and truly a lovely place.
 
Stewart and Bev from Russell Radio (the local marine rescue and forecast station) were excellent and became our personal weather service. The forecast was shocking – very intense lows in the Tasman with 40-55 knot winds forecast, it looked like we would be moored up for at least 4 days. There were reports of boats in trouble, one ketch on the way to Tonga turned back with shredded sails, motor failed, rolled twice and was now under tow. Another en route from Brisbane was in trouble with rig down and eventually abandoned. Lord Howe Island had been battered, the runway washed out and SES to the rescue.
 
The conditions eventually abated, and after 5 days of waiting we said farewell to Russell on Saturday 25th April. The first afternoon saw strong and gusty 35 knot winds in sloppy coastal seas with No4 jib and double reefed main. We hit our max speed of 12.4 knots surfing with the boat tracking splendidly.
 
Once through that melee we found ourselves between two weather systems and becalmed, the sea was now smooth and glassy, such a contrast. We motored for a day before we got back into some moderate breezes, then we had a series of sail changes as the wind direction and strength varied and we steadily made our way across a tempestuous ocean. During the journey we had the usual mix of calm through to stormy weather and generally speaking, although at times the conditions were uncomfortable, good progress was made. One day we achieved 200nm, with the wind favourable around 15 to 20 knots from the SE putting us on a broad reach.
 
The asymmetric kite was a joy to use, adding those couple of extra knots of boat speed to make the journey quicker.
 
At first we counted down the miles by hundreds, then fifties, then finally by 10’s. You are on your own out there, we only saw 3 vessels (no yachts) in 1,350 nm.
 
Our last night at sea saw a storm and lightening in the west (over Sydney), we motor sailed through the electrical storms, sheltering under the dodger because of the cold and rain. Sunday 3rd May, arrival in Sydney was fittingly at dawn. It was very quiet and dark coming in through the heads, but great to see the lights of Sydney after 8 days crossing the Tasman. While it was good to be home, we enjoyed the camaraderie and the feeling of ‘we made and made it well.’

J/122 North Americans

GAMBLER Rolls the Dice and Wins!
 
(Block Island, RI- June 22-26)- Ten J/122s showed up at Block Island Race Week to compete for the inaugural J/122 North American Championship, hosted by Storm Trysail Club's Race Committee on the White Course. An enormous variety of wind conditions both challenged and bedeviled the competitors over the five day event-- everything from 15-30 knot winds and towering breaking waves to flat water and light to moderate breezes. Certainly, whomever triumphed over the others would get a well-deserved wind considering the extraordinary variety of wind, waves, current thrown at them. In the end, Doug Shaffer and crew from Bayview, TX on-board GAMBLER threw down the gauntlet and with a bit of lady luck, took all the marbles home with them. Coming up short on the last two races were David Askew's FLYING JENNY VI from Annapolis, MD, missing the top of the podium by only three points after a disappointing fourth and eighth at the end. Just off the pace was Bill Coates and crew from Bellaire, TX on OTRA VEZ finishing third.

Doug Shaffer's GAMBLER had three points to make up on Thursday's leader FLYING JENNY VI, skippered by David Askew. GAMBLER accomplished that at the first weather mark when all the boats converged at the same time. "Everybody was ducking boats; we were in fifth place and jibed out to the left and picked up three boats (to finish second)," said Shaffer. "That was the regatta right there. FLYING JENNY had to take more boats at that mark (and finished eighth for second overall)." Shaffer, who has owned a number of different J boats over the years, says this is the first time he has won a regatta on a national level and gave credit to his crew, which included co-helmsman Eric Olving (Long Branch, N.J.) and tactician Jay Lutz (Seabrook, Texas).

Mike Bruno's Report on the eve of the final races Friday: "1st place and 3rd place will be hotly contested today—1st is between FLYING JENNY (great people from Annapolis—next to us on dock) and GAMBLER (nice folks as well from Houston)—both boats are extremely well sailed, and 3rd between the other Texas boat, OTRA VEZ, and WINGS. We have sailed well but did not deserve to place above FLYING JENNY or GAMBLER—both boats have been sailed flawlessly all week by extremely talented folks— quite impressive. Racing has been excellent and the fleet is pretty darn strong. Pete Dupont’s new boat is fast and very well sailed. The newest J/122, PUGWASH, with Larry Leonard aboard is improving daily and will ultimately be very well sailed, ditto PLUM CRAZY from Annapolis— a strong J/105 sailor previously. The J/122 owners are all quite enthused about their boats and we are getting pretty big press here. The J/122 is clearly considered one of the hottest one-designs out there at Block Island Race Week—many questions and much praise from the crowd about the boats—a lot of folks want one."