Key West Race Week- Day 3- Light Air

(Key West, FL- Jan. 20th)- Wednesday dawned with promise for a typical, beautiful Key West sailing day but with not much promise for breeze.  As the day unfolded the forecasted East to Southeast breeze ultimately materialized late in the day.  While Divisions 2 and 3 further east managed to get off two successive races, Division 3 postponed for over an hour to get in their second race.

On the Division 1 course, the light air and very streaky breezes with large holes interspersed between the windier sections wreaked havoc on the standings.  In particular, regatta leader in IRC2, David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH sailed to a 7-7 score to drop themselves into second overall.  Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK faired a little better with a 5-6 tally for the day to remain in sixth.  The principal issues appeared to be the random roll of the dice on breeze, some got it better than others and where significant gains were being made was downwind, hunting down the streaks and staying in them. 

Thursday promises to be the best day of sailing of sailing yet with 15-20 knot winds forecasted and a sunny, partly cloudy day.  Stay tuned!  For regatta information and sailing results, please go to:  http://www.premiere-racing.com/KW10_Results/kw10_results_reports.htm   Share

J/122s Leading Key West Race Week

(Key West, FL- Jan. 16th)- This year's Key West is not unlike many others in the past.  The typical cold front scenario that kicks into gear and flows across the southern part of America, sucking in the winds from the SSE, then shifting into the front with greater wind speeds out of the SW and, as the front passes over, shifts quickly into the NW then over a two-four day period moves back into the NE, E, SE quadrants.  The fleet of 134 boats have been treated to a nice week of sailing so far, despite the buckets of rain poured onto the participants during Sunday.  Despite a seemingly dour start, the clouds parted, a starry night greeted contestants dinners that evening and the week started off with a nearly postcard perfect couple of days.  While the winds have not been the "dogs blown off chains" variety, it's made for pleasant cruising around the windward-leeward buoys courses set by the seasoned race committee veterans assembled by the Premier Racing organization.

On the Division 1 course, regatta leader in IRC2, David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH is sailing very well and has been a fleet leader for the past four days...with any luck and two good races on the last day they should be vying for a podium finish.  Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK faired a little worse in the weeks' shifty, streaky wind conditions and have dropped to fifth overall with a reasonable shot at a third overall.  The tale of the tape on Friday will certainly flip-flop the standings yet again.

Key West Race Week- Day 2- Grey Northeaster

J's Winning IRC2
 
(Key West, FL)- Dawn broke with another spectacular sunrise, with the promise of yet another classic Key West day on the water.  It was not to be.  Instead, a lingering front spun a cloud front onto the race course by noon and turned the skies uniformly grey.  However, the wind Gods cooperated with yet another nice day of oscillating, streaky breezes out of the NE quadrant, starting light, gradually increasing to the 8-12 knot range towards the end.  Again, two races seemed to be the orders for the day, first one a double-sausage and the second one the same, but finishing upwind after four legs.

The Division 1 IRC2 course saw David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH repeat the converse of their performance from the first day, starting the day with a bullet, followed up by a second for a 2-1-1-2 series, leading IRC2 by six points.  Again, the leaders of all classes on Division 1 had their work cut out for them because of the fact they have the most current, the most chop and the ability for large wind streaks with pressure to develop from either the north coming down the channel or coming offshore from the east.  Today, they got everything.  Making a bold move up the escalator in these tough conditions was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK, gathering a fourth in the first race and winning the last race, now sitting just four points out of third place with a 7-8-4-1 record while tied for fourth.  Also climbing rapidly up the ladder today was Jim Bishop's veteran campaigner GOLD DIGGER.  Jim's team got a second and third to round out their scores with a 8-7-2-3 to be tied for fourth just off the top three.  The next three days ought to be pretty interesting for this tight fleet.

Wednesday's forecast looks promising to be another nice day of sailing with a partly cloudy day, mid-70s for temps and easterlies in the 8-12 knot range.  Stay tuned!  For regatta information and sailing results, please go to:  http://www.premiere-racing.com/KW10_Results/kw10_results_reports.htm   Share

Key West Race Week- Day 1- Shifty Sailing

J/122 PUGWASH Tied for IRC2 Lead

(Key West, FL)- After a torrential downpour during the daytime Sunday that marked the passing of a typical cold front across the Keys, Sunday night broke into a spectacular star-studded evening, with good promise for Monday's racing.  Sure enough, dawn broke with a gorgeous sunrise and a nice wind that ultimately settled in from North to Northeast (depending on the course) blowing 5-12 knots.

On IRC2 course, the furthest West from Key West and down near Sand Key, the day started light but the PRO Ken Legler managed to get two races off for the fleet.  David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH sailed to a 2-1 finish to be tied for the lead.  Like many of the other courses, the NNE winds tend to favor going towards shore to get the backing puffs coming off land...going left appeared to help many of the leaders on all courses, including Division 1 where PUGWASH led the fleet home in the last race of the day.

Tuesday promises to be another nice day of sailing.  Stay tuned!  For regatta information and sailing results, please go to:  http://www.premiere-racing.com/KW10_Results/kw10_results_reports.htm   

J/122 Wins Ft Lauderdale-Key West Race

J/122 TEAMWORK Wins IRC

(Key West, FL- Jan. 16th)- The 160 nm winter classic was a fast one.  The race starts off the Ft Lauderdale sea buoy and heads south, then slowly curving west, keeping the string of Florida Keys reef buoys to starboard, finished in the Key West channel off the old Truman Annex Navy Base.  The race started in light to medium northerly breezes with everyone under spinnakers.  Chasing down streaks and better gybe angles were the name of the game.  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. 

J's were well represented in both fleets. Robin Team, on the aptly named J122, TEAMWORK, won Divison B of the IRC class, and also was awarded the race¹s Seamanship Trophy for their assistance during the US Coast Guard rescue of another racing boat, Crosswinds.  Once they heard the distress call on the radio and knew of Crosswind's proximity, TEAMWORK, without hesitation, went to their aid.

 Congratulations to all on a great performance and kudos to Robin's "Team" for performing mid-race heroics as true corinthian yachtsmen. For more Key West race and sailing information.

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.