Southampton Boat Show- Displaying J/70 & J/112E
(Southampton, England)- Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting the J/70 and the new J/112E sport-cruiser at the Southampton Boat Show running from 16th to 25th September. Please join us at marina berths 431-435.

The Famous J/70 Sportsboat- 1,100 strong!
The J/70 is J/Boats’ first slipway-launchable keelboat- designed to fulfill the growing need for an easy-to-own, high-performance one-design, that is exciting to sail, stable enough sailboat for the family, and built to last. A natural evolution of its J pedigree, the J/70’s 7m of sailing length with high aspect, all carbon rig and deep lifting keel, provides spirited performance and stability that feels like a much larger boat. There are now 70 boats sailing in the UK, with an active class association and one design programme. 25 boats sailed Cowes Week. 16 women's teams loved sailing the Women's Worlds in them! There are over 1,100 boats worldwide!  Learn more about the J/70 speedster here

NEW J/112E Sport Cruiser!
The J/112E is the newest addition to J/Boats’ “E” range of versatile performance sailing yachts. At our most popular size of 36 feet, the J/112E features a spacious two-cabin, aft head accommodation plan and a comfortable, ergonomic cockpit. She is as well-suited for the annual family cruise as she is racing under IRC or sailing short-handed through rough weather. Like the new J/122E, the 112 benefits from significantly more natural light by way of large port lights and optional hull ports. The varnished walnut finish adds just the right proportion of classic, wood accents without taking away from the incredible sense of space.

The J/112E joins her sisterships, the J/97E and J/122E, as an exceptional upwind performer. V-shaped bow sections provide superior directional stability and reduced slamming in waves. Freeboard forward and topside flare help to keep the deck dry. A long waterline combined with a low vertical centre of gravity results in a smooth, sea-kindly motion– more like that of a 40 footer. Learn more about the J/112E sport-cruiser here

For more Southampton Boat Show tickets & information click here, or please contact Key Yachting on +44-02380-455669 or email info@keyyachting.com.

Marblehead ONE Regatta Fun 4 All!

J/70s, J/105s, PHRF Enjoy Perfect Weather
Marblehead, MA- The ONE Regatta (Offshore New England's) in Marblehead was conducted in ideal conditions over a period of three days, 26-28th of August, off Marblehead MA. The three Marblehead yacht clubs (Boston, Corinthian & Eastern) provided outstanding Race Committees on three courses. This year, it was Eastern YC’s turn to host the shore-side festivities and unparalleled post-race experience!

For the J/105 class, the Boston YC RC did a brilliant job by orchestrating no less than 10 races in very difficult conditions at times, led by PRO Karen Tenenbaum. This was an all time high number of races for this event, spanning over 30 years (formerly called "PHRF NE's").

The fleet of fourteen J/105s had a star-studded cast: "Merlin" sporting no less than two Mallory Cup winners; "Got Qi" with stand-out intercollegiate sailor Dave Nelson at the helm- last year's winner and multiple MA Bay Champions; "Blown Away", Fleet 2 captain Fred deNapoli's "allegro Semplicita" with intercollegiate All-American Nick Burke calling tactics; and visiting teams from as far away as Dallas, Texas (including last month's Marblehead NOOD regatta runner up- "Two Feathers").

After an extremely challenging first day it was a local boat, "Knotless", helmed by Marblehead sailor Ken Bowden who topped the leader board, and another new addition to the fleet, "Aqua Boggie" (formerly "Steal Away"), in the hunt with "Got Qui" and "allegro" fighting it out for 3rd and 4th.  The second day the PRO Karen Tenenbaum ran no less than 5 races, and when the smoke cleared once again, "Knotless" held the lead, while "Got Qui" and "allegro" were in close pursuit.  The final day's 3 races saw Nelson and deNapoli trade off firsts with a “do-or-die” final shoot out with the score tied.  DeNapoli was over early by a foot and so after 10 races Nelson and his team went on to win the final race and the event by 2 points, well earned!  Hard to imagine a better series, a great warm up for the North Americans!

The highly competitive J/70 class produced a surprise winner!  Steine Skanne sailed SHRED to victory over a rock-star studded group of sailors, including Stew Neff’s AFRICA in 2nd place and Henry Brauer’s RASCAL in 3rd.  The balance of the top five included Ted Johnson’s VITAMIN-J and the duo of Chris Boulter/ Tyler Doyle on CLOWN CAR finishing 4th & 5th, respectively.

Over in the PHRF world, it was tight racing for the J/111s and J/122 in PHRF Class 1.  Top J/crew was Tom Mager’s J/122 GIGI in 3rd place followed by Gary Weisberg’s J/111 HEATWAVE in 4th position.  The big winner in PHRF Class 3 was Daniel Boyd’s J/109 WILDTHING, counting all bullets in their winning 6 pts net scoreline!  Third was the Blodgett & Blodgett team on the J/33 SCIROCCO.  In the newly created JAM Class (jibs & mains), it was Jeff Kent’s J/35 BLACK SEAL that won class!   For more Marblehead ONE Regatta sailing information

Newport Trio Trump J/22 World Championship!

(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- The world-famous CORK International Sailing Week was host to the 2015 J/22 World Championship, held in Kingston, Ontario.  Forty-six teams participating from Canada (15 boat), the Cayman Islands (three teams) and the USA (28 crews) sailed an amazing four-day series, with Mike Marshall’s crew of Luke Lawrence and Todd Hiller from Newport, RI winning the regatta in the thrilling finale.

After three days and nine races, the ultimate outcome for the regatta came down to the final few races.  On Wednesday, it was another day of champagne sailing conditions on Lake Ontario with sustained winds of 12-15 knots for the three races. Brad Julian won the first two meetings, followed by Travis Odenbach and Jeff Todd in race seven, and by Chris Gaffney and Doyle in race eight. Behind Marshall in race nine were Terry Flynn and Jeff Todd.

By way of a victory in Wednesday’s third race, Mike Marshall’s team was tied at 30 points for the overall lead with the New York-based team of Chris Doyle, Will Harris and Adam Burns. Jeff Todd was still in the hunt in third place with 35 points. Marshall had been discarding a 10, but with a 16th in race 8, the team needed to rebound to keep pace with Doyle who took a four-point advantage into Wednesday’s final battle.  As a result, Marshall held the overall lead with the tie-breaker being the three bullets. Reigning World Champion Doyle maintained a consistent tally by counting all top five finishes.

At dawn on the final day, the after effects of an overnight storm left breeze in the mid-20s, so the Race Committee postponed on shore. But, it didn’t take long for the winds to subside to the upper teens, so the flag came down allowing for the showdown between Marshall and Doyle.  It was a “do-or-die” scenario for the two leaders; it took every leg of the final race to determine the winner.  With a second place finish in Thursday’s only race, Marshall’s team was declared the 2016 J/22 World Champions.  Brad Julian won the race, while Doyle placed sixth in the race but second overall with 36 net points. Jeff Todd took third with 43 points.

“We went into Thursday with the idea that it’s really three teams (Todd was 5 points behind Marshall and Doyle), so it changes the whole dynamic. If it’s two people, you can do a little bit more match racing,” explained Marshall. “We just wanted to sail the best possible race we could, and we executed our plan exactly as we wanted to. We got the first cross, and from there we were able to control the race.”  Rounding out the top five were Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER in 4th place and Brad Julian’s crew in 5th position.

Over the 10-race series, only two races were sailed under 15 knots, and 9 knots was the lightest. “Kingston as a venue is just spectacular,” praised Marshall. “This week was totally different than what Kingston is normally, which is about going left. This week, it was all about going right.” Marshall thanked the Race Committee and PRO David Sprague for their efficient execution, saying, “They changed marks when they needed to, dealt with two shoals on either side and set the right length courses. They were cranking out the races without much downtime.”   For more J/22 World Championship sailing information

Berliner YC Win SAILING Champions League- RUSSIA!

(St Petersburg, Russia)- It was a successful first day for the SAILING Champions League in St. Petersburg, hosted by St Petersburg YC. In good weather, 23 Clubs from 12 nations were battling hard but fair, pleasing both host and participants. After day one, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (Germany) was leading the fleet, followed by the Berliner Yacht-Club (Germany) and the Regattaclub Bodensee (Switzerland).

For the third time in the history of sailing, the SAILING Champions League was taking place in matched International J/70 one-designs. Everybody was keen on participating in this new, international Club competition. The first day of the regatta provided the sailors with good conditions, successfully completing 14 races. The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein was in the lead after four consecutive wins.

"We were a bit lucky in the first four races to win four times in a row. In the fifth race we misread the wind, but still managed to lead the fleet after the first day and, of course, we are very happy about that,” said Tobias Schadewaldt, helmsman of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein.

The 23 sailing clubs from across Europe were fighting for one of 14 starting positions in the Grand SCL Finals in September in Porto Cervo, Italy. In Sardinia, it will be all about the silver bowl by Robbe & Berking and the title of “Europe´s BEST SAILING CLUB.”

Day Two
It was champagne sailing on day two- simply amazing conditions! 20 knots of wind and full sunshine spoiled both sailors and spectators. Sailing conditions like these might be expected in Porto Cervo, but not in Russia. The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (Germany) defended their lead. First runner-up was the Berliner Yacht Club (Germany), followed by the Société Nautique de Genève (Switzerland).

Nothing seems to stop the German Champions from 2013 and 2014. Tobias Schadewaldt and his crew won three more races on Saturday and continued to lead the fleet. “We were completely satisfied with today’s results. The Berliner Yacht Club being so close behind us proves how strong the fleet in St. Petersburg is,” commented Tobias Schadewaldt from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein from Hamburg.

The team from the Berliner Yacht Club with helmsman Stephan Mölle is just as competitive, despite strong competition. With four wins in a row, they defended their second place in the table. “It was a perfect day. Only the last race was really rough, when our jib ripped apart. Luckily the judges leveled this race, so overall we only had first places today,” said Valentin Gebhard from the Berliner Yacht Club.

The regatta had to be cancelled in the afternoon after 14 races due to strong winds of more than 30 knots!  It appeared that some crews were being challenged by the extremely puffy conditions.

Day Three Finale
Amazingly, St. Petersburg laid on a third day of picture-perfect international sailing. Thrilling head-to-head races in front of spectacular scenery was a big treat for both sailors and spectators. In the end, the Berliner Yacht-Club (Germany) held their nerve and took over the lead in their last battle with their rivals Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (Germany) who were runners-up ahead of third placed Société Nautique de Genève (Switzerland). The first 16 teams are qualified for the grand final in Porto Cervo end of September.

It was a tense battle between two German Clubs: The Berliner Yacht-Club was hard on Norddeutscher Regatta Verein´s heels from the beginning. Until the very end, they never managed to get ahead of the Hamburgers. For most of the three-day regatta, it seemed as if the German Champions from 2013 and 2014 could not be stopped. Tides turned in the penultimate race when Berlin took the lead and secured their victory.

“We would have never expected to win here. We went to St. Petersburg to qualify for Sardinia. And then we kick off a first place here. It´s unbelievable – we´re so incredibly happy,” said Max Nickel, who is part of the Berliner winning team together with Stefan Mölle, Valentin Gebhard, and Philipp Bruns.

Behind the two German DSBL teams (BYC and NRV), it was Societe Nautique de Geneve from Switzerland (Nicolas Anklin, Marc Stern, Nicolas Kauffmann, Mathieu Fischer) that sailed consistently well enough to secure the bronze medal on the podium.  Yet another Swiss club took 4th place, Regattaclub Bodensee (Julian Flessati, Massimo Soriano, Stephan Amman, Stefan Zurfluh) while the top Italian sailing club- YC Adriaco (Andrea Micalli, Furio Benussi, Matteo Stroppolo, Jacopo Ciampalini)- placed 5th overall.

The Boat- J/70 Sailing Champions League overview- by Joachim Hellmich- the Project Lead at the SCL explains the International J/70 class sailboat

SAILING Champions League YouTube videos-    Day 1 Highlights   Regatta summary
For more J/70 SAILING Champions League information

A Woman's Perspective Sailing World Championship

(Vancouver, BC, Canada)-  Isabella Bertold provided some wonderful perspective on her team's experience sailing J/70s at the recent Women’s World Championships at American YC in Rye, New York.  The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club Team finished 6th at the International Women’s Keelboat Championships!

“From August 15 to 19, I had the privilege of competing with three other British Columbia women at the International Women’s Keelboat Championships in Rye, New York. 

Along with myself, the team consisted of fellow Royal Vancouver Yacht Club member Maggie Drinkwater, Royal Victoria Yacht Club member Maura Dewey, and Vancouver sailor Elizabeth Dier.

Our team was unique in that both Maggie and Elizabeth had never raced outside of the Vancouver area, the team had never actually sailed together, and we were brand new to the J/70 sailboat. The other teams were made up of past Olympians, experienced international J/70 sailors, and former All-American college crews.  Even former America’s Cup champion, Dawn Riley, captained a team.   Needless to say, we went in with low expectations!

Our Canadian entry rounded out a truly international fleet including teams from Germany, New Zealand and 15 U.S teams.

American Yacht Club in Rye, NY hosted an incredible regatta, and wowed us with their hospitality. The regatta was raced following the league sailing format in J/70’s. J-boats provided a fleet of brand new J/70’s for us to race with, and even in strong breeze, the boats were not only manageable but also incredibly fun for the all female teams. It didn’t take long for us to understand why there have already been over 1100 J/70’s sold.

The championship was also unique for me in that it was my first time racing in a league sailing regatta, and it was my first time skippering a team.

The regatta was a 5-day event with up to 10 races each day.  The races lasted an average of ten minutes and consisted of a windward leeward twice around racecourse.   After five races, a crew would sit out one to three races before switching back into a new boat. The racing was intense, tiring, and I have never been involved in as many photo finishes as I was that week.

As the results show, we had a few races filled with learning moments, but otherwise we had consistent top 5 finishes, a couple of race wins, and finished 2nd overall in round two.

One of the more memorable moments happened on the final day of the regatta. Our team had come together seamlessly, and we were suddenly disappointed to finish races outside of the top three. We flew to New York ready for a learning experience, and with low expectations; we flew home to Vancouver satisfied with our 6th place finish at this prestigious championship, but hungry for more and with a clear goal of winning the 2017 championship to be held in Bermuda.”

Isabella Bertold is a member of the Canadian National Sailing Team in Laser Radials.  She has represented the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on the international stage since joining the race team in 2001.

Viggo's J/125 World View!

(Long Beach, CA)- Viggo Torbensen has been the proud owner of the J/125 TIMESHAVER for a long time.  He recently sent us this note as he is getting prepared for Long Point Race Week and, soon, the Rolex Big Boat Series:

“Hi guys- just wanted to tell you that our J/125 is STILL the BEST boat EVER!  See you all soon flying down the Pacific Coast someplace!  And, for certain will see you at Rolex BBS on San Francisco Bay!”

Windy, Grey J/105 Swiftsure Cup

(San Francisco, CA)- The Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Cup took place this past weekend on San Francisco Bay, hosted by St Francis YC.  This memorial regatta has been a popular one in the Bay area for years and is always well-attended by the J/105 one-design class as well as PHRF and ORR offshore racers.

Winning the huge nineteen-boat J/105 class was Phil Laby’s GODOT with an amazingly consistent 4-1-2-3-1 record for 11 pts.  The Simmons Family, led by skipper Ryan, took their famous BLACKHAWK and guided it around the race track in good order to take the silver with yet another all top five record, posting 5-5-1-2-3 for 16 pts.  After these two boats, the scores were all over the map, inconsistency for some reason or another due to all manner of extenuating circumstances.  Third was Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s ARBITRAGE with a 3-3-5-1-10 for 22 pts, just squeaking out that scenario by one point over Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION with a 2-4-7-4-6 for 23 pts.  Fifth was Tom Kennelly’s WONDER with a 6-10-4-5-2 for 27 pts.

The PHRF “sportsboat” division saw Gorkem Ozcelebi’s J/111 DOUBLE IGIT sail fast to just miss taking the class win by two points. After five races, they were tied on points for first place overall, however, a 5th in the final race dropped them into the silver position.  Meanwhile, Dick Swanson’s J/111 BAD DOG didn’t make the first race (scoring a DNC), but won two races on their way to finishing 4th overall!   Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray   For more J/105 Swiftsure Cup sailing information

Ullman Sails J/70 UK Nationals Preview

(Plymouth, England)- The J/70 UK Class Association is delighted that their 2016 Nationals will be hosted by the Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth, a popular venue amongst J/Boats sailors. The Commodore, Flag Officers and members are very enthusiastic about welcoming our visiting J/70 sailors to our beautiful sailing waters in the south west of England.

Racing will take place from Friday 2nd September to Sunday 4th September with a total of 11 races planned for the Championship. As long as weather conditions are suitable, sailing will be outside (south) of the Plymouth breakwater that is only a short sail from the RWYC and marina base.  The racing should be exciting, close and packed with action, with twenty boats currently registered from all over the UK.

Top teams include the Cowes Race Week winning team of Jack Davies on Team YETI.  Hoping to give them strong competition for top honors will be crews like Allan Higgs’ ESF ENERGY, Simon Cavey’s JUST 4PLAY, David McLeman’s OFFBEAT, Ian Wilson’s GILL RACE TEAM, Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC, Ripard/ Calascione’s HARLEQUIIN, and Clive Bush’s DARCEY.   For more Ullman Sails J/70 UK Nationals sailing information

Moss SF Leads Norwegian J/70 Sailing League- Act III

(Stavanger, Norway)- Moss Seilforening went to the top in Sunday's Norwegian Seilsportsliga Division 2 match in Stavanger, Norway.  As a result, they have continued to extend their lead in the overall series with a 1-3-1 record.

The sailors were faced by broad range of conditions over the weekend.  Saturday was characterized by massive wind shifts, huge streaks and a refreshing downpour or two.  Conversely, Sunday was relatively quiet, streaky but steady breezes and a simply beautiful day!  As a result, the teams were treated to thirteen races each.

The Moss Seilforening crew managed to win 10 of 13 races, posting just one race below 2nd in the entire regatta.  In other words, it was a “runaway” for the MSF team!  The big battle was for the balance of the top five and the podium places.  Bergens SF managed to hang in there, winning four of their last five races to take the silver with 54 pts.  Third was Grimstad SF just two points back with 52 pts total.  Fourth was Handelshoyskolen BI with 50 pts and fifth place went to Asker SF with 46 points, mostly due to their last place in the final race.

The overall leaderboard sees Moss SF with a commanding lead for the series with 43 pts.  However, behind them it’s a wide-open field for the silver and bronze positions.  Currently, Asker SF is second with 36 pts due to their 2-4-4 record; Grimstad SF is third with 35 pts based on their 3-7-3 tally; and fourth is Oslo SF with 33 pts due to their scoreline of 6-1-8.  In this series, “snakes & ladders” seems to be the theme of the day!  Whomever can acquit themselves in the finale avoid massive mistakes and sail somewhat consistently might eventually land themselves on the podium!  Everyone will find out after sailing in Bergen at the next event from September 3rd to 4th.  For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information

Record Fleet for Rolex Big Boat Series

(San Francisco, CA) – The waters of San Francisco Bay will be churned by more than strong winds and tidal currents next month when a record-size fleet of 112 boats lines up for the 52nd Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted September 15-18 by the St. Francis Yacht Club.

This year’s fleet eclipses by eight boats the previous record of 104 that was set in 2013 during the 50th anniversary regatta. Throughout its storied history, the Rolex Big Boat Series has showcased the top end of the sport and this year’s fleet features everything from a 70-foot multihull down to a multitude of trailerable sportboats. The fleet epitomizes the variety of shapes and sizes that grand-prix racing offers these days.

“The new-looking Rolex Big Boat Series, a rose by any other name, continues the tradition of serving the best of a sport that is ever-changing, ever-evolving,” said St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Kimball Livingston, who has competed in many Rolex Big Boat Series. “Every generation makes its own legends, and we’ll have a full spectrum fleet this year.”

The largest class by far is the J/70, with more than 30 boats entered. The class is using the regatta as a tune-up for the J/70 World Championship, which the St. Francis Yacht Club will host one week after the Rolex Big Boat Series. Among the entrants are boats hailing from Australia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile and Mexico, giving the regatta an international flair.

To accommodate this massive one-design fleet race officials have made the unprecedented decision to host a third racing area on the Berkeley Circle, an area in eastern San Francisco Bay, in addition to the two traditional areas west of Alcatraz Island. The J/70s will sail two days of windward/leeward races on the circle to become familiar with the area where the worlds will be held.

The rest of the fleet will sail a combination of windward/ leeward and buoy races around San Francisco Bay, in which the J/70s will also partake for two days. The buoy races are expected to take the fleet past landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands, with the traditional finish line placed off the St. Francis yacht Club.

“The Rolex Big Boat Series is an awesome event,” said Chris Howell, the executive director of the J/70 Class Association. “With our Worlds just a week later this gives people a chance to sail in the same venue, and everyone’s excited about it because the boat is built to go off the wind. With the asymmetrical setup, it loves a big breeze. Most of the sailors in the San Francisco Bay area who have the boat love the way it performs.”

The second-largest class in the regatta is the 34-foot J/105, which currently has 21 boats entered and has many past Rolex Submariner watch winners participating.

“We’re excited to be hosting a record number of entries at this year’s Rolex Big Boat Series,” said Lynn Lynch, race director at St. Francis Yacht Club. “In preparation, we’ve compiled a world-class Race Committee who’ll ensure that racing runs smoothly and is as fair and competitive as possible. In addition to our race professionals, we are organizing more than 100 volunteers who will help out on the race course. It’s incredible to think that more than 110 boats will be racing on the Bay. It’s a massive logistical challenge, but we’ll be ready for it.”  Sailing photo credits- Pressure-Drop.us   For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information

Classic Chicago Verve Cup

(Chicago, IL)- The Chicago Yacht Club end-of-season finale has been a well-attended event for decades and the 2016 version continued in that tradition, with strong ORR handicap fleets and also great turnouts for the top one-design fleets in Chicago- like the J/111s, J/109s and J/105s.

After a successful hosting of the J/111 North Americans, the Chicago YC PRO/ RC crew continued to provide great racing for the local fleet of eleven boats.  This time, it was San Diego sailor Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE that won the tough class.  They were followed by Brad Faber’s UTAH in second, Jeff Davis’ SHAMROCK in third, Rich Witzel’s ROWDY in fourth and Dorin Candea’s WOOTON in fifth.

After winning their division in both Mac Races this year (Chicago-Mac & Bayview-Mac), it was not surprising to see that Bruce Danly & Jim Mitchell’s TOA won the seven boat J/109 class by just one point over Peter Priede’s FULL TILT.  Third was David Gustman’s NORTHSTAR, fourth Robert Evans’ GOAT RODEO, and Jack Toliver’s VANDA III.

A familiar face was sitting atop the podium for the J/105 class; winning the competitive seven-boat class was Clark Pellett’s SEALARK, with Mike Sheppard’s FLYING PIG in second, Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM in third, Sandy Curtiss’ ROCKING HORSE in fourth and Gyt Petkus’ VYTIS in fifth.

In the ORR 2 Division, Andy Graff’s new J/88 EXILE took second and Tim Wade’s J/88 WINDSONG placed fifth. Rick Stage’s J/35 ALPHA PUPPY ended up 7th, though only 4 pts out of fifth!  For more Verve Cup Offshore sailing information

Furesøen Tops Denmark J/70 Sailing League- Act III

(Thisted, Denmark)- Even before the Sejlsportsligaen.dk season's last rally in the Danish Sailing League Division 2, the YC Furesøen may be able to celebrate their advancement to the Sailing League's Division 1! It is clear after their triumphant victory in Thisted that YC Furesøen is ready for “the big leagues”!

The talented YC Furesøen struck again and secured their season's second victory of three possible in Sailing League's second division. The team rallied in Thisted, the four young YCF sailors won six races in 11 races, never finishing out of the top three!  A simply incredible performance!  With such a strong record, it provided them a comfortable lead for the three races in the Gold Finale.  Ironically, their competitors grew quite excited when they bombed their first race in the finale, posting an uncharacteristic last place!  But, their hopes were soon dashed as YCF simply smoked the fleet in the last two races with a 1-2 to win with ease.

"We lead around the first windward mark in the first race, but then we got locked in by starboard boats behind us on the run who had slid inside on puff.  As a result, the entire fleet rounded inside us on the favored side of the course," explained Kasper Skiveren from YCF.

"We came back with a second place in the next race and the last we raced we got a bullet. It was super nice to come back that way," said Jacob Pjetursson, a YCF crew member.

Behind Furesøen, it was Gilleleje YC in second and Sejlklubben Sundet in third place. Sejlklubben Copenhagen, Thurø Sailing Club and Silkeborg Yacht Club also reached the FINAL 6 and finished in that order in places 4th to 6th.

As a result of their win, YC Furesøen have a 5pt lead over Sejlklubben Sundet in the season series after three events.  Lying third is Silkeborg Sailing Club with 44 points.

Only one event is left in Skovshoved, scheduled for September 10th-11th. While it is clear that YC Furesoen will emerge as the ultimate winners, it is “clear as mud” what is happening for the balance of the podium.  The balance of the top five all sits within 8pts of each other, so anything can happen in the finale at Skovshoved for Sejklubben Sundet, Silkeborg Sejlklub, Sonderborg YC and Struer Sejlklub.  For more Danish J/70 Sailing League information

J/120 USA Nationals Got “Hammered”!

(Detroit, MI)- The mighty SLEDGEHAMMER, based out of the Buffalo Yacht Club, won the J/120 National Championship August 19-21 with a first place finish in last race of regatta held on Lake St. Clair outside of Detroit. Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit hosted the event. The SLEDGEHAMMER team beat fourteen boats from Detroit, Toronto, Buffalo and Hudson, OH in the regatta billed as "the heavyweight fight on the lake".

In three days of racing on Lake St. Clair, owner and helmsman Tom Lewin led his son Tommy and Mark Christensen of Santa Cruz CA, Doug Bienko, Pat and Mike Augello, Larry Militello, Peter Johnson, Anthony Alexander (all from the Buffalo area) to the hard fought victory.  The regatta featured very close racing in high winds for most of the 11 races. The winning team had five 1st place finishes and 31 total points to beat NIGHT MOVES skippered by Henry Mistel of Bayview Yacht Club, that ended with 46 points in the low point, no throw out, scoring system.

In third place was JAYHAWKER, who battled her way up in the standings on Sunday. One of the co-skippers, Doug Scheibner of Bayview and Crescent Yacht Club, was a previous winner in the year 2000 Nationals. Notably, SLEDGEHAMMER also won the Bayview Port Huron to Mackinac race in 2013.

This is the first time since 2003 the Nationals have been held on the Great Lakes and there was an overwhelming enthusiasm from owners and crews. The sailing conditions were from 14 knots on Friday to 25 knots on Sunday. Amazingly there were zero protests although there were some penalty turns.  Eleven J/120s are now based in the Detroit area, that makes a very strong offshore one-design fleet in big 40 footers!

Special thanks go out to Race Chairman Charlie Hess for all time in putting together a successful event. When the event goes back out to the west coast, it will be a very tough order to top this regatta!  Many other huge “Thanks” go out to:

• Paul Halsey, Assistant Race Chairman- three days is a huge time commitment that is really tough with two kids at home. Being on the water to help with the mark-set boat and observe the racing is where stepping up to be Race Chairman was completely exceeded in the call of duty.
• Dick Neville, PRO, his willingness to travel to Detroit and stay at local housing is appreciated as well. It is a big commitment of time and energy for certain.
• Eric Peterson for the thankless job of measuring all those sails.
• Luiz Kahl, his mentorship was valuable and because of it, we avoided so many mistakes that could have dulled the quality of this event.
• Lance Smotherman, chief judge, encouraged Corinthian conduct by racers at every opportunity. This is a high-value leadership quality that allows an event like ours turn out to be a success. Being the avid racer that he is, we also appreciate the time commitment he made to assemble a judge panel, coordinate their travel, and support this event. Four days is a big contribution of time and energy.
• Greg McCliment, CujoGraphyx contributed the numbers, set up the website and delivered a lot of shirts to our teams.
• Kelly Olligschlager, instrumental with the social side of our event. The steel drum band was a terrific hit, and with her help, we pulled together a complete social agenda.
• Nick Vincent is the 'quiet champion' for our facility. Providing berthing for our visitors and making them feel welcome through his attentiveness gave them an extremely positive impression of BYC. After setting up the tent and finding it a mess, Nick and his team went the extra mile to make it look as good as new. Everyone enjoyed the outdoor atmosphere 'under the tent', so it was well worth the effort.
• Jarvis Hales and his team were fantastic with both the quality of the food and the service. There was never much food left, nor were the kegs or punch bowls left with any reserves. This team is responsive to the needs of guests and strives to please. We are very grateful for the job they did all weekend, as are all of the guests that attended.
• Aaron Wagner, club manager, he has great energy and ideas and has the priorities right. He collaborated with the chef and myself to successfully meet the requirements you and the board have set for him with food and beverage, while meeting my somewhat demanding pricing requests. I really enjoyed the planning and collaboration with Aaron that could have otherwise have been a stressful or contentious process. Most importantly, Aaron stayed 'present' with the details and flow of the weekend.

Finally, special “kudos” go out to the owners and crews of SLEDGEHAMMER, VIVA LA VIDA, and STORM WARNING for traveling to Detroit from Lake Erie, and especially THE CAT CAME BACK who had to travel from Lake Ontario to get here!  For more J/120 USA National Championship sailing information

Ullman Sails J/70 UK Nationals- Sponsors Announcement

(Plymouth, England)- The J/70 Class Association is thrilled to announce the support of a number of sponsors for their National Championships, taking place 2nd- 4th September from the Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth.

Chris Davison from Ullman Sails said, “Ullman Sails is extremely proud to be the title sponsor of the 2016 J/70 UK National Championships. The leading international sailmaker is completely dedicated to the J/70 class and its competitors and is exceptionally excited to be so involved with the J/70 sailing community – one of the fastest growing fleets in the world. It is the goal of Ullman Sails to work with the class association to ensure the event is of the highest quality, run professionally, and offers each sailor the best possible experience on the water – a set of standards that Ullman Sails sets for itself in each sail delivered.” Ullman Sails are also sponsoring the 2016 World Championships in San Francisco, CA.

Additional sponsors, Sol and Sagres, will be helping the dockside entertainment get off to a lively start. Fitting isn’t it, being that our current World Champions are a Mexican team! Competitors can look forward to a Sol dock party after racing on Friday and a Sagres pre-party before the class meal on Saturday. Sol is the true original and much-loved Mexican classic lager and is an undeniable part of the Mexican spirit. Sagres, Cerveza Portuguesa, is the number one beer of Portugal, named after a small town where Portuguese sailors learned to navigate the oceans. These new sponsors for the class have timed their support well, as a number of owners are considering a winter training program in Portugal. There will no doubt be much discussion of the finer details in Plymouth.

The J/70 class are also extremely grateful for sponsorship from Grapefruit Graphics, Allspars, Force4, Thistle Park Tavern, Spinnaker Wealth Management, and Carbon Yachting, who will be at the event to promote their dedicated J/70 page, offering parts and services, as well as a repair service, as mistakes do happen! SOAK will be providing some terrific prizes for the winners too.

More than 15 boats are expected to compete at the three day Championships. Included in the entry list is Jack Davies’ YETI team, fresh from winning an incredible three awards at Cowes Week, including the Best Young Skipper award. Jack said “After a fantastic result for us in Cowes Week this year, Team YETI are really excited to be heading to Plymouth to contest the J/70 National Championship. The entry list looks extremely competitive so it will be great to have the chance to mix it with the top J/70 teams in the UK. It'll also be great to be racing in Plymouth again after mainly racing in the Solent thus far this year.”  An extremely competitive fleet is heading for Plymouth, and the standard of racing will be first class.  For more Ullman Sails J/70 UK Nationals sailing information

DTYC Wins Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga IV

(Berlin, Germany)- The Deutscher Touring YC won the fourth round of the German Bundesliga sailing in Berlin and takes the overall lead in the 1st League. The Lindauer Segler Club was just one point behind the leaders from Tutzing.

The fourth act of the DSBL in Berlin demanded the best performance from the sailors; they faced difficult conditions with little wind, very streaky puffs and long waiting times between races. The reigning DSBL champions from Tutzing, the Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC) adapted best to the conditions on the Wannsee and secured a big win, thanks to their consistent performance, steely nerves and tremendous patience.

"We had to fight hard here in Berlin with very difficult conditions. We had the best of luck and are very happy that we won here. If you want to be champion, you have to come with all your best tactics and crew work to win such crazy weather conditions. We are very pleased," said Julian Stückl, skipper of the DTYC team. Sebastian Bühler, Jonas Vogt and Luis Tarabochia completed the crew from Tutzing. The Lindauer Segler Club and the Bayerischer Yacht-Club ended up finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Berlin event.

Prior to the regatta, Anke Butzmann, the team manager of the organizing club- Verein Seglerhaus am Wansee- offered her remarkably prescient insights regarding the event and its ultimate outcome:

- Anke, how do you assess the current DSBL leaderboard situation?
"The equality at the top of the Bundesliga reflects the concentration of highly talent teams that are sailing at nearly world-class levels.  We are very happy that we are at the forefront of this, but also know very well that it will not be easy to keep this position and to defend it to the final in Hamburg. Our goal for the home event is, of course, to get on the podium. The team is strong with the crew of Malte Kamrath, Jens Steinborn and Julian Bergemann- all three sailors have been very successful already in Starnberg. Ulrike Schümann, who has extensive experience, will be joining them to call tactics. The Lindauer Segler-Club with their same team from Starnberg and, thus, should be a contender for the podium in Berlin. The Deutscher YC with Farr 30 World Champion Julian Stückl on the helm will be formidable- it’s no wonder DTYC won last year!  It is a big competition for us, but something that gives us inspiration- it’s fun and motivating!”

- Has VSaM team had the chance to train together?
“Yes.  Last weekend, we trained together with the other Berlin League teams from BYC, YCBG, KaR, SV03 and PYC. The training is always very effective; especially due to the large number of sailing league clubs in Berlin.  These training regattas have quite the same feeling as an actual DSBL League event."

- Is there a home advantage on the Wannsee?
“We do not believe there is any direct home advantage on the Wannsee- the wind on the Wannsee is too unpredictable.  Steel nerves mean the strongest teams will be at the front and we are committed to belonging up there with the best. Our main sponsor, Dr. Dirk Pramann, is also onsite and will help motivate us with his enthusiasm! And - the VSaW Segel-Bundesliga team is a large team (25 sailors)- almost all of our sailors will be present for three days! We have the support of a large fan club!"

In the end, Anke’s perspective was quite accurate.  Light winds, streaks, and tough competition meant the best teams would rise to the top in the rankings.  While DTYC prevailed, VSaW could only manage three 1sts in their eight races sailed, finishing off the podium in sixth overall- a disappointing outcome for a top team.   Watch this Berlin Act IV DSBL sailing video summary.   For more Deutsche Segel-bundesliga sailing information

PHOENIX Arises to Win J/24 Europeans!

(Plymouth, England)- The 2016 J/24 Europeans were hosted by Royal Western YC in Plymouth, England for a fleet of the 37 boats from eight nations (France, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden).  After battling with strong winds and a reasonable sea state for the first three days of the J/24 Europeans, the winner was finally declared after a light final day of racing- Andy Taylor on the mighty PHOENIX from Parkstone YC!

The course for both races on Friday was in a tricky southerly varying in strength and direction. The smart tactic was to head out to starboard to catch the slightly stronger breeze and a lift off the Rame Headland.

In the first race of the day Nick McDonald’s CACOON had to defend hard at the finish to fend off William Pollock in FLYING COLOURS, who was able to keep clear on the run and overtake some six boats. But, was not able to beat McDonald to the line, only losing by a second, and closely followed by Andy Taylor in PHOENIX.

In the second and final race of the championships, the UK Chairman of the class, David Cooper in JAWBREAKER, finally showed his true potential by winning. He was followed over the line by Mike Mackie from Dartmouth in JIGGY with Japanese GEKKO helmed by Tokuma Takesue in third place.

Behind Taylor’s PHOENIX, second place went to Daniel Frost's JJONE from Germany and in third place was the young Irish team of Cillian Dickson from Howth Yacht Club in KILCULLEN.  Fourth was Manfred Konig’s VITESSE from Germany and fifth was Till Pomarius’ TINTO from Svaoe, Germany.  Of note, third in the “Open” Division was the Japanese team- Tokuma Takesue’s GEKKO from the Japan Sailing Federation.

Winning skipper Andy Taylor, commented: "We've had a fantastic week's sailing, across all wind conditions. We were fortunate to go into the final day without a bad discard that gave us options.  JJone have been phenomenal all week, we knew they had the speed to escape from a poor start or tricky first beat and in final race put us in a boat on boat which was exciting, even as we crossed the line we didn't know if we had done enough.”

Taylor continued, ”We've had a great team and got on, both on and off the water, brilliantly. Huge thanks to team Phoenix (Rob, Paul, Zoe and Izzy) for putting up with me as well as PRO David Lovegrove and his team for a brilliant regatta, hosted by the always excellent Royal Western Yacht Club and Plymouth J/24 fleet."

A team worthy of note, JOOL helmed by Dirk Olyslagers, came over from Holland having only been together six weeks. After mastering the conditions on day one, they proved themselves by achieving five top ten results in the last six races. The team from Sweden, sailing a chartered boat ANOTHER CACOON, was heard to say: "This is a fantastic location, as soon as you let us know when the next event is, we'll be back."

The main sponsor, Nick McDonald of CACOON, said: "I'm delighted to have been a able to sponsor the Championships in my home port, and hearing comments like Dirk's above from visitors makes it all worthwhile.”

All the competitors wanted to extend their special thanks to the organizing team from the Plymouth fleet headed by Stig McDonald with Neil Dunkley, Helen Peat, David Cooper and Nick Triscott. Stig said: "Everyone has worked extremely hard over the past eighteen months to bring the event to Plymouth where we have a very active /J24 class. The event couldn't have gone better, the weather has been perfect, the racing has been competitive and the après sail has been welcoming."   Sailing photo credits- Robin Price   For more J/24 Europeans Sailing information