J/122 Class debuts at AYC Spring Regatta

It was “spring” in name only at the American Yacht Club Spring Regatta as blustery, wet conditions forced sailors to keep out the winter frostbite gear for at least two more weekends. 100 boats competed in 12 one-design, IRC and PHRF classes in the annual event that kicks off the big boat racing season in the Northeast. 51% of the entries were J’s, including one-design starts for the J/105, J/109, J/120, J/122 and J/44 classes.

In the first J/122 one-design event held in the USA, American Yacht Club Commodore Michael Bruno and co-owner Tom Boyle skippered their new J/122 WINGS (pictured above doing 14.5 kts) to an impressive victory. Action was tight in the 7 boat class and is expected to ratchet up even further as more boats are slated to attend upcoming New England events including the East Coast Championship at NYYC Race Week in Newport in mid July.

“Having never sailed a sprit boat in the past, or competed in one design racing, it was particularly rewarding to do well in our Spring Series,” said Commodore Bruno. “The 122 is a superb boat with excellent build quality, awesome performance in all the conditions we have experienced to date, and great looks. The boat was totally in control on the days we saw 30kt gusts with steep seas, and was also very fast on the two light days. We already have three 122s at American and I suspect our fleet will grow quickly.”

Jeff Willis and his team on CHALLENGE IV were equally as impressive in winning the competitive J/44 class, as owners prepare for what will be a record J/44 fleet (14+ boats) in the Newport Bermuda Race. In J/120 action, Steve Levy on EAGLE won on a tie-break over PEREGRINE steered by Brian Giorgio. Al Minella skippered RELENTLESS to victory in the J/109 class, and in the largest, most competitive class in the fleet, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE edged out Joerg Esdorn on KINSCEM by one point to win the 17 boat, J/105 division.

In the handicap classes, J/133s swept the top 3 positions in IRC 3 with Tom Carroll on SIRENSONG winning 5 of 6 races. The Esposito family on the J/29 HUSTLER won the PHRF 5 division. Results

J/125 Reinrag 2 Streaks to Cabo

The Garnier's J/125 Reinrag 2 from Portland, OR scored yet another offshore class win (and a second overall!) at the recently completed CDM to Cabo San Lucas Race hosted by Balboa Yacht Club. This team has already taken three consecutive Transpac class wins culminating last July in an overall Transpac victory. Surfing down the coast of Mexico the team took line honors ahead of the entire fleet of mainly larger boats. Tim Fuller on his J/122 Resolute had a good run as well taking a 4th in PHRF and 2nd under ORR in his class. Click the Reinrag icon for some great R2 action video from the Race. More results here

Js Sail Fast @ Rolex International

Winning four of the seven handicap classes, J/Boat sailors were having more than just fun at the Rolex International regatta in St. Thomas., they were collecting silver. In total, (including the IC 24 class) over 37% of the Rolex fleet were sailing aboard J/Boat hulls at the event.

Winning Spinnaker Racing 2 was Gilberto Rivera's (Guaynabo, PR) J/24 Urayo, which also won in 2006. Rivera, who gave his Rolex watch to his father in 2006, gave this year's prize to foredeck crew Francisco Velez and plans to give any watch he wins in the future here to a crewmember until it's his turn. "That's so my crew will stay with the boat," said Rivera jokingly. "Seriously, this is such a great event; we've been coming since 1998."

Jens Hookansen (Middletown, R.I.), who steered Robert Armstrong's J/100 Bad Girl to win Spinnaker Racing 1, had similar sentiments. "I love coming down here," said Hookansen, a native of St. Croix and past J/24 World Champion. "The venue is fantastic and you get a chance to wear a Rolex home. What could be better?"

Non-spinnaker Racing class was won by Juan Moline's (Vega Baja, PR) J/24 Medalla Light, while Spinnaker Racing/Cruising class was won by James Dobbs' new J/122 Lost Horizon continuing his string of 2008 wins... results and pics.

Pellissier Wins J/80 Class @ Spi-Ouest

In the Bay of Quiberon off of La Trinite, France no less than 79 J80s arrived for the Easter weekend of the 30th annual Spi Ouest Regatta in France. The talent level was very high and the first 10 in the overall standings battled until the last race. Sylvain Pellissier and his crew were first, followed by the German Ulrich Muenker and Luke Nadal, a mainstay of the class. Under extremely cold conditions and strong wind (especially on Saturday), the forest of white mainsails at the start of each of the five races offered a magnificent spectacle to observers. The J/80 class has clearly arrived and the 2008 season is now off to a great start.

In the IRC 1 division, J/133 Jivaro with an all amateur crew finished a respectable 6th place in a fleet of over 44 boats while J/122 J/Lance 4 skippered by Didier Le Moal finished 8th. The J/Lance team suffered sail damage in the heavy air of race 1 which forced them to withdraw. The 44 points proved too much of a deficit from which to recover a podium position, but the crew gave it their best effort for the final three races. results & info.

J/122 Wins Culebra Regatta

Jamie Dobbs and his new J/122 Lost Horizon II followed up their recent win at the St. Maarten Heineken regatta with another convincing win in the Racer-Cruiser class of the Culebra Heineken International Regatta in Culebra, PR. This is the second leg of the 2008 Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (C.O.R.T.) and this year featured both round-the-buoy and round-the-island racing in a variety of conditions. J/100 Bad Girl, the Key West & US PHRF National Champion, also enjoyed a return to the award podium by placing third in class 1. results here (Thanks to Bob Grieser for photo).

J/92s Takes Red Funnel Easter Win

After two days of frustration, on day three the racing finally got underway for the RORC Red Funnel Easter Challenge... and it was worth the wait. For Paul & Marie-Claude Heys, racing the J/92s Jack Sparrow, it was a perfect day as they won both races by a comfortable margin to win in IRC 3 Class. “I thought we had a great mix of racing today,” commented Paul. “The first race was all about spotting the big wind shift early on and then trying to keep in clear air amongst a compressed fleet, especially out of the bad air from larger boats. Race two, we managed to get a good start and due to a round the cans course, we managed to stay in clean air for most of the way around. All in all, a great day’s sailing!” This annual Easter weekend regatta is the first on the RORC 2008 calendar. Complete results at http://www.rorc.org.