J World Annapolis has been supporting sailing teams and Key West Race Week for nearly 20 years by bringing racing education programs and charter boats to this winter classic.  Perennial podium finishers, J World’s own Jahn Tihansky and our speedster USA 156 (Emotional Rescue) won this year’s Midwinter Championship under the banner of Team Vayu 2.  The following write up was pulled from a North Sails roundup. Report by Andrew Kerr – Tactician J/80 Team Vayu 2

This year’s Key West Race Week was also the venue for the J/80 Midwinter Championships; it is hard to think of a better venue for a championship in January! Peter Craig and his team from Premiere Racing always make the event a World class event with top level race management on the water and great shore side activities after wards.

On the Sunday evening I participated as a member of the tactician’s panel representing division three (J/80 class and PHRF 1 and 2 fleets) with Ed Baird as moderator, Ed does a great job keeping everyone engaged and the ideas and conversation flowing and as a result the interaction with the audience was highly effective with great insight and thoughts from the panel and questions from the audience.

For the fourth year I sailed with Vayu 2 as Tactician and Jib trimmer, Vayu 2 is a J/80 chartered from J World Annapolis by Ron Buzil of Chicago, helmed by Jahn Tihansky (Jahn Owns J World Annapolis and is the Offshore coach for the US Naval academy) and TJ Voght from Atlanta, TJ and Jahn go a long way back together as they owned a J24 together in Tampa back in 1979. I have coached Ron’s Benetau 40. 7 team in Chicago for the last 14 years. Read more

This week J World Annapolis coach Buddy David shares his insights into finding the “favored side” of the race course.  Buddy and his team are leading all J World boats this series and determining where the strategic advantage lies on the race course is something all racers must identify.  So Buddy, tell us how you do it!

Favored Side of the Course

Picture this scene: You are standing around the docks post-race discussing the day’s triumphs and follies with other crews and someone states the profound wisdom “well you just had to be on the favored side for the first upwind”.  Now everyone else is nodding in agreement “yes the (right or left) was way favored”.  Even though this apparently universal truth remains a mystery to you, you find yourself nodding your head in agreement afraid to admit your ignorance.  I will let you in on a little secret that you are in good company.  One of the many challenges of sailboat racing is deciding where to go and when.  My first bit of advice is to never be afraid to ask others; most sailors love to share his or her knowledge because they are good natured or because your admiration strokes their ego.  Either way is a win-win. Read more

This morning we received our first update from Coach Tihansky as he embarks on his first transatlantic crossing.  With thousands of sea miles under his keel, Jahn’s no stranger to the open ocean but this is his first crossing.  Their route is a well traveled one that traces the same arc that Christopher Columbus sailed on his second voyage to the new world.  While the entire crossing will take about a month, the team is planning a short leg over to the Canary Islands before making the big (2500 nm) leap to the Caribbean.  Here is what Jahn posted this morning before slipping the dock lines and heading into the offing. Read more

Last Sunday, during the Annapolis Yacht Club Frostbite series, I watched nearly a dozen boats wipe out on the reach to the finish because they didn’t play the vang!   In a moment of hyperbole, I said to my team – “the vang is probably the most important sail control on the boat.”  OK OK OK – that might have been a bit aggressive, but I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say it is the most important sail control most racers rarely think about. Read more