Annapolis-to-Newport Race Committee to Conduct Special “What to Expect” Seminar on Friday, October 10th

The Start of the Annapolis to Newport Race

“What to Expect” when racing offshore covers all the key topics for first-timers

Always wanted to enter the Annapolis-to-Newport Race, but didn’t know exactly what it entailed? Had a hankering to complete an offshore passage, but just needed a little guidance as to how to accomplish such a feat? Own a comfortable cruising type of boat and wondered whether it was capable of competing successfully in such an event?

All those questions and many, many more will be answered during the inaugural Annapolis-to-Newport Race seminar, which will be held Oct. 10 (4-6 p.m.) at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Titled “Annapolis-to-Newport: What to Expect,” the two-hour session will feature four veterans of offshore racing dispensing valuable advice and answering every possible question about what it takes to prepare for and complete the renowned 475-nautical mile race that connects two of the country’s greatest sailing towns.

Panelists will cover all the basics, beginning with a complete description of the course, which is unique because it combines both inshore and offshore elements. Skippers that attend the seminar will learn specific factors to consider in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Tips about routing and how to handle such interesting elements as rounding Block Island will be discussed along with how long in terms of total hours it can take to reach Newport. Read more

Day 1 of Annapolis Labor Day Regatta

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Longtime alumnus, Norm Olson, and a slew of JWA coaches sailed his boat QA 2 to a tie for first on day one of Annapolis Labor Day Regatta.  Below is a breakdown of the race by tactician Kent Bartlett:

Day One of the inaugural Annapolis Yacht Club Labor Day Regatta was challenging.  The tide predictions were way off.  At 1130 it was predicted that the current would be at its maximum sending water out of the bay away from Annapolis when in reality it was flooding and it took two whole races to convince me of that fact.  I thought it was just going to switch late if anything but really it was just going to do the exact opposite of what some scientist thought it was going to do.  In the days leading up to Day One the forecasts said it would be light but the next day the forecasts bumped up a little and that happened every day.  On the morning of Day One the forecasts said 8-10 knots and it was 8-10 knots.  Let’s give those meteorologists a raise. Read more

2015 Newport to Cabo Race

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If you are going to be on the left coast next March, you should consider joining our friend at J World San Diego on the Newport to Cabo Race.  Details below:

Come join J World aboard a turboed 50 footer for the West Coast classic Newport to Cabo Race.  In March of 2015, six clients and three J World coaches will crew the legendaryHula Girl down the coast from California to sunny, happy Cabo San Lucas.  If you want to gain valuable offshore experience, or just have a great time racing aboard a grand-prix ULDB sled, this is a rare opportunity.  Everyone aboard gets to take turns at doing everything, including driving.  The environment will be fun, positive, and conducive to learning…  and we’ll of course work hard to achieve a great finish!   Visit the link below, or contact our West Coast office for more info:  800-910-1101   info@sailing-jworld.com

Post Cards From Paradise – J/24 National Championship

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Being a tactician requires intense focus and concentration. Hey! Is that a cumulus cloud?

Editor’s Note:  This is the second dispatch from our man in Amsterdam Kent Bartlett who reported on his experience a the J/24 National Championship.

Day 2 of the J/24 US National Championships was nothing short of spectacular.  The breeze was stronger topping out at about 16 knots with the puffs going to 18 knots but still from about 65 degrees off magnetic north.  The fleet split in their decision to use either the genoa or the jib with the top competitors opting for the increase in sail area to cut through the chop and the majority of the rest of us opting for more pointing ability in the flat sections of water.  Our first race we decided to use the genoa and quickly abandoned that idea after we saw 90% of the fleet ahead of us at the windward mark with 60% of the boats in front of us using the jib.  We noted that if the driver wasn’t changing their main trim every 3-5 seconds the boat would heal excessively sliding the boat to leeward and adding to the windward helm causing the boat to slow down while it rounded up to slightly above the groove everyone was aiming for.  It also didn’t hurt the jib trimmer to only have to move the clew of the jib 3 feet across the boat instead of the 15 feet that the genoa required for a proper close-hauled to close-hauled course.  Being the jib trimmer I thanked (insert preferred savior here) for that last benefit.  Race 1 with the genoa left us 35th across the finish line in a 45 boat fleet while Race 2 with the jib put us at 21st across the finish line.  Suffice it to say we decided the jib worked just fine for us and gave us more room for error with the repercussions of being caught off guard in the chop or puffs being less than if we flew the genoa.    Read more

Postcards from Paradise – J/24 National Championship

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Coach Kent Bartlett contemplates whether to go left or right? You can almost see the though bubble above his head.

Editors note:  The following is a a report filed by Kent Bartlett – J World Annapolis Coach – who is in Newport this week racing in the J/24 National Championships.

For Shifty, the first race of the J/24 US National Championships was a back to basics boot camp with mental highs and lows, itchy heads as to what the future would hold, and short periods of insanity. Here’s a leg by leg break down of Race 1 on the twice around windward-leeward courses with gates and an offset.

At 1100 with the fully overcast sky the breeze was at 11 knots with puffs in the 13-14 range from about 65-75 degrees magnetic north. The first leg of the first race proved to us (yet again) that being the pinball in the middle of the course doesn’t do squat. We stayed in phase when we weren’t trying to clear our breeze but too many tacks and trying to lead boats back without a clear strategy just does not work. End of leg 1, 35th. Read more

Cruising lessons from ocean racers

Great article from our partner from the World Cruising Club, Andy Schell.  For more entertaining, intelligently written articles follow Andy’s Blog at 59 North.

59 North

Newport-Bermuda Race 2014: Cruising lessons from ocean racers

 

350 NW of Bermuda…

‘Sleijride’ is nearly halfway back to Newport on the return delivery following the Bermuda Race last week. We’re in cruising mode again, down to four crew (from six), and enjoying single-handed watches steered by autopilot, 9 hours of rest, reading (!), and motor sailing through the calms.

Yesterday we had a very close encounter with a sperm whale that breached not 100 yards off our port bow, then proceeded to meander across the bow and dive off to starboard, showing us his big tail on the way down. Today we’re sailing fast off the wind, fair weather cumulus clouds dotting the blue sky and the hot sun baking the decks. Aside from the relentless heat, this is ocean sailing at its finest.

Participating in the Bermuda Race last week (my first), got me thinking about the differences between ocean racing and ocean cruising, and what the former can teach us about the latter. I’m primarily an ocean cruiser (though prefer the term ‘sailor’, as cruising has an air of laziness to it that doesn’t suit me), but having done two long ocean races now (Annapolis-Newport in 2013) has altered my perspective on some points. I’m admittedly no authority on the subject of ocean racing, but I’ve jotted some ideas down here, with a few anecdotes from our experiences to elaborate. Here goes…
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