The last race was held in light northerly breezes, and the Race officer bravely issued a course with a downwind start, passing the crowded spectator fleet off Fort Adams and Castle Hill.

Both yachts got away cleanly but Velsheda elected the pin end, closer to the next gate and gained a quick advantage. A gybing duel followed, but after a few inside gybes, Ranger caught her spinnaker high in the rigging and it quickly split, loosing them more ground for the recovery.

At the bottom mark Velsheda had gained a 2 minute lead, enough for them to command the windward berth on the long slow upwind leg back to the shortened course finish line, right in front of the many spectators at Castle Hill.

 

 

The exciting tactical race was a fitting end to a great regatta,  where many thousands of spectators were enthralled by these great yachts.  Just a few of the comments included
” It was wonderful to see these boats from a past era”
“we could not believe the size and power of these yachts”
“and the teamwork on these boats is astounding”
“we can’t believe that they were designed and built in the 1930′s

 

Corum  Watches  presented a wonderful perpetual trophy to Ranger, the overall winner, who also won a unique timepiece – a Corum Tide Watch

Challenge and Adventure would like to thank Jock West and David Pittman for coordinating a spectacular event.  Special thanks go out to Brian Rochelle and Vicki Bray for making it happen smoothly.  Nick Innacone we thank you for going above and beyond helping us out.  We look forward to the next J-Class Regatta.

For more images of the action from all five races by George Bekris click HERE

Crew of Velsheda (Photo by George Bekris)

Crew of Ranger (Photo by George Bekris)

 

 

 

 

 

More Images of the J-Class regatta are available on our Photo Gallery Page.

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A simply stunning day of racing was experienced by the thousands of spectators who took to the waters to see Ranger and Velsheda battle in the near perfect conditions of Newport Harbour – 16 knots southerly with sunshine.

The two yachts circled and manouvred for best position to cross the start line , laid across the bay from Fort Adams. Both got away cleanly, but Ranger quickly got the advantage and covered Velsheda most of the way up to the first mark, laid well out into the bay. nly several boat lenghts seperated them along the next four mile power reach with their massive spinnakers driving them at around 16 knots.

Downwind the yachts had to pass a gate at Fort Adams, where many spectators had lined the shore to see these yachts glide past with more than 16,000 square feet of area in the mainsail and spinnaker. Sailing through the gate, the gap was down to half a boat length. Both gybed simultaneously in true America’s Cup style and trimmed sails for every inch of advantage, continuing alongside each other under the Newport bridge and down to the leeward turning mark.

Ranger, just managed to turn the leeward island one boatlength ahead, giving them the advantage to hold a cover up to the finish. Ranger, the bgger boay, gives Velsheda a small handicap in these conditions, but won by 27 seconds on corrected time. Ranger now has a 2:0 win with three races to go in the series.

There is plenty more to see this weekend as the J-Classes take to the waters off Newport this weekend for racing.  The racing starts at 1:00 pm Saturday and Sunday off Fort Adams.

For More Images by George Bekris of the J-Class action click HERE

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Velsheda battles to catch Ranger (Photo by George Bekris)

 

 

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The J Class yachts Velsheda and Ranger will be participating in the J Class  Newport Regatta, the first of a series of global J Class events, cultimating in the Hundred Guinea Cup race, Cowes 2012.

In 1930, Newport was the venue for the start of the remarkable J Class era. Between 1930 and 1937 there were just 10 of these stunning yachts constructed for the purpose of winning the America’s Cup.

A series of 5 races will be run from June 15th to 19th, 2011 with starts and finishes off of Fort Adams. Viewing stands will be set up on the Northwestern corner of Fort Adams and other excellent viewing options will be at Castle Hill Inn and various spots in Jamestown.

Working with the US Coast Guard, Sail Newport will establish safe water viewing areas along the entire course.

This will be the first competitive J Class regatta in the USA since the America’s Cup event of 1937 between the Defender Ranger, and the Challenger Endeavour II.”?:7

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Year-on-year this regatta has welcomed more classes and more boats to sail at Cowes.  Last year the Yarmouth One Designs and Dragons attended for the first time.  This year, in another milestone, two classes that are not Solent based will attend – the Mylne One Designs from the Royal Mersey Yacht Club and Loch Longs from Aldeburgh and Cove.  The fact that boats now want to travel across the country to attend is a testament to the appeal of an event that brings together sailors with a shared passion for these boats.  In the past, almost every major yacht club would have had their own one-design fleet and these boats live on and are celebrated through this community.

This year’s celebrations include the Centenary of the X One Design Class and the 50th Anniversary of the Daring class, so plenty to celebrate.  The XODs will race for the Royal Victoria Cup which is awarded by the Royal London Yacht Club to any class with a significant anniversary to celebrate

Also new for 2011 will be a menagerie fleet – not all classes can always attend in force and some boats are one-offs, so this provides the means for any classic keelboat to race. 

For more information visit Cowes Classics Week

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Newport will once again play host to a J-Class regatta, Governor Lincoln D. Chafee said on Thursday. The announcement was made to a roaring crowd of sailing enthusiasts during a special presentation at the Jane Pickens Theater.

Scheduled for June 15-19, it will be the first competitive J-Class regatta in the United States since the 1937 America’s Cup.

Chafee was joined by Sail Newport Executive Director Brad Read and RI Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Keith Stokes.
The event is being organized by Regatta Partners, and will kick off a summer of world-class racing that could be bookended by the first America’s Cup World Series regatta in September.

 

 

 

 

 

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Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk in the Open Division for cant-keel boats. Speedboat, owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record.  Rán, the Fastnet and Sydney Hobart race winner, finished first in Class 10 and is a strong contender for the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy.

Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. “We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line,” Watson said. “We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us.” Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race.  “This was the easiest Bermuda Race I’ve ever done and I’ve done a few.”  

Photos of Bermuda Race Start By George Bekris  HERE

PUMA Ocean Racing’s IL Mostro (Photo by George Bekris)

  Rán, Niklas Zennstrom’s JV 72, is the provisional winner in Class 10 for big professional boats in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division after being pushed hard by Tom Hill’s Titan XV for more than 600 miles. George David’s Rambler matched up with Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste and took line honors for these fixed-keel boats. “I’ve never sailed a Bermuda Race when you’re head to head with another boat for so long,” said Rambler’s tactician, Jerry Kirby.  “It came down to the last tack to St. David’s Light.”
 
Vanquish, co-skippered by Bermudian Buddy Rego and Americans Russell Lucas and Jamie Hilton, crossed the line first in Class 8 for the big boats in the amateur St. David’s Lighthouse Division, but Gus Carlson’s Aurora is the provisional class winner. Some smaller boats have a good shot at winning the division. Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, has a 60-mile lead over her Class 3 competition. In the highly competitive Class 1, Sinn Fein, Peter Rebovich’s Cal 40 and the two-time defending St. David’s winner, has sailed farther west than anybody and is fighting for the lead with David Dickerson’s Lindy.
 
In the Double-Handed Division, iBoattrack showed Michael Hennessy’s Dragon at the head of the pack, 160 miles from the finish, with the four-time winner Lora Ann not far behind. The Cruising Division’s leader, Clover III, was about 70 miles out on Saturday afternoon with a healthy lead on the 80-footer Nirvana.

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The lead boats entered the Gulf Stream at around sunset Saturday, heading upwind into a moderate southwesterly wind with as much as 4 knots of favorable current in the long, hot meander that they have been steering for since the race start on Friday afternoon. Speedboat, at 100ft the largest yacht in the fleet, was making more than 12 knots over the bottom. The earlier “champagne conditions” were behind them as they pounded into big, square, confused seas.

iBoattrack  positions at 11 AM EDT Sunday showed Speedboat averaging almost 11 knots with 175 miles to the finish. At this rate she is behind the  48-hour elapsed time race record for cant-keel, Open Division boats – She has to average 13knots for the whole race to beat this time.

Rán was 38 miles back. Following close on the heels of this English boat in the Gibbs Hill Division were Titan XV, Beau Geste, Bella Mente, Rambler, Il Mostro, Vanquish, and Genuine Risk. This tightly bunched pack of eight has been separated by only a few miles since the start.

By this morning the ‘big boat’ leaders were clear of the Stream and entering the 250-mile stretch of often confused wind and currents between the Gulf Stream and Bermuda. Race veterans wryly call this “Happy Valley,” for it is where the race is often won and lost.              

Chris Museler, on Titan XV, filed this report just before midnight:
“Now this is what we came for! The boat is literally crashing into waves close reaching onto the Gulf Stream and the water temperature has leapt into the 80s. It’s getting darker and the Aramid rigging has been humming and groaning, and the deck bounces from each loud crack when a sheet or the traveler is eased. This wild ride comes from being in a positive eddy heading south, straight into it! (Wind and current collide to stack up the seas that the boats are crashing into.) This is getting to be fun after losing a bit to competitors this afternoon. The bright sun and the flat water sailing are gone. Can’t write anymore, quite hot and uncomfortable down here. So I’m on watch and will be seeing you in the morning. Knew I wouldn’t want to sail a Bermuda Race without a proper ‘thrash,’ as Mr. Rousmaniere calls it!”

The Smaller Boats

By dawn today, Rán was out of the Stream, and the team was speculating in their blog whether the smaller boats – a hundred miles astern, and just entering this zone – have had consistently more wind than the big ones.

In Class 1, the St. David’s Lighthouse Division class for boats of about 40 feet, Sinn Fein, the two-time defending St. David’s champion, has chosen a course well to the right of the fleet leaders, and her close class rivals sistership Gone with the Wind and the Tartan 41 Aurora, and charting a route 50 miles west of the rhumb line.   

In the Double-Handed Division, two of the light-displacement Class 40s, Dragon and KamoaE, have a healthy lead on elapsed time, but Richard du Moulin’s Lora Ann remains in contention. 

The Cruiser Division leader is the 56-foot Clover III, well ahead of the bigger boats in this Division.      

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