Simon Grain

Monjon (Australia) J24 Victorian Championships 2014

2014 States poster

Two days to go and the weather is looking marvelous … well, depends on how you like it !

Traditionally a balmy weather regatta with hot competition on the water and a great social gathering on the Saturday evening at Mike Lewenhagen’s party house, over the years the Vic States has attracted many interstate visitors and it is no different this year, with interstate entires from NSW and SA. National Champion Steve Girdis is coming down and there will be a grudge match with Dave Suda for sure.

Others jostling for top honours will be Brendan Lee, Hugo Otaway and Doug Watson so the competition will be hot !  The middle of the fleet will be a hotbed of competitive carnage too with the very strong Melbourne fleet out for honours and no quarter will be given. we also have a number of new crews to the states as well with our two youth boats being sailed by our very able young crews.

If you can’t get down and sail then why not come for the party at Mike’s. BYO food and drink otherwise Mike will be starving for the next week. Normally a huge night – don’t try to go drink for drink with some of the later stayers (you know who you are JN) otherwise you will be crawling onto your boat with a sore head on Sunday.

Once again MONJON are our major sponsors and we are very grateful for their support this year, truely the event would not be anywhere near what it is without them.

Victorian President Doug MacGregor has his team all over this regatta so if you have any queries make contact sooner rather than later.

Doug MacGregor and Kirby O’Brien have been working hard on the sponsorship side of things and have come up with a great selection of sponsors who are offering a range of support for our State Championships. From Kirby:

"This event wouldn't be possible without the support of our very generous
sponsors (well....technically it'd still be possible, but nowhere near as
entertaining and none of the freebies!). So I'd like to take the time to
thank our sponsors and let you know who they are.

MONJON - John Moncrieff's financial support of the J24 regattas has been
truly amazing John looks like this. MONJON are experts in the following
fields, give them a call and tell them you are a J sailor:
 - security systems, alarms, CCTV installations for any kind of building
 - personal security or security personnel
 - traffic management
 - security and traffic management for film sets and sites.
Please encourage everyone you know to seek out MONJON for any of the
above services, as their work is truly top notch.
http://www.monjon.com.au

UK SAILMAKERS - At the top of Jetty Rd.  Again, UK Sails have been a long
time supporter of the J's and we love to love them back. Sam Haines has
very generously donated two great gift vouchers which will be awarded to
the overall winner of the regatta and the handicap race winner.
http://www.uksailmakers.com/Australia-Melbourne

ANCHOR MARINE - At the top of Jetty Rd also. We love ANCHOR MARINE. Andy
Warner is an absolute guru in the sailing world and can help you with
all your:
 - Chandlery needs
 - Safety gear
 - Clothing
Andy has generously donated gift vouchers for the raffle. They currently
have amazing prices on women's Dubarry shoes if anyone needs to keep
their toes warm for winter...
www.anchormarine.com.au

SYNERGY AUDIO - These guys distribute some very cool audio visual gear,
including brands like Sonus Faber, McIntosh and Cambridge Audio. Check
out the raffle prizes and you will see their very generously donated
Minx Go and you'll no doubt be listening to some of their gear over
the weekend. They also have a clearance store, well worth checking
out if you're after a bargain.
www.synergyaudio.com

BIKE FACTORY OUTLET - Derek and the boys at BFO have donated terrific
prizes. BFO are well worth popping in to see - they also have a store
on the corner of Inkerman and Nepean in St Kilda and they are the home
of cycling and triathlon bargains. They are the masters of last
season's gear at awesome prices. Go visit them at 265 Charman Road,
Cheltenham and also check out their deals on
www.bikefo.com.au

I'd be grateful if you could please express your appreciation for
their generosity by liking our sponsors on Face Book where possible."

Call Doug on 0400 584 067, email him on doug@daylightstudios.com.au

NOR and much more information is available on the Sandringham YC site, go to http://www.syc.com.au/regattas/j24-victorian-state-championships/

 

Sail your own J24 at Sandringham Yacht Club

Great racing and fun at Sandringham
Great racing and fun at Sandringham

It’s February and the second half of the season is starting. Here’s your opportunity to get into owning and skippering your own boat very cheaply, we have two J24 yachts available for sale at Sandringham and there are more available around Australia that can be brought to Sandringham.

Owning your own J24 racing yacht is one of the cheapest ways to get into small keelboat ownership. Club membership is less than your average golf club and the cost to maintain your yacht on the hardstand at Sandringham is less than almost anywhere else.

There are nearly 6000 J24s in the world and around 200 in Australia, Sandringham has a fleet of around 20 so there is plenty of competition for racing and plenty of friendship and camaraderie for those learning the boat. In fact we’ll mentor you all the way till you get the hang of it.

Buying one of the two J24 yachts available at Sandringham gives you a big headstart, storage on the hardstand (where you keep your boat) is already organised, take over the boat and you have a place to put it already !

You don’t have to own it on your own ! A J24 is sailed with 4-5 people so buying one with someone else and halving the cost is a great way to buy easy and have part of your crew already in place. You could be sailing you own boat for less than you think. How much ? Share your ownership and you could be sailing for less than $6000.

That’s a 24 ft racing keelboat with mainsail, genoa, jib and spinnaker for less than the cost of your average racing dinghy. Plus you get 4 berths down below so you can spend the weekend away with your family – kids love them. Going sailing in dad’s boat.

Like to know more, get lots more information on the J24 class all around Australia on this site or call Simon Grain 0413 870 046 or Doug MacGregor 0400 584 067 in Melbourne.

SA State Titles

Last years SA States was a light wind glamour
Last years SA States was a light wind glamour

The 2014 South Australian States are going to be held at the CYCSA, 29 & 30 March 2014.  There will be five races over the two days.  Skippers and crews will enjoy a special Saturday evening gourmet barbecue accompanied by an extra-special selection of SA wines.  Excellent facilities, great SA Title Tee shirt and a great time etc etc.  Of course there is also the great sailing the waters off Adelaide give at this time of the year.

Jim Townsend is the new SA President and he is determined to bring the SA fleet back into National contention so this regatta is a bit of a dry run for next years nationals. Jim is determined to make some big changes including bringing the fleet back together and get all those boats sitting on the hard stand out on the water. Can’t tell you all the behind the scenes ‘goings on’ but there will be charter boats available for the States, so if you can’t trail there get a plane and sail one of the SA boats, Jims intention is that you will have the best time on and off the water. It’s close to the Vic States time wise so if you are doing the trip from NSW then why not make it a round trip doing the two regattas for a bit of extra training. There’s no limit on how much SA wine you can bring into Vic !

Let’s go and support the SA fleet and have a great time !

Convicts Revenge on winning the Nationals

Top mark

Steve won the start, won the race and won the regatta, our new National Champion talks a little about the regatta – wise words indeed ! (Ed)

“All agreed the 2014 J24 Nationals was well run by the very quaint and accommodating Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club . There was much attention to detail and plenty of volunteers and staff to ensure the sailors felt welcome and enjoyed themselves. There was the friendly tender service servicing all the moored Js and the catering staff doling out bacon and egg rolls and cappuccinos for competitors to enjoy while sitting on the grass overlooking one of Sydney Harbour’s most pristine beaches. The presentation dinner was wonderful on the enclosed verandah.

This was some consolation to the Melbourne folk who observed that for most of the regatta it was sunnier and warmer in Melbourne, to which of course the locals responded with the local standard “its not normally like this, you should have been here last week“. In other onshore developments an undeserved twist of fate found the RPEYC Commodore’s (Sean Kirkjan) J24 beached in front of the club one morning mid regatta under mysterious circumstances, suffering considerable keel damage.

After being blown ashore at night, Sean's keel was slightly modified. He still won a race with it like this though !
After being blown ashore at night, Sean’s keel was slightly modified. He still won a race with it like this though !

It was great having competitors from Singapore, South Australia and Victoria as well as locals.

It certainly was not “the brochure” of steady Sydney summer nor’easters, in fact we only had nor’easters for the invitation race and final day.

Most of the racing happened in fairly shifty and mentally challenging south and south east winds. The upside from this was that there was a lot of “snakes and ladders” on the course, with leaders never being able to relax and those deep able to carry on in hope.

Racing was close, positions changed regularly throughout the whole the fleet, and big winning margins were rare.

The results sheet over 10 races bears this out and shows the variety in heat winners and place getters which made it fun and kept it interesting.

All the competitors would have their own perspective of how it went, but from on board Convicts Revenge this is how it happened …..

From a technical sailing perspective this regatta seemed very much about throwing away the compass and fine tuning guide and just sailing free and fast to the next bit of pressure.

The racing culminated in a friendly “showdown” of sorts for the last 2 races on the final day, where 1 point only separated Pacemaker from Kaotic and Convicts Revenge between 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Some tough decisions to be made because the bible to Sydney Harbour sailing says “thou shall starboard tack from start, hit Bradley’s head, tack on to port and thou shall to the lay”. However the bible also says “the incoming tides around the celebration of Xmas can be strong so go right on port”.

This theology on top of which boat to cover ! ?

In the first beat of the first race, the 3 boats went, right covering each other, to be collectively somewhat hammered by those who stuck with tradition and hit Bradleys in the left.

In the last race there was (predictably)some match racing action at the start between Convicts and Pacemaker which resulted in Pacemaker doing penalty turns. Convicts came out better on the first beat, in the lead ,working the left with Kaotic going right. Up the last beat Kaotic worked the middle well and caught right up and then it was a tacking dual . .  They split, Convicts picking up a pressure advantage in the right which delivered the winning margin…. of one point.”

'Goings On' in Sleepy Hollow

Somewhere south of Sydney, in a Peter Jackson style plot with ‘goings on down there’, there is a place called ‘The Shire’ – they even made a TV series about it.

A quiet little place of incredible beauty, classically laid out with a long inlet full of boats, a small but friendly club right on the water and ‘tie up space fer yer boat’. It’s protected by a large sand bar but with access to the open ocean. Known more for its Etchells fleet and regattas and larger yachts, there are ……….. ‘Goings On’

It seems there is a growing revolution with an increase in the number of J24s there, apparently the number is now 13 (NSW’s largest J fleet), with 3 new boats in the last month. Now it seems that it is more ‘club members sailing Js rather than Js sailing at the club’, as they keep to themselves alot but maybe that’s because they have a secret they want to keep hidden.

Cronulla is a great place to sail, semi sheltered from raging Southerlies, it enjoys warm weather, good winds, great beaches and plenty of cold club beer and it offers ocean sailing that most of us never get. There’s talk afoot of a Bi Annual winter regatta on Queens Birthday weekend, in fact there has already been one (T’was a little windy)

Hey Australia, J24s are being found and sailed, its a great little boat that is youth and female friendly (current Cronulla J champions are ‘the Girls” sailing Cooee II, although that could change this year) and they are being sailed in some fantastic places in Australia. Cronulla is just one of those places. Check it out next time you are in Sydney, or check out a mid winter regatta ………. sounds like a great idea !

2014 Victorian State Titles

Sandy fleet racing in a typical soft late summer day
Sandy fleet racing in a typical soft late summer day

After a hard fought Nationals in Sydney, interest is already growing for the Victorian State Titles this year with enquiries from across the country for boats, dates and details.

The dates are 12 – 13 April, traditionally a balmy weather regatta, it is known for its hot competition on the water and it’s great social gathering on the Saturday evening. Over the years the Vic States have attracted many interstate visitors and already it is clear this year will be no different, with enquiries from Qld, NSW and SA.

So if you are a local owner looking for local or interstate crew, looking to charter your boat out, an interstate skiper or crew looking for a boat or a crew slot then now is the time to start organising yourself as the opportunities will soon close up.

With 19 boats at Sandy and the interest already shown it is quite possible we will have a 25+ boat fleet. Vic President Doug MacGregor will have his team all over this regatta so if you have any queries make contact sooner rather than later.

Call Doug on 0400 584 067, email him on doug@daylightstudios.com.au  you can also call Simon on 0413 870 046 if you can’t catch Doug

NOR is being prepared currently and will be available on the SYC and J site asap.

Putting your mast in and taking it out

Recently we have been asked by a number of people how to take a mast out and put it back in. I have set up a new page where we show you how to use ‘the sticks’ or bipod method as we do at Sandy. To see the article look under the ‘About J24’ link above.

Awesome pic of secret J foiler !

We are on the trail of something big at Sandy. With the approaching summer season rapidly coming at us here in Melbourne, we believe testing with the new J24 foiler has been going on over the winter. The skipper is reported as saying that they have been able to get the boat foiling once they get surfing on a wave and can sometimes keep it on the foils long enough to get onto the next wave and doing that they have been able to actually skip forward overtaking the wave crests. ‘The AC is safe for the moment’ is the joke going about down on the hardstand but there are some very serious faces around this project where the foils remain covered away in a padlocked cover to keep prying eyes out (shades of Ben Lexcen). The skipper went on to say that “where we have made real gains though, is reaching, traditionally the J has been a very poor reaching boat due to it’s short waterline length, now we are blasting along like a skiff”. Apparently the lead in the keel keeps the boat much steadier than a foiling moth or Laser when it is up on the foils. The normal righting moment of the lead keel would tend to confirm this. Tests continue on foiling upwind which although reported has not been verified by anyone reliable yet. The only picture released so far is a rather poor quality shot showing the boat up on its foils whilst surfing a wave off Sandringham YC. We note that the name has been airbrushed off the hull to mask that actual test boat and the sail number has been blocked out. More when we can break through the sercurity surrounding this amazing breakthrough.

Amazing foiling J
Amazing foiling J

2013 J24 World Champs

A very close competion so far between defending champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil, a model of consistency with four top three finishes, leads the fleet overall but the crew from Rio is being pressed all the way by former World Champion Tim Healy of the USA who is only two points adrift. He in turn has only two points to spare over Britain’s Ian Southworth.

Click here for links to the competition pictures and results

Go to the Howth yacht club site here

 

 

Winch Servicing Demo

I have had a number of people ask me about servicing winches and I am aware that many people don’t do this regularly and have no idea how to do it. It isn’t hard, it doesn’t need to be messy, but you do need to be careful how you do it. I am going to give a servicing demo on Jet at SYC on the 8th September at 2.30pm for any J owners and sailors that want to see how to do it. If you want to come shoot me an email to let me know.

simon@smarketing.com.au

0413 870 046