Alcatel J/70 Worlds - Cut-throat competition on Day 1 in San Francisco

by STFYC on 28 Sep 2016 World Championship regattas always generate high-level competition, but when you stack 68 of the world’s most popular One Design boats on San Francisco Bay in a crisp, late-September breeze, you can bet your last shackle that the competition will be ferocious.

Such was the case at the start of the 2016 Alcatel J/70 Worlds, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, as the fleet of top-shelf competitors experienced classic early fall conditions that tested racers' big-fleet skills.

“You’re not going to win the regatta in the first race but you could lose it,” said Paul Cayard, a Volvo Ocean Race winner, who is serving as tactician aboard Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network. “(At first) you’re just trying to get a couple of good races in. (Then), as the regatta proceeds…you may (eventually) have to start making a more aggressive game plan.”

While the morning started with a one-hour shoreside postponement to allow the sea breeze to fill in on the Berkeley Circle racecourse, everyone clearly had first blood in mind once the starting guns began sounding in 15-18 knots of wind, with puffs in the low 20s. There were two general recalls before the Race Committee added the motivation of a black flag: Cross the line early and disqualification is mandatory.

The bulk of the fleet concentrated on the right side of the line, a move that suited skipper Chris Kostanecki and his crew aboard Jennifer (USA 370) just fine, as Kostanecki split with the herd and aimed left, finding clear lanes. As boats to the right-hand side of the course battled for scraps, Jennifer enjoyed a fast ride to the windward mark, which they rounded first, creating a commanding lead that they carried across the finish.

“We nailed the start,” said Kostanecki, three minutes after crossing the line in this talent-rife class, which includes both former J/70 World Champions Tim Healy (2014) and Julian Fernandez Neckelmann (2015), as well as former America’s Cup winners and Olympic champions. “The weather end of the line was favored, and we went left. It was our game plan and we (stuck with) it.”

Unfortunately for Jennifer, the Race Committee deemed that Kostanecki and 15 other skippers were on course side before the start, resulting in 16 disqualifications. After the Race Committee sorted out black-flag rulings, Jud Smith’s Africa (USA 179) took first place, followed by Joel Ronning’s Catapult (USA 187) and Julian Fernandez Neckelmann’s Flojito y Cooperando (MEX 384).

The Race Committee—lead by Principal Race Officer Mark Foster—quickly began race two’s countdown, with the less-menacing U flag usurping race one’s black-flag guillotine. Jennifer’s start was clearly noticed by her competitors, and the left side of the line became expensive real estate as the clock wound down. A signal sounded, sails sheeted on hard, and 68 polished teams began battling 1.8 nautical miles of uphill sailing.

While Cayard wisely predicted that a new world champion wouldn’t be minted in the first race, this didn’t stop Calvi Network (ITA 456) from dropping the hammer on race two. Come the final downhill run, Calvi Network’s distinctive logoed spinnaker was easy to spot, thanks to the generous lead that she enjoyed over Claudia Rossi’s Petite Terrible (ITA 853) and Kostanecki’s Jennifer.

“We started on the right side of the course, and we controlled the right side,” said Cayard, minutes after exchanging a round of celebratory high-fives with his skipper and crew. “We kept the boat upright on the run, and we had some great steering.” While a bullet was fresh in mind, Cayard—a consummate professional—downplayed their result, given that the team scored 23rd in race one, putting them in seventh place overall. “It’s a long series,” said Cayard, his mind clearly focusing on the next four days.

After two races, Smith’s Africa is in first place with six points, followed by Ronning’s Catapult (who also carries six points) and Neckelmann’s Flojito y Cooperando, who finished their day with 15 points. This sets the stage for a massive battle between these three teams as their tacticians—Victor Diaz, John Kostecki and Bill Hardesty, respectively—seek the podium’s top step.

Racing continues on Wednesday and runs through Saturday, with the Race Committee hoping to rifle off ten more races in the next four days. Interested spectators can follow the racing online courtesy of title sponsor Alcatel, who supplied smartphones to each boat that are being used as onboard trackers to report real-time positions, facilitating a state-of-the-art virtual spectator experience for those ashore.

For more information about this world-class regatta, visit website.

Results:

Place	Sail Number	Sailor(s)	Division	Boat Name/Club	R1	R2	Total	Net
1	#23 USA 32	Shawn Bennett	Corinthian	StFYC/SFYC	12	22	34	34
2	#52 USA 58	Pat Toole	Corinthian	3 Big Dogs SBYC	4	47	51	51
3	#54 USA 59	Craig Tallman	Corinthian	Jaya KHYC	35	29	64	64
4	#30 USA 95	Heather Gregg Joe Bardenheier	Corinthian	MUSE NYYC	43	23	66	66
5	#55 USA 534	Scott Sellers	Corinthian	1FA StFYC	29	37	66	66
6	#60 GBR 123	Simon Ling	Corinthian	Team RAF Benevolent Fund PYC	27	41	68	68
7	#33 USA 351	Scott Deardorff	Corinthian	CAKE SBYC	34	40	74	74
8	#2 USA 153	Geoffrey Pierini	Corinthian	Surge NYYC	36	39	75	75
9	#13 USA 94	Jim Cunningham	Corinthian	Lifted SFYC/NYYC	39	48	87	87
10	#17 USA 582	Tom Thayer Robert Milligan	Corinthian	Rampage RYC	45	50	95	95
11	#29 USA 347	Chris Raab	Corinthian	Sugoi StFYC/NHYC	BFD-69	32	101	101
12	#43 MEX 383	Fabian Gomez-Ibarra	Corinthian	Vagazo CYC	42	59	101	101
13	#7 USA 305	Dave Vieregg	Corinthian	Soggy Dollar SDYC	51	57	108	108
14	#1 MEX 164	Ignacio Perez	Corinthian	Zaguero PV	40	UFD-69	109	109
15	#32 AUS 007	Tim Ryan	Corinthian	Vamos CYCA	47	62	109	109
16	#62 USA 81	Steve Hendricks	Corinthian	Monkey House SBYC	49	61	110	110
17	#68 USA 898	Tracy Usher	Corinthian	Christine Robbin StFYC	BFD-69	42	111	111
18	#34 GBR 828	Charles Thompson	Corinthian	Brutus RSYC	BFD-69	44	113	113
19	#22 CAN 1033	Gerry Hines	Corinthian	Simply Irresistible SYC	52	63	115	115
20	#57 GBR 801	Allan Higgs	Corinthian	ESF Energy RSYC	BFD-69	49	118	118
21	#51 USA 391	Vaillant Elisabeth	Corinthian	TRISKELL SNM	BFD-69	52	121	121
22	#26 USA 249	Jim Murrell	Corinthian	Huckleberry KHYC	BFD-69	55	124	124
23	#27 USA 536	Tim Sisson	Corinthian	FLYC	BFD-69	DNF-69	138	138
24	#41 USA 179	Jud Smith		Africa EYC	1	5	6	6
25	#28 USA 187	Joel Ronning		Catapult Wayzata YC	2	4	6	6
26	#14 MEX 384	Julian Fernandez Neckelmann		Flojito y Cooperando CNVB	3	12	15	15
27	#5 ITA 853	Claudia Rossi		Petite Terrible SEFS	15	2	17	17
28	#66 USA 3	Jack Franco		3 Ball JT LYC	8	11	19	19
29	#53 CHI 74	Matias Seguel		Allegro CNP	7	13	20	20
30	#11 ITA 456	Carlo Alberini		Calvi Network CDVP	23	1	24	24
31	#6 USA 539	Justin Kromelow		Loose Lucy StFYC	20	6	26	26
32	#16 USA 240	Bruno Pasquinelli		Stampede FWBC	19	7	26	26
33	#15 USA 96	Brian Keane		Savasana BYC	6	21	27	27
34	#20 USA 375	Stan Edwards		Lickety Split -	18	10	28	28
35	#44 CAY 580	Peter Cunningham		Powerplay Racing CISC	11	18	29	29
36	#48 USA 34	Bennet Greenwald		Perseverance SDYC	14	15	29	29
37	#36 ESP 961	Jose Maria Torcida		Noticia RCMS	9	26	35	35
38	#42 USA 49	Peter Duncan		Relative Obscurity AYC	21	20	41	41
39	#64 BRA 403	Mauricio Santa Cruz		Bruschetta ICRJ	26	19	45	45
40	#47 USA 2	Tim Healy		Sail Newport	13	34	47	47
41	#21 CHI 687	Per Von Appen		Black Sails CNP	5	43	48	48
42	#45 MEX 415	Jorge Murrieta Luis Tellez		Flojito y Cooperando II CNA	24	24	48	48
43	#3 USA 380	Gannon Troutman		Pied Piper FBYC	16	36	52	52
44	#25 ITA 261	Carlo Tomelleri		Enjoy with Spitfire CNB	25	30	55	55
45	#63 MEX 401	Ricardo Brockmann		Vincitore AYC	10	46	56	56
46	#58 USA 29	Peter Cameron		Prime Number StFYC	33	28	61	61
47	#49 ITA 906	Michele Galli		B2 Sanremo	31	31	62	62
48	#59 SWE 788	Douglas Eklund		Nautiska Racing SKSS	38	25	63	63
49	#56 USA 30	Chris Andersen		Perfect Wife StFYC/RYC	37	27	64	64
50	#37 USA 250	Steve Wyman		nunuhunu DPYC	32	38	70	70
51	#4 USA 370	Chris Kostanecki		Jennifer SFYC	BFD-69	3	72	72
52	#19 SWE 713	Magnus Tyreman		TYRA KSSS	22	51	73	73
53	#9 USA 369	John Brigden Chris Snow		Cool Story, Bro StFYC	28	45	73	73
54	#38 GBR 108	Martin Dent		JElvis -	17	58	75	75
55	#24 MEX 680	Yon Belausteguigoitia		Bala IZAR	BFD-69	8	77	77
56	#35 USA 353	Robert Hughes		Heartbreaker MBYC	BFD-69	9	78	78
57	#67 USA 585	Peter Vessella		Running Wild StFYC	BFD-69	14	83	83
58	#31 USA 856	Kenneth Kieding		Smoke & Mirrors SBYC	48	35	83	83
59	#61 USA 348	Tom Kassberg		Pickled Herring SFYC	BFD-69	16	85	85
60	#40 USA 51	Douglas Strebel		Black River Racing Lakewood	BFD-69	17	86	86
61	#65 USA 389	Trey Sheehan		Hooligan PBYC	30	DNF-69	99	99
62	#10 USA 169	John Heaton		Empeiria CYC	BFD-69	33	102	102
63	#46 JPN 809	Makoto Uematsu		Esmeralda JSAF	46	56	102	102
64	#50 ITA 105	Vittorio Di Mauro		Tanspance CVB	44	60	104	104
65	#39 MEX 538	Martin Fichtner		Bottle Rocket StFYC	41	DNS-69	110	110
66	#12 AUS 7071	Reg Lord		Juno CYCA	50	UFD-69	119	119
67	#18 FRA 122	Cyrille Teston		JBECRE -	BFD-69	53	122	122
68	#8 MEX 522	Eduardo Porter Ludwig		GOLDO's CNVBAC	BFD-69	54	123	123