18-Footers, TP52s and OD action—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 10 Mar 2014 The weekend’s sailing news comes via Sydney, Australia and the Australian 18 Footers League, where the fabled JJ Giltinan Trophy just wrapped-up racing. Here, skipper Seve Jarvin, along with his Austalian-flagged 'Gotta Love It 7' team of Sam Newton and Scott Babbage, won his sixth JJ Giltinan Trophy, tying the much-celebrated racing record of Iain Murray, who dominated the class from 1977-1982, and who now serves as the team’s manager, as well as the CEO of Team Australia, the Challenger of Record for the 35th Americas Cup.

According to reports, Michel Coxon’s 'Thurlow Fisher Lawyers' (AUS) team of Dave O’Conner and Tent Bamabas took second place, followed by Alex Valings’ 'C-TECH' (NZ) team of Chris Kitchen and Joshua McCormack. Get the full JJ Giltinan Trophy debriefing, as well as video replays, inside this issue.

Meanwhile, and much closer to home, the racecourse action was intense at the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, where top sailors in all of the top (non-Olympic) One Design classes (e.g., Stars, VX Ones, J/70s, Viper 640s, Melges 20s and Melges 24s) gathered for seven days of tactically engaging racing. While the wind was less than cooperative for slices of the regatta, Miami rarely disappoints, especially when it comes to mid-winter sailing.

'The fleet was very competitive; there was a very high level of sailing,' said Bill Hardesty, who served as tactician for John Taylor’s winning Melges 20 team. 'It was great sailing against the best of them. [We] won [the Melges 20] Worlds in December and the hardest thing to do is to come back and win again.'

The racing action was also highly competitive in the venerable Melges 24 class. 'Coming from the northwest to sail in Miami was a great change of pace,' said Kevin Welch of Anacortes, Washington, who sailed away with top Melges 24 honors. 'We have not been able to sail since last fall. First day we hit a snag; our anchor line wrapped around our keel. So Friday our strategy was to just avoid disaster and sail smooth. Friday was the best sailing day we have had in a very long time. This was a great event to be part of.'

Don’t miss the full post-racing report from this year’s Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, inside this issue.

Speaking of Miami, the TP52 class’ 52 US Championship has been taking place since March 5th, with racing set to conclude after today. At the time of this writing, 'Azzurra' was sitting in the pole position, followed by 'Quantum Racing' and 'Interlodge'.

'We are very happy with the results,' said Vasco Vascotto, 'Azzurra’s' tactician. 'Still we made a couple of mistakes and so we have to sort them out in our debriefing, but at the end with two second places today and one first we cannot be unhappy and leading with a point ahead of 'Quantum Racing'. Tomorrow will be very light, very difficult and very shifty and so it is good to finish well in that strong breeze today.'

Get the full 52 US Championship report, inside this issue, and stay tuned to the website later today for the final results, as they becomes known.

And in Olympic sailing circles, word has recently hit the street that the Clearwater Community Sailing Center, in Clearwater, Florida, has been named as an official US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Training Center. According to reports, Clearwater Community Sailing Center will acquire three brand-new 2.4mRs, as well as two SKUD-18s and four Laser Radials, and US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider sailors will have full, year-round access to the facility and to this new equipment.

'Clearwater Community Sailing Center is providing a major shot in the arm to Olympic and Paralympic sailing in the U.S.,' said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. 'CCSC is committed to providing our team with a world-class venue and equipment to match. We are proud and excited to form a new partnership with such an energetic and forward-thinking organization.' More, inside.

Also inside, get the latest news from the J/105 Mid-Winter Championships, check in with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition. And finally, for anyone who could use a hit of sunshine and salt on this late winter’s day, be sure to spend some time ogling the great image galleries from the JJ Giltinan Trophy’s final days of racing.

May the four winds blow you safely home,