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Now’s the time to sign up for the St Francis Yacht Club’s Spring One Design Regatta, the first event on the 2016 Fleet One calendar. This year, Saturday’s racing fun will be combined with a post-race seminar by Dave Perry, illustrated with events on the water and, no doubt, a smattering of entertaining and informative anecdotes drawn from his experience as a skipper, tactician and RRS maven. Dave is a collegiate All-American, two-time Congressional Cup champion and a respected author and teacher. For several years, Sailing World published a regular column by Perry: “Winning In One-Designs”. Perry went on to pen “Tactics in Windshifts”, “Heavy-Air Madness,”, “Inner Sailing” and “There is No Lee Bow Effect.” Even better known and more widely read is Perry’s accessible: “Understanding Yacht Racing Rules”. 

Don’t miss this opportunity and be sure to sign up before March 2nd to avoid late fees. To race, you’ll need to have paid your 2016 Fleet One dues – send your check to Pat Doyle ASAP if you still haven’t taken care of it.

Oddly enough, you also need perseverence to win the 3BF, while navigating fickle winds, treacherous currents and 380 other boats on your breeze or in the way. This year clockwise was the right call and those that headed to Blackaller beat the easterly starters by about an hour. Masquerade was second and Mojo third. Jam Session was the first clockwise J105, finishing 6th.

The next event is the Spring One Design Regatta on March 5/6th weekend. Don’t forget to pay your fleet dues, enter the race and wake-up hibernating crew members; 2016 championship season kickoff is only a month away.

Opening the regatta with what would prove to be his worst finish, a fourth, Shawn Bennett and his team on Jose Cuervo then racked up four first place finishes for a nearly perfect record against 26 other teams competing for the 2015 J/105 North American Championship, run concurrently with Rolex Big Boat Series at the St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA). Shawn won not only the right to have his name inscribed on the J/105 NA half-model trophy, but also the St. Francis YC Commodore’s Cup, and he received a coveted Rolex Submariner Watch. In second place was Mojo (Jeff Littfin), with Risk (Jason Woodley/Scott Whitney) in third place, last year’s Big Boat Series winner Arbitrage (Bruce Stone) in fourth, and Blackhawk (Ryan Simmons) in fifth.  

For a quick J/105 NA video wrap-up, click here.

There will be a boat weighing at the Berkeley Marine Center Saturday, March 21 between 10:00 and 11:00 AM. Dick Horn, USSA Measurer will perform the weighing and certified weight certificates will be issued.

Why should I get my boat weighed?

In order to race in Fleet and Class one design races (including the 2015 North Americans in San Francisco) , a J/105 must have a weigh certificate stating its weight meets/exceeds the Class minimum weight (8576 lbs).

Why should I get my boat weighed if I don’t plan to race one design?

Even if you race PHRF, you need to meet the “specs” of the type of boat you are racing. Someone could protest your PHRF rating if you don’t meet the specs.

Also, if you ever want to charter your boat to someone who wants to race in a one design regatta, a weight certificate is required.

If you want to sell your J/105 to a person who wants to race the boat, the weight certificate hurdle is already handled.

Why should I get my boat reweighed?

Boats that have had major repairs (i.e. hitting rocks with their keels) or change in equipment (i.e. new engine) are required to be reweighed. In these cases, the results usually means a decrease in corrector weights.

How much does it cost?

Previous weighings have been $150/boat when we have four or more boats (we presently have two boats committed). Individual weighings are significantly more. This is the only weighing planned for 2015.

The winter RegattaPro series kicked off on November 8th on Berkeley Circle. This year’s entry list features a large number of new boats, new names on old boats, new owners of known boats and old owners in familiar boats in unaccustomed positions on the leaderboard. The continued growth and evolution of Fleet One speaks well of the boat, the class and the quality of the J105 racing on San Francisco Bay – Welcome All!

After two races, Hazardous Waste leads the pack, followed by Chinook and Aquavit – doing well under new management, then David Mace’s Moonlighting, and Joyride in 5th. The next two races are scheduled for December 13th. There’s still time to sign up for the best Winter One Design racing on the bay.

Fleet One is hosting the North Americans during the 2015 Rolex Big Boat Series on Sept 17-20.

In addition to the usual 20+ locals boats, we extend a warm welcome to J105 owners around the country to bring their boats or to charter local boats and share the fun. To whet your appetite T2P.TV folks kindly prepared a special video using J/105 footage from the recent Rolex BBS. Turn up the speakers and enjoy the action!

A year after the contest for the 34th America’s Cup, world-class sailing is alive and thriving on San Francisco Bay. For four days in September, the 50th Anniversary edition of the Rolex Big Boat Series hosted hundreds of sailors on 99 teams, rotating onto three strategically-placed race circles that triangulate the constant wind and tide challenges of the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas. Having developed stadium sailing long before the America’s Cup made it a local colloquialism, the St. Francis Yacht Club ensured fast fun for spectators as well as competitors by designing each day’s second race (always sailed in a blustering afternoon breeze) to finish within cheering distance of the clubhouse’s famous second-story race deck that commands attention east to Alcatraz Island and west to a sun-drenched, or alternately fog-enshrouded, Golden Gate Bridge. The J/105s made up the largest fleet at Big Boat this year, and Bruce Stone’s Arbitrage held the lead every day, earning the team the Commodore’s Cup plus the Rolex watch. “This is the toughest fleet in the country I think,” said Stone who missed winning last year by a narrow margin. “We felt that the new courses were really interesting, and St. Francis Yacht Club did a really excellent job,” he added. Scooter Simmons’ Blackhawk took the silver position, and Phillip Laby’s Godot the bronze. Complete results

In a departure from the traditional J105 A-Series circuit, Fleet One enthusiastically accepted an invitation to race from the beautifully located and always hospitable Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon. Saturday’s windward-leeward course was set up a few hundred yards off the end of the end of Berkeley pier. A light ebb was running, stronger to the south side of the course, switching to an early flood later in the day at the top mark. Blackhawk, Godot, Akula, Arbitrage and Mojo prevailed in the gusty winds and managed to outpace boats that suffered in the strong breeze and substantial chop that had developed by race 3. In an interesting twist to the usual go-fast, turn-left circuits, the RC ended racing with a long beat leg to a finish close to Little Harding, making for an easy cruise back to the club, live band and beer/pizza party.

Sunday’s racing was located in a more Northerly part of Berkeley Circle, once again in light ebb, but with no particular current advantage on either side of the course. Mojo took the first race bullet and Godot could only manage a 4th, compressing the field and ensuring that any of the top 5 boats had a legitimate chance to win the regatta with a good showing in race 5. Mojo and Godot both had good starts, converging on the starboard layline to the top mark. Mojo miss-judged a very close duck and hit Godot a foot or so from their stern – causing damage and the retirement of both boats. 

After considerable mathematics, some throwout-rule analysis, redress hearings and a rather disappointing late goal by Portugal, the results were: 1 – Godot, 2 – Blackhawk, 3 – Arbitrage, 4 – Akula and 5 – the unlucky Mojo.

J105 Fleet One A-Series Championship racing continues on July 12th with the Sausalito YC Regatta. Register here.

Last weekend saw the third annual running of the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Trophy Regatta, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club. As usual, Fleet One J105s were out in force with 18 boats on the line in anticipation of some close city-front upwind action on a flood-dominated field of play. Conditions were clear, but very breezy with 18kts of building flow from a slightly more southerly direction than typical for late spring on San Francisco Bay.

The first leeward mark of the first race was Blossom Rock, which became a J105 mosh-pit as the center knot of boats arrived simultaneously, screaming for room while trying to manage kite douses in the gusty and building southwesterly flow. David Mace’s Moonshine lost its battle with rudder traction at the mark, rounding up into Bruce Stone’s Arbitrage, causing damage, but thankfully no injuries and ending the day for both boats. The RC organized a second race around the cans and then called it a day as puffs of over 30 kts created more carnage, retirements, an unscheduled trip to Alameda for one boat with douse-difficulties and a dropped rig in the multihull division. Phil Laby’s Godot managed the conditions best, taking a bullet and a 2nd ahead of Blackhawk, Risk, Akula and Mojo.

Sunday started in the same vein as the first day of the regatta, with strong breeze and an established flood. The RC ran the scheduled races as two-lap windward-leewards. Godot’s was unable to hold onto first place, ceding the regatta to a well sailed Blackhawk and resurgent Mojo on 15 points each. Blackhawk, with two wins, took the regatta, followed by Risk in third, Arbitrage, taking advantage of the redress rules, in fourth and Akula in fifth.

The next Fleet One event is the San Francisco Yacht Club Invitational Regatta on June 7/8 – sign up early!