2007 North Americans Serve up a Variety of Conditions
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 The father and son team of Brian and Stephen Tedeschi sailed TASTES LIKE CHICKEN consistently over the three day, seven race event to win the
J/109 North American Championships, leading five local boats and two
out-of-towners. The regatta, hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club, had only eight boats
entered, but "It was very competitive, tough racing," Stephen Tedeschi said.
"These are some of
the top boats in California."
Gary Mozer, sailing CURRENT OBSESSION
from Long Beach Yacht Club, agreed. "With this fleet, there is a
lot of competition, but we're also having a lot of fun. We have a
lot of local knowledge and that really helped us." Mozer eventually finished 4th after winning a race on day 2. The seven races were won by five different boats.
Three races were run on Saturday, and with an hour and a half morning postponement for
lack of wind,
no one expected rain and 15-17 knots by the end of the day. LINSTAR, sailed by local John Shulze, made the most of the changing breeze to vault into second. "We expected to race in light conditions," said Shulze, "but when the
breeze came up in the second race, we weren't ready. After the second race we adjusted and came back." After winning two races, LINSTAR ended up third overall.
Stephen Tedeschi agreed the conditions were challenging. "It was a very
fluky day," he said. "Our last race
we came back from a bad start to
finish second. We plan to keep sailing consistently. That is how we win regattas."
And the Tedeschi crew (Tony Tedeschi, Mark
Ploch, Mark "Gonzo" Gonzales, Alex Millet, Melody Schleusner, and Peter
Hamm) did just that on Sunday by posting a 5, 2 to clinch the championship. Their consistency was quite apparent to their competitors, including
runner up Tony Wetherbee on COMMOTION.
"CHICKEN had a game plan and they stuck to it," Wetherbee said. "They came the farthest and sailed the fastest."
Last year's champion, Jon Halbert's VITESSE from Dallas, TX, won the first race on Sunday, but an escaping spinnaker at a leeward gate in the second race cost them several places. Disappointed but philosophical, Halbert said, "Hey, that's yacht racing." Complete Results
Photos courtesy of Rick Roberts.Top: Stephen Tedeschi takes the win in Friday's first race. Bottom: Gary Mozer brought his crew together for a first-place finish in the second race Friday. |
#14 and counting: San Francisco Forms a Fleet
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 This month we welcome our newest fleet -- San Francisco Bay's Fleet 14 -- into the J/109 class. Organizer Jim Vickers sent in the following comments.
"My wife Jenn and I bought JOYRIDE, hull #47, last December. At the time I promised not to race the boat during the first year, but that plan evaporated 29 days later when I entered it, along with 296 other boats, into the Bay Area's cultish Three Bridge Fiasco race. Of the thirty starters in our division, I sailed away with a third place trophy and was hooked from then on.
"When I learned that JOYRIDE was the sixth J/109 on the bay, and it took five to form a fleet, I set to work trying to organize us. It turns out it wasn't such a hard job as we all just love sailing our 109s. Since then we've added two additional boats to the bay, and we enjoyed our inaugural one-design start at the Richmond Yacht Club's Great Pumpkin Regatta held the last weekend of October.
"It is my hope that this fleet will grow and provide friendly competition to all, no matter where we lie on the racer/cruiser spectrum. Our first official fleet event will be at the Corinthian Yacht Club's Midwinter Regatta in mid January, where we expect six J/109s to participate. Yes, not only are we spoiled with the natural beauty of San Francisco Bay, but we also enjoy it year round. In fact the only differences between sailing the bay in January vs. in August are that you have to be more patient with the wind in January and you have to dress a bit warmer for your sail in August!"
JOYRIDE and QUEEN BEE enjoy some close-quarter sailing during race 3 of the RYC Great Pumpkin Regatta. Photo courtesy of Peter Lyons Imaging.
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| Storm Trysail Club's Intercollegiate Regatta Brings in New Blood |
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 Thirty-one boat-owners shared their boats and love of the sport with 235 collegiate sailors in mid-October, during Storm Trysail Club's Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta hostedby Larchmont Yacht Club. Five races were sailed in one level rated division and three one-designs, including the J/109.
Race committee PRO Charles "Butch" Ulmer kept
the fleet out racing until late in the afternoon on Saturday to finish four races even though the forecast called for a windy Sunday. He looked very smart as the fleet
drifted around Sunday morning in postponement, and then sailed a great
first beat in 10-12 knots of breeze that eventually faded off to nothing. Courses were shortened and all but one boat made the time limit, but a second race attempt did not succeed.
This regatta has become the highlight of the season for college sailors
and boat owners. As Ulmer said, "This is the way it should
be; this is the way to bring new sailors into big boat sailing. These
kids will sail for the rest of their lives."
More Info
1. RELENTLESS (Webb Institute) 12.0
2. PATRIOT(US Naval Academy) 14.0
3. 3 CHEERS (Tufts) 17.0
4. MAD DOGS (Middlebury ) 21.0
5. STORM (Mass Maritime) 25.0
6. SUNDARI (Miami of Ohio) 26.0
7. MELODY (Fordham) 29.0
8. VIVACE (US Military Academy) 37.0
Starting line action provided by Howard McMichael/STC.
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Distance Racing Seminar
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UK Halsey and McMichaels Yacht Brokers have teamed up to offer a distance racing seminar exclusively for J/109 owners. The seminar will be at Larchmont Yacht Club, December 13, 2007 at 7:30pm. For more info, contact Rick Lyall or Butch Ulmer.
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This newsletter marks the second month of the J/109 E-News, and we've already received a lot of great feedback about this addition to class communications. If there is something you would like to see included in next month's issue, please let us know.
