Speed and adrenaline in Riviera Nayarit

The Regata Copa México Edición Olímpica will begin with the J/24 competitions, which will take place on March 2 – 9.

In Riviera Nayarit, luxury means living a week full of adrenaline and speed. The J/24 competitions that will take place on March 2 – 9 in our destination as part of the Regata Copa México Edición Olímpica will create a real Nautical Extravaganza in our destination.

The J/24 is the most popular sailing class in the world, and will make Riviera Nayarit vibrate when some of the fastest vessels in the world assemble here to race. All competitions will begin at Marina Riviera Nayarit, located in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, which is hosting this competition.

The J/24 class has rapidly extended in the preferences of sailors, as it can be used both as a high endurance vessel for competitions, or for recreational activities. In fact, the class was born when Rodney Johnstone and his brother Rob decided to design a ship that would allow them to navigate with their family, and would also allow them to remain competitive. There are currently 5,300 J/24s, in 150 fleets in more than 40 countries, with 50,000 people navigating them.

Experts consider Riviera Nayarit as one of the best destinations for sports sailing and for a number of nautical sports, as they can be enjoyed year-round. Additionally, our destination offers modern marinas, fiberglass specialists, and technicians that can fix all the gadgets found on a ship, as well as extraordinary touristic services.

Further information at: http://j24mex.com/copa_mexico/

If you’re planning to sail in the historic Primo Cup in Monaco, you should also make plans to join your fellow J/24 sailors for some fun on the ski slopes.

MON-JCA President, Dennis Frederiksen, has once again arranged for a fantastic week of skiing and sailing.

See the details below from Dennis.

Primo Cup Website is here.

———— From Dennis Frederiksen ——————

We are very excited about this year’s Primo Cup and the 2nd J24 Ski Challenge.

To make it a little easier for all I have put together the following information for you to consider:

-  If you arrive with your boat or by plane to Monaco on Monday the 27th of January, you will have the possibility to stay one night in Monaco or immediately make your way by train or car to LIMONE, Piemonte. It will take you less than two hours.

- Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning you will get installed in your hotel, get your skis and the remaining day of Tuesday we will ski.

- Naturally the ski day will finish with After Ski drinks.

- Tuesday night I will invite you all to my place for “aperitif” before we will go to a local restaurant for dinner.

- Wednesday morning we will have the 2nd “J24 Primo Ski Challenge”. This race should be finished before midday, and we can then either go to a restaurant in the slopes or continue skiing.

- We will have prize giving during After Ski drinks.

- Thursday morning we will return to Monaco to do the inscription for PRIMO CUP and set up the boats. Alternatively you could return to Monaco on Wednesday evening after the After Ski drinks.

Please see below the information about transportation and accommodation.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT ANY TIME FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE.

Limone’s website:  http://www.riservabianca.it/home.aspx

The nice thing about Limone is that you can take the train and the station is just on the edge of town and very convenient, especially because you don’’t really need a car once you get here.

You can buy the train ticket in Monaco for the entire way, or it is less expensive to just buy Monaco to Ventimiglia in France/Monaco and buy the Italy part in Italy when you connect.  There could be a long line but they even have a ticket machine now which has a choice for English and is quite easy to do and usually does not have a line.

Monte Carlo to Ventimiglia:
http://www.ter-sncf.com/Images/Paca/Tridion/FH06-Marseille-Ventimiglia_tcm27-29977.pdf

http://www.ter-sncf.com/Images/Paca/Tridion/FH05-Nice-Breil-Cuneo_tcm27-29976.pdf

Ventimiglia to Limone (direction of Cuneo)
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

Below is the list of hotels I have for Limone but there are more.  There are only two 4* hotels in Limone, both are nice.  The Excelsior is in the center of the village and has a shuttle van to take you to the lift (3 minutes away)  The Principe Hotel is at the foot of the ski lift.  The remaining hotels are 3* and basic and simple.

Hotels in Limone 4 STAR:
Residence Grand Palais Excelsior
Via Roma, 9
12015 Limone Piemonte
+39 0171 929002 fax: +39 0171 92425
info@grandexcelsior.com

www.grandexcelsior.com

The rooms are apartments and you can choose to “unlock” the kitchen part or not based on your rate.  They have a really nice restaurant.

Albergo Principe
Via Genova 45
12015 Limone Piemonte
+39 0171 92389 fax: +39 0171 927070
hotelprincipealpi@libero.it

http://www.hotel-principe-limone.it/

www.europeholidays.com/hotelprincipe

Hotels in Limone 3 STAR:

Hotel Marguareis
Via Genova 30 – angolo Via S.Secondo 9a
12015 Limone Piemonte
+39 0171 927567
Email: info@hotelmarguareis.com

http://www.hotelmarguareis.com

(basic, clean, convenient, nice breakfast, have a room with 2 bedrooms and one bathroom all together which is convenient with kids) The owner is Davide, his sister Daniella. Very nice people, tell him I said to call (not sure if it will help but can’t hurt!)

ApartHotel Residence Limone
(sister hotel of Principe)
Piazza Risorgimento 10
12015 Limone Piemonte
+39 0171 926965 fax: +39 0171 926994
Email:  limoneresidence@libero.it

http://www.limoneresidence.it

Albergo Tripoli La Margherita
Address: Via Ing. Carlo Valbusa 11
Locality: 12015 Limone Piemonte
Phone: +39 0171 92397 fax: n/d

Meublè La Piazzetta
Address: Via Roma 38
Locality: 12015 Limone Piemonte
Phone: +39 0171 926575 fax: n/d
http://www.lapiazzettalimone.it/principale.htm

Tre Amis
Address: Panice Soprana Quota 1400, 95
Locality: 12015 Limone Piemonte
Phone: +39 0171 928175 fax: +39 0171 928177
E-mail: info@hotel3amis.it
www.hotel3amis.it

Touring
Address: Via Roma, 4
Locality: 12015 Limone Piemonte
Phone: +39 0171 92393 fax: +39 0171 926717
E-mail: touring@cnnet.it
(this one is right on the main street in the village, across from the Excelsior)

Best regards,
Dennis Frederiksen
T +377 93 100 456 M +33 6 07 04 26 60
dennis.frederiksen@fraseryachts.com

Submitted by Dennis Frederiksen of the Monaco J/24 Class Association.

Add your best caption here.

For some people, the holidays are for spending time with family. For J/24 sailors the holiday season is the time to make plans for the J/24 Midwinter Championship. What better way to escape the cold than to head to beautiful Tampa, Florida.

The folks at the Davis Island Yacht Club are getting ready to hold what looks to be another fantastic regatta on February 11-15, 2012. It’s a great way to kick off the sailing season so get your crew lined up and get ready to head to Florida and join in the fun.

More information and online registration can be found here.

Anyone with the slightest connection to the International J/24 class association will have heard the name “Stuart Jardine“ mentioned, usually in tones of great respect, if not actually tinged with awe.

Stuart’s contribution to J/24 sailing has long been recognised, at least unofficially, by those who have participated in ”behind the scenes” management of our class and indeed it would not be unfair to say that his expertise and enthusiasm has often been taken for granted.

Prior to joining the J/24 Class in 1985, Stuart had enjoyed an outstanding sailing career, which included competing in two Olympic Games and winning twenty-seven UK and European National Championships in five different classes during the period 1950 to 2007!

He was three times USA Masters Champion, and his exploits in the X-Boats, where he won the Captain’s Cup at Cowes on no less than five occasions, are the stuff of legend.

In spite of his many successes at the highest levels of our sport, Stuart always remained modest and approachable, and more than ready to devote time to helping club level sailors of all ages to improve their performance

In 1988 Stuart became a Class Measurer, and succeeded Dennis Ellis as Chief UK Measurer in 1994. As he obviously still did not have enough work to do, he took on the role of UK Class Treasurer in 1995, followed by Class Secretary in 1996. He has held all three roles until this year.

Joining the International Technical Committee in 1999 he has served us with great distinction for twelve years, and although wishing to step down, will continue to do so for at least another year at the request of his colleagues.

Earlier this year Stuart announced that he would finally retire from his roles in the UK Class, and in recognition of his wonderful contribution, the Class hosted a celebratory dinner in the elegant surroundings of the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Poole, Dorset with Stuart and his long-suffering wife Mary Ann as guests of honour.

More than sixty of his friends and fellow sailors gathered last month to pay tribute to Stuart to celebrate his achievements, and more than anything, to thank him for his efforts over many years.

Jim Anderson, the current Chairman of the UK J/24 Class, presented Stuart with a framed photograph showing his boat, Stouche, leading off the start line at the recent European Championships in Howth. The reverse of this photograph had two panels containing the signatures of everyone who had attended the dinner. Jim also presented a mounted half model of a J/24, which Stuart immediately declared he would return to the UK Class as a perpetual trophy to encourage youth sailing.

Mark Penfold, fresh from his exploits in Argentina, made a witty and sincere congratulatory speech which included reading out a letter from Marianne Schoke-Holzer in what, to the uninitiated at least appeared to be fluent Swedish !

A surprise guest, at this very special occasion was IJCA Vice-Chairman Robin Eagleson, who travelled over from Ireland under conditions of great secrecy, to announce that, by a unanimous vote of the World Council, Stuart had been named as a Councillor of Honor to the International J/24 Class Association.

This is an award which our class takes very seriously. There have only been four previous recipients of this honour, which is an indication of the esteem with which Stuart Jardine is regarded within the J/24 Class

From the International J/24 Class Association — “Congratulations and thank you Stuart!”

RUSSIA ‘A’ were crowned overall champions of Match Racing yesterday while Bahrain’s Abdulla Janahi took the Standard Class title in the Fleet Races as the Kingdom of Bahrain Regatta Championships ending on an exciting note. The event was held at the Bahrain Sailing Club near Al Jazayer Beach in Zallaq with more than 100 sailors from 12 countries taking part.

In the J/24 Match Racing championship final, Andrey Arbuzov skippered Russia ‘A’ to a 3-1 victory over his ‘B’ team, led by Sergey Musikhin.

Also leading Russia ‘A’ to victory and the top prize money of $3,500 were Kaptiukhin Vyacheslav, Borovyak Alexey and Antipov Jury.

Russia ‘B’, who walked away with $2,000, also featured Pavel Trofimchuk, Kirill Luzin and Yury Popev.

Estonia defeated Bahrain 3-0 for third place and a prize money of $1,000.

The Estonians were spearheaded by Janno Hool, Karl Kolk and Raul Griboljev. Bahrain, skippered by Ebrahim Abdulla, comprised Ahmed Al Naar, Ahmed Abdulla, Mustafa Janahi and the only women sailor in the championship Mariam Telfat.

Shaikh Khalifa, along with sponsors representatives, honoured the top three teams. The ceremony was also attended by GPIC president Abdulrahman Jawahery who congratulated the association on the outstanding organisation of the championships, which was held for the 10th consecutive year.

On his part, Russian Ambassador Victor Smirnov expressed delight over his team’s victory.

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Argentina’s Alejo Rigoni is the 2011 J/24 World Champion after securing the victory on the final day of racing. The Race Committee tried to get something started in the morning and actually did start a race on the first try under the black flag with the current running away from the line. The wind quickly died, as everyone expected, forcing the race to be abandoned. At 1430 the wind had finally filled enough to sail the event’s ninth race, which was again started on the first try under the black flag. Mike Ingham of the USA led at the first mark, and wound up third at the end to move up to third overall in the standings. Francisco van Avermaete of Argentina won the last race to secure the 4th place overall.

While all of the early focus was on Tim Healy and crew and the great lead they were building, Alejo Rigoni of Argentina and his team on “Luca” were quietly doing a pretty good job of mostly top-ten finishes. Healy suffered a DSQ on day-four of the championship from which he was unable to recover. Going into the final race, Luis Olcese of Peru was only two points off the lead so Rigoni had to keep a close watch on his competition. Rigoni worked in front of Olcese on the first leg and managed to stay in front in the 10-12 knot breeze. Rigoni’s 4^th place in the regatta’s final race was enough to win the championship and earn the title of 2011 J/24 World Champion. The team’s victory celebration was briefly delayed for an on-the-water equipment inspection. After clearing the inspection the team ceremoniously jumped overboard leaving the IJCA measurer, Tim Winger, at the helm for several minutes.

The Yacht Club Argentino organized a fantastic regatta. The weather was great, the people are friendly and the Race Committee did a great job.

Full Results:

Day Four — Races 7 and 8

Day Three — Races 5 and 6

 Buenos Aires, Argentina – After six races Tim Healy of Newport, Rhode Island remains on top of the leader board at the J/24 World Championship. Two races were completed today under sunny skies with winds ranging from 10 to 18 knots. After a general recall in each race, Principal Race Officer Teodoro Kundig was again quick to hoist the black flag to keep the aggressive fleet under control.

In the day’s first race 18 of the 58 boats (including Healy) were scored BFD after two general recalls under the black flag. On the next attempt the fleet finally got away and Peru’s Luis Olcese hit the pin end start perfectly. Olcese led the fleet until the final few meters when he was run down by Alejo Rigoni who took the win. Conditions were more challenging for the second race as the wind had again built to around 18 knots, kicking up a very confused sea. Healy rebounded from his black flag disqualification to win the race going away followed by local favorite Matias Pereira in second. The completion of the sixth race allows teams to now drop their worst score, leaving Healy in the lead by 18 points.

Top-five after six races:  1. Tim Healy (USA) – 14 pts, 2. Alejo Rigoni (ARG) – 32 pts, 3. Luis Olcese (PER) – 33 pts, 4. Francisco van Avermaete (ARG) – 37 pts, 5. Francisco Campero (ARG) – 37 pts.

10 races are scheduled and racing will continue through Saturday. Live on-the-water updates about the racing can be found on the regatta Facebook page here: http://tinyurl.com/7ty6zpa Event website: www.j24worlds2011.org.ar

J/24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DAY TWO

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Perfect sailing conditions prevailed for second day of the J/24 World Championship as Newport, Rhode Island’s Tim Healy extended his lead over the 58-boat fleet. Healy’s consistent top-five finishes allowed him to claim a 20 point lead over Argentina’s Francisco van Avermaete, who retained the second place position after two more challenging races, each started under a black flag.

The first race was started in a 10 knot breeze, building to 15 knots by the end of the race. After a significant right shift on the first leg, Francisco Campero aboard Audi crossed the line first but was scored BFD giving Peru’s Luis Olcese the race win. For the second race the wind had increased to 18-20 knots and Healy found his form, leading the fleet wire-to-wire to finish the day. Back on shore, the competitors were treated to authentic paella and ice cream at the Yacht Club Argentino.

Top-five after four races:
1. Tim Healy (USA) – 13 pts, 2. Francisco van Avermaete (ARG) – 33 pts, 3. Luis Olcese (PER) – 35 pts, 4. Matias Seguel (CHI) – 38 pts, 5. Miguel Saubidet (ARG) – 38 pts.

10 races are scheduled and racing will continue through Saturday. Live on-the-water updates about the racing can be found on the regatta Facebook page here: http://tinyurl.com/7ty6zpa.. — Event website: www.j24worlds2011.org.ar.

Day Two of Racing at the 2011 World Championship.

Photos by Jorge Cousillas – El Ojo Nautico.

J/24 World Championship – Day One

(Buenos Aires, Argentina) – After the first day of racing, Tim Healy and his team on 11th Hour Racing hold the lead in the 2011 J/24 World Championship, hosted by the Yacht Club Argentino. Healy, from Newport, Rhode Island, is the current J/24 World Champion and showed his top form with consistent 3rd and 5th place finishes in the 58-boat fleet.

After an on-the-water postponement waiting for wind, the two scheduled races were completed in 8-12 knot breezes on the Rio de la Plata. Each race was started under a black flag after one general recall, with several boats earning a BFD in Race 2. As the wind built during the day, the sailors were challenged by the short chop on the race course, which also allowed for some fun surfing on the downwind legs. The conditions were much to the liking of the locals as the remainder of the top-five positions are held by Argentinean teams, led by Francisco van Avermaete in second place and Miguel Saubidet in third place overall.

10 races are scheduled and racing will continue through Saturday. Full results and photos of the racing can be found on the regatta website at: www.j24worlds2011.org.ar. Live on-the-water updates about the racing can be found on the regatta Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/2011-J-24-World-Championship/221084941244241

Top-5 Results:  1. Tim Healy (USA) – 8 pts., 2. Francisco Van Avermaete (ARG) – 11 pts, 3. Miguel Saubidet (ARG) 15pts, 4. Alejo Rigoni (ARG) 18 pts, 5. Juan M. Duarte (ARG) 19 pts.

Report from Tim Winger – IJCA Technical Committee Chairman

Things started a bit late, but pretty much as predicted. I thought we could have started about a half hour earlier, but the delay gave me time to pester everyone about mainsails hoisted above the mast band. This RC did not mess around once they started at about 3:30 – after one recall the black flag went up. Same thing in the second race but this was necessary if they wanted to get in two races for the day.

Once settled, the wind built nicely through the races from about 7 to maybe 15 mph. There was only one course change, and that was in the second race. The chop is short here and pretty variable in size and it made for some nice surfing at the end of the day. After two good races, the first boats got back to the marina just after sunset at around 7:30.

It was a pretty day, but there were a lot of protests. I passed by the protest rooms a little after 11:00PM on my way back to my room and there were still a few waiting to be heard. Emillio, the head judge, is staying in the room next door to me. I heard him come in about 12:15AM. All through measurement I was thinking I should have been a judge. Now I remember why measurement is better! I don’t know if they even got any dinner. The weather has been fabulous here. You guys in the northern hemisphere – eat your hearts out!

Report from Andrew MacFarlane – Team Cinquecento (aka Tundra Rose)

The first race was scheduled to start at 2:00 PM; however the wind was very light and shifty. The race committee did a great job setting a course and waiting until the wind filled in enough to get a start. Finally the postponement flag came down and we were ready to race. The first start was a general recall. The next start was under a BLACK FLAG and the pressure was about 8 kts. We started mid line with a few boat lengths to spare. We had clean air and boat speed off the line but the boat end of the line was favored by a wee bit. We went left up the first beat rounded in the top 15. At the leeward gate, we were forced out to the right mark, which was unfavored. The next leg was very much the same and we finished 14th.

Race 2 started with a general recall followed again by a BLACK FLAG. We started mid-line again but pulled the trigger too soon….you don’t want to hear your number called at the worlds, but we did!

Report from Andrew MacFarlane – Team Tundra Rose

The 2011 J/24 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina started with the skippers meeting where the 58 crews from 9 nations all gathered for the first time. Following the Meeting, the practice race started at 2:00 PM in 8 kts from the SE. After a few general recalls a “Black Flag” warning, the fleet raced on the course for the first time. The wind was shifty, swinging 10-15 degrees and the sea lumpy which made for great down wind conditions. As in all practice races, the fleet peeled off on the last leg to weather and headed back to the marina for the opening ceremony.

Yacht Club Argentino hosted a very warm and friendly welcome with a navy pipe band as entertainment. The flags of each nation were hoisted by a representative from their nation in what was a fantastic show as the sun was setting.  Food and beverages flowed freely and all the crews mingled and enjoyed each other’s company before the competition starts tomorrow.

Photos from the regatta are here.

Follow the action with live on-the-water updates here.

Photos from Andrew MacFarlane

Report from Andrew MacFarlane (Team Tundra Rose)

Seattle based J/24 Team Cinquecento is Keith Whittemore (AKA KW), Karen Kast (AKA KK), Kevin Downey (AKA KD), Brian Thomas (AKA BT), and Andrew Macfarlane (AKA The Bugger!), and yes that is what we call each other! We left Seattle Wednesday November 9^th around 2:00PM with four boxes of sails and eight other checked bags, all heading to Buenos Aires for the 2011 J/24 World Champs. We changed planes in LA and the first port of call in South America was Lima, Peru. The first half of the trip was great, a few glasses of bubbles and a nice Malbec with a steak dinner before a good five hours sleep before we land in Lima. We got off the plane and we were informed that the flight to Buenos Aires had been cancelled. The story was that all air traffic to Buenos Aires was cancelled due to an ash cloud from a volcano that erupted a few months ago. We were told we “might “ get out the next day. Fortunately for us, it was only a 6 hour delay.

We landed in Buenos Aires 6 hours late and the pre-booked rental car was nowhere to be seen. A quick phone call and we were told that the car would arrive at the airport within 30 minutes, not bad for being 10:00pm. We waited and then waited some more… 1.5 hours later, we decided to take the matter into our own hands and found a suitable rental four all of us and our gear!

Official Regatta Website is Here.