Month: June 2025

(Victoria/ Nanaimo, BC)- The biennial Van Isle 360 Race, hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, was an epic adventure and experience for nearly a dozen J/Teams that participated in this year’s edition. Comprised of nine individual legs that circumnavigate the picturesque Vancouver Island off the Pacific coastline of British Columbia, the race was full of drama as each leg was completed and teams fought for good overall results.
The combination of the nine legs determined the class winners as well as the overall winner. The legs were:Nanaimo to Comox- 36.9nmComox to Campbell River- 27.6nmDeepwater Bay to Hardwicke Island- 24.2nmHardwicke Island to Telegraph Cove- 41.0nmTelegraph Cove to Port Hardy- 28.7nmPort Hardy to Winter Harbour- 69.1nmWinter Harbour to Ucluelet- 138.1nmUcluelet to Victoria Harbour- 98.2nmVictoria Harbour to Nanaimo- 59.9nm
That made for a total of at least 486.8nm down the rhumbline. The fleet experienced the standard extremes of weather- from complete glass outs, waiting for a breeze, to 40 to 50 kt microbursts ripping down from the mountain peaks on Vancouver Island while transiting across the notorious Johnstone Straits.
PHRF 2 DivisionIn the end, J/Teams performed very well overall. Winning the PHRF 2 Division was John Murkowski’s J/122E JOY RIDE. Bob Brunius’s J/120 TIME BANDIT took the bronze medal. Then, Stephanie Arnold’s J/112E MYSTERY and Adam Korbin’s J/112E MAH NA MAH NA took fifth and sixth place, respectively.
PHRF 3 DivisionTaking the silver medal in the PHRF 3 division was David Schutte’s J/109 SPYHOP. Then, David Miller’s J/99 ONE LIFE ended up in the fourth position.
For more Van Isle 360 Regatta sailing informationhttps://www.vanisle360.com/

(Victoria, BC, Canada)- The 80th running of the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, got rolling with gorgeous skies and light winds, an enormous contrast to last year’s stormy start. As the race progressed, the breeze filled in and several J/Teams excelled in the conditions in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and brought home silverware.
Cape Flattery RaceORC DivisionThis 101.9nm race saw several J/teams sail nice races. Alex Smyth’s J/111 65 RED ROSES II took second overall, followed by John Murkowski’s J/122E JOY RIDE finishing 4th.
PHRF DivisionJ/105 teams swept the podium in this huge division! Winning was John Aitcheson’s MOOSE UNKNOWN, followed by Mike Cain’s PANIC in second, and Chris Phoenix’s JADED in third. Also sailing well was Kirk Palmer’s J/120 LIGHT SCOUT in fifth place, Stephen Summers’s J/105 PUFF in 7th, and Nicholas Wilkerson’s MAZU in 8th.
For more Swiftsure Race sailing informationhttps://www.swiftsure.org/

(Monterey, CA)- The annual start of the offshore racing circuit in California has been the California Offshore Race Week. The event consists of three events over three weeks:1. Spinnaker Cup Race- San Francisco to Monterey2. Coastal Cup Race- Monterey to Newport Beach4. SoCal 300 Race- Newport Beach to San Diego
J/Teams participated in all three events, some with amazing results. Here is the breakdown by race and overall.
Spinnaker CupPHRF 1 DivisionYet again, the J/125 ARGO IV sailed by Johnny Vincent and Kenny Kieding took the silver medal in PHRF 1 Division. The other J/125 VELVET HAMMER, sailed by James Nichols took fourth place.
One of ARGO’s skippers explained, “Our top speed was 24.8 knots with John Vincent driving. We ended up 1st in class as well as overall in the ORR class. 2nd in PHRF A Class as well as 2nd overall out of 44 boats.”
PHRF 2 DivisionJ/Teams crushed this division. Winning was Ian Rogers’s J/90 ORCA, followed by Tolga Cezik’s J/111 LODOS in second, Nesrin Basoz’s J/111 SWIFT NESS in fourth, and Shane Riehl’s J/133 DEFIANT in fifth place.
PHRF 3 DivisionWinning this division was Ross Werner’s J/112E JUBILANT.
PHRF 4 DivisionThree of the top five in this fleet were J/teams. Taking the silver was John Arens’s J/109 REVERIE, followed by two J/99s- Camille Moussette’s LATENCY in fourth and Stephen McMillan’s MERLIN in fifth place.
COASTAL CUPORR A DivisionFollowing their excellent Spinnaker Cup performance, the Vincent/Kidding duo on the J/125 ARGO IV continued their momentum in this race by winning the ORR A Division!
ORR B DivisionIn this large fleet, Ross Werner’s J/112E JUBILANT took the bronze medal.
SOCAL 300 RACEThis is a very challenging race for the fleet, starting off Newport Beach, rounding San Clemente Island to port, then a straight shot into San Diego, finishing off Point Loma.
ORR C DivisionRounding out their successful 2025 CORA campaign was the Vincent/ Kieding team on their J/125 ARGO 4, winning ORR C Division as well as winning their CORA Race Week Class Overall.
Follow CORA on Facebook herehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/westcoastoffshoreracing
For more CORA Offshore Race Week sailing information http://www.offshoreraceweek.com/

(Hamble, England)- The 2025 edition of the Women’s Open Keelboat Championship, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, will certainly go down in the record books as one of the most fun in recent memory. Blessed with clear skies, good breezes, and warm weather, the fifteen all-women teams enjoyed two fabulous days sailing on the infamous Solent… fulfilling the mission for the event!
The Mission: Whether you are a seasoned round-the-world racer or you can’t tell a burgee from a gooseneck, you’re welcome at WOKC. Our mission is simple: provide a platform for women to get on the water, enjoy competitive racing with like-minded sailors, and grow confidence in the company of those who have faced – and continue to face – similar hurdles.
In the end, it was radiant smiles all around for the 100+ women sailors that attended, sailing out of the beautiful facilities at Royal Southern Yacht Club on the Hamble River.
Sailing the most consistent in the six-race series was Eleanor Wollman’s J/111 FREQUENT FLYER with a blistering tally of 1-1-1-1-7-3 for 7 pts net! Fellow J/111 owner, Louise Makiin, sailed her JOURNEYMAKER II to the silver medal with a steady scoreline of 2-2-5-2-1-6 for 12 pts net. Then, rounding out the podium with the bronze medal to complete the J/sweep was Rosie Barry’s crew on the J/109 JENIE with a 4-4-2-6-4-4.5 record for 18.5 pts.

(Crouesty, France)- The Duo Cat-Amania, the premiere doublehanded offshore regatta in France, was recently hosted by the Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon (YCCA). An amazing fleet of fifty-plus doublehanded teams participated in the event. The regatta is a combination of round-the-buoys plus point-to-point offshore racing legs. The regatta started in Crouesty and headed to Quiberon. Then, from there they headed to Lorient. The next leg was then to Concarneau. Then, the fleet returned to Morbihan, with a stopover in Locmiquélic, then La Trinité-sur-Mer, then back to Le Crouesty for the finish and the awards party!
The J/Team contingent was well-represented in the week-long regatta. In the end, the J/99 J-LANCE X sailed by Frederic Bouvier and Didier Le Moal won the regatta with a consistent record of 1-3-5-6-5 for 20 pts. Taking fifth overall was the J/99 WHIMJY 99 sailed by Vincent Fertin & Julien Bentz/ Xavier Vandame. Other J/Teams in the top 10 included Phillipe Girardin & Gwenael Thomas’s J/120 HEY JUDE in 9th place and Alexandre Doucet & Pierre Bonte’s J/109 EMOJI in 10th place.

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The 2025 Myth of Malham marked the sixth event in the RORC Season’s Points Championship, the world’s largest offshore racing series. It also played a pivotal role in the season, acting as a key qualifier for the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, as well as a crucial leg in the new RORC Cowes Offshore Series.
Starting from the iconic Royal Yacht Squadron Line, the fleet raced down the English Channel to round the Eddystone Lighthouse, before turning back to finish at North Head.
The RORC fleet faced a fierce test of endurance and seamanship as strong south-westerlies built to 15–20 knots, with gusts touching 30 and waves exceeding two meters. The long beat to Eddystone was a punishing uphill grind, testing every maneuver and tactical decision. But the reward was worth it—once around the lighthouse, crews cracked sheets and hoisted downwind sails for a thrilling high-speed ride back to the Solent, surfing home on a full-throttle ride to the finish.
A Grueling Test, Standout PerformancesIRC 1 DivisionIn this large thirty-three-boat fleet, Mike O’Donnell’s Irish team aboard the J/121 DARKWOOD pulled off a fifth place.
IRC 2 DivisionThe big twenty-three boat fleet saw Robin & Lawrence Herbert’s J/133 CORAZON garnering the silver medal, missing the gold medal by a mere six minutes corrected time! Then, Nick Southward’s J/122 WHISKEY JACK took fifth place in the hotly contested class.
For more RORC Myth of Malham Race sailing informationhttp://www.rorc.org

(Hamble, England)- The Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble, England was yet again the host for the very popular J/Cup UK Regatta. The two-day event was held on the capricious waters of The Solent with a total of up to six races for most fleets. The regatta included five one-design fleets (J/70, J/99, J/109, J/111, & J/112E) and two IRC Divisions.
J/70 ClassThe fleet was treated to a complete “whitewash” after nine races. Winning with eight bullets was Morgan Reynolds’s crew on POWDER MONKEY LIGHTFOOT with 8 pts net. The balance of the podium was a fight to the end. Winning that duel to take the silver was Howard Davies’s BOYSTEROUS team with 20 pts net. Just two points back to take the bronze was the Royal Norwegian YC team on EXCESS.
J/99 ClassThis eight-boat fleet saw some awesome racing for the newly formed J/99 UK Class. It was a tale of two battles for the podium. The top two spots were decided on a tiebreaker at 7 pts each. Winning that countback was Jean-Baptiste Brian’s JOLLY JUMPER, while David Lean’s JACKPOT settled for the silver medal. The final step on the podium was an all-out battle between four teams. In the end, it was Alain Waha’s FURTHER WEST that garnered the bronze medal with 20 pts net.
J/109 ClassWith ten boats, the J/109s were sure to be a competitive fleet amongst the numerous veterans participating. In the end, it was Ben Shelley’s MOCKING J that took class honors with an enviable 2-3-1-1-1-1 tally for 6 pts net. Taking the silver was David Richard’s JUMPING JELLYFISH with an equally strong record of 1-1-2-3-2-2 for 8 pts net. Then, the final bronze medal step was taken by Samantha Love’s FRANK 4 with a 4-2-3-2-5-4 scoreline for 15 pts net.
J/111 ClassAs usual, the highly competitive J/111 fleet saw tight racing for podium honors all weekend. The class veterans are tough, fast, and tactically smart. In the end, it was Louise Makin & Chris Jones’s JOURNEYMAKER II that posted solid scores of 2-1-1-3-2-1 for 7 pts net to take the gold medal. Driving them hard was Paul Wollmann’s FREQUENT FLYER with a 1-2-2-1-3-4 tally for 9 pts net to take the silver. Then, Paul Griffiths’s JAGERBOMB also sailed well to post 3-3-4-2-1-2 scores for 11 pts net to take the bronze.
J/112E ClassSailing as a one-design class for the first time in the J/Cup, the J/112Es were witness to why the LEON gang has been so successful in numerous offshore regattas. After posting straight bullets in six races, David Franks’s team on LEON cleaned house with just 5 pts net to take the gold medal. However, the balance of the podium was a battle for the final two steps. Taking the silver by one point was Martin Priest’s FANDANGLE with a 3-2-4-3-3-2 scores for 13 pts net. Completing the podium with the bronze medal was the Key Yachting Crew on THINKING SPACE with a 2-3-2-4-6-3 tally for 14 pts.
IRC 1/2 DivisionWinning this division was Neil Angel’s J/105 FLAWLESS J counting just bullets in their scoreline for 5 pts net. Taking the silver was Derek Copeman’s J/105 BOJANGLES with a 1-3-2-3-4-7 tally for 13 pts net. Then rounding out the podium for the bronze medal was John Owen’s J/120 JET with a 7-7-4-2-2-2 scoreline for 17 pts net.
IRC 3 DivisionWinning this eight-boat fleet was Jack Banks’s J/92 NIGHTJAR with a 1-1-4-4-1-2 record for 9 pts net. They led a large contingent of six J/92s in this fleet. Taking second was Robin Stevenson’s J/92 UPSTART with a 2-2-2-3-4-1 tally for 10 pts. Then, garnering the bronze was Becky Walford & Stew Hawthorn’s J/92 BRENDAS J ON JES with a 4-4-1-1-3-3 record for 12 pts net.
For more Key Yachting J/Cup Regatta sailing informationhttps://www.keyyachting.com/events/j-cup-regatta/