Spring - J/22 Class Website

United
States
J/22
Class
Association
celebrating 25 years
S p r i n g
2 0 0 8
•
V o l u m e
7
•
I s s u e
2
President
Chris Doyle
Kenmore, NY
classpresident@usaj22.com
716-874-0605
First Vice President
Chris Princing
Saginaw, MI
1stvicepresident@usaj22.com
989-781-2640
Second Vice President
Kelson Elam
Rockwall, TX
2ndvicepresident@usaj22.com
972-771-3421
Chief Measurer
Tom Linville
Weems, VA
measurer@usaj22.com
804-438-6038
Treasurer/Secretary
Terry Schertz
Lakewood, CO
secretary@usaj22.com
720-394-9951
Technical Committee Chair
Lars Hansen
Golden Valley, MN
technical@usaj22.com
763-529-6551
Nominating Committee Chair
Joe Gibbs
Madison, MS
nomination@usaj22.com
601-856-1086
Executive Secretary
Christopher Howell
Cleveland, OH
execsecretary@usaj22.com
440-796-3100
International President
Christopher Doyle
USA
j221026@adelphia.net
International President
John Den Engelsman
The Netherlands
emeraldtrading@planet.nl
Class Office
P.O. Box 391095
Solon, OH 44139
440-796-3100
classoffice@usaj22.com
Webmaster
Suzie Wulff
Cleveland, OH
webmaster@usaj22.com
Newsletter Editor
Julie Howell
Cleveland, OH
International Class Office
12900 Lake Ave., Suite 2001
Lakewood, OH 44107
440-796-3100
classoffice@usaj22.com
Letter from the President
Last 25 from My Perspective
I try to make my letters to you, fellow members,
inspirational and forward-looking. However,
the theme of this newsletter is retrospective:
where have we been, and how the heck did
we get here? Tackling that question from the
perspective of the Class would be a monumental
undertaking requiring gallons of beer and perhaps
sacrificing millions of brain cells. Instead, I offer
these personal remembrances (to the best of my
recollection), together with the approximate dates:
Summer, 1984, at a meeting at the Youngstown
Yacht Club bar to discuss one-design racing,
I suggest that the J/22 with an outboard would be
the ideal platform for local one-design racing.
I didn’t really know this since I haven’t sailed the
boat. But Don Finkle and Kevin Doyle told me it
was so, and I trust them. The idea does not take off
because we have a bunch of one-designs already:
C&C 29s, Solings, J/24s, Catalina 22s, Sharks, and all
are competing for the same sailors. The next year,
I start three years of law school, and focus my attention on being a good foredeck crew on a variety of
different designs. But every time I get another black
and blue mark from crewing on a J/24, I think about
what Don and Kevin said regarding the J/22 in 1984.
1987 to 1990, I get married (1987), I start my
practice of law as a young associate (1987), and
son Nick arrives on February 4, 1990. I sail with
brother Kevin on his J/24, and we do some away
regattas, including a couple of Worlds, a bunch of
Great Lakes Championships, and a bunch of District
Championships. I love traveling to regattas, but the
logistics of running a J/24 campaign are daunting.
I think “there must be a better mousetrap.”
Winter, 1990-1991, broker and friend John Simon
sets up a fleet purchase of J/22s. Sign papers to buy
hull #1026 shortly after Nick’s first birthday and
finding out Katie Doyle will be born sometime in
October, 1991. Wife Sue, then pregnant with Katie,
says I would be nuts to not buy the boat for the
$14,550 all-inclusive price. After confirming that
she is not having some weird prego-hormonal
episode and is serious, I sign the papers and get
deeper in debt. I drive with wife Sue, brother Kevin
and sister-in-law Carol to Newport, RI in the
six-mile-to-the-gallon “Buck Truck” (Kevin’s J/24 tow
vehicle) to pick up the boat at Tillotson Pearson.
Boat, truck and factory are pictured at top.
We stay with friends Will and Brooke and their two
dozen (or so it seems) cats in their Newport home.
The boat is white and grey and sits out in the backyard all winter, so we think of calling it “Dog bone”
or just “The Bone.” “elmo” is the inadvertent suggestion of the then-youngest member of the family.
May, 1991, “elmo” is launched for the first time at
the Canandaigua J-Daze regatta. We race against a
bunch of boats on a small lake. The courses are
triangles, Kevin is sailing with J/22 phenom Steve
Ulian and we beat him in at least one race. At one
point, the boats are stacked up on the rhumb line
with one boat length between Chris Doyle, Kevin
Doyle and Paul Cannon, all of whom were in the
Youngstown Yacht Club Junior sailing program
in the 1970s. I yell “this is just like Junior Sailing
fifteen years ago.” Kevin and Paul remind me that
they would have been kicking my ass in 1976.
1991-1995, I stay mostly close to home, but do some
travel regattas in Rochester, Annapolis, Canandaigua,
etc. Do OK. elmo has wheels, and I have good
crew consistently, rotating in different players from
a list of ten or so crew I use for regattas. Sue sails
with me for most of our week night races. Both
Kevin and Peter land in J/22 programs as drivers
on OPBs (other people’s boats), so I get to sail
against my two brothers all the time. I try to be a
Corinthian competitor, but no one brings out the
ugly in me faster than a brother on another boat. I
assume it is fun to watch from a distance. Actually,
it was fun for me too (still is). There are other really
good sailors in our fleet: Paul Cannon, Ed Simmons,
Gordon Stevens and more. I take Katie on a JAM
race on a Friday night when she is 3 or 4. It is just
Katie and me on the boat. On the way in from the
course, she falls off the bow, but knows enough to
hold onto the headstay while her dad ties off the
tiller and grabs her out of the water by the loop
on the back of her lifejacket. She couldn’t decide
whether to laugh or cry. So she laughs.
1995 is the first J/22 North Americans at the
Youngstown Yacht Club. Charlie Ogletree (soon
thereafter to become an Olympic multihull star)
is there, as is Terry Flynn and Doug Clark. Terry
wins followed by Charlie, Rob Johnston, Doug Clark
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and…Chris Doyle. Although I am certainly no threat to win, getting a
trophy is a hoot, as is sailing with brother Pete Doyle and friend Rick Egloff.
My best and clearest memory is of the last race. We are shut out at the pin,
gybe around and started last in a light and fluky breeze; we tack out toward
the port layline on a huge knock and get a little something that rotates us
over 40 of the 45 boat fleet. We pass three more on the first downwind,
hold our position on the second circuit, and then pass two more boats
(including Lars Hansen about five lengths from the finish) on the last
upwind to win the race.
1995 - 2000, for some reason (things are going too well at home and at
work, I guess), I start to push further away from my home base. In 1998,
Terry Flynn crews for me at the Youngstown Level Regatta. We win, and
the next year I switch sailmakers from Haarstick to Quantum. Vic Snyder
takes his boat to St. Petersburg for a couple of Midwinters. I don’t go, but
promise to do the first Midwinters in New Orleans. I don’t know what year
the first N’Orleans Midwinters was held (2000? 2001?), but we are there,
and we have a riot. Brad Lohr and I drive all night and get from Buffalo to
New Orleans in 17 hours, including one tire blow-out.
The next year in New Orleans brother Pete, Brad Lohr and I sail elmo, and
Vic Snyder and Brother Kevin come down too on Vic’s Mo’ Money. It really
nukes on the Saturday of this second regatta, and at the top mark of one of
the races we are in heaven--boats are wiping out everywhere. I see Randy
Borges standing on the keel of the boat Terry Flynn is driving. Meanwhile
we are just tearing-ass down one leeward leg, planing away when the
“Hand of God” puff hits us. The three of us are already sitting behind the
traveler. We go from planing to warp factor seven in a heartbeat, and cover
200 yards of the run in the time it takes to say an act-of-contrition-“Hail
Mary.” Really. Pete begs us to take down the chute so we can gybe for the
mark. We do so, and during the main-and-jib-only gybe we end up wiping
out, Greg Fisher passes us, but we are still in third place at the leeward
mark. What…a…rush. Back at the bar we hear about all of the carnage:
Broken boats. Broken masts. Men and women overboard. Blown-out
sails. Scott Nixon (I recall that one of his crew was Moose McClintock)
pitch-poled himself from the cockpit into the mast, broke his wrist and
bent a spreader. We move up from 12th to third just by surviving and
having fun. The next day draws us back down the ranks to where we
belong, but what a great time.
We also do annual Toronto, Lake George and Cleveland regattas.
In 1999, I race in the Worlds in Cleveland with Larry Huibers and Brian
McGrath. After giving our boat to Paul Cannon for the last race, we win the
Sportsmanship award. To me it seems only fair to have Paul use our boat
for the last race since we buckled the mast on Paul’s boat during a port/
starboard (we were not on starboard). Also remembered: In the weirdness
that is the Cleveland Worlds, Pete Doyle on Pat Whelan’s “Frosty” wins the
first race of the Championship round. For an hour and five minutes, they
are the best J/22 team in the World.
We also discover the hidden gem that is Tawas, MI. I don’t know how
the hell we end up there in the third weekend of August, 2000, but I am
guessing that at Cleveland Race Week in 2000, Chris Princing got me drunk
and talked me into it. I have no clear recollection of my crew or the event
other than we have brats and corn at the Friday night cookout sponsored
by the local fleet, sailing doesn’t start until noon because “that is when the
thermal starts and who the heck wants to wake up before ten, anyway?”
The sailing is great, we win the regatta, and somehow Sue ends up bringing
home a puppy who gets named “Tawas” (pictured above).
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I think of 2001 - 2003 as the Mark Sertl years because we sailed most of
the major regattas together. Our first major is the 2001 North Americans
in Rochester. We are fifth, but we improve almost every race. The last
race turns into a one-legged affair because of the RC’s view that the wind
has exceeded the limits of the J/22, or maybe it was because our Class’
old regatta standards required all crews to be warm and dry and in the
bar just when the sailing starts to get fun. We win this race after tacking
on top of Mark’s wife, Cory, who is driving their brand spanking new J/22
“Lucy” which Mark picked up from the new builder, US Watercraft, two
days before the regatta. The weekend after September 11, 2001, we do
a regatta at Lake George. The President says that the terrorists win if we
don’t go about our business as normal, so we figure it is our patriotic duty
to go sailing. On the Saturday, the sky is a brilliant September blue, and
everyone comments about the lack of jet contrails.
More N’Orleans, more Tawas, more Lake George, Cleveland, Toronto etc.
We get a used 1996 Astro van to replace the 1987 black one we bought in
1991. It is green and holds more beer and boat parts than the last van.
One memorable trip is to Corpus Christi, for the 2002 Worlds. Good people, hot weather, nice thermals, short chop and sixty boats. Sue, Mark and
I drive down in the van. The trip from Texarkana to Houston in is on a
piece of crap, kidney-bruising piece of highway called Route 59. The van’s
suspension will never be the same.
On the way out to the Worlds race course one morning, I remember that I
have left the rule book in the car. It is required equipment, so we sail back
to the dock, I run to the car, then we sail out to the race course getting
there just in time for the first gun. Crew Brad Lohr and Mark Sertl decide
that the rule book situation and my incessant hull polishing suggest that
I may be a little obsessive. We are docked next to the all-women South
African crew who are sponsored by some long-underwear company (really).
While I am in the water cleaning the bottom one morning they threaten
to protest us. After the race, Mark walks up to the crew and tells them: “If
you wanted to get to know us better, then you could have started a conversation about the weather instead of accusing us of cheating.” Terry Flynn
wins, we are sixth, and happy because at the end of the regatta we are consistently with the top group.
It is just me and Sue for the long ride home. It is about 9 PM, and we
are driving through Arkansas on Interstate 10, in the left lane passing an
eighteen-wheeler. There is a loud bang, and I look in the rearview mirror
and all I can see is a shower of sparks. Off to the right, I see the tire that
used to be on the left side of the trailer bouncing into the grassy median.
The tire still has the rim attached. Fortunately the eighteen-wheeler backs
off immediately and I am able to horse the car and trailer over to the righthand shoulder. Sue is OK, I am OK, the boat and van are in one piece, we
have a spare tire, so life is good. But on further investigation we determine
that all of the lugs snapped off, and the bottom of the trailer suspension
has ground down to nothing. We spend the night in West Memphis,
Arkansas, wondering how in the world we are going to get the trailer fixed
on a Sunday in the bible belt. We wake up at 6, drive back to the boat,
which we had left on the side of the road, find the tire in the median, strip
off the wheel and other destroyed parts from the trailer, and after trips to
Walmart, Auto Zone and the Home Depot (which is in Tennessee), we buy
everything we need to rebuild the suspension. This requires some road
side manufacturing with the battery operated drill, steel u-channel, and a
hack saw. We are back on the road by 1:00 on Sunday afternoon, but Sue
suspects that my jury rig will explode in moments, and refuses to sleep or
drive for the rest of the trip. Everything holds together nicely, though, and
there are no further disruptions.
In 2003, the North Americans are at our home club in Youngstown, New
York. I am involved in running the regatta with a huge cast of other
volunteers. I remember the Doyle sisters on the beer barge, Hospitality
Night, the opening ceremonies in Fort Niagara, Hockey Night Near Canada,
the Jug etc. But not much about what happened on the water. Pete
McChesney wins, and nine months to the day later, his wife Margaret
delivers. Coincidence?
More Tawas, more New Orleans, more Cleveland, more Lake George,
more Toronto. In 2003, the green van is replaced with a Toyota Sequoia.
More power, but less gas mileage. It kills us to have to pay $25 to fill up
the tank every three hours on long trips with the boat.
2004 is the year of the Annapolis Worlds. I get to raise the New York State
flag at the opening ceremonies. The fleet is absolutely thick with talent,
and 130 boats. Heck, the Annapolis NOOD held a few weeks before the
Worlds has like 80 boats. My crew is Mark Sertl and Paul Seitz. We end
up twentieth at the Worlds, which may not sound so great. But when you
think about it, I’d never beaten so many boats before (we finished ahead
of 110) and it is unlikely that I’ll ever beat that many boats again. So I view
our result as a philosophical triumph. We end up having great parking
lot parties with the Princings, Larry Huibers and others who swing by the
back of the truck for a frosty one. I notice that we have a lot of trouble
starting in big fleets. We don’t seem to be able to hold our lane off the
line. I assume the problem is me, but I wonder if our keel is too thin.
To shake things up, and to try to help invigorate the fledgling fleet there,
Vic Snyder, Beth Snyder , Sue Doyle and I take my boat to the first J/22
Maine State Championship. Five boats, one of which is driven by a
pregnant Julia Sitzman with a crew of pretty good ex-Navy midshipman.
We eat lobster three times at the Haraseeket Lunch and Lobster, experience
the tides in Maine which race through the entrance to Haraseeket Harbor
at four or five knots at max flood and max ebb, and barely eek out a win.
I get to do the “rockstar” thing and fly in and out of Boston for the regatta
while the crew delivers the boat. Second at Toronto, second at Tawas,
first at Lake George. Gas is a lot less than $2.00 per gallon, so all of this
traveling is not too dear.
In 2005, we go to the Midwinters in Miami. I had sailed in Biscayne Bay
with J/24s many years prior and had forgotten what a great place it is to
sail--fairly predictable shore breezes, warm temperatures, etc. We stage
out of the Shake-a-leg facility and drink at Monty Trainors. It’s a hoot.
We have the NAs in Oklahoma City, and we experience the joys of sailing
in the Great Plains. Will Harris and Adam Burns are my crew, and we take
second in the Annapolis NOOD as part of our preparations for the NAs, so
we have high hopes for a good regatta. When we get to Oklahoma and set
up the boat it is hot, windy, and dry, kind of like when you open the door
on a blast furnace. Further, the quest for local knowledge uses strange
references like “If the wind is blowing from the left side of the eighteenth
green of the golf course, you need to start up the left hand side of the beat,
and two-thirds of the way up the course you need to hit the right hand side
of the course hard.” We are flummoxed by the quality of the information,
the snapping turtles, and the snakes that lounge on the docks. But particularly irksome is the HEAT. It is enough to drive me away from the free beer
to the free water. The Canadian crew of Cameron, Brian and Luc buy an
inflatable pool to beat the heat, and we all find time for a dip.
During one lengthy on-shore postponement we head to the Cowboy Hall
of Fame. It is not really my cup of tea, but the ladies seem to enjoy it, and
since Sue is forced to do the twenty hour drive out and back, it seems only
fair that I cater to her a little bit. When we get back to the tow vehicle
(now a 2001 Toyota Sequoia), the outside thermometer reads 112 degrees.
But that wasn’t the hottest time had at Oklahoma. Pictured below is one of
the spectator boats at the end of a day of racing. We hit the dock and were
putting everything away for the night when we look up to watch this boat
docking. It is halfway into its slip when, all of a sudden, there is smoke
absolutely billowing out of the cabin. Regardless of the snakes, the skipper
and crew jump into the water and swim to safety. A few minutes later, the
boat looks like this:
By the time the fire trucks arrive, the boat is totaled. My recollection is
no one is seriously injured, which is good since our new friend Helen
(eventually to become Helen Raymond) is part of the crew. Still, we
wonder what the organizers are planning for entertainment later in the
regatta, human sacrifice?
We are also-rans at the regatta. Scott Nixon wins driving Dave VanCleef’s
boat.
Also in 2005, there are also a bunch of seemingly unrelated developments.
Our local dealer buys a demo J/22, and it is raced by a variety of sailors,
all of whom seem to do pretty well with it. Peter Doyle borrows the boat
for one series and absolutely crushes us. I am asked to drive another
J/22 on a Tuesday night (hull 1022) and win a couple of races convincingly
in some wavy conditions. 1022 has a “bow down and fast” upwind gear
that elmo lacks. I continue to wonder whether I have faired the keel on
elmo too thin.
Julie says I have to send this in NOW. So you’re not going to find out how
this all ends until the next newsletter
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memories
What is your favorite memory of being in the J/22 Class?
Our first Annapolis NOOD Regatta….blowing 40!
George Becza, East Moriches, NY
J/22 capsize on SailingAnarchy.com
John Van Landeghem, Ridgeland, MS
Last year was my first year in a J/22, and my first race was the
Annapolis NOODs. Greg Fisher and Todd Hiller took extra time
and loaned spare gear to make it possible for me to compete.
The true definition of sportsmanship.
D. B. Tanner, Golden, CO
First Tawas regatta—the whole Doyle clan and Youngstown
group staying up with us and closing TBYC bar. Rough, but
fun. Or maybe it was the pool in Oklahoma City or maybe
hanging with Kevin and MB in Minnesota with Jenna.
Chris Princing, Saginaw, MI
Three-way tie: Max and Jake Scott (#279) flipping their J/22
and leaving it on its side to float through a leeward gate before
righting it; Pulling over three separate times to help three
different teams change trailer tires on the way to OCBC; Losing
a winch handle overboard on Lake Pontchartrain in light, crappy
conditions which kept taking angles obtuse, then finding the
winch handle two hours later on the last upwind.
Chad Wilson, Dickinson, TX
The first time we finished a race in first place.
Vance Meyer, Highlands Ranch, CO
After receiving the first place trophy for the 2003 North
American Championship, knocking my wife up in our room
at the Stone Jug and now we have Henry—third child!
Peter McChesney, Annapolis, MD
My best memory of the J/22 Class is sailing the J/22 in Annapolis
as we tuned up for the 2004 World Championship. Eighty
boats from around the USA showed up for the Annapolis
NOOD regatta and since the Worlds fleet of 130 boats was to be
split into two groups, it was our only chance to sail against this
many boats on one starting line! Sailing in Annapolis that week
was perfect as we had a great 10-18 knot sea-breeze for four
days, and the RC did a great job of managing the crowded
starting line. The first weather mark rounding was a bit
crowded, but after that it was fantastic to sail against so many
boats. The starting line was between three RC boats and almost
a quarter-mile long! Of course, it was even more fun to win the
event by over 20 points.
Scott Nixon, Annapolis, MD
My mom and my aunts purchased a new J/22 (#33) in the
early 1980s after sailing dinghies and Thistles (they bought it
without seeing one in person…just a picture). So, our family
thought the J/22 was a ‘big’ boat. I remember sleeping with
my cousins (four kids across) in the V-berth of the J/22 for a
few nights at Bay Week in Put-in-Bay, OH. I can barely fit my
gear in the V-berth now! Who knew that I would now own a
J/22 with my husband?!
Liz Barker, Lakewood, OH
Having been a member of the J/22 Class since 1991, I have
numerous fond memories of the J/22. One that will never leave
my mind was 13 years ago (1995) on Mother’s Day, when I
asked Lynda to marry me during a regatta. Racing on that day
was postponed due to thunder storms passing through the area.
After about 10 minutes coercing the race committee to send
us out so I can get my proposal out there, we were off.
As anyone would expect, it was the most heart pounding
moment in my life. We set the chute and waited. And waited.
Finally I had the guy trimming the chute drive the boat, and
I ran up to peek around the mast to find Lynda with a big smile
on her face and sobbing. The entire fleet knew and as we
approached the leeward mark, we were greeted with cheers
and whooping and hollering. The pictures say it all!
Todd Hiller, Annapolis, MD
Winning the 2007 J/22 North American Championship in a
record-setting number (68) of boats in Cleveland, OH crewing
for Greg Fisher and Jeff Eiber onboard our boat, Leading Edge.
Todd Hiller, Annapolis, MD
Racing with Jim Hayes at the 2001 J/22 Midwinters down in New
Orleans. It was the most breeze I had ever raced a J/22—42
knots was recorded between the weather and offset marks!! Ray
Wulff and I met Jim down in New Orleans, and before the first
day of racing I managed to let the main sail battens find their
way into the drink. Not a good sign. I can’t recall the number
of boats, but I remember counting about 8-10 boats in front of
us after we whipped around the weather offset. No spinnaker
for us. The breeze was building from the south, and there was
already carnage all over the race course. Tucker Thompson successfully pitch-poled and came face-to-face with his own main
sail number. As we approached the leeward gates and started to
head upwind, it became apparent that nobody was driving the
boat. I turned back only to find that Jim had fallen overboard
and was barely hanging on to a spinnaker sheet. Immediately
Ray slid back to drive the boat, and I, with one hand on the traveler bar and a hand on Jim, started to haul Jim back onboard.
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memories
As I was pulling him into the cockpit, he then proceeded to
lecture Ray how to drive the boat upwind in the big breeze.
Like no kidding. Once Jim was successfully recovered like a
giant tuna and things settled down, all of sudden....pop...pop...
pop! The snaps for the jib came undone, and the jib immediately turned into a blooper. That lasted about a minute because
just then the jib halyard snapped. Now we had this giant white
tongue of a sail flapping vigorously above the water to leeward.
Mind you, one would have thought we were in the Southern
Ocean with the size of the waves and big breeze we were sailing
in. With a leg on either side of the bow, Bow Bidet Ray successfully got the jib re-snapped to the head stay and used the spinnaker halyard to hoist the jib back up. Sounded like a great idea
at the time. Here it goes, “jib up” and “jib down.” The spinnaker halyard snapped. Needless to say, we finished the race in
tenth with just a mainsail. Once back at the dock, Jim graciously
rewarded Ray and me for our efforts and for saving his life at the
leeward mark rounding.
Todd Hiller, Annapolis, MD
The World Championship in 1992 with Tommy Meric and
Chris Schramel; Tommy starting on port tack and leading the
first race to the first mark!
Jerry Plough, New Orleans, LA
Sharing race course stories and lunch together at our
“J/22 picnic table” after the races each weekend.
Steve Hidell, Jamestown, PA / Bastrop, TX
Memories with my grandkids. Zach had never spent any time
on a sailboat, and the first year we did it, a funny thing happened. He’d gone to sleep in the cockpit up on the seats, and
around 3:00 in the morning felt cold and sore and decided to
crawl into the bow berth alongside my sleeping form. I vaguely
remember feeling him slide down the other side of the mast,
but I sleep soundly so barely stirred. I just felt his feet crowding
mine a bit; might have even pushed back against his large feet
to establish that my feet were there. In the morning, I looked
beside me and was amused to see that it wasn’t his feet; it was
his head and shoulders which my feet had been jostling with. Zach had gone in head first, not knowing how it’s usually
done. Our second summer (last year), Zach and his sleeping
bag fit perfectly into the footwell of the cockpit, so I got to
luxuriate in the bow berth all by myself while he nestled in
the cockpit. Other than that, nothing beats the smell of
morning eggs frying in the cockpit, especially when it’s your
grandson doing the cooking.
Bill Dutcher, Lake George, NY
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Sue Doyle tossing out beer from her “beer boat” after races
in the 2003 NAs in Youngstown. Closely followed by virtually
every boat’s crew swimming out in the middle of Lake Ontario
while waiting for wind (same event).
Susan Mattis Turnham, Duluth, MN
A number of great moments in J/22 sailing over the past 18
years…Double-handing with Jennifer Draheim at an Oklahoma
City Circuit; Terry Flynn forgetting his check book at registration
of a Rush Creek circuit and writing a very large check to the ice
cream store; passed out on the bench in the shot bar at the CayTex Regatta in Grand Cayman; snowing during the evening of
the Worlds in the Netherlands in June; winning first Southwest
Circuit race; the site of Farley Fontenot’s mast coming straight
out of the water with the sails up after sinking at the 2000 NAs;
Galen Freeman’s gas powered blender; multiple crews making
“crop circles” in the parking lot of Southern Yacht Club; the
overnight raft-up at Rush Creek docked next to Tom Jacobs;
winning first Midwinters race; ending up naked in the middle
of the night at the beach during the NOOD Regatta in Houston;
the Flounders Series in January and February at Rush Creek.
Jeff Progelhof, Heath, TX
I have been a member of the J/22 Class since 1986. I owned a
boat from 1986-1996 and attended many regattas all over the
country. My fondest memory of those years is Galen Freeman. He is awesomely fun and a good competitor.
Linda McKee, Houston, TX
My husband Mike Winters owned USA 745 that we called Short
Bus. After we started dating, I got to experience the whole
“J/22 road trip” to Cleveland, Annapolis, etc. I did not grow up
sailing so this was all new to me. In 1998, we made the Cayman
Islands regatta....what a blast. Mike had his quasi Bachelor
party during the Worlds in 1999. Best of all, Mike and I (with
his brother Richard) trekked to Medemblik for the 2000 Worlds
which coincided with our first anniversary. Mike and Richard’s
extended family who reside in Holland helped with arrangements and transportation. Friends of the family came one day
after we had left and inquired of some others where best on
the dike to view the races and were instead invited aboard a
spectator boat. We had a bit of a rough day and fouled a
Dutch boat—turns out their support crew were the ones that
had invited our friends to watch aboard their boat. Talk about
awkward moments at the dock after racing. Richard still owns
a J/22. We are on the prowl for an Opti for our five-year-old.
Carla Winters
Prince George, VA
J-22
2004 World Championships 1st
2005 World Championships 1st
2006 World Championships 1st & 3rd
2006 Europeans 1st
2007 Europeans 1st, 2nd, 3rd
2007 Worlds Championships 2nd
5 different regattas
5 different venues
5 different winners
What did they have in
common?
Great crew work, the
desire to win and
Ullman/Skelley Sails.
How do we do it?
Hard work! We spend
the most time developing and testing sail
shape and rig tune.
Learn more about
what Ullman/Skelley
can do for you.
Call Max Skelley at
410-939-9261
East Coast
Max Skelley
Cleveland
Greg Koski
max@skelleysails.com
www.skelleysails.com
ullmancleveland@aol.com
410-939-9261
216-486-5732
Florida
Doug Fisher
941-951-0189
West Coast
Bruce Cooper
714-432-1860
Gulf Port, Miss.
David Bolyard
985-630-3110
ulfl@mindspring.com ullman@ullmansails.com westwindsails@bellsouth.net
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9
Do you have a funny story to
One night on one of our breezy Tuesday
Not that I can remember….
night races, our mid-boat guy Artie fell overboard. On his way Chris Princing, Saginaw, MI
over, he grabbed the main sheet. We were haulin’ downwind with
the kite up in first place and I (the bow guy) turned around and
yelled to the driver, “Ease the main.” He said, “I can’t.” I said,
“Why not?” He said, “Because Artie has the main sheet and he’s
20 feet behind the boat!” We were trolling Artie at about 10 knots
downwind in first place. By this time, I said “Release the guy, we’ll
get the kite in, haul Artie back in the boat and win the race!” Well,
wouldn’t you know, the out haul made a perfect clove hitch around
the guy! I go for my knife but of course it’s inside my one-piece
dinghy suit. Artie has lost his shoe and sock by now and wants to let
go! I yell, “Don’t you @%$@ let go. We’re in first place!” As I cut
the out haul free and douse the kite, Artie hand-over-handed it to
the transom. I ran back, reached over Mark (our driver), and hauled
him back in the boat. And yes, we won the race! Artie enjoyed a
cold one back at the yacht club minus one shoe and sock.
George Becza, East Moriches, NY
I do have funny stories;
they happen every time we leave the dock.
Todd Hiller, Annapolis, MD
Pulling away from the dock
the first day of the Annapolis NOODs last year, we picked up a
tow out of Back Creek. A too-loose tow rope resulted in unexpected
acceleration and the skipper landing smack dab on the middle
of the brand new tiller extension, shortening it before we even
raised the sails.
D. B. Tanner, Golden, CO
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Fouling my sister at the start line
at the first race I entered.
Vance Meyer, Highlands Ranch, CO
During a weekend Chesapeake
Bay regatta, watching the first place J/22 closing in on the
leeward mark and the entire crew scrambling to get their clothes on.
Peter McChesney, Annapolis, MD
This is from the 2000 Midwinters
which we were woefully unprepared for, but went and had a blast
anyway. One of the race days’ winds were reported at 30 knots plus
from the south so the further you sailed the downwind leg away
from the south shore, the breezier it got. We were in the back of
the fleet and catching some boats as we approached the carnage
of several broached boats. We attempted to offer assistance to one
very relaxed looking fellow in the water wearing a life jacket, but
he politely declined. Having got a good look at him in the water,
our foredeck guy saw him later that night at the party and struck up
a conversation stating, “I guess when you are doing foredeck, it’s
pretty easy to wind up in the water on a day like today.” His response was completely unexpected, “Foredeck? I was steering, and
you should have seen the look on the middle and foredeck’s faces
when the boat headed up, and they looked back to the cockpit to
cuss me and I was gone.” The guy in the water was Ladd Freeman,
Galen Freeman’s son.
Wayne Cassady, Louisville, KY
share with other J/22 sailors?
Morgan and Tim telling the joke
about a party where you had to dress like an emotion.
Location: Tawas Bay Yacht Club bar. Setting: Drunk!
Chris Princing, Saginaw, MI
Watching some of the fleet
Lots of crazy memories from many trips
to New Orleans for the Midwinters over the years. One year it was a
bit windy and a fast-moving cold front came through the race course
pumping 50 knots as the fleet headed downwind. We had the
spinnaker up on my boat, and we took off on a wild ride that ended
with a massive pitch pole where the entire rudder came out of the
water. During the pitch pole, my team was thrown into the water
and I unfortunately hit the spreader before entering the water and
came up with a broken arm! We managed to flip the boat back over
and get the spinnaker down and even finished the race. Heading
upwind on the last beat, my tactician Moose McClintock noticed the
starboard spreader was cracked (from my arm) so we had to drop
the main before we tacked over onto the starboard layline to finish
the last beat. After the main was down we passed about 10 boats to
finish in the top 10 that race. We even passed Terry Flynn upwind
with our jib alone!
Scott Nixon, Annapolis, MD
Post-race beer parties on the
old junior dock.
quarter horse race in the hotel bar at the Corpus Christi Worlds
in 2001.
Susan Mattis Turnham, Duluth, MN
My good friend and foredeck,
“flat water lake sailor George,” went to Cleveland with me for the
one-design regatta. It was a windy day, and the lake was already
stirred up with waves. George did not seem to be his normal
“funny” self going out to the race course that morning. After flying
the chute in the pre-race practice, George fell to his knees and
became violently sea sick. After doing all of the things that happen
when you are sea sick and begging me to return to land and claiming
many times he was surely going to die, I pulled out of the regatta to
save my poor friend George’s life. After returning to the dock and
stepping on to land, George started saying over and over, “I cannot
believe you pulled out of the regatta! I cannot believe you pulled
out of the regatta!” It helps to have a short memory and be on
land…George! Steve Hidell, Jamestown, PA / Bastrop, TX
Jerry Plough, New Orleans, LA
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What is the best ‘tip’ you would give
Sit down, shut up and hold on!
George Becza, East Moriches, NY
Make sure you sail with people whose company you enjoy. Try hard, but don’t take yourself too seriously!
Bill Carruth, Columbia, MD
Never, ever forget to thank your crew. They’re the ones that make
you fast.
D. B. Tanner, Golden, CO
The boat seems sensitive to rig tune—almost as an ‘equalizer’—
allowing merely good sailors to be competitive with excellent sailors.
So I think rig tune, optimized for your specific boat, seems to be
most important and helps level the playing field to some extent.
There are plenty of non-sailmakers always in the hunt at wellattended regattas, and this is good for the Class.
Phil Bylsma, New Orleans, LA
The first J/22 North American Championship was held in
Marblehead, MA. The race course was held in an area where buoys
with consecutive lettering (A,B,C, etc.) had been placed in a circle.
This allowed the courses to be changed easily by simply changing
the letter buoy you were to round. As we prepared for the first
race (triangle race course), we sailed by the committee boat to determine which three buoys were to be rounded. The first race
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got off without a hitch. We were, of course, buried deep in the
competition, being inland lake sailors and having never sailed on the
ocean before. We followed all the Class hotshots around the course
and placed somewhere mid-pack. As the last boat approached the
finish line, we noticed that it was Greg Fisher. We began to feel a
bit better about our performance since we had actually beat Greg
to the finish. However, we noticed a protest flag. So we thought
perhaps he had been fouled or had fouled someone, and thus the
reason for finishing so poorly. Later when we were checking finishing positions, we learned that the entire fleet had been DSQ for
the first race, and Greg had a first-place finish. We learned that the
entire fleet (except Greg) had jibed around the wrong mark, one
buoy too soon. The mark that everyone had jibed around had the
top knocked off of it, and everyone assumed that it was the correct
mark. But Greg had previously sailed the entire circle to visually
check each mark and its placement on the course. He had not jibed
as everyone else and instead continued sailing to the proper mark
before jibing. Lesson learned! Always sail the course to determine
mark placements, if possible.
Chuck Trotter, Brentwood, TN
Just get one and sail it. There is nothing that an average person
cannot fix on the J/22 themselves.
Chris Princing, Saginaw, MI
regarding sailing/racing a J/22?
Keep it fun.
Chad Wilson, Dickinson, TX
Remember sailing is not about winning, it’s about competing.
The J/22 is an excellent boat for racing.
Vance Meyer, Highlands Ranch, CO
Sail the boat flat in most conditions.
Peter McChesney, Annapolis, MD
I think the most important and easy tips to give to a new sailor
getting into the J/22 Class are related to upwind sailing.
Over-trimming the jib is very common as most people think that
the harder you trim the J/22 jib, the higher you point. But what
actually happens is that by trimming so tight the jib stalls out, the
slot is too closed, and the boat goes slower and more sideways.
The keys to remember in the J/22 are to trim the main firm and keep
the jib slightly eased. The tight leech on the main will give the boat
good height, and the looser jib trim will allow the boat to accelerate
and get the keel working. The faster you get the keel working,
the harder you can trim the main and this will keep the boat sailing
high and fast.
Scott Nixon, Annapolis, MD
The best tip I could share with others regarding racing/sailing a
J/22 can be one word—patience.
Todd Hiller, Annapolis, MD
Be sure to have a line from the hoist forward to the cleat to keep the
bow up when hoisting to get back on the trailer.
Jerry Plough, New Orleans, LA
Buy a J/22. Race to have fun on the water with your crew,
and don’t worry about where you finish in the fleet.
Steve Hidell, Jamestown, PA / Bastrop, TX
Talk to fellow Class members—especially those at the top of
the results. Everyone is very helpful and willing to mentor
new members.
Susan Mattis Turnham, Duluth, MN
Put the hatch in place when racing in 20+.
Jeff Pulford, Salinas, CA
Buy it! Sail it! Race it!!
Linda McKee, Houston, TX
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When Chris Howell asked the J/22 Class members for their
best stories, memories and tips, I really did not want to get
involved. Most of the better J/22 stories I have been involved in
tend to show me in a less than flattering light. That being said,
none of the names will be changed because no one I have ever
sailed with was innocent.
A good one was from one of my earlier regattas in the J/22 in
1988. Jim Brady, Steve Inman and I decided to trek up to
Minnetonka for the North Americans. Steve and I drove the
boat up from Texas, while Jim flew in. Before we even started
the trip, we noticed a big puddle of oil forming under the old
van. Steve, thinking he was a mechanic, said we would be
fine…so off we go. Twenty-four or so hours later and three
gallons (not quarts) of oil later, we arrive. By this time, the
boat, trailer, rear bumper and back of the van are dripping with
dirty oil. Our first stop upon arriving was the hardware store
to pick up a few gallons of Acetone to try to clean off the boat.
Not too good for the hull, but we hoped that we could get it
cleaned up some and put it in the water before Jim could see
it. Later that day, we met Steve Bowers and were invited to stay
at the Big House on the lake. This was a major score since we
really had no idea where we were going to sleep.
We were also lucky enough to be able to keep the boat at their
dock. The only rub on this was that the dock was a bit rickety,
and if a storm blew through we needed to move the boat. Sure
enough the first night about 3:00 a.m., we get some thunder
storms rolling in, and Jim and I decide we would move the
boat around to Carson’s Bay while Steve drives around to pick
us up. So here we are in the pouring rain, no lights, and just
an idea of where we are going. Sail around with the jib only.
We get the boat tied up and still no Steve. So we start walking
back to the house. Sure enough we are about half way back to
the house, and the van with Steve drives right by us. We ended
up walking all the way back. To this day, Steve claims he never
saw us. Then we get grief for moving the boat. It seems you
need a bigger storm than that before you move boats. The
regatta proved to be a great success. We got to sail on another
lake, meet some wonderful people who I still talk with and had
a great last night partying. Now if anyone remembers where
the First Place Trophy is, that would be great. Yep, we lost her.
One of the other great ones just happened. I was lucky enough
to sail with my son Chris and Mark Foster at the Midwinters in
Dallas last March. This was Chris’s first major regatta sailing
with me that we won so he was pretty excited. He posted the
above picture on the front page of his Facebook internet page.
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After a friend of his inquired as to who was in the photo, Chris
explained it was his dad who he had just finished sailing with
in a regatta. The friend remarked that it was cute that he sailed
with both his father and grandfather and still managed to win.
Take a look at the picture and you see if you can guess who the
grandfather is? Sorry Mark.
Best advice…that’s easy. Know who is around when you tell
your fish tales. So here we were standing in line waiting our
turn to get dinner, discussing how that guy at the last leeward
mark could think we did not have an inside overlap. A blind
man could have seen it, I say. Suddenly the man in front of
me turns around and replies that his eyesight is just fine, and
we did not have an overlap. I sheepishly apologized for the
misunderstanding and walked away deciding I was not that
hungry anymore.
On a more serious note, I think the single most important
factor in this and any other boat is spending more time on the
water. Spending hours moving blocks and hardware or rubbing
Teflon on the side is great, but it is no substitute for “time in
the boat.”
In closing, seeing that this is the 25th anniversary issue makes
me feel a little older but a lot more blessed. The good news
is that I can look back to the many friends I have made along
the way. Some still sailing J/22s, some not, but none will be
forgotten.
Terry Flynn, Shoreacres, TX
Ultimate Marine Group J/22 World Championship
Fleet 55 and the Rochester
Yacht Club are well along with
preparations for the J/22 World
Championship this August 17-24.
Our organizing committee has
put together what we believe
will be a fun, affordable and
memorable event. See
information on the website at
www.2008j22worlds.com.
Ultimate Marine Group’s principal and J/22
Class member Phil “Flipper” Wehrheim is
the title sponsor. Ultimate Marine has been
instrumental in lining up a “who’s who” list
of sponsors. These sponsors in turn are
helping us provide all competitors with an
abundance of prizes and goodies to make
the event unforgettable and affordable.
On the water, we are prepared to race as a
single fleet. Our PRO has managed single
fleets of up to 100 boats and has assembled
a team from around the country. Our International Jury has been selected, and you
can read about them on the website under
General Information.
On-shore, Carolyn Bick is organizing our
social schedule. Rumor has it the Canadian
Association will be organizing “Hockey Night
in Rochester” on Monday night. Building on the successful debut event at the
Youngstown North American Championship,
we hear that the sailing equivalent of the
Maple Leafs will be crossing the border to
challenge all comers. The remaining race
and social schedule is on our website under
Schedule.
Thanks to our sponsors, the Opening
Ceremony, dinners on Wednesday, Thursday
and Saturday night, prize-giving and snacks
are free for all competitors. Cruzan Rum
and our beer sponsor will provide the
necessary fluids to wash the food down at
each event. Music will be provided for at
least four nights, with major bands Friday
and Saturday evening.
Our housing sponsor, Holiday Inn Express,
is offering a great rate on rooms a short
distance from the Club. As offered in the
Winter newsletter, we will do our best to
provide housing. Several competitors have
already taken us up on this offer. Please
contact Lambert Lai at llai1@rochester.
rr.com for more information on housing.
Information on use of the Club’s swimming
pool, tennis courts and other facilities for
competitors and their guests and families
are listed on the website under General
Information. Babysitters and nannies are
welcome. Camping is also permitted at the
Club. See the Club’s website by clicking the
RYC burgee on the World’s website.
If we still have one weak spot, it is providing
Charter boats. If you cannot attend, please
consider chartering. Information is available from our charter liaison Kris Werner
(krisw@rcryachts.com), or at our website
under General Information. Please contact
Kris ASAP so he can help make charterer/
charteree connections.
Given the high price of gas, we are focusing
on making the event as affordable as possible by including dinners, other events and
housing discounts in the entry fee. Many
thanks to our sponsors for their support that
helps keep our prices down. We are looking
forward to seeing you in Rochester!
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Cover up
High Quality J22 Covers
Hiller Wins Annapolis
NOOD J/22 Class
Keel Cover  Rudder Cover  Tiller Cover
Boom Tent Cover  Mast Cover
To order:
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NORTH COVERS
Annapolis resident Todd Hiller and his all-female crew won the 2008
Sperry Topsider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta in
Annapolis, MD held April 25-27. Having not sailed the boat since
winning the 2007 J/22 North American Championship crewing for
Greg Fisher last September, Hiller opened with a first-place finish
then added a pair of fourths on the first day. After taking the early
lead in the J/22 Class, the largest fleet of the Annapolis regatta with
38 entries, he and his crew never looked back.
Making the Fun Last Longer
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16
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Atlas Boat Pad
P.O. Box 515
Sturbridge, MA 01566
1-508-347-8212
www.atlasboatpad.com
johnja@gandf.us
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For Hiller, racing with an all-female crew consisting of his wife Lynda
Hiller (bow), Lesley Cook (trimmer) and Casey Williams (trimmer),
this was his first NOOD victory in nine attempts. In the end, Hiller
finished fourth or better in six of eight races. He acknowledged
Warren Bischoff and Tom Carter of Annapolis Branch Office of RBC
Wealth Management for their sponsorship, generous support and
success. “Everything clicked that weekend. We had really good
synergy on the boat, and it was nice to pick up where we left off two
seasons ago,” Hiller said. “Lesley and her husband Bill had a bouncing baby boy last year in August, Lynda was sailing with JoAnn Fisher
in preparation for the Rolex in Houston, and I crewed in two events
for Greg Fisher. Casey Williams is a great addition to our crew. She
sailed with JoAnn and Lynda in a match racing event down in Fort
Worth this past spring. Casey has years of sailing and racing experience in small keelboats. She is currently working for an engineering
firm in Boston, MA and has plans to return to school for her Master’s
in engineering. We are all looking forward to a fun season and competitive season of racing.”
The fleet at the 2008 NOODs was very competitive. The first two
days were raced in light and shifty conditions (4-6 knots) with
increasing current as the day went on. Sunday, the clouds rolled in
with some light rain, but with it came more breeze (8-10 knots) than
the first two days. The Severn Sailing Association race committee
ran the J/22 course and did a fantastic job. Orchestrating four large
one-design (Etchell, Star, J/24 and J/22) fleets was no easy task. They
reeled off an eight-race series in three days for four fleets.
Greeting Campers. It’s your ol’
ex-prez Bruce Berner reporting in for the 25th anniversary
edition. We are supposed to
talk about our memories of the
Class. Mine are a bit fuzzy these
days, but here we go.
Notes
from the
Ex-Prez
By Bruce Berner
I guess you could call my history with the
J/22 Class one of default. It all started in
1985 when I was working as the service
manager at our local J Boat dealer. My wife
Ethel and I began crewing on Ambush #38
that year. Our local fleet was just forming,
and at the first meeting everyone looked at
me and said, “You are the most organized;
we are making you Fleet Captain.” I don’t
know where they got this impression,
but off I went.
In 1988, the man who owned Ambush had
a major marital dispute with his spouse; the
next thing I knew, we were at the
bank getting a loan so we could buy it.
(They resolved their differences and are still
married.) That began a period of a lot of
travel and club sailing. We got to know a lot
of great folks around the region and enjoyed
being on the road constantly. Our fleet
was very active, and it grew and prospered.
Other folks even came to our mud puddle
to race with us.
One day, I got a call from Carolyn Freeman
at the Class Office. (Kinda like getting a call
from the principal!) How would I like to
“volunteer” to be District Governor? At that
point I did not know her, but got the distinct
feeling there were really no other options.
Oh well, off to the next level.
The District gig wasn’t so bad. We organized some of the first Eastern Great Lakes
Championships and did a lot of traveling to
sail with other fleets. Due to the high and
mighty nature of being a District Governor,
Ethel and I received an invitation to sail in
the first ever Jam-Am Regatta hosted by the
J/22 fleet in Montego Bay, Jamaica. While
there, we met face-to-face with a lot of the
movers and shakers of the Class at the time.
The end result was a far greater involvement
in the national picture of the Class.
One day, a year or so later, my charming wife
was reading the latest Class newsletter while
at the breakfast table. I hadn’t gotten around
to it yet. She looked up and asked, “Honey,
when did you become Vice President?” Carolyn again. A phone call to the Class Office
confirmed that other members of the ruling
council—at a meeting I did not attend—voted
me in. Tag, you are it.
As the veep, I got to do some more fun stuff,
like regattas in Jamaica and the Cayman
Islands. It wasn’t all play. I did the ground
work on the guidelines for site selection
and running of national events, represented
the Class at US Sailing meetings to hype
using the boat for some of the national
championships, and giving speeches at
events when I was the highest ranking
muckity muck available.
Then one day, the word went out that the
then-current President was resigning soon.
This time I beat Carolyn to the punch and
really did volunteer. Years of her training
finally paid off. Work continued. There
were the endless controversies over becoming an International Class plus some difficult
times on the home front as new boat sales
(a big source of Class revenue) and sailing
in general declined. Due to the hard
work of a whole lot of folks, the Class
survived and prospered. I managed to last
3 1/2 years as the President, finishing my
term with the highly successful 1999 Worlds
in Cleveland, OH.
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17
The most fun stop you will take on your way to the Worlds !
Eastern Great Lakes Championship
"The Raw Bar Regatta"
July 19 & 20
Hosted by Fleet 73 - Buffalo NY
With 52 boats last year and over 60 boats expected this year,
this will be the one stop you will want to make
on your road to the worlds.
Notice of Race, Entry Form & Additional
Information on the web at
www.j22buffalo.com
Complimentary long term boat storage available for those wishing to stay for either the
Level Regatta in Youngstown or Worlds in Rochester.
Soon after, Ethel formed her own engineering firm. I quit my job in the sailboat business (20 years of toxic fumes was enough)
and went to work for her as a field
inspector. When you are self-employed, you
can set your own schedule; but if you ain’t
working, you ain’t making money. Time to
sail, especially road trips to other venues,
became a bit scarcer. Our local fleet fizzled,
and everyone was buying Highlanders for
one-design racing. Good, used J/22s were
hard to find and expensive. Ethel and I
bought a Highlander as well. Of course,
we kept Ambush and used it to do some
occasional traveling and local handicap
racing. The trouble was, neither of us really
liked the Highlander all that much.
We recently had an epiphany of sorts in
our household. It was a gorgeous day for
sailing, the first day of the Memorial Day
weekend. Ethel and I took the dogs and did
an early run with plans to head to the lake
afterward. The J/22 is sitting in the driveway
about halfway through some major repairs
of soft spots in the deck. The Highlander
was set up and ready at the lake. We each
got back from our runs, looked at each
other and said, “So, do you really want to
go to the lake today?” It’s not that we didn’t
want to sail, it’s just that we didn’t want to
go sail on the Highlander. We wanted to sail
on our favorite baby.
So the Highlander goes to the place
I used to work to be listed for sale. My sorry
butt goes into high gear to get Ambush back
together and in the water ASAP. It’s been
my favorite for the 20 years we owned it,
and it is time to get back to the boat we
know and love.
I know this has been a bit long winded, so
I’ll get to the point. The J/22 was a great
boat 25 years ago, and it is a great boat
today. It has taken us places and allowed
us to meet people far beyond what I ever
would have imagined. The Class is in the
good hands of the current leadership and
well set for the future.
In closing, I would like to recognize some
folks who I believe are pivotal and without
whom the Class would have never made
it—Chip Carpenter, for all his invaluable
help on technical matters; Jerris Miller of the
Cayman Islands, for all his help in making
the boat International and his support on
the Olympic Committee; and most of all,
the Freeman family. Galen, Carolyn, Shea
and Ladd, rest his soul, were the catalysts
that started it all and the glue that held it
together. We all owe them our eternal
gratitude. It’s been a great 25 years; let’s
make the next 25 even better.
four is OK, but three is ideal), three sails,
great performance, simple, easy to put
together, easy to sail, easy to get to top
speed and crew friendly (no “boat bites”
for the crew…unlike the J/24).
Lake Minnetonka has three yacht clubs,
and from the beginning there was a flurry
of interest and activity in the J/22. The first
owners to commit were Dr. Dick Soderberg
(hull #19), David Cool (#20), Walter Baker
(#26), Lew Sacks (#48), and my wife and
me (#22). The first fleet was formed in
the Upper Minnetonka Yacht Club. The
next year was very politically active as we
campaigned to expand the fleet into the
Editor’s note: Bruce Berner sought comments from other individuals integral to the other two yacht clubs. The Minnetonka
Yacht Club was the next club on the lake
development of the J/22 Class over the past
to adopt the fleet. The Minnetonka Yacht
25 years, and his responses follow.
Club has been organized for more than 120
years, and is primarily a scow club. There
was some resistance to the J/22 in this very
traditional club since keel boats were rather
foreign to them. But after much discussion
and support from many of their leaders, they
could see the future in this exciting new
class (J/22) and were open to embracing it.
The third club on Lake Minnetonka to adopt
the J/22 was the Wayzata Yacht Club. They
have proven to be the most active and growing yacht club on the lake. This club had a
From Pat Kabris, Fleet 1:
by-law limitation on the number of fleets it
I would be happy to recall the beginning
could accept, a limit that had been filled for
of J/22 Fleet #1. Rod Johnstone was in
many years. So the acceptance of the J/22
Minneapolis for the J/22 North Americans in
was very political and finally resulted in a
September 2006. He reminisced about the
major victory for the fleet, as the overwhelmbeginnings of the J/22 Class, and the initial
ing majority of the club members voted to
discussion he and I had about Fleet #1 in
welcome this new Class. Today the J/22 is
1983. His nephew was very close to
the largest and most active fleet in this very
forming the first fleet in Stonington, CT.
competitive and social yacht club. The first
I called and committed for several boats to
J/22s appeared on the lake in 1983; by 1985,
have the privilege of Fleet #1 status on Lake
there were 53 J/22s in the three clubs on the
Minnetonka. Rod quickly agreed. We really
lake. By belonging to two or more clubs, an
wanted that status, especially since the first
enthusiastic J/22 owner could sail as many as
fleet of J/24s is also on Lake Minnetonka.
120 races per year (in six short months, with
(We couldn’t play second fiddle, could we?)
one boat). Consequently, some partnerships were formed that allowed multiple
I owned a J/24 when we “caught wind” the
owners to sail in different clubs, on different
J/22 was being designed. This was the boat
schedules, with the same boat. There were
we were waiting for— three people (two or
J/22s everywhere.
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19
The development of the J/22 on Lake
Minnetonka has been fascinating. In their
25-year history, we have seen a tremendous
cross section of people involved—sailors
from all walks of life and careers; families;
all-women boats; people of all ages; lots of
kids; and lots of very experienced sailors.
The universal experiences have been great
socially and led to improvement in individual sailing performance and competitiveness
(no matter what level of experience when
members joined the fleet). Some have
moved on to other cities, taking their boats
and experiences with them and inspiring
new or existing fleets in those locations.
There are charter members who are still
active in the fleet, and there are new
members joining every year. After 25 years,
the fleet is more vibrant, active and better
managed than ever. This fleet is a hot bed of
competition, social activities and is very well
organized. There are many members of
Fleet #1 who should be recognized for the
long-term continuing success of this fleet,
and that list would be very long.
The longevity, sportsmanship, competitive
racing, loyal members and friendly sharing
of information that occurs in this fleet—
routinely and consistently—is truly amazing.
Personally, I am very proud to be a member.
We have one boat left on the island. We
hosted the first J/22 Worlds, and I was the
chair for the event. I chose not to get involved with the J/22 Class organization since
I had three very young kids and a wife that
moved from part-time foredeck to full-time
motherhood. I sold my boat in 1995.
The people running this fleet, and all of its
members, are doing a great job—much can
be learned from them. It is truly a classic
fleet success story.
From Terry May, Fleet 31:
I was the fleet captain for J/22 Fleet #31,
Gibson Island, MD. We had 15 members
and were active from 1986 to 1994. Annapolis Yacht Club started a fleet after they saw
how much fun we were having and basically
took over the job (Fleet 19) of running the
fleet in our area of the Chesapeake Bay (they
had 20+ members within a year or so of
starting). The local dealer started a Thursday night one-design series that was a huge
success. Our members moved their boats to
Annapolis or sold them to Annapolis sailors.
20
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From Greg Fisher, Fleet 19:
I was first introduced to the J/22 Class at
the first North American Championship in
Marblehead in 1984 and then sailed the first
Midwinters in Pensacola in 1985. There was
a great deal of enthusiasm over this new
cool little boat and because of the obvious
explosion in growth that was about to take
place, many—no, actually nearly ALL—sailmakers made sure they were well represented. I was affiliated with Shore Sails at
that time, and we joined the other 16 boats
at the North Americans for a superb regatta.
As it was “awhile ago,” I don’t necessarily remember many of the details, but I do know
it was a great time. We were in awe of (and
quite intimidated by) the many great sailors
at the event. Skip Whyte won, Hale Walcoff
was second, Stuart Johnstone (Rod Johnstone’s nephew) third, our team fourth and
Jack Slattery fifth. I do remember some wild
racing on at least one of the days in some
of the heaviest breeze I had ever sailed in
up to that point. Interesting enough, THE
heaviest wind I have raced in EVER has been
in a J/22! But I was glad we were sailing a
keelboat (my first regatta in one, by the way)
as we laid it over numerous times on just
one downwind leg! I thought it was cool…
it just kept coming back up. That February,
we met the gang again at the Midwinters.
Although it was a smaller regatta with 10
boats, the competition certainly was no less.
In addition to the same tough names like
Skip and Hale, Kenny Read made his debut
in the Class and he won fairly convincingly
as I recall. I think we fell into fourth again,
but I do remember that once again it was
a spectacular event...for sure a lot of fun.
Again, many sailmakers were represented at
this first Midwinters. In fact, we all kidded each other that of the 10 boats sailing,
seven were sailmakers! Unfortunately after
that Midwinters, my focus changed back to
smaller one-designs and I wasn’t able to sail
the J/22 for a number of years. In fact, my
next event was the Worlds in Cleveland 15
years later! Everyone back in 1984 was right
about the potential growth and the forecasted strength of this new Class, and it’s all
history now. Few classes enjoy the competition, the camaraderie and the socializing
that the J/22 provides. I’m sure honored to
be able to sail in this tremendous group and
look forward to many years to come!
Gold Sponsors
Peter De Beukelaer Christopher Howell
Madison, MS
Lakewood, OH
Matt Dubois
Grosse Ile, MI
Christopher Doyle
Kenmore, NY
Thomas Linville
Weems, VA
Stephen Paidosh
Orono, MN
William Harshman
Stone Mountain, GA
Award & Sports
Saginaw, MI
Pat Kabris
Excelsior, MN
Drew Devitt
Media, PA
Gold Sponsors have contributed $100 to the U.S. Class
Gowrie, Barden & Brett
Insurance benefits planning
Celebrating the
J22 Silver Anniversary
Insurance
• Boat Insurance & Finance
• Yacht Clubs – The Burgee Program™
• Home
WWW.GOWRIE.COM
Auto
Business Benefits
800-BOAT-911
U n i t e d
S t a t e s
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21
C a l e n d a r
July 19-20
Eastern Great Lakes Championship / Raw Bar Regatta at Buffalo
YC, Buffalo, NY
July 26-27
Level Regatta at Youngstown YC, Youngstown, NY
August 2-3
Dillon Open at Dillon Reservoir, Dillon, CO
August 16
Worlds “Tune-up” Regatta at Rochester YC, Rochester, NY
August 19-24
J/22 World Championship at Rochester YC, Rochester, NY
September 13-14
Watkins Cup Regatta at Kentucky Lake SC, Grand Rivers, KY
September 19-21
Lake George Open/NE District Championship at the Lake George
Club, Diamond Point, NY
October11-12
Halloween Regatta at Augusta SC, Evans, GA
October 18-19
Equalizer Regatta at Percy Priest YC, Nashville, TN
February 19-21, 2009
J/22 Midwinter Championship at Davis Island YC, Tampa, FL
Fall 2009
J/22 North American Championship at Rush Creek YC, Heath, TX
(exact dates TBA)
October 14-17, 2009
Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship
at Houston YC, La Porte, TX
February 2010
J/22 Midwinter Championship at Southern YC, New Orleans, LA
(exact dates TBA)
September 2010
J/22 North American Championship at Buffalo YC, Buffalo, NY
(exact dates TBA)
Ruling on Mast Specification Issued
The ISAF has confirmed approval of the specification
change by J Boats to change the Sparloft mast finish to
all anodized, for the reasons of increased durability and
lower maintenance. This is now the standard spar for
U.S. and Italian builders.
22
U n i t e d
S t a t e s
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Have a mess of things to sort out on your 22?
We’ve
We’ve got
got all
all things
things
and more!
2008 NOOD Annapolis
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
2008 Leukemia Cup (TX)
1,2
ONE DESIGN CHESAPEAKE
Greg Fisher (410) 212-4916
Allan Terhune (410) 280-3617
greg@od.northsails.com
allan@od.northsails.com
ONE DESIGN RHODE ISLAND
Will Welles ( 401) 683-7997
willw@sales.northsails.com
www.OneDesign.com
Celebrating 25 years of pure fun!