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Can you tell us a bit about your history in the class? Tony: I was training with the French America's Cup Team in August 1978 during the first J24 North Americans in Newport, Rhode Island. I saw a mass of identical boats on Narragansett Bay all racing. On one picture perfect day, they were unable to get a race off because the competitors were so aggressive and the rules did not provide for anything other than individual or general recalls (no I flag, no Zulu Flag, no Black Flag). I thought to myself, that sounds like great fun. I bought one the next winter. How do you think the class compares from then to now? Tony: The class has really changed. I sailed the first Worlds with about 620 pounds of crew. We all sailed with four. We launched the spinnaker off the bow. We had 2 genoa halyards and a luff groove. We had a long distance race in the Worlds. The racing was great but I cannot imagine a boat racing in the configuration of that day would be within 15 minutes of the top 2009 J24 at a finish. The one constant has been the quality of racers. We probably had every major sailmaker in the US at that first World Championship. The fleet was deep and it was competitive. The difference is that we have learned so much more on how to make these boats go fast. You finished 9th at the Worlds this past spring which is a great success in such a deep fleet! What did you do to prepare leading up to the event? Tony: Our training lasted about 18 months. I realized that I and my team needed to raise our game considerably to compete at an equal level to the top teams. A couple of my crew that I had been sailing with were not able to spend the time required for such an endeavor and so I had to find a couple of key replacements. The first major regatta we entered after my decision to ramp up our program was the 2008 Mid Winters. While we did well, I brought in a couple of really good J24 sailors who basically told me to completely rebuild my boat if I wanted to compete at a higher level. Many thousands of hours/dollars went into rebuilding the boat that winter. We continued to do very well all year. We never finished worse than 3rd in any regatta but I knew we were not fully competitive. I still had so much to learn about keeping the boat going, particularly in heavy air. And we needed to settle on a team and go through enough regattas so we knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It wasn’t until the Fall of 2008 that I finalized on a World’s crew. We then sailed in the East Coasts, the King’s Day regatta, the Midwinters and the regattas in April before the Worlds. We also had a bottom job and keel job done just before the Worlds. Tell me a little about the people you sail with? Tony: I like having people on board with positive attitudes. The truth of the matter is that I screw up more than anyone else on the boat, so most of the mistakes are mine. I try very hard to find people who leave their mistakes behind them and only focus on what is remaining of the race. It is never over until it is over. I have always been lucky to have positive people sailing with me. I try very hard not to criticize anyone on the crew, particularly in the heat of the moment. We all worked very hard on that because we knew the Worlds were going to be full of potholes and opportunities to screw up magnificently. It was our ability to deal with the situation AFTER we screwed up that was going to determine how we did in the regatta. Who were your training partners leading up and during the event? Tony: We really didn’t have training partners. Will Welles and I would tune up from time to time and Will co-skippered a local regatta with me just before the Worlds. I also had several excellent J24 skippers sail with me during that 18 month preparation period. I learned from those experiences that we all have slightly different styles of sailing and they all seem to get you to the same spot about the same time.
Tony: Not on the water. Maybe there is an advantage being able to go to your own home every night and remove the logistics issues but I didn’t feel there was an on-the-water advantage. The critical issue was getting off the line in clear air for the first 5 minutes. If you were able to do that, you were pretty assured of a good finish. Local knowledge doesn’t help you with that. How did this Worlds differ from the last worlds you sailed in Annapolis? Tony: How different is night from day? That regatta we finished about 34th, got thrown out of three races and were never competitive. I am not sure we had one top 20 finish. Tony: We bought both a Kevlar and a Pentex. We tried the Kevlar for a couple of regattas before the Worlds and thought it would be a bit better in heavier air but it was a little sticker in the very light stuff. It was a tossup. When Will Welles said he was going with his Pentex, that was the deciding factor for us. I think we made the right decision, based upon the conditions we faced. What were your expectations going into the event? Tony: I was realistic enough to know that the likelihood of us winning was very slim. We would have had to sail a perfect regatta. I had set my upper sights on top 5 and felt we should be able to crack the top 10. We took what turned out to be a stupid penalty flag (a top competitor came up to me after the race and said he saw the whole incident and said we didn’t foul the other boat and would have witnessed it for us) and then added insult to injury by failing to file the written notification that we took an I flag. Those unnecessary 32 points was the difference between 6th and 9th for us, but then again, I am sure everyone else has a tale of woe that they could cite. Were you happy with your result? Tony: Yes. What a treat just to be competitive. I am 63 years old and am an amateur. I don’t think there was a skipper within 25 years of my age in the top 30 and most of the teams in the top 40 were full on professional teams. What was it like to be winning after day 3? Tony: Nice, but I knew there was a whole lot of racing left to go and I also knew there were a bunch of boats that would be in front of us as soon as they could throw out a race. I try never to get too high or too low, just take every race, every start, every leg, one at a time. When is your next regatta? Tony: I am thinking about San Francisco for the Nationals and Sweden for the Worlds next year. I just have to see. Tony: I have been lucky to have sailed with some terrific J24 sailors in the past 2 years. I have learned a bunch from them. The one thing right now that has me intrigued is that many of the top pro teams put their jib lead much further forward than I do (like a couple of inches) and then ease off the sheet to make it work. They might be on to something and I am curious to experiment with that. I thought I had good light air boat speed but this might be another gear. The secret is to always be curious and always experiment and ask questions. Thank you Tony!
The 2009 J/24 Worlds were held in Annapolis, MD, where as we all know the conditions can be light and variable especially when fronts move through. The event started off with three days of intense measurement: boats, rigs and sails were all put under the microscope. With the majority of the fleet flying North Sails, it was pleasing to see our sails breeze through measurement and all of our customers come out smiling-just one less thing to worry about! That Sunday, before the practice race, North Sails held a “local sailing conditions” clinic over at Eastport YC-where our very own Chris Larson was the featured speaker, he is also a past World Champion and Annapolis resident. We had to limit the talk to two people per boat since there were 82 registered for the event, passing out flyers and walking the docks really got the word out as we had around 90 people in attendance with standing room only. Chris did a wonderful job of describing why the conditions would be light (frontals coming through), current, etc… we had some great feedback come out of this.
Monday came around and as predicted the conditions were light and variable and this pattern was to hold throughout the regatta ending on Friday, with the best sailing to be the last day. Our sails would begin to litter the leader board right from the get go and remain dominating the top twenty throughout the week. In fact, the only two teams in the top ten were Santa Cruz and Casale, both past World Champions. Santa Cruz makes his own brand of sails in Brazil and Casale flies Elvstrom Sails-congrats to both of these teams, especially The Brazilians for their regatta win. The Italians would end up in eighth place. Some of the other sailmakers seem to struggle with their sails showing a lack of power for the lighter conditions as of evident on the race course and in the overall results. Chris Larson led the way for North Sails, in fact he was winning the event going into the last race, showing awesome speeds all around the course and on all points of sail. Chris’s professional approach to sailing was quite noticeable just watching him and his team around the docks. Chris sailed with our San Diego Main, Newport Technora Genoa and San Diego Spinnaker. Pereira from Argentina would end up third sailing with our Newport Main and Pentex Genoa with a San Diego Spinnaker-this combination proved to really- really fast as he would dominate the last and best day of sailing (where we had three races) in around 5-9 knots of breeze. These guys were unstoppable-I know for a fact, as we did battle with them in two of the races and we could not hold pace. As a matter of fact, The ARG and CHI Teams seems to really enjoy these conditions throughout the last and best day of sailing.
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J/24 Sails
J/24 Sails
Jorge: Well as you know Chris, Mexicans aren't very big in size so that's why we sailed with 6 people, perhaps isn't the most practical thing. The crews are: Jose Alfonso Gutierrez who was the trimmer, Andres Akle flew the spinnaker, Pablo Rion did the middle deck, Daniel Carvallo was foredeck, Federico Fernandez (the kid, 13 years old) we used him as weight and myself who also did the tactics.
Jorge: At the beginning it isn't that hard because the Opti class is very well organized, but after that it gets harder for the young sailors in Mexico because there is not really any class to keep going. What I did was to sail the most competitive class at the time and the one with the best opportunities to travel, so after Optis I sailed Hobie 16 for almost 4 years and then I got into Lasers for one year. After that I did a bit of J24s for the Worlds in 2007 here in Mexico and then sailed Snipes for a while for the Panam Games to switch back to J24`s until now. For instance, there aren't any Snipes here in Mexico so we lived in the US and South America at that time.
Jorge: On J24's, my experience is down to the Worlds in Puerto Vallarta, and the one in Italy, besides those 2 championships I might have sailed it in the ocean 5 or 6 weekends and the rest of the time only in Valle. In a very near future we want to go to the Worlds in Annapolis and after that I don`t know how much more I will be sailing j24s but for sure I will keep sailing them at least in Valle as it's the most competitive class in Mexico right now.
Jorge: Yes, Valle is a tricky place and specially during those dates. I set my boat for the lowest range of wind that I expected because my theory is that you need to get out of the no wind patches as fast as possible and when you get the puff you'll always move. For the first 2 days which were the lightest ones I had the shrouds in 19-12 and from there the most that I tightened them was 3 turns in the outers and 1 in the inners, which would leave us in somewhere around 21 -15. Regarding the sails I tried to trim them as flat as possible and always have the lead position as far aft as possible. Perhaps we moved the genoa leads a lot with wind changes even without tacking.
Jorge: Well of course we had the advantage of knowing the place, but from my experience most lakes are very similar especially if they are about the same size. Actually I do the tactics and there is not a specific tactician, however the crew gives me some information. But anyway, what I think is most important in Valle is to see how the puffs are moving because some times they cross the course and some times run parallel to one side, so depending on that was when we tacked in the shifts. I also tried very hard to never get caught very far in one side because with any unexpected wind shift we would be in the bottom of the fleet for sure, so we preferred to play the middle as much as we could even if we weren't first to the next puff. And besides that was all about getting right the shifts which was not that easy hahaha.
The problem is that sailing is still a very unknown sport here in Mexico so only few people practice it which makes it hard to get better and more competitive. However, it's been improving lately and if all the people keep working in promoting the sport there is a good chance of speeding up the process.
Jorge: I want to start sailing Snipes again and also try to campaign in 49er for London 2012, so in the near future I need to start practicing in both classes.
Jorge: Weird but I don`t listen to music, however I can ask my crew what are they listening to and tell you.
Another great weekend for North J/24 sailors! John Poulson and his team aboard Long Shot won the St. Pete NOOD beating a lot of good teams! John who just finished 5th at the Midwinters is on fire for the upcoming Worlds. We are working on an interview with him. Please keep tuned! Here the results:
For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts!
Jorge Murrieta (MEX) and his Team Vitamin Water have won The 2009 J/24 North American’s powered by North Sails. They used a combination of Newport Upwind and SD FR-2 Downwind in securing the championship. The event was held in Valle de Bravo, Mexico sailed with 44 boats. Chris Snow/Chuck Allen (USA) finished in a close second having a chance at the title on the last day but fell short. Kenneth Porter (MEX) was forth and Mike Ingham (USA) fifth, both using North sails.
The Hand Gliding World Championships were here the same time-these guys are crazy! Keep tuned.. Interview with Jorge Murrieta coming shortly.
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J/24 Sails
Will Welles and Team Win The East Coast Championship!
Friday morning the sailors where greeted with cold temps and light breeze for the first day of racing. Four races where sailed with a shifty East to southeasterly breeze ranging from 5 to ten knots. Will Welles and team where able to figure out the tricky conditions and stay consistent with all finishes in the top ten to take an early lead of the regatta over North customer Pete Levesque and Team Mookie. Another North Customer, Tony Parker, ended the day in third. Saturdays forecast was for big breeze and rain. The competitors sure saw the big breeze as the only race of the day was sailed in breezes ranging from 18 to 25 knots and building. It was a tough decision to sail with the blade or tough it out with the genoa. About half of the fleet was using the blade, and seemed to have an edge over the genoas. The race was finished in about 25 to 30 knots of breeze and the entire fleet was now switched to the blade as the race committee was getting ready to run a second race. The race was started and boats completed 2 legs as the breeze built from 25 knots to being in the high 30’s. After most of the fleet announced they were retiring from the race the PRO decided to abandon the race and send the fleet in. The North Sails One Design Team was on scene immediately with van ready to take sails to the loft for repair. A great effort by the North One Design Team had a pile of sails repaired and back the yacht club for racing on Sunday. Sunday was a beautiful day for golf not so much for sailing. With conflicting breeze directions and not enough velocity the regatta was over. Will Welles and team won the 2008 J24 east coast championship by 14 points, with Tony Parker and Team Bangor Packet in second.
For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts!
J/24 Sails
North Sails were on the top five boats for J/24 Fleet 50-Newport. We typically have 30 boats sailing on Thursday Nights and the competition is tough. We have enjoyed a 75% market share with Newport Upwind and SD Downwind being the majority. Congrats to Will Welles for dethroning Jen Hookenson-no easy task!!! 1 For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
J/24 Sails
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 30th Annual Changing of the Colors Regatta up in Lake George, New York. There were 70 boats sailing in flickle breeze and at times, light rain. On Saturday the wind would fill in for about an hour at a time, just enough to start and finish two/three leg windward leeward courses. Saturday’s first race was sailed in a tapering southerly. The first beat was comprised of a long port tack and a short starboard drift once the breeze shut off completely. There were a number of different headsails represented on the “run.” Some boats used their genoas, others their spinnakers, some a combination of the two. Eventually the breeze went forward enough that everyone was in their genoa, beating back to the starting line, the new finish of the race. The second race was sailed in a slightly more stable northerly. This three-leg test of patients ended up being the final race of the day. The race committee had visions of a third race until one of the competitors reminded them that “you don’t try to ski with out snow.” All and all, we were pretty lucky to get two races in and just as a side, I don’t think I’ve ever heard such entertaining VHF banter. Sunday’s wind conditions were a bit nicer, approximately 3-5 knots from the West-North-East. We sailed a five-leg and a three-leg windward leeward. The breeze held for 7 of 8 legs on the left side of the course and 8 of 8 on the right. As we pulled the boats out of the water the breeze came ripping down the lake, white capping and causing ironic laughter ashore. The event was a lot of fun. Lake George is a great club and I am sure I will be back next year. Congratulations got out to Kirk Reynolds, his crew, and his North Sails for a great job in some very, very tough sailing conditions. For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
This past weekend 18 boats participated in the 23rd annual Downeast Regatta hosted by the Portland Yacht Club. Competitors showed up Saturday morning to find overcast skies, intermittent rain, and no wind. The race committee chose to send the fleet out at noon, wind or no wind. No wind it was, but as soon as we reached the race area we were graced with a sailable southerly. The pin was heavily favored in the first start of the event. With 30 seconds to start we found ourselves all alone at said favored end. As the gun sounded we flopped on to port, ladder rungs to weather and looking good. However, halfway up the beat it became apparent that there was something special about the right hand side of the racecourse. There were puffs coming off of an island located on the right side as well as some serious current relief. As we began to notice this we put the bow down in an effort to consolidate as well as take part in some of the relief. A few minutes into our bow down mode we realized that we were just giving away VMG as the J24 doesn’t get up and go when you lean on her up wind. Having notice that, it was back to normal upwind mode with a good lesson learned. The second race was similar to the first with the addition of some pea soup fog. Something that helped us a ton was timing the amount of time spent on starboard and port. We assumed the first beat to be square and spent an equal amount of time on port and starboard until we were able to pull the mark out of the fog. After we found the first beat to be slightly skewed we adjusted our times accordingly for subsequent legs of the course. After the second race the fleet was instructed to return to shore. An early end time made for a great afternoon of hanging out and feasting on lobster. Tropical Storm Hanna moved through southern Maine on Saturday night leaving crisp northerly winds for Sunday morning’s racing. We did not realize how crisp the wind was until we reached the starting line and were able to experience the entire fetch. At the bottom of the course it was gusting to 20, making the blade a viable option. At the top of the course it was a bit softer and way shiftier. We chose to go with the genoa hoping to make big gains at the top. At the bottom of the course the two sails seemed to be relatively even and at the top the genny was faster in a straight line but the blade out tacked it for sure. (Proving once again that there is always an argument for one over the other and that the crossover is bigger than people think it is.) After the first race the breeze began to taper and most of the fleet was caught tight on their rigs. When this happens you have to be sure to adjust everything else to achieve your desired power. The pressure that chose to stick around did so on the perimeter of the racecourse. The trick to the day was to gain leverage to a side early and use the weather bows as an indicator of when to tack and cross. Once across you had to consolidate back to the side from which you came in an effort to avoid the middle. You had to play the pressure more than the compass, getting across people when you were in it and strong. The Downeast Regatta is a regatta that everyone should go to. The place is beautiful, the food is great, and the people are some of the most hospitable I have ever met. Thanks go out to the Portland YC, The Handy Boatyard, and Carter and Amy White for putting on a first class event. Top 3: 1st For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
North Sails did quite well at the Marblehead NOOD regatta this past week. Jeff Earl from Beverly Mass hoisted his brand new North Sails for the first time ever at this regatta and won the event! He is very happy that he switched to North Sails. Jeff used a Newport main and Genoa and the new FR2 spinnaker. North J24 sails finished 1,2,3 and 4! J-24 -- NOOD Regatta @ Marblehead Race Week 1. \p = Tie broken by 1st places, 2nd places, etc. For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
J/24 Sails
Last weekend 20 boats made it out to the Sail Newport starting line 1.5 miles off of R2 at a bearing 240 degrees. When the fleet arrived at the rendezvous point they were met by a light southerly breeze and plenty of slop. The race committee set a fairly even racecourse that had a bit more pressure coming out of its top left corner. After a two-boat tuning session we decided we were happy with our base setting on the shrouds (20-15), a loose jib halyard (big, round, scallops), and super forward jib car setting (end of the track). We had a mediocre first start and decided to get onto port right away. Being to leeward in light and lumpy conditions is an enormous advantage so even though we liked the top left we conceded it early for leeward positioning. After being on port tack for about two minutes, windward bows began falling into us so we consolidated back to the fleet while simultaneously heading for our top left. We got across 18 of the 19 other boats and switched sides with the race leader who had come out of the left. After rounding in a close second we kept trying to soak inside and gybe on top. With a little separation, a bit more pressure and a great layline call we were able to scoot around the competition and lead around the course-right gate, the better gate for avoiding boats that were still sailing down wind. Rounding the leeward gates in clear air in lumpy conditions is an unbelievable advantage. The wide tacking angles that come with choppy conditions make for exaggerated wind shadows and a scenario where the rich seem to get richer. We were able to maintain our lead and ended up winning the first race of the regatta. The next two races we won the pin and were able to put our bow down when necessary to get through the occasional boat-stopping wave sets. We found starboard tack to be a bit more bow into the waves and because of that we sailed starboard tack with a couple degrees of leeward heel. Sailing with a bit of leeward heel is like sailing with gathered potential energy, when you hit a wave you go to flat instead of heeling all the way to weather and losing flow on your foils. We found port tack to be more wave-friendly and because of this we sailed port tack dead flat. Angle of heel through the waves was the key to upwind boat speed on Saturday. Conveying exactly where the weight needed to be made it easy for an already heady crew to keep the boat moving nicely though the waves. Footing helped the boat point on starboard, we kept our leeward telltale flicking most of the time. Conversely, on port tack, we were bubbling our jib in the puffs and sailing with a more traditional J-24 inside break. We ended up using our out-of-trouble starts, maneuver-minimizing game plan and slight upwind speed advantage to take the next two races of the day as well.
Top Ten:
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J/24 Sails
Ron, could you tell us a little bit about your sailing background? RM: I started sailing PHRF on the Pamlico River in my J-24 back in 1999. In 2001 I moved over to Belews Creek and began sailing the 24 in some One-Design events. I fell in love with One-Design sailing and now I try to travel as much as I can. Tell us a little bit about your Charleston team? RM: We sail with four. Bob Turner normally trims and does tactics, but this regatta we had him on the bow. He has been sailing with me for years. In some ways he is like my co-skipper. When things on the boat break, he can always fix them. I guess you can say he doubles as a Boatwright. Next, we have Lorne Cheesman in the middle. He is in charge of balancing the boat. He is very aggressive with his weight, especially downwind. John Collins was our upwind and downwind trimmer. It was great to sail with John because he was the one who got me into one-design racing back in Belews Creek. Sailing with four really opens up the middle of the boat. We find it works well for us. Sounds great. What North Sails were you using and how did you like them? RM: I was using the Newport upwind sails and the San Diego kite. Why were you using sails from both inventories? RM: We use the guide as a baseline but because our rig is a bit older we generally have it set tighter than the guide tells us to. I think the guide is written for newer, stiffer masts. I spent a lot of time making sure my forestay is at max length and that my pre-bend is where I want it for each condition. What regattas are on the horizon? RM: Local stuff this summer. Going to Wrightsville Beach in early August, they are trying to get their fleet going down there. Southeast Regional Champs. East Coast’s in Annapolis. Our Districts down here. We are really hoping to qualify for next year’s worlds in Annapolis. For us, an all ametuer team, going to the worlds would be an experience of a lifetime.
J/24 Sails
Tony Parker/Rossi won The 2008 Annapolis NOOD's with ease, showing excellent gear changing/adaptability in the mostly 7 knots and under event. Will Welles and Chuck Allen won the second day with a 1, 5, 2- but could not catch up to Parker after a 14 on the first day. Mike Ingham and his team showed some great speed posting superb scores, but they too had a tough one in in race four. Steve Lopez/Chip Till and their family team from NJ were also quite fast but did not sail on the last day, otherwise they were always in the top group. North Facts:
For information on North sails for your J/24 don't hesitate to contact our J/24 Experts! To order your fast North J/24 sails online and have them delivered to your door, click here.
J/24 Sails
North Sails finished 1, 3 and 5 in the J/24 Class at The 2008 Charleston Race Week this past weekend. After having a tough first race in the series, Ron Medlin and Team caught fire with four bullets to go on and win the event. North Sails won five of the six races held, which mostly saw the top end of genoa type conditions. Our Newport Series Sails were first and third with our San Diego Series placing fifth. North Sails provided the weather service for the event, which proved to be quite popular.
Robby Brown and Chuck Allen of North Sails One Design team up to win the 2008 St. Petersburg NOOD J24 class and Overall Award. Robby and Chuck topped a great field of J24s with North dominating the field in the end results. The regatta conditions covered a wide range of wind strengths with the first two days having predominately light air and the final day having winds ranging from 5-15 knots. The North sails performed outstanding in all wind ranges. We used the upwind Newport designs and the new San Diego spinnaker. Twenty-six J24s competed in the regatta making it the second largest class at the event. Boats featuring North Sails won every race with the top six spots going to North boats. Mark Liebel, a new North customer, was third at the regatta after suffering the same misfortune as we did on the run of the first race that was shortened at the first leeward gate. In that race, the wind died and shifted about 50 degrees leaving all but one of the front boats on the wrong side of a knock that turned the fleet upside down. Mark was extremely pleased with his new North sails stating that the groove was easy to drive on the upwind sails and the spinnaker was real fast and easy to fly during the regatta. He was overheard reflecting, asking why he waited so long to make the change to North. Other North customers showed great performance in speed and tactics as North claimed the top six spots in the class. Todd and Genoa Fedyszyn sailed an outstanding regatta to finish second with help from North’s Brian Bissell. The balance of the top six finishers Mark Liebel, Steve Wood, John Poulson and Paul Van Ravensway respectively all sailed outstanding regattas with top finishes except one big number along the way in the tricky conditions. The fickle winds of Tampa Bay proved challenging for even the best sailors. Our team on Preparation J, sponsored by Sunsail, was honored with the overall regatta award in an admittedly close decision among several outstanding performances in other talented classes. We are honored to win the award as a J24 team. Our team consisted of co-skippers Robby Brown, helmsman, and Chuck Allen, tactician (Friday and Saturday, Bill Icely Sunday), Jeff Olsen, trimmer, Jim Traun, bow and Sandy Scheda, boat partner and mast. We had an outstanding team all weekend. We were fortunate to get off the starting line in good shape every race and had enough boat speed to stay with the lead group each race. After the big shift handing us a tough finish in race one, we finished out with all first place finishes with no boat crossing our bow at any time in the last three races. I was extremely pleased with our speed and got many compliments about how fast we were. I feel this is a reflection on North’s commitment to ongoing research and development and tuning information. Chuck Allen, Brian Bissell and myself, Robby Brown, along with the rest of the North J24 team look forward to assisting you at the next J24 event, and we are always happy help with any questions you may have about getting the best performance from your boat. Top 6: From Sailing World Web site: Feb 17, 2008
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Tony Parker and his Bangor Packet team have had a stellar year in the J24 class! Tony is arguably one of the top amateurs sailing J24s today. Here is a brief interview on how he has approached his program in the recent months to prepare himself for the Worlds. 
Did you feel like you had an advantage being a local?
Tactically I found Valle very hard, big shifts and lots of up and down in the wind speed. How did you and your tactician approach the regatta and the difficult conditions?
Ten races were sailed over the weeklong event and if you have never sailed here before make sure to put it on the list! The breeze comes in at 12:30pm-so you leave the dock just before, sail until 5:30pm where you arrive back to The Club Nautico for the most festive atmosphere you could imagine-just beautiful here!
This past weekend J24 fleet 8 of Annapolis hosted the J24 East Coast Championship. Forty-Eight boats competed for the title in the tricky Annapolis sailing conditions.
The 2008 J24 District 10 championships were help in Miami, FL this past weekend July 12th and 13th. The local Fleet and their representatives had a wonderful event organized, with great race management, when the fleet arrived and the conditions were everything that Biscayne Bay offers in the summer. Tropical but pleasant temperatures and consistent winds provided for a great venue to determine the district’s representative at the 2009 World’s in Annapolis, MD.
“We’ve been using North Newport upwind and San Diego downwind since we bought the boat last year. As our driving and trimming have improved, we have developed a lot speed with that combination, especially in moderate conditions. We were able to come off the line clean and drag race our way to the front of the fleet. From there our crew executed flawless mechanics and high percentage tactics to bring it home.
Congratulations go out to Ron Medlin and his crew for their impressive victory at a talent-filled Charleston Race Week. The Bash boys won four of seven races on their way to the podium and here is what they had to say:
Do you tune your rig off the tuning guide or do you get creative?
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Local sailor Robbie Brown and co-skipper Chuck Allen, of Wickford, R.I., strung together a scoreline full of ones at the 2008 Sperry Top-Sider St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta. The only problem was two of them came in the first race in the form of an 11th.