Thursday, August 27, 2009

J/Newsletter- August 26th, 2009

J/97 sailboat under spinnakerJ/97 Arrives Rhode Island

USA Debut at Newport Boatshow

The J/97 will make her boatshow debut at the Newport Boat Show on September 17-20.  Hull #6 arrived in Bristol, RI and will be launched by September 7th.  The J/97 will be available for demos in Newport before and after the Newport Show.  If you're interested in taking a tour/demo of the new J/97, please contact J/Boats (phone- 401-846-8410) or a J/Boats dealer.

We’re excited to debut the J/95 and J/97 together at the Newport and Annapolis shows.  Two new, clearly differentiated, designs with cool design features, high performance, value and the easy handling attributes J Boats are known for.

J/44 cruising along offshoreThe J/World Annual Fall Cruise

Southbound from California to Baja and Mexico

Each October and November, J/World heads south for the winter...  we go where the sailing is great, off to the warm waters and predictable breezes of Banderas Bay on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.  And you are invited to join us for the journey!  Come along for one leg, or multiple passages, with our J/World offshore cruising instructor to help show you the ropes.  The best way to learn to cruise is by cruising!

Our getaway to the cruising grounds, pueblos, and spectacular south-of-the-border cities starts with LEG 1 in San Francisco, and we work our way down the rugged and spectacular northern California coastline.  The famous maritime centers of Santa Cruz and Monterey are just a couple of possible ports-of call.

LEG 2, our Southern California leg, begins in the spectacular town of Santa Barbara, and cruises south to San Diego via the unique Santa Catalina Island.  Natural beauty and an intriguing history make this a truly special place.

Then the rally begins on LEG 3. In San Diego, we join up with the (in)famous cruiser's rally to Cabo San Lucas, the Baja-Ha-Ha. Some 150+ boats participate in this annual pilgrimage to Mañana-Land.

There are a total of three legs over the period of two weeks, and the sailing is generally great.  Add to that a couple of stops in some of the most beautiful bays on the Baja peninsula and the camaraderie of a great fleet, and you have one of the most impressive events we have been a part of!

As if that wasn't enough, we wrap up the annual cruise with LEG 4, a 7 day adventure across the Sea of Cortez.  Starting in lovely Cabo San Lucas, the crew will make a couple of stops in Baja, then it is off towards the mainland.  Islands, small towns, and quiet bays await, culminating in the arrival at our beautiful winter base in Puerto Vallarta.  For more details on each leg, including specific dates and costs.

J/Regatta News

J's racing offshore from Torquay, EnglandThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The summer sailing season is coming to its ultimate conclusion with some significant activity in both Europe and America.   For the European J contingent, the J/Cup was held off Torquay, England in gorgeous, very un-England-like weather with sixty-three boats and a J/109 conquered all comers in the Around Tjörn Island Race in Sweden.  In America, the Southern California J/105 Championships was a great success and J's also triumped in the Long Point Race Weekend also in California as well as the Ida Lewis Yacht Club Long Distance Race off New England.  Read on!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries. Read on!  More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email  it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/109s racing UK Nationals off Torquay, Torbay, EnglandJ-Cup/ J/109 UK Nationals

J/109 J-DREAM Wins Again!

(Torquay, England- August 22-23)- After two days and six races in big breeze, the final two races of the 2009 J-Cup, sponsored by Dubarry of Ireland, B&G and North Sails, were hotly fought on Saturday. Most of the 63 boats racing at the event, which was hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, seemed to enjoy the benign but shifty 8 to 12 knots from the South to South East.

After much counting and phoning and haranguing of the Race Committee for the results, the nail-biting finale to the 2009 J/109 UK National Championship saw Kirsty and David Apthorp in J-DREAM crowned with the title on 28 points whilst Brian Moreton and his team on JUKE BOX were forced to settle for the runner-up slot.
Silverware and prizes donated by the numerous generous prize sponsors of the J-Cup were presented to the podium finishers in each class racing at the event, in addition to several special awards.

J/80s flying downwind at J/Cup in EnglandB&G have sponsored the J-Cup as a principal sponsor for a number of years now and their generosity continues; for IRC1, some extremely valuable Deckman software went to the winner, John Patterson, and the new J/109 UK National Champions Kirsty and David Apthorp and the crew on J-DREAM were given B&G branded Henri Lloyd gilets. B&G affiliate, Lowrance, now produce a combined VHF and GPS (complete with MOB alarm transmitter). This fabulous bit of brand new kit was presented to the bowman of the J/105 JEOPARDY, who had taken an unscheduled swim earlier in the regatta.

Dubarry of Ireland also has a long established and extremely valuable sponsorship relationship with the J-Cup and two trophies, fashioned in bronze to represent the iconic Dubarry Ultima Boot, are presented each year, along with numerous valuable product prizes from the Dubarry range.

The Dubarry Boot for Endurance was presented to Mike and Sarah Wallis and their team from the J/109 JAHMALI.

The Dubarry Boot for Outstanding Achievement was presented this year to Brian Moreton and his crew on the J/109 JUKE BOX.

The Elvstrom Trophy for the best newcomer to the J-Cup was presented to Andrew Ashworth and his team on the J/80 JAMMY DODGER. Andrew is by his own definition, relatively new to sportsboat sailing, and this class win at his first J-Cup tops off a very fine season for JAMMY DODGER.

The Musketeer Trophy is a double champagne bucket and is presented to the lowest scoring two boat team (comprising one J/109 and then a second boat from another class) at the event. This year, the bucket and the bubbles were awarded David Richards (J/109 JUMPING JELLYFISH) and Colin Wall (J/97 TRUE LOVE).

J/109 at UK Nationals sailing downwindAnd finally… the coveted J-Cup is the trophy... Colin Wall is a stalwart of the J-Cup and has raced at the event in a variety of different J Boat models which have included the J/100, the J/105 and the J/92. Colin has won his class at the J-Cup before but he has never been presented with the J-Cup Trophy. This year, after achieving a perfect 8 out of 8 scoreline, and in recognition of his commitment to the J-Cup cause, Colin Wall and his crew on board the J/97 TRUE LOVE, were deservedly presented with the J-Cup Trophy.

Top three by class, were the following:
In IRC Class 1 the J/122 PANACEA sailed by John & Hill Petterson was first, followed by the J/122 JINJA  Ian Matthews in second and Jackie Dobson's J/133 JERONIMO in third.

The IRC Class 2 Colin Wall's J/97 TRUE LOVE got the gold with straight bullets and following him in second and third, respectively were Andrew Robets' J/92s JUST IN TIME and  William Howard's J/92 WIZARD.

For the J/80 class, the usually competitive group was not to disappoint.  Andrew Ashworth won onboard his JAMMY DODGER, but giving them a heck of a run for the money were Peter Wanstall racing JASMINE and Jeremy Round-Smith driving JEZEBEL only four points back and tied, with tie-breaker going to Peter.

The J/105 was essentially dominated by Ron Dorton-Duff steering JAVA, winning again with nearly straight firsts and a thirteen point margin over Richard Watney's JEOPARDY and William Newton's JELLY BABY, second and third, respectively.

The J/109 UK Nationals as mentioned above were won by David & Kirsty Apthorp onboard J-DREAM, capping a wonderful and successful summer sailing season on their well-campainged J/109.  Brian Moreton raced JUKE BOX into second, fighting tooth and nail the entire time only to be beaten by one point!  Nevertheless, while the two class leaders fought it out for the top honors, Ben Richards and Mike Ewart-Smith hung in there to grab the bronze podium finish with ZELDA.  For more regatta info.   Photo credits- Tim Wright

Triple Play J/105 crew winnersJ/105 Southern California Championships

TRIPLE PLAY Wins The Crown

(Los Angeles, CA- August 22-23)- The Long Beach Yacht Club hosted the first ever J/105 SoCal Championships this past weekend with nineteen entrants from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In the first annual J/105 Southern California Championship Sunday, co-owners Chuck Driscoll and Tom Hurlburt, San Diego Yacht Club, drove their boat TRIPLE PLAY to first place honors in the event sponsored by Ullman Sails and North Sails.

Expecting typical Long Beach conditions of strong breeze and white caps, the 19 mostly San Diego area teams were greeted with light shifty winds of anywhere between 5-8 knots throughout the weekend… kinda like, well… San Diego!

'We were looking forward to heavy air,' Driscoll said, 'wanting to work on our heavy air sailing. But this was a lot like San Diego, which of course our boat is optimized for.'   Of the five races in the regatta, TRIPLE PLAY only had two first-place finishes, getting two fourths and one third-place finish in the last race of the day. But consistency paid off as they picked off competitors one by one, race by race.  'We kept whittling away, whittling away,' Driscoll said, 'getting good starts in each race to keep us in there.'

J/105 sailboat rounding mark off San Diego, CAPosting second place for the regatta was local favorite Gary Mozer, LBYC, and his team onboard CURREN OBSESSION 2.  'This certainly was not normal Long Beach conditions,' Mozer said.  'If it was, we would have had a local advantage. But consistency won and that’s what Triple Play did.  'In our first race Saturday, we went the wrong way and that was the defining moment of the regatta.' Mozer finished eighth in that race.

Third place went to Bennet Greenwald, SDYC, and his crew on PERSEVERANCE.  'The wind machine failed to work this weekend,' Greenwald said. But this is a very competitive fleet and it was always close racing.   'There were boats out there always looking for an inch, straining for that perfect set… and today, that was TRIPLE PLAY.'

Praise came from many sailors for the event organizer, Dennis Case, SDYC, who also competed on his J/105, WINGS.  'I think this was a big success,' Case said, 'to get this many boats together from Santa Barbara to San Diego for a regatta… this was quite an accomplishment.  Santa Barbara out-of-towners included ROCK'N'ROLLl, SHORT SKIRT and FREE ENTERPRISE. Alex Rasmussen, Tedd White and the rest of the crew on board FREE ENTERPRISE did the best finishing fourth (they recently won the Fiesta Cup in Santa Barbara).

As Dennis from WINGS proclaimed, 'Our plan is to continue the J/105 SoCal Championships annually, to make it a 'must attend' event for our SoCal J/105 fleet. This was our most significant race of the year and because of this success, it certainly gives us bragging rites as the pre-eminent one-design class in SoCal.'

John Bush, Vice Commodore of Long Beach Yacht Club summed up, 'We were very happy to host the first annual J/105 SoCal Championship here and it was great to see so many boats from all up and down the coast participate. We hope to carry on this tradition and look forward to their return in 2010.'   For more regatta info.

J/42 sailboat off Castle Hill, RI for Ida Lewis RaceIda Lewis Distance Race

J/42 CEOL MOR and J/35 PALADIN Succeed Doublehanded

(Newport, RI- August 22-23)- The end of season long distance race to commemorate the famous lighthouse keeper, Ida Lewis, who became the namesake for the equally renowned Newport yacht club, Ida Lewis YC, was a very fast one indeed for all entrants.  While the maxi sleds (all owned of note by ex-J/24 sailors!!) that included Tom Hill's Reichel-Pugh 75 foot TITAN and George David's 90 foot RAMBLER and Irvine Laidlaw's brand spanking new Wally 90 footer HIGHLAND FLING all started to fly around the course in near record time while the rest of the fleet watched the "three musketeers" take off in a cloud of dust and spray.  Only one of the "big dogs" managed to get around the track without a mishap, Tom's TITAN- winning overall while George's RAMBLER repaired a running backstay and hung on without dropping it's 120 mast over the side.  Only Irvine's HIGHLAND FLING suffered enough of a mishap, tearing all jibs out of its new new carbon luff foil to have to retire, other than look like an awfully expensive 90' Laser cruising around the race course.

The J's had a very nice showing in the DoubleHanded Division with the J/35 PALADIN sailed by Robert Fischer and Jason Richter from Setauket YC finishing 2nd overall.  They were followed by the J/42 CEOL MOR raced by the able bodied team of Jim Wilson and Brian Klippenstein from NYYC handily getting 3rd in the division.

For PHRF Class 2, the beautiful J/42 TRUE owned and well-campaigned by Howard Hodgson from NYYC and Newport, RI finished third overall in class.   For more regatta info.

J's sailing off California coast

Catalina Long Point Race Week

J's Clean House With 1-2-3

(Catalina Island, CA- August 20-23)-  The theme of this year's event was "Woodstock" to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the good and bad times of 1969 in the history books.

For those of you who can remember that far back (includes the Editor, by the way) 1969 was a watershed in world history in more ways than anyone may have imagined back then, or even today.  Some of the highlights of that notoriously historical year include, amongst others: in America that was the "Man on the Moon Apollo XI Mission"; Woodstock the bachannalian festival was held in upstate New York; President "I cannot tell a lie" Richard Nixon became President of America; Joe Namath the American football quarterback declared "I can guarantee a victory" and takes the New York Jets to a Super Bowl victory in the last minute; Led Zeppelin releases Led Zep I as the first of the "heavy metal" rockers to make their mark in the music world; not to be outdone, Elvis Presley records and releases the famous "Long Black Limousine" song/album;  the Beatles do their last "live" concert on the roof of Apple Records in London, then release the album Abbey Road to critical acclaim; the Boeing 747 and the Anglo/French Concorde supersonic jets make their debuts; Golda Meir become the first female premier of Israel (antedating, of course, the hand-bag swinging Maggie Thatcher in England); the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier "jump jet" becomes a novelty item as it debuts in the Royal Air Force; US college campus radicals SDS-Students for a Democratic Society and the Weathermen are running amok in Chicago and Harvard University; the Americans call it quits in Vietnam; US Congressman Ted Kennedy (who passed away today) drove off a bridge at Chappaquidick Island, Martha's Vineyard and accidentally killed Mary Jo Kopechne; Charles Manson runs amok in California; Hurricane Camile obliterates Mississippi; Monty Python's Flying Circus debuts on BBC One; ARPANET (aka "the Internet") connects first computers to send "packet-based" messages; and, remarkably Robin Knox-Johnston from England becomes the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping!!

Befitting such extraordinary historical milestones, this year's Long Point Race Week included a race from Newport Beach to Catalina Island, followed by a buoy race on Saturday.  However, Sunday's race was cut short after a postponement and finally cancelation with no wind; on Sunday the fleet normally races back to Newport Beach.

The results are as follows:  John Schultze's J/109 LINSTAR was first with twelve points, Anthony Wetherbee's J/109 COMMOTION was second tied with seventeen points with Roy Jones' J/133 TANGO who finished third.  Just off the pace was Mark Surber's J/125 DERIVATIVE in sixth. For more regatta info.

J/109 sailboat BLUR sailing off Sweden's coastlineSweden's Around Tjörn Island Race

J/109 BLUR Wins 40-foot Class

(Tjorn Island, Sweden- August 22-23)-  This year 548 boats entered the 28-mile race race around the island of Tjörn on the west coast of Sweden. It was the 46:th race and as usual there was a great mix of boats ranging from 20' to 100' trying to find the shortest and fastest way through the archipelago.

This year the wind picked up during the day, and a number of boats ran aground in some of the narrow passages. Some of them got caught on film, and are now featured on YouTube-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1s4qoYKCqM

Meanwhile Peter Gustafsson and crew on J/109 #326 BLUR stayed out of trouble to win the very competetive 40-foot class, beating the all new FinnFlyer 36 Club and First 35 as well an most of the 40' boats on the water.  For more BLUR regatta infoYouTube Video.   More Tjorn Regatta Results

J/Community:

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* J/Boats Fun, Cool Web Stats-  The J/Community is a very active one worldwide.  Since January 2009, J/Boats.com has seen 247,000+ visits from 175 countries that speak in 91 languages.  Those visitors have seen over 1.36 million pageviews, with an average 5.5 pages viewed per visit and they're spending on average 5 minutes 43 seconds each time reading and viewing the information.

 Our J/Boats.com visitor/ viewer loyalty is extremely high, over 63,000 visitors go to the site at least once per month and nearly 35,000 visit the J/Boats.com web site once per week!  In other words, to use "web statistics" parlance, J/Boats.com is a very "sticky" website--- e.g. people like to visit it, hang around, dream, read, analyze on a weekly basis the particular "J" they're interested in.

The Amazon.com/Alexa.com website rankings are somewhat imperfect, but the relative breakdowns for sailboat builders put J/Boats 3rd overall and in 10th overall for all sailboat related businesses (media, e-commerce, builders)-- and that's out of one hundred million plus active websites worldwide!

505 sailboat dinghy sailing Worlds in San Francisco* The 2009 SAP 505 Worlds- 98 boats registered to go sail in this year's event hosted by St Francis YC in San Francisco Bay, California.  The event has been nothing short of "epic" in terms of breeze, waves and competition.  Participating in the event are a number of J owners and friends.  Amongst them are former 505 World Champion Ethan Bixby; former Snipe World and Pan Am Champion Augie Diaz; local Newporter and Olympic contender Geoff Ewenson; former intercollegiate champion Macey Nelson; and two fairly well-known J owners-- Phillipe Kahn- a J/100 owner in Santa Cruz- CEO/ founder of FullPower Technologies and Hasso Plattner- a J/125 owner in Bermuda- CEO/Chairman of SAP and also sponsor of the 505 Worlds.   For more regatta info.   Photo credits-  John NavasChris RayMarineMedia Alliance (Simonson/Lyons).

* Match Racing Clinic on J/22s at San Diego YC- Any Southern California sailors (or visitors for that matter) want to go to a match racing clinic at San Diego YC Sept 18-20 and continue further with racing Oct 4th? Please spread the word even if you can't make it. Six J/22's will be provided by SDYC, no need to be on a team.  Whit Bachelor will be leading it.  For more match race clinic info.

Featured Boat

J/80 racing in Solent off Isle of Wight, England

Stock J/80s are 1-2 at the 2009 J/80 Worlds

“Race-ready” and “fast out-of-the-box” take on a whole new meaning with the J/80.  Consider that in this year’s J/80 World Championship in Spain, the 1st and 2nd place teams (out of 132) raced newly built, un-modified charter boats supplied by the local J/Dealer.  No time in advance with the boat, no time to even think about changing anything – just add sails and go.  The Worlds winners sailed an incredible regatta in dynamic conditions, but isn’t it great to know you can hop aboard a new boat in a competitive class without having to complete a laundry list of items to get up to speed?  Several are just completing in Bristol, RI - Base Price- $49,900.  Please contact J/Boats or your nearest J dealer for details.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!   For background info.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

J/Newsletter- August 19th, 2009

J/97 reaching under spinnakerJ/97 Arrives in USA!

Debut in Newport/ Annapolis Shows

The timing couldn’t be better for the USA introduction of the new J/97: Hull #2 just finished a nearly clean sweep of their IRC Class at Cowes Week and earned the coveted Overall Black Fleet prize for outstanding performance in the fleet; and the USA sailing market is starting to show life with new boat inquiries at J Boats (over the past 8 weeks) at double the monthly rate of the previous 18 months.

The J/97 will make her boatshow debut at the Newport Boat Show on September 17-20.  Hull #6 arrives in Bristol, RI at the end of August and we expect the boat to be commissioned and launched by the 2nd week of September.  The J/97 will be available for viewing and sailing in Newport just prior to and following the Newport Show.  We’ll then truck her to the Annapolis Show for display from October 8-12, followed by a week of boat testing and demo sails (Boat of the Year Awards, etc).  We’ll firm up the sailing schedule later this month so that you can schedule demo sails with your serious clients.

We’re excited to debut the J/95 and J/97 together at the Newport and Annapolis shows.  Two new, clearly differentiated, designs with cool design features, high performance value and the easy handling attributes J Boats are known for.

J/80s racing in J/80 Worlds2010 USA J/80 Tour

Join the J/80 Class in 2010 for an incredible East Coast tour of events - starting in Key West, Florida, then working up the coast and culminating with the J/80 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island.
If you can’t do them all, partner up with a buddy to share the program and enjoy great sailing, world class competition, and camaraderie in some of the world’s most famous seaports.

Jan 18-22           Key West Race Week - Key West, FL
                            - counts as J/80 Midwinters
Feb 12-14          St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta – St. Petersburg, FL
Apr 9-11             Charleston Race Week – Charleston, SC
Apr 23-25           Annapolis NOOD Regatta – Annapolis, MD
Jun 6-7               Sprit Fest – Shelter Island, Long Island
Jul 9-11              Sail Newport Regatta – Newport, RI    (Pre-Worlds) 
Aug 6-8              Buzzard’s Bay Regatta – Marion, MA
Sep 9-12            North American Championship – Marion, MA
Oct 4-9               J/80 World Championship – Newport, RI  

J/109 racing in North Americans, Chicago, ILJ/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The August sailing season continues at a fever pitch with Europe leading the charge with the completion of the infamous RORC Rolex Fastnet Race this past week.  In America, the great Midwest had the renowned Chicago Yacht Club Verve Cup end with a bang-- yes, a storm to tell lots of stories in the sand lot afterwards. Read on!  More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email  it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/109s racing North Americans off Chicago, ILJ/109 North Americans/ Verve Cup

Storm-tossed Conclusion to Great Lakes Regatta

(Chicago, IL- August 14-16)-  The word of the day is "carnage". Thankfully, all competitors and race committee were accounted for after a wet and wild Sunday on the lake this past weekend--- complete with blown spinnakers, broaches, man-overboards, and even a capsized race committee boat.

Testing the boat handling skills of the crews, the morning winds were the strongest of the regatta, blowing about 15-20 knots. Mains were reefed, and some boats were on the run without spinnakers. But it was the afternoon storm cell that really shook up the regatta, as puffs up to 30 knots inshore forced a number of boats to retire, Circle C to abandon their second race of the day (since it was blowing near 55 knots!), and drew the Coast Guard out to aid in the rescue of an injured crew member aboard SOCIABLE and the Marine Police to aid three crew on board the capsized race committee whaler.

Racing for the J/109 North American Championship was a very strong one-design fleet of 14 boats that had traveled from just about all points of the continental USA- Connecticut, California andTexas to race with the large Chicago J/109 fleet hosts. STORM, skippered by Rick Lyall of Wilton, Connecticut, sailed a great regatta, winning the section and the championship with a score of 20 points, a 10 point lead ahead of second place finisher Albrecht Goethe's SURPRISE/ TEAM HAMBURG of Seabrook, Texas.  Another thirteen points back in third overall was Robert & Cornelia Zerban's ZEITGEIST from Kenosha, Wisconsin.  “It was an intense day of racing,” said Ryan, crew of Storm. “Overall the Verve was a great event. The race committee did a great job. They treated us out of town boats really well, and it was a solid weekend of racing.

J/105s racing Verve Cup off Chicago, ILAmong the extremely competitive J/105 One-Design class section, Tom Petkus's VYTIS was able to pull out the win above John Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM by just four point. VYTIS was one a few boats awarded redress for their aid in to SOCIABLE, who had a crew member injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.  Lying third on the podium was David Wagner's GIGI just five more points back-- the last race proved to be a cliff-hanger for this group, not just because of the storm but the final race standings essentially determined the ultimate outcome of the regatta.

In PHRF 5, Ed Bayer's J/35 FALCON from Grosse Pointe, Michigan won overall by thirteen points. over another J/35 AFTERSHOCK sailed well by William Newman of Muskegon, Michigan.  Just off the pace were Bruce Metcalf's BOZO'S CIRCUS from Burr Ridge, Illinois in fourth and Geary Finn's IRISH ROVER from Prospect Heights, Illinois in fifth.

In PHRF 6, Dan Pesch's J/100 REMEDY from Chicago, Illinois sailed a strong regatta to gain second overall and a fellow J/100 BRAVO ZULU sailed by Lee Edwards of Hinsdale, Illinois finished fifth.

And finally, congratulations to Bill and Vivianne Smith on their J/30 AWESOME from Downers Grove, Illinois, who took first in PHRF 7.  A fellow J owner, Dan Arntzen raced his J/27 TRUE NORTH to fourth overall.   Photo Credits- Angela Solomon    For more info.

J/133 JIVARO winners of Rolex Fastnet Race IRC ClassSnails Pace for Rolex Fastnet Race

J/133 JIVARO Wins IRC 0-B

(Cowes/ Plymouth, England- August 9th-12th)-  While the previous Rolex Fastnet Race is remembered for the course record time being demolished, the only record broken in this year's running of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's biennial 608 nautical-mile classic was one relating to competitor patience, as light winds at the start and end, combined with powerful spring tides, made for a 'tactically challenging' race, and one of the longest in recent years.

Running from Cowes to Plymouth via the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, the race again proved it remains one of the world's most prestigious offshore yacht races. The 300-boat entry limit was reached quickly, attracting boats from a wide spread of nations. The bulk came from the UK and France, but there were potent entries from the USA, Hong Kong, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and others coming from afar afield as Chile and Australia.

Although the doomsayers were forecasting no wind for the start, in the end it could not have turned out better with an easterly wind forcing spinnakers to be hoisted in all eight classes - a magnificent colourful spectacle for competitors and the spectators crowding the Cowes seafront, alike. All was good, with the tide shooting the boats west in the early part of Sunday afternoon. Then the wind shut down at the Western extremity of the Solent, with particular abruptness on the mainland shore. After this first roll of the dice, a new south-westerly breeze filled in gently, but with insufficient strength to power the majority of the fleet past Portland Bill on the first night.

Portland Bill was probably the defining moment of the race, with most of the big boats managing to make it past before the tide turned foul. The majority were forced to set their anchor and kedge, typically for an hour or so, but in some instances for up to six hours, to prevent themselves being ripped back east.  While the early stages looked to be favouring the big boats, they by no means had it all their own way. The wind remained on the nose down the Channel, then inconveniently veering northwest causing them to remain upwind while crossing the Celtic Sea towards the Fastnet Rock.

In the sixty boat IRC Class 0-B the J/133 JIVARO sailed by Yves Grosjean from France won its class and just ahead of him is another J/133, the well-campaigned BATFISH III raced by Bill Blain and crew from England that fought hard at the last few turns into Portsmouth Harbor to finish fourth.  A fellow J/133 JAMMY DODGER raced by Neil Martin from England had been a front runner for much of the race but a few zigs which should've been zags cost them some places, dropping them to a well-earned sixth overall in the perplexing conditions.

The J/122s were racing in the twenty three boat IRC Class 1-A and European/French favorite PEN AZEN raced by avid campaigner Philipe Delaporte fought hard towards the end of the race to salvage a well-earned fifth overall and the J/122 NUTMEG IV sailed by fellow Frenchman Francois Lognone finished a well-deserved third overall!

A remarkably consistent season led to a strong performances by the team on board  David Walters' J/39 JACKDAW.  In the thirty boat IRC Class 2-A they've taken advantage of the shifting, light air conditions to win their class overall!  Job well done David and crew!

The thirty boat Doublehanded Class has Simon Curwen's J/105 VOADOR as top J in seventh overall followed by Richard Palmer's J/109 JANGADA TOO in eighth and just down the ladder was Martin & Johnston's J/105 DIABLO-J.  For more info.

J/120 racing to Monhegan Island off Portland, MEMonhegan Island Race

J/120 CAILIN A MARA First Overall

(Portland, ME- August 7-8)- The annual Monhegan Island Race hosted by the Portland Yacht Club in Falmouth, ME had a relatively fast race this year, not the oft times light winds feeling your way through the fog around Monhegan Island at dawn the next day.

The report from Tom Crotty, skipper/ owner of the J/120 CAILIN A MARA follows: "After 129 miles we beat both the Tripp 47 and Aerodyne 43 that were in front of us boat-for-boat as well as the rest of the fleet for a first in class B and a first overall in the primary 2009 Monhegan Race.

The race was a fast one with the best finishers 10 hours ahead of boats the year before. On CAILIN A MARA we had speeds up to 15 knots for brief periods of time. Normally, the breeze in the Monhegan builds into the classical afternoon sea-breeze, softens at dusk and remains light and fluky overnight. This year saw the sea-breeze, but then a front came through and the wind swung to the North-Northwest at 8 to 18 knots for the rest of the race. This produced some beating, and some tight reaching.

It was the versatility of the J/120 that came to the fore in this race. We had five sails and would not have won without any one of them. And, it is worth observing that CAILIN A MARA was the only real cruising boat in the top finishers. BOREAS, another J/120, finished 3rd in class B.   For more info.

J/122 Pugwash racing Chester Race Week off Nova ScotiaChester Race Week

J/122 PUGWASH Wins- Einstein's Influence?

(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- This race week may well be the oldest "race week" event on record in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of its history.  Chester Race Week is billed as  Canada's Largest Keelboat Regatta
hosted by Chester Yacht Club on the Eastern seaboard and sailed around the islands and shorelines of picturesque Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia.  It may well be true with over 150 entries in this latest event.

The history is both charming and reflective of sailing culture we all must not forget as we look forward to the future.  Yacht racing has been a major summer sport in Chester for well over 150 years. Its roots are firmly planted in the mid 19th century when the fishermen raced each other to markets in Halifax or New England.  As sailors and fishermen have been wont to do since time immemorial, they loved to get together and talk shop. Sailing races for pleasure and bragging rights was inevitable.  As the gatherings and races occurred more regularly, the Annual Fishermen’s Regatta was born.  The regatta was a show case for locally built boats of different designs, as well as for sailing skills.  The first documented regatta was in 1856.  It is reported to have been attended by 3,000 people who participated in a parade, amusements, land races as well as the sea races.  In 1858 a rowing race for ladies was added and a dance took place at the Mulgrave Inn which had been hosting guests from Europe, US and Canada since 1820.  In 1860 the press reported the regatta pleasures were “enhanced by a large party consisting of 150, accompanied by the city band, who arrived in the steamer ‘Neptune’ from Halifax”.  In 1885 the two day regatta had boats from Mahone Bay, Lunenburg as well as from the two Tancooks.  The big excitement was a circus which featured a hand cranked Ferris wheel on the parade ground.  According to the Lunenburg newspaper, the 1888 Annual Regatta attracted 2,000 spectators who were treated to “the closest and most exciting match of its kind ever witnessed in the South Shore”.  After CYC was established in 1902, it became the focal point for racing.  Charter member Ned Fader remembers, “Citizens donated prizes: 100 pounds of sugar, a barrel of flour, maybe a little cash.  A boat crew could get a wonderful view on life for a dollar … best of ale, fifty cents a gallon, good rum at one dollar a quart.  They were all good God-fearing people, but they did not let it spoil their lives too much.”  OMG, if only the America's Cup were so honest, respectful and thoughtful!

J's racing Chester Race Week off Nova ScotiaGiven that the weather is always an enormous variable, this year was near perfect for Nova Scotia waters; renowned for fog and light airs most times.  The turnout for J's in general was significant, J owners provided strong support for the regatta, two large one-design classes in the J/24 and J/29, and one of the happiest teams to attend were David Murphy's team aboard their J/122 PUGWASH and gorgeous tender TUMBLEHOME. 

In the A1-Black fleet, Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH  from New York YC won class finishing seven races with a total of 31 points just barely a half point ahead of their next competitor. 

The A2-White fleet was dominated by three J's.  In first was Colin Mann from Lunenberg YC sailing his J/92 POOHSTICKS, winning with seven straight firsts in seven races!  Fifteen points back in second was Greg Hardy hailing from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron racing his J/29 ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM and just two points behind him was Will Apold from BBYC racing his J/92 STORM FRONT.

In the Pink Fleet, Jason Penney's J/30 RATTLE AND HUM won their class, counting three races and a total of 6 points to win their class by a convincing margin.

In the J/24 One Design Class, John Whynacht's team Lunenberg YC on-board STICKY FINGERS was first overall with six straight firsts out of eight races!  They won their class by a landslide, 19 points over second place finisher Greg Blunden from BBYC racing ADRENALIN RUSH.  In third was Doug Inglis from Chester YC sailing BUZZ.

The J/29 One-Design class had very close competition compared to the J/24s.  Larry Creaser from Chester YC aboard JAEGER just squeaked out a victory over Matt Christie from BBYC sailing COLMONELL by two points, the last two races determining the final outcome.  Third overall was MacDonald from Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron sailing FEED ME just four points back.    For more info.

J/Community:

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* The 2009 CST Composites Moth Worlds ended with a bang.  American Bora Gulari hailing from Detroit, Michigan was the first American to win the event in over thirty years with an impressive eight firsts in fifteen starts!  Holy Cow! Fellow American and friend Morgan Larson (below left pic) from Santa Cruz, California, who'd sailed his foiler Moth for less than twenty five days, ended up 18th with a couple of top ten finishes.  American brother's Jonathan and Charlie Mckee, hailing from Seattle, Washington finished 22nd and 11th, respectively, in this highly competitive, small fleet. In aggregate, the American team progressed further and faster than many from Europe and New Zealand/ Australia had expected of them, thanks to the leadership of Charlie and Jonathan getting everyone to work together as a "loosely-knit" team.
Morgan Larson flying downwind at Cascade Locks, Columbia River Gorge, OR
Congratulations to all forty-plus of you whom sailed and raced the foiler Moths from all members of the J Community for awesome sailing in the  windy Columbia River Gorge!  Check out the results and action.    Photo credits- Sharon Green

* Paul and Susan Herer raced their J/100 WHAAT'S UP? in the "There and Back Regatta"  double-handed race on Saturday August 1st off Chicago. Here's their report-  "This one day 47 nautical mile race is sponsored by the Belmont Yacht Club in Chicago. Due to the wind conditions ranging from 15-25 knots, WHAAT'S UP? sailed the course, which included downwind, reaching, upwind legs in a regatta record time of 6 hrs, 48 mins.  This race is sailed under Lake Michigan PHRF. We took line honors, besting a Beneteau 36.7 which was 2nd and a Tartan 10 which was 3rd. FYI- WHAAT'S UP? also won this regatta in 2005 and 2006.   We thoroughly enjoy this boat; it is our fifth season of  day sailing, club racing, and double handed racing."  Editor- Congratulations on a job well done!

Featured Boat

J/80 racing in Solent off Isle of Wight, England

Stock J/80s are 1-2 at the 2009 J/80 Worlds

“Race-ready” and “fast out-of-the-box” take on a whole new meaning with the J/80.  Consider that in this year’s J/80 World Championship in Spain, the 1st and 2nd place teams (out of 132) raced newly built, un-modified charter boats supplied by the local J/Dealer.  No time in advance with the boat, no time to even think about changing anything – just add sails and go.  The Worlds winners sailed an incredible regatta in dynamic conditions, but isn’t it great to know you can hop aboard a new boat in a competitive class without having to complete a laundry list of items to get up to speed?  Several are just completing in Bristol, RI - Base Price- $49,900.  Please contact J/Boats or your nearest J dealer for details.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!   For background info.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

J/Newsletter- August 5th, 2009

J/95 off Sandy Point ready to sail with you!

J/95 #5 Launched in Annapolis

Ken Comerford and the team at North Point Yacht Sales just launched J/95 hull #5 in Annapolis.  The boat is sailing to Oxford, MD this weekend and then will be based at J/Port in Annapolis through the Annapolis Boatshow.  As part of Rod's "J/95 tour" he had the opportunity to have J/95 North Sails consultant Ron LaNeve sail aboard and provide some personal viewpoints on the meaning of this breakthrough design from J/Boats. Here's Ron's commentary- "  I have come away with the feeling that the boat is really made for areas like this and that there is tons of potential for the J/95 here as well as other areas with thin water.  Please feel free to pass along my name should anyone want an impartial opinion about the boat and how she sails. In my years sailing I cannot remember a time I sailed on a “centerboard” (big) boat that had such great performance.  I sure felt like I was sailing a much larger boat with a deep keel.  Thanks again for joining us at the Squan Trisail Regatta and spending some time at the Jersey Shore with your cool new boat! Kindest Regards, Ron".  For more info contact J/Boats or see more here.

San Diego J/Fest 2009

It's All About the Crew!

Southern California’s J/Fest is at the San Diego Yacht Club September 25-27. J/Fest is Southern California’s largest and most attended regatta… exclusively for J/Boats. Don't miss out on the biggest J/Boat event of the year! This year J/Fest will be focused on celebrating and thanking your crew and those who contribute to the camaraderie and success you have during the sailing season. There will be exciting one design racing, great prizes, and fun parties.  Questions? Contact J/Concierge Amanda Denton at JK3.  Register for J/Fest today.

J/97 reaching off FranceJ/97 European Boat Of The Year Contender!

The recent introduction of the J/97 in France and the current campaign of the J/97 JENGA in England have led to the J/97 being elected as one of the contenders for European Boat of the Year honors in the Performance-Cruiser Category.  With a bit of luck and continued good results from JENGA, the J/Europe Team may have another winner on their hands!
For more information on the new, exciting J/97 family performance-cruiser, please contact J/Boats.

J/109 racing in Solent, EnglandJ/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

August in Europe means the highlight of the summer sailing season in England- over 700 boats are competing in Cowes Week hosted by Cowes Combined Clubs on the Solent.  In America, Buzzards Bay Race Week and Downeast Race Week will be starting this weekend, too.   Read on!  More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email  it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/80s racing in Stockholm, SwedenSwedish J/80 Championships

Sundelin Family Affair Wins

(Stockholm, Sweden- June 25-28)-  The Swedish J/80 Championship took place in Sandhamn in the Stockhom Archipelago 25-28th of June as a part of Sandhamn Race Week, Volvo Ocean Race Stopover and Around Gotland Off Shore Race.

Twenty boats competed with representatives from both Estonia and Norway. With stable winds of 3-5 m/s and a sunny sky the conditions couldn't be better and the races offered a really tight fleet. The proud winner was SWE 562 with former Olympic Champion Peter Sundelin as a tactician and his son Martin Sundelin skippering the boat!! Good on ya, mates!  Awesome to see father/son combinations enjoying the love of a life long sport.

J/109 fleet off Cowes, Isle of Wight, EnglandCowes Week 2009

Huge J/109 Fleet Offers Gorgeous Spectacle

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England- August 1-8)- Over 750 boats have been presented with an enormously variable set of weather conditions for the past five days in the Solent.  Everything from a good breeze to calm to weather fronts passing overhead and treating the fleet to more rain and no wind and the usual massive amounts of current sweeping boats up and down the Solent (kedging is a unique local talent and expertise acquired by some of the best sailors in the world!).  Despite the difficult conditions, the Chief Race Officer Stuart Quarrie and his race committee team have done a remarkable job keeping the troops happy and racing in whatever the weather Gods have presented to the fleets.  Imagine that!  Coordinating starts for over 750 boats each day?

The J/109 One-Design Class have a fleet of thirty-two boats, the largest offshore one-design class gathering known in recent years on the Solent for 36 footers.  At the head of the class are some familiar faces-- David and Kirsty Aphthorp's J-DREAM is just ahead of Ewart-Smith and Richards' ZELDA and Matt Boyle's SHIVA.  The racing has been tight and with four races to go anything can happen based on what the fleet has seen to date.

J/80s tacking off Cowes and Royal Yacht SquadronThe J/80s have a twenty-one boat one-design class. Rob and John Fox's JEVAN is winning by ten points followed by Nick Kirkman and Andrew Dykes' JANE and Adrian Stell's TOE IN THE WATER TOO.

The J/97 JENGA being campaigned by Paul and Marie-Claude Heys' is dominating Class IRC 5 with four firsts and a third so far.  Despite the often tricky conditions, Paul and Marie-Claude have continued to lead the fleet home in most of the races...we hope they continue to do so when the event concludes on Saturday.

Ian Matthew's J/122 JINJA is lying 5th in a highly competitive and closely fought Class IRC2.  With a few shifts here and some good current calls there, JINJA could easily be in the hunt for a podium finish by the end of the week.

In Class IRC3, the well-sailed J/39 SLEEPER sailed by Jonty Layfield is third and Tom McDonald's J/90 JOE 90 is sixth.  Again, the standings are mixed enough day-to-day that anything can happen in this class and both boats could be vying for podium finishes by week's end.  For more information.

J/133 BATFISH III racing in Solent, EnglandJ/Community:

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Correction-  Robin Taunt's J/133 BATFISH III- here's recent shots from their campaign- www.batfish.org.uk- sorry mates!  Just need more great J-photo shots-- glad to see you and the J/UK gang are on the ball!

* Bob Johnstone along with sons Stuart and Drake will be racing in the upcoming Downeast Race Week on Bob's J/100 TERN-- the first time this father/sons team has raced together in decades.  Like the J/80 racing in Swiss alpine lakesSundelin's in their J/80 in Sweden, one hopes the combined talents leads to a successful outcome.  Over five J/100s are expected to race, making for spirited competition in this annual classic in the waters of Blue Hill and Penobscot Bays way, way "downeast" in Maine.

* Jean-Francois Klein is a proud J/80 owner in Switzerland.  He sent a nice note detailing how he's made a J/80 competitive against other very specially modified "Swiss Lakes Boats".  Here's his note- "Dear Stuart- I don't know if you remember but we already met on the Shosholoza Boat  in Valencia during the last America's Cup in 2007. I told you at that time that I am sailing a J/80 with a complete new sailplan including a new shape main and a big Genoa. That gives much more power to the boat and make it even more lively then with the class sails. I promise you that time to send you some pictures...."  Here they are!  Cool stuff.
J/80 Worlds Santander, Spain

Featured Boat

Stock J/80s are 1-2 at the 2009 J/80 Worlds

“Race-ready” and “fast out-of-the-box” take on a whole new meaning with the J/80.  Consider that in this year’s J/80 World Championship in Spain, the 1st and 2nd place teams (out of 132) raced newly built, un-modified charter boats supplied by the local J/Dealer.  No time in advance with the boat, no time to even think about changing anything – just add sails and go.  The Worlds winners sailed an incredible regatta in dynamic conditions, but isn’t it great to know you can hop aboard a new boat in a competitive class without having to complete a laundry list of items to get up to speed?  Several are just completing in Bristol, RI - Base Price- $49,900.  Please contact J/Boats or your nearest J dealer for details.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!   For background info.