J/Newsletter- November 25th, 2009

November 25th, 2009

J/111 Rocketing Out of the Blocks

Worldwide interest in J's latest speedster seems to be growing exponentially every week.  From every corner of our blue planet, enthusiasm for a fun, easy-to-sail 36 footer continues to grow-- and it's from all members of the sailing community.  Not just J sailors.  People who've sailed other racer-cruiser production boats, out-of-control over-canvassed "wedges of cheese" and everything in between.  Everyone appears to be zeroed in on having a great time, with great performance and solid R.O.I --- in the J vernacular, that means FUN for the dollar!  Specs and pricing will be out in December.  Don't be surprised if you have a hard time getting one-- we've had overwhelming interest in the J/111-- talk to your J/Dealer now!  Learn more about this exciting new sailboat.

J/95 Wins SAIL Magazine's 2010 Best Boats "Performance Sailboat" Award

The Performance Sailboat category was populated with an excellent group of new boats, including the J/97, each of which are sporty, forward-thinking racer-cruisers.  Ultimately, the J/95 edged out its competition by virtue of an interesting combination of features that combine to make it a potent sailing package-- its centerboard, twin rudders, cockpit layout and powerful, well-balanced sail plan.
Thanks to its shoal-keel, the J/95 unlocks entire areas to one-design racing that were previously unable to accommodate fixed-keel sailboats.  This is beginning to happen now in such areas as the Chesapeake, Florida and the lakes in Europe.  As SAIL said, "If you want a grin-inducing ride every time you go sailing, the J/95 could be the boat for you."

Learn more about sailing the J/95.       SAIL Magazine Review

J Sailing Calendar Is A Hit!

The reviews are in from the madding crowds at J Dealers and J Sailors from around the world--  the J Sailing Calendar is a cool, breathtakingly beautiful and very useful calendar to keep not just the parents organized, but the kids headed in the right direction and your work week organized most of the time in today's hectic schedules.  And, for adult "playtime" we've added another wrinkle into the equation- an interactive version of the J Sailing Calendar.  Cool, eh?  The J Sailing Calendar of events, regattas, seminars, boatshows and so forth are now posted "live on-line" for you to coordinate your sailing schedules with one another.  Whether you have an Apple iPhone, RIM Crackberry, Nokia Smartphone, Motorola Droid (yup, that Google Android thing) you can now download at the click of a button your sailing schedule for most major sailing events worldwide that are attended by the extended family of J sailors and friends.  That's not all-- much, much more cool stuff soon!   Learn more about the J Sailing Calendar

Regatta & Show Schedules:

Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Dec. 5-13- Paris Sailboat Show- Paris, France
Jan. 8-17, 2010- London Sailboat Show- London, England
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The Americas and Australia continue taking a breather, especially the Americans celebrating their Thanksgiving this week.  The action was way, way too windy in Europe.  And, in South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans sailed the J/24 South Americans in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  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.  Photo Credit- ChapiFoto.com

Garmin Hamble Winter Series

J/109, J/105 and J/80 Fleets Postpone Sailing

(Solent, Hamble, England)- This past weekend the Winter Series saw all racing canceled, postponing in effect until next week.  The fleet made some spirited attempts to work around what amounted to a near hurricane, e.g. the double-red flags on the Beaufort Wind Scale - Force 10.  However, the strength and the persistence of the Low was far too overwhelming to even consider venturing forth onto the infamous Solent.  Can't imagine what a 6 knots current again gusts up to 60 knots might look like--  how about a webcam mounted on a titanium tripod on the Bramble Bank in the middle of the Solent-- would be kinda cool! 

In short, the UK MET Office issued all kinds of dire warnings.  The BBC was positively shrill...worried perhaps that train service would again cease operations because leaves blown into the air-intakes would stop the trains running again.  As one of the Race Officers put it, "latest info we have is SW 25 - 30 kts, with gusts to 45 kts, increasing towards midday with averages of 35 kts with gusts to near 60 kts in thundery showers. This forecast has increased again since last night and racing is clearly impractical."  Good on ya, the pubs clearly appreciated the windfall business.  For more regatta and sailing info

J/24 South American Championship (Los Sud Americanos)

Argentinean Rossi and SHARK Team Win

(Costa Del Sol, Brazil)-  The Argentine team, led by Alejandro Rossi, won the South American Class J24 which ended on Saturday in South Sailboat In rank he was vice commander Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. And the Uruguayan Diego Garcia, who began leading the competition, finished third. The three final races were very exciting with heated competition among the top five in the fleet; in fact nearly full blown match racing between the current J/24 World Champion and the ultimate race winner.

When crossing in 3rd place at the finish line of the last race, the crew of the boat SHARK celebrated their victory nearly shouting themselves hoarse. Skipper Alejandro Rossi, 34, had won for the first time the South American title after sailing for fifteen years in the J/24 class. "The Brazilian, Mauritius Santa Cruz, offered tough competition on the race course, it was important to sail with great speed and be sensitive to changes in the wind. Santa Cruz is three times J/24 World Champion, so we expected a tough battle," said Alejandro.  Another element of difficulty was the weather, pointed out Mr. Rossi. "The wind streaks were complicated, with very fickle wind, both in direction and intensity and with a lot of rain."

The Mauritius Rio Santa Cruz team from Brazil sailed better in the last few races, but it was not enough for the title. Mauritius regretted having started the racing in bad form on the first day. "We lacked a bit of calmness and focus in the beginning. I sailed with a new crew.  Sailing as a team is very important and we learned fast.  All who were with me here are excellent," said the current J/24 World Champion.  Santa Cruz said his team was Andre "Cheek" Fonseca, Marcos Grael, Georgia Roberts and Frederick Sidou.

Finishing third not too far off the pace from the two leaders, Rossi and Santa Cruz, was Uruguayan Diego Garcia, finishing with 26 points.

After the bad weather during the week, forcing cancellation of racing on Thursday, conditions were favorable for good sailing the last few days. The wind in Guaíba was east, with an average wind speed of 12 knots.  This meant everyone was fast, so you had to sail nearly perfectly to maintain lanes and get the right wind shifts.

Captain of the Brazilian J/24 Class, Cláudio Ruschel said he was pleasantly surprised with the fleet turnout-- "We have a promising future", he says. Ruschel was fifth in this year's J/24 South American Championship.

The J/24 South Americans sailed nine races from Wednesday until Saturday with a total participation of fourteen boats from Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. The 2010 edition will be held from 15 to 20 November in La Punta, Callao, Lima, Peru.    For regatta, sailing, information.

J/Community:

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

* Steve McManus- J/109 owner of SAYKADOO has been on an upward trajectory since getting his team rolling in the past year on his J/109. Local Annapolis papers had a nice profile on Steve and his team this past fall. It was entitled "SAYKADOO Tops Tight Wednesday Night Class" by Bill Wagner. "There are not many classes more competitive than PHRF A2 of the Annapolis Yacht Club's Wednesday Night Races. Four of the thirteen registered boats have the exact same rating (75) while several others are extremely close to that figure.

That is evidenced by the fact four different boats won a race during Series 2, which wrapped up last Wednesday. SAYKAYDOO, the J/109 skippered by Steve McManus, did not win any of the five races held between June 10 and July 29, but nonetheless wound up capturing PHRF A2 Class for Series 2.

"The whole fleet is very evenly matched. The rating band is extremely small among the top seven or eight boats", said McManus. "It was simply a matter of consistency for our boat. We weren't able to win a race, but we were always in the money." Indeed, SAYKADOO counted three seconds and a third in totaling nine points, just one better than Jeffrey Caruso's Ben 36.7 SHOCK WAVE. Only five points separated the first and fifth place boats.

"I'm blessed to have a regular crew and we do a lot of cross-training so that people can fill in other positions if someone can't make it out for whatever reason", says McManus. Dave Robinson (pit), Stuart Numan (jib, spinnaker), Bob Taylor (tactics, bow), Jack Hunt (jib, spinnaer), Don Handy (main, bow), Carl Turek (pit) and Marie Dallacqua (mast) comprise the regular crew aboard SAYKADOO, which also won Series 1. In fact, McManus is on a bit of a roll, having won Series 2 and placed second in Series 1 last year. "We've been doing the Wednesday Night Series for about six years and we seem to be getting the hang of what it takes to be successful", he said.

Competition was equally close in two other PHRF classes...with Richard Born's J/120 WINDBORN second in Class A1.

In the nineteen boat J/105 class, it all came down to the wire with the Salvesen/Lewis team on MIRAGE edging out Peter Schellie on FREEDOM in the battle of the family-based boats. In third was Jim Konigsberg's INIGO.

For the J/30s, Steve and Katherine Bardelman on VALHALLA vanquished their fleet of eight boats, leading home Bill Wallop's CANNONBALL and Ron Anderson's INSATIABLE in second and third, respectively.

The J/35s had a wonderful turnout this year with seven boats. Barry Moss's BAD COMPANY won by a landslide over the perennial competitor AUNT JEAN, ably raced by the team of Kaminer/Christofel in second and Mark McGonigle rounding out the podium in third onboard WINDEPENDENT.

* Carlos Aguilar Match Race - the event is being held in the IC-J/24s in St. Thomas, USVI. "We enjoy racing in St. Thomas. The conditions are great," said Genny Tulloch, after her team's recent victory at US Sailing's 2009 Women's Match Racing Championship, hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club. Tulloch is becoming one of USVI's biggest cheerleaders. The Californian has won two major match racing championships this year in St. Thomas. She will return to the spectator-friendly waterfront of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI to defend her title in the Second Annual Carlos Aguliar Match Race, December 2-6, 2009.

Tulloch will face stiff completion from Claire Leroy (FRA) and her 2007 and 2008 Women's World Match Racing Champion team. Women's International Matching Racing Association President, Liz Bayliss (USA) and her team are among the top ranked WIMRA teams returning to the warm Caribbean waters for one of the few ISAF Grade I Women's Match Racing events in North America. Marie Rameris (POR) and Renata Decnop (BRA), Katy Pilley-Lovell (USA), Julie Brossard (FRA) and Kelly O'Brien-Uszenski (ISV) and her all Virgin Island crew will round out the international fleet.

In the open event, Virgin Island sailing and match racing legend, Peter Holmberg has an all Virgin Islands team. Holmberg's trusted tactician, trimmer and bowman for many years, Maurice Kurg, Morgan Avery and Ben Beer, bring more local knowledge and seasoned IC 24 boat-handling skills to the team.

Holmberg won the USVI's first and only Olympic medal and continues to inspire Caribbean sailors. His proteges love trying to take races and matches off of the America's Cup skipper and former #1 match racer in the world. Taylor Canfield (USVI), winner of the 2008 Carlos Aguliar Regatta, will field a strong team to defend his title. Team COORS-LIGHT, with Frits Bus at the helm, Andrew Rapley as tactician, Chuck Pessler as trimmer and Tommy Koyskin as bowman have won many Caribbean regattas on their Melges 24 are up for the challenge as are; Juan Carlos Escobar (ELS), Collin Rathbon (IVB), Fraito Lugo (PUR), Jes Gram Hansen (DEN) and Dave Perry (USA). -- Lynn Fitzpatrick- More Match Race Sailing Information.

Featured Boat

Beautiful J/42 Ready For The Islands

MAISTRALI is a lightly sailed, beautiful J/42. Carbon mast, standard keel, B&G's, Water maker, custom canvas and all the right factory options make this a very desirable boat for you to consider for serious cruising. She is ready to go and needs nothing. The current price of $259,900 is a tremendous value in today's market. Please call Paul Mikulski direct for more

information. 410-961-5254 Email- paul@northpointyachtsales.com

Photo of Sistership- same white hull.

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 and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere! 

For more information on J/Boats

J/Newsletter- November 18th, 2009

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NEW 2010 J/Sailing Calendar Is Hot!

The Ultimate Gift for People Who Love Sailing!

We have created a beautiful J/Sailing Calendar for J owners and J sailors who love and appreciate the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world. Whether you are a cruising, competitive or armchair sailor, the stunning photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. Enjoy the color and excitement of J sailing with these gorgeous photos.

The J/Sailing Calendar features photos of flying J/80s, a wildly planing J/100 off Hawaii, a powerful J/122 surging upwind, an inspirational sail off the Maine coast on a J/42, J/120s battling up the San Francisco waterfront during the Rolex Big Boat Series and tranquil shots off the world's most beautiful harbors and coasts on J/22s, J/24s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and more. For those who love the sailing lifestyle, it's the perfect gift for friends and family. Photo Credit- KOS  To order yours today, please visit the J/Sailing Calendar website.

Regatta Schedule

Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s, J/122s

J/Regatta News

J's Chasing Rainbows Sailing Worldwide

The Americas saw their fellow Bermudians stage their National Keelboat Championship in Bermuda Shorts (not fair!). While in slightly cooler climate, the action continues in Europe with the conclusion of the Ice Cup near the Arctic Circle, a bit further south on England's Solent, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series saw some good racing for the J/109, J/105 and J/80 one-design classes and Benelux had their Open J/80 Championship. And, in seriously nice Mediterranean weather, the J/80s continue to have a great time sailing in the Med racing off the Spanish seacoasts of Bilbao, Santander and Palma. And, in South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans are now sailing for the J/24 South American Championship in Porto Alegre, Brazil. 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.  Photo Credit- Paul Wyeth

Garmin Hamble Winter Series

The J-DREAM Sailing into the Sunset Winning Again

(Solent, Hamble, So'ton, England)- After gale force winds on Saturday and rain squalls early on Sunday morning, the weather settled down to a picturesque day of sunshine and cloud for the sixth round of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series.
Despite the windward going tide that might be expected to benefit the smaller boats, most of the class leaders maintained their form. In the J/109 one-design class, David & Kirsty Athorp's J-DREAM continued their hot streak, leading home the fleet over the weekend and Chris Jones' JOURNEYMAKER 5 won the J-105 class.

The White Group classes were as usual closer to the mainland shore, and sailing in a 250 degree breeze. All three races went off without mishap, but to the frustration of the committee and probably the competitors the wind backed by 10 degrees during the final race start sequence.

In the J/80 class, OI! won two of the three races. John Cooper and his crew slipped up with an OCS in race three, with Cressida Robson and Allan Higgs' JUICY winning this one by four seconds from Patrick Liardet's AQUA J.

Next Sunday's racing (22nd. Nov) continues with the full Winter Series programme for White and Black Group racing.  For more information and sailing results. Photo Credits: Paul Wyeth

Yachts & Yachting Announces RORC Boats of the Year

J/133 BATFISH III Overall IRC Winner

(London, England)- The Winner of the Jazz Trophy for best total points score overall under IRC for the RORC was Bill Blain's J/133 BATFISH III and Robin Taunt's J/109 JIBE was third. The comment was heard that with good production boats like these “crewed by amateur sailors.... you do not need an expensive custom yacht with professional crew to do well.." In short, when it comes to winning IRC offshore events with friends aboard, a J is the way to go...proof from the hotbed of IRC racing--- England and France where the J/122s and J/109s continue to lead the pack on both sides of "La Manche" (the Ditch a.k.a. The English Channel). Photo Credits: Paul Wyeth   For more information on RORC Sailing Events.

J/80 Open Benelux Championship

(Port Zelande, Holland)- After some years steadily building the structure of a class organization and the J/80 fleet, this weekend was the long awaited first J/80 Open Benelux Championship, sailing out of Port Zelande. The start and the race management was under the auspices of the Dutch Sailing Federation and the host organization was in the hands of Grevelingencup Regatta. The field had international allure with participants from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with a total of fourteen boats attending.

Under widely varying conditions, that included rain, clouds, gusts, wind shifts and constantly changing wind strengths, the Race Committee did a great job getting lots of sailing in for all participants, getting in five races the first day. At the end of this day, QUANTUM SAILS TEAM sailed by William Garschagen, Nic Bol, Tom van der Werf, Charlotte Heijstek and the crew were first, followed by TEAM+FABER MUNKER sailed by Jan-Piet Stuursma, Christopher Savoy, Joris Walraevens Twan and Hanse. Just behind in third and fourth place were JOI DE VIVRE raced by the sharp-looking crew of Laura Vroon with Wouter de Vries Lentsch, Kelly, Caroline van Beelen and JALAPENO RHINUS was sailed by the enthusiastic crew of Erik Scheeren with Jade Ottema, Erick Vink, Emanuelle Scheeren.

On the second day, the conditions were clearly different, sun and a light and somewhat unstable and decreasing wind were the ingredients for the next four races. The battle for first place between the QUANTUM SAILS TEAM and the FABER MUNKER TEAM was essentially a match race. When the gun smoke from the start and finish line and the jury room had cleared, TEAM FABER MUNKER was the first Benelux champion. Second was Jack William Garschagen and third was Laura Vroon. For J/80 Class Regatta Report.

Bermuda National Keelboat Championship

J/105 MAYHEM Reigns Supreme

(Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Bermuda)- The annual shoot-out on the Great Sound to ultimately crown the Bacardi National Keelboat Champions in the three classes for Bermuda was held this past weekend, the action was hot and heavy in the J/105 class.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club race officer Jay Hooper and his team were constantly tested (along with the sailors) with winds shifting as much as 80 degrees between south east and south west throughout the day. Sailors experienced all types of wind conditions ranging from 10 knots to the mid twenties. The highest wind conditions were seen during the 4th race in the middle of a 'whiteout' rain squall. A number of boats, slightly worse for wear, elected to retire before the 5th and final race.

The hotly contested J/105 Class saw five boats on the line with Jon Corless and his crew sailing MAYHEM with the most consistent form with four first place finishes and a second, posting a total of 6 pts. Glenn Astwood sailing OCKHAM'S RAZOR and James Macdonald's PASSION battled it out for second place with Glenn prevailing with 13 pts.

A very wet, cold and tired group of sailors arrived back at the host Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for some well deserved liquid refreshment thanks to Bacardi and a BBQ courtesy of the Bermuda Sailing Association. Winners were presented with product and logo gear from Bacardi and specially engraved clocks to mark the accomplishment by Bacardi's Craig Smith and BSA President Somers Cooper. For more regatta and sailing information.

Bancantabria Sailing Cup

FUNDESTIC (Toño Gorostegui) Winning Overall

(Santander, Spain- 15-16 November)- An excellent turnout of thirty five boats were treated to some classic, windy conditions off Santander's famous waterfront and gorgeous beaches. Act III remains under the dominion of the ECC VIVIENDAS sailed by Torcida Pichu. A great weekend of strong south winds also helped SPACIO 10 sailed by Paulo Santurde get into second place and Tono Gorostegui retain third place in FUNDESTIC. Finally coming into their own after several weekends of sailing were 470 World Champions Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos, skippering PROPENOR to 2nd and 4th in the strong wind conditions and fast downwind surfing of the last day. Overall for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup, FUNDESTIC is still leading with a tie being broken in their favor over Santurde's SPACIO 10. Pichu Torcida has fallen off the pace a little bit and is now lying third overall for the series racing ECC VIVIENDAS.   For more regatta and sailing info.

Commodores Trophy- Espana

Martinez's ZEIK Crowned Winner Overall

(La Coruna, Spain- 15 November)- Due to the cancellation of the last race because of some storms predicted for later in the day, Paul Martinez and his crew aboard ZEIK were declared the winner of the Commodore's Trophy. Sailing with Paul were Alejandro Zapata, Cristina Governors, Francisco Diéguez and Antonio Parra. In second place, tied on points but with fewer first places was the Spanish Navy boat skippered by Paul Chavert Coruña. Just three points behind were Stuart Shimeld's AUSSYCRAWL-BIG BOY NAUTICAL. This regatta concludes the J/80 racing season in La Coruna. Next year, the Spanish J/80 class will be holding their Spanish National Championship off the picturesque coast of La Coruna.  Photo Credit by ChapiFoto.com     For more regatta and sailing info

J/80 and J/92 ICE CUP

(Stockholm, Sweden- November 14-16)- Here's the report from the Ice Cup in Stockholm by the J/80 Swedish teams participating in the event: "We were two teams from the J/80 gang, who raced in this year's Ice Cup organized by Stockholm's Match Racing. The boats we sailed were specially built J/92s with spinnaker poles-- it was fun to race the bigger sailboat model of the J/80. For our team usually familiar with asymmetric spinnakers, we solved this problem with spinnaker handling by bringing in two experts in the field: Olle Larsson and Martin King. Martin was past SM-SK30 winner in 2008. How did we do? It was quite tolerable. We finished seventh out of fifteen teams. And, we had a lot of fun. Cold, though, you had to dress warmly. And, the hot tub was great! According to rumor, a similar event will be held here in April, so just keep an eye on www.matchracing.nu.   For more match race sailing information

J/Community:

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

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* J/109 sailor Keith Wilson and crew are having fun racing their J/109 MAJIKAL Down Under in Australia sailing around the Sydney Harbour region. Here's one of Keith's own accounts of racing this past weekend around the "Heads":

"The wind for the day blew 15-20 knots from the NW at the start and then swung to the NE for our run down the coast - it was absolutely ideal for the asymmetric kites- as a result, we got 3rd overall.

The first race for MAJIKAL was in the Cronulla estuary at start of an offshore race. The "PJ to PH" was actually in Sydney Harbour during a race back to Cronulla.

Here's the geography: Sydney Harbour is on Port Jackson . Cronulla is on Port Hacking . The estuary is at the mouth of PH, where the Hacking River runs into Tasman Sea (e.g. Pacific Ocean). At the downstream end of the estuary, the river actually empties into Bate Bay. Further detailed information re geography: Cronulla is the beach-side suburb of The Sutherland Shire, about 20 km south of Sydney. The Shire is also known as God's Country. The Shire is bounded by Georges River to the north, ocean to the east and Hacking River to the south (beyond the river to the south is Royal National Park - oldest national park in the world - even older than Yosemite National Park in America)."

We wish Keith and crew fair winds and fast sailing in the upcoming months racing in this fascinating part of the Pacific. To learn more about Cronulla and this part of Sydney where they are doing lots of sailing and racing, check out this GoogleMap link
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*J/44 sailor Jeff Willis had a great interview with Windcheck Magazine this month- From Huntington, NY, Jeff is the Co- Founder and President of Willis Marine Center Inc and the owner of one of the most successful racing yachts on Long Island Sound. “I started sailing in 1951 with my dad on a 37-foot Whistler that was built of wood by my uncle here in Huntington,” Jeff recalls. “The first boat I owned was a Dyer Dhow that I raced in the junior sailing program at Huntington Yacht Club. I’ve sailed Ensigns for quite a while and was the fleet champ three or four times.” Jeff ’s J/44 Challenge IV, the winningest boat in a very competitive one-design class, is his fourth boat with that name.   Read more about Jeff's sailing experiences at Windcheck Magazine OnLine
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*Anna Tunnicliffe- Just can't keep a good girl down for too long. The Anna steam-roller just keeps on truckin. Beijing Olympic gold medallist Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) talks to US Sailing about 2009, a year when she won the Laser Radial ISAF Sailing World Cup title, numerous match racing titles and was crowned female winner of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards. Since winning an Olympic gold medal in the Laser Radial in 2008, Tunnicliffe has excelled in a variety of boats and multiple disciplines, proving her talent and versatility as an elite sailor. She has been a dominant force on the ISAF Sailing World Cup circuit by winning three gold medals and a bronze, as well as the first-ever ISAF Sailing World Cup trophy in the Laser Radial. The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member has also proven to be a talented match racer, winning bronze medals at the ISAF Nations Cup and Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta. Women’s Match Racing will make its debut as an event in the 2012 Olympic Games, so Tunnicliffe had to choose which passion to pursue. She tells US Sailing why she'll match race in 2012 and shares what it takes to be one of the best sailors in the world.  Read more about Anna's sailing experiences at the US Sailing site.
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* Peter Willauer- EIGHT BELLS J/42 Cruising Escapades- For starters, congratulations to Pete and the EIGHT BELLS crew for passing the 50,000 mile mark cruising worldwide...that's about 5,555 miles per year! Pete believes they may be one of the top 5 J/Boats cruising around the world. GAIA must certainly be up there after their World Tour (see link above). Certainly Dr. Scott Piper's J/160 PIPE DREAM is up there as is possibly the York’s J/46.

Here's an excerpt of one of their frequent posts online:
- 0915 posi: 22-09/65-07 sog 5.3 , cog 180 motoring w/o sails into confused slop. About 225 mi to go. Wind 12 from south and predicted to stay that way or less for next three days....so eta depends on fuel. So far we have used about 17 gal of about 53, but not all useful with flat tanks with usual crud/water in bottom, no doubt. We had a nice sail with one or two reefs yesterday afternoon, and with 100% jib on, but dead to windward. Stars and sheet lightning made for a good show. We are on the edge of a ridge that is lined up 22n/65w to20n//63w with squalls to 30-40 kts west of us. Now completely overcast, as expected for next two days...cannot play with the sextant as planned today! In fact all we all want to do is sleep when can...some a little under the weather. But all hands partook in Carol's turkey thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings and kept it down! Thank you again. Peter

Featured Boat

NEW J/105 Race-ready for 2010

US Watercraft will have a race-prepped and ready-to-rock new J/105 ready to ship by January 2010. USW does a gorgeous job of building these J/105s. For those of you interested in jumping aboard the fun, competitive J/105 fleet this is a great opportunity to get a rocket-ship and go have fun next year. These USW sailboats have beautifully fair hulls, keels and rudders and are nicely appointed below. The deck and rigging are top notch and are race-ready.
For more information, please be sure to contact you J/Dealer or J/Boats- Ph# 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com.

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:
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

Subscribe to our J/Newsletter here:
http://www.jboats.com/lists/?p=subscribe

J/Newsletter- November 11th, 2009

J/95 Winning Hearts of Traveling Sailors

It's apparent that the J/95 is striking a sensitive chord in those who wish they could have their "cake and eat it, too".  For once, a reasonable sized boat can be sailed in just about any body of water one wishes to travel to nearly anywhere in the world, be they a spectacular Swiss lake, a romantic anchorage on Italy's Lago Maggiore, a summertime soiree on Lake Dillon in Colorado or an adventurous trip to Lake Titicaca in Peru (well perhaps not, but fun to dream about!).  There are now two J/95s headed over to Europe.  One is going to the London Boatshow to be shown by J/UK- so be sure to contact Paul Heyes and crew soon!  The other is going to Switzerland.

Recently, Peter Bangerter, the J Swiss dealer visited America to see what all the excitement was about.  In short, he was blown away.  In his own words, Peter had this to say about his experience last week on the J/95: "it was simply awesome.  Amazing boat, absolutely a big boat feel.  Very fast.  Easy to handle, turns on a dime! The perfect "little big boat" for European lake sailing.  We picked one up for our Swiss clients who love to travel from lake to lake.  Our Swiss and Austrian sailors like to have a boat they can spend weekends on with family and friends. We love it!"  Be sure to contact Peter soon to arrange a preview and demo sail in the Swiss Alps-- imagine going for a healthy hike (or ski) in the Alps in St. Moritz, then cruising down to Lake Silvaplana for a gorgeous afternoon sail in pristine spring weather.  You can best reach Peter via email.

European Boatshows-

Paris Boatshow- 5-13 December 2009
London Boatshow- 8-17 January 2010
For those of you who enjoy the bright lights and big cities of Europe, be sure to consider taking a fun, romantic, adventurous trip to Paris or London for the boatshows to visit with J/Europe or J/UK to chat about sailing and perhaps your next J dream boat. For more info on Paris, contact Frederic Bouvier and for info on London, contact Paul Heyes.

Regatta Schedule

Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 14-15- Ice Cup (J92s)- Stockholm, Sweden
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

While the Americas and Australia take a breather on events this past week, the action was hot and windy in Europe.  The Garmin Hamble Winter Series resumed for the J/109, J/105 and J/80 one-design classes. The J/80s continue to have a great time in the Med racing off the Spanish seacoasts of Bilbao, Santander and Palma.  Furthermore, the French had their J/80 Nationals in Cherbourg with a record turnout.  Our Scandinavian friends are warming up in J/92s for their "ice breaker cups" next weekend.  And, in South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans are still busily preparing for the J/24 South Americans in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  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.

Garmin Hamble Winter Series

J/109, J/105 and J/80 Fleets Continue Great Sailing

(Solent, Hamble, England)- This past weekend the Winter Series continued with good solid racing taking place in the three J one-design fleets represented in this classic Solent fall series.

In the seventeen boat J/109 class, Luca Rubinelli racing his ARIA has taken over the lead sailing to a 2-3-3-3-2 series with 13 points.  Richard and Valerie Griffith sailing OUTRAJEOUS sailed into second with a 5-2-7-2-3 record for 19 points.  Falling just a little off the pace due to a DSQ was J-DREAM, David & Kirsty Apthorp's well-campaigned boat to an unfortunate 1-1-1-DSQ-1 record for 22 points to settle into third place.

The J/105s were having a good go at it with six of them vying for top honors.  What a competitive fleet!  All top three boats are within one point of each other!  Simon Curwen's VOADOR is atop the heap with a 1-2-3-OCS-1 record for 13 points.  Paul Griffiths is just behind on FAY-J due to a 2-1-2-OCS-3 tally that generates 14 points.  And, Chris Jones'  JOURNEYMAKER 5 recorded a 3-4-4-1-2 record for 14 points to be behind on a tie-breaker.

John Coopers' Team O!! are sailing quite strongly this fall and their record shows it- 2-2-1-1-2-4-DNF-2-1-2-1-1-2 is not bad and only totals 15 points.  Chasing them around the race track has been Ian Atkins'  BOATS.COM, sailing to a solid - 4-1-4-3-3-2-1-1-3-3-2-4-1 record for 20 points.  Thor Askeland is sailing ELLE SAPPELLE  well and is hanging in for third overall with a- 5-4-5-4-1-1-DNF-3-2-1-5-5-5 record that puts him 10 points back from second place with a total of 30 points.  For more info.

French J/80 Nationals

Luc Nadal's GANJA Dominates Championship

(Cherbourg, France- Nov. 7-11)- A record turnout of forty eight J/80s showed up for this year's French J/80 National Championship in Cherbourg.  The hometown hosts were fabulous and put on quite a show despite the somewhat difficult weather conditions they were presented with over the course of the four day regatta. Light shifty four knot winds and flat water to moderate rolling seas blowing upwards of twenty knots offered the fleet tremendous challenges.  It was very difficult to stay out of the bottom of the fleet and maintain some kind of consistency.

However, Luc Nadal and his team aboard GANJA sailed magnificently, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the board to win by nearly thirty points over his next competitor.  Their record of 2-1-9-1-7-1-1 for 22 points speaks for itself...four firsts was unequalled in the fleet.  Second overall was Jean-Yves Jaffrezic racing ATLANTIS with a record of  5-8-21-12-1-3-1 for 51 points, beating JACUZZI on a tie-breaker.  Ludovic Gilet raced the renowned JACUZZI into third place with a 1-6-13-3-5-19-4 also with 51 points but lost tie on most firsts.  Fourth was the famous French woman sailor Christine Briand just three points back sailing J ILE DE RE and finishing behind her was Frederic Denis on ECOLE NAVALE CG29 with 63 points.

On a personal note, it was nice to see Pierre Follenfant- a former 470 and FD sailor whom Drake and Stu sailed against when they were kids in the 470 class in the mid-1970s sailing a respectable series to finish 11th in this highly competitive fleet!  We're glad to see old warhorses like us can still hang in there with the top players in the class!   For more info.

Bancantabria Sailing Cup

FUNDESTIC (Toño Gorostegui)  Winning Overall

(Santander, Spain- 8-9 November)-  The forecast for bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, with orange alert announced and forecast winds of force 7 to 8, meant that the Third Act (Series) of the Bancantabria Sailing Cup was going to be an experience to say the least.  Fortunately, the Race Committee elected to setup the courses in the inner bay, therefore enabling the J/80s to have two fun, very windy races.  Only twelve of the thirty boats raced in the demanding conditions.  And the end of the weekend, it was Tono Gorostegui who maintained their composure to maintain the overall lead sailing FUNDESTIC.

Leaders for the weekend (Act III) were Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS; then RAITA finished second and Tono's FUNDESTIC got third.  The provisional Overall standings for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup has Tono's FUNDESTIC in first with 8 points, Paul Santurde's SPACIO in second with 12 points and Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS in third with 13 points.  For more info.

Commodores Trophy- Espana

ZEIK Wins Big In Gale Force Winds

(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña.  It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.

On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters.  The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day.  Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races.  However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former. For more info.

J/Community:

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

* Ken Read and Jerry Kirby put on a great show this past Tuesday in Newport at the Jane Pickens Theater in Washington Square.  Great entertainment and, most importantly, the kids absolutely loved it!  A great forum with three members of the PUMA team answering questions about their experiences and some amazing onboard footage of life aboard a carbon coffin (aka sailboat) from the indomitable Rick Deppe.

* Chris Larson deserves congratulations for a job well done sailing this year in some World Championships. It turns out winning the Melges 24 Worlds against some top talent and former M24 World Champions took some excellent training beforehand.  Guess what it was??  Well, like many other Olympic and World Champions before him (like Kenny mentioned above), Chris jumped into the J/24 to race against a raft of other World Champions for the J/24 World Championsip earlier this year in Annapolis, MD.  Looks like it was good training and motivation for Chris and team since he took second place amongst a contingent of hot Latin American sailors from Brazil and Argentina.

Featured Boat

NEW J/105 Race-ready for 2010

US Watercraft will have a race-prepped and ready-to-rock new J/105 ready to ship by January 2010.  USW does a gorgeous job of building these J/105s.  For those of you interested in jumping aboard the fun, competitive J/105 fleet this is  a great opportunity to get a rocket-ship and go have fun next year.  These USW sailboats have beautifully fair hulls, keels and rudders and are nicely appointed below.  The deck and rigging are top notch and are race-ready.

For more information, please be sure to contact you J/Dealer or J/Boats- Ph# 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com.

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:
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

Subscribe to our J/Newsletter here:
http://www.jboats.com/lists/?p=subscribe

J/Newsletter- November 5th, 2009

J/95 Demos in Full Swing

Go to Sunny, Warm Florida, Texas and Chesapeake!

After the strong showing at the Newport and Annapolis Boatshows, interest in the J/95 continues to grow as sailors look to expand their sailing and cruising horizons with J's newest, innovative design- a 31 foot shoal-draft sailboat that draws 3 feet, can go upwind at 6.5 knots, surf off-the-wind at 8.5+ knots with the simple asymmetric spinnaker and can be turned on a dime with its twin-rudder wheel steering system.

Be sure to contact these J/Dealers for a showing and/or demo of the incredibly fun and cool J/95:
- Florida- Crosscurrent Marine- Craig Crossley- P: (401) 330-6135/ E: craig@crosscurrentmarine.com
- Texas- J/Boats Southwest- Scott Spurlin-  P: (940) 591-7040/ E: scott@jboatssouthwest.com
- Chesapeake- Northpoint Yacht Sales- Ken Comerford- P: (410) 961-5254 / E: ken@northpointyachtsales.com

For more information, please contact J/Boats at Ph- +1-401-846-8410 or email - info@jboats.com.

2010 J/80 Europeans on Lake Garda

(Lago di Garda, Italy)- Get ready for some fantastic sailing on the famous, windy Lake Garda next summer, as the Italian J/80 Class Association invites you to the 2010 European Championships.  The event will be hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine Yacht Club and take place June 21-26. The Italian National Championship will be held two weeks prior (June 11-13) at the same venue.   Italian hospitality is renowned and the FVM YC promises that this will be one of the BEST European one-design events ever held on the Continent.   Put it on your schedule now, book a gorgeous villa with lots of friends, eat lots of tasty, fresh Italian pasta cuisine, enjoy great Italian red and white wines and go have a great time!  The event weblink is up and running and complete information will be posted there in the near future.

Ice Cup Sweden

(Stockholm, Sweden)- The season is not over!  On November 14-15, the Stockholm Match Race Center is hosting their infamously fun Ice Cup.  For those of you who have not yet tested the concept, you get to race on six purpose-built J/92 sailboats provided by the organizer.  Everyone races in a round-robin match race format and the best re-qualify for a winners/ repechage bracket.  Lunch is provided both days and dinner on Saturday evening is included- a great shindig and a great band!  In addition, a fabulous Swedish sauna is promised for those who need to thaw out after the racing-- sounds yummy!  Remember, it's not uncommon for the Barbary sheep to be shoveling away the season's first snow on the boats before the race; charming thought, eh?  The Stockholm Match Race Center was founded in 2005 by Bjorn Hansen, one of Europe's most qualified match racing sailors. Their operations are on Lidingö in Stockholm.  They manage and organize commercial racing events, corporate sailing and train and educate the Swedish elite in match racing. Details and invitation at Swedish Match Race Center.

Regatta Schedule

Nov. 7-11- J/80 French Nationals- Cherbourg, France
Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 14-15- Ice Cup Match Race- Stockholm, Sweden- racing on J/92s
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s, J/122s

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Winter is nearly upon us in the Northern Hemisphere but is certainly has not diminished the enthusiasm and passion J sailors have for sailing in the cooler climes.  Our friends "down under" in South America, southern Asia and Australia are just getting going in their spring sailing seasons- with action hotter than ever!  In Europe,  the J/80s are having a great time in the Med racing off the Spanish seacoasts of Bilbao, Santander and Palma.  Our Scandinavian contingent in J/80s continue racing their "Ice Cups" and "ice-breaking" events near the Arctic Circle in Denmark and Sweden.  In Asia/ Pacific, the Royal Hong Kong YC are concluding their China Cup Series and a bit further south, the Australians are warming up for their spring season with events off Sydney and Melbourne.  In the South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans are preparing for the J/24 South Americans in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  And, up north in America, the J/105 North Americans, the J/24 East Coasts and IRC East Coasts were all held in virtually the same massive weather front- producing blustery, rainy, windy conditions on Saturday and gorgeous fall sailing conditions on Sunday. 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.

SUBARU J/105 North Americans a Power Play

Stone Overcomes Slow Start to Win

(Rye, NY- Nov 1) - Bruce Stone racing POWER PLAY secured victory at the Subaru J/105 North American Championship at American Yacht Club in Rye, NY.  After stumbling out of the gate on the first day with a 6-15-10, the San Francisco-based team’s comeback hit overdrive on the third day when they won all three races to vault them to the top of the standings; garnering four firsts in a row since the last race the day before. A manageable 5-4 on the final day guaranteed their win.

The fleet was blessed by remarkably variable conditions over the four days of racing with plenty of wind from all four quadrants.  Whomever prevailed was going to have overcome significant challenges to overcome a very strong and deep fleet of talented sailors racing in this year's North Americans.

It all started out on Thursday with light to medium breezes out of the ENE.; competitors were greeted with blue skies, temperatures in the 50s and winds between 8-12 knots that diminished throughout the three races.  James Rathbun of Toronto, Ontario with world renowned World Champion Canadian sailor Terry McLaughlin in the afterguard calling tactics and boat speed led the 28 boat fleet after three races; their J/105 HEY JUDE finished with eight points for the day.  A perennial J/105 Champion Brian Keane from Weston, MA sailing SAVASANA ended the day in second with eleven points. One point behind were New York Long Island Sound locals Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM with twelve points.

On Friday, competitors enjoyed brisk fall conditions on Long Island Sound. Winds blew between SSE 10-14 knots, and temperatures remained in the 50. This day belonged to Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM who scored a 1-1-3. After six total races, the Katonah, NY team sat with seventeen total points; an enormous twenty point lead over their closest competition. James Rathbun HEY JUDE didn't have such a great day and dropped to second place overall. Josh Burack on PEREGRINA (New Rochelle, NY) rounded out the top three with forty points.  Following Esdorn/Hennes in Race 4 were Rob Marsh on BLOWBOAT and Bruce Stone on POWER PLAY.  Foreshadowing what was to come the next day, the POWER PLAY team finally got off the starting line clean and led the fleet around the race track, trailed by HEY JUDE and KINCSEM.

Saturday's racing dawned grey and nasty.   The forecast was equally as bad- rain, gusty winds 15-30 knots out of the SSW.  It was also a day that produced dramatic and significant changes amongst the fleet leaders.   In a remarkable display of consistency and outright boatspeed, POWERPLAY won all three races on day three--- a feat never achieved before- four consecutive victories in a row at a J/105 North American Championship.  Following POWER PLAY in Race 7 were Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM and Damian Emery on ECLIPSE.  In second place in Race 8 was George Wilbanks racing REVELATION, then KINCSEM in third. Trailing POWER PLAY in the day’s final contest were Kevin Grainger on GUMPTION 3 and Paul Strauch on ANDIAMO.

It was readily apparent to the fleet leaders, POWER PLAY, HEY JUDE and KINCSEM that anyone of the three had reasonable odds to win the overall championship as only ten points separated all three boats with two races to go.  To add to the drama, the forecast was for light-medium shifty, very streaky winds from the NNW-NNE off the northern Long Island Sound (Connecticut) shore.  Despite two less than stellar starts, POWER PLAY managed to extricate themselves from literally the bottom of the fleet to win the regatta.   Two races were completed on the final day of the championship. Jeremy Henderson and Harald Edegran on CONUNDRUM ended the regatta on a perfect note, winning both contests. KINCSEM followed CONUNDRUM in Race 10, then Kenneth Colburn on GHOST. In the concluding race, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE came in second.  POWER PLAY sailed two remarkable come-back races to garner a 5-4 to win the regatta.  HEY JUDE sailed beautifully to get a 3-4 to finish second overall.  And, KINCSEM seemingly couldn't buy a shift, getting a 2-19 to finish the regatta in third overall.

The winning San Francisco-based team on POWER PLAY, consisting of skipper Bruce Stone, Stuart Johnstone, Nicole Breault, Bob Dearborn, Mark Lindquist and Dave Marshall, finished with 55 points over 11 races, beating their closest competitor by nine points overall.  The J/105 NA's concluded a remarkable season for Bruce Stone's team-- having won the ROLEX Block Island Race Week and nearly won a second watch at the ROLEX Big Boat Series with a close second.  Complete results and daily reports at J/105 Class Association.  Photo Credits- Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com

J's Dominate Gascoigne Cup

J/35 and J/122 Lead Australian Offshore Season

(Sydney, Australia- October 24th)-  The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s historic Gascoigne Cup sailed into its second century today with victory on PHS going to prominent yachtsman Tim Cox in his J/35 SOUNDTRACK.  Tim Cox, a retired senior RAN officer, is well known as Chairman of the Race Committee for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and is also a member of the Sailing Committee of the RSYS.

Ray Entwistle’s J/122 JACKPOT won IRC Class, reveling in the light south-easterly breeze of 8-14 knots.  “The J/122 just glided through the swell off the heads of Sydney, we had great height and excellent speed. Even though it was a windward / leeward course, we ran just as deep as the symmetrical rigged boats with our 155 sq.m running kite designed by Ian Short Sailmakers.  The conditions were a far cry from the race 3 weeks ago when the winds were gusting over 30 knots with a 2-3 metre swell on which we were planing at over 18 knots at times. The J/122 excels in every condition the Sydney climate throws at us.”

Grant Thornton Ocean Pointscore Series

J/35 SOUNDTRACK Sashays to Bruising Win

(Sydney, Australia- October 3rd)-  Blustery southerly winds and squally rains greeted the fleet for Race One of the Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series.  The first race of the series was raced on Saturday, 3 October 2009, in wintery conditions and was conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club. In what is becoming a tradition for this race, the southerly winds and squally rains that greeted the sixteen intrepid and enthusiastic competitors appeared to be a re-run from previous year's events.  Due to the 2-3 metre swells experienced off shore, the race committee was unable to lay the marks out past the "Sydney Harbor Heads", so they made the decision to send Division 1 yachts to Botany Bay and back.

For Ray Entwistle’s J/122 JACKPOT it was an exhilarating day’s racing. “We flew the 140 sq.m asymmetric kite from the Shark Island start to the heads, turned the corner and the crew hit the rail for the beat down the coast to Botany Bay.  The winds were averaging 25 knots, gusting over 30 knots at times, and the rain felt like small hail stones hitting our faces. The waves washed away the last of the red dust that remained from the dust storm, which had infiltrated every crevice of the boat.  We lost some time when we missed a wind shift and that allowed the fleet to get away from us,” said Entwistle.

“Turning into Botany Bay, we had a few minutes respite from the weather. We rounded the mark and set the new heavy weather spinnaker off the bowsprit for what was a joyride back home.  We hit a new top boat speed of 18.6 knots in JACKPOT, averaging  14 knots. It felt like it only took 10 minutes to get to Bondi – the boat was flying and the crew were loving it,” concluded Entwistle.

JACKPOT finished third in IRC Division 2.   Tim Cox’s J/35 SOUNDTRACK finished first in IRC Division 3, the course set in-harbour due to the rough sea conditions.

Port Hacking-Botany Bay Race

J/109 MAJIKAL Wins in Wild Weather

(Port Hacking, Sydney, Australia- October 3rd)-  On the same windy, wild weather day the Sydney based yachts were sailing down the coast to Botany Bay, the Port Hacking river based yachts were sailing north.  The Port Hacking river is a beautiful part of the Sydney region, about 25 nm south from Sydney harbor. 

Keith Wilson's  J/109 MAJIKAL finished first in his division in RMYC's Port Hacking to Botany Bay Short Ocean Race. He is delighted with the J/109’s performance in all conditions.  Says Keith "this boat is bloody magical the way it sails in all conditions the southerlies can throw at us-- love it!  Be great to have a few more down here to mess around with!"

RHKYC China Cup Series

J/109 WHISKEY JACK Wins

(Hong Kong, China)-  The China Cup consists of passage racing and around the buoys racing over the course of a weeklong bacchanalian festival of sailing the gorgeous China Seas.  As usual the Royal Hong Kong YC were fabulous hosts and ran a terrific regatta.  The passage race from Hong Kong to Longcheer last Friday was an uneventful affair which went to a short finish at 'the corner'.  The start was notable for a General Recall for one of the fleets; this allowed the combined IRC A and B fleets to get away in clear air for the rest of the regatta!

Saturday was a washout. After a delayed start to the program, to allow Government officials to get to Opening Ceremony (taking place on the second day of the regatta - go figure), the breeze failed to cooperate and the fleet floated around from 1200 hrs to 1630 hrs when the RO signaled ‘AP over A’ and we all went ashore.  In the interim, entertainment was provided by skinny-dipping Russians, a display of spreader-diving, and large numbers of water-fights – all good stuff as crews sat ‘on the grill’ in the uncharacteristically hot October sunshine right next to Daya Bay nuclear power station.

Sunday’ forecast was for more breeze – lots more breeze – and it was plum right.  Nothing less that 10 kts, and a max of 17 kts, made for good racing on the flat water of Da Ya Wan. Once again, a class act from the Royal Hong Kong YC race management team, and all divisions completed two windward-leewards and a triangle-sausage-sausage geometric, thereby making back one of the races lost yesterday.

Star of the show all day was Nick Southward’s J/109 WHISKEY JACK, scoring 1-1-2 in IRC B, and leading the combined A and B fleets over the line in the second race of the day. 'The boys were on fire' said Southward later. 'They sailed their socks off today, it was hard work.'   The program continues.....hope for the best for J-109 sailors Nick and crew!  For more info go to Royal Hong Kong YC.  Photo Credit- Carlo Borlenghi/ Borlenghi Images.

J/24 East Coast Championships

Old Man of the Sea Tony Parker Wins

(Annapolis, MD- Oct. 30-Nov 1)- Severn Sailing Association hosted the J/24 East Coast Championships in a wide variety of sailing conditions for a strong turnout of thirty-four J/24s.  The indomitable and redoubtable Tony Parker shows that he's still got it after sixty+ years of sailing and racing in venues all over the world.  Showing the young bucks how it's done, Tony rattled off two bullets, a second and third to win by five points over Ted Bartlewski in second and Mike Ingham in third.   Read more about it at J/24 Fleet Site. Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes

Bancantabria Sailing Cup

HOUSING ECC Wins Fundestic Trophy

(Santander, Spain- Oct. 14-26)- Hosted by the FCV (Federacion Cantabra de Vela) in Santander, Spain, the Bancantabria Sailing Cup had a strong turnout of thirty-one J/80s.  The Cup is a series of races taking place over several weekends sailing in the spectacular waters off Santander in often warm, sunny conditions.

While the last weekend of the two week event was nearly a wash-out, the sailors had an enjoyable time racing for this past weekend's Fundestic Trophy.  Pichu Torcida racing ECC HOMES managed to take home another win.  Pushing him hard was Jaime Pris onboard FONESTAR to take second overall and coming in third place was Adrian Zamacona racing MABLE. Notable amongst the competitors in this year's even was the return, after months of absence from racing J/80s, of the 49er Olympic Sailing medalists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez. Iker and Xabi went sailing with friends aboard PROPERNOR-- looks like they'll need some practice after posting a twelfth in their first outing.   For more info visit J/80 Spain Class site.  Photo Credit- Jesus Renedo/ SailingStock.com

IRC East Coast Championships

J/122s Finish 2-3-4 Overall IRC B

(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis Yacht Club hosted the IRC East Coast Championships on Chesapeake Bay for a fleet of nearly three dozen boats.  Sailing in IRC B Class were David Murphy's PUGWASH, Marc Glimcher's Stamford-Vineyard Race Winner CATAPULT and Andrew Skibo's PLUM CRAZY II.  In the IRC C Class was Bill Sweetser's well-sailed RUSH.

The event started off with a long distance race that counted for double-points in the standings.  After this race, the J/122s stood 1-2-4 with CATAPULT leading home the fleet with PUGWASH in second and PLUM CRAZY II in fourth.  After the second day of racing, the stage was set for wining the regatta overall with PUGWASH now leading IRC B Class with a 0.5 point lead with classmates CATAPULT and PLUM CRAZY II just a few points off the pace.  Two slow starts and two wrong calls on the first major shifts of the last two races cost PUGWASH their chances of winning the regatta.

The IRC C Class saw Sweetser's RUSH win the long distance race.  But facing a similar fate to her larger classmates, RUSH managed to miss a few significant shifts and lost touch with competitors to drop to second place overall for the regatta.  For more regatta info.  Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes.com

J/Community:

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

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* Ken Read, the Boston Red Sox ball-throwing PUMA skipper and multiple J/24 World Champion, will be hosting a recap of the VOLVO Ocean Race along with fellow partner in crime, Jerry Kirby (these two clowns are pictured at right- what are they smiling about?).  For anyone within a few thousand mile radius of Newport, start thinking now about planning your next world cruise and come enjoy the festivities and camaraderie rubbing elbows with other salty dogs as they commiserate on why they "love to go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky and get on that tall ship and use that star to steer her by".  The venue is the Jane Pickens Theater, Washington Square, Newport, RI from 6:30-8:30 pm on Tuesday, November 10th.  Go to SailNewport- http://www.sailnewport.org for tickets- all proceeds benefit public sailing programs.
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*  A Tragic Whale Tale- -- J/120 Sunk by Moby Dick Clones.   The Baja-Ha-Ha is an annual cruisers rally from San Diego, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexcio.  They began their 750-mile route this year on October 25th. Sadly, for one of the participants amid the 170 boat fleet, the trip ended much too early.  About 200 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and extraordinary turn of events confronted what is normally a fun, easygoing cruise from California to Mexico.  Appropriately named, the Baja-Ha-Ha is an event many California cruising sailors look forward to after the course of a long sailing season.  It's organized by a group of friends, including J-WORLD's Wayne Zittel.  However, this year it was not a walk in the park for those aboard the J/120 J-WORLD. Here's the report from Wayne:

"Hey All -  Thanks for all the good thoughts. Yes, the boat has sunk but everyone is safe and sound.
    The boat was heading south in the Baja-Ha-Ha with two instructors (Eugenie and Barry) and three students on our annual cruise south to our Puerto Vallarta location. They put into Ensenada briefly for some minor repairs (a loose wire in the wiring harness seems to have been the culprit), then headed back out Tuesday morning. I got an email from them in the evening reporting that all was fine and they were making good time. They made the scheduled roll call in the AM.
    Here is what I know from the brief conversations I have had with the crew: about 10am, they came across a pod of whales. Shortly after yesterday morning's Baja Ha-Ha check-in, the crew of J/WORLD, the J/120 skippered by former Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club commodore Eugenie Russell, experienced one of the highlights of the cruising life: They spotted a whale. Then they saw another. They quickly realized that they'd sailed into a pod of whales - big whales. That's when they felt a bang, then another and another. At least one whale was attacking J/WORLD's rudder!
    Their behavior was described as 'erratic.' One or more of the whales struck the boat repeatedly, and the boat began taking on water at a rapid pace. It sounds like, not surprisingly, most of the damage was around the rudder. They made an attempt to bail the boat and get a distress call out on SSB, but it was clear that the boat was a loss. They activated the EPIRB, boarded the liferaft, and the boat was reportedly gone within 7 minutes of the strike. As I understand it, the boat did not capsize in any way.
    I was in contact with the the USCG from the time the EPIRB went off. They did an absolutely stellar job. Within four hours, they reported that they had safely lifted all five sailors into the helicopter and were returning to San Diego. Eugenie has a bruised hand, but there were no other injuries. I personally am in shock... this is the stuff you read about but you think will never really happen to you. You can make all the preparations in the world, load boat with experienced sailors, and still have unexpected consequences. A bit humbling, to be sure. We all need to remember that when we go sailing, we really go to sea in every sense.
    I know we will get a good debrief from the crew, and we'll be sure to post more info and some 'lessons learned,' but I am tremendously relieved that everyone is safe. All of us here at J-World are in deep gratitude to the folks of the USCG. Man, they run a great operation. Here's the video of the rescue.
    Anyway, that's the latest report from here.... the J/120 J-WORLD was a great boat. She was hull #9, the ex-GANNET, ex-CROSSWAVE, now known simply as "J-WORLD." We sailed her some 10,000+ open ocean miles per year, including this year's TransPac and raced her in San Francisco and Mexico, not to mention subjecting her to all the abuses that students can dish out, and she took it in stride.
    Anyway, thanks again to all of you out there for the support... Wayne Zittel / J-World Performance Sailing School/ San Francisco Bay | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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*  A Voyage to the Greater Good- The Battle Against Leukemia- a heartwarming story from Peter Howson: Every year across the country there are about 40 Leukemia Cup Regattas. With an average of about 150 participating boats and their crews in various classes, the LCRs involve a vast percentage of this country’s sailing community. Every year, a select group of LCR participants is rewarded for their performance with an invitation to the Leukemia Cup Regatta Fantasy Sail, a weekend sailing with Gary Jobson. This year’s Fantasy Sail was hosted by the San Francisco Yacht Club using the fleet of J/105s generously donated by the local J/105 Fleet owners on San Francisco Bay.

We also learned some numbers: 17 years ago there was one event that raised $30,000, this year there were 38 events this year and we raised a total of just under $4 million dollars. The total raised to date is over $31 million. There were 75 people attending the Fantasy sail this year though a bunch more had qualified and not been able to make it. 67% of the money raised came from individual donations brought in by sailors which does not include corporate donations, silent auction items, etc.

One of the best things about qualifying multiple years is that the people you meet at this event are incredible. The mood is festive and everyone is upbeat. Just about everyone has had a personal experience with blood cancer, either a friend, family member, or actually survived themselves and the feeling of having been able to do something to help people living with blood cancer and find cures is really amazing.

Included in the group of survivors is the perennial host of the Fantasy Sail, Gary Jobson. Gary started as the national spokesman for the LCR way back in the last century, long before he was actually diagnosed, and he continues to inspire and spur us on to do great things. This cocktail party is all about meeting up with the folks you went drinking with last year (Hello, Emory!) and meeting new folks you missed the year before.

The morning started out slow but built through the three races until it was steadily 10 gusting to 15. With fog pouring over the magnificent San Francisco waterfront and burning off halfway across the bay, the opportunity for photos was breathtaking, the entire scene changed every 15 minutes. I don’t know how the folks sailing kept their concentration on the racing.

After the sailing, dinner and the presentation of pickle dishes, the event was topped off by a speech from Ian, a sailor from San Francisco who is just over a year into his recovery from leukemia. This is what they call a "mission moment" to get us fired up for next year and Ian was a perfect example of why we raise money.  Ian volunteered to be on the regatta committee at the SFYC last year and a few weeks later while training for a triathlon, he started to feel like he was coming down with something. He went to the doctor and the verdict went from “you might have the flu” to “you should see an oncologist” pretty quickly. After that it was the unpleasant experience of getting treated which left him unable to join us for the Fantasy Sail last year. The contrast was remarkable. Looking at this guy standing there smiling and walking around with a microphone you would never be able to guess that he had been sick a day in his life let alone had just recovered from a disease that would have had a 5% survival rate just 40 years ago. It was an inspiring end to a great weekend.

Raising $8,500 sounds like a big deal but I’ll let you in on a little secret: I have raised an average of $11,000 every year just by sending out 8 emails every year. Other folks have raised their money by doing everything from holding fancy dinners to selling lemonade (literally). The society provides you with tons of tools including raffles and incredibly helpful staff folks who seem to have no end to their reservoir of energy. So if you’re going to sail in your regatta, try to make enough to meet us in Charleston next year. You’ll have a great time and I think Clean (Alan & Meredith Block) said we could all stay at his house. - Courtesy of Peter Howson.  More photos at http://www.peter-howson.com

Featured Boat

Rock & Roll The J/80 Tour

Cross Current Marine has an "in-stock" J/80 immediately available for those of you who may be considering participating in the 2010 J/80 Tour that starts with the NAUTICA Key West Regatta and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  Please be sure to contact Craig Crossley at Cross Current Marine for more details at email- craig.crossley@gmail.com

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: 
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm