J/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.
2010 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/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/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.
Among 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.
Snails 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.
Monhegan 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.
Chester 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 Regattahosted 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!
Given 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.
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
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.
