J/Newsletter- October 21st, 2009

J/111 Enthusiasm Growing Fast

Strong Global Interest in J's NEW Speedboat

Since the announcement during the Annapolis Show, over 7,000 unique visitors worldwide have gone to the J/111 web page  to learn more about this exciting new design from J/Boats.   It appears evident the newly announced J/111 is striking a sensitive chord amongst sailors who are looking for that next-generation one-design 36 footer.  Breaking new ground in its looks, layout and performance, sailors are looking forward to the J/111's introduction next year.  No wonder,  the J/111 is a sleek, modern one-design, with a large daysailing cockpit, easy-to-handle sail plan, and 6' headroom below for weekending.  The result of all that enthusiasm? The first dozen hull slots have been reserved by customers for 2010 delivery. Get on board now!  Check out Alan Block's SA Innerview with Jeff J about the J/111.  For more info contact J/Boats- Phone 401-846-8410 or email us for more info.

J/97 Introduced to Great Lakes!

The J/97 has officially arrived in Chicago after having started its world tour from the its builder, J/Europe in France back in May.  After a terrific reception at the Newport and Annapolis Boatshows on the East Coast, the J/97 will be available for demos in Chicago starting Monday next week (pictured here at Chicago YC).  After sailing the J/97 for a few days on the spectacular waters off Chicago's renowned waterfront, Richie Stearns had this to say about the J/97s performance and handling: "Wow, what a fun boat to sail!  Everyone's impressed by the boat's speed in almost no air and even in the eighteen knots we had today it performs really great!  In today's good breeze (Wednesday) the boat easily hit 8.0+ knots off the wind while surfing down the waves. It looks like we've got a winner for our sailors here on Lake Michigan!".  To schedule a demo, please be sure to contact Rich Stearns at Cell# 847-404-2209 or email him.

J/95 SA Annapolis Interview with Rod J

(Annapolis, MD)- Alan Block from Sailing Anarchy was covering the Annapolis Boatshow for SA enthusiasts.  Alan and Jeff Johnstone participated in the forum regarding "Saving Sailing/ Growing Sailing"- one of the many activities where J/Boats continues to support the community of sailing and  grow the sport.  Alan also had an opportunity to discuss with Rod J the insights and concepts that hatched the ground-breaking, highly innovative J/95 shoal-draft cruiser-- the nearly perfect boat for those who love to sail ANYWHERE weather and draft limitations permit them (e.g. a beach or the most secluded anchorage inaccessible to no one but yourself!).  For a great perspective, take a look at Alan's exclusive SA Innerview- here's the link.

J/105 North Americans Preview

(Rye, NY)- Next week, the J/105s will be invading that little island enclave jutting into Long Island Sound known as the American Yacht Club.  From this spectacular venue the expected fleet of thirty two boats will go at it hammer and tong to determine the Champion.  Considered to be amongst the leaders in this remarkable fleet will be some of its perennial class leaders.  In that august circle of rarified air will be ECLIPSE- Damian Emery; KINCSEM- Joerge Esdorn; PLANET CLAIRE- John Koten; POWER PLAY- Bruce Stone; and SAVASANA-- Brian Keane.

With forecasts changing pretty drastically each day in this year's capricious fall season along the Northeastern seaboard, it's anybody's guess as to who will prevail in the end.  Standings have changed dramatically in the last day of competition amongst this leading group and who's to say that some unknown "rookie" won't come blasting out of right field and decimate these contenders!?  More news is sure to come when this competitive class gets together for its annual championship.

J/Boats Show @ McMichaels November 7th

(Mamaroneck, NY)- On Nov 7th,  McMichael Yachts will be having an on land and in water boat show with 45 used boats for sail. Part of our inventory of used boat consist of many J/Boats-- they we will have  available several J/105's , several J/109's , a J/124, J/122, J/42, J/37and several others.  If you have any questions, please contact McMichael Yacht Brokers- ph# +1-914-381-5900.

Regatta Schedule

Oct 23-25- J/80 North Americans- Galveston Bay- Lakewood YC
Oct. 24-30- J/24 European Championships- Eastern Mediterranean- Chania, Greece.
Oct. 28-Nov. 1- J/105 North Americans- Long Island Sound- American YC.
Oct. 30- Nov. 1- HCM J/24 East Coasts/ Annapolis- Chesapeake Bay- Annapolis, MD
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul.
Jan. 18-22, 2010- NAUTICA 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

The fall sailing season continues in full swing with world-class events continuing to take place in Europe and USA with a few events starting up in the Asian/ Pac Rim region, like Hong Kong's China Coast Race Week.  The J/80 North Americans are starting in Texas as well as the J/24 Europeans in Greece will be getting going shortly in gorgeous azure blue waters of the  Mediterranean waters.  In Europe, the GARMIN Hamble Winter Series continues to go full tilt with some hot racing in J One-Design classes (J/80, J/105 and J/109).  In America, the Richardson Cup competitors survived icy conditions in Minnesota; the Intercollegiate sailors had a ball racing their ICSA Offshore Championships; and a J/27 and J/35 were tearing it up in the nascent Florida Winter circuits.  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 Rages On!

(Hamble, So'ton, England)-  For the Big Boat Series entrants, sponsored this weekend by Wight Vodka, it was the second half of their twelve race schedule that began in tough conditions a fortnight ago. Racing this Saturday commenced in a 15 knot northerly breeze that gradually reduced, and with a falling tide, the course had to shifted to the northern side of the Brambles Banks for the last two of the four scheduled races.
In the IRC class Neil Martin’s J/133 JAMMY DODGER maintained her domination with two more firsts, with Ian Matthews J/122 JINJA  also grabbing a win in Race 4.  The J/80s were dominated by the irrepressible Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM.

While Saturday had been overcast and chilly, Sunday was the epitome of high pressure October weather, with brilliant sunshine and only just enough breeze to get racing underway. It soon turned into a drifting match, and with only three finishers in the first White Group races, and the bigger boats with little prospect of finishing, racing was abandoned for the day. Even so it had been a beautiful sight, with the brighter coloured spinnakers transforming the normally grey Solent.

Next Sunday’s racing (25th Oct.) continues with the full Winter Series program for White and Black Group racing.   For more information and full results.  Photos by Paul Wyeth.

RICHARDSON CUP 2009

J/22 Fleet Hosts Icy, Hot Match Race

(Lake Minnetonka, MN)-  It was June 18th, 1924 when English mountain climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine looked at the path before them. Climb the coldest place on earth: Mt. Everest. Five times they had tried to climb Everest and five times they had failed.

It was October 8th, 2009 when Dutch sailors Chris and John VanTol and Irish veteran, Michael B. Hoey, looked at the path before them. Sail in the coldest place on earth for the 2009 Great Lakes Match Racing Championship: Minnetonka, MN. Five times they came within close reach of the summit and five times they had failed.

The winner of the event would be awarded the coveted Richardson Cup. The Richardson Trophy was established in 1912 by Commodore S. O. Richardson, Jr., of the Toledo Yacht Club, Toledo, Ohio. It is a Sterling Silver Trophy (created by Tiffany & Co) which is the second oldest sailing trophy in US history. The 2009 event was the 70th running of the Richardson Cup.

On Friday, Wayzata Yacht Club and Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota greeted 11 different teams with brisk winds and 45-50 degree temperatures. By Saturday, temperatures had plunged into the 20's and the forecast was for a high of 34. Winds were 15-25 mph with a wind-chill of 18 and a layer of steam blowing from shore to shore. The J/22s were covered with about an inch or so of snow.  At the end of this "ice match", Chris Van Tol and team prevail with a 14:1 record over Steve Lowery with a 13-2 match race tally.  Thanks to Mike Hoey for the story.
For more info, read more at Scuttlebutt.

ICSA Offshore Champs- a.k.a.- College J/FEST!

Michigan Wins Highly Competitive J/109 Class

(Larchmont, NY- Oct. 10-11)- Here are the facts- forty boat fleet, thirty four (34) of them are J/Boats (85% of the fleet)- one-design classes of seven J/44s, ten J/109s and thirteen J/105s and the balance of J's distributed amongst the only two handicap classes- IRC40- J/122s and J/120 and IRC35- J/35.  The ICSA might as well have called it "J/FEST Intercollegiate Championships"!  The ICSA has been hosting the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in cooperation with Storm Trysail and Larchmont YC for the past nine years, once again introducing the joys of big-boat racing to boatloads of college sailors.  Interestingly, the event has become the largest college regatta in America, with 31 schools and 327 sailors racing 40 boats ranging from J/105s to J/44s.

The largest boats in the regatta were the J/44s sailed by teams from the service academies and St. Mary's, which have offshore teams. These boats are large, fast and demand experienced crew. All the J/44s used class-owned one-design sails, which made the seven boats a very tight one-design group. Maine Maritime won the J/44 Class by sailing STC Commodore Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER-- they crushed the rest of the fleet and beat the second-place team from the Naval Academy by nine points, garnering a 1-1-1-5-1-4 record.  Behind them in second was  J/44 RESOLUTE, also sailed by the US Naval Academy with owner Don Rave,  getting finishes of 3-2-5-3-2-6.  The J/44 MAXINE sailed by USMMA and owner Bill Ketcham was third with a 2-5-3-2-3-7 record.

In the IRC 40 Class, Navy found its pace sailing George Petrides' modified J/120 AVRA to a 1-3-1-2-1-1 record. They eclipsed the second place team from Georgetown University, sailing Steve Furnary's J/122 PATRIOT, by nine points as well who had a 2-1-3-3-5-4 record.  Rounding out the top three was Tufts racing the J/122 GEORGETOWN owned by George Marks to a respectable 5-4-4-1-2-5 tally.

In the 10-boat J/109 class the teams from the University of Michigan and Webb Institute tied for first.  But the tie only existed because Michigan did not finish the third race due to blowing up a chute and losing the wind instruments off the top of the mast in a broach that occurred when a 30 knot-gust hit a majority of the J/109 fleet halfway through the race.  Michigan, sailing Andrew Berdon's STRIDER, had to count the 11-point DNF (did not finish) since the regatta had no throw-outs. On the water, the team out-sailed the other J/109 teams upwind and downwind.  No kidding!  With finishes of 1-1-11-1-1-3 it's apparent the "scuttlebutt" on the dock was the "GO BLUE" Michigan team were THE team to beat and should be headed to Marseilles to rep the ICSA in the Student Worlds.  Oh well, better luck next time guys.  Trailing them on the tie-breaker was the J/109 RELENTLESS raced by Webb Institute and owner AL Minella with a record of 3-3-2-2-4-4.  Just off the pace was LOKI sailed by the crew from Cornell and owner David Rosow with respectably consistent scores of 2-2-6-6-3-2.

The biggest fleet was the 13-boat J/105 class. The team from Bowdoin, a regular at the event, sailed Carl Olsson's J/105 MORNING GLORY to a slim two-point victory over the second team from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy sailing Kevin Grainger's J/105 GUMPTION 3. First-time participant Trinity College from Hartford, Conn., finished third with three firsts in their score line racing Barry Gold's J/105 WARHORSE.

"This regatta could not happen without the generosity of the boat owners who not only lend their boats but lend their expertise onboard," said Regatta Chair Adam Loory. "These guys come because we work hard to convince them that the regatta is a chance to give something back to the sport, but they return because they have so much fun with the kids learning from them and, at times, they learn from the kids.

Dr. Dan Herron, owner of the J/105 LIQUID COURAGE, a first time participant, said after the regatta, "Thanks again for the opportunity to participate. Watching the expression on the skipper's face as he surfed LIQUID COURAGE downwind on Saturday was priceless!"  For complete results and pictures.  Photo credit: Photoboat.com.  And, Andrea Watson at SailingPress.

RHKYC China Coast Race Week

(Hong Kong, China- Oct 14th-25th)-  Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's China Coast Race Week started this past week.  Conditions in Hong Kong at this time of year are ideal for "big-boat" racing, usually bright and clear and with winds in the 15 to 20  knots range ~ T-shirts and shorts all the way.

Race Week will consist of the well-established China Coast Regatta from 16th to 18th October, followed by a Category 3 Offshore Race from 23rd to 25th October.  For the Offshore Race, competitors will be offered 36 to 48 hours of racing around physical and virtual marks in the South China Sea, with the available courses starting and finishing in front of RHKYC's Kellett Island Clubhouse in Victoria Harbour, thus minimising the need for delivery crews and holiday time.

Competing in IRC is Nick Southward's J/109 WHISKEY JACK and Simon Blore's J/92 MOJITO.  We wish them all the best in their week-long series in the azure blue China Seas.

J/Community:

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

* Captain Cork Friedman seems to be having a GREAT time with his classic J/27.  Here's a nice account of their recent escapades and successes on the high-seas off Miami:  "Just sending along a bit of race news regarding my J/27 RUM LINE (pictured here at right).  J/ 27's don't seem to get a whole lot of notoriety anymore, but we are  still sailing this wonderful boat and WINNING! RUM LINE took 1st place in ARC1 in the 2009 Miami to Key Largo race,  beating an impressive class of 40+ footers!  Awesome boat! "Cork".

* The J/30 Class is alive and kicking!  Recently, the class elected two Co-Presidents-  Dave Erwin- owner of J/30 ZEPHYR from  New Orleans, LA and Bill Kneller- owner of J/30 RHAPSODY from Portsmouth, RI.  They're making personal efforts to reach out to J/30 owners and improve communications to help promote class activities.  Over the past year they've contacted J/30 District Governors to help reach J/30 owners all over the globe.  They've updated the J/30 Forum to include dedicated sections for each district as a means of facilitating easy communications.  The J/30 Forum also has been updated with a photo section. They have seen the activity pick up significantly over the past year. Recently,  the J/30 Class Web Site has also been updated.  Bill Kneller can be reached at  bill@j30.us and Dave Erwin can be contacted at dave@j30.us.

* In an exciting and windy weekend of ocean racing, the J/35 MAN-O-WAR finished first overall in West Florida Ocean Racing Circuit during the weekend of October 16-18.  Congratulations to Tom Beery and his team from Pensacola, FL.  MAN-O-WAR also won the Boat of the Regatta Trophy with four firsts and two seconds in six races total.  It appears the conditions on the race courses were well suited to Tom's J/35 with winds ranging from 17 to 30 knots with lots of upwind/ downwind legs.

Featured Boat

New J/133 "Demo" boat is available, ready to race for Key West!

This J/133 is currently located in France but is ready to ship anywhere in the world.  A proven race winner, her sistership J/133 BATFISH III won the RORC IRC Overall Season Championship in England and France.  Another sistership in America is racing on Long Island Sound, the J/133 SIREN SONG is proving hard to beat in a wide variety of conditions.

Now is the time to get rolling for Key West and the 2010 sailing season.  Take advantage of this "fall special" and get ready to rock and have fun this coming season.  This J/133 is available at $430,000 USD, FOB Bristol, RI with all options and U.S. shorepower.

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

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