J/97 at Chicago Strictly Sailboat Show
(Chicago, IL)- With the weather outside looking a bit frightful, jump into the car and head for Chicago's Navy Pier Exposition Center where the Chicago Strictly Sailboat Show is taking place this weekend from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31. Stearns Boating will have the new J/97 on display and will be giving out free J/Sailing Calendars to J/97 prospects. They also have lots of fun things to do for the kiddies, like make your own foam boat sailboat races and also radio-control sailboat races in a big pool. For show information, please go to http://www.strictlysailchicago.com. Don't hesitate to contact our J/Dealer, Rich Stearns- email- rich@stearnsboating.com. 
J/111 Speedster - It's Alive! Ready to Rock!
(Newport, RI)- J/Boats' partner in building the J/111, CCF Composites from Bristol, RI, has done a beautiful job lofting and building an incredibly fair and spectacular looking hull plug. Prepare yourselves for some eye-candy and mouth-watering performance in June flying across the waters of Narragansett Bay. With twenty J/111s on order from all over the world (1/4 from Europe alone) the momentum and excitement continues to build for this new J speedster....certain to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee". For more J/111 information, sailing performance and more pictures. 
Bacardi Cup- J/24s- March 8-13
(Miami, FL)- A long time supporter of the J/24 class has expanded their renowned Bacardi Cup to include J/24s for the first time ever as part of their week long festivities called Miami Sailing Week. Hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club you can be sure you will be well taken care of by one of the best regatta hosts in the world. With a great club, fantastic pool and outdoor bar/ cabana you can rejoice with even greater pleasure recounting the day's racing and amusing stories about past J/24 Midwinters and other events on Biscayne Bay. Contact CRYC or sign up now at http://www.miamisailingweek.com. Bacardi and CRYC promise you will have a memorable time. Can't go wrong. J/24s are cheap to charter and race. Weather is awful up North because of an El Nino year, so head south and soak up some good rays and enjoy fair breezes! For more regatta and sailing information. Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jan. 28-31- Chicago Strictly Sailboat Show- Chicago, IL- http://www.strictlysailchicago.com/Jan. 29-Feb. 6- Seattle Sailboat Show- Seattle, WA- http://www.seattleboatshow.com/
Jan. 28-31- San Diego Sunroad Boat Show- San Diego, CA- http://www.bigbayboatshow.com/
Feb. 6-10- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL- http://j24d10.org
Feb. 14- St. Pete NOOD- St. Petersburg YC- St. Petersburg, FL- http://www.sailingworld.com
Feb. 18-21- J/30 Midwinters- New Orleans YC- New Orleans, LA- http://noyc.org/rc/2010MardiGrasNOR.htm
Mar 7–13- J/24 Copa Mexico- Puerto Vallarta Mexico - www.j24mex.com/copamexico/index.html
Mar 8-13- Bacardi Cup- J/24s- Coral Reef YC, Miami, FL- http://www.miamisailingweek.com
Mar. 11-14- J/22 Midwinters- Southern YC, New Orleans, LA - http://www.j22mw.com/
Apr. 8-11- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC- http://www.charlestonraceweek.com
Jun 20-26- Block Island Race Week- Block Is, RI- http://www.blockislandraceweek.org
J/Regatta News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Key West Race Week finished this past week with nice winds and good weather. Over one-third of the Key West fleet were J's. Multiple regattas within the main event were taking place. The J/105s were enjoying their J/105 2010 Midwinter Championship. And, the J/80s were not only having great racing, competing for their J/80 Midwinter Championship, but it was the J/80 Class' kick-off event for the J/80 Tour that concludes with the J/80 Worlds in Newport in October. 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.
Beautiful Key West Race Week
SAVASANA Wins J/105s, LE TIGRE Triumphs in J/80s
(Key West, FL- Jan. 18-22)- This year's Key West Race Week was sponsored by Nautica Watches along with popular supporter Mt. Gay Rum. It was a great cocktail and recipe for success, making for many happy winners celebrating with drinks plus a new watch! Check out the photos of all the J's racing on the J/Boats Facebook page! (email us if you want high-resolution photos- contact us at J/Boats).
The weather was nearly postcard perfect, hard to go wrong sailing on aquamarine seas, sunny, with gentle breezes and 70 degree temperatures during the day. The fleet was treated to a typical cold front scenario where the incoming front pulls in SSW breezes and over the course of several days veers from NNW to SE. The fleet of 134 boats saw J/Boats having the largest total fleet of boats at the event- over one-third were J's ranging in size from the "classic" J/24 upwards through the range including J/29, J/80, J/105, J/109, J/122, J/125 and J/44. The races generally got off without a hitch due to the seasoned expert PROs like Ken Legler and others who stayed on top of the shifty, streaky breezes. Races started on time at 10:30 am and most fleets generally completed two races and were heading home by 2:00 pm.
On the Division 1 course, David Murphy's J/122 PUGWASH sailed well in IRC-B Class. At one point they had a solid lead but a few slow starts, missed windshifts and streaks rapidly jumbled the standings over the last two days. Nevertheless, David and crew managed to hang in there to get a podium finish- 3rd overall for the week. Their good fortune was counter-weighted by the roller coast rides seemingly experienced by Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK and Jim Bishop's beautifully repainted J/44 GOLD DIGGER. Both sailed well in a couple of races but had difficulty maintaining any consistency due to the very shifty, streaky wind conditions on Division 1 course- large black holes materialized frequently, swallowing up any unsuspecting boats and never let them go. 
The Division 2 course with J/105s and J/80s had incredibly competitive racing. For the J/105s, it's Brian Keane's SAVASANA that took home the gold, finishing in first by a significant margin of sixteen points....almost not having to sail the last day because their lead was so large. However, the next three places from second to fourth was wide open until the last day. Essentially, a three-way tie exists between Ken Colburn's GHOST, Scooter Simmons BLACKHAWK and Damian Emery's ECLIPSE. In the end, it was Ken Colburn on GHOST that prevailed, finishing second for the week followed by Scooter Simmons sailing BLACKHAWK to third place and Damian Emery slowing down a bit onboard ECLIPSE on the last day to finish fourth.
The J/80 Midwinters lived up to its promise to be an indicator for the J/80 Worlds of how tough it would be to win in this closely fought class. The top five was truly a horse race with anyone still having a mathematical chance of winning with just two days (four races) to go. Each day brought a new leader to the top of the pack. The last day created a lot of anxiety for the leaders. However, Glen Darden on LE TIGRE managed to overcome an early race deficit, with Rod & Jeff Johnstone sailing LITTLE FEAT in the lead, to just catch one more boat by the finish to finish fifth and win the regatta. Rod & Jeff sailed extremely well on a challenging day to get two firsts to rapidly close the gap with LE TIGRE at the start of the day. Those efforts, however, were not enough to overcome a slow start with two 7's on the first day, LITTLE FEAT finished second by a point. Early regatta leader Will Welles on board RASCAL experienced some minor (but expensive) mistakes mid-week to fall off their consistent early showings, garnering a third overall. Conversely, Al Minella sailing RELENTLESS have a "barbell" shaped results table, with great results midweek but a few mid-pack races at the beginning and end of the week. Past J/80 World and NA Champion Kerry Klingler racing LIFTED had 1-2-3s in his record, but couldn't maintain any consistency to crack the top three, finishing fifth for the week. LE TIGRE, co-owned by Glenn Darden and Reese Hilliard of Forth Worth, TX, Darden has competed in eight Key West race weeks, but has never taken a top win. Until now. An experienced racing sailor, he is a past J/105 North American Champion and has won the J/80 Worlds. This week, the team placed third or better in seven of 10 starts in capturing the J/80 Mid-Winter Championship, which was contested as part of Key West 2010. "We had a great battle with Jeff and were just able to hold on", said Darden, who had Ullman pro Max Skelley aboard as tactician.
Another Texan, Jay Lutz calling tactics on SWE 803 said, "The depth of the competition was much better than ever before". Magnus Tyremans entry (SWE 803) placed sixth in fleet, not bad for the tough, 19-boat class battle. Blake Billman was on the bow and Cal Herman worked the middle. Winning race 2, and finishing in the top ten consistently, the SWE 803 team followed the suspense of the final races between Le Tigre and Little Feat. "The lead boat LE TIGRE almost lost it", Herman said. One extra point and that would've been the case.
You can read more about what happened on the J/80 race course by reading Chuck Allen's Sailing World blog at http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen
The Stock Island located Division 3 course for PHRF boats saw two fantastic performances by two enthusiastic J Owners. In PHRF 1, Jim Madden's very fast J/125 STARK RAVING MAD and his fun-loving, happy-go-lucky crew from the San Diego/ LA area (including Gary Weisman and Benny Mitchell), had another great time in Key West and sailed away with PHRF A with eight bullets! In PHRF 2, Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH led for most of the week but Thursday's windy day generated an uncharacteristic 4-3 for the day to drop him down to second overall by just one point. Their five firsts in ten races are an average of just over second place, it was testimony to their consistency and how well they sailed their J/109 RUSH. Perennial Key West participant, Steve Thurston's MIGHTY PUFFIN got in some good sailing and good times during the regatta, sailing to a sixth overall.
In PHRF 3, the three J/24s stayed remarkably close to one another all week long. Mark Milne's BLAH BLAH BLAH "won" the J/24 Class award, finishing second in the overall standings. Just behind was Naroski/LeBlanc's NOJOE in third.
For Key West Race Week regatta information and sailing results.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J's are doing worldwide
* Chuck Allen's J/80 team daily blog is both informative and educational. His descriptions of what took place during the J/80 Midwinters are helpful for both experienced sailors as well as for those who are first learning how to get around the race course. -- http://tinyurl.com/j80chuckallen* Key West on a Budget- J/80 owner Jeremy Reynolds was skeptical when it was suggested he enter Key West 2010, presented by Nautica. The Maryland resident started doing a mental checklist of the costs associated with doing a regatta off the southernmost point of Florida and just shook his head. “I saw the dollar signs going cha-ching, cha-ching in my head,” Reynolds said. That was before J/80 class president Kristen Robinson showed Reynolds a detailed spreadsheet of how to attend the annual race week in Key West on a reasonable budget of less than $8,000.
Perhaps the most notable cost-cutting method involves working a package deal for most of the J/80s to launch and berth at Old Island Marina. Robinson negotiated a discount on the splash fee and storage rate with the Stock Island facility. Robinson also helped the J/80 teams contain their housing costs by calling around to numerous Key West realtors and comparing rates.
Robinson, who posted a “How to do Key West on a Budget” article on the J/80 website, was asked why she puts so much effort into assisting other J/80 owners with their Key West plans and plotting out a budget for the regatta. “Because if I’m going to make the effort to come down here I don’t want to race in PHRF. I come to Key West for good one-design competition so the more boats the better,” said Robinson, who believes other class presidents or representatives should put forth the same effort for a regatta the caliber of Key West.
Premiere Racing president Peter Craig is extremely impressed by the ability of J/80 owners to put together a Key West campaign on an affordable budget. “The J/80 class increasing to 19 boats in this economy is one of the great success stories of this event and should be listened to carefully by the owners in other classes,” Craig said. “The J/80 folks have figured out how to do Key West without breaking the bank by working collectively. They have clearly shown that it can be done.” Learn more about sailing Key West on a budget at the J/80 Class
Featured Boat
J/105 #436 "J-Teez"
The dream of owning a J/105 can now become a reality with a great used J/105. J-Teez has been professionally maintained since new. Extensive documentation and records to validate the condition of this boat. Keel and rudder have been templated and faired to class specifications. Beautiful white hull and deck with Navy Blue waterline stripe. All lifeline, wheel, pedestal covers are navy blue. VC Blue offshore paint applied March 2009 along with cosmetic work. This boat looks and shows much newer then a 2001 model. Interior and exterior look great. We are also listing J-Teez's sister ship #437- another beautiful example. Your slipmates will think you bought new. J/105 Trailer available for sale. Please contact Scott- (877) 596-0430/ Cell (512)-423-2179/ scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com. Check out this listing and others at: http://www.jboatssouthwest.com/brokerage/brokerage.htmlAbout 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: 15 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: http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm
* John and Colette Storck- "Antithesis of Helicopter Parents"- Presented annually by Premiere Racing, John Storck Jr. was recognized at Key West 2010, as the recipient of the Paul Washburn Award - For The Love of the Sport. Steve Washburn, a Long Beach, Cal., resident and long-time race committee volunteer for Key West, created the special award to honor his youngest son, who passed away suddenly three years ago. Here is a story published in Race Week News:
* Mel Hawkes had a wonderful, endearing story of her experience sailing the J/24 Australia Nationals on-board STARPAC: "When my legs had finally stopped shaking and after I had stuffed a roll in my face I headed for the bar. Not normally a drinker I am finding I am quickly making up for that in the last few days. Still in a bit of a daze, I found myself being asked how we did. I had no idea, so was very surprised to find not only had we come fourth overall, but we had been leading for a while on the first race.
