J/24 Worlds Preview(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- Considering the J/24 is approaching its 35th birthday, it's still pretty astounding to see both the level of activity and the depth of the competition in the world's largest one-design keelboat class. Back in the day in 1977 the J/24 really was a "revolution", the "Laser with a lid", the first "sportboat" anyone had ever seen in its size range- a 24 footer that could actually plane! Remember, back then the "hot" IOR Quarter-tonners all had masthead rigs, three foot booms, monster genoas and 10 foot spinnaker poles! Rod rigging was considered "hi-tech". Say what? Yes, such IOR beasts were a wonder to behold, downwind with "bloopers" up (anyone know what that is?) they could "swap ends" faster than any other sailboat designs in history, and you didn't even have to steer when that happened-- just hold on for dear life!
Thank goodness, sailboat design has evolved, as have strong one-design classes. The J/24 led the charge back then and with 5,000+ boats sailing around the world, the J/24 class continues to field very strong events-- a fleet of sixty-one boats from nine countries are sailing the 2011 J/24 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina this coming week. Contenders include some well-known faces in the class. Starting with the hosts, Argentina has a strong contingent of 26 boats, including their top sailors like Roberto Authier and the top two from the Pre-Worlds- Francisco Campero and Matias Pereira. From Australia is one of their top teams, Sean Kirkjian and Simon Cunningham. Brazil is perhaps leading with its favorite, current J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing BRUSCHETTA. From across the Rio de la Plata (River Plate), third place at the Pre-Worlds was Uruguay's Pedro Garra. The USA always has a strong team fielded at the J/24 Worlds. They're led by a very strong team of past World, North American and Midwinters Champions, including Tim Healy on 11TH HOUR RACING from Newport, RI; Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY; Scott Milne on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH from New Orleans, LA; Will Welles on PUMA from Newport, RI; and Keith Whittemore on CINQUECENTO from Seattle, WA. The other countries represented, Chile, Italy, Peru and England all have teams capable of challenging the leaders for the top ten.
Expect the YCA (YC Argentino) to put on a world-class event where the sailors will be treated to excellent race management as well as the famous Argentinean hospitality- what's not to like about Argentina's delicious Malbec red wine varietals and mouth-watering grass-fed beef from the pampas?! Keep up with your favorite teams by following them on the link below. For more J/24 Worlds sailing information
French J/80 Nationals Preview(Saint Cast, France)- Over seventy-one boats including three from England and one from Spain are ready to set sail in the 2011 French J/80 Nationals, hosted in Saint Cast along the Bay of Biscay by Centre Nautique Saint Cast.
What a fantastic success for the J/80 French Class! It's extraordinary to see so many competitors sailing the final regatta of the 2011 season, a four day event taking place in the beginning of November. From Thursday the 10th of November to the 13th of November, this armada expects to have a great event on the gorgeous Saint Cast Bay. This event also determines the final results of the French J/80 Fleet season series that started back in April with the famous Spi OUEST Regatta in La Trinite Sur Mer.
The CNSC is proud to host the event, "Between J/80 and the CNSC is a long history or tradition. We acquired our first J/80 in 1999, at the time few J/80s were distributed in France, it was a bet on the future! But, it was perfect for our requirements. We needed a boat for sailing education, but also for racing, and it should be reliable, robust and modern. Twelve years later, given the number of boats racing in the Coupe de France, it was the right choice at the time! Since 1999, we have trained many crews (about fifty), and with good results: 3-times Champion of France!"
What ever the results, it's clear the top French J/80 teams are already focused on the 2012 J/80 Worlds that will be sailed across La Manche (the English Channel) in Dartmouth, England, followed by the J/80 Worlds 2013 in France! Given the strong showing of the top French teams at this year's 2011 J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark, it's apparent that the strong national rivalries between Spanish and French sailors at the top of the heap in world-class one-design and offshore events is proving to be an enormous catalyst to raise the level of their game a few more notches. Amongst the top teams competing will be multiple regatta winner Erik Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2. For more French J/80 Nationals sailing information
NEW! J/80 Winter Tour 2012!(Miami, FL)- The J/80 Class in America has organized a Winter Tour 2012 for those J/80 owners that wish to take advantage of all the free Florida sunshine that's unencumbered by any winter blast from up North! This series will feature three race weekends spread out over a month and a half all taking place on Biscayne Bay, Florida. The races will include the following venues:
- Jan 15-25- J/80 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.premiere-racing.com
- Feb 11-12- “Valentines Cup”- Miami, FL- hosted by the US Sailing Center in Miami.
- Mar 8-10- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- http://miamisailingweek.com
- Mar 24-25- “Biscayne Cup”- Miami, FL- http://www.j80.org/j80usa.php
The J/80 competitors will be able to arrange mast-up storage at either the US Sailing Center or the Shake-A-Leg Sailing Center. Details will be posted as they become available at http://www.j80.org/j80usa.php
NEW! J/Fest Winter Circuit(Ft Lauderdale, FL)- Great news for J/Sailors worldwide! A "J/Fest Winter Circuit" has been developed for Winter 2012 in Florida that encompasses J/111s, J/105s, J/109s and larger J's (J/120s, J/122s, J/124s, J/44s). To that end, a regatta schedule for "big boat" J sailors that includes sailing once per month all winter includes the following dates and events:
1. Jan 15-20- Quantum Key West Race Week- http://www.premiere-racing.com
2. Feb 18-19- President's Day- WORC Ft Lauderdale- http://www.bahiamarhotel.com/marina
3. Mar 16-18- St Patrick's Day- WORC Ft Lauderdale-- http://www.bahiamarhotel.com/marina
4. Apr 19-22- Charleston Race Week- http://www.charlestonraceweek.com
For more information on the J/Fest Winter Circuit including "all-in budgets and costs", including a concierge service to facilitate logistics, please contact J/Boats at Ph. +1-401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com. Or, call your local J/Dealer for more information. Please see the complete announcement here. Sailing Photo credit- Onne Van der Wal
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
While the Volvo Ocean Race teams were preparing and, ultimately, starting their 39,000 nm voyage (race) around Planet Earth from Alicante, Spain, others in the one-design world were in the process getting ready to host significant events in their home waters, including the French for the J/80 French Nationals and the Argentineans for the J/24 Worlds in Argentina. It's important to remember that those four teams leading the VOR on those insanely fast Volvo 70s all started in dinghies and many in J/24s and J/80s! Speaking of which, it seems this past week was all about growing the "grass roots" level of sailing. In Germany, they recently held two huge events on J/80s in Berlin, one was the BMW Match Race Cup with over 20,000 Euro in prize money at stake and the other was the world's largest one-design regatta- the BMW Sailing Cup. Over in Italy, the J/24s were having fun sailing their Autumn Cup and Winters Series in Anzio & Nettuno on the Tyrrhenian Sea and Cervia on the Adriatic Sea. On the west side of the Atlantic, the Canadians hosted their Canadian Match Race Championship at Royal Canadian YC on J/24s (if you recall, recent winners of the New York YC Invite Cup on Swan 42s). Further west, a number of Halloween regattas were held, one called the Goblin Regatta sailed off Santa Barbara, California- more on the others next week.Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Oct 9- Dec 4- Garmin Hamble Winter Series- Hamble, EnglandNov 10-13- J/80 French Nationals- St Cast, France- http://www.classej80france.com/
Nov 11-19- J/24 Worlds- Buenos Aires, Argentina- http://www.j24worlds2011.org.ar/
Dec 5-14- Salon Nautique (J/97, J/111, J/122)- Paris, France- http://www.salonnautiqueparis.com
Jan 5-13- London Boatshow (J/80, J/111)- London, England- http://www.londonboatshow.com
Jan 15-25- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- http://www.premiere-racing.com
Jan 15-25- J/80 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.premiere-racing.com
Jan 15-25- J/105 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.premiere-racing.com
Feb 11-15- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL- http://www.diyc.org/
Feb 16-20- Miami Boatshow- Miami, FL- http://www.miamiboatshow.com/
Feb 17-19- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Pete, FL- http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas
Feb 23-26- J/22 Midwinters- Houston YC- Houston TX- http://www.j22mw.com/
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Swinton Wins BMW Berlin Match Race(Berlin, Germany)- Gorgeous autumn sailing conditions. Picturesque lake in one of Europe's most historically significant cities. Exciting match racing with some of the worlds best sailors on J/80s throwing the boats around the cans just a few feet from shore with thousands of screaming spectators cheering you on. Throw an Australian match racer into the den of wolves and hope he comes out alive? Maybe, maybe not.
This past weekend was one of the top match-racing tour events around the world. Coveted for many sailors for being an extremely well-run event, in a fabulous location with extraordinary hospitality. Supported by BMW Yachtsport, replete with some famous German Hollywood A-Listers, actresses, actors and sporting types.
With that as a backdrop at the BMW Sailing Facility on the "Wannsee", the "golden boy" sailing off into the golden autumn sun was none other than Australia's Keith Swinton! Perhaps the latest generation version of "the cardiac kids"! Keith's team beat Alvaro Morinho's team from Portugal by the skinniest of margins- just 3-2 in the finals. Germany's Markus Wieser won bronze, all sailing in front of nearly 5,000 spectators.
"We are very happy and completely satisfied to be able to prevail against this high-class competition," said Keith Swinton, helmsman of the Australian Black Swan Racing team, as he was greeted with applause and champagne at the dock. In the best-of-five final, the two teams kept the competition open until the last minute. Only the fifth race decided victory over defeat, the prize money totaling nearly 20,000 Euro and valuable ranking points on the World Match Race Tour. "If this continues, we’ll need defibrillators," said sports presenter Nils Kaben as it came to a showdown at the last down-wind course. The Australian team secured overall victory at around 3pm with a lead of only one boat length.The jubilant crew, winners of the 20th BMW Berlin Match Race, hugged each other, fists pumping in the air-- like the famous "boxing kangaroo" on Australia II in Newport. They were a popular winner, with around 750 spectators on the escort ships "MS Schöneberg" and "MS Kreuzberg" and the many volunteers and visitors on land applauding.
"To be honest my money was on Morinho. He was pretty strong," said Markus Wieser (a top German match racer with multiple World and European titles), who was defeated in the semi-finals by the Portuguese sailor. Wieser gave everything once again in the Petite Final and won 2-0, he said, "The young Australian has really surprised us with his victory - congratulations." The other surprise was that not only Wieser did not make it to the Grand Finale, but nor did top German sailor Jochen Schumann, twice winner of the America´s Cup and Olympic Games.
In the afternoon the well-known German sports-casters Nils Kaben (ZDF) and Andre Keil (NDR) paid tribute to the winners at the BMW Sailing Cup Base (along with a few "sailing starlets/ groupies" from Germany's film and fashion world- seen above). Andreas Pochhammer, Chairman of the Sailing Club House on the Wannsee (VSaW), and Oliver Witte, Chairman of the Berlin Yacht Club closed the 20th Edition of the BMW Berlin Match Race with heartfelt thanks to organisers, sponsors and especially to the many volunteers. "We’ve all come together to make this event possible. We are delighted with the event and we are now looking forward to 2012. " BMW Match Race Sailing Photos For more BMW Match Race Cup sailing information
BERLIN ONE Wins BMW Cup(Berlin, Germany)- In early October, the J/80 team called BERLIN ONE took the German BMW Sailing Cup Championship. This victory in the national final of the world's largest international regatta series for amateur also secured the team's invitation to the International Final in spring 2012, when BERLIN ONE will be up against the national winners from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Jantz and his crew on BERLIN ONE earned their ticket to the Germany Final by winning the regatta on the Lake Wannsee at the beginning of July. The event was organised by BMW Niederlassung Berlin, in cooperation with the 'Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee' sailing club.
"We experienced the fascination of competitive sailing at close hand, with excitement right down to the final race, and all against the unique backdrop of HafenCity. That is what makes amateur sport and the BMW Sailing Cup so special," said Magnus Wiese at the presentation ceremony, Chief of Events/ Tradeshows/ Sports Marketing for BMW Germany. Wiese and Oliver Kosanke, Chairman of the cooperating Muhlenberger Sailing Club, presented the prizes and congratulated all 14 teams.
"It was a thrilling and extremely exciting final, which was thoroughly enjoyable. We did everything right in the first of the final races. The maneuvers worked brilliantly and we coped very well with the conditions on the Elbe. However, we discovered just how narrow the margin between success and failure can be in the second final race. We were leading when the gennaker dropped into the water as we rounded the final buoy. Third place was just enough to clinch the overall victory at the 2011 BMW Sailing Cup. We are now looking forward to the International Final," said Jantz.Professional coach Hannes Baumann, who, as bowman alongside Tobias Schadewaldt in the 49er class, is well on course for the 2012 Olympic Games, congratulated his team on its excellent performance on these difficult tidal waters. 14 professional yachtsmen and women, including Ulrike Schumann and Olympic hopeful Kathrin Kadelbach (470 team with Friderike Belcher), really got into the swing of things throughout the entire final weekend as they cheered on the teams they trained from the shoreline. For more BMS Sailing Cup sailing information
Vincenti Leads Anzio Winter Championships(Anzio, Italy)- A summer day with twenty-six degrees C cooled by a gentle breeze from the west at 5-8 knots and the beautiful sea and sky a deep blue greeted the J/24 sailors for the first event in the Anzio & Nettuno Winter Championship series. Hard to beat such spectacular conditions south of Rome in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Anticipation for great sailing was quite high as twenty-five J/24s prepared to sail the first day of the 37th championship
The Race Committee waited for the arrival of the thermal in the early afternoon and managed to start racing around 1330 hrs. After a gorgeous day of sailing, it was Marco Vincenti racing Team DJKE that was leading the fleet by 3 pt. Second was Ignazio Bonanno sailing LA SUPERBA and third was a surprising new face at the top of the leader-board, Luca Silvestri on ENJOY 2 just two points back from LA SUPERBA. Fourth five points back has two boats currently tied on points, Gianni Riccobono sailing PELLENERA and Manuela Santarcangelo sailing INDIANA J! The next event is scheduled for Sunday, November 6. For more Anzio & Nettuno Winter Championship sailing information
VILJA Wins Cervia Winter Circuit(Cervia, Romagna, Italy)- After the notoriously fickle northern Adriatic Sea served up bad weather the previous week (rough seas and high waves), and great racing the following weekend. It was a concern the final weekend of the eastern Italy fleet fall championship might be at risk to the fast-moving weather systems that start to fly across Europe in the fall.
On the previous weekend, a perfect day marked by sun, fresh Mistral (12-14 knots) and calm seas allowed the twelve J/24s to sail three excellent races. At the end of the day, victory went to the Romagnan team on CAPTAIN NEMO, sailed by Dominic Bright, Richard Ancarani, Aurelio and Claudio Comporesi Menghi- all members of the Sailing Club Ravenna.
However, by the last installment of this event, the standings would change dramatically. After nine races as counters for the entire championship series, it was Ruggero Sperafico's team on VILJA that wins the XXXVII Winter Championship Interlaghi, the seventh and final leg of the Italian Circolo J/24. Second goes to a Pierluigi Puthod on SPLENDIDA, suffering from a DSQ in race 7 and a 19th in race 9 to lose the championship by three points! Tied with them, but losing the tie-breaker was was Francesco Bertone sailing JJ ExtraLarge-- ugh, more agony for the top three. Then, fourth was Pietro Diamanti skippering JAMAICA only two points back and rounding out the top five was Fabio Di Rossi on VALHALLA only two points further back!! "If only", as they say at the pub afterwards after a few pints of Peroni's Nastro Azzuro! For more J/24 Cervia Winter Series sailing information.
Wickwire Star of Canadian Match Race Championship(Toronto, ONT, Canada)- No, it was not the "Hail-Fire Droid", nor the lightning quick "Speeder-bikes", nor "Luke" invoking special help from his buddies on "Tatooine". It was just Peter Wickwire (J/24 owner of SUNNYVALE) and crew Tim Bishop and Matt Christie who won the CYA Match Racing Championship at Royal Canadian Yacht Club held on September 23-25th.
Learning fast and keeping their noses out of trouble, Peter and crew walked off with the Canadian Match Race Championship sailed in J/24s off RCYC in grand style. Veteran, perhaps even legendary, Canadian sailors like John Hele, Terry McLaughlin, Andreas Josenhans and Hans Fogh should be so proud! For more J/24 Canadian National Match Race Championship Sailing information
Dr Laura Spooks Goblin Regatta(Santa Barbara, CA)- The Santa Barbara Sailing Club Goblin Regatta hosted 55 boats over the Halloween weekend for their annual fun race for family and friends in the region. The weather was unbelievable- "shorts and shades" all weekend with classic Santa Barbara weather on stage- 70s daytime and sunny. On Saturday the wind started light and built nicely towards the end of the day, Sunday started with a nice breeze and built into the teens by the last race. Both PHRF and the J/24 fleets sailed seven good races.
Generally, the fleet starts off the harbor and heads west to a mark more or less off the point and outside of the monster kelp beds. Meanwhile, the temptation to play the lifting shifts on starboard tack that are coming off the shore is often risky business, while offering tactical advantage it also takes you into mons
ter kelp beds. Kelp sticks and kelp cutters are necessary equipment sailing in this part of the world-- ever catch a 30 foot piece of kelp that weights a good 100 lbs or more? You start sailing sideways faster than you can go forward!Amongst the Halloween revelers this years was the famous "psych" talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, sailing her J/100 called PERFECT. She named her boat that for a reason, she loves it and of all the sailboats she's ever owned, she considers it "the PERFECT boat"! Imagine that. Plus, she likes having a good time with it. In this year's event, Dr Laura and her fully costumed J/100 crew (putting new meaning to the term "deck ape"- see photo above) ran away with the premiere class in the regatta, winning PHRF with five 1sts a 2nd and 3rd. Just behind them finishing 2nd was another local champion sailor, Larry Leveille racing his J/29 RUSH STREET (blue-striped boat seen just above). Lying third was the J/22 MISS BEHAVIN.
In the J/24 class, Thomas Tunberg sailing BULLET from Santa Barbara Sailing Club won by winning the last race over Grant's ELECTRIC PUMPKIN from Santa Barbara YC. It was a cliff-hanger of a race for the top three in the last race, whomever beat who would determine the final placings on the podium. In the end, BULLET's record of 1-1-2-3-1-4-1 for 13 pts triumphed over ELECTRIC PUMPKIN's 2-2-3-1-2-2-2 for 14 pts. Finishing third was Susan Taylor from California YC sailing TAKE FIVE, taking in some bullets for herself, scoring 4-3-1-2-3-1-3 for a total of 17 pts. For more Santa Barbara Sailing Club sailing photos and Goblin Regatta sailing results.J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/24 beer can racing- Professional Grade- this one falls into the category of "OMG, They Can't Be Serious!" Nevertheless, this new J/24 "go-fast" equipment shows how Tim Corbett's J/24 has taken summer beer can racing to a whole new level-- if not beyond professional grade, perhaps certifiable? You can bet this team is pretty popular out on the water, particularly when people start getting thirsty. 
Note the meticulous care to use a large overhead 2-ton crane to lower in a full keg of Grolsch beer (this guys aren't skimping on good beer, that's for sure) into the "hold" of a J/24-- substituting the top of the keg most assuredly for the normal companionway steps (the old Igloo Cooler). Then, in what appears to be extraordinary attention to detail, note how the Igloo Cooler has been converted into a "cold tap" that has immediate access from the cockpit adjacent to the primary genoa winches. If you want the fancy engineering plans, along with all the CAD/CAM and VPPs and FE analysis that shows how to improve J/24 performance and the PSYCHOLOGY TODAY impact study on crew moral enhancement and the Stan Honey analysis of YACHTING'S GREATEST INVENTIONS SINCE MAN SAILED LOGS and how that applies to the total average overall boatspeed of a J/24 pre-and-post "liquidation", be sure to contact Tim-- he's got all the answers. We're certain he'd be happy to "convert" other J/24s to a similar point of view . 
* Two sailors who have raced J/22s and J/80s extensively over the course of the past half-dozen years were just awarded the ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year- namely, Anna Tunnicliffe for Women and Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez for Men. While Iker and Xabier have raced 49ers and other classes, they also share some of their time with family and friends sailing J/80s in Spain-- right now they're in a horse-race to win the Volvo Ocean Race on their V70 TELEFONICA. Likewise, Anna has sailed J/22s in many women's events with her team, most recently finishing 2nd in the Rolex Women's Worlds in Rochester, NY and winning the Santa Maria Cup in Annapolis, MD. For more ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year award information
* How did the America's Cup AC45 Circus land in San Diego? Well, a bunch of J/120 sailors got together and said it had to be done! In a few short days, the America's Cup returns to San Diego, the Auld Mug's home from 1987 to 1995, when Team New Zealand and Black Magic snatched it away in a dominating performance. But this time around the action won't happen out at sea, out of mind of all but the most hardcore sailing fans. "Stadium sailing" is coming to San Diego, promising enough thrills, chills, and spills to entice a whole new generation of fans.John Laun, lifelong sailboat racer and owner of the San Diego Yacht Club-based J/120 CAPER, watched the America's Cup making its "victory tour" around San Diego in 2010 and knew the city still had the interest and the ability to run a Cup regatta. He and Chuck Nichols, owner of the J/120 CC RIDER, former SDYC commodore and 1995 AC President, formed Sailing Events Association (SEA) San Diego to make that goal a reality. On the eve of the America's Cup World Series in San Diego, Laun talked to CupInfo about the steps they took to secure the regatta, lessons learned, and what it will take for the event to be a success in his view:
"We formed the Sailing Events Association San Diego to pursue America's Cup regattas," explained Laun. "It was clear early on that if we could demonstrate our capabilities and showcase San Diego -- our team, our environment, our stadium sailing concept -- that it would promote ourselves as a viable venue."
Step one was to host an event to demonstrate to the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA) that SEA was capable of staging a major regatta inside San Diego Bay, including providing facilities for teams on the downtown piers, spectator viewing options on and around the race course, on-the-water race management, and plenty of waterfront entertainment. Enter the RC44 class; for their first event SEA signed the international one-design fleet for a west coast stop. The regatta in March 2011 featured the top RC44 teams from around the world, with names familiar to America's Cup fans, such as Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Cameron Appleton, and Paolo Cian.
"We wanted to host a spectator event that people could enjoy, something that would energize the San Diego community around sailing. It was our first event and it was exactly on spec for what we wanted -- spectator-friendly and exciting. We had a meeting with the ACEA the night of the trophy presentation and were up in San Francisco the next week and it was a done deal." For more SEA San Diego America's Cup sailing information
The J Cruising Community
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).
- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).
- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji!
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)
, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/
Featured Boats
Annapolis Show J/108 Ready To Cruise!J/Boats' modern new shoal performance cruiser/ racer, the J/108, has just completed her well received introduction at the Annapolis Boat Show and is now available for sea trials. Please contact Ken Comerford at phone 410-991-1511 or email- ken@northpointyachtsales.com- to schedule an appointment and learn more about this stunning new J - luxuriate in her Ultra-Leather interior, enjoy her enormous cockpit and find out how you can broaden your cruising horizons with just 4.0 feet of draft! Plus, you'll love her lively performance.
To learn more about this particular J/108, please take a look at the listing here on Yachtworld.com. Sailing photo credits- Billy Black
