J/Boats Sailboat Show Updates!Seattle, Detroit, Germany, San Francisco, Annapolis Netherlands, Long Beach Soon!
(Newport, RI)- In addition to the two major shows opening this weekend- (1) the Southampton Boat show in southern England (displaying the J/70, J/88, J/97, J/111 and J/122 Special Edition with on-site test sails for the J/70, J/80 & J/109) and (2) the Newport Sailboat Show in Rhode Island (displaying the J/70, J/97, J/111 with J/80 & J/95 at Discover Sailing), be sure to mark on your calendars upcoming sailboat shows taking place in Seattle, Washington; Detroit, Michigan; Hong Kong and Friedrichshafen/ Lake Constance in Germany. More information on each below.
Sep 11-16- Seattle Boats Afloat Show- J/70, J/80 & J/105
Also taking place this weekend with an initial J/70 debut is the Seattle Boats Afloat Show that is running from September 11th to 16th on Lake Union right in the heart of downtown Seattle-- the "emerald city" of America. There will be a J/105 and J/70 on display plus there will be "free" sailing lessons and "free" boat rides on two J/105s and a J/80 courtesy of the Seattle Sailing Club! Awesome program for anyone evenly remotely inclined to learn more about sailing and how much fun it can be with family and friends! Be sure to contact Sailboats Northwest- Bob Ross email. For more Seattle Boats Afloat Show sailboat information
Sep 19-22- Lake St Clair Boating Festival- J/70
The J/70 will be making it's debut at the Boating & Outdoor Festival at Metropark on Lake St. Clair from September 19th to 22nd. Learn more about what makes this fast little speedster the world's fastest-growing one-design sportboat class in the last four decades! With over 18 fleets formed in America alone and over 500 boats sold worldwide on 5 continents, the J/70 is well on its way to becoming the first ISAF Class EVER to get "International" status less than 20 months after launching! No other boat in the history of yachting even comes close! Please be sure to contact your local Great Lakes J dealers for more information. Or, to make arrangement for test sails on beautiful Lake St Clair on the J/70, please be sure to contact Sarah at Port Sanilac Marina- ph# 810-622-9651 or via email. For more J/70 Detroit boat show sailboat information
Sep 21-29- Interboot- Lake Constance, Germany- J/70Over the past several months, the J/70 was scrutinized by some of the best sailors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, seeking to find that perfect balance between a "trailer-sailer boat" and a keelboat that could satisfy the needs of families on the famous Lake Constance, a gorgeous lake situated in the heart of the European sailing market. Fifteen sailing and yacht clubs have selected the J/70 as “the new class for Lake Constance”!
From 21st to 29th of September, the J/70 will be on display and available for test sailing at the Interboot show in Friedrichshafen. You can find more Interboot boat show information here
At the end of the show, the incredibly popular Deutsche Segel Bundesliga will have the fourth stage of their J/70 regatta circuit, sailing in a fleet race format from 27th to 29th of September. The event has eighteen yacht clubs from around Germany sending their best sailors to compete for honors in the summer long series. Host for this regatta on the Bodensee will be Württembergischer Yacht-Club.
For J/70 test sail schedule, please be sure to contact J/Dealer Peter Bangerter from Mittelmannswerft- email- peter.bangerter@jboats.ch or website.
Sep 26-29- Auckland Boat Show- J/111
For the first time in New Zealand yachting history, a J/Boat will be on display at the Auckland Boat Show from the 26th September to the 30th September. Remarkably, even the J/24 was never show in the New Zealand marketplace. Taking that honor will be the International J/111 one-design cruiser-racer. And, Australian J/Dealer "YachtSpot" will be working with their New Zealand partners, Craig at "Blackdown Yachting" based in Auckland. For Auckland Boat Show information. For an appointment, please contact Craig (info@blackdownyachting.com) or Ray Entwistle at YachtSpot- Ph +61-2-9449-4976 or email.
Oct 3-6- Marina Village Boat Fest- J/70 & J/111
The fleets for both the J/70 and the J/111 are developing quite nicely on San Francisco Bay. Learn more about both boats from Bay area sailing experts Norm Davant and Pat Nolan, leaders of the J/Tribe at Sail California. Also on display will be used J/105s and a J/124 for sale. The Marina Village Boat Fest is the best northern California show in the fall, it's held at the Marina Village Yacht Harbor in Alameda, CA. For an appointment or more information, please contact Teri Moore at Sail California- email or ph# (510) 333-7434. More Boat Fest sailboat show information.
Oct 10-14- Annapolis Sailboat Show- J/70, J/88, J/111
The largest sailboat show on the East Coast of America is the Annapolis show. Always a favorite gathering spot for sailors, Annapolis features great restaurants and bars, fascinating places to explore and experience. Sailors from all over the world flock to this event to see the latest gear, hardware and innovative new sailboats. Debuting this year will be the new J/88 family speedster! This little rocketship will be sure to please a whole new fleet of enthusiasts. Alongside her will be the fabulously popular J/70 one-design sportboat and the fun-to-sail International J/111 one-design speedster. For more Annapolis Sailboat show information. For an appointment, please contact your local J/Dealer or J/Boats.
Oct 11-13- Mandurah Boat Show- J/122
Billed as Western Australia's biggest boating lifestyle event, the Mandurah Boat Show will feature the debut of the J/122 cruiser-racer, one of the world's most successful 40 ft offshore sailboats ever built. Easily sailed by family and friends (a recent yacht club youth program won a major offshore race in America- the famous Vineyard Race), discover why the J/122 can be a perfect all-around combination for both cruising, daysailing and offshore handicap racing. The Mandurah Boat Show is about 40nm south of Perth, near Freemantle. For an appointment, please contact YachtSpot's Western Australia partner, "VicSail Yachts" who are based in Freemantle (info@vicsailwa.com), or contact Ray Entwistle at YachtSpot- Ph +61-2-9449-4976 or email- info@yachtspot.com.au
12th October- Try-Sail Day in The Netherlands- 2x J/70 & J/97
For the past several years, the J/Dealer in The Netherlands- J/Benelux- have hosted a "try-sailing a J day" where they bring in a number of J/Boats models for sailors to try out. It has proven to be a fun day for many Benelux J sailors to bring out friends and new crew to help grow their local fleets. This year, on October 12th, Waterland Yacht Charter in Monnickendam, Netherlands will be hosting anyone who wishes to try out the two J/70 speedsters at the docks or the fast, highly successful J/97 cruiser-racer. For more information, please be sure to contact Angelique Verhoef at J/Benelux- +31 (0)78 6305505 or email.
Oct 24-27- Strictly Sail Long Beach- J/70
If you love sailing in Los Angeles, you can't afford to miss this four-day sailing event that takes place from October 24th to 27th. It's Southern California's best place to see and buy J/Boats, J/Gear and J/Accessories! The event is held at Shoreline Village in Rainbow Harbor. Featured on display will be the J/70 speedster along with a used J/145 and J/133 for sale! For more Strictly Sail show information, check out- http://www.strictlysaillongbeach.com. For more J/Boats sailboat show information, please contact Lianne Houde at JK3 Yachts- email.
Nov 29- Dec 1- Hong Kong International Boat Show- J/70
There is no question that one of the more spectacular shows and venues around the world is the Hong Kong Boat Show held in the beautiful Club Marina Cove located in Sai Kung, Hong Kong, China. This event will mark the debut of the J/70 one-design speedster, the fastest growing sportboat in the world. Be sure to swing by and have a chat with Joey Liao from J/Boats Hong Kong about plans for class development in China. The show opens with great pomp & circumstance on November 29th and ends on December 31st. For an appointment or more Hong Kong boat show information, please be sure to contact Joey Liao at J/Boats Hong Kong.
J/70 San Diego Winter Series(San Diego, CA)- Announcing the 2013/14 J/70 San Diego Winter Series sponsored by JK3 Nautical Enterprises, sailed out of San Diego Yacht Club! The series will include one-design weekends taking place the middle of each month from September 2013 to March 2014, plus the famous Hot Rum Series at the end of 2013 and the San Diego NOOD in March 2014! The goal is to have "lots of fun", keeping it on the "easy-going" side with a combination of buoy and random courses to mix it all up.
For the "out-of-towners", the SDYC Dockmaster, Joe Ravitch, will be helping with the details on storing boats (with masts up!) over the course of the 2013- 2014 J/70 San Diego Winter Series. For $185 per month, the Dockmaster will move the boats to the hoist ready for you to launch each time-- plus for each regatta that your boat enters, you will be credited back an amount toward the monthly fee! The storage will be available from Nov 1- April 1.
For more details about this upcoming series, please be sure to contact Joanne O'Dea (joanne@jk3yachts.com) or Jeff Brown (jeff@jk3yachts.com) at JK3 Yachts at ph# 619-224-6200.
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
While some sailors may be watching 72 ft cats zipping around the race course at a 100 kts on San Francisco Bay, many J sailors are out on their boats enjoying nice late summer sailing conditions. In Europe, the J/80 sailors in Germany turned out en-masse to sail the highly popular FordeWoche, hosted by the even more popular Flensburger Segel-Club in Glucksburg. South of them, the J/70s have started their first EuroCup being hosted by the famous Fraglia Vela Riva yacht club on gorgeous Lago di Garda in Italy.Hopping across the Atlantic, we find the J/24s had thirty-three boats show up for the fun-loving Downeast Regatta sailed off Portland, Maine-- quite a good showing for the 27th edition of the event for the J/24s! Finally, out West the Dana Point Yacht Club hosted their prestigious, and heart-warming, Richard Henry Dana Point Charity regatta. One-design fleets of J/24s and J/80s sailed along with a PHRF handicap division that had two very fast J's sailing- a J/125 and J/120.
You might enjoy the sailing/ cruising blog posted by Jim & Heather Wilson, they just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR with their two sons! Epic voyage, great stories. Check the J/Cruising section.
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who 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:
Sep 9-14- J/70 EuroCup Regatta- Lago di Garda, ItalySep 19-22- J/24 North Americans- SailNewport- Newport, RI
Sep 20-22- J/22 Netherlands Championship- Brassermeer, Netherlands
Sep 20-22- J/22 Lake George Open Regatta- Lake George, NY
Sep 26-28- J/70 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
Sep 26-29- Rolex Big Boat Series (70, 105, 120)- St Francis YC- San Francisco, CA
Sep 27-29- J/Fest- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
Sep 27-29- J/24 Changing of the Colors Regatta- Lake George, NY
Oct 1-5- J/22 World Championships- Newport, RI
Oct 5-12- J/24 European Championship- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Oct 12-14- J/80 China Coast Race Week- Hong Kong, China
Oct 31- Nov 3- J/105 North Americans- Annapolis, MD
Nov 1-3- J/80 French Nationals- Cherbourg, France
Nov 1-3- J/24 East Coast Championships- Annapolis, MD
Nov 21-25- J/24 South American Championships- Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dec 6-7- Jamaica Jammin' J/22 Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Jan 19-24- 2014 Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/70 Europeans Update(Riva del Garda, Italy)- The J/70 Eurocup is in full swing at Fraglia Vela Riva, Riva del Garda. This is the first event for the brand new J/70 class which is enjoying are real boom in popularity across the world. It is making its appearance for the very first time on Lake Garda, Trentino. The high-performing sportboats are suitable not only for professional sailors but also for those who enjoy the challenge of competing at a high level.
There are eight nations taking part with Fraglia Vela Riva yacht club again taking the reins as pioneers for a new sailing class in Europe! During the few days prior to the regatta, the J/70 teams were practicing out on the lake-- in the 15-25 kts of TWS, the J/70s on a close reach were reaching impressive speeds- often in excess of 15 kts boat speed!
Until Thursday the British team led by Ruairidh Scott has dominated the field-- his crew on board are Ben Field, Charlie Cumbley and Matt Curthoys. They have 5 firsts and a second so far. Fred Bouvier of France and Brit sailor Joe Woods are fighting it out over second place. With two days to go they are even with 13 points each. Pietro Saccomanni (Diporto Velico Veneziano) along with Salvatore Eulisse, Alberto Grippo and Giulia Sent are the first of the Italian teams in fifth place. Weather conditions were very good on the first two days with steady, light – medium winds of 16-18 knots. The competitors have been very pleased with the organization of the the event, from the staff on land, to the regatta committee, and to those on the water who are helping to manage the course. The event is sponsored by "Hannspree" who are awarding their latest model 50" LED flat-panel TV to the medal winners! For more J/70 EuroCup sailing information
Canadians Crush J/24 Downeast RegattaSTICKY FINGERS Beats Down DOGFISH & ESKIMO SISTERS
(Portland, Maine)- There was nothing average about the 27th Anniversary Downeast Regatta that took place this past weekend. In all 33 boats made it to the line for two days of racing on the beautiful waters of Casco Bay, in downeast Maine-- some of the world's best cruising grounds.
On Saturday there was a pleasant 8 to 10 knot southwest breeze that eventually shifted to the west ahead of a cold front that produced a LOT more wind around 12 knots for the last of four races. The current and winds were shifting all day which provided for some not-so consistent finishes. The Race Committee lead by Mark Toso did a wonderful job of keeping up with changing conditions and ran four great races.In short, Saturday was a gear-buster, with many boats showing their keels at times as they struggled with the gusts up to 32 knots. After three great races the fleet was more than happy to return to land and recover over a lobster, Gritty's Beer and Double Cross Vodka.
After day one the two most consistent performances were by the tied regatta leaders STICKEY FINGERS from Lunenburg, Canada and DOGFISH from Newport, RI, both boats accumulated 18 points. These two boats were closely followed by AL, ESKIMO SISTERS and BUSHWHACKER who were all just a few points behind.
Sunday was just the opposite. Very little wind, just enough to tempt the Race Committee to send the fleet off. Later, after drifting and dreaming for what seemed like forever, the engines came on after one race to push boats back to Handy Boat for the closing ceremony.STICKY FINGERS, skippered by John Whynacht, kept their consistent performance, with a second and fourth place finishes, to win the regatta. AL moved up in the standing to second with a first and a third place finish, to place second overall. Third was Bob Kinsman on DOGFISH with a 5-4-8-1-5-7 scoreline for 30 pts. Fourth was Tim Corbett's ESKIMO SISTERS and fifth was Aidan Glackin's MENTAL FLOSS.
The 2013 Downeast Regatta was a US J/24 World's qualifier regatta and the spot went to the first not-already qualified boat which was Eskimo Sisters, skippered by Tim Corbett from Newport, RI.
The Fleet Award presented to the top three boats from a J/24 Fleet was presented to Fleet 50 Newport and DOGFISH who place 3rd overall, ESKIMO SISTERS who placed 4th overall and ON THE BEACH who placed 6th overall.
Thank you to all our sponsors, volunteers and participants that made this year's Downeast Regatta a very special event. Congratulations as well to the team of over 50 volunteers, led by Molly White and Jess Harris, who managed all the shoreside planning and organizing. Sailing photo credits- Ann Blanchard For more J/24 Downeast Regatta sailing information
J/125 TIMESHAVER Wins Charity Regatta(Dana Point, CA)- As an annual event in the harbor, the Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta’s mission is to bring together the business, civic and social leaders of the community with its boating members in order to raise money to benefit the community in South Orange County. The prestigious event delivered on its promise once again-- to be the sailing, powerboat and social event of the year. Since its inception, the Dana Charity Regatta has raised over $600,000 dollars for local charities through corporate donations, sponsorships and individual contributions. This year's beneficiary was be The Ocean Institute.
The regatta had a great mix of PHRF boats as well as J/24 and J/80 one-design classes racing for the "Audi Cup". The J/24 class was won by JADED, skippered by Deke Klatt. The first prize in the Audi Cup was a new Ullman spinnaker, not a bad reward for two good days on the water! Second place was Chris Snow sailing BOGUS followed by TAKE FIVE sailed by Susan Taylor & Werner Horn. The J/80 class was won by local Steve Wyman in his new HUNU, followed closely by Curt Johnson On AVET and Bob Hayward sailing BLUE JAY.
In the PHRF classes, Viggo Torbensen's J/125 TIMESHAVER and Tom & Teri Manok's J/120 POLE DANCER offered three-peat Transpac winner, the Santa Cruz 50 HORIZON some serious competition. In Saturday's three windward/leeward courses, TIMESHAVER sailed an almost perfect 1-1-2 in 6-9 knots of breeze. At the conclusion of Sunday's random leg race it was time to send the perpetual trophy back to the engraver to have TIMESHAVER added to the list of accomplished sailing teams in this prestigious regatta. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JOYSAILING.com For more Richard Henry Dana Charity Regatta sailing information
Menzner Smokes 103rd FordeWoche(Glucksburg, Germany)- They said it cannot happen. But, it did happen. A huge fleet of J/80s sailing in FordWoche regatta in Glucksburg? German J/80 sailing teams across the country answered the call to get together and have some fun at the famous Flensburger Segel-Club in Glucksburg, Germany. Twenty-three J/80 teams participated from Germany and Denmark! And what fun they had.
Martin Menzner may have had the most fun of all, despite a hiccup in one race. Menzner's GER 614 was crowned champion, winning easily with four firsts in their scoreline, not having to even sail the last race! Starting slowly, but rapidly learning the ropes on the race course was Soren Hadeler, scoring a 3-7-1-2-3-5-1-2 for 17 net pts to take the silver. Standing third on the podium was Sven Vagt, sailing a solid, consistent series with a 2-3-3-4-2-4-3-1 for 18 pts net, just missing a shot at the silver! Fourth was Bjorn Beilken and fifth was Hauke Kruss. Honors for top Danish team goes to Fleming Jernaess in eighth.
For more J/80 Flensburger Fordewoche sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/22 Alster Cup Report from Hamburg, Germany. As reported by Ingo Huter on her J/22 GER 1364- "On Saturday at 8:00 AM the day started with an hour of driving to Hamburg with our J/22 being towed behind us. After we arrived, we managed to rig and launch the boat in time to still enjoy being served breakfast at the Hamburg Segel-Club! Thank goodness, we now had enough coffee and energy to go sailing all day. It was great to see eleven boats attending, with ten from the local sailing clubs.
The weather for the regatta was very changeable, from sun to rain to clouds to no wind, then it all changes again! Sailing on Alster Lake is a special experience. The wind is gusty and unpredictable for me. On the water much was going on. Junior Folkboats were sailing and we had migratory birds flying all around us, including our car! Also, sailing near to us was the Deutsche Segel Bundesliga match race regatta where some of our friends from other sailing club were sailing J/70s.
We had many exciting, close races where the fleet would all finish in less than a minute! At the end of three races we were satisfied with third place. After sailing we enjoyed the buffet and the beautiful view of the lake.
On Sunday, winds were actually forecast to be up to 22 kts! Once again we good 3-5 m/sec winds and we managed to have two beautiful races. Overall, we finished in third place. Congratulations to the first two boats, which had much more consistent performances! Despite the narrowness of the HSC site on land, we could all haul our boats on the club's crane and park nearby.
The effort we made paid off again and we had a strenuous workout indeed! But, it was also a nice way to spend a weekend sailing with friends. We hope to see you all at the next J/22 regatta soon!"
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
The weather for the regatta was very changeable, from sun to rain to clouds to no wind, then it all changes again! Sailing on Alster Lake is a special experience. The wind is gusty and unpredictable for me. On the water much was going on. Junior Folkboats were sailing and we had migratory birds flying all around us, including our car! Also, sailing near to us was the Deutsche Segel Bundesliga match race regatta where some of our friends from other sailing club were sailing J/70s.We had many exciting, close races where the fleet would all finish in less than a minute! At the end of three races we were satisfied with third place. After sailing we enjoyed the buffet and the beautiful view of the lake.
On Sunday, winds were actually forecast to be up to 22 kts! Once again we good 3-5 m/sec winds and we managed to have two beautiful races. Overall, we finished in third place. Congratulations to the first two boats, which had much more consistent performances! Despite the narrowness of the HSC site on land, we could all haul our boats on the club's crane and park nearby.
The effort we made paid off again and we had a strenuous workout indeed! But, it was also a nice way to spend a weekend sailing with friends. We hope to see you all at the next J/22 regatta soon!"
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. 
Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
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/
* 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).- 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). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- 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.
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