Newport J/70 Demo & Fleet Program(Newport, RI)- Following early spring sea-trials in Newport, we will maintain two demo boats here in Rhode Island through mid-summer. As a result, J/Sailors can arrange factory tours with J/Dealers at our building facility at CCF Composites in Bristol, Rhode Island and also go for demo sails off Newport in beautiful Narragansett Bay.
J/70 fleet development is growing rapidly with the two largest fleets so far being Annapolis/ Chesapeake Bay and Seattle/ Puget Sound with dozens of enthusiastic new J/70 sailors! Fleets can be shipped in "four-packs" anywhere in America with fleet pricing of boat, trailer and sails under $45,000. Hull commitment slots have filled up remarkably fast, talk to your J/Dealer soon to get in line, we'll be past the century mark on J/70 orders in no time flat! For more J/70 sailboat information
London Boatshow- J/80, J/109 & J/111!
(London, England)- Opening up this weekend for a week-plus is the Tullett-Prebon International Boat Show in London at the ExCel Exhibition Centre. From January 5th to 13th, you can take a stroll down the "Boardwalk" in the South Hall and view the J/80 (M009), the J/109 (M008) and the J/111 (M011). Paul and Marie-Claude Heys and Becci Eplett, amongst others, will be glad to help you learn more about these three boats as well as the upcoming J/70 in Europe! For more London Sailboat Show information.
The Perfect Gift for People Who Love Sailing!(Newport, RI)- For 2012 we've created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world. Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places. Enjoy the color and excitement of J sailing with these gorgeous photos. The J/Sailing Calendar features photos of a J/44 powering upwind off Key West, a flying J/24 on the Chesapeake, J/125s dueling on San Francisco Bay, surrealistic scenes of J/80s off the Cantabrian and Brittany Coasts, a J/120 and J/95 playing in the azure waters of the Caribbean and J/105s parading past Alcatraz in a pastel of colors. A great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew! See the 2012 J/Calendar and order now.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Taking a moment to reflect back on 2011, it's pretty clear most J sailors had a remarkably fun time sailing their boats on the Seven Seas of the World. No matter where you went, you could see that joy and big smiles on their faces, whether it was day-sailing, going for an evening cruise, weekending with buddies out in the islands, racing offshore watching a gorgeous (you choose- sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset) or simply messing about with their boats getting ready for yet another adventure around the buoys or a cruise around the bay.There were some extraordinary moments amongst the thousands of experiences J sailors had in all types of weather, wind and sea conditions. They saw it all, that's for sure. Notable highlights included the J/97 crushing its competition at SPI OUEST, Cowes Week and the Hamble Winter Series; the J/122 winning New York YC Annual Regatta, Block Island Race and Rolex Middle Sea Race; the J/111 winning both Chicago-Mac and Port Huron-Mac Races, the Round Island Race, Key West Race Week and Cowes Week (amongst many victories worldwide); fleets of J/120s, J/109s winning their classes offshore; and another strong year of one-design sailing for all the big J/One-Design classes, in particular, the J/22s, J/24s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s and J/44s.
Recent awards have been given to the J/111 in France (VOILES Magazine) and England (YACHTS & YACHTING) for their Boat's of the Year and Yacht's of the Year, respectively! Piling on the silverware were the J/80, J/97, J/111 and J/122 in the recent Garmin Hamble Winter Series. The same held true for a dozen J's in the Pacific Northwest taking a third of the Top 25 sailboats in Seattle/Puget Sound area, by a mile the biggest haul of silver by any sailboat brand! Finally, the J/105s continue to spark good competition with fleets springing up in some far-flung places like Chile in South America; added a "new" site for the J/105 Midwinters down in Houston; and race in fun, easy-going packs sailing offshore in Seattle's Puget Sound and Chicago's Lake Michigan!
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:
Jan 5-13- London Boatshow (J/80, J/109, J/111)- London, England- http://www.londonboatshow.comJan 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 27- Feb 5- Seattle Sailboat Show- Seattle, WA- http://www.seattleboatshow.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/
Mar 9-11- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Houston, TX- http://www.j105mw.com
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
VOILES Magazine "Boat of the Year"- J/111(Paris, France)- Surprised? It was a banner year for the J/111 and the press accolades keep pouring in. Over in Europe, some of the world's most experienced sailing editors and reviewers have had opportunities to compare and contrast the J/111 against two dozen-plus models from leading sailboat builders in Europe. What they discovered is what most American and British sailing experts in the media saw as one of the most exciting next-generation offshore sailboats in decades. After the dozen or so French sailing experts spent over a week evaluating various boats, the J/111 came out on top as the VOILES Magazine Boat of the Year 2012! A PDF file (36 MB) can be found here to read-- in French.
Y&Y Reader's Choice Awards- "Yacht of the Year"- J/111(London, England)- Shocked? While the French sailboat reviewers were having fun evaluating the J/111, the sailors across "La Manche" in England had first-hand experience either sailing aboard or racing against the J/111 all season long on the Solent and in the Fastnet Race. Many of them were Yachts & Yachting Magazine readers.
The UK had a sun-filled season. One which lifted the spirits, and one which further boosted that feeling of "goodness" by a number of special events that had the sailing scene buzzing. The America’s Cup launched its World Series and came to Plymouth and Cowes Week got a new sponsor. The result, with Aberdeen Asset Management’s branding, was the liveliest Cowes for years – especially with the J/111s criss-crossing the Solent in wild, planing rides buzzing past everyone and keeping pace with TP52s on some legs- hitting steady 16 knots with bursts to 22 knots! Plus, the 111's had a great time in the Around Island Race, that 65nm classic around the Isle of Wight, winning their class. If that weren't' enough proof the 111 could sail well in a wide variety of conditions, it finished 2nd in IRC Class 1 in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series (more below) and even got a 3rd in IRC Doublehanded in the Rolex Fastnet Race despite being parked for hours within a stone's throw of the finish line (and watching a sure overall win evaporate as time passed by).
As a result of all that activity, the Yachts & Yachting readers selected the J/111 as "Yacht of the Year" in the UK! As described in Y&Y, "it's no wonder the J/111 won, imagine a J/109 on steroids – a one-design that’s nearly 20 per cent lighter, with a longer waterline and bigger sail area! It's fast and it shows, the trophy shelves are already stuffed with all the Queen's Garrard silverware!" Sailing photo credits: Paul Wyeth @ PWPictures.com Find out more about the J/111 story in England in the latest February 2011 issue of Yachts and Yachting. For more J/111 sailboat information.
J-Team's Haul the Silver in Winter SeriesJ/97 "YACHT OF THE SERIES" & J/80 "SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES"!
(The Solent, Hamble, England)- The GHWS is one of the most hotly fought regatta series in the UK with an entry list that puts it right at the forefront of competitive sailing. There are of course many reasons for this. For starters, it’s an extremely well managed event, run by an experienced and intuitive race management team. The courses are varied and challenging, and the racing is tight and competitive. It also enjoys strong sponsor and volunteer support. All in all it’s a fabulous series in which to compete at any level, but to win it… well that’s really something!
The series prize-giving for the Garmin Hamble Winter Series took place on the 10th of December at Hamble River Sailing Club and the Class winners and podium finishers were all in attendance as one would expect, to collect their prizes. Racing took place across eight classes in the main IRC series including a J/109 one-design class and then there were four additional classes for the J/109s, the J/80s and other sportsboats on the two ‘Autumn Championship’ weekends. As usual, the J/Boat entry list for the series was both strong and successful.
In the main IRC series, raced over eight Sundays, David Ballantine’s J/133 JINGS achieved a creditable third place overall; a great result to round off his first full year in the boat. Chaz Ivill took the helm of the J/111 JENGA VI and finished second in IRC 1. Ivan Trotman and his J/122 JOULOU were placed fourth in the same class. Fourteen J/109s raced as a one-design class on a level rating basis and Richard and Valerie Griffiths veritably romped into the top slot with OUTRAJEOUS clocking up just ten points to count across the ten races sailed. David and Mary McGough’s JUST SO slammed in a second place in the J/109s and Paul Griffiths was third with JAGERBOMB. J/97s and J/92s raced in IRC 3 and Mike and Jamie Holmes J/97 JIKA-JIKA won the class convincingly, accruing just eight points to count at the end of the series-- some might call that "a schooling" on how to race the Solent!
The Autumn Championship was a nail-biter for the J/80 Class. Sailed over two weekends in October, Rob Larke’s J2X was leading the fleet by a single point after the first weekend, but let things slip on the second weekend. At the end of the fourteen race series, Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul’s J.A.T emerged victorious. J2X settled for second, just three points behind and Thor Askeland took third in ELLE S'APPELLE. The J/109s also raced at the Autumn Championship and once again it was OUTRAJEOUS which emerged victorious. Steven Tapper’s STALKER finished in second place and Jody Windmiller’s J2EAU took third.
So it was a bunch of very happy J Boat owners at the prize-giving. However, after the series silverware was presented, there were still the two main prizes to be awarded: YACHT OF THE SERIES and SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES. Race Director Jamie Wilkinson explained that these prizes are awarded at the discretion of the race management team to the two boats which in their opinion put in the most impressive performance across all classes. He made the point that the standard of competition at the Garmin Hamble Winter Series is always top-flight and he also reminded the assembled crowd that the sheer number of entries each year means that any single race win is an achievement of which one should be extremely pleased: to actually win YACHT OF THE SERIES is a major accolade. Mike and Jamie Holmes scoreline in the J/97 JIKA-JIKA included eight bullets! IRC 3 was considered one of the most competitive classes in the series and Mike, Jamie and the crew of JIKA-JIKA were deserving (and extremely proud) winners of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series YACHT OF THE SERIES. Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul never once finished outside the top two in any of the fourteen races they sailed in their J/80 J.A.T. and the class was 22 boats strong! The Garmin Hamble Winter Series SPORTSBOAT OF THE SERIES was awarded to Phil, Kevin and the crew on J.A.T.: delighted and proud winners. For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
J's Dominate Pacific NW Offshore(Puget Sound, Seattle, WA)- J/Boats did it again in one of the most closely fought series in the Pacific Northwest. J's took five of the Top 11 and eight of the Top 25 in their year-long sailing series.
48 North Magazine awards the popular Top 25 Pacific NW Boats every year. Ten major events were tracked, including SSSS's South Sound Series, Corinthian YC's Center Sound Series, Seattle YC's Tri-Island Series, CYC's Puget Sound Sailing Regatta, West Vancouver YC's Southern Straits Classic, Royal Victoria YC's Swiftsure International Yacht Race, Whidbey Island Race Week, SYC's Start & Bar Regatta, Bellingham YC's PITCH Regatta and CYC's Puget Sound Sailing Championship. You had to sail at least four events to be counted. Performance of all boats sailing in one or more of the above ten events was tracked with a boat's best four event performances being used for calculating her final positions, e.g. a best four of ten.
The goal is to celebrate participation first and foremost and then consistent top-end sailing and performance. Each boat earned her spot on the 48 North Top 25 List based on her performance in the four regattas under an enormous variety of sailing conditions. Amongst the leader board in the Top 25 for
J/Owners were the following boats: 2. J/105 JUBILEE- Erik Kirsten
6. J/109 TANTIVY- Stu Brunell
9. J/33 KORVO- Tom Kerr
10. J/29 HERE & NOW- Pat Denney
11. J/29 SLICK- Pat Nelson & Bob Mayfield
14. J/105 ALLEGRO VIVACE- Lorenzo Migliorini
16. J/105 DELIRIUM- Jerry Diercks
25. J/105 LAST TANGO- Jim Geros
All winners can stop by the 48 North booth (West 11) during the Seattle Boat Show Jan 27th to Feb 5th at CenturyLink Exhibition Hall! Please visit http://www.seattleboatshow.com and head-on over to chat with Bob Ross and crew from Sail Northwest- or contact him at Ph- 206-286-1004 / email- bob@sailnorthwest.com. For more sailing information on the 48 North Magazine Top 25, go to page 64 here.
Chilean J/105 Clinic Runaway Success(Algarrobo, Chile) Andrew Kerr recently spent some time down in Chile enjoying the enormously gracious hospitality of the Chilean J/105 Fleet and providing them a sailing clinic on how to sail J/105s faster. Here's Andrew's report:
"The Growing J105 fleet in Chile recently hosted a 3 day seminar at Club de Yates Algarrobo in Algarrobo on Chile’s beautiful coastline. Algarrobo is a fantastic venue for sailing and to bring your family and friends and the Yacht club is a very friendly club that is excited about having active one-design sailing and a fleet like the J/105.
Daniel Gonzalez, the fleet Captain, and Juan Reid of J-Boats CHILE organized the clinic and I (Andrew Kerr) came in from the USA to coach the seminar. Local sailor Phillip Goyeneche helped with translating the technical terms of Sailing and did a fantastic job, Phillip has spent time in the USA and is also fluent in German, he is a remarkable person!
TEN J/105 teams attended the clinic, we spent 3 day’s sailing right in front of the yacht club in light, medium and heavier conditions which was perfect for teams as they developed there techniques and boat handling. We would meet in the morning in the classroom for a talk on topics such as starting techniques and tuning and then sail a very short course with lots of starts and mark rounding’s all of which were videotaped by Andrew for review back at the shore side debrief.What is fantastic about the J/105 is how it is great for family and friends to sail on – Daniel Gonzalez regularly sails with his 3 daughters, Vernon Robert who is a really good J/24 sailor sails with his father steering, he trims the mainsail and his sons trim and are on the foredeck. Many teams sail with family on board and the fleet emphasizes family and friends, good sailing and good camaraderie on and off the water.
The J/105 fleet is growing fast in Chile and with people like Daniel, Juan , Vernon and Phillip and many others the J/105 fleet will flourish, there are already 16 boats in the area with many sailors expressing interest in the boat and the fleet. A big "Thank You" to the fleet and Yacht club for all its hospitality, I am very much looking forward to going back to Chile and seeing my new friends! For more J/105 sailboat information
2012 J/105 Midwinters in Houston!(Houston, Texas)- Yes, you read it right. J/105 Fleet 17 has stepped up to announce they will host the 2012 J/105 Midwinters from March 9th to 11th at Lakewood Yacht Club in Houston, Texas, sailing on beautiful Galveston Bay.
Lakewood Yacht Club sits on 38 beautifully landscaped acres with four sheds and seven docks. There are over 200 open slips on fixed and floating piers ranging in size from 40 feet to 100 feet. The spacious clubhouse offers its members a beautiful view of Clear Lake and Galveston Bay.
The Bermuda-style clubhouse provides the 500 plus Lakewood members with quiet harbor-view dining facilities and excellent cuisine while the bar and piano lounge with three large plasma televisions invite members to relax by the fire or gather around the bar. The beautiful ballroom overlooking the inner harbor is the venue for many of the Lakewood social events as well as weddings, meetings and the popular Sunday Brunch. A Game Room provides supervised activities for members children. Lakewood Yacht Club has been recognized in the "Robb Report" (a high-end lifestyle magazine) as one of the Top 10 most prestigious yacht clubs in the United States. For more J/105 Midwinter Championship sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Southwest Airlines SPIRIT Magazine- November 2011. This holiday season (and in 2012), get off the couch and get out into the world. Rather than must-have toys and tech gear, SPIRIT Magazine handpicked 32 action-filled trips that take you from the snow-covered peaks of Park City, Utah, to the tale-tinged pubs of New York City, to the gorgeous water of San Francisco Bay. Ready, set, wish! Check it out! SPIRIT picked Orange Coast Sailing Club's J/80 to be on the cover seen here! Here's the blurb below inside the SPIRIT Magazine as the FIRST activity you should pick-- go sailing!!
SAILING- SCALE THE BAY!
Berkeley, California-based OCSC Sailing provides all manner of maritime education, but its Basic Keelboat class is ideal for windjammer wannabes without a clue. Master the sport over five days or two consecutive weekends. On Day One you’ll be at the helm of a 24-footer; by the next afternoon you’ll be commanding your crew to "Jibe ho"! The fog lifts from the San Francisco Bay in the winter months, making it an apt time to test the waters, which will host the 34th annual America’s Cup catamaran race in 2013. $995; go to http://www.ocsc.com See SPIRIT Mags article on Sailing Experience Gifts- cool stuff!
* Over the course of the holidays, the Volvo 70s managed to sail into the "Land of No Return", the "Twilight Zone", the "No Spin Zone", the "No Go Zone", the "Stealth Zone" and the "Party Zone". Whatever. The sailing part didn't work for a lot of teams. The party part perhaps soothed some severely bruised egos.
Nevertheless, it's pretty clear the hard-charging Spanish team on TELEFONICA led by Iker Martinez can probably credit their extensive small keelboat racing experiences on J/80s in Spain against World Champions as critical in keeping them on edge and on top of the Volvo Ocean Race World.Ken Read, the J/24 World Champion, has had his share of hard-luck, first the broken mast and Tristan da Cunha shipping episode, then having to deal with the Indian Ocean Doldrums and a slow boat going into Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. We wish our J/Team friends all well and good luck on the next leg to Sanya, China! For more Volvo Ocean Race 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
J/108 Ready To Cruise in Florida!J/Boats' modern new shoal performance cruiser/ racer, the J/108, had a great introduction at the Annapolis Boat Show and is now available for demo sails in Florida along it's fabled West Coast near Naples and San Marco Island.
To learn more about the J/108, J/Boats' latest high-performance 35 foot shoal-draft cruiser, please contact: Craig Crossley @ CrossCurrent Marine- cell 401-330-6135 or email- craig@crosscurrentmarine.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
