Chicago-Mackinac Race Preview
(Chicago, IL)- Sailors from around the world are congregating for the world's oldest annual, and most competitive, freshwater race that starts on July 24th off the spectacular Chicago waterfront. If you doubt the races' pre-eminence amongst experienced offshore sailors, then why's Royal Hong Kong YC's Karl Kwok and his Farr 80 BEAU GESTE and the Amway boy's (Devos'- aka owners of Quantum Sails) z86 WINDQUEST tipping the big boat scales to determine who beats yet another West Coast luminary's record, the late Roy Disney's 90 foot PYEWACKET record of 23+ hours for the race (with our buddy Stan Honey as guiding light, guru, navigator?). A race record that even eludes Larry Ellison's 85 foot maxi USA 17 SAYONARA (still parked in Muskegon, MI!). And, a race that even the venerable Ted Turner called "the toughest ocean race in the world" (Fastnet 1979 was easy by comparison in Ted's view)! Again, with all those world-renowned characters who drive the headlines (and were J sailors at some point in their lives), it's no wonder that 70 J's are racing amongst the fleet of 350+ entrants, a few will be sure to leave their mark on the race and take home some silverware! Coming back for a very rare "three-peat" is the J/122 SKYE, hoping to not only duplicate their Mac Double-handed Race win last year, but also extend their streak to a third win (having won class/fleet the previous year with a full crew). Richie Stearns and Bill Zeiler are well-prepared, have made a few improvements to the boat and sail-handling systems and hope they can be successful again this year. Another J/122, sailing in the ORC division will be David Askew's J/122 FLYING JENNY IV, fresh from having won IRC C Class in the Bayview Mackinac Race.
The J/105s, again, will be one of the largest one-design classes sailing the Mac Race with nineteen of them vying for class honors alongside class veteran Tom Petkus on VYTIS. With nearly a similar sized fleet are the J/109s with fourteen boats in what promises to be hot competition for not just one-design class, but overall Mac Race ORC honors, too. Thrown into the fray will be last year's overall Mac Race winners, George Miz, Peter Dreher, Mark Hatfield and crew sailing the J/109 VALOR. The J/120s will have a strong class led by class leader Frank Kern from Detroit on his J/120 CARINTHIA. Still sailing strong after 30 years are the J/35s, with a great turnout of seven boats sailing this year's Mac. Furthermore, four J/130s are racing along with three J/30s! Watch this space...all these sailors are wiley as coyotes and can win the whole enchilada!Other J's that will be competitive in their respective classes will the the J/124 SUFFICIENT REASON sailed by Mitch Padnos, the J/130 RENEGADE sailed by Thomas and Beth Ann Papoutsis, the J/125 JEANNINE III raced by Jack Roeser (can he repeat the success of his West Coast contemporaries?) and the two J/145s- Bill Schanen's MAIN STREET and Chris Saxton's VORTICES (which just finished the Bermuda Race!). Also, look for the J/44 SAGITTA to do well with veterans like past Bayview YC Commodore's Jon Somes and Larry Oswald applying their collective 75+ years worth of Mac wisdom and experience to the test. Finally, the two 30ish footers, the J/92 CYCLONE sailed by John Maddey and the newly introduced J/97 HIT GIRL sailed by Paul Stahlberg and Nikki Sullivan could be significant factors, and spoilers for overall honors, in the race if it's a "smallboat race". You can follow every boat as they will be tracked by GPS transponder. This technology enables friends, families, and armchair sailors to follow the race as it unfolds on the web.
J/Regatta News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Summer heat continues in both Europe and America, creating unusual breezes and weather conditions not often found on either side of the Atlantic. The Europeans finished their "new" "Costa del Sol CORK" Race Week along with the J/109 Europeans with some typical blustery Irish Sea conditions tossed into the mix. In the Americas, the hot racing, hot competition took place on all "three coasts"- Left Coast (Pacific), Right Coast (Newport) and the Other Coast (Lake Huron/ Great Lakes); respectively, the Pacific Cup finished, Rolex New York YC Race Week one-design edition for J/122 and J/109 North Americans and J/105 East Coasts, and the "lakes races" (Lake Ontario 300 and Bayview-Mackinac). Finally, don't forget to reference the J/Cruising Community section below. 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.Regatta & Show Schedules:
Jul 17-19- J/109 North Americans- Newport, RI- http://www.nyyc.orgJul 17-19- J/122 North Americans- Newport, RI- http://www.nyyc.org
Jul 17-25- Rolex NYYC Race Week- Newport, RI- http://www.nyyc.org
Jul 22-25- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- Chicago, IL- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jul 24- Chicago-Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL- http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org
Jul 29-Aug 2-Sydney Boat Show- Sydney, Australia- http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au
Aug 1-7- Cowes Week- Isle of Wight, England- http://www.cowesweek.co.uk
Aug 6-8- J/30 North Americans- Boston, MA- http://j30.us/na2010/
Aug 6-8- J/80 USA Tour/ Buzzards Bay- Marion, MA- http://www.j80.org
Aug 13-20- J/24 Worlds- Malmo, Sweden- http://www.j24class.org
Aug 17-22- J/22 North Americans- Buffalo, NY- http://www.j22.com
Aug 20-22- Verve Cup- Chicago, IL- http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org
Sep 9-12- J/80 North Americans- Marion, MA- http://www.j80.org
Sep 11-12- Larchmont NOOD Regatta- Larchmont, NY- http://www.sailingworld.com
Sep 11-12- J/109 East Coast Championships- Larchmont, NY- http://www.sailingworld.com
Sep 14-19- J/24 UK Nationals- Cornwall, England- http://www.royalcornwallyachtclub.org
Sep 15-18- J/105 North Americans- Chicago, IL- http://www.j105.org
Sep 16-19- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA- http://www.big-boat-series.com/
Sep 18-19- J/Fest Newport Beach- Newport Beach, CA- http://www.balboayachtclub.com
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar
Rolex NYYC Race Week
WINGS Hat Trick Leads to Win
(Newport, RI)- The forecast was promising for the first half of this year's Rolex NYYC Race Week. Sunny days, southwest winds, nearly postcard perfect conditions for the fleet of 100+ boats sailing in a variety of classes, punctuated by the J/122s and J/109s sailing their North American Championships and the J/105s sailing their East Coast Championship.For the first day of racing, it was a busy day on Narragansett Bay when hundreds of athletes swam across it in the early morning, then 1,200 more plied its waters from mid-morning to afternoon. While the annual early-morning 'Save the Bay' swim finished, 100+ boats left their berths in Newport Harbor to converge on three race circles: two 'outside' on Rhode Island Sound and one 'up the Bay,' or north of the iconic Pell Newport Bridge, which serves as gateway to historic Newport and frames the sweeping view of the city from Harbour Court, where host New York Yacht Club has its on-water clubhouse. "It was everything you could hope for in a day of sailing," said NYYC Race Committee Chair John "Tinker" Miles, noting sunshine and warm temperatures cooled by manageable 12-15 knot breezes from the Southwest.
For leaders in seven of the 12 classes, when it was good it was very good. The conditions enabled them to post nothing but first-place finishes in multiple races. What was the common denominator for many of them? The experience of sailing in highly competitive J one-design classes to hone their competitive edge. Mike Bruno/ Tom Boyle’s (Rye, NY) WINGS was three-for-three in the tight J/122 fleet, but it was only because it had the "slightest edge" on speed over David Murphy’s (Westport, CT) PUGWASH, which finished right behind in every race. "We’d come off the starting line and two miles later we were only two boat lengths ahead," said Mark Ploch (City Island, NY) whose job it is to concentrate on boat speed. "With the boats all stacked together, I’d say it was a combination of things that kept us ahead, great teamwork, Stu Johnstone's (Newport, RI) remarkable tactical calls and Mike's and Tom’s ability to concentrate on the long beats." Regatta favorite Andrew Weiss sailed a solid three races but could not crack the top 2, getting a 3-4-3 to take third position after the first day. A former J/105 champion, Phil Lotz (Newport, RI) sailing ARETHUSA posted three bullets in as many races in the 15-boat NYYC Swan 42 class, further attributing his stellar performance to "essentially good starts and speed, and conservative plays, which were more or less up the middle of the course." Another J/80 and J/105 champion, Glenn Darden (Houston, TX) was second in the same class sailing HOSS. In fact, Glenn was fresh off a win the previous weekend in the SailNewport Regatta sailing his J/80 EL TIGRE against an impressive fleet of former J/80 North American and World Champions.
Other leaders with perfect scores over the three races on Saturday included Bob Armstrong (St. Croix) on the J/100 GOOD GIRL in the PHRF 1 class. Bob had this to say about his two J/100s, "Good Girls get to live in Newport, Bad Girls get to live in the Caribbean". And a "good girl" she was, simply eviscerating their PHRF 1 contemporaries with a 1-1-1 record.
The other common theme on the first day of sailing was "defending champions"- most of them emerged to maintain leadership in their respective J/105 and J/109 classes. Defending Race Week champion Damian Emery (Shoreham, Ny) won two of three races on ECLIPSE in the J/105 class, sailing for its East Coast championship and the largest at the event with 20 boats. Chasing Damian hard on the first day was class veteran Joerg Esdorn (Katanah, NY) sailing to a 6-2-1 record and just behind was another class champion/ veteran Brian Keane (Marblehead, MA) sailing SAVASANA to a 3-3-5 tally to be just two point back. The J/109s, which were fighting for their North American title, were led Saturday by defending Race Week champion Ted Herlihy (South Darmouth, MA) after he posted a 2-1-1 with GUT FEELING. Just behind them was David Filippelli's (Amagansett, NY) CAMINOS with a 3-2-2 score and in third was GOSSIP, sailed by Steve Kenny & Greg Ames (Wainscott, NY) with a 1-3-4 record.
On Sunday, Newport served up three more races in dazzling conditions that were similar to Saturday's sailing. By the conclusion of Sunday's racing, it was clear that competitors were aware of the early leaders and ensured that none of them could repeat their performances of the previous day...in other words, no one had perfect records the second day. Perhaps the only near exception was the Boyle/Bruno team on the J/122 WINGS, which nearly pulled off a "hat-trick" again with a 2-1-1 score Sunday. As it turns out the six races sailed on Saturday and Sunday were the final results for the event. Monday dawned with a terrible forecast, light southerlies with a front pushing in from the west that could swing the wind WNW and throw in a few hailstorms, thunderstorms and heavy showers for good measure. The NOAA forecast was not wrong. Both courses canceled all races Monday as the front pushed in with winds gusting over thirty knots with lightning bolts spraying all over the race course and curtains of rain hiding the entire fleet from one another, hiding some of the typical damage like torn sails, huge broaches with bruised egos, busted vangs and the sort.
In the end, the Boyle/Bruno team on WINGS won the J/122 North American Championship with a remarkable record of five firsts and a second. In behind them was a vastly improved team on PUGWASH, led by skipper/owner David Murphy and a crackerjack team of sailors giving the WINGS team a serious run for the money (including an 8 tack tacking-duel in one race) to count five seconds and a first. Third was the always well-sailed CHRISTOPHER DRAGON led by Andrew Weiss, proving yet again a well-honed family team can be very competitive, sailing into third with five thirds and a fourth.
The J/109s saw a repeat winner for their J/109 North Americans. Ted Herlihy's GUT FEELING is overall champion with three firsts, two seconds and a fourth. Second was Dave Filippelli's CAMINOS with three seconds and three thirds. Third was Steve Kenny and Greg Ames' GOSSIP with a 1-3-4-2-3 score. As it is in many one-design events, consistency, speed and the ability to recover paid off big in the J/109 class. At times, any one of the top three boats looked like it was "toast", but a bit of serendipity, perseverance and the right shift/ tactical move paid off big to keep them in the hunt.A previous winner of the J/105 East Coast Championship, Damian Emery's ECLIPSE, seemingly found another gear after their lackluster performance the week before at the SailNewport regatta. ECLIPSE won by 14 points with a 1-1-4-1-3-1 record. Never far off the pace was another J/105 class champion, Joerg Esdorn's KINCSEM, with a 6-2-1-4-5-7 score. Rounding out the stellar cast of characters (champions, too) on the podium was another J/105 North American champ, Brian Keane's SAVASANA with a 3-3-5-12-1-5 tally. The J/105 Class is wishing Brian's J/80 SAVASANA team "good luck" in the upcoming J/80 North Americans and Worlds this fall.
Bob Armstrong and the "good guys and good girls" team sailed their fire-engine red J/100 GOOD GIRL to a PHRF 1 dominating performance, racking up an enviable 1-1-1-2-2-1 record for 8 points to dominate some well-known local boats like SETTLER and ACT ONE. Bob- whatever happened in those two second places?
Finally, it's worth mentioning that J class one-design champions who've cut their teeth racing J/24s, J/80s, J/105s and so forth swept the NYYC Swan 42 class- with Phil Lotz's ARETHUSA winning, followed by Glenn Darden's HOSS and John Hele's DARING. In other words, you can never go wrong starting with strong J one-design classes to learn what it takes to win in larger one-design keelboats (some are still learning- Larry and Ernesto sound familiar?)! For more Rolex NYYC Race Week sailing information
BLUEJAY Wins J/109 Europeans
Costa del Sol Cork A Donnybrook
(Cork, Ireland)- Magically, the "almost Mediterranean" weather combined with some classic Irish wind/weather thrown into the mix to make this years CORK Week another memorable one. All classes had great racing and on the last day of racing you could feel the tension on the dock, with virtually all the classes still to be decided, as the yachts motored out to the demilitarized combat zone along the narrow confines of Cork River. The conditions had eased from the previous day's maelstrom, but this was a day where smart sailing put boats in winning positions. Watery sunshine, 15 knots from the northwest were to provide some tricky conditions for all classes. Cork Harbour and the surrounding area have huge land effects on the wind and, especially on the last day, the gradient made for constant changes which drove tacticians crazy.For the J/109 European Championships it was hard to hold back the well-oiled machine on BLUEJAY. As Greg Burgess's J/109 BLUEJAY took the gun on the first race of last day, the crew punched the air with delight, knowing they'd taken first overall. Brian Moreton's JUKE BOX was second overall and Ian Nagle and Paul O'Malley's JELLY BABY, snatched third place on the last day from Robert O'Leary's JEROBOAM. If you recall, of the eighteen J/109s (ten from England and eight from Ireland) competing it was JEROBOAM blasting out of the starting gate in the first race to throw down the gauntlet and win the race by over two minutes! Sadly, on day three with big breeze, waves and blustery conditions, title contender JEROBOAM was flying downwind when the pole failed to take the strain and buckled under load, forcing them to retire. As a result, the failure pushed them down to fourth overall with two high scores in races 6 and 7 that hurt their chances to score a podium finish.
IRC Class Zero had exceptionally close racing and Neil Martin's J/133 JAMMY DODGER managed to crack the top ten to get seventh overall. Their slow start in the first four races hampered their chances for a top three finish. Of note, the Sisk Trophy for best Corinthian Yacht went to Neil Martin's J/133 JAMMY DODGER (e.g. a "No-Pro First")!!
IRC Class One had very tight racing for the top three spots. However, Sheila and James Tyrerell's J/122 AQUELINA had difficulty finding second gear to stay in the hunt and avoid some tight spots. Nevertheless, many felt they won the party and class overall!
IRC Class Three started as a donnybrook between two J/35s and an X332 in the first four races. After the smoke cleared, and a few hundred pints later, it was John Moorehead and Chris Ferres' J/35 BENGAL MAGIC that simply "ran the table" and notched five firsts and a second to dominate their class! Congratulations to the BENGAL MAGIC team for such a stunning performance. Sadly, the other J/35, MUMBO sailed by Dermot Cronin, sailed incredibly well until the last two races, taking to DNS's after some equipment trouble in the 5th race...otherwise they looked to be second overall for the series!
IRC Class Six had the J/24s sailing and Flor O'Driscoll's J/24 HARD ON PORT finished in second with straight second places! Full results CORK Race Week Sailing Results. Photo credits: Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com
J/122 & J/35 Smoke Bayview Mac
J's Prevail In Stormy Race To Mackinac Island
(Port Huron, MI)- A total of 206 sailboats in 22 classes raced in the 2010 Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race that started under blue skies and a light 12 knot breeze and ended with a rainstorm and 20-knot gusts on Saturday in Lake Huron. A storm swept in with rain and 20-knot winds for the last two starts of the largest boats around 1:40 p.m. and managed to hit most of the fleet. The Mackinac racing boats, ranging in size from 28 to 86-feet in length with approximately 2,500 sailors, set sail on two separate courses from Port Huron to Mackinac Island.
Amongst the bigger J's sailing the race were a J/145, a J/122 and a J/44. In IRC B class, Chris Saxton's J/145 VORTICES, fresh from sailing the Bermuda Race (3rd in class), managed to get a fifth in class in this freshwater classic. In IRC C class were David Askew's J/122 FLYING JENNY IV (from Chesapeake Bay) and Commodores Larry Oswald and Jon Somes sailing the J/44 SAGITTA (these guys have won their division five times in the Mac!). After a fast start, both boats sailed solid races to get 1st and 5th in IRC C class, respectively.The J/120s sailed as a class and David Hudak's CAPERS won, with Bill Bresser's FLYIN IRISH second and Bob Kirman's HOT TICKET in third. For most of the race, the J/120s were always racing within sight of one another as if strung out on a string together!
Sailing an impressive race were two very experienced "Mac Racers", the J/35s FALCON and MR. BILL'S WILD RIDE. In fact, the J/35s nearly eclipsed the entire IRC fleet in overall handicap honors, attaining 6th, 7th and 9th overall! In their J/35-T35 Class, Bayers and Barne's FALCON was first, but only by beating Bill Wildner's MR BILL'S WILD RIDE by just seven minutes! FALCON is owned by Ed (42 Macs) and John
Bayer (36 Macs) and brother-in-law Jim Barnes. All 4 Bayer children are involved. Mary Allen, the main trimmer, is Ed and John's sister and their other sister, Linda Barnes, is the wife of Jim Barnes, a co-owner and active participant. They dedicate this and all future races to their father Edwin A. Bayer Jr. who passed away three years ago at the age of 85. Ed was a proud "Old Goat" who taught his entire family to race and has been an inspiration to all! Interestingly, both FALCON and MBWR have won five J/35 North American Championships combined! No wonder they know how to get to Mackinac Island fast.....with a few old goats to lead the way. :)Rounding out other J's sailing the race were the father-son team of Dick and Dan Synowiec sailing their J/33 SHENANIGAN, getting a 3rd in IRC E class. Gary Gonzalez's J/42 DOS MAS got a 3rd in Cruising A. Dean Balcirak and Tom Burleson's venerable light-air flyer, the J/34 IOR SEA FEVER was second in the large PHRF A class-- this was Dean's 47th Mackinac and Tom's 34th. It is sailed by a crew of family and close friends.
Finally, David and Lyndon Lattie sailed Doublehanded Division and got 3rd overall in their J/29 PATRIOT. For more Bayview Mackinac Race information.
Stormy Lake Ontario 300 Race
(Port Credit, Ontario)- Does this sound like a familiar refrain this past weekend, ranging from the Great Lakes to the Northeast Coast of America? Doohhh, let's get the crap kicked out of us after the start...and then continue sailing? Only hours after the start on Saturday, July 17th of the Lake Ontario 300 from Port Credit, ONT, the skies darkened and a squall hit the 198 entrants, sending them scattering to the winds. Reported gusts of over 40 knots were accompanied by heavy rain and hail, leading to a very challenging 6 to 8 hours of very unstable weather, followed by total absence of breeze along the south shore half-way through the race. Fifty-three boats are recorded as having dropped out of the race.Competitors from over fifty different yacht clubs representing the northern and southern shores of the lake from Hamilton to Quebec in Canada and Ohio to Rochester in the United States sailed this year's challenging race. The Lake Ontario 300 yacht race course is a circumnavigation of the lake that starts at Port Credit Yacht Club, heads east and rounds Main Duck Island, then heads south to Oswego NY where it turns east along the south shore to the Niagara River mark before heading to the finish line at Port Credit Yacht Club. The race is a test of preparation, teamwork, navigation and perseverance-- all of it was pushed to the extreme this year.
Despite the challenging conditions, the large contingent of J's sailing were well-represented on the leader-boards in a wide variety of classes:In the IRC 2 Divisions, Bob Eckersley's J/109 BLUE STREAK was third overall, just edging out by eleven minutes corrected time over Sheila Smith's J/109 PHOENIX that finished in 4th.
The PHRF classes were substantial in size. Leading the fleet home in PHRF 1 were two J/35s! Repeat offenders? Leszek Sieks' J/35 JAEGER was first followed by Mike Pietz's J/35 SHORTHANDED in second-- a clean sweep! In PHRF 2, Paul Martini's J/105 ENDEAVOUR was 2nd and John Trumpener's J/105 THE USUAL SUSPECTS was fourth. For more Lake Ontario 300 Sailing info.
J's Enjoy Pacific Cup
J/30 FRICTION LOSS 2nd!
(San Francisco-Oahu- July 5th)- From the very first day of sailing, it was clear that Shawn Ivie's J/30 FRICTION LOSS was going to be a contender in their class blowing across the Pacific Ocean at breakneck speed to prove the venerable J/30 does indeed have the ability to surf all day long across enormous Pacific swells and be a contender. In the end, trading off an early lead ultimately led to a well-deserved second in class. The real surprise, perhaps, was the performance of Jim Brainerd's J/35c BRAINWAVES, getting a very hard-earned fourth in class! One has to remember, while the SC50s/52s swept the top spots, perhaps as well they should since they were purpose-built to be offshore sleds. The J/30 and J/35c were never designed to spend 100% of the time sliding downhill, instead proving yet again that a solid, all-round boat that can go uphill as well as downhill can still remain competitive after years of offshore sailing.In the J/42 "legend that continues to grow" category, Scott Dickinson's J/42 TIKI J also managed a 4th in his class, not bad for a non-TransPac lead-sled! Meanwhile, having a tough go "sledding" against the reaching/ running machines were Sean Mulvihill's J/120 JAMANI (7th in class), Scott Campbell's J/46 RIVA ( 4th in class!) and John Macphail's J/160 JAM (6th in class)...all respectable finishes for true racer-cruisers. For more Pacific Cup sailing and tracking info.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Daniel Montaro has been having a fun time this summer sailing his J/34c BODACIOUS in the Eastern Long Island Sound and Fisher's Island Sound areas. A recent note from him said, "Hey, just wanted to let you guys know that BODACIOUS is still racing and after a few tough regattas just had a great weekend at the 64th annual Red Grant Regatta. We shook off those 3rds and 4ths we've been getting and moved up a spot. In extremely light air we were able to finish 2nd overall in our division. Beating out a Beneteau 36.7 and and C&C 120. Are toughest competition was from another J-Boat called FORBIDDEN, a J/29 who beat us out of 1st place by under a minute in one of the races. They were able to finish 1st in our division and best overall in the whole regatta with three bullets. Best, Dan". Thanks for the note Dan. Note to the rest of you, please send in any fun information about your sailing experiences. Great to read them and appreciate how much fun you have sailing your J's.J/Cruising Community
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/* Prolific publisher, 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." Fun reading when rocking back in a chair watching your storm-lashed windows take a beating in the gale roaring outside and listening to the crackle of a roaring fire. It is winter "down under" you know. The Argentineans are freezing.
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary will have just finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam. 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). Susan Grun and her husband 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).
Featured Boat
Gorgeous J/109 In Houston
One of the best examples of a J/109 sits in Houston, TX ready to roll for the summer season and Key West in 2010. She's a 2006 J/109 Hull #261. Every factory option along with heat and A/C are installed. She's priced well below J//109's comparably equipped. It has an excellent sail inventory of Quantum sails: Spinnakers(5)- 06 07 08 108sqm class; 06 08 121sqm PHRF; Headsails(5)-06 07 08 class jibs, 06 08 PHRF (155); Mains(2)- 06 08-- All sails are kept in climate controlled storage. For more information, please contact Scott Spurlin at J/Boats Southwest- cell +1-512-423-2179 or e-mail- Scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com or go to http://www.JBoatsSouthwest.comAbout 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 sailing J/Boats.
