September Boat Show Time!
(Newport, RI)- The middle of September is the unofficial start of the fall/ winter boat show season. A great time to review the latest models from the J/Design team and catch up on the latest in one-design and offshore news from the many popular J/Classes.
Newport International Boat Show- featuring the NEW J/121!
The new J/121 Offshore Speedster will be making its worldwide debut at the Newport show, take the time to meet the designer and the build team. The 1-2-1 has exceeded the expectations of those who’ve sailed her to date- the spacious ergonomic cockpit, the visibility from the wide spacing of the twin-wheels, and the extraordinary acceleration in puffs are some of the oft-repeated comments. Plus, most importantly, its “short-handed” features for cruising couples or one-design racing crews of five people are getting high praise from all that have played with the roller-furling headsails (Code 0, J1, & J4) and the snuffer design on the A2 asymmetric spinnaker. Learn more about the J/121 here. For more Newport International Boat Show information
Southampton Boat Show- J/112E Grand Prix Debut
Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting several boats at the Southampton Boat Show from the 15th to 24th September at the marina berths M427-433.
J/112E - Grand Prix version- Show Debut
This multiple award-winning, two-cabin performance cruiser, is now available as a Grand Prix version. Fresh from her Round the Island victory, the J/112E GP features full race upgrades, including an IRC friendly keel without bulb, Axxon high modulus carbon mast with carbon spreaders, carbon boom and carbon steering wheel. She is also equipped with 3DI race sails and B&G H5000 with a Zeuss 3 plotter. This will be the first UK show for this formidable new IRC weapon, which has already won four French regattas this year.
The J/112E joins her sisterships, the J/97E and J/122E, as an exceptional upwind performer. V-shaped bow sections provide superior directional stability and reduced slamming in waves. Freeboard forward and topside flare help to keep the deck dry. A long waterline combined with a low vertical center of gravity results in a smooth, sea-kindly motion – more like that of a 40 footer. Read more about the J/112E offshore racer/cruiser here.
The Infamous J/70 SportsboatThe J/70 is J/Boats’ first slipway-launchable keelboat - designed to fulfill the growing need for an easy to own, high performance one design, that is exciting to sail, stable enough sailboat for the family, and built to last. A natural evolution of its J pedigree, the J/70’s 7m of sailing length with high aspect, all carbon rig and deep lifting keel, provides spirited performance and stability that feels like a much larger boat. There are now 70 boats sailing in the UK, with an active class association and one design program. An incredible 170 boats are signed up for the Worlds in Porto Cervo this September.
Key Yachting will be running a demo sail week from Saturday 2nd to Saturday 9th September, please get in touch to arrange your trial on the J/112E or J/70. Read more about the exciting, the infamous J/70 speedster here.
For more Southampton Boat Show information or a boat show or demo appointment, please contact Key Yachting UK here: Gemma Dunne at ph- +44 (0) 2380 455669 | email- info@keyyachting.com | http://www.keyyachting.com For more Southampton International Boat Show information- September 15-24
J/FEST San Diego Announcement
“Sending it back to ’77!”
(San Diego, CA)- If you have ever sailed on, owned, raced on, cruised on, loved a J/Boat, you will not want to miss any of the special events of this celebration of all things J/Boats!
San Diego YC is inviting all J/Boats from all over SoCal to participate in fall sailing in San Diego from September 23rd to 24th. Most importantly, it will be a weekend to celebrate 40 years of sailing J/Boats!
One-design fleets slated for J/Fest include the fast growing, super hot J/70 fleet as well as J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105, J/109, and J/120 fleets. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate, and all are welcome to race in One-design or J/PHRF classes.The weekend starts off on Friday with the 40th Anniversary of J/Boats Celebration in San Diego YC’s “Frost Room” from 1800 to 2030 hours, with hosted wine and pupu’s. Jeff Johnstone (President @ J/Boats) will be presenting a “J/Boats 40 Years Past, Present and Future.”
According to Jeff; ”the story of J/Boats is a classic entrepreneurial tale: with a small investment, and a speedy 24-foot sailboat that Rod Johnstone built in his garage, Rod & his brother Bob Johnstone went into business. That was 1977. Now, that boat (the J/24), has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world. Not only that, but the waters of SoCal have produced several J/24 Champions, including Vince Brun and Chris Snow. The Johnstone family has made an undeniable mark on the sailing world. In addition to the 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves, there are over 7,000 more J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65, that sailing enthusiasts have enjoyed over the last 40 years.”
Then, on Saturday, there will be a J/22 Clinic starting at 1000 hrs with on-water coaching. Then, after racing that starts around noon, there will be a “J/Fest Regatta Party” on the Sailwash Lawn. Join the J/Boat sailors for a fun throw-back to 1977! In other words, a “70’s Party!” There will be fun competitions among the crews, including “Best Vintage J/Fest T-shirt”, “Best Dressed for the Disco”, and more surprises! Giveaways, 70’s band, and much more! For more J/FEST San Diego sailing information
American YC Fall Regattas Announcement(Rye, NY)- Over the next few weeks, the American YC in Rye, New York will be hosting a series of events for both offshore racers as well as the J/70 class.
FALL SERIES
As most sailors on the northeastern seaboard may be familiar with, the AYC will be hosting their annual Fall Series, a popular two-weekend event that is held on western Long Island Sound for both offshore boats as well as one-design fleets of J/70s, J/88s, J/105s, J/109s, and J/44s. The event takes place on September 23rd/ 24th and September 30th/ October 1st. For more American YC Fall Series information
HPR REGATTA
In addition, the AYC is also hosting the “HPR Regatta” (high-performance-regatta) for fleets of dinghies as well as J/70s from October 7th to 8th. It is the 14th Annual High Performance Regatta, originally named the “HPDO”, the regatta has been renamed to indicate the focus on a wider array of boats. Commodore Andy Giglia commented on this regatta, “the membership of AYC is aware of the changing landscape of sailing and to further support our mission statement ‘enhancing our heritage of leadership in the sport of sailing and furthering the growth of the sport’, we are committed to help lead that change.”
“We are working very hard to provide a competitor focused event. Our objective is to maximize the number of races and we will be embracing a short course/ high volume format. All of this with the New York city skyline in the background and the great shore side facilities AYC has always been known for,” said Rich Hulit, the event Co-Chairman. For more HPR Regatta information
J/70 NORTH AMERICANS
Finally, from October 9th to 15th, the AYC is hosting the J/70 NA’s on western Long Island Sound for a four-day regatta. The likelihood of a 75+ boat fleet is quite high with 55+ boats already entered as of the 1st of September! For more J/70 North Americans sailing information For more American YC sailing information
J/24 European Championship Preview(Lake Balaton, Hungary)- Founded in 1867, the Balatonfüredi Yacht Club (BYC) was the first sailing club in Hungary located on beautiful Lake Balaton. The BYC is also one of the oldest sailing clubs in Europe and continues to be the most successful and prestigious sailing club in Hungary. Located right in the center of Balatonfüred, the club plays a key role in the youth development and talent management,
The BYC is proud to be able to host the 2017 J/24 European Championship on the gorgeous waters of its lake. The regatta is taking place from September 24th to October 1st. The local J/24 Hungarian fleet is enthusiastic and excited to be supporting the event.
The goal is to host a ten-race championship for the forty-seven teams registered for the event. Eight countries are represented, including Great Britain (1), Germany (19), Greece (2), Hungary (19), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), Sweden (2), and USA (1).
Many top crews in Europe that are not participating in the J/24 World Championship being held in Port Credit, ONT, Canada virtually the same week will be looking to take home the European crown. Amongst the top German teams will be Lars Hager’s PFAU, Stefan Karsunke’s Sullberg, Frank Schonfeldt’s HENK, Emily Kern’s ROTOGIRL (an all-women’s team), Manfred Konig’s VITESSE, and Dan Frost’s JJ-ONE.
The host fleet from Hungary has a number of championship caliber teams, like Peter Tamas’ JUKEBOX, and Erik Hercsel’s DJANGO. Ironically, perhaps Hungary’s most famous sailor, Farkas Litkey, will be sailing a combined Italian and Hungarian team on PELLE NERA/ ST JAMES. From Sweden are two very strong crews; Per-Hakan Persson’s FRONT RUNNER and Andreas Olovsson’s FOR FUN (PINK). Finally, a past “European Champion” will be a serious consideration for the top of the leaderboard- America’s Keith Whittemore from Seattle, WA sailing the familiar FURIO. For more J/24 European Championship sailing information
SAILING Champions League Preview (Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- Europe ́s top sailing clubs will compete in the final of the SAILING Champions League in Porto Cervo, Sardinia from 22nd to 24th September. The aim is to win the sought-after silver trophy by Robbe & Berking and earn the title of Europe ́s “Best Sailing Club”. The teams will be sailing a matched-fleet of J/70 One-designs.
The teams competing in the grand final in Sardinia are the top clubs of the qualification events in St. Petersburg (August 2017) and St. Moritz (September 2017). Here are the 32 clubs that qualified: Ost-Legal Sailing, Åländska Segelsällskapet, Cape Crow YC, Circolo Canottieri Aniene, CV St Quentin, Deutscher Touring YC (SCL Champion 2016), Ekolns Segelklubb, Frederikshavn Sejklub, Hellerup Sejlklub, Jachtclub Scheveningen, Kongelig Dansk Yachtclub, Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, Kullaviks Kanot och Kappseglingsklubb, Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, Lindauer Seglerclub, Lord of the Sail– Europe, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, Nyländska Jaktklubben, Port Edgar YC, Regattaclub Bodensee, SCTWV Achensee, Segelclub Mattsee, Société des Régates d’Antibes, Société Nautique de Genève, St. Petersburg YC, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, Wasa Segelförening, WV Almere Centraal, YC APCC Voile Sportive, YC Bregenz, YC Costa Smeralda, and YC Sopot. Follow the SAILING Champions League on Facebook here.
For more SAILING Champions League information
European Sailing League Updates(Hamburg, Germany- Over the next two weekends, several of Europe’s sailing leagues will be having their season-ending finales. Over fifty-four clubs will be participating in those events with over 300 people sailing on matched J/70 one-design class sailboats.
The next event will be the Danish J/70 Sailing League sailing from September 15th to 17th at Skovshoved, Denmark. For more Danish J/70 Sailing League information
Then, the following weekend, the British J/70 Sailing League Finale will be taking place in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England from September 22nd to 24th. For more British J/70 Sailing League information
Finally, the Russian J/70 Sailing League will be holding their penultimate event at Konakovo River Club at Konakovo, Russia, northwest of Moscow. The event will be taking place from September 23rd to 26th. Follow Russian J/70 Facebook page here.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The past week has seen activity taking place mostly in Europe as the first week of September came to a close. The AUDI J/70 World Championship has started in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy, hosted by the YC Costa Smeralda. The regatta has seen many challenges to overcome in the first few days from measurement issues to an overwhelming mistral weather condition blowing over 50 kts for three days- a highly unusual scenario, even for the Mediterranean. Then, the J/70 sailing leagues were busy across Scandinavia, with the Norwegian and Swedish events both closing our as their finales for the season.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 pag Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Sep 12-16- J/70 World Championship- Porto Cervo, ItalySep 14-17- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 15-23- J/24 World Championship- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Sep 22-24- J/FEST San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 22-24- J/80 Atlantic Telegramme Regatta- Lorient, France
Sep 23-24- American YC Fall Series I- Rye, NY
Sep 24- Oct 1- J/24 European Championship- Lake Balaton, Hungary
Sep 30- Oct 1- J/70 East Coast Championship- Deltaville, VA
Sep 30- Oct 1- American YC Fall Series II- Rye, NY
Sep 30- Oct 1- Cleveland 216 Regatta- Cleveland, OH
Oct 7-8- Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Big Boat- Larchmont, NY
Oct 9-15- J/70 North American Championship- Rye, NY
Oct 13-15- J/80 Crouesty Cup- Crouesty, France
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
AUDI J/70 Worlds Update
USA's Duncan Leads After Qualifiers
(Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)- After waiting for three straight days to go sailing in the spectacular venue of Port Cervo, Sardinia, J/70 sailors from twenty-four nations were certainly chomping on the proverbial bit to get out on the water and test their months of training and competing in many regattas leading up to sailing in the AUDI J/70 World Championship, hosted by the famous YC Costa Smeralda.
For four straight days, sailors had to contend with the infamous “mistral” conditions, when a huge Low/depression forms over central Europe and the incessant High pressure pushes on the bubble to create a phenomenon that generates powerful west/northwest winds across the archipelago of Corsica and Sardinia in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
As sailors went out for practice on Sunday, the mistral began to develop, producing 20-35 kts winds by late afternoon. A number of boats that practiced ended up blowing up practice spinnakers.
For the next three days, it was a mistral condition that refused to quit. Most mistrals last two, maybe three days. On Monday, the day of the opening ceremonies and the only “practice race” for competitors; it was all but blown out by 30 to 62 kts winds in the Porto Cervo Harbor and gusts to 85 kts in the infamous Straits of Bonifacio between the northern tip of Sardinia and the southern tip of Corsica.The next two days produced more of the same, with spectacularly clear skies, dotted intermittently with torn-cotton clouds flying across the horizon, creating dramatic perspectives of boats, the islands, and “white-out” conditions offshore. The sailors endured two days of postponements while waiting at the beautiful YCCS facilities, both Tuesday and Wednesday ending in “AP over A” flags, symbolizing the end of a long frustrating day for both sailors and the race organizers.
Finally, on the third day, Mother Nature cooperated with more moderate breezes on a spectacularly sunny day with moderate temperatures in the upper 70s F. After the Skipper’s Briefing at 0930 hours, sailors just about ran to their boats to get rolling for the day, in high anticipation of a full day’s of racing offshore. It was quite a sight to see 163 J/70s all departing the beautiful Porto Cervo harbor as they headed out to sea.
The racing for the day was challenging for all. The forecasts showed westerly winds varying from 260 to 300 degrees- a wildly fluctuating breeze is normal in a waning mistral. Sure enough, “local knowledge” that said “go left” in an offshore breeze was good advice. Most of the top boats in the first two races played the left side of the course upwind and, conversely, played the middle to left downwind. The principal factor driving decisions downwind were the crossover between “planing mode” and “soak mode”; dramatically different tactical considerations as each is governed by “VMG made good” downwind. In a big puff, those who pushed “planing mode” would scream away in 12-14 kt bursts for several hundred meters, then stop as they ran out of wind! Others would try to push hard downwind in “soak mode” and make it work, or not!
From a tactician’s point of view, it was a nightmare. Going left paid off, but not all the time. Going into the left corner was “death”. Those that faired best-played shifts going left upwind. And, conversely, the same downwind as the fleet struggled with what tactic/ strategy worked best, minute-by-minute, and often at the finish line second-by-second! And, in the third and last race of the day, boats that had played middle-right upwind made significant gains! So much for "local knowledge"!
It was fun, challenging racing for all and there were several impressive performances from a number of top teams. The qualifying series for the Gold and Silver fleet was finally completed, with three flights (six total races) taking place over a unique “trapezoid/ windward-leeward” course format. The first flight sailed the outside/left course and the second flight sailed the inside/right course- a simple way to keep the large fleets separated from each other.In the end, the top five qualifiers for the Gold fleet saw USA’s Peter Duncan skippering RELATIVE OBSCURITY into the lead with a consistent 3-1-1 for 5 pts. Continuing her success in top-level events, Italy’s Claudia Rossi from the host YC Costa Smeralda, helmed her well-known PETITE TERRIBLE #AUDI into second place with an equally impressive scoreline of 1-4-1 for 6 pts. Sitting in third place is Italy’s Franco Solerio driving L’ELAGIN to a 2-2-7 tally for 11 pts. Just behind them in fourth place is Spain’s Gustavo Martinez sailing FERMAX to a 5-6-2 record for 13 pts. And, lying in fifth is Argentina’s Sebastian Halpern’s CEBOLLITA with a very consistent 5-5-5 for 15 pts.
All scores count for all teams, so these crews will carry forward their points into the Gold Championship round to compete for the 2017 World Championship title. With two days of racing left, the weather forecasts indicate the fleet will be able to sail at least five more races. Sailing photo credits- Kurt Arrigo & Max Ranchi. Follow the AUDI J/70 Worlds on Facebook here
Facebook Video interviews and race action here:
Jonathan McKee interview- https://www.facebook.com/J70Class/videos/875658612585826/
Qualifier 1- https://www.facebook.com/j70italianclass/videos/378790425873234/
Qualifier 2- https://www.facebook.com/j70italianclass/videos/378899059195704/
Regatta updates and perspectives here
https://youtu.be/EHkCeq4jvWc
https://youtu.be/zXQMDoqIiDo
For more AUDI J/70 World Championship sailing information
Moss SF Wins Norwegian J/70 Sailing League(Moss, Norway)- For the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League finale, both the 1st and 2nd Divisions sailed over the course of an extended weekend of sailing. At the end of the day, Moss SF won the 1st Division despite a poor performance in their fourth event in the series. And, Risor SF ended up winning the 2nd Division by closing with a strong performance in the finale.
The 1st Division finale was not without its drama for the top two teams- Moss Sf and Asgardstrand SF. Starting out the regatta, Moss SF had an enormous lead on the fleet. However, by having one of their worst regattas of the season, their OCS in race 6 simply amplified the hard times they had to stay in hunt on their home waters! Their final result of 8th place was just sufficient enough for them to retain the overall series lead with a 1-1-2-8 for 12 pts. Taking second for the series was Asgardstrand SF with a 6-3-4-2 for 15 pts- a steady progression up the leaderboard. Then, RAN SF won the final regatta to jump on to the podium for the season series to secure the bronze with a 7-6-6-1 for 20 pts. Notably, third in the Moss event was Grimstad SF, just one point behind Asgardstrand with 18 pts.
In the 2nd Division, Bundefjord SF put their stamp on the results in Moss, winning with five 1sts and three 2nds to win, incredibly enough by just one point! A complete mirror of their results was posted by Risor Sf to conclude the regatta with 12 pts. Third was Bodø SF with 16 pts, counting four 1sts in their totals.
For the season series in the 2nd Division, Risør SF wins the gold; the silver goes to Askøy SF and the bronze to Bundefjorden SF. Together with Hurum SF, these four clubs move to the 1st division in 2018.
Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information.
KSSS Wins Swedish J/70 Sailing League(Gottskär, Sweden)- The dramatic finale of Allsvenskan Sailing 2017 took place in Gottskär, Sweden. Only after the twelfth and final round of racing was it clear that the KSSS held off the Cape Crow YC to win the season series for the Swedish J/70 Sailing League.
"Before the final race we did not look at our position. We knew it was tough and that we needed a good race. It blew quite a lot today. Our tactic was to only make a good race, without stupid maneuvers," said KSSS Fredrik Bergström.
The last round of Allsvenskan offered tough conditions with a lot of rain and wind at the beginning, very light winds on Saturday and lots of winds on the last day- mostly up to 10 m/s. But, neither the KSSS nor the Cape Crow, which are the clubs that dominated this year's all-Swedish tournament, sailed well in the final event. On the other hand, the Sotefjord Sailing Company won nine of the twelve races to win the final regatta at Gottskär.
KSSS came to Gottskär as a favorite to sail home with the gold. However, after half of the twelve rounds were completed, they were far behind and at that time, Cape Crow was the possible league champion. But, KSS's young, good-natured skipper, 19-year-old Vilma Bobeck, and her crew of Fredrik Bergström, Patrik Erlandsson and Göran Bobeck made some changes in their tactics and completed the last six races with all top three finishes to seal the series win, despite finishing sixth in the regatta!
"We did not sail at our peak earlier this weekend. But, on Sunday when it blew much harder, we managed to keep it together, sail well and take advantage of big mistakes by our competitors. We also improved a lot during regatta because we have not sailed this format before and I have never sailed the J/70,” said KSSS’s Fredrik Bergström- an Olympic 470 sailor at the Rio Games. Follow the Swedish J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here For more Swedish J/70 Sailing League information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* J/70 Sailor Claudia Rossi Inspires On and Off the Water. Kara Hugglestone from SAIL Couture had a chance to catch up with Claudia prior to her competing in this year’s AUDI J/70 Worlds in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Here is Kara’s story:The one to watch is PETITE TERRIBLE helmed by the brilliant young Claudia Rossi who, at just 24, is a two-time J/70 European Champion, as well as the youngest skipper ever and first female to hold the title. And, she just started sailing in college—four years ago!
I had the pleasure of meeting Claudia at last year’s J/70 World’s in San Francisco. I was as taken by the Italian sailor’s beauty, sparkling eyes, and infectious laugh as I was by her impressive sailing skills. She was relentless on the racecourse, although in the end, it was not to be her regatta. She is out to right that wrong on the water in Sardinia.
“I still have a bit bitter taste in my mouth from the San Francisco World Championship last year, but I won’t let that get in the way. It will be difficult this year because there are 175 boats and the best sailors in the world. Petite will do as much as ever. We never give up,” Claudia told Sail Couture.One could say her fighting spirit is a family trait; her father is the skipper of the famous Farr 40 Enfant Terrible. Claudia enjoys navigating for her father, but true competitors they are, they also compete against one another in the J/70 and Farr 40 classes. Indeed, last July, she became the Farr 40 Worlds Corinthian Champion (fourth overall) at the helm of Pierluigi Bresciani’s Pazza Idea; her father was second in the overall standings.
Claudia says she chose the J/70 class because of its size and the skill level. Indeed, at 1,300 strong, the J/70 fleet is the fastest growing fleet worldwide and has attracted many of the world’s top professional and Corinthian sailors. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth and Rick Tomlinson Follow Claudia’s PETITE TERRIBLE J/70 team on Facebook here Full SAILCOUTURE.com article from Kara Hugglestone here
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