J/Newsletter- February 13th, 2013

J/97 EuroCup One-Design!
(Plymouth, England)- As the J/97 fleet continues to grow on either side of "La Manche", enthusiasm not just for offshore handicap racing in RORC events has increased, but the desire to sail more one-design racing has also emerged amongst the lovers of this easy-to-handle 32 ft family cruiser-racer.  As a result,  the J/97 EuroCup event has been announced as part of the 2013 J-Cup hosted by the Royal Western Sailing Club, Plymouth from 21st - 24th August.  The UK J/97 fleet hope boats from Ireland, Scotland, France and Benelux regions join them for some great sailing after Cowes Week.

The fleet will enjoy eight races over three days, both inside and out of the Plymouth breakwater, with most races scheduled to finish within view of the sailing club and spectators on the Hoe and surrounding areas. The overall results will determine both the winner of The Lombard J/97 UK National Championship, and now the European Championship also. Both winners will be awarded some first-rate prizes for their success on the water.

The J/97 is the smallest cruiser-racer of the J/Boats range. Measuring 32 ft', it combines 6' of headroom and family cruising accommodation in a high performance, easily driven hull. Launched in 2009, a sizable fleet of J/97s has developed in the UK, enjoying both one design and IRC racing. The boat has proven its competitive ability under IRC time and again; in 2012 the J/97 was crowned champion at the IRC SW Championships, IRC Nationals, IRC2 Class at Dartmouth Week, Class 5 at Cowes Week, and finally, overall winner of the coveted Scottish Series.

The annual J-Cup regatta is exclusively for racing yachts of the J-Boats brand and all J-Boats models are eligible to compete. A different venue is selected each year, and the event returns to Plymouth for the first time since 2007.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com.  For more J/97 EuroCup and UK Nationals sailing information

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Chile J/70 Promotion 2013
(Santiago, Chile)- J/70s have arrived in time for Chilean sailors to get a taste of the great fun that American and European sailors have been experiencing with their boats; the Chileans are especially enthusiastic after seeing the reports and gorgeous photos of J/70s frolicking in the aquamarine waters off Key West during Race Week.

We recently got an update from Juan Eduardo Reid, the Chilean J/Dealer, regarding recent interest in the J/70, regatta participation and fleet development.  Juan commented on those activities:

"This past weekend from Jan 27th to Feb 4th we had a very well-received exhibition of the boat at the Soto 40 Worlds in the emerald waters of  Talcahuano Bay.  We had many people requesting to sail the boat and we have setup demo sails on Vichuquen and Pangupulli Lakes in the near future, more on that in a moment.

We since participated in the the Frutillar Regatta on Llanquihue Lake last Friday-Saturday-Sunday.  I sailed with 3 Chilean Naval Academy students/ midshipmen.  We were 1st overall in the coastal Cruiser-Racer class! There where 5-6 coastal boats (Hunter 35, McGregor 26, Dufour 34, Bavaria 30) and nine J/24s.  In fact, we plan to run the first J/70 Nationals in Chile next year in the same time period.

For J/70 class development, we are providing boat tests on Monday and Tuesday, Feb 18-19, on Vichuquen Lake.  Already sailing on this lake quite a lot since December 2012 is J/70 #75.  Then, on Saturday and Sunday, Feb 23-24, we will be doing both racing and testing of the J/70s on Panguipulli Lake and we expect to have two more boats delivered by that date for more fun sailing in the Andes Mountains!  For more J/70 Chile sailing information and demo sail, please email Juan Eduardo Reid

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J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

This coming week is perhaps one of the most important in any sailor's life, Valentine's Day weekend.  What to do? For those loved ones, young and old, a tradition to simply express love and caring for one another perhaps most important of all.  We would, of course, recommend that loved ones deserve a fun-loving, easy-to-sail "J" to go sailing on gorgeous sunset evenings or explore the wild-blue frontier on crystal-clear blue days with gentle sun and wind caressing our faces.  However, just a hug and "love you honey" is perhaps the best and most genuine expression of all.  Enjoy! Our friends in Europe, perhaps have trumped us all!  How does one beat sailing a J/70 or J/111 in the Primo Cup- Credit Suisse on the spectacular, star-kissed, sun-kissed shores of Monte Carlo, Monaco?  Clearly they had fun and could easily count as a Valentine's Day weekend "surprise".  The J/70 sailors there reported having a simply amazing time sailing on the Mediterranean in a wide-variety of weather conditions-- including a crew with kids 7 & 11 yrs old!!  On the European side we also see a long-time J/24 sailor finally finishing the Vendee Globe, Jean-Pierre Dick on VIRBAC-PAPREC 3, read more about his simply remarkable story below.  And, along that same vein, it seems the J/24 crowd are both having fun and influencing how sailing as a sport and recreational activity continue to develop around the world.  For one, there's a hotly contested regatta going on right now in Tampa, Florida at Davis Island YC-- the J/24 Midwinters that once started in Key West in 1978, remember?!  Then, down in Argentina that J/24 fleet recently had a blast (almost literally) sailing in the "Cordoban Andes Mountains", racing on the fabulously spectacular lake of Lago San Roque.  Finally, two veteran J/24 sailors, Dave Franzel (now a J/70 owner) and John Kostecki (J/24 World Champion) offered some valuable perspectives on sailing below.  And, yet another World Champion J sailor, Greg Fisher in J/22s, explores his impact on sailing introducing college sailors to keelboat racing- both in J/22s at College of Charleston (a top-ranked college sailing team in America) and in offshore big boats.

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.

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Regatta & Show Schedules:

Feb 15-17- J/70 St Pete NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 16-24- New England Boatshow (70)- Boston, MA
Feb 28-Mar 13- J/22 Midwinters- Davis Is YC- Tampa, FL
Mar 2-10- Stockholm Sailboat Show (70)- Stockholm, Sweden
Mar 6-9- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (70, 80)- Miami, FL
Mar 6-10- HISWA Amsterdam Boatshow (70)- Amsterdam, Holland
Mar 8-10- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Mar 13-17- Oslo Sailboat Show (70)- Oslo, Norway
Mar 15-17- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 17-Apr 28- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, England
Mar 28-Apr 1- SPI Ouest France- La Trinite sur Mer, France
Apr 11-14- Strictly Sail Pacific (70, 111)- Alameda, CA
Apr 18-21- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80)- Charleston, SC
May 3-5- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
May 17-19- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 18-22- New York YC Race Week (105, 111)- Newport, RI
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

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FREMITO D'ARJA Wins J/70 Primo Cup
J/111s Enjoy Windy IRC Racing
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- “It’s been a long time since I had so much fun on the water” said a competitor at the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse about their full weekend of racing on the water in "fresh to frightening" breeze conditions, rather epic 4-8 ft Mediterranean seas sweeping into the bay and the mountainous principality swept by a combination of snow flurries and sun-kissed by the soft winter Mediterranean sun.

Monaco’s bay again delivered a varied regatta full of surprises. From bright blue skies on Friday to the scattering of snow on Saturday, not to mention the tail end of a Mistral, the weather conditions delighted the IRCs and the one-design fleets, including the enthusiastic J/70 class.  Note that for the J/70s, voted “European Boat of the Year 2013” by the international press in the “Special Yacht” category, the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse was the first official regatta in the Med for this young class, which has only been available in Europe for six months.

Even though conditions were not quite good enough to race on the Sunday, due to the centre of a depression in the Gulf of Genoa changing tack, five very enjoyable races were started over this second weekend compared to six last weekend.  With fourteen nationalities present and a high level of competition, the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse confirmed its demanding reputation and quality for all yachts and hundreds of sailors.

A special note must also be made that makes the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse unique in its prize-giving for regattas around the world-- Credit Suisse Bank, appropriately enough, offers a 24 carat 99.999% Gold 1 oz. ingot to the winner of a drawing amongst the winners (a 1 in 6 chance)!!  Plus, Slam Advanced Technology Sportswear is awarded to the first three J/70 crews and to the top three in IRC Class.

The first day of sailing was fabulous.  It started with a steady 10 knots south-westerly wind, with beaming sunshine and calm sea, reaching 30 knots by the end of the day.  Three races were started for the J/70s while the IRC class sailed two races.  The J/70s had fun and fast sailing and this 7-meter keelboat has delivered on all its promises on the Monegasque bay. On the results side, the Italian crew of FREMITO D'ARJA sailed by Dario Levi, lead the day's race by two wins out of the three races, followed very closely by the Italian SPIN ONE team sailed by Pietro Saccomani and the Dutch HENRI LLOYD team sailed by Wouter Kolllmann, the three top crews only 5 points away from each others.

For the second day of the regattas, the early starts of the morning saw spring sailing conditions.  Then the weather Gods got a bit chaotic!  Later races were replaced by snow falls and wind gusts reaching up to 20 - 25 knots of wind towards the end of the races, challenging the nerves and physical skills of the racing crews on their last legs.  Two races were completed Saturday, allowing the Race Committee to count five races in total for the J/70 one-designs and four for the IRCs.

In the IRCs, the J/111s were sailing against 14 boats in a massively competitive fleet. Loving the conditions was the J/111 ESPRIT SUD sailed by Thierry Bouchard, finishing a well-deserved 4th place overall with a 7-5-3-3 scoreline and only missing the podium bronze by just two points.  The other J/111, MERLIN sailed by Michel Buffet and Gilles Conte, finished in the top ten by gathering a record of 9-6-10-8 to finish 8th overall.

In the end, the J/70s were swept by the Italian armada.  The Italian crew on FREMITO D'ARJA dominated throughout, ahead of fellow countrymen aboard SPIN ONE and the HENRI LLOYD Dutch team.  The winners received the J/70 Class Challenge Trophy awarded by J/Boats Italy, which from now on will be awarding the best in this series at future Primo Cups.

We received a great report from Paolo Boido, Chief of J/Boats Italy:

"We made it! Thank goodness. The J/70s were getting ready for the first European regatta in Monaco, mooring at "Quai d'Honneur" at Yacht Club Monaco.  A total of seven teams have showed up for their first Primo Cup, it's a great honour for J/70 to be admitted at this prestigious event-- its attendance is generating a great interest for this lovely boat.  Four Italian Teams, one Dutch, one Russian and one representing the YC Monaco burgee, an amazing international attendance for such a new class.

Dario Levi with Andrea Casale from Quantum Italy playing tactician dominated all the races, winning the Credit Suisse Trophy and J/Boats Italy Challenge Trophy.  Second was Piero Saccomanni with Nevio Sabadin as trimmer and tactician.  Third was the Dutchman Wouter Kollmann, who was able to reach Monaco in a heavy snow storm across all of France!

The experienced Race Committee, with Thierry Leret Chairman, did a great job adjusting the sailing course according to frequent wind changes, from medium light up to strong blast over 30 knots in shifty conditions.  The J/70s put on a great show in all weather conditions, sailing fast in light with big left-over storm waves on Friday and on Saturday surfing/planing full speed at 15.0+ kts and with great stability with puffs over 30+ kts.

Boat handling has been perfect and easy in all conditions. All the teams sailed four-up. One of those was a family team, Vittorio di Mauro who sailed with Filippo Domenicali and his two kids 7 & 10 years old!! They were quite competitive even in heavy air; but most importantly, this team shows the great stability of the J/70 and how safe it is boat-handling even with two kids on board!!

It’s always a pleasure for boat designers and dealers to watch their owner's smile when they show happiness for their performances achieved with their boats. Here (pictured at right) Dario Levi’s smile showing his Velocitek displaying 17.8 kts reaching downwind in winds less than 20-23 kts!

Championat Monégasque 2013- The J/70 Fleet has been invited to sail again in Monaco, sailing March 16-17 for the YC Monaco Championship!  That is quite an honor for the new "baby J"! Therefore, in the next weeks J/Boats Italy will be offering demo sails of the J/70 in Monaco leading up to the up-coming event!

By the way, the new trailer design is working out quite nicely.  Balbi Rimorchi & J/Boats Italy engineered and set-up the new trailer Model BD-1500.  It's easy and light to tow with medium-size cars, this trailer is very stable thanks to the well proportioned body and wide axle. Independent suspension system and brakes.  A custom-made GRP front hull support with GRP flat supports aft allow easy hauling/launching from a ramp."  Thanks for Paolo's contribution.  For more J/70 Italy/ Monaco information, please contact Paolo at "jboats@jboats.it".

Finally, the Primo Cup- Credit Suisse has already been set for the 30th edition which will take place February 7-9, 2014. Significantly, the regatta will have both J/70s and J/24s and will be the IRC Mediterranean Championship.

In the meantime, the YCM will soon host from 8th to 10th March 2013, a new Team Racing event in J/24s as well as the J/24 European Championship, organized from the 6th to 12th October 2013.
Sailing photo credits- YCM/ Carlo Borlenghi.  For more Yacht Club Monaco and Primo Cup- Credit Suisse sailing information

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Mollicone Leading J/24 Midwinters
(Tampa, FL)- John Mollicone's HELLY HANSEN team has seized the lead after five races on the opening day of the J/24 Midwinter Championship. Beautiful conditions allowed the abundance of racing for the 20-boat fleet in Tampa Bay, Florida.  Under sunny skies and temperatures near 80 degrees at Davis Island Yacht Club, winds began at 6-8 knots for the first three races.

Sailing with Tim Healy, Geoff Becker, Dan Rabin and Gordon Borges, Mollicone on board the might HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI, they lead the regatta by one point after the first day of sailing three races.  Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY is in second and three points further back is Will Welles team on COUGAR from Newport, RI.

On the second day, the 20 teams were postponed in the morning due to lack of wind, but the sea-breeze was worth the wait when it kicked in at 14-16 knots with puffs around 18. After six races, Mollicone's HELLY HANSEN continues to lead with Will Welles' COUGAR leaping into second overall and dropping Mike Ingham's team to third.  Racing continues through Wednesday/ Thursday.
For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information and results

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CARRER Takes Campeonato Centro de la Republica
(Lago San Roque, Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina)- With twenty-one J/24s on the water of Lago San Roque from the provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza and Neuquen it was sure to be tough competition.  With somewhat extreme conditions, the regatta's PRO managed to run three races overall for the four day event scheduled to sail from February 9th to 12th.

In the first day of sailing, PICANTE #5469 with Samuel Capeta steering was leading the fleet due to the most consistent record of a 3-3 with 6 pts.  Just behind him by two points was a three-way tie for second; including CARRER #5458 owned by Juan di Francesco with Pablo Despontin at the helm with a 4-4 for 8 pts; Javier Moyaro sailing CALDO DE CIELO #4106 with a 2-6 for 8 pts; and RIMA #5499 sailed by the famous Nicolas Cubria with a 7-1 for 8 pts!

With so many good teams fighting for the top five, the last day of sailing was shaping up to be a tough one for all the crews.  Finally, on Sunday, the fleet managed to complete a single race due to highly variable weather conditions that went from storm to calm and "Borneos" (adiabatic winds in those Andes!) of 180 degrees; the wind ultimately settled to a nice 8-10 kts wind.

This time, the results of the race created the sailing version of the "chutes & ladders" board game; some teams went way up and some went way down.  After the dust settled from the heat of battle, it was clear that CARRER #5458 owned by Juan di Francesco with Pablo Despontin at the helm, had a brilliant performance and with excellent local knowledge sailed well to lead the fleet home in the last race, so their 4-4-1 record would ultimately take the gold. Following behind them by one point with a 3-3-4 tally for 10 pts was PICANTE #5469 with Samuel Capeta steering, both of the top two boats were from the club YCC 400. Third overall was taken by Moyaro's CALDO DE CIELO with a 2-6-3 scoreline for 11 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Despotin's INDIGO in 4th and Cubria's RIMA in 5th overall.

Everyone agreed it was a fantastic time sailing and very well organized by the Cordoba J/24 fleet with both CNC and YCC 400 fleet members. Incredible enthusiasm despite the heat of the race, so to speak. Plus, can't forget to mention how fun the regatta's "launch party" was to start the event, thanks to the hospitality of YCC 400 and the contributions of many sponsors. Another good party and regatta completed on the famous Lago San Roque.  Until next time!  For more J/24 Argentina sailing information

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J/24 Sailor Fourth In Vendee Globe Race Around World
(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- This one happens to be an amazing story of a remarkable guy.  Frenchman Jean-Pierre Dick sailing the massively fast and huge Open 60 called VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 finished the Vendée Globe 2012-2013 with no keel, and took fourth place in this amazing event. Several J/24 sailors in the UK and Europe competed against Jean-Pierre at many J/24 events in Europe in the 1990s, and they remember some very competitive tussles with "JP" particularly at the French SPI OUEST Regatta that is sailed in La Trinite sur Mer, France every Easter Holiday weekend.

It's been a long journey from the around-the-buoys, bashing and crashing around the race-track on J/24s  to skippering these extremely fast, all-carbon, water-ballasted, swing-keel speedsters-- the modern incarnation of the "ocean greyhounds of old."  Fresh off the press at the Vendee Globe site is great insight into Jean-Pierre's remarkable competitiveness, camaraderie with friends and sailors (notably starting with the J/24 class) and amazing display of seamanship to simply finish the race:

"French skipper Jean-Pierre Dick (a.k.a. "JP") crossed the finish line off Les Sables d'Olonne this afternoon at 15hrs 5mins and 40 seconds UTC/GMT to finish fourth in the Vendée Globe, the famous solo nonstop around the world race. His third participation has yielded his best ever result, despite having to race the final 2,650 nm without a keel on his IMOCA Open 60 Virbac-Paprec 3. JP's elapsed time for course is 86 days, 3 hours, 3 minutes and 40 seconds. He finishes 8d and 47m behind race winner François Gabart (MACIF).

JP's average speed for the theoretical course of 24,393 nm is calculated to be 11.8 knots. In reality he sailed 27,734 nm on the water at an actual average speed of 13.4 knots.

Double-winner of the two-handed Barcelona World Race and three-times winner of the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre, JP was one of the possible favourites to win the Vendée Globe but in the end had to give up his third place position he was holding when his keel snapped off on 21st January. He fought on to the finish after making a 48 hours stop in the north of Spain to let a strong low pressure system pass to receive a warm welcome today back in Les Sables d'Olonne.

His finish in Les Sables d'Olonne put a full stop to one of the most engaging stories of this edition Vendée Globe. As he sailed to fourth place JP's race revealed an inspiring mix of human fortitude and endeavour, sporting excellence and technical achievement.

JP was on the hunt, lying in third place and still doggedly chasing the two leaders, François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) who were nearly 400 miles ahead when his Virbac-Paprec 3 lost its keel at 2245hrs UTC on January 21st some 500 miles NW of the Cape Verde Islands.

To make the finish JP has sailed some 2,650 nm – a record - without the essential appendage which balances the boat against the force of the wind. It was a passage during which he lived life on a knife edge, constantly vigilant to make sure his IMOCA Open 60 was not knocked over. To sit out the worst of a low pressure system over the Bay of Biscay, JP made a short 48 hours stop on the Galician coast, mooring in Saint Cyprian between 0430hrs UTC January 31st and restarting in light winds on the morning of February 1st at 0720hrs UTC.

Until the accident effectively robbed him of third place on the podium, the French skipper who is originally from Nice, was one of the key players in the race. On the descent of the Atlantic he was in the top 5 at the Canary Islands. Then, just as he also lead during the 2008-9 Vendée Globe, JP took the lead and between the Agulhas gate and the Cape of Good Hope he was at the top of the rankings six times, leading the Vendée Globe fleet past the Cape of Good Hope. From there a pattern is set to Cape Leeuwin and beyond with a leading trio becoming well established, François Gabart, Armel Le Cléac'h and the skipper of Virbac-Paprec 3. But in the Pacific, JP lacked the power of key headsails because of damage to the head hook high up on the mast and he loses progressively more on Gabart. At one point he is 687 miles behind. But after several mast climbs to fix his problem he comes back strongly on the approach to Cape Horn, more than halving the deficit. On the ascent of the South Atlantic he got to within 100 miles of the leading duo just as their race-defining split took place.

For JP, this fourth place is his best Vendée Globe finish yet. He finished sixth in 2004-5, arriving with no power, and in 2008-9 he had to retire into New Zealand after suffering rudder damage due to a unidentified floating object.

By comparison with the Breton 'inner circle' JP was a late starter to IMOCA Open 60 racing, and is not really a graduate of their traditional passage through the Figaro solo circuit. Instead, he arrived through sailing J/24s competitively in Europe, he won in the crewed Tour de France a Voile race. A qualified veterinarian with a masters business degree and years of a professional executive career under his belt before he turned to ocean racing, JP is a rigorous, thorough sailor who trains long and hard and embraces science and technology in every aspect, human and technical.

JP has become renowned as something of a specialist in two-handed races. His best solo result remains his third in the 2006 Route du Rhum. JP has a reputation in the sport for being a tough, hard working gentleman who is supported by highly competent team.  Read the report of Jean-Pierre’s experience
For more Vendee Globe and JP/VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 sailing information

Summary of Jean-Pierre Dick's VIRBAC-PAPREC 3 Vendee Globe race:

• Greatest distance covered in 24 hours: Virbac-Paprec 3 covered the second greatest distance over 24 hours in this edition of the Vendée Globe clocking up 517.23 miles on 10th December. Average speed: 21.6 knots.
• Speed/ distance covered on the water: 13,4 knots/27 734 miles
• Number of rankings as leader (5 rankings per day): 6 times
• Les Sables – Equator: 11d 00hrs 25mins (record held by Jean Le Cam since 2004-2005 race with a time of 10d 11hrs 28mins)
• Equator – Good Hope: 12d 02hrs 40mins (leading the fleet at that point)
• Good Hope – Cape Leeuwin: 12 d 13hrs25 mins
• Cape Leeuwin – Cape Horn: 18d 00hrs 12mins (new record)
• Cape Horn – Equator: 14d 5h 30mins
• Equator – Les Sables d'Olonne: 18d 5h 3mins

JP's Career highlights:

• 2011 - JP elected French Sailor of the Year
• 2011 Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre (with Jérémie Beyou)
• 2010- 2011 Winner of the Barcelona World Race (with Loïck Peyron)
• 2010 4th in the Route du Rhum
• 2007-2008 Winner of the Barcelona World Race (with Damian Foxall)
• 2006 Route du Rhum, 3rd
• 2005 Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre (with Loïck Peyron)
• 2004-2005 Vendée Globe, 6th
• 2003 Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre (with Nicolas Abiven)
• 2001 Winner of the Tour de France Sailing Race

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J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* J/111 owners simply love their boats.  Recently, we received a wonderful note from a long-time Canadian J/24 sailor from the past- Dave Connolly.  He just started sailing his new J/111 STAMPEDER this past 2012 summer in Chester, Nova Scotia at Chester Yacht Club.  Dave had this to say,

"We sailed a J/24 out of Toronto in the early 80's and I ran the Canadian J/24 Class association for several years. In 1986, I was moved to Calgary where there is really no water so we sold the boat and essentially gave up sailing!  When I decided to retire early last year, one of the first things I did was order a boat through Jim Snair to get back into racing at our summer home in Nova Scotia.  We love the boat!  Our only complaint is that there aren't more J/111's in Nova Scotia.  It's great competitive sailing though with PHRF."  Here's a picture of them sailing and their happy, young crew!

* J/70 Interview- with Key West Corinthians Champion- Dave Franzel- just another nice guy from Boston. Brian Hayes recently had a chance to catch up with Dave Franzel to chat about his J/70 experiences in Key West, his first J/70 regatta (Dave in orange hat at right chatting with Dave Reed of SW fame).

BH: "Dave Franzel, with his team of Greg Anthony, Chris Hufstatder and Eric Barreveld, sailing his new J/70 for the first time at Key West Race Week, consistently climbed the leader-board and finished the week 8th overall and as the top Corinthian team (all amateur). Dave is certainly not a newcomer to top flight competition having Sonar World and North American titles to his credit. The former owner of Boston Sailing Center, Dave was looking for a vehicle to renew his excitement for racing and perhaps found it in the J/70.

Dave, congratulations on a great showing at the first J/70 midwinters! 8th overall and 1st overall in the  Corinthian is a great start. How did it come to pass that you ended up in a J/70?"

DF: "Thanks Brian!  I became interested in sport boats last year after sailing a Viper a couple of times.  But after seeing J/70s in Newport I asked Stu Johnstone to let me sail one and I found that as soon as we put the chute up and started going 12+ knots that I could not stop smiling.  It is less prone to wiping out than a Viper and kinder on old knees."

BH: "How much time did you and your team have to practice before the event?"

DF: "We arrived Friday night, set the boat up Saturday and practiced for a few hours Sunday.  The regatta started Monday.  However, our approach was to use this regatta to learn the boat and hopefully begin to achieve competitive speed."

BH: "Tell us your impressions on the boat. What did you find worked well to get you up to speed so quickly?"

DF: "Well I'm a little embarrassed about this, but on the first windy day which was the second day of the event, I noticed that Tim Healy's forestay was very stable and ours was not even though I had the backstay cranked.  I asked Tim about it after sailing and he patiently explained that the backstay has a course adjustment that gets it in range first, then the standard adjusting line.  There was also a minor issue around the fact that I have never actually used a Loos gauge before, but the backstay discovery was the main thing that helped get me up to speed."

BH: "Do you have any tips you found worked well for you either upwind or downwind?"

DF: "Upwind I tried playing the traveler first, which turned out to not be as fast as vang-sheeting in the seaway we had.  I'm going to guess that the trav will work better in flatter water.  The class allows two of the crew to sit, legs out, so we had the big guys in the front of the boat do that and Chris trimmed the jib using the windward winch.  It definitely seemed fast to ease the jib slightly in the big blasts and then trim back in.  I did not feel fast enough downwind to offer any suggestions, yet."

BH: "You sailed with 4, as you have in the Sonar for years. How did the jobs fall into place on the boat?"

DF: "Upwind Greg and Eric are constantly looking for velocity and telling me about speed and point compared with nearby competitors.  Chris is integrating the information as we discuss big picture strategy.  That let me really focus on trim and speed which was a huge help.  On the sets, Greg pulls the sprit out, then the tack line as Eric hoists.  Chris trims sheet.  In big breeze when we start to overtake waves and the bow digs in, Greg trims sheet and Chris stands behind me.  Someone is always looking for the next puff.  Downwind it was typical for our speed to range  from 7 knots in the lulls to 14  in the puffs so catching every puff and getting on a plane is a critical part of sailing these boats downwind.  We actually hit 16.7 knots once according to the Velocitek."

BH: "What was the best part about Key West Race Week (keeping in mind that this interview may reach a broad demographic!)?"

DF: "Very relaxed place, blue/green water, great breeze, excellent race management, 40 boat fleet, sun with temps in the mid 70s every day.  And then of course there was always enough going on in Key West to keep the whole team entertained when we weren’t racing!"

BH: "Your team always has fun at every event you go to. Any funny stories from this one?"

DF: "Not so much a funny story, but this: After decades of racing with inordinate concern about outcome--which may be necessary to acquire skills--I'm not certain about that, I finally realized several years ago that you can have more fun and get better results by finding a way to be less invested in outcome and more present.  I really enjoyed sailing with my team, sailing against excellent sailors and having the challenge of a new boat to figure out."

BH: "What’s next for the “SPRING” team?"

DF: "Miami, Charleston, Annapolis."

BH: "One word (or sentence) to describe the J70."

DF: "Good luck trying to wipe the smile off your face!!"

Hmm, that last one seems to be the natural outcome of having a blast sailing with your family and friends, as evidenced by Dave's J/70 colleagues doing the same in Monte Carlo, Monaco recently sailing the J/70s in the Primo Cup- Credit Suisse!   For more on Dave Franzel's J/70 interview, please read more here.

* Diverse experiences like sailing J/24s and Sunfish made John Kostecki a better sailor (yet another, "what does a J/24 World Champion do for a career later in life", kind of story).  Marin Magazine in San Francisco Bay area recently had a chance to catch up with John in between sailing that monster AC72 foiling catamaran named, simply, ORACLE:

"American John Kostecki has made a career as a professional sailor, and can now be found as tactician for America's Cup defender Oracle Team USA. His trail to the top began on San Francisco Bay, with a notable marker in 1982 when both the J/24 World Championship and Sunfish World Championship were held on his home waters.

As an eighteen year old, John won the Sunfish title and came close to winning the J/24 title, too (editor's note- losing to John Kolius and later won the Sydney, Australia J/24 Worlds). John considers his diverse background as an important element of his success today, and would recommend it to children interested in the sport of sailing...

"Most importantly, have fun and enjoy it! There are so many classes out there, so find the one you love. I loved sailing from a young age, so I looked for as many opportunities as I could to get out on the water. I raced both dinghies and keelboats and learned every role on the boat. I'd go keelboat racing with my dad and his friends, then sailing in a junior program. I always tried to hang out with the older kids because they had so much more experience and I learned from them. I didn't focus on being the skipper, but rather on getting as many experiences as I could get..."    For more on the Marin magazine John Kostecki sailing interview

* Past J/22 World Champion, Greg Fisher, has made it nearly a life-long endeavor to grow the sport of sailing, ensure those he sailed with, or taught how to sail, enjoyed the sport at every level-- day-sailing, racing, simply messing around, or just beer-can racing with buddies.

Recently, Scuttlebutt's Craig Leweck, had a chance to catch up with Greg.  As he explains, "West coast college sailing will take its annual leap from dinghies to keelboats next month with 10 teams from across the nation racing Catalina 37s in the sixth Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup/Cal Maritime Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta March 8-10. Among the fleet will be a bold newcomer to the game, the College of Charleston from South Carolina.

Charleston has one of the nation's top college sailing programs, ranked third in the country after the fall semester. But those events are mostly small boats, not the heavily crewed Catalina 37s otherwise seen in the  Congressional Cup and other ocean racing events.

Greg Fisher, now sailing director for the College of Charleston, is working to expand the Cougars' sailing program for big boats because, Fisher says, "it's an important part of the sport. (Note- they have a fleet of J/22s to fleet race, match race, and learn basic keelboat sailing).

"So many sailors love the offshore races with a different type of technical skills required. The whole atmosphere is different. I see how important big boat sailing it to the sport in general.

"With dinghy college sailing there is unfortunately a size limitation. If you're too big it's hard to be competitive. A lot of our guys on our offshore team who are going out [to California] to sail the Harbor Cup are
excellent sailors, but they're bigger guys and would have a hard time competing with the guys on our dinghy team."

"The team is all fired up and working hard at it," Fisher said. "This has given us the segue to go to our athletic department and say, hey, this is an opportunity to develop a new part of our team and offer more sailing for kids to come to our college." 

For College of Charleston's Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/CofCSailing
For more information about Greg's team at the College of Charleston- http://sailing.cofc.edu/

* 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

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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).

-  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).  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.

* 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/

J/Newsletter- February 6th, 2013

Scandinavian Sailboat Shows Starring- J/70!
(Marstrand, Sweden)- Like a shooting star whistling across the Northern Lights on a crystal clear, deep black night in the Arctic Circle (where you can see stars across the horizon nearly 180 degrees!), the J/70 has stirred tremendous passion amongst the sailing cognoscenti in Scandinavia.

Recently, Peter Johansson from Marstrand Yachts in Sweden reported that "our first three J/70’s just arrived, we launched one boat and test sailed yesterday in -4 degrees Celsius. This coming weekend we have eighteen people booked for test sailings in the freezing winter weather. There is a lot of action right now around the J/70, many prospects coming in every week."  One of those "ice-pumping-in-their-veins" Vikings happened to be Peter Gustafsson who went for a spin with the famous offshore BLUR SAILING Team (blur.se), seen pictured here off gorgeous, sunny Marstrand!

For those sailors looking to get a taste of great food, amazing camaraderie and catching up with fellow sailors over some kirsch, cheese fondue and fine wine, you might consider taking a visit to one of the three up-coming sailboat shows in Scandinavia that features the J/70- Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Oslo.  Here are the dates for these events:
Gothenburg Sailboat Show- 2-10/February     
Stockholm Sailboat Show- 2-10/March
Oslo International Sailboat Show- 13-17/March

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J/24 Midwinters Preview
(Tampa, Florida)- This year's J/24 Midwinters are shaping up to be as competitive an event as its seen in recent years.  The Davis Island YC that is playing host to the event from February 12-15 is no stranger to having to manage this group of high-test racers who look forward to their winter pilgrimage down to Florida to challenge the locals as well as the top teams that show up from around the country, a tradition that started back in 1978 in the first J/24 Midwinters and has never let up since!

With a massive Low pressure weather system flowing across the south and into the northeast coast this coming weekend, it may just clean out the weather and offer up some great sailing conditions on Tampa Bay for these intrepid J/24 sailors.  The Bay can be notoriously fickle at this time of year since most of the weather is driven by relatively fast-moving frontal systems from the Arctic North curving south and sweeping across the North American continent.  It's not unknown for Tampa Bay to have light to moderate winds one day and blowing "dogs off chains" in rather "fresh to frightening" conditions the next day as yet another enormous winter front pushes through the amazingly choppy waters off the Tampa city-front.  Without fail, the Midwinters always provides challenging conditions to the competitors.

Fresh off their win at the first J/70 Midwinters, perhaps it's somewhat symbolic the "three musketeers" of John Mollicone, Tim Healy and Geoff Becker have joined together again on I FEEL LIKE(?) as a formidable crew to take on other top teams for the J/24 Midwinters.  Giving them a serious run-for-the-money, and perhaps looking forward to knocking them off the podium, will be several top teams all with equally impressive credentials.  Special mention must first go to Tony Parker sailing yet another incarnation of the famous BANGOR PACKET, more often than not, Tony's always a factor amongst the regatta leaders-- not bad for a guy who's sailed J/24s starting in Maine since 1979! Yes, that does span four actual decades for those who are counting!  Watch out!  The wise-man cometh.  Other notable teams include Peter Bream's crew on TEAM TARHEEL, Robby Brown sailing USA 799, Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER and a pretty formidable group from Newport/ San Diego that know a thing or two about sailing J/24s- Will Welles is teamed up with Chris Snow and Anderson Reggio.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com
For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information

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St Petersburg NOOD Preview
Hot J/70 Debut, Strong J/24 Fleet Sailing
(St Petersburg, Florida)- Riding the tail-feathers of the J/24 Midwinters will be the Sperry Topsider St Petersburg NOOD Regatta hosted by St Petersburg YC.  As one of Florida's leading yacht clubs, StPYC has a reputation for not only being a fabulous host but also one of those famously gentile clubs that simply knows how to take care of their sailors and run a great regatta.  Famous for being the starting point of the SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit), sailors from around the world would belly-up to the bar and admire the gorgeous full-hull tank-testing scale models of 12 meters that hung from the ceiling-- amongst the sailing heroes casting admiring glances were Ted Turner on the Carter 39 MUNEQUITA; Dennis Conner on the many Peterson-designed WILLIWAWs; as well as Tommie Blackaller (bless his heart) on Good Lord knows what, but certainly and most infamously with Tommie Dreyfus on YOUR CHEATIN HEART! Their ghosts are still there for those offshore sailing history buffs as well as the gorgeous 12 meter and other wooden models-- who can name them!?

For the J/Tribe, it looks like there will be two good fleets of boats in both J/24s and J/70s.  For the former, they're the "veterans" and have a tradition of supporting local sailing for a long time.  For the latter, they're the "new kids on the block", the J/70 is debuting for what appears to be the largest fleet in the regatta with over seventeen entries!

Amongst the J/24s will be Todd and Genoa Fedyszyn sailing SPOONY TACTICS.  If you recall, the Fedyszyn's received their boat as a wedding present from her parents. "It's a good boat," said Genoa. "It might not be pretty, but it's fast." Both Todd and Genoa coach sailing for St. Petersburg YC's junior program; they spend most weekends attending the sailing aspirations of others.  One regatta they never miss is the St Pete NOOD. "With our schedules, this is the one event we set aside in advance," said Todd. "We look forward to it every year."  They will have tough competition from David Ogden, J/24 sailor extraordinaire from Royal Canadian YC in Toronto, ONT, Canada and from local ring-leader Robby Brown from across the Bay at Davis Island YC.

As for the J/70s, the experience at Key West proved one thing only, the class is on a steep learning curve, acknowledged even by the winner Tim Healy and those like Brian Keane on SAVASANA who were vying for class honors.  With ten boats from the Midwinters and seven new boats showing up, the class will continue a dramatic ascent up that learning curve.  With additional participation from a number of Midwest boats from the Great Lakes (IL, MI, OH) the event promises to break even more new ground for performance.  Chief amongst the leaders may be teams on the fast-track at Key West, including J/24 and J/80 champion sailors like Kerry Klingler on MENACE; Mark Ploch/ Mike Bruno on SUGAR DADDY; Joe Colling on USA 69; Brandon Flack on TORQEEDO; Peter Vessella on USA 171 and Heather Gregg-Earl on her gorgeous, sublime MUSE.   For more Sperry Topsider St Petersburg NOOD Sailing Information.

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Cowes Week J/70 & J/111 One-Design Classes!
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the world’s best-known sailing regatta, taking place from 3rd to 10th August have announced a radical departure with the traditional Cowes Week racing- cool one-design racing in really fun boats!

In the "Monty Python tradition", upsetting and calling into question the status quo is nothing new for the "J" Team.  Two new J classes have been introduced to this year’s Cowes Week regatta. The rapidly growing J/70 fleet will have its own start this year and will have a race format of two races a day for the first four days.  The sailing should be a lot of fun.  Imagine getting 20-25 kt westerly down the Solent, beating to the first mark off Yarmouth/ Lymington, then simply smoking down the Solent, criss-crossing back and forth, leaving vapor-trails behind as the fleet flies towards the famous finish line off the
Royal Yacht Squadron's deck on Cowes!

There will also be a dedicated class for the increasing number of J/111s coming to Cowes, allowing the exciting 36ft performance boats to enjoy some close one-design racing during the Week. The event concludes the J/111 European Circuit that will have commenced with the SPI OUEST France Regatta in the famous Brittany seaport of La Trinite sur Mer in April.   For more Cowes Week sailing information

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Championship of Champions- Italian Style!
(Genoa, Italy)- The 37th Gulf of Tigullio Winter Championship began on Sunday, November 11, 2012; it's the annual sailing circuit organized by The Committee of the Tigullio Sailing Clubs chaired by Franco Noceti.  Perhaps most importantly, the circuit has become a major sailing event for winter sailing along Italy's western coastline and has been well-attended by many top teams in the Italian offshore circuit.

For this year, a "special prize" has been introduced that takes all the top sailors from all classes along with forty(!) Italian journalists (as crew) to compete for the "Championship of Champions" aboard J/80s sailing off Lavagna, Italy at the conclusion of the regatta-- it will mark the ending of the Gulf of Tigullio Winter Championship 2012/ 2013.  One hopes there will be plenty of "GoPro" video afterwards of the crews performing amazing maneuvers in cramped spaces and with lots of colorful language describing how well the spinnaker came down at a mark-rounding while getting pin-wheeled outside of a dozen boats!

The Tigullio Winter Championship Finals will take place from March 9 to 10, 2013. All of the nine winning teams will challenge aboard J/80s provided by Blue Project.  Blue Project's primary intention is to organize the Championship of the Champions every year to promote this unique, fascinating, spectacular sport of sailing and, furthermore, to help promote and support the J/80 class in Italy.

For more Blue Project Championship of Champions sailing and promo information, please contact Ivana Quattrini at email- ivanaquattrini@concepteventi.it or go to the Blue Project event website.

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US Watercraft Rendezvous
(Warren, RI)- Over the past few decades, several thousand J's were built in the old Tillotson-Pearson facility in Warren, Rhode Island.  Recently, US Watercraft from Portsmouth, RI, builder of J/22s, J/24s, J/80s and J/105s, acquired the boat-building facility on Market Street and is now gearing up production for the four J/Boats they have under license.  In addition, they will also offer parts and maintenance capabilities for all those J's that had been built at that facility, ranging from the J/22s up to the J/160.

To meet the new team, US Watercraft is hosting an "open house/ rendezvous" at the Market St facility.  Come celebrate with us and visit their new location in Warren!  US Watercraft has a fantastic day planned with seminars, factory tours, and demonstrations.  Seminars include the following:

• Racing and Electronic Navigation
• Diesel Maintenance
• Boat Maintenance Basics

The event will be held March 9th from 10am to 4pm at 373 Market Street, Warren, RI.  If you're interested in attending, please RSVP ONLY by February 19th to Sarah (email- sarah@waterlinesystems.com) or phone 401-247-3000.  Please note, lunch and snacks will be provided!

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J/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Amazing to think that January is now one for the record books, at least for some things that is.  It will surely be remembered for an absolutely epic Key West Race Week and the fun and camaraderie had by all.  Key West will also be quite memorable for being the first J/70 Midwinters, a record turnout for a first year Midwinter one-design event, ever, in the history of sailing!  39 boats it was, double the J/24's first Midwinters in 1978 and certainly eclipses any other known one-design class within their first nine months of production (keelboat or centerboard).  As J/70 activity continues to ramp-up, the "classics" continue to attract legions of new J sailors into the J/Tribe.  In Monte Carlo, Monaco, the J/24s had a great turnout for the Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse, marking the start of the European sailing season on the Mediterranean.  The J/24s down in Argentina are still enjoying their extended summer, hosting the Copa Manolo on Mar del Plata off Buenos Aires.  In the Caribbean, the first major regatta of that winter/spring sailing circuit commenced, the San Juan International Regatta, with a virtual navy of J's sailing in J/24 one-design class and in CSA Spinnaker off San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Also making its way down there was the J/160 AVATAR, now resplendent in its winter home in Grand Cruz Bay, US Virgin Islands.  Meanwhile, J/80 teams worldwide are now training for the J/80 Marseilles Worlds in July- included below are brief activity reports from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden (and soon England, Netherlands and Spain).

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.

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Regatta & Show Schedules:

Feb 2-10- Gothenburg Sailboat Show (70)- Gothenburg, Sweden
Feb 11-15- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Is YC- Tampa, FL
Feb 15-17- J/70 St Pete NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 16-24- New England Boatshow (70)- Boston, MA
Feb 28-Mar 13- J/22 Midwinters- Davis Is YC- Tampa, FL
Mar 2-10- Stockholm Sailboat Show (70)- Stockholm, Sweden
Mar 6-9- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (70, 80)- Miami, FL
Mar 6-10- HISWA Amsterdam Boatshow (70)- Amsterdam, Holland
Mar 8-10- J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Seabrook, TX
Mar 13-17- Oslo Sailboat Show (70)- Oslo, Norway
Mar 15-17- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 17-Apr 28- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, England
Mar 28-Apr 1- SPI Ouest France- La Trinite sur Mer, France
Apr 11-14- Strictly Sail Pacific (70, 111)- Alameda, CA
Apr 18-21- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80)- Charleston, SC
May 3-5- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
May 17-19- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 18-22- New York YC Race Week (105, 111)- Newport, RI
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.

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St ANDREWS Wins Primo Cup
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)-  The first weekend of the 29th edition of the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse has just finished in breezy 20-knot conditions which saw six fabulous races over the two days for the twenty boat J/24 fleet.

Having searched for wind on Friday further offshore, only to have it filling in with a vengeance in the bay, the Race Committee led by Thierry Leret decided to keep the competitors safe in the more sheltered Cap Martin area. With gusts of up to 35-40 knots, it proved a wise decision not to start any races that day. With a full complement of races behind them over the last two days of the event, the international crews again had an opportunity to start their racing season early in windy, not-so-wintery conditions!  Amongst the J/24 class, five nationalities participated.

Ian Ilsley and François Brennac on St ANDREWS won overall and were awarded the 2013 J/24 Class Challenge Trophy, presented by J Boats (Italy) which from now on will award the winner of this series at the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse every year.  St ANDREWS sailed a consistent series, scoring a 1-2-1-3-3-1 for 8 net pts after throwout.

“With are very pleased with this victory, a very important year for us, as we are not only preparing the European Championship in Monaco but also the World Championship in Ireland, to be held in August in Howth”, commented Ian Ilsley. An active and dynamic member of the Yacht Club de Monaco, he is also behind the Monaco Team Race, a new J/24 event due to take place in Monaco from the 8th to 10th March 2013 which has attracted nine teams from key European Yacht Clubs.

Just behind them and never far from taking the gold was the Greek team sailing EVNIKI. Her crew, ranked 5th at the 2012 European Championship, were there to experience the Monaco waters in anticipation of the 2013 J/24 European Championship, being held in Monaco from 5th to 12th October. They were not here just for "show & tell", they even managed to win two races, scoring a 2-3-ocs-1-1-4 for 11 net pts.

Rounding out the top five were Blandine Medecin's team on TOPO TOO sailing to a 5-1-ocs-2-6-2 for 16 net pts to secure third overall. Blandine was the top woman sailor at the event. Lying  in fourth was long-time class veteran from the United Kingdom, Stu Jardine sailing JULIA (a.k.a. "Stouche") to an 8-5-12-4-2-5 record for 24 net pts.  “Another great Primo Cup with great weather conditions and it is very good to see that the sixteen Monaco boats are competing to a much higher level,” said Stu Jardine, a seasoned series’ racer with many top level titles to his name.  Finishing behind them in fifth was the second woman skipper, Anne Rodelato sailing JOKER to a 10-4-2-8-9-3 scoreline for 26 pts.

The Primo Cup in J/24s were also a family affair in the top five!  Special mention should be made of the Rodelato family from Monaco, enthusiastic members of Yacht Club Monaco and avid J/24 sailors.  Both Claude and Jean Rodelato sailed with Blandine on her third place finishing TOPO TOO.  And, Anne Rodelato, of course, was the skipper of JOKER in fifth place.  Congratulations to all and keep having fun sailing in the beautiful waters off Monaco!   Sailing photo credits- Carlo Borlenghi/ YC Monaco   For more Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse sailing information

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J's Dominate San Juan International Regatta
KQLO Wins J/24s, J/105 UMAQUA Smokes CSA Spinnaker
(San Juan, Puerto Rico)- With the winter sailing season in the Caribbean beginning to wind-up into a higher gear, it would be natural that it all starts on the western end of the island chain and have everyone simply migrate eastward in "baby-steps" to the next island, headed upwind against the mighty trade-winds of course, to ultimately end up sailing in Antigua Week at the far eastern end sometime in April. What a plan for awesome sailing and a party, eh?  Makes sense to many sailors, especially the happy-go-lucky, incredibly social, fun-loving Puerto Rican sailors.  Seems they got it right.  Start in San Juan, then go to Fajardo, then successively head down the Windward-Leewards to sail the RORC 600, Heineken St Maarten, Rolex St Thomas, BVI Spring Regatta Tortola, St Barts then, finally, Antigua! 

Starting with the San Juan International Regatta, the racing takes place in San Juan Bay where temperatures reach a comfortable high in the low 80s and winds customarily blow 10 to 15 knots in February.  The event was hosted by Club Nautico de San Juan from February 1 to 3 and welcomed over 140 sailors in 102 boats racing in 10 classes.  Postcard-perfect sailing conditions prevailed, just as advertised.  Generally, "perfect" with mostly sunny skies and winds blowing under 10 knots the first day and gusting to nearly 20 knots on the final day of competition. The mark of a truly great regatta is the opportunity for lots of racing. True to reputation, the SJIR Race Committee ran as many as 13 to 16 races over three days for the dinghy classes and seven races for the newly-added CSA spinnaker class.

'What is so good is the participation of sailors from so many islands and in so many classes. It really levels the playing field and creates a great competition,' says regatta chairman, Luis Fabre. 'It is also wonderful to welcome the first-time addition of the CSA Spinnaker class. This has added a whole new dimension to the regatta. Next year we hope to add a CSA Jib and Main class as well.'

In the nine-boat CSA class, it was a fleet of six J's that dominated the class. Puerto Rico’s Julio Reguero from the host club CNSJ sailed his J/105 UMAKUA fast and consistent.  They showed everyone how to get it done, scoring an impressive 4.5-1-1-DNS-1-1-1 for  9.5 pts net to win by a landslide.  Hanging in strong over the course of the regatta and grabbing third overall was the J/122 LAZY DOG skippered by Sergio Sagramoso from the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club. The DOG's scores of 2-6-4-1-3-DNF-3 for 19 net pts was just 3 pts from 2nd!  Also finishing in the top five and taking fourth in class was the J/105 DARK STAR sailed by another "local",  Jonathan Lipuscek, managing a 7-2-2-5-7-3-2 scoreline for 21 net pts.  Other J's having a great time included the J/80 KOSA LOKA (or OTRA COSA?) sailed by Caribbean racing veteran Kike Gonzales from Club Nautico Puerto Rico; the J/39 CRYSTAL helmed by Jerome O'Neill from Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club and the J/80 VENTUS skippered by Hector Melendez from CNSJ.

The J/24 class had a great series with twelve races sailed.  In the end, it was Puerto Rico’s Jose Fullana on KQLO that probably stunned the fleet by taking eight 1sts, four 2nds and tossing a 2nd!  One might call that a "spanking", or perhaps a "schooling" for their colleagues on how to do it right!  Rising to the challenge, but not quite getting there, was Jaime Balzac's RAZZMATAZZ accumulating an equally impressive two 1sts, six 2nds and three 3rds while tossing a 3rd to take second overall.  Third position on the podium was TAX RETURN sailed by Carlos Feliciano; they started slowly but like a runaway freight-train down a hill, finished with a flourish, winning the last two races!  Thanks for the contribution from Carol Bareuther.   For more San Juan International Regatta sailing information

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J/80 Teams Training for Marseilles Worlds
(Marseilles, France)- In just about six months, over 150 J/80s are expected to participate in the J/80 Worlds hosted in Marseilles, France from July 6th to 13th.  A majority of the fleet will most certainly come from France as it has evolved as the largest one-design class in the country, some fleets will send over a dozen boats.  Strong contingents will also include Spain, home to the past few year's World Champions, as well as strong contenders from England, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Denmark.  Over 15 nations are expected to be represented at the event.

Marseilles is a remarkable place to sail, situated as a city-by-the-Mediterranean sea at the southern end of a long chain of mountains that are part of the French Alps.  If weather fronts aren't passing through and generating good breeze, the near "adiabatic" winds that can be generated in the form of "mistrals" and "sea breezes" provide the sailors plenty of challenges as they look for advantage on the race course.  As a result, the Match Race France event is always held in Marseilles in their fleet of J/80s, part of the World Match Race Tour.   For more J/80 Worlds Marseille sailing information

As part of team training, it's evident many French fleets and others around Europe are already making preparations to be in top shape for the event.  Here's a quick synopsis of what is happening so far in France:

J/80 La Rochelle, France:
Despite the fact it's middle of winter on the Bay of Biscay, several J/80s have already gone sailing in the New Year!  Four boats went training, BALAJO, CHARLY, J'ILE DE RE and JYPSIENS.  Saturday it was very cold and rainy but all were bundled-up to stay warm! At 1400 hrs, the boats went out in a fresh 20 kts NE breeze for about three hours of sailing on small douses and performing both boat speed and boat-handling maneuvers.

On Sunday the teams sailed from 1000 hrs to 1530 hrs with a WNW wind 10 knots and above all a beautiful sun! The program again for the day was speed tests, adjustments, and course exercises. All of this was filmed and recorded with GPS for debrief and analysis afterwards onshore.  Thanks to contribution from Ann-Pascale.

J/80 Pornic, France:
Like their friends in La Rochelle, the Pornic fleet is starting its training this coming weekend.  About twelve boats are expected on the water for training.  Great weather with 5-10 kts northerly winds swinging WNW, sun and a pleasant temperature are expected.

J/80 La Trinite sur Mer, France:
This year, the La Trinite J/80 fleet is hosting its 5th edition of La Trinité J/80 Challenge! There are always five weekends planned for a combination of training and racing with commentary/ analysis afterwards.  To make it fun, the top three events will be selected for the general results.  The format for each weekend is:
- Saturday- training with a specific theme and coach
- Sunday- racing short courses with results counting for the Challenge.

On the last weekend, the races will take place on Saturday and the awards ceremony on Saturday evening.  This year, each weekend is named after one of our sponsor/ partners!

1 - Nautic Sport - 2/3 February
2 - La Plancha - 16/17 February
3 - Casino Partouche - 2/3 March
4 - Armorlux - 16/17 March
5 - Zing Café - 23/24 March

Finally, for SPI OUEST France, on Friday, March 29 at 18:30, there will be a "Soiree Nacional" that will honor the best crews of all fleets in France.  Thanks for contribution from Arnaud Walter.
For more information on French J/80 sailing & training events.

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J/80 German Youth Training
(Berlin, Germany)- The national class in Germany is working hard on promoting youth sailing in J/80s and broadening the appeal of one-design racing, with a focus also on preparing for the Worlds Marseilles.

After the very successful youth development program that was introduced in 2012 for the first time, the J/80 Class in Germany has decided again to promote and provide boats for youth for the 2013 season! Here's is how it works:

"To promote Junior J/80 sailing, the German Class Association is providing up to 3 boats with a charter fee of 500 EUR each, used to support the participation of the youth in German and international regattas.

Any German J/80 crew can apply, but must meet certain qualifications- 25 years old maximum, student in school/ university, and members of the J/80 Class.  Applications may be submitted informally to the Board of the J80 Class Association and must be received by April 30th. Thanks for contribution from Christopher Peper.    For more German J/80 sailing information

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J/80 Sweden "SeglarPub" Training
(Stockholm, Sweden)- While they may be enjoying ice-bound -20 C weather conditions, the Swedes will still get together and "talk shop".  To that point, Anna Drougge and Isabelle Mungsgård have taken the excellent initiative to collect all the sailors in Stockholm and invite them to the first "SeglarPub".  Yes, "sailor pub" networking event!  Cool idea.

The first "SeglarPub" event is scheduled for February 21st in Stockholm at the "Odengatan". Come and talk old memories and plan for new great things on the lake. An occasional beer might slip down too!
For more Swedish J/80 SeglarPub "training" information

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J/80 Italy Race Training
(Tigullio, Italy)-  The New Year's festivities have come and gone, but the competitive activity for the J/80 sailors have never ceased!  In fact, J/80 racing is continuing with 10 boats participating in the Winter Championship Tigullio, clear evidence of good class growth and participation.  The next event for the Winter Championship in Santa Margherita Ligure started on February 3rd.  Then in the second half of May the fleet will be primarily engaged in sailing these two events before the Worlds Marseille in July:
- May 18-19- Marina Yachting Trophy- Chiavari, Italy
- May 24-26- J/80 Italian Championship- Sestri Levante, Italy
For more J/80 Italy class and sailing information

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MENDIETA Wins J/24 Copa Manolo Regatta
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- With the imposing backdrop of the coastline of Mar del Plata and with hundreds of tourists and locals watching from the various points along the coast, the fourth edition of the Manolo Cup Championship was a great success.  The event was sponsored by Churros Manolo and was well-managed by the host, Club Nautico Mar del Plata.

It all started on Saturday under a day completely gray with intermittent rain, wind NE about 9-10 knots and waves crossing the race course at about 1m in height-- a severe cross-chop, really! The course area was laid out close to shore, with the starting line located across from Playa Chica and a windward leg that took the fleet past Cabo Corrientes.  After the first day of racing, it was clear that MENDIETA helmed by Juan Diego Figueroa began to emerge as the potential winner after getting two 1sts in two races.  While the schedule called for 3-4 races, the wind died out to zero and the fleet had to head for home for some mandatory Argentinean salsa and delicious red malbec wine!

As the crews woke up on Sunday, the weather appeared nearly unbeatable for sailing; Northerly winds blowing 12-15 kts and increasing with a good chop over the long swells, sunny clear skies and a warm 28 C! The conditions made it challenging for most crews with teams moving up and down the ladder quite dramatically.  Nevertheless, the first day leader, MENDIETA, simply sailed away from the pack and collected three more bullets and a second place to win with only five points after six races (due to a throwout).  Just behind them in second was truly a family boat, with the trio of Martin, Ronnie and Natalia Jenkins combining with Maru Bozzo, Andrea Basagna and Cristina Cendagorta sailing PANAM to safely take the silver with a 2-3-2-3-3-1 scoreline for 11 pts.  Third was PINGUI sailed by Alejandro Capizzano with a 5-2-3-2-6-5 for 17 pts.    Sailing photo credits- Marina Devo Fotografias   
For more J/24 Copa Manolo sailing information

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J/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Just Did It!  Yes, Bob Hughes, owner of the championship winning Farr 40 Heartbreaker did something that we should all do-- see what Bob had to say in his feature for Sailing Anarchy.

"Figuring it was not worth it to drag the Farr 40 all the way to Key West for a seven boat fleet and the Melges 20 class that we just bought a boat for does not participate, we were in a quandary what to do for 2013 KWRW. Willem Van Waay suggested returning to our J/Boats roots and charter a J/70 as they had a 40 boat fleet registered. I had no idea what to expect but had plenty of preconceived ideas that almost all turned out to be wrong!

First the Johnstone’s came out with a great boat to sail! She goes up wind very well and is plenty of fun to sail downwind. She feels and sails like a dinghy with a keel. Our only complaint with the boat is the winches that are not needed and tend to beat up the crew. Hopefully they will allow them to be removed in the future. Otherwise we loved sailing her and we never put the engine on her the whole week, sailing her to and from the slip. They are still experimenting with the crew weight so it was unlimited for this event but only two could have legs out.

Our team consisted of British Laser sailor Nicki (Minaj) Thompson, Willem (Creature) Van Waay and college sailor Venezuelan Victor- The Dictator and myself. Four people is a big advantage in the corners with a extra pair of hands for maneuvers and upwind as you can only have two people hiking so the third can sit in and trim the mainsheet and back stay(traveler with Helmsman). The boat goes upwind much better than the typical sport boat. Sail development and rig tune are all in their infancy with the class so the sailmakers are working with a blank canvas. I am sure the sails will look much different in a year and hopefully the class will allow a plastic jib that will last longer than the Dacron. Southern Spars put a very nice rig on her. The boat is planes easily downhill in the breeze and has plenty of power in the light air.

For $50K in the water sailing I think J/Boats have hit the market at the right price point allowing lots of great sailors to get in and play the game. Besides many established Pro Sailmakers like Dave Ullman, Mark Ploch, Jud Smith and winner Tim Healy one of the best things about this boat was that I saw younger teams just a few years out of college able to buy and race the heck out of the boat. Sailing needs something to get younger people in it and I think this boat will bring plenty of them into the game. Over the years we have competed in KWRW in a Melges 24, 1D35, Farr 40 and Melges 32. This fleet was just as competitive as all of those, similar to the 60 boat Melges 24 fleets of the late 90′s. I have heard people say "it is the right boat at the right time" and I could not agree more. Well designed, quality build, affordable price and J/Boats marketing have kick started to almost 400 boats already sold. We liked it so much and figured what else would we rather do KWRW in next year, so we better buy a J/70!  The boats are really fun to sail both upwind and down and everyone is trying to learn how to sail them fast. Like all one-design classes we will be sailing these boats much differently with established tuning guides in a year. With the shrinking fleets we have all seen the last few years, this boat has a chance to make a huge impact on our sport.

I would encourage you to go for a sail, better yet race, the J/70 as the racing is plenty tough and lots of fun. This is the way it is supposed to work, American entrepreneurship creating solutions. Well done Johnstone Family!"  - Robert Hughes/ Heartbreaker Sailing Team

* J/70 Expert Debrief-  Scuttlebutt Newsletter Editor, Craig Leweck, was on-hand in Key West to speak to some of the leading J/70 teams.  As Craig describes, "Since its introduction in March 2012, the J/70 has quickly established itself worldwide with 125+ boats sailing in 15+ countries in 2012, and 350+ boats to be sailing in 2013. With 39 boats competing at Key West Race Week 2013, the J/70 class was the talk of the town. Here is what three of the competitors shared with Scuttlebutt from the week of racing":

A. David Ullman- Ullman Sails- 5th overall...
"I learned the same lessons as always. Do not show up for a major regatta without proper preparation. We sailed at 570 lbs. which was near the class maximum, but the class max was removed before the regatta and it was good to sail at 700 lbs. plus. This meant sailing 4-up instead of 3-up. We learned the wind speed to plane or not plane downwind was 12 knots. Planning is jib out and higher angles (seen here), but when the winds were lighter than 12 knots, we would sail lower displacement angles with the jib rolled. Rig tuning is a work in progress but we got closer as the regatta wore on. Seems like you can sail with the leeward shroud always under tension."

B. Jud Smith- Doyle Sails- 4th overall...
"One of the talking points after the regatta would be crew weight, and it was. We added a fourth to our crew on Sunday once we saw the forecast for the week was going to freshen after Monday. We were the heaviest team at 780 lbs and we were too heavy, for sure, and would not sail that heavy again. In retrospect, we think the right weight is in a range for 660 to 700 lbs with a crew of four for the boat handling. The 3-up teams are at a disadvantage in fresher conditions. Top 3-up team was Dave Ullman (5th) and next 3-up team was not in the top 15 overall. We added the fourth so as not to be disadvantaged upwind but we added too much weight that hurt us downwind." -- Read on here.

C. Tim Healy- North Sails- 1st overall...
"Like most regattas, the successful teams come in well-prepared and improve during the course of the event. However, this regatta was unique in that nobody had much time in the boat beforehand. Our team trained for a couple days before the regatta, but the winds were mostly light. For us, we found using the time before each race day was when we learned the most.

One of the issues in developing boat speed is the difference between tuning speed and racing speed. Being fast when tuning with a couple boats is not the same as being fast when racing in a 39-boat fleet. Fortunately the work developing the tuning guide got the numbers really close, though we did find an advantage by taking a step up to tighten the rig. This information will be incorporated into the North Sails tuning guide." -- Read on here.  Sailing Photo Credits- Onne Vanderwal and Ultimate Sailing.

* What do past J/24 World Champions do when they're not sailing?  Simple, bring the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 to Newport.  That's exactly what Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport did this past week (his brother Kenny is now President of North Sails). Actually, it took months of hard labor and a bit of luck, e.g. "third time's a charm", so to speak.  On Tuesday, February 5th, Governor Lincoln Chafee (himself a J/100 owner and passionate J/Sailor) and Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad announced that Newport, Rhode Island will host its first Volvo Ocean Race after winning a stop on the route of the 12th edition of sailing's premier round-the-world challenge in 2014-15.

"We have made significant strategic land and marine infrastructure improvements at Fort Adams State Park, paving the way for a new era of racing in Rhode Island and setting the stage for the world-class events we continue to host," said Governor Lincoln Chafee. "We had a positive experience with the America's Cup World Series last summer, and I look forward to welcoming the Volvo Ocean Race to Rhode Island. These large-scale sailing events draw impressive numbers of visitors to our state - visitors who make valuable contributions to our economy."

The Race will reach Newport, one of the world's sailing capitals, in around May 2015 after a stop in Itajai, Brazil. Newport is the last stop before teams will sail across the Atlantic for the final legs around Europe. The Volvo Ocean Race has visited the U.S. in every edition since 1997-98, but despite Newport's great sailing heritage, it has never before had "Host Port" status.

"The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the premiere sailing events in the world. We look forward to welcoming the sailors, the sponsors and particularly the fans of this great race to our magnificent port," said Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport. "With the race working its way around the world, it will build to a crescendo as it arrives in Newport, R.I. We can't wait."  The Race will finish in Gothenburg, Sweden in summer 2015.

 
* 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

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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).

-  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).  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.

* 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/