Thursday, November 12, 2009

J/Newsletter- November 11th, 2009

J/95 cruising sailboatJ/95 Winning Hearts of Traveling Sailors

It's apparent that the J/95 is striking a sensitive chord in those who wish they could have their "cake and eat it, too".  For once, a reasonable sized boat can be sailed in just about any body of water one wishes to travel to nearly anywhere in the world, be they a spectacular Swiss lake, a romantic anchorage on Italy's Lago Maggiore, a summertime soiree on Lake Dillon in Colorado or an adventurous trip to Lake Titicaca in Peru (well perhaps not, but fun to dream about!).  There are now two J/95s headed over to Europe.  One is going to the London Boatshow to be shown by J/UK- so be sure to contact Paul Heyes and crew soon!  The other is going to Switzerland.

Recently, Peter Bangerter, the J Swiss dealer visited America to see what all the excitement was about.  In short, he was blown away.  In his own words, Peter had this to say about his experience last week on the J/95: "it was simply awesome.  Amazing boat, absolutely a big boat feel.  Very fast.  Easy to handle, turns on a dime! The perfect "little big boat" for European lake sailing.  We picked one up for our Swiss clients who love to travel from lake to lake.  Our Swiss and Austrian sailors like to have a boat they can spend weekends on with family and friends. We love it!"  Be sure to contact Peter soon to arrange a preview and demo sail in the Swiss Alps-- imagine going for a healthy hike (or ski) in the Alps in St. Moritz, then cruising down to Lake Silvaplana for a gorgeous afternoon sail in pristine spring weather.  You can best reach Peter via email.

European Boatshows-

Paris Boatshow- 5-13 December 2009
London Boatshow- 8-17 January 2010
For those of you who enjoy the bright lights and big cities of Europe, be sure to consider taking a fun, romantic, adventurous trip to Paris or London for the boatshows to visit with J/Europe or J/UK to chat about sailing and perhaps your next J dream boat. For more info on Paris, contact Frederic Bouvier and for info on London, contact Paul Heyes.

Regatta Schedule

Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 14-15- Ice Cup (J92s)- Stockholm, Sweden
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s

J/80 sailboat racing in SwedenJ/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

While the Americas and Australia take a breather on events this past week, the action was hot and windy in Europe.  The Garmin Hamble Winter Series resumed for the J/109, J/105 and J/80 one-design classes. The J/80s continue to have a great time in the Med racing off the Spanish seacoasts of Bilbao, Santander and Palma.  Furthermore, the French had their J/80 Nationals in Cherbourg with a record turnout.  Our Scandinavian friends are warming up in J/92s for their "ice breaker cups" next weekend.  And, in South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans are still busily preparing for the J/24 South Americans in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  Read on!  More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our  J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/109 sailboat racing in the Solent, EnglandGarmin Hamble Winter Series

J/109, J/105 and J/80 Fleets Continue Great Sailing

(Solent, Hamble, England)- This past weekend the Winter Series continued with good solid racing taking place in the three J one-design fleets represented in this classic Solent fall series.

In the seventeen boat J/109 class, Luca Rubinelli racing his ARIA has taken over the lead sailing to a 2-3-3-3-2 series with 13 points.  Richard and Valerie Griffith sailing OUTRAJEOUS sailed into second with a 5-2-7-2-3 record for 19 points.  Falling just a little off the pace due to a DSQ was J-DREAM, David & Kirsty Apthorp's well-campaigned boat to an unfortunate 1-1-1-DSQ-1 record for 22 points to settle into third place.

The J/105s were having a good go at it with six of them vying for top honors.  What a competitive fleet!  All top three boats are within one point of each other!  Simon Curwen's VOADOR is atop the heap with a 1-2-3-OCS-1 record for 13 points.  Paul Griffiths is just behind on FAY-J due to a 2-1-2-OCS-3 tally that generates 14 points.  And, Chris Jones'  JOURNEYMAKER 5 recorded a 3-4-4-1-2 record for 14 points to be behind on a tie-breaker.

John Coopers' Team O!! are sailing quite strongly this fall and their record shows it- 2-2-1-1-2-4-DNF-2-1-2-1-1-2 is not bad and only totals 15 points.  Chasing them around the race track has been Ian Atkins'  BOATS.COM, sailing to a solid - 4-1-4-3-3-2-1-1-3-3-2-4-1 record for 20 points.  Thor Askeland is sailing ELLE SAPPELLE  well and is hanging in for third overall with a- 5-4-5-4-1-1-DNF-3-2-1-5-5-5 record that puts him 10 points back from second place with a total of 30 points.  For more info.

J/80 French National Championship - large fleet of sailboatsFrench J/80 Nationals

Luc Nadal's GANJA Dominates Championship

(Cherbourg, France- Nov. 7-11)- A record turnout of forty eight J/80s showed up for this year's French J/80 National Championship in Cherbourg.  The hometown hosts were fabulous and put on quite a show despite the somewhat difficult weather conditions they were presented with over the course of the four day regatta. Light shifty four knot winds and flat water to moderate rolling seas blowing upwards of twenty knots offered the fleet tremendous challenges.  It was very difficult to stay out of the bottom of the fleet and maintain some kind of consistency.

J/80 sailboats sailng downwind at French National ChampionshipHowever, Luc Nadal and his team aboard GANJA sailed magnificently, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the board to win by nearly thirty points over his next competitor.  Their record of 2-1-9-1-7-1-1 for 22 points speaks for itself...four firsts was unequalled in the fleet.  Second overall was Jean-Yves Jaffrezic racing ATLANTIS with a record of  5-8-21-12-1-3-1 for 51 points, beating JACUZZI on a tie-breaker.  Ludovic Gilet raced the renowned JACUZZI into third place with a 1-6-13-3-5-19-4 also with 51 points but lost tie on most firsts.  Fourth was the famous French woman sailor Christine Briand just three points back sailing J ILE DE RE and finishing behind her was Frederic Denis on ECOLE NAVALE CG29 with 63 points.

On a personal note, it was nice to see Pierre Follenfant- a former 470 and FD sailor whom Drake and Stu sailed against when they were kids in the 470 class in the mid-1970s sailing a respectable series to finish 11th in this highly competitive fleet!  We're glad to see old warhorses like us can still hang in there with the top players in the class!   For more info.

J/80 sailboat leaping off waves sailing in SpainBancantabria Sailing Cup

FUNDESTIC (Toño Gorostegui)  Winning Overall

(Santander, Spain- 8-9 November)-  The forecast for bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, with orange alert announced and forecast winds of force 7 to 8, meant that the Third Act (Series) of the Bancantabria Sailing Cup was going to be an experience to say the least.  Fortunately, the Race Committee elected to setup the courses in the inner bay, therefore enabling the J/80s to have two fun, very windy races.  Only twelve of the thirty boats raced in the demanding conditions.  And the end of the weekend, it was Tono Gorostegui who maintained their composure to maintain the overall lead sailing FUNDESTIC.

Leaders for the weekend (Act III) were Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS; then RAITA finished second and Tono's FUNDESTIC got third.  The provisional Overall standings for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup has Tono's FUNDESTIC in first with 8 points, Paul Santurde's SPACIO in second with 12 points and Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS in third with 13 points.  For more info.

Commodores Trophy- Espana

ZEIK Wins Big In Gale Force Winds

(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña.  It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.

On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters.  The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day.  Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races.  However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former. For more info.

J/Community:

J24 World Champion Ken Read skippering PUMAWhat friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Ken Read and Jerry Kirby put on a great show this past Tuesday in Newport at the Jane Pickens Theater in Washington Square.  Great entertainment and, most importantly, the kids absolutely loved it!  A great forum with three members of the PUMA team answering questions about their experiences and some amazing onboard footage of life aboard a carbon coffin (aka sailboat) from the indomitable Rick Deppe.

* Chris Larson deserves congratulations for a job well done sailing this year in some World Ex- J/24 World Champion Chris Larson and teamChampionships. It turns out winning the Melges 24 Worlds against some top talent and former M24 World Champions took some excellent training beforehand.  Guess what it was??  Well, like many other Olympic and World Champions before him (like Kenny mentioned above), Chris jumped into the J/24 to race against a raft of other World Champions for the J/24 World Championsip earlier this year in Annapolis, MD.  Looks like it was good training and motivation for Chris and team since he took second place amongst a contingent of hot Latin American sailors from Brazil and Argentina.

Featured Boat

NEW J/105 Race-ready for 2010

US Watercraft will have a race-prepped and ready-to-rock new J/105 ready to ship by January 2010.  USW does a gorgeous job of building these J/105s.  For those of you interested in jumping aboard the fun, competitive J/105 fleet this is  a great opportunity to get a rocket-ship and go have fun next year.  These USW sailboats have beautifully fair hulls, keels and rudders and are nicely appointed below.  The deck and rigging are top notch and are race-ready.

For more information, please be sure to contact you J/Dealer or J/Boats- Ph# 401-846-8410 or email- info@jboats.com.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!
For background info:
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

Subscribe to our J/Newsletter here:
http://www.jboats.com/lists/?p=subscribe

Friday, November 6, 2009

J/Newsletter- November 5th, 2009

J/95 shoal-draft cruising sailboat

J/95 Demos in Full Swing

Go to Sunny, Warm Florida, Texas and Chesapeake!

After the strong showing at the Newport and Annapolis Boatshows, interest in the J/95 continues to grow as sailors look to expand their sailing and cruising horizons with J's newest, innovative design- a 31 foot shoal-draft sailboat that draws 3 feet, can go upwind at 6.5 knots, surf off-the-wind at 8.5+ knots with the simple asymmetric spinnaker and can be turned on a dime with its twin-rudder wheel steering system.

Be sure to contact these J/Dealers for a showing and/or demo of the incredibly fun and cool J/95:
- Florida- Crosscurrent Marine- Craig Crossley- P: (401) 330-6135/ E: craig@crosscurrentmarine.com
- Texas- J/Boats Southwest- Scott Spurlin-  P: (940) 591-7040/ E: scott@jboatssouthwest.com
- Chesapeake- Northpoint Yacht Sales- Ken Comerford- P: (410) 961-5254 / E: ken@northpointyachtsales.com

For more information, please contact J/Boats at Ph- +1-401-846-8410 or email - info@jboats.com.

J/80 sailboat European Championships2010 J/80 Europeans on Lake Garda

(Lago di Garda, Italy)- Get ready for some fantastic sailing on the famous, windy Lake Garda next summer, as the Italian J/80 Class Association invites you to the 2010 European Championships.  The event will be hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine Yacht Club and take place June 21-26. The Italian National Championship will be held two weeks prior (June 11-13) at the same venue.   Italian hospitality is renowned and the FVM YC promises that this will be one of the BEST European one-design events ever held on the Continent.   Put it on your schedule now, book a gorgeous villa with lots of friends, eat lots of tasty, fresh Italian pasta cuisine, enjoy great Italian red and white wines and go have a great time!  The event weblink is up and running and complete information will be posted there in the near future.

J/92 sailboat match race SwedenIce Cup Sweden

(Stockholm, Sweden)- The season is not over!  On November 14-15, the Stockholm Match Race Center is hosting their infamously fun Ice Cup.  For those of you who have not yet tested the concept, you get to race on six purpose-built J/92 sailboats provided by the organizer.  Everyone races in a round-robin match race format and the best re-qualify for a winners/ repechage bracket.  Lunch is provided both days and dinner on Saturday evening is included- a great shindig and a great band!  In addition, a fabulous Swedish sauna is promised for those who need to thaw out after the racing-- sounds yummy!  Remember, it's not uncommon for the Barbary sheep to be shoveling away the season's first snow on the boats before the race; charming thought, eh?  The Stockholm Match Race Center was founded in 2005 by Bjorn Hansen, one of Europe's most qualified match racing sailors. Their operations are on Lidingö in Stockholm.  They manage and organize commercial racing events, corporate sailing and train and educate the Swedish elite in match racing. Details and invitation at Swedish Match Race Center.

Regatta Schedule

Nov. 7-11- J/80 French Nationals- Cherbourg, France
Nov. 8-29- GARMIN Winter Series (J/80, J/109, J/105)- Solent, Hamble, England
Nov. 14-15- Ice Cup Match Race- Stockholm, Sweden- racing on J/92s
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul
Jan. 18-22, 2010- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s, J/122s

J/80 sailboat at sunset off Palma Mallorca, SpainJ/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Winter is nearly upon us in the Northern Hemisphere but is certainly has not diminished the enthusiasm and passion J sailors have for sailing in the cooler climes.  Our friends "down under" in South America, southern Asia and Australia are just getting going in their spring sailing seasons- with action hotter than ever!  In Europe,  the J/80s are having a great time in the Med racing off the Spanish seacoasts of Bilbao, Santander and Palma.  Our Scandinavian contingent in J/80s continue racing their "Ice Cups" and "ice-breaking" events near the Arctic Circle in Denmark and Sweden.  In Asia/ Pacific, the Royal Hong Kong YC are concluding their China Cup Series and a bit further south, the Australians are warming up for their spring season with events off Sydney and Melbourne.  In the South America, the Brazilians, Peruvians, Chileans and Argentineans are preparing for the J/24 South Americans in Porto Alegre, Brazil.  And, up north in America, the J/105 North Americans, the J/24 East Coasts and IRC East Coasts were all held in virtually the same massive weather front- producing blustery, rainy, windy conditions on Saturday and gorgeous fall sailing conditions on Sunday. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/105 North American Champions- Bruce Stone, Stuart Johnstone, Nicole Breault, Mark, Dave, BobSUBARU J/105 North Americans a Power Play

Stone Overcomes Slow Start to Win

(Rye, NY- Nov 1) - Bruce Stone racing POWER PLAY secured victory at the Subaru J/105 North American Championship at American Yacht Club in Rye, NY.  After stumbling out of the gate on the first day with a 6-15-10, the San Francisco-based team’s comeback hit overdrive on the third day when they won all three races to vault them to the top of the standings; garnering four firsts in a row since the last race the day before. A manageable 5-4 on the final day guaranteed their win.

The fleet was blessed by remarkably variable conditions over the four days of racing with plenty of wind from all four quadrants.  Whomever prevailed was going to have overcome significant challenges to overcome a very strong and deep fleet of talented sailors racing in this year's North Americans.

It all started out on Thursday with light to medium breezes out of the ENE.; competitors were greeted with blue skies, temperatures in the 50s and winds between 8-12 knots that diminished throughout the three races.  James Rathbun of Toronto, Ontario with world renowned World Champion Canadian sailor Terry McLaughlin in the afterguard calling tactics and boat speed led the 28 boat fleet after three races; their J/105 HEY JUDE finished with eight points for the day.  A perennial J/105 Champion Brian Keane from Weston, MA sailing SAVASANA ended the day in second with eleven points. One point behind were New York Long Island Sound locals Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM with twelve points.

J/105 Power Play sailboat sailing off Long Island SoundOn Friday, competitors enjoyed brisk fall conditions on Long Island Sound. Winds blew between SSE 10-14 knots, and temperatures remained in the 50. This day belonged to Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM who scored a 1-1-3. After six total races, the Katonah, NY team sat with seventeen total points; an enormous twenty point lead over their closest competition. James Rathbun HEY JUDE didn't have such a great day and dropped to second place overall. Josh Burack on PEREGRINA (New Rochelle, NY) rounded out the top three with forty points.  Following Esdorn/Hennes in Race 4 were Rob Marsh on BLOWBOAT and Bruce Stone on POWER PLAY.  Foreshadowing what was to come the next day, the POWER PLAY team finally got off the starting line clean and led the fleet around the race track, trailed by HEY JUDE and KINCSEM.

Saturday's racing dawned grey and nasty.   The forecast was equally as bad- rain, gusty winds 15-30 knots out of the SSW.  It was also a day that produced dramatic and significant changes amongst the fleet leaders.   In a remarkable display of consistency and outright boatspeed, POWERPLAY won all three races on day three--- a feat never achieved before- four consecutive victories in a row at a J/105 North American Championship.  Following POWER PLAY in Race 7 were Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on KINCSEM and Damian Emery on ECLIPSE.  In second place in Race 8 was George Wilbanks racing REVELATION, then KINCSEM in third. Trailing POWER PLAY in the day’s final contest were Kevin Grainger on GUMPTION 3 and Paul Strauch on ANDIAMO.

It was readily apparent to the fleet leaders, POWER PLAY, HEY JUDE and KINCSEM that anyone of the three had reasonable odds to win the overall championship as only ten points separated all three boats with two races to go.  To add to the drama, the forecast was for light-medium shifty, very streaky winds from the NNW-NNE off the northern Long Island Sound (Connecticut) shore.  Despite two less than stellar starts, POWER PLAY managed to extricate themselves from literally the bottom of the fleet to win the regatta.   Two races were completed on the final day of the championship. Jeremy Henderson and Harald Edegran on CONUNDRUM ended the regatta on a perfect note, winning both contests. KINCSEM followed CONUNDRUM in Race 10, then Kenneth Colburn on GHOST. In the concluding race, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE came in second.  POWER PLAY sailed two remarkable come-back races to garner a 5-4 to win the regatta.  HEY JUDE sailed beautifully to get a 3-4 to finish second overall.  And, KINCSEM seemingly couldn't buy a shift, getting a 2-19 to finish the regatta in third overall.

The winning San Francisco-based team on POWER PLAY, consisting of skipper Bruce Stone, Stuart Johnstone, Nicole Breault, Bob Dearborn, Mark Lindquist and Dave Marshall, finished with 55 points over 11 races, beating their closest competitor by nine points overall.  The J/105 NA's concluded a remarkable season for Bruce Stone's team-- having won the ROLEX Block Island Race Week and nearly won a second watch at the ROLEX Big Boat Series with a close second.  Complete results and daily reports at J/105 Class Association.  Photo Credits- Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com

J/122 sailboat sailing off Sydney, AustraliaJ's Dominate Gascoigne Cup

J/35 and J/122 Lead Australian Offshore Season

(Sydney, Australia- October 24th)-  The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s historic Gascoigne Cup sailed into its second century today with victory on PHS going to prominent yachtsman Tim Cox in his J/35 SOUNDTRACK.  Tim Cox, a retired senior RAN officer, is well known as Chairman of the Race Committee for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and is also a member of the Sailing Committee of the RSYS.

Ray Entwistle’s J/122 JACKPOT won IRC Class, reveling in the light south-easterly breeze of 8-14 knots.  “The J/122 just glided through the swell off the heads of Sydney, we had great height and excellent speed. Even though it was a windward / leeward course, we ran just as deep as the symmetrical rigged boats with our 155 sq.m running kite designed by Ian Short Sailmakers.  The conditions were a far cry from the race 3 weeks ago when the winds were gusting over 30 knots with a 2-3 metre swell on which we were planing at over 18 knots at times. The J/122 excels in every condition the Sydney climate throws at us.”

Grant Thornton Ocean Pointscore Series

J/35 SOUNDTRACK Sashays to Bruising Win

(Sydney, Australia- October 3rd)-  Blustery southerly winds and squally rains greeted the fleet for Race One of the Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore Series.  The first race of the series was raced on Saturday, 3 October 2009, in wintery conditions and was conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club. In what is becoming a tradition for this race, the southerly winds and squally rains that greeted the sixteen intrepid and enthusiastic competitors appeared to be a re-run from previous year's events.  Due to the 2-3 metre swells experienced off shore, the race committee was unable to lay the marks out past the "Sydney Harbor Heads", so they made the decision to send Division 1 yachts to Botany Bay and back.

For Ray Entwistle’s J/122 JACKPOT it was an exhilarating day’s racing. “We flew the 140 sq.m asymmetric kite from the Shark Island start to the heads, turned the corner and the crew hit the rail for the beat down the coast to Botany Bay.  The winds were averaging 25 knots, gusting over 30 knots at times, and the rain felt like small hail stones hitting our faces. The waves washed away the last of the red dust that remained from the dust storm, which had infiltrated every crevice of the boat.  We lost some time when we missed a wind shift and that allowed the fleet to get away from us,” said Entwistle.

“Turning into Botany Bay, we had a few minutes respite from the weather. We rounded the mark and set the new heavy weather spinnaker off the bowsprit for what was a joyride back home.  We hit a new top boat speed of 18.6 knots in JACKPOT, averaging  14 knots. It felt like it only took 10 minutes to get to Bondi – the boat was flying and the crew were loving it,” concluded Entwistle.

JACKPOT finished third in IRC Division 2.   Tim Cox’s J/35 SOUNDTRACK finished first in IRC Division 3, the course set in-harbour due to the rough sea conditions.

J/109 sailboat sailing off Sydney, AustraliaPort Hacking-Botany Bay Race

J/109 MAJIKAL Wins in Wild Weather

(Port Hacking, Sydney, Australia- October 3rd)-  On the same windy, wild weather day the Sydney based yachts were sailing down the coast to Botany Bay, the Port Hacking river based yachts were sailing north.  The Port Hacking river is a beautiful part of the Sydney region, about 25 nm south from Sydney harbor. 

Keith Wilson's  J/109 MAJIKAL finished first in his division in RMYC's Port Hacking to Botany Bay Short Ocean Race. He is delighted with the J/109’s performance in all conditions.  Says Keith "this boat is bloody magical the way it sails in all conditions the southerlies can throw at us-- love it!  Be great to have a few more down here to mess around with!"

J/109 sailboat racing off Hong Kong, ChinaRHKYC China Cup Series

J/109 WHISKEY JACK Wins

(Hong Kong, China)-  The China Cup consists of passage racing and around the buoys racing over the course of a weeklong bacchanalian festival of sailing the gorgeous China Seas.  As usual the Royal Hong Kong YC were fabulous hosts and ran a terrific regatta.  The passage race from Hong Kong to Longcheer last Friday was an uneventful affair which went to a short finish at 'the corner'.  The start was notable for a General Recall for one of the fleets; this allowed the combined IRC A and B fleets to get away in clear air for the rest of the regatta!

Saturday was a washout. After a delayed start to the program, to allow Government officials to get to Opening Ceremony (taking place on the second day of the regatta - go figure), the breeze failed to cooperate and the fleet floated around from 1200 hrs to 1630 hrs when the RO signaled ‘AP over A’ and we all went ashore.  In the interim, entertainment was provided by skinny-dipping Russians, a display of spreader-diving, and large numbers of water-fights – all good stuff as crews sat ‘on the grill’ in the uncharacteristically hot October sunshine right next to Daya Bay nuclear power station.

Sunday’ forecast was for more breeze – lots more breeze – and it was plum right.  Nothing less that 10 kts, and a max of 17 kts, made for good racing on the flat water of Da Ya Wan. Once again, a class act from the Royal Hong Kong YC race management team, and all divisions completed two windward-leewards and a triangle-sausage-sausage geometric, thereby making back one of the races lost yesterday.

Star of the show all day was Nick Southward’s J/109 WHISKEY JACK, scoring 1-1-2 in IRC B, and leading the combined A and B fleets over the line in the second race of the day. 'The boys were on fire' said Southward later. 'They sailed their socks off today, it was hard work.'   The program continues.....hope for the best for J-109 sailors Nick and crew!  For more info go to Royal Hong Kong YC.  Photo Credit- Carlo Borlenghi/ Borlenghi Images.

J/24 sailboats sailing on Chesapeake BayJ/24 East Coast Championships

Old Man of the Sea Tony Parker Wins

(Annapolis, MD- Oct. 30-Nov 1)- Severn Sailing Association hosted the J/24 East Coast Championships in a wide variety of sailing conditions for a strong turnout of thirty-four J/24s.  The indomitable and redoubtable Tony Parker shows that he's still got it after sixty+ years of sailing and racing in venues all over the world.  Showing the young bucks how it's done, Tony rattled off two bullets, a second and third to win by five points over Ted Bartlewski in second and Mike Ingham in third.   Read more about it at J/24 Fleet Site. Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes

J/80 sailboat sailing off Palma Majorca, SpainBancantabria Sailing Cup

HOUSING ECC Wins Fundestic Trophy

(Santander, Spain- Oct. 14-26)- Hosted by the FCV (Federacion Cantabra de Vela) in Santander, Spain, the Bancantabria Sailing Cup had a strong turnout of thirty-one J/80s.  The Cup is a series of races taking place over several weekends sailing in the spectacular waters off Santander in often warm, sunny conditions.

While the last weekend of the two week event was nearly a wash-out, the sailors had an enjoyable time racing for this past weekend's Fundestic Trophy.  Pichu Torcida racing ECC HOMES managed to take home another win.  Pushing him hard was Jaime Pris onboard FONESTAR to take second overall and coming in third place was Adrian Zamacona racing MABLE. Notable amongst the competitors in this year's even was the return, after months of absence from racing J/80s, of the 49er Olympic Sailing medalists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez. Iker and Xabi went sailing with friends aboard PROPERNOR-- looks like they'll need some practice after posting a twelfth in their first outing.   For more info visit J/80 Spain Class site.  Photo Credit- Jesus Renedo/ SailingStock.com

J/122 sailboat racing boat sailing on Chesapeake BayIRC East Coast Championships

J/122s Finish 2-3-4 Overall IRC B

(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis Yacht Club hosted the IRC East Coast Championships on Chesapeake Bay for a fleet of nearly three dozen boats.  Sailing in IRC B Class were David Murphy's PUGWASH, Marc Glimcher's Stamford-Vineyard Race Winner CATAPULT and Andrew Skibo's PLUM CRAZY II.  In the IRC C Class was Bill Sweetser's well-sailed RUSH.

The event started off with a long distance race that counted for double-points in the standings.  After this race, the J/122s stood 1-2-4 with CATAPULT leading home the fleet with PUGWASH in second and PLUM CRAZY II in fourth.  After the second day of racing, the stage was set for wining the regatta overall with PUGWASH now leading IRC B Class with a 0.5 point lead with classmates CATAPULT and PLUM CRAZY II just a few points off the pace.  Two slow starts and two wrong calls on the first major shifts of the last two races cost PUGWASH their chances of winning the regatta.

The IRC C Class saw Sweetser's RUSH win the long distance race.  But facing a similar fate to her larger classmates, RUSH managed to miss a few significant shifts and lost touch with competitors to drop to second place overall for the regatta.  For more regatta info.  Photo Credit- Tim Wilkes.com

J/Community:

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

Ken Read on PUMA sailboat ocean racing-------------------------
* Ken Read, the Boston Red Sox ball-throwing PUMA skipper and multiple J/24 World Champion, will be hosting a recap of the VOLVO Ocean Race along with fellow partner in crime, Jerry Kirby (these two clowns are pictured at right- what are they smiling about?).  For anyone within a few thousand mile radius of Newport, start thinking now about planning your next world cruise and come enjoy the festivities and camaraderie rubbing elbows with other salty dogs as they commiserate on why they "love to go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky and get on that tall ship and use that star to steer her by".  The venue is the Jane Pickens Theater, Washington Square, Newport, RI from 6:30-8:30 pm on Tuesday, November 10th.  Go to SailNewport- http://www.sailnewport.org for tickets- all proceeds benefit public sailing programs.
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A Tragic Whale Tale- -- J/120 Sunk by Moby Dick Clones.   The Baja-Ha-Ha is an annual cruisers rally from San Diego, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexcio.  They began their 750-mile route this year on October 25th. Sadly, for one of the participants amid the 170 boat fleet, the trip ended much too early.  About 200 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and extraordinary turn of events confronted what is normally a fun, easygoing cruise from California to Mexico.  Appropriately named, the Baja-Ha-Ha is an event many California cruising sailors look forward to after the course of a long sailing season.  It's organized by a group of friends, including J-WORLD's Wayne Zittel.  However, this year it was not a walk in the park for those aboard the J/120 J-WORLD. Here's the report from Wayne:

"Hey All -  Thanks for all the good thoughts. Yes, the boat has sunk but everyone is safe and sound.
    The boat was heading south in the Baja-Ha-Ha with two instructors (Eugenie and Barry) and three students on our annual cruise south to our Puerto Vallarta location. They put into Ensenada briefly for some minor repairs (a loose wire in the wiring harness seems to have been the culprit), then headed back out Tuesday morning. I got an email from them in the evening reporting that all was fine and they were making good time. They made the scheduled roll call in the AM.
    Here is what I know from the brief conversations I have had with the crew: about 10am, they came across a pod of whales. Shortly after yesterday morning's Baja Ha-Ha check-in, the crew of J/WORLD, the J/120 skippered by former Punta Mita Yacht & Surf Club commodore Eugenie Russell, experienced one of the highlights of the cruising life: They spotted a whale. Then they saw another. They quickly realized that they'd sailed into a pod of whales - big whales. That's when they felt a bang, then another and another. At least one whale was attacking J/WORLD's rudder!
    Their behavior was described as 'erratic.' One or more of the whales struck the boat repeatedly, and the boat began taking on water at a rapid pace. It sounds like, not surprisingly, most of the damage was around the rudder. They made an attempt to bail the boat and get a distress call out on SSB, but it was clear that the boat was a loss. They activated the EPIRB, boarded the liferaft, and the boat was reportedly gone within 7 minutes of the strike. As I understand it, the boat did not capsize in any way.
    I was in contact with the the USCG from the time the EPIRB went off. They did an absolutely stellar job. Within four hours, they reported that they had safely lifted all five sailors into the helicopter and were returning to San Diego. Eugenie has a bruised hand, but there were no other injuries. I personally am in shock... this is the stuff you read about but you think will never really happen to you. You can make all the preparations in the world, load boat with experienced sailors, and still have unexpected consequences. A bit humbling, to be sure. We all need to remember that when we go sailing, we really go to sea in every sense.
    I know we will get a good debrief from the crew, and we'll be sure to post more info and some 'lessons learned,' but I am tremendously relieved that everyone is safe. All of us here at J-World are in deep gratitude to the folks of the USCG. Man, they run a great operation. Here's the video of the rescue.
    Anyway, that's the latest report from here.... the J/120 J-WORLD was a great boat. She was hull #9, the ex-GANNET, ex-CROSSWAVE, now known simply as "J-WORLD." We sailed her some 10,000+ open ocean miles per year, including this year's TransPac and raced her in San Francisco and Mexico, not to mention subjecting her to all the abuses that students can dish out, and she took it in stride.
    Anyway, thanks again to all of you out there for the support... Wayne Zittel / J-World Performance Sailing School/ San Francisco Bay | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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J/105 sailboat sailing on San Francisco Bay for Leukemia CupA Voyage to the Greater Good- The Battle Against Leukemia- a heartwarming story from Peter Howson: Every year across the country there are about 40 Leukemia Cup Regattas. With an average of about 150 participating boats and their crews in various classes, the LCRs involve a vast percentage of this country’s sailing community. Every year, a select group of LCR participants is rewarded for their performance with an invitation to the Leukemia Cup Regatta Fantasy Sail, a weekend sailing with Gary Jobson. This year’s Fantasy Sail was hosted by the San Francisco Yacht Club using the fleet of J/105s generously donated by the local J/105 Fleet owners on San Francisco Bay.

We also learned some numbers: 17 years ago there was one event that raised $30,000, this year there were 38 events this year and we raised a total of just under $4 million dollars. The total raised to date is over $31 million. There were 75 people attending the Fantasy sail this year though a bunch more had qualified and not been able to make it. 67% of the money raised came from individual donations brought in by sailors which does not include corporate donations, silent auction items, etc.

One of the best things about qualifying multiple years is that the people you meet at this event are incredible. The mood is festive and everyone is upbeat. Just about everyone has had a personal experience with blood cancer, either a friend, family member, or actually survived themselves and the feeling of having been able to do something to help people living with blood cancer and find cures is really amazing.

Included in the group of survivors is the perennial host of the Fantasy Sail, Gary Jobson. Gary started as the national spokesman for the LCR way back in the last century, long before he was actually diagnosed, and he continues to inspire and spur us on to do great things. This cocktail party is all about meeting up with the folks you went drinking with last year (Hello, Emory!) and meeting new folks you missed the year before.

The morning started out slow but built through the three races until it was steadily 10 gusting to 15. With fog pouring over the magnificent San Francisco waterfront and burning off halfway across the bay, the opportunity for photos was breathtaking, the entire scene changed every 15 minutes. I don’t know how the folks sailing kept their concentration on the racing.

After the sailing, dinner and the presentation of pickle dishes, the event was topped off by a speech from Ian, a sailor from San Francisco who is just over a year into his recovery from leukemia. This is what they call a "mission moment" to get us fired up for next year and Ian was a perfect example of why we raise money.  Ian volunteered to be on the regatta committee at the SFYC last year and a few weeks later while training for a triathlon, he started to feel like he was coming down with something. He went to the doctor and the verdict went from “you might have the flu” to “you should see an oncologist” pretty quickly. After that it was the unpleasant experience of getting treated which left him unable to join us for the Fantasy Sail last year. The contrast was remarkable. Looking at this guy standing there smiling and walking around with a microphone you would never be able to guess that he had been sick a day in his life let alone had just recovered from a disease that would have had a 5% survival rate just 40 years ago. It was an inspiring end to a great weekend.

Raising $8,500 sounds like a big deal but I’ll let you in on a little secret: I have raised an average of $11,000 every year just by sending out 8 emails every year. Other folks have raised their money by doing everything from holding fancy dinners to selling lemonade (literally). The society provides you with tons of tools including raffles and incredibly helpful staff folks who seem to have no end to their reservoir of energy. So if you’re going to sail in your regatta, try to make enough to meet us in Charleston next year. You’ll have a great time and I think Clean (Alan & Meredith Block) said we could all stay at his house. - Courtesy of Peter Howson.  More photos at http://www.peter-howson.com

J/80 sailboat planing downwindFeatured Boat

Rock & Roll The J/80 Tour

Cross Current Marine has an "in-stock" J/80 immediately available for those of you who may be considering participating in the 2010 J/80 Tour that starts with the NAUTICA Key West Regatta and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  Please be sure to contact Craig Crossley at Cross Current Marine for more details at email-

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!
For background info: 
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

Thursday, October 29, 2009

J/Newsletter- October 28th, 2009

J/111 sailboat

New J/111 Speedboat Info

For more details regarding J's latest 36 footer, please check out the J/111 webpage.  You'll find an Interior layout depicting the comfortable weekending accommodations, navigation station, galley and spacious dining/ living area.  The deck and cockpit plan give you an idea of how we've integrated some of the better features of past J's to give you excellent comfort for day sailing as well as enough ergonomic elbow-room to race a boat of this size.  Finally, the profile and baseline technical specifications for DSPL/ Length and SA/ DSPL Upwind and Downwind provide insight as to the horsepower and upside speed potential of the J/111.  No question, this will be a fun, easy-to-sail boat that has an extraordinary turn-of-speed when you want it to-- planing off the wind in with finger-tip control on a 60" wheel will make the J/111 a joy to sail.  For more information, please contact J/Boats at Ph- +1-401-846-8410 or email us.

J/97 Chicago Demos

J/97 sailboat at dockside Chicago Yacht Club
Rich Stearns reports they've had a number of excellent days for demonstrating the J/97's extraordinary performance in a wide variety of conditions.  For those of you in the Great Lakes region, now's a great time to get down to Chicago to get a chance to take a demo sail on a terrific, comfortable, easy-to-sail boat-- customer reactions are similar to what's been heard in Newport and Annapolis- "amazing interior", "great cockpit", "feels like a 40 footer"!  Please call Rich at Cell# 312-555-1212 or email him at "rich@stearnsboating.com."

J/80 Tour Update

Word on the street is that upwards of a dozen J/80s have been bought  for competing in this years' upcoming J/80 Tour that starts with the Nautica Key West Race Week in Key West, Florida and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  J/80 Class leaders at the recent J/80 North American Championships in Houston, Texas have seen strong enthusiasm for the J/80 Tour.  For more information on this circuit, please contact J/80 Class reps at the J/80 Class Association.

Regatta Schedule

Oct. 28-Nov. 1- J/105 North Americans- Long Island Sound- American YC.
Oct. 30- Nov. 1- HCM J/24 East Coasts/ Annapolis- Chesapeake Bay- Annapolis, MD
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul.
Jan. 18-22, 2010- NAUTICA Key West Race Week- Key West, FL-
                             Invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s, J/122s.

J/24 rainbowJ/Regatta News

The Rainbows Never Set on J's Sailing Worldwide

After passing the autumnal equinox, it appears as if winter was making an early bid in the Americas.  However, wait a few hours (or days) and, as the old adage goes, it will become good again.  Sure enough, such schizophrenic weather conditions seemed to be the norm in Europe as well.  In Europe, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series is headed towards a conclusion soon for the legions of J/80s, J/105s and J/109s flying around England's Solent "river" and the J/24 Europeans are underway with some vexing (and spectacular) weather conditions affecting the fleet.  In the Americas, the J/80 North Americans had a star-studded class of racers competing; including six previous North American Champions and the Manhasset Fall Series on New York's western Long Island also produced some spectacular conditions at the extreme ends of the spectrum this past weekend. Read on! More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/109 sailboats racing in EnglandGarmin Hamble Winter Series

(So'ton, Hamble, England)- In its fourth week of sailing, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series, run by Hamble River Sailing Club, remains on track after delivering another full programme and excellent day’s racing in the Solent on Sunday. The fourth day of racing of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series 2009 took place on Sunday, October 25th.  The 16 boat fleet saw 17-25 knots from the south west and the sun was quite warm whilst you were in it, giving perfect conditions for a longer course to be set. 

In contrast to last weekend’s drifting conditions in bright sunshine, Sunday delivered typical Winter Series conditions above forecast with a constant 20 to 25 knot south Westerly across both Black and White fleet courses.  Amongst the Black fleet one-designs ‘JOURNEYMAKER 5’ scored a win in the J/105 fleet.

Within the J/109 fleet it was business as usual as ‘J-DREAM’ scored a fourth race win with ‘SHIVA’, making her first outing in the series, coming home second.  At the start J-DREAM (David & Kirsty Apthorp) saw off the challenge of SHIVA (Matthew Boyle) but was held out left waiting for JUMPING JELLYFISH (David Richards) and JUST SO (David & Mary McGough) to tack right, to stay on the plateau and in less tide.  East Bramble was the first windward mark and then the fleet had an excellent run back to Hamble Yacht Services before a shorter 2 lap windward/leeward course between Air Canada and Hamble Yacht Services.  At the first windward mark, J-DREAM led from SHIVA, a position which she extended for the remainder of the race, winning by nearly 4 minutes.  At the halfway stage of the event,  J-DREAM has 4 points, ARIA 12 points and OUTRAJEOUS 17 points, while places 5th to 8th are only separated by 4 points.

J/80 sailboat surfing under spinnaker downwindOver on the White fleet course all three races went off as programed, despite gusts up to 28 knots. A few competitors headed for home before but the start of the third race, but most seemed to relish the tough conditions. ‘Oi!!’ scored a consistent 2, 1, 2 in the J/80 fleet maintaining her overall series lead.  Out for the first time in a J/80 was Robin Fielder and his crew. Paul Fuller, who was part of Robin’s crew had this to say;

‘Well, what a weekend for a test sail !  We were slightly apprehensive about the challenges of three races on a breezy Sunday – a new crew and an owner who hasn’t sailed competitively for two years.  However, with some expert tuition from Paul Heys, we quickly got up to speed and by the last race were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, finishing with a win.   The J/80 was excellent fun to sail in a breeze and very stable downwind.  We found it relatively easy to sail and as test sails go, to come away with a 3, 2, 1 was fantastic.  It says much for the layout and the handling characteristics of this great little sportsboat that a new crew can jump onboard and race competitively.’

J/24 Europeans in GreeceJ/24 Europeans Start in Stormy Weather

(Bay of Souda, Crete, Greece)-  With twenty eight entrants from all over Europe, racing started on Tuesday for the J/24 Europeans.  Competitors came from six different European countries, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, United Kingdom and Greece.

The first day of racing had three races completed in difficult weather conditions. Despite the changeable winds, the crew of the HELLENIC POLICE (be careful with them!) with skipper Alexandros Tagaropoulos managed to finish first in the first race of the day with good sailing choices and very good boat speed.  The German boat GUNNI, with Matthias Garzmann on the helm won the second race and the English boat RELOADED with Gavin Watson and his crew, won the last race of the day.

On Wednesday, the crews didn’t manage to finish even one race because of the lack of wind and the very strong rain. The Race Committee tried to start a race but the big wind change made the accomplishment impossible. Then the rain started again.  For the evening the Organizing Committee honored its Sponsors with a Party in the restaurant-bar "Cozmo", at the old port of Chania.

More news on the race, the party, the venue and the incredible Greek hospitality later.  To keep up to date, check it out here.

J Cute PigIf Cute Pigs Can Fly

While we do not take any form of advertising, we were incredibly amused by the creative and innovative tactic taken by this creative/web services group in Greece supporting and sponsoring the J/24 Europeans in Crete, Greece.  As they say, "The Farm Creative Group wants to welcome you to a new world of exciting and reliable services! Sit back and let us promote your business. Seek with us new markets, both local and international, expand and become more efficient with services that know no limits! We will be happy to be your partners and your guides in the opportunities that the internet opens for everyone."   We wish them we well!  Take a peek.

J/122 sailboat sailing upwindStormy Manhasset Fall Series

(Manhasset, NY- Oct. 17-18 & 24-25)- The Manhasset Fall Series concluded with a wild and woolly weekend on Western Long Island Sound.  True to the forecasts, Saturday blew hard with 20-35 knot winds from the Southwest with driving rain and uncharacteristically warm weather.  Sunday dawned bright, cool and clear with 10-20 knots shifty and puffy from the northwest, dying as the day wore on and shifting more north.

Amongst the fifteen boat J/105 One-Design Class, Kevin Grainger and the gang prevailed against all competitors to win overall with fourteen points on their J/105 GUMPTION 3.  Strong Long Island Sound sailor Damian Emery and his contingent onboard ECLIPSE finished with eighteen points.  And, Nathan Boyle sailing his JOYSEA finished third with 28 points.

In the fun, competitive J/44 One-Design Class, Jeff Willis took CHALLENGE IV to an overall win with thirteen points.  Following closely behind was Bill Ketcham on MAXINE.  Jim Bishop and crew on GOLD DIGGER managed to hang in there with some tough competition and finish third with seventeen points.

A trio of J/122s continued to race after their J/122 North Americans, the Stamford- Vineyard Race and the American YC Fall Series to close out their Northeast season with the Manhasset Fall Series.  Andrew Weiss' CHRISTOPHER DRAGON won IRC3A Class with eight points and just behind were Jamie Anderson's AVALANCHE from Port Washington YC with sixteen points and George Marks' GEORGETOWN III from North Shore YC with twenty two points. For more information and results.

J/80 sailboat sailing downwindTexas J/80 North Americans

Klingler Grabs Three-Peat

(Houston, TX- October 23-25)- Kerry Klingler has been sailing J/80s for a number of years.  Yet, despite the talent and the CV that might favor a "three-peat", Kerry was perhaps the least confident of the class leaders going into this year's J/80 North Americans.  With six previous J/80 North American Champions in attendance, including a current J/22 International Class World Champion Terry Flynn, it was not readily apparent who would come out on top of the heap of such a talented group of sailors.  As Terry said. "it was closest competition ever in NAs amongst the top 10....it could've gone either way."

The first day was perhaps the best for the fleet as it was a windy, puffy northerly gusting to twenty knots on Galveston Bay.  It made for difficult conditions to stay consistently in the top five against the tough fleet of NA Champions.  On the second day, there was no wind in the morning and the fleet had to wait for a light, shifty sea breeze to develop out of the southeast.  By the third day of racing, a solid sea breeze filled in making for extremely tight, fun racing amongst everyone-- the very tight mark roundings had an enormous impact on race outcomes.

Prevailing through the smoke and fog of battle was Kerry Klingler and team again aboard their J/80 LIFTED with a  1-4-1-5-[13]-1-4-5 record for  a total of 21 points.  Hanging tough was Terry and David Flynn, finishing second with a 3-1-[8]-7-1-5-3-2 for 22 total points! Third overall was Glenn and Reese Darden sailing LE TIGRE to a 4-2-6-[10]-5-4-2-3 record for 26 points.  Special mention must be made of Jay Lutz- the victim of an extraordinary accident at the J/80 Worlds in Santander, Spain.  Now fully recovered, Jay "feels like new again" and sailed to a respectable fourth overall onboard the appropriately named PAINKILLER JANE with a  6-[9]-4-4-3-3-7-1 tally for 28 points.  Photo credits- Andrea

J/Community:

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

J/80 KOS Photo* Every once in awhile, we come across some extraordinary achievements by friends of the J/Community that ought to be recognized.  "Kos" happens to be one of them. Back in 1991, Stu Johnstone was sailing his J/44 J-HAWK in the Spi Ouest Regatta in La Trinite Sur Mer.   Working with Stu at the time to take care of J-HAWK was a young Englishman, Rick Deppe (see PUMA media site).  Another friend came along and said a young English girl named "Kos" needed some help on a photo shoot.  On a spectacular sunset evening after racing, Stu, Rick and Kos took off on J-HAWK to help Kos complete her photo assignment.  Since then, Kos has grown KOS Pictures into the principal photo library/ stock house for over 200 yachting/ sailing photographers around the world.  To celebrate that talent, take a moment to appreciate this extraordinary J/80 photo. For more pictures from KOS Photos, please visit her website here.


*CitySail is a learn-to-sail organization that introduces city youth to the sport of sailing every day.  There are inumerable examples around the world.  Nevertheless, here is a heartwarming story that we felt should be shared with the J/J/24 city youth sailors going sailing in New York New JerseyCommunithy:  "Simone is 15 and too old and too cool to be bothered with all the boys seeking her attention (pictured at right).  She won’t come to our after school center because she feels like she is too old for that stuff.  But she’s just the right age to sail.  This summer her mom signed her up for City Sail and she reluctantly came to the first class.  We were teaching nautical terminology to all the kids.  Simone was one of the quickest kids in the class.  Later that week when for the first time in her life she stepped on to a sailboat, she feigned indifference.  But once a boat leaves the dock, all the fronting stops.  Kids either beg to go up on the bow and get rocked by the waves for the sheer joy of it, or they hang on for dear life.  Simone was one of the former.  All the layers of smug superiority melted off her face as the wind and the waves pulled the laughter and surprise out of her.  By the middle of the summer I was trusting Simone with the tiller in an 18 knot wind.  On one such occasion I leaned over and asked her how many of her friends at school had ever sailed in such a wind.  She smiled the smile of someone who has just realized their own achievement and said, “NONE!”

She wasn’t quite right.  Over the last five years we’ve taken out over 100 Jersey City school children.  This is a huge privilege for us.  Although the kids live within a mile of some of the most exciting visually stimulating sailing around, they literally never get out on the water.  They might as well live 1000 miles from the water for as much as they are able to enjoy it - until City Sail.  "Without City Sail I'd never have learned to sail," says Derrik age 14.  Dozens of children entered our free sailing school and competed for points through three levels of seamanship.  Our top point scorers this year were invited to apprentice for a week on a working 80 foot schooner.  Next year we would like to make this opportunity available to even more kids.  We are looking  to add a J/24 to our fleet.  Anyone interested in helping us can contact us at citysail@gmail.com.  All contributions or boat donations are fully tax exempt.

J/80 sailboat planing downwindFeatured Boat

Rock & Roll The J/80 Tour

Cross Current Marine has an "in-stock" J/80 immediately available for those of you who may be considering participating in the 2010 J/80 Tour that starts with the NAUTICA Key West Regatta and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.  Please be sure to contact Craig Crossley at Cross Current Marine for more details at email-

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!
For background info: 
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

Thursday, October 22, 2009

J/Newsletter- October 21st, 2009

J/111 sailboat J/111 Enthusiasm Growing Fast

Strong Global Interest in J's NEW Speedboat

Since the announcement during the Annapolis Show, over 7,000 unique visitors worldwide have gone to the J/111 web page  to learn more about this exciting new design from J/Boats.   It appears evident the newly announced J/111 is striking a sensitive chord amongst sailors who are looking for that next-generation one-design 36 footer.  Breaking new ground in its looks, layout and performance, sailors are looking forward to the J/111's introduction next year.  No wonder,  the J/111 is a sleek, modern one-design, with a large daysailing cockpit, easy-to-handle sail plan, and 6' headroom below for weekending.  The result of all that enthusiasm? The first dozen hull slots have been reserved by customers for 2010 delivery. Get on board now!  Check out Alan Block's SA Innerview with Jeff J about the J/111.  For more info contact J/Boats- Phone 401-846-8410 or email us for more info.

J/97 sailboat at dockside Chicago Yacht ClubJ/97 Introduced to Great Lakes!

The J/97 has officially arrived in Chicago after having started its world tour from the its builder, J/Europe in France back in May.  After a terrific reception at the Newport and Annapolis Boatshows on the East Coast, the J/97 will be available for demos in Chicago starting Monday next week (pictured here at Chicago YC).  After sailing the J/97 for a few days on the spectacular waters off Chicago's renowned waterfront, Richie Stearns had this to say about the J/97s performance and handling: "Wow, what a fun boat to sail!  Everyone's impressed by the boat's speed in almost no air and even in the eighteen knots we had today it performs really great!  In today's good breeze (Wednesday) the boat easily hit 8.0+ knots off the wind while surfing down the waves. It looks like we've got a winner for our sailors here on Lake Michigan!".  To schedule a demo, please be sure to contact Rich Stearns at Cell# 847-404-2209 or email him.

Rod Johnstone interview at Annapolis Sailboat showJ/95 SA Annapolis Interview with Rod J

(Annapolis, MD)- Alan Block from Sailing Anarchy was covering the Annapolis Boatshow for SA enthusiasts.  Alan and Jeff Johnstone participated in the forum regarding "Saving Sailing/ Growing Sailing"- one of the many activities where J/Boats continues to support the community of sailing and  grow the sport.  Alan also had an opportunity to discuss with Rod J the insights and concepts that hatched the ground-breaking, highly innovative J/95 shoal-draft cruiser-- the nearly perfect boat for those who love to sail ANYWHERE weather and draft limitations permit them (e.g. a beach or the most secluded anchorage inaccessible to no one but yourself!).  For a great perspective, take a look at Alan's exclusive SA Innerview- here's the link.

J/105 sailboat sailing off Key WestJ/105 North Americans Preview

(Rye, NY)- Next week, the J/105s will be invading that little island enclave jutting into Long Island Sound known as the American Yacht Club.  From this spectacular venue the expected fleet of thirty two boats will go at it hammer and tong to determine the Champion.  Considered to be amongst the leaders in this remarkable fleet will be some of its perennial class leaders.  In that august circle of rarified air will be ECLIPSE- Damian Emery; KINCSEM- Joerge Esdorn; PLANET CLAIRE- John Koten; POWER PLAY- Bruce Stone; and SAVASANA-- Brian Keane.

With forecasts changing pretty drastically each day in this year's capricious fall season along the Northeastern seaboard, it's anybody's guess as to who will prevail in the end.  Standings have changed dramatically in the last day of competition amongst this leading group and who's to say that some unknown "rookie" won't come blasting out of right field and decimate these contenders!?  More news is sure to come when this competitive class gets together for its annual championship.

J/Boats Show @ McMichaels November 7th

(Mamaroneck, NY)- On Nov 7th,  McMichael Yachts will be having an on land and in water boat show with 45 used boats for sail. Part of our inventory of used boat consist of many J/Boats-- they we will have  available several J/105's , several J/109's , a J/124, J/122, J/42, J/37and several others.  If you have any questions, please contact McMichael Yacht Brokers- ph# +1-914-381-5900.

Regatta Schedule

Oct 23-25- J/80 North Americans- Galveston Bay- Lakewood YC
Oct. 24-30- J/24 European Championships- Eastern Mediterranean- Chania, Greece.
Oct. 28-Nov. 1- J/105 North Americans- Long Island Sound- American YC.
Oct. 30- Nov. 1- HCM J/24 East Coasts/ Annapolis- Chesapeake Bay- Annapolis, MD
Nov. 18-21- J/24 South Americans- Porto Alegre, Brazil- Veleiros do Sul.
Jan. 18-22, 2010- NAUTICA Key West Race Week- Key West, FL- invited classes include J/80s, J/105s, J/109s, J/122s.

J/Regatta News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

The fall sailing season continues in full swing with world-class events continuing to take place in Europe and USA with a few events starting up in the Asian/ Pac Rim region, like Hong Kong's China Coast Race Week.  The J/80 North Americans are starting in Texas as well as the J/24 Europeans in Greece will be getting going shortly in gorgeous azure blue waters of the  Mediterranean waters.  In Europe, the GARMIN Hamble Winter Series continues to go full tilt with some hot racing in J One-Design classes (J/80, J/105 and J/109).  In America, the Richardson Cup competitors survived icy conditions in Minnesota; the Intercollegiate sailors had a ball racing their ICSA Offshore Championships; and a J/27 and J/35 were tearing it up in the nascent Florida Winter circuits.  Read on! More importantly, if you have more J Regatta News, please email  it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page!  Below are the summaries.

J/80 one design sailboat racing in England Fall seriesGARMIN Hamble Winter Series Rages On!

(Hamble, So'ton, England)-  For the Big Boat Series entrants, sponsored this weekend by Wight Vodka, it was the second half of their twelve race schedule that began in tough conditions a fortnight ago. Racing this Saturday commenced in a 15 knot northerly breeze that gradually reduced, and with a falling tide, the course had to shifted to the northern side of the Brambles Banks for the last two of the four scheduled races.
In the IRC class Neil Martin’s J/133 JAMMY DODGER maintained her domination with two more firsts, with Ian Matthews J/122 JINJA  also grabbing a win in Race 4.  The J/80s were dominated by the irrepressible Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM.

While Saturday had been overcast and chilly, Sunday was the epitome of high pressure October weather, with brilliant sunshine and only just enough breeze to get racing underway. It soon turned into a drifting match, and with only three finishers in the first White Group races, and the bigger boats with little prospect of finishing, racing was abandoned for the day. Even so it had been a beautiful sight, with the brighter coloured spinnakers transforming the normally grey Solent.

Next Sunday’s racing (25th Oct.) continues with the full Winter Series program for White and Black Group racing.   For more information and full results.  Photos by Paul Wyeth.

J/22 sailboat with sailors falling in waterRICHARDSON CUP 2009

J/22 Fleet Hosts Icy, Hot Match Race

(Lake Minnetonka, MN)-  It was June 18th, 1924 when English mountain climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine looked at the path before them. Climb the coldest place on earth: Mt. Everest. Five times they had tried to climb Everest and five times they had failed.

It was October 8th, 2009 when Dutch sailors Chris and John VanTol and Irish veteran, Michael B. Hoey, looked at the path before them. Sail in the coldest place on earth for the 2009 Great Lakes Match Racing Championship: Minnetonka, MN. Five times they came within close reach of the summit and five times they had failed.

The winner of the event would be awarded the coveted Richardson Cup. The Richardson Trophy was established in 1912 by Commodore S. O. Richardson, Jr., of the Toledo Yacht Club, Toledo, Ohio. It is a Sterling Silver Trophy (created by Tiffany & Co) which is the second oldest sailing trophy in US history. The 2009 event was the 70th running of the Richardson Cup.

On Friday, Wayzata Yacht Club and Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota greeted 11 different teams with brisk winds and 45-50 degree temperatures. By Saturday, temperatures had plunged into the 20's and the forecast was for a high of 34. Winds were 15-25 mph with a wind-chill of 18 and a layer of steam blowing from shore to shore. The J/22s were covered with about an inch or so of snow.  At the end of this "ice match", Chris Van Tol and team prevail with a 14:1 record over Steve Lowery with a 13-2 match race tally.  Thanks to Mike Hoey for the story.
For more info, read more at Scuttlebutt.

J/105 sailboats sailing in college raceICSA Offshore Champs- a.k.a.- College J/FEST!

Michigan Wins Highly Competitive J/109 Class

(Larchmont, NY- Oct. 10-11)- Here are the facts- forty boat fleet, thirty four (34) of them are J/Boats (85% of the fleet)- one-design classes of seven J/44s, ten J/109s and thirteen J/105s and the balance of J's distributed amongst the only two handicap classes- IRC40- J/122s and J/120 and IRC35- J/35.  The ICSA might as well have called it "J/FEST Intercollegiate Championships"!  The ICSA has been hosting the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in cooperation with Storm Trysail and Larchmont YC for the past nine years, once again introducing the joys of big-boat racing to boatloads of college sailors.  Interestingly, the event has become the largest college regatta in America, with 31 schools and 327 sailors racing 40 boats ranging from J/105s to J/44s.

J's sailing in college regattaThe largest boats in the regatta were the J/44s sailed by teams from the service academies and St. Mary's, which have offshore teams. These boats are large, fast and demand experienced crew. All the J/44s used class-owned one-design sails, which made the seven boats a very tight one-design group. Maine Maritime won the J/44 Class by sailing STC Commodore Jim Bishop's GOLD DIGGER-- they crushed the rest of the fleet and beat the second-place team from the Naval Academy by nine points, garnering a 1-1-1-5-1-4 record.  Behind them in second was  J/44 RESOLUTE, also sailed by the US Naval Academy with owner Don Rave,  getting finishes of 3-2-5-3-2-6.  The J/44 MAXINE sailed by USMMA and owner Bill Ketcham was third with a 2-5-3-2-3-7 record.

In the IRC 40 Class, Navy found its pace sailing George Petrides' modified J/120 AVRA to a 1-3-1-2-1-1 record. They eclipsed the second place team from Georgetown University, sailing Steve Furnary's J/122 PATRIOT, by nine points as well who had a 2-1-3-3-5-4 record.  Rounding out the top three was Tufts racing the J/122 GEORGETOWN owned by George Marks to a respectable 5-4-4-1-2-5 tally.

J/109 sailboat sailing downwind at college regattaIn the 10-boat J/109 class the teams from the University of Michigan and Webb Institute tied for first.  But the tie only existed because Michigan did not finish the third race due to blowing up a chute and losing the wind instruments off the top of the mast in a broach that occurred when a 30 knot-gust hit a majority of the J/109 fleet halfway through the race.  Michigan, sailing Andrew Berdon's STRIDER, had to count the 11-point DNF (did not finish) since the regatta had no throw-outs. On the water, the team out-sailed the other J/109 teams upwind and downwind.  No kidding!  With finishes of 1-1-11-1-1-3 it's apparent the "scuttlebutt" on the dock was the "GO BLUE" Michigan team were THE team to beat and should be headed to Marseilles to rep the ICSA in the Student Worlds.  Oh well, better luck next time guys.  Trailing them on the tie-breaker was the J/109 RELENTLESS raced by Webb Institute and owner AL Minella with a record of 3-3-2-2-4-4.  Just off the pace was LOKI sailed by the crew from Cornell and owner David Rosow with respectably consistent scores of 2-2-6-6-3-2.

The biggest fleet was the 13-boat J/105 class. The team from Bowdoin, a regular at the event, sailed Carl Olsson's J/105 MORNING GLORY to a slim two-point victory over the second team from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy sailing Kevin Grainger's J/105 GUMPTION 3. First-time participant Trinity College from Hartford, Conn., finished third with three firsts in their score line racing Barry Gold's J/105 WARHORSE.

"This regatta could not happen without the generosity of the boat owners who not only lend their boats but lend their expertise onboard," said Regatta Chair Adam Loory. "These guys come because we work hard to convince them that the regatta is a chance to give something back to the sport, but they return because they have so much fun with the kids learning from them and, at times, they learn from the kids.

Dr. Dan Herron, owner of the J/105 LIQUID COURAGE, a first time participant, said after the regatta, "Thanks again for the opportunity to participate. Watching the expression on the skipper's face as he surfed LIQUID COURAGE downwind on Saturday was priceless!"  For complete results and pictures.  Photo credit: Photoboat.com.  And, Andrea Watson at SailingPress.

RHKYC China Coast Race Week

(Hong Kong, China- Oct 14th-25th)-  Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's China Coast Race Week started this past week.  Conditions in Hong Kong at this time of year are ideal for "big-boat" racing, usually bright and clear and with winds in the 15 to 20  knots range ~ T-shirts and shorts all the way.

Race Week will consist of the well-established China Coast Regatta from 16th to 18th October, followed by a Category 3 Offshore Race from 23rd to 25th October.  For the Offshore Race, competitors will be offered 36 to 48 hours of racing around physical and virtual marks in the South China Sea, with the available courses starting and finishing in front of RHKYC's Kellett Island Clubhouse in Victoria Harbour, thus minimising the need for delivery crews and holiday time.

Competing in IRC is Nick Southward's J/109 WHISKEY JACK and Simon Blore's J/92 MOJITO.  We wish them all the best in their week-long series in the azure blue China Seas.

J/Community:

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

J/27 sailboat sailing off Key West/ Miami, FL* Captain Cork Friedman seems to be having a GREAT time with his classic J/27.  Here's a nice account of their recent escapades and successes on the high-seas off Miami:  "Just sending along a bit of race news regarding my J/27 RUM LINE (pictured here at right).  J/ 27's don't seem to get a whole lot of notoriety anymore, but we are  still sailing this wonderful boat and WINNING! RUM LINE took 1st place in ARC1 in the 2009 Miami to Key Largo race,  beating an impressive class of 40+ footers!  Awesome boat! "Cork".

* The J/30 Class is alive and kicking!  Recently, the class elected two Co-Presidents-  Dave Erwin- owner of J/30 ZEPHYR from  New Orleans, LA and Bill Kneller- owner of J/30 RHAPSODY from Portsmouth, RI.  They're making personal efforts to reach out to J/30 owners and improve communications to help promote class activities.  Over the past year they've contacted J/30 District Governors to help reach J/30 owners all over the globe.  They've updated the J/30 Forum to include dedicated sections for each district as a means of facilitating easy communications.  The J/30 Forum also has been updated with a photo section. They have seen the activity pick up significantly over the past year. Recently,  the J/30 Class Web Site has also been updated.  Bill Kneller can be reached at  bill@j30.us and Dave Erwin can be contacted at dave@j30.us.

* In an exciting and windy weekend of ocean racing, the J/35 MAN-O-WAR finished first overall in West Florida Ocean Racing Circuit during the weekend of October 16-18.  Congratulations to Tom Beery and his team from Pensacola, FL.  MAN-O-WAR also won the Boat of the Regatta Trophy with four firsts and two seconds in six races total.  It appears the conditions on the race courses were well suited to Tom's J/35 with winds ranging from 17 to 30 knots with lots of upwind/ downwind legs.

J/133 sailboat sailing upwindFeatured Boat

New J/133 "Demo" boat is available, ready to race for Key West!

This J/133 is currently located in France but is ready to ship anywhere in the world.  A proven race winner, her sistership J/133 BATFISH III won the RORC IRC Overall Season Championship in England and France.  Another sistership in America is racing on Long Island Sound, the J/133 SIREN SONG is proving hard to beat in a wide variety of conditions.

Now is the time to get rolling for Key West and the 2010 sailing season.  Take advantage of this "fall special" and get ready to rock and have fun this coming season.  This J/133 is available at $430,000 USD, FOB Bristol, RI with all options and U.S. shorepower.

About J/Boats

Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors.  The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).

J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by:  11 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).

Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors in 35+ countries around the world.  Sailing is all about friends.  Come join us and expand your social network everywhere!
For background info:
http://www.jboats.com/intro.htm

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