J/s Win 12+ Trophies in Bermuda Race

June 26, 2006...J Boat owners and crew made the best of the challenging conditions by winning four divisions and earning 8 other top three divisional finishes in the 2006 Centennial Bermuda Race, one of the longest lasting races in event history. Even the 98 foot Maximus took over 4 days to complete the 636 mile course.

Only two classes, J/44s and J/42s, qualified for their own division starts, with 11 and 9 boats respectively. The first four J/44s crossed the line in a span of 10 minutes, with Dr. Eduardo Salvati’s Mabuhay II taking the ORR division trophy, while Scott Dinhofer’s Brown Eyed Girl won under IRC. The J/42 class was won by Henry Morgan on Dolphin.

J/120s dominated Class 6, with David Askew’s Flying Jenny V and John Niewenhous’ Loose Fish, taking 1st and 3rd under both ORR and IRC scoring. Other great performances include the J/130 Christopher Dragon (Andrew Weiss) winning Class 7 IRC, the J/133 Antidote (Ron Richman) capturing 3rd in Class 10 IRC; Gary Grant’s J/120 Alibi finishing 2nd in the Double-handed division; and Brad Willauer’s J/46 Breezing Up and James Brown’s J/133 Rumba finishing 1st and 3rd in the Cruising Class.

J/Crazy in Block Island

While most media attention focused on the slow going of the Centennial Bermuda Race, the fleet at Block Island Race Week enjoyed some great sailing conditions, managing 9 races in 5 days. J/Owners were out in force with over 60% of the fleet, including starts for both the J/105 & J/109 one-design classes.

Top handicap performances included PHRF division winners Tom Lee sailing J/120 RICOCHET, John Esposito on J/29 HUSTLER, and Kel Webber with his J/34c RASCAL.

In the J/105 Class, with16 boats entered, many well known East Coast boats were on hand including Savasana, Eclipse, Kincsem, Kima and Ghost. Brian Keane and the crew of Savasana took first for the week over Joerg Esdorn in Kincsem and Damian Emery in Eclipse. The top six finishers also happen to be the some of the most widely traveled boats around, having participating in events like Key West Race Week, Charleston Race Week and Block Island Race Weeks over the past several years.

In the 14 boat J/109 fleet, Ted Herlihy and his J/109 team of Gut Feeling built a comfortable lead after the first two days of racing, managing to hold off a five boat pursuit for the rest of the week. Six different owners won a race in this competitive class. The event was a warm up for the upcoming J/109 North American Championships in Newport on July 20-23 where as many as 25 J/109s are expected. See results at http://www.blockislandraceweek.org/

J Boats Shine at NYYC Annual

June 13, 2006, Newport RI. Strong westerly winds greeted the fleet for the New York Yacht Club’s 152nd Annual Regatta, presented by Rolex. A total of 132 yachts, including 33 J Boats, sailed in the event, which for the larger boats served as the last warm-up before the Newport-Bermuda Race.

John McLeod served early warning as he and his Canadian team aboard the new J/133 Hot Water took the 14 boat IRC Class 4 over Andrew Weiss’s J/130 Christopher Dragon. Len Sitar’s Vamp was the top J/44 in IRC Class #5 with J/44s taking the 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. The J/92S made its New England debut finishing 2nd in IRC Non-Endorsed class behind Bill Sweetser on the J/109 Rush. In J one-design action, Phil Lotz and Indefatigable topped the J/105 Class, as Pete DuPont sailing Miss Marvelous won the inaugural J/100 East Coast Championships, with Bob Johnstone on Tern and Michael Wallace on Astrid finishing 2nd and 3rd. www.nyyc.org

High Seas Battle of the Brands

Among the list of 274 Newport-Bermuda Race applicants as of June 5th, the world's two leading performance brands account for 32% of the Centennial Fleet with J/Boats (44 boats) and Swan (44) leading the pack. Among classes: J/44s (12) and J/42s (9) have earned their own starting divisions. J/120s (7) and J/133s (6) with asymmetric spinnakers and retractable bowsprits are close behind along with the Swan 45s(7) . The next five brands each have less than a 5% share, with Beneteau (12 boats) and Hinckley (8) next, followed by X-Yachts (7) , Baltic (7) and C&C (7) tied for the 5th spot. http://www.bermudarace.com/2006/entrylist.php

J/Activity ... Buzzin' in June

June 5, 2006… For the Centennial Newport-Bermuda Race a record 44 J/Boat teams are entered with class competition for both the J/44 and J/42 and the debut for the J/133 (6 entered) in this famous 600 mile offshore race. At the Rolex New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta, again it’s a big J turnout (with over 30 boats). J/105 and J/100 Class action is anticipated…To top things off, more J/Owners are currently entered for 2006 Block Island Race Week than all other boat types COMBINED with strong fleets for both the J/105 and J/109 classes… There are several more events for June including J/Fest Seattle, NOOD Regattas in Chicago & Toronto and more.... please check our J/Schedule for the latest dates & event links…. June 2006 promises some great J/Sailing, indeed!

Johnstone Wins Hospice Nationals

21 crews, all winners of qualifying Hospice Regattas throughout the USA during 2005, sailed in one-design J/105s, May 12-14 in Annapolis MD to contest the Hospice National Championship. The racing, conducted by the Storm Trysail Club, comprised 8 races with no throwouts, with each team sailing a different boat drawn by lots each day. The competing teams only had to bring 4-5 crew members. The local owner of the boat sailed as a member of the crew, could provide local knowledge and perform crew duties other than steering or trimming sails. Full Report & Results Here.

Sir Thomas Lipton Cup

San Diego YC (May 27-28) It may have been a small fleet, but all five entries were A-Fleet regatta winning teams vying to win the 93rd running of the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup Regatta... sailed for the past 5 years in J/105s... With Bill Hardesty at the helm of 'Wings', San Diego YC successfully defended its title with the help of an able crew: San Diego YC Commodore Betty Sherman, Stacey Szabo, Kel McKeown, Chad Hough, Kyle Clark and Eric Shampain. Congrats to SDYC and to all of the competitors! http://www.sdyc.org

Liberty Sailing Club

From Vice Commore Matthew Nocifore, Liberty Sailing Club... We are an active racing club in Philadelphia sailing on our fleet of six J/27s. With unlimited sailing (April - November) for crew at $700 and skippers at $1000 per year, we think we offer the best dollar value in J/Boat sailing in the world! Check us out! We typically have between 60 - 80 active members and you can see our boats racing in Center City Philadelphia from 5:30pm to sunset on Wednesday and Thursday nights, May through September! http://www.libertysailing.org ... Sail Fast!

J/24 US Women's Open Update!

From Bonnie Kirchner (May 30, 2006) ... We recently received fantastic news: that our Women's US Open is no longer a US Open, but a J/24 World Championship qualifying event! The winner will proceed to the J24 World's in Acapulco in 2007: http://www.j24mex.com/worlds2007.asp

We already have 25 teams signed up. If you know of anyone who has been thinking about our regatta and may want to charter a boat, they should get in touch with us sooner, rather than later. Also, housing could become a bit scarce the closer we get to July. www.j24womensusopen.com

J/120 'Alibi' Wins Block Island Race

LARCHMONT, NY (May 31, 2006) –While 103 boats started, only 15 finished the Storm Trysail Club's 61st annual Block Island Race, which began late Friday afternoon, May 26, on Long Island Sound. The annual distance race (185 nm) hosted one of its largest ever fleets of IRC- and PHRF-rated boats. Several of these were J/Boats including overall winner Gary Grant sailing his J/120 'Alibi' with his crew Steve Fisk in the double-handed division (the only boat to finish in class). J/'s topped the IRC 1 class finishing 1,2,3 with J/130 Christopher Dragon taking line honors ahead of two J/133s... http://www.stormtrysail.org