Yet another big story in this lively edition of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta was the strong showing by the U.S. builder J/Boats, particularly in three of the flat-out racing classes. In Spinnaker 4, James Dobbs’s J/122, Lost Horizon, held off a strong challenge from Arnaud de Meillac’s Archambault 40, Sailing Styl’ Caraibes, to register the victory. Though the class standings ended in a tie between both boats, Lost Horizon was awarded the win based on more first-place finishes.Fresh from winning the 50-boat U.S. PHRF championships in Key West, Florida, in January, the J/100 Bad Girl, campaigned by a St. Croix crew led by owner Robert Armstrong, was the other major J/Boat winner, taking the Spinnaker 5 class in impressive style, with four firsts and today’s fifth. Bad Girl is a souped-up version of the J/100, having been tricked out by the team at Hall Spars.
In Spinnaker 7, it was almost a trifecta for J/Boats, as the J/109, Pocket Rocket, was leading the division coming into the final day of racing. More info and results.
