J/95 Demos Rolling in FL/ CT

Experience an Awesome Shoal-Draft Daysailing 31 footer!

Come on down and experience what the early reviews have been raving about-- tremendous performance with a "big boat feel", big comfy daysailing cockpit and amazing boat-handling- you can turn the boat on a dime heeled over at 20 degrees!

J/95 #1 arrived in Sarasota, Florida and CrossCurrent Marine is busy with demo sails and open houses. J/95 #2 is launching May 10th in Barrington, RI and will spend the rest of May in Stonington, CT. Meet J/Boats' famous designer Rod Johnstone for demo sails-- then, relax afterwards at Clay Burkhalter's renowned watering hole, The DogWatch Cafe, for a refreshment or two. We encourage you to contact us to arrange a demo in Sarasota, FL or Stonington, CT and a factory visit to Bristol.

Spring Heat @ American Spring Series

Light air, start and stop conditions (and some very hot sun) were the rule for the first weekend of the two part AYC Spring Series in Rye, NY. on Western Long Island Sound. J/Boats are literally everywhere on both courses. One design appearances include the J/105, J/109, J/122, and J/44 classes, with four J/120s and two J/133s in IRC Div 3. George Petrides, with his newly -modified for IRC- J/120 'AVRA' is in the lead by one point after four races. New J/100 owner Joe Matteo bounced back quickly from a 7th in race #1 of the series to 2nd overall after 4 races in PHRF division 4. Other J's in attendance include another J/100, J/29, J/35, and even the J/80. Results & Info.

90 J/80's Entered for Spi Ouest 2009

The J/80 class dwarfs all the others with a remarkable tally of ninety boats now entered for the 2009 Spi Ouest Regatta to be held over Easter Weekend in northern France at La Trinite.

The huge turnout for the first European event of the season bodes well for the upcoming 2009 Worlds to be held in Santander, Spain in early July. According to Paul Heys at J-UK, there could be as many as fifteen boats from the UK in Santander for the Worlds. Pro rata that figure for other European countries and add in other expected overseas entries and the worlds could top 100 boats. With 78 boats entered to sail at the J/24 Worlds in Annapolis next month, one-design racing is alive and well! J/80 World's website J/24 Worlds website

J Boats Launches Innovative Design

It didn’t take but 30 seconds into the first sail on the new J/95 for designer Rod Johnstone to call for the centerboard to be fully raised. Moments later, the boat was sailing upwind at about 6.5 knots in about 12 knots of wind. The boat then tacked and easily fetched inside 90 degrees on the opposite board, all while the helmsman enjoyed finger-tip response on the wheel. Let’s see – design a 31’ boat that draws as little as 3’ and then make sure it not only performs upwind, but is really fun to drive? Check off that box.

Over the next four days, the praise for the J/95 kept pouring in from all who sailed her. Most could not believe how smooth the boat was to drive, or how much of a “big boat” feel the boat has for being only 31’. This is a lot of sailboat for the length and a boat that has to be sailed to be believed.

Rod Johnstone - "the balance is perfect......I'm psyched, I've got to have one of these....my best design ever.”

Al Johnstone - "fantastic -- she's the little big boat.”

Ben Hall, Hall Spars - "I thought I was driving a 60 footer. She's so stable -- steering is really easy and precise."

Peter Nielsen, SAIL Editor-In-Chief - "How refreshing, something truly innovative and worthwhile to talk about."

Visit the J/95 homepage to see more photos.