
“When five laser sailors begin their keel boat careers on a J/111 anything could happen. As it turned out we won Division One in the Winter Series at Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne, Australia, narrowly beating a highly rated First 40 that had famously finished 3rd in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race. This speaks to the simplicity, function and fun of the J/111. With little keelboat experience, no recent experience with spinnakers or headsails, five amateur laser sailors were able to secure this result. As skipper, I find steering this boat is a joy; it’s just a large dinghy that doesn’t require large crew numbers and can be managed by even inexperienced crews. We are hoping to learn more and improve and if we get any good we might come over to Newport! My crew has said that anyone looking for a fast, fun manageable, high performance, keelboat need look no further than the J/111!” Thanks for contribution from Rod Warren, owner J/111 JOUST- Melbourne, Australia.