(Les Sables d'Olonne, France)- Announced July 2018, international debut in Paris Boat Show in December 2018, then launched in January 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom, the J/99 has garnered more than her fair share of accolades from the world's yachting press, the most prestigious "Best Boat" awards from various magazines, and most importantly, dozens of testimonials from her passionate owners from around the world.
After just two sailing seasons (including the highly abbreviated 2020 pandemic summer), the worldwide reach of the J/99 is somewhat astonishing- now sailing in 22 countries on four continents! Hull #100 should be building later this year! There are five or more J/99s in the following countries: France (12), Italy, Spain, Australia, Netherlands and USA (14). Here is the list of countries:
Pip Hare/ YACHTING WORLD review
According to Pip, “the J/99 is all thrills, no frills on board the versatile 32-foot offshore speedster.... within ten minutes our demure departure was all but forgotten as we came bursting out of Southampton Water, our senses assaulted from all angles by the bitter north wind and our 100m2 dayglo yellow spinnaker. As the sun rose, everything about the day and this little powerhouse of a boat became bright, sharp and dynamic. I don’t know what the rest of the world was doing at 0800 on that January morning, but we were having a blast.
The eagerly awaited J/99 directly targets a growing demographic of sailors who enjoy the fantastic short-handed racing scene available all across Europe.... from the first moment I stepped into the cockpit, this boat struck me with its no-nonsense approach. Sail handling is simple, the cockpit clean and well laid-out, the helm dynamic and responsive. Just cruising down the river, the boat felt light and seemed to directly translate every puff of wind into increased speed. Compared to the Class 40s I have spent much of the last two years racing, the J/99 felt like a go-cart – a promising combination of agility and power.” Read more of Pip's YACHTING WORLD review here
Andy Howe/ SAIL magazine review
"This boat is gonna create more temptation in sailors’ minds than one could possibly imagine. She’s been touted as a "market disruptor" by SEAHORSE Magazine and "versatile & exciting" by YACHTING WORLD as she sits proudly on their April 2019 magazine cover.
The all-new J/99, from J/Boats, checks more boxes than any boat they’ve produced in over 30 years, period.... the J/99 packs a lot of performance and versatility into a manageable size and budget.” Read more of Andy's SAIL review here
SAIL NORTHWEST Review
Some perspectives from Ben Braden after a San Francisco Bay sail on the 99.
"I was able to do a demo sail on San Francisco Bay awhile back on the first boat Sail California brought in to the West Coast.
That demo sail was great! From the east Bay in Richmond, CA, we went upwind around Angel Island, leaving it to port. We got some good puffs up by the bridge, then set the chute for the run back downwind towards the northeast Bay. She maneuvered well and reacted to the puffs, but not so much that you had to scramble to blow something.
She dug in and sped up in the puffs rather than dropping the deck down and spinning to weather. This is when I first thought "rails", she's stiff, like being on "rails", she just accelerates forward.
Pop the chute in 16+ kts of wind and she will slide off downwind, pushing 10 kts boatspeed easily.
The J/99 is simple to drive and smooth to recover when the new guy driving gets excited with things and stops paying attention.
Cool boat, stiff and responsive was my first impression." Read more of Ben's review here
J/99s Race-winning Performance in DUO CAT-AMANIA
The Duo Cat-Amania, the premiere doublehanded offshore regatta in France, was hosted by the Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon (YCCA). An amazing fleet of fifty doublehanded teams participated in the event. The regatta is a combination of round-the-buoys plus point-to-point offshore racing legs. The regatta started in Crouesty and headed to Quiberon. Then, from there they headed to Lorient. Next leg was then to Concarneau. Then, the fleet returned to Morbihan, with a stopover in Locmiquélic, then La Trinité-sur-Mer, then back to Le Crouesty for the finish!
The J/99 J-LANCE 14 sailed by Frederic Bouvier and Benjamin Dutreaux took the silver, while the J/99 GRASSI BATEAUX sailed by Olivier Grassi and Frederic Duthil took 5th place.
Bouvier commented on their successful regatta. "All the races counted in the general classification," explained Fred. “Despite one bad decision in one race- a 20th- we always finished in the top 5 in front of larger sailboats than ours. In medium wind conditions, which normally favor large boats, we were successful, and we managed to keep a good pace. Our second place reaffirms the versatility of the J/99 at all wind speeds and in all weather situations. The J/99 is a well-designed sailboat that is fully in tune for doublehanded sailing. The level of competition was extremely high in this year's Duo Cat-Amania. We are also delighted with the fifth place of another J/99, Olivier Grassi and Fred Duthil's GRASSI BATEAUX."
Perhaps most significantly from a competitive standpoint, the J/99s beat out a number of "professional factory teams" from the following camps- JPK (960, 1010, 1030, 1080), Beneteau (Figaro 2s) and Jeanneau Sunfast (3200, 3300, 3600). Read more of Fred Bouvier's commentary sailing the DUO CAT-AMANIA
KING OF BLUE Views on Winning IRC E- Les Voiles de St. Tropez
Owner Pascal Fan of the J/99 KING OF BLUE sailed "Les Voiles" with a largely family crew. Their performance was all the more remarkable considering they were up against a number of French offshore "factory teams" in their rather large division. Here's Pascal's commentary:
“We are very happy with our races at Les Voiles. This year has been very special for us. We bought the J/99 at the beginning of the year, before the Covid-19 crisis. We were only able to sail on board in regattas in the spring. In fact, during the Sémac Trophy, we were fortunate to have finished 3rd overall!
It is with great pleasure that we’ve participated in this 2020 edition of Les Voiles de St Tropez. We are so happy and so grateful to participate as a family and friends. During the various coastal races, we were around 3rd or 4th on the downwind tracks and 1st on the upwind tracks. Our J/99 KING OF BLUE is the real bomb! We were all delighted to sail on board! You really have to try it to enjoy!" Read more about the KING OF BLUE experience here
AUSTRALIA Offshore Doublehanded Domination
Sailing out of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Pittwater (Sydney), Australia, our J/Dealer Ray and Sandra Entwistle have been sailing their J/99 JEDI as a doublehanded team.
After their first 20.0nm race, Ray commented, "...the J/99 is so easy to sail, perfectly balanced, highly versatile and comfortable. She was also very dry considering the lumpy seaway and simply carved her way through the swell. The race was tactically challenging as we had to keep out of as much dirty air as possible with so many larger boats around us. We popped the A2 for the return run, Sandra cross sheeted the kite sheets and enjoyed the ride home...”
Then, in their next trio of races, skipper Ray offered this view, ”...we've been lucky enough to experience the J/99 in many different wind and sea states and the results have been just as impressive. The first race in 8-15 knots and lumpy seaway, second race in 15-25 knots and very rough seaway, third race in light conditions and fairly flat seas. The J/99 has performed outstandingly well in this wide range of conditions, is incredibly easy to manage, and a real joy to sail.”
A Woman's Doublehanded Perspective
After a season of sailing the J/99 JEDI, Sandra Entwistle offered her perspectives.
"We’ve been practicing two-handed racing in our J/99 while joining in with fully-crewed fleet from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) Short Offshore Point Score (SOPS) series. While Ray and I have sailed together for many years, we haven’t seriously raced two-handed since 2008 when we owned our J/109 Sweet Chariot.
By no means am I a professional sailor or have any aspiration to enter the Olympics, I’m just keen to get out there and enjoy sailing. The J/99 is perfect for us as she can be easily sailed by two, large enough to race fully crewed plus has enough creature comforts down below for some family cruising.
Actually, in all honesty, I prefer racing two-up as I get to do a bit of everything – from tactics to jib trim to kite trim to steering and all the tasks to make that happen. Paradoxically, I find it less stressful with just two on board, the reason being that we ensure we are organized and prepared for what’s going to happen next, I know what Ray is going to do and vice versa."
Sandra goes on to exclaim what happened after a 2 hour upwind leg and rounding the mark.. "after hoisting the kite, we immediately got a gust and scooted down the swell doing about 17 kts – woo hoo! The J/99 is so stiff and balanced, at no time were we out of control or concerned. Speed is your friend when going downwind as there is less sheet loading.
...at then end of the run, we opted for a letterbox drop where the kite is dropped between the mainsail and boom and down the main hatch. That technique is by far the safest, easiest spinnaker drop for any shorthanded sailing team." Read more of Sandra's experiences and lessons-learned here
There are several entertaining and instructive sailing videos on J/99s on YouTube. Here's the latest from Chile.
Chile J/99 video on YouTube
If that video didn't get you excited enough to get on the water, enjoy this J/99 sailing videos playlist on the J/Boats YouTube channel For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
After just two sailing seasons (including the highly abbreviated 2020 pandemic summer), the worldwide reach of the J/99 is somewhat astonishing- now sailing in 22 countries on four continents! Hull #100 should be building later this year! There are five or more J/99s in the following countries: France (12), Italy, Spain, Australia, Netherlands and USA (14). Here is the list of countries:
- Antipodes (Australia, New Zealand)
- North America (USA, Canada)
- South America (Chile, Peru)
- Europe (Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom)
- Asia (Hong Kong, Japan)
Pip Hare/ YACHTING WORLD review
According to Pip, “the J/99 is all thrills, no frills on board the versatile 32-foot offshore speedster.... within ten minutes our demure departure was all but forgotten as we came bursting out of Southampton Water, our senses assaulted from all angles by the bitter north wind and our 100m2 dayglo yellow spinnaker. As the sun rose, everything about the day and this little powerhouse of a boat became bright, sharp and dynamic. I don’t know what the rest of the world was doing at 0800 on that January morning, but we were having a blast.
The eagerly awaited J/99 directly targets a growing demographic of sailors who enjoy the fantastic short-handed racing scene available all across Europe.... from the first moment I stepped into the cockpit, this boat struck me with its no-nonsense approach. Sail handling is simple, the cockpit clean and well laid-out, the helm dynamic and responsive. Just cruising down the river, the boat felt light and seemed to directly translate every puff of wind into increased speed. Compared to the Class 40s I have spent much of the last two years racing, the J/99 felt like a go-cart – a promising combination of agility and power.” Read more of Pip's YACHTING WORLD review here
Andy Howe/ SAIL magazine review
"This boat is gonna create more temptation in sailors’ minds than one could possibly imagine. She’s been touted as a "market disruptor" by SEAHORSE Magazine and "versatile & exciting" by YACHTING WORLD as she sits proudly on their April 2019 magazine cover.
The all-new J/99, from J/Boats, checks more boxes than any boat they’ve produced in over 30 years, period.... the J/99 packs a lot of performance and versatility into a manageable size and budget.” Read more of Andy's SAIL review here
SAIL NORTHWEST Review
Some perspectives from Ben Braden after a San Francisco Bay sail on the 99.
"I was able to do a demo sail on San Francisco Bay awhile back on the first boat Sail California brought in to the West Coast.
That demo sail was great! From the east Bay in Richmond, CA, we went upwind around Angel Island, leaving it to port. We got some good puffs up by the bridge, then set the chute for the run back downwind towards the northeast Bay. She maneuvered well and reacted to the puffs, but not so much that you had to scramble to blow something.
She dug in and sped up in the puffs rather than dropping the deck down and spinning to weather. This is when I first thought "rails", she's stiff, like being on "rails", she just accelerates forward.
Pop the chute in 16+ kts of wind and she will slide off downwind, pushing 10 kts boatspeed easily.
The J/99 is simple to drive and smooth to recover when the new guy driving gets excited with things and stops paying attention.
Cool boat, stiff and responsive was my first impression." Read more of Ben's review here
J/99s Race-winning Performance in DUO CAT-AMANIA
The Duo Cat-Amania, the premiere doublehanded offshore regatta in France, was hosted by the Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon (YCCA). An amazing fleet of fifty doublehanded teams participated in the event. The regatta is a combination of round-the-buoys plus point-to-point offshore racing legs. The regatta started in Crouesty and headed to Quiberon. Then, from there they headed to Lorient. Next leg was then to Concarneau. Then, the fleet returned to Morbihan, with a stopover in Locmiquélic, then La Trinité-sur-Mer, then back to Le Crouesty for the finish!
The J/99 J-LANCE 14 sailed by Frederic Bouvier and Benjamin Dutreaux took the silver, while the J/99 GRASSI BATEAUX sailed by Olivier Grassi and Frederic Duthil took 5th place.
Bouvier commented on their successful regatta. "All the races counted in the general classification," explained Fred. “Despite one bad decision in one race- a 20th- we always finished in the top 5 in front of larger sailboats than ours. In medium wind conditions, which normally favor large boats, we were successful, and we managed to keep a good pace. Our second place reaffirms the versatility of the J/99 at all wind speeds and in all weather situations. The J/99 is a well-designed sailboat that is fully in tune for doublehanded sailing. The level of competition was extremely high in this year's Duo Cat-Amania. We are also delighted with the fifth place of another J/99, Olivier Grassi and Fred Duthil's GRASSI BATEAUX."
Perhaps most significantly from a competitive standpoint, the J/99s beat out a number of "professional factory teams" from the following camps- JPK (960, 1010, 1030, 1080), Beneteau (Figaro 2s) and Jeanneau Sunfast (3200, 3300, 3600). Read more of Fred Bouvier's commentary sailing the DUO CAT-AMANIA
KING OF BLUE Views on Winning IRC E- Les Voiles de St. Tropez
Owner Pascal Fan of the J/99 KING OF BLUE sailed "Les Voiles" with a largely family crew. Their performance was all the more remarkable considering they were up against a number of French offshore "factory teams" in their rather large division. Here's Pascal's commentary:
“We are very happy with our races at Les Voiles. This year has been very special for us. We bought the J/99 at the beginning of the year, before the Covid-19 crisis. We were only able to sail on board in regattas in the spring. In fact, during the Sémac Trophy, we were fortunate to have finished 3rd overall!
It is with great pleasure that we’ve participated in this 2020 edition of Les Voiles de St Tropez. We are so happy and so grateful to participate as a family and friends. During the various coastal races, we were around 3rd or 4th on the downwind tracks and 1st on the upwind tracks. Our J/99 KING OF BLUE is the real bomb! We were all delighted to sail on board! You really have to try it to enjoy!" Read more about the KING OF BLUE experience here
AUSTRALIA Offshore Doublehanded Domination
Sailing out of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Pittwater (Sydney), Australia, our J/Dealer Ray and Sandra Entwistle have been sailing their J/99 JEDI as a doublehanded team.
After their first 20.0nm race, Ray commented, "...the J/99 is so easy to sail, perfectly balanced, highly versatile and comfortable. She was also very dry considering the lumpy seaway and simply carved her way through the swell. The race was tactically challenging as we had to keep out of as much dirty air as possible with so many larger boats around us. We popped the A2 for the return run, Sandra cross sheeted the kite sheets and enjoyed the ride home...”
Then, in their next trio of races, skipper Ray offered this view, ”...we've been lucky enough to experience the J/99 in many different wind and sea states and the results have been just as impressive. The first race in 8-15 knots and lumpy seaway, second race in 15-25 knots and very rough seaway, third race in light conditions and fairly flat seas. The J/99 has performed outstandingly well in this wide range of conditions, is incredibly easy to manage, and a real joy to sail.”
A Woman's Doublehanded Perspective
After a season of sailing the J/99 JEDI, Sandra Entwistle offered her perspectives.
"We’ve been practicing two-handed racing in our J/99 while joining in with fully-crewed fleet from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) Short Offshore Point Score (SOPS) series. While Ray and I have sailed together for many years, we haven’t seriously raced two-handed since 2008 when we owned our J/109 Sweet Chariot.
By no means am I a professional sailor or have any aspiration to enter the Olympics, I’m just keen to get out there and enjoy sailing. The J/99 is perfect for us as she can be easily sailed by two, large enough to race fully crewed plus has enough creature comforts down below for some family cruising.
Actually, in all honesty, I prefer racing two-up as I get to do a bit of everything – from tactics to jib trim to kite trim to steering and all the tasks to make that happen. Paradoxically, I find it less stressful with just two on board, the reason being that we ensure we are organized and prepared for what’s going to happen next, I know what Ray is going to do and vice versa."
Sandra goes on to exclaim what happened after a 2 hour upwind leg and rounding the mark.. "after hoisting the kite, we immediately got a gust and scooted down the swell doing about 17 kts – woo hoo! The J/99 is so stiff and balanced, at no time were we out of control or concerned. Speed is your friend when going downwind as there is less sheet loading.
...at then end of the run, we opted for a letterbox drop where the kite is dropped between the mainsail and boom and down the main hatch. That technique is by far the safest, easiest spinnaker drop for any shorthanded sailing team." Read more of Sandra's experiences and lessons-learned here
There are several entertaining and instructive sailing videos on J/99s on YouTube. Here's the latest from Chile.
Chile J/99 video on YouTube
If that video didn't get you excited enough to get on the water, enjoy this J/99 sailing videos playlist on the J/Boats YouTube channel For more J/99 shorthanded offshore speedster sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
|
