J/70 Class Report from Chile

(Algarrobo, Chile)- We received a report from Juan Eduardo Reid- J/70 sailor and J/Boats Chile dealer- regards their scenario in Chile.

Juan commented, "there has been no sailing activity since March 2020.  We are still sailing just in Virtual Regatta since April.  Santander and Doyle Sails are hosting a VR circuit with the J/70 owners and crews every Tuesday. Is called "The Master League".  There are weekly and monthly regattas.  2 fleets of 20 boats each week with final 40 participants results. 


This, together with a WhatsApp for internal communication, has become a very important factor of keeping the class together and "active".


Patagonia Yacht Charter and Doyle Sails hoisted the Chilean qualifiers for the South American Virtual Regatta championship. In the local qualifiers, 90 boats took place.

The class took the opportunity to ask for a voluntary donation for purchasing boxes of food for some employees at our home yacht club: Cofradía Nautica del Pacifico in Algarrobo.

We got very good support from the 90 participants, and collect $1,400 USD. And, the J/70 class did the same and supported the campaign with the same amount. So, with the $2,800 USD in funds, the J/70 Class in Chile and the Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico members support (they also complement each box with extra food), they  have been delivering 18 boxes of food every month since May. Three months of 18 boxes each were delivered and we expect to support with 2 more months. 


Independent marine workers are having a hard time since March 2020 and actually there were having very low marine activities since November 2019, after the violence and social strikes we faced in Chile since October 18th, 2019. So, this help is very important for them and the J/70 Chilean Class is happy to somehow contribute. 

This is all that I can comment from this side of the world. I hope we can sail again during September or October.  We still have 2,000 new coronavirus cases and 100 dead every day here in Chile. It is getting better, but still not enough to get to normal life." Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/70 Fastest Growing One-Design Class in South America

Just after North Sails swept the podium at the J/70 Chilean Nationals at the end of 2019, we sat down with Torkel Borgstrom to talk about class growth across the continent. He says the J/70 is growing in a very similar way to how the J/24 grew, thirty-plus years ago. With boats built in Buenos Aires, “It is becoming one of the most important and competitive classes in South America. And most of the sailors here use North Sails, including the top ones, because they perceive that it’s an advantage in terms of performance.” The first South American country to build a fleet was Chile, about seven years ago. “Right now there are probably 30-35 boats, and the numbers are stable.”

Uruguay has another 30-boat fleet, he continues. “And Brazil was one of the first countries that started with a J/70, but due to some restrictions on importation, they only have around ten boats. But every time they participate internationally, they do well.” Add in another 35 boats from Argentina, and it’s easy to see why Torkel says the J/70 “has become one of the strongest and most interesting one design classes. The regattas are very, very competitive, and normally there are a lot of boats participating.”

In Brazil, a lot of professional sailors have moved into the J/70 because the competition is so good. In the rest of South America, Torkel explains, the approach is more like in the US; most sailors are either amateur or people work in the industry, but don’t specialize in J/70s.

The J/70 South Americans in Punta del Este had great conditions but only 32 boats participated, which surprised Torkel—though he wasn’t surprised to see a  Argentinian tie for first. “Most of the sailors are new, and so when you put together a good crew like the one Guillermo Parada has, they normally will win most of the events.” As for the disappointing turnout, he blames it on the current political instability, particularly in Chile but also in Argentina. “Every time we have elections here, things get a little bit unstable. So I believe this is the reason why we haven’t seen more boats.”

Based on what he’s seen so far, Torkel is excited about the future of the class. “In January, we have the Rolex Atlantic Circuit regatta, which is one of the most important ones here. I expect to see more boats sailing in that event.” Longer term, “the good sailors ended up sailing in the J/24s, and the same thing is going to happen with the J/70s. So you will see more people from South America, Argentina especially, going into the international events and starting to do much better every year. We foresee that in the next five to eight years, we’ll continue growing slowly, and continue improving in terms of competitiveness.”  Sailing Photo Credits- Matias Capizzano Add to Flipboard Magazine.

NEW WAVE Wins J/70 Chilean Nationals

(Algarrobo, Chile)- Fresh off sailing the recent J/70 South American Championship in Punta del Este, Uruguay, a number of teams headed back across the formidable Andes Mountains range back northwest to Algarrobo, Chile for the 2020 J/70 Chilean National Championship, hosted by Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico.

Twenty-six teams participated in the regatta and many them participated in the training program provided by the Doyle Sails Team. Running the sailing clinic was non other than J/70 World Champion Jud Smith from Marblehead, MA. After the pre-regatta full-day training program that included an onshore debrief, the competitors continued to learn even more about Smith's "speed secrets" during the course of the regatta. Juddie was on-the-water all three days of racing and provided post-race day debriefs at the yacht club for any of the sailors.

The sailors were treated to a fairly typical cross-section of wind and wave conditions off Algarrobo. Friday's racing was light and shifty winds for most of the day. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, the fleet enjoyed 10-18 kts of breeze, increasing on Sunday to 15-20 kts...making for a few fun, full-out planing races downwind.


Day 1
In the lighter breezes on the first day, the right side of the course upwind paid off the best. However, late in the day, the seabreeze affect started to pull the breeze left with a little more pressure.  The strongest performance of the day was the Herman brothers on NEW WAVE, they had great starts, solid tactics and very good speed to post a 3-3-2 to sit atop the podium at the conclusion of racing. Not far behind was Matias Seguel's crew on TEAM VOLVO with a 7-1-5 and in third was Vernon Robert's MORENITA team that had just finished 6th in the J/70 South Americans in Punta, posting a 2-2-10 for the day.


Day 2
On Saturday, the wind built a little more and some of the stronger teams took advantage of the wind and wave angles, particularly downwind. The Ducasse family onboard TSUNAMI posted the best record for the day with a 6-9-1. Meanwhile, the regatta leaders on the Herman's NEW WAVE posted a 3-11-4 to hold on to their lead. Meanwhile, Seguel's Team VOLVO also held on to their 2nd spot with a 4-12-2.


Day 3
The stronger wind conditions on the final day certainly played into the hands of the more experienced teams. Dominating the final day and closing out the regatta with a strong performance was the Herman brothers on NEW WAVE, posting a 2-1-4 for a 22 pts net (after one discard); that gave them a 13 pts winning margin. This was the second J/70 Chilean Nationals the Herman brothers have won, taking the first event in 2015 at Lago Panguipulli onboard CAROLINA.


Taking the silver was Seguel's VOLVO team, closing the regatta with a 3-5-8 for 35 pts net.  Then, rounding out the podium was the Ducasse family on TSUNAMI. Their final day was a bit of a disappointment, as they had been in the running for the overall lead with VOLVO and NEW WAVE. They started off the day winning their second race in a row, but suffered an OCS in Race 8 and, therefore, ruining their chances to win the regatta. They closed with a 2nd to take the bronze. 

After an uncharacteristically bad fourth race- a 21st place- Robert's MORENITA crew demonstrated why they are one of South America's best J/70 teams, closing the gap very quickly on the leaders to finish just 7 pts from second place! In fact, they posted the best record of any team in the last five races- a 1-3-6-2-1, winning the last race by a big margin and securing fourth place. Rounding out the top five was Alejandro Perez's team on PELIGRO.

Winning the Corinthians Division was young Alfredo Urzua on LA NEGRA, second went to Cristóbal Pérez's IL MOSTRO, and third was José A Jimenez and family on DARK SIDE. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

J/122E ANITA Report- Rolex Middle Sea Race

(Gzira, Malta/ Santiago, Chile)- After a really tough 50th edition of the ROLEX Middle Sea Race, the J/122e ANITA finished 3rd in IRC Class and 24th among 115 boats sailing.

The Spanish-Chilean team led by owner/ skipper Nicoléas Ibañez Scott, put up a strong effort in wildly variable weather conditions on the Mediterranean Sea, from “glass-outs” with burning sun, to 40+ kts, grey, cold, and 15 ft seas rolling over the deck.

Here is their “insider’s report” on what went down in this incredibly challenging “bucket list” race on the Mediterranean Sea.  Thanks to ANITA’s owner- Nicoléas Ibañez Scott.

“This was the second year that Anita, a J/122E, participated in the Middle Sea race, 600-mile race around Sicily and the islands that surround it.

It was an especially hard race, with only one-third of the fleet completing the race.

This year we sailed with more sails, more crew (8), and made various improvements in our maneuvers and how we used our navigation/ electronics equipment.

The race started off for us with a collision! The other boat came from behind and hit us in the stern and they ended up getting a badly broken bowsprit. We just got a little scratch astern.

The first long leg is getting to the Straits of Messina between Sicily and the mainland.  It was a long windward leg, with 12-16 knots. Our closest references were the J/133 JIVARO that was easily advancing on us in these conditions. And, the other was the J/122 JOY; they helped us find the correct sail trim.

At nightfall, the wind got lighter and near land, it also became unstable in intensity and direction.  Good tactical decisions and the use of our Code 0 in some transitions allowed us to place ourselves at the head of the fleet in our group and very well positioned in the overall fleet.

In the morning, a zone of total calm trapped the fleet. We floated for hours trying to move. Our new windseeker became crucial!

In the afternoon, the wind finally returned astern and propelled us towards the Strait of Messina. We sailed in sight of the JPK 1180 for hours; in the end they would end up winning the regatta in our class and overall.

In the Straits of Messina, the wind and the currents became capricious, and forced us to continuous changes of sails and maneuvers.

The duel with the JPK 1180 "Courier Recommandée" in this section of the race was exciting for us, we go forward several times, sometimes the boats sail backwards due to the current.  In fact, we sailed just 20-30m from the shore to reduce the current effects.

Finally, we managed to escape from the "claws" of Messina and with a strong wind we got to the Strómboli volcano.

Then, there was one of the biggest highlights of our race, a port-starboard under spinnaker with the JPK 1180 in the middle of the night. From there, they would escape from us, culminating in a masterful race for them! But, frustrating for us!!

Soon after, an enormous lightning storm hits us. The wind came from every direction and intensity. Fortunately, a heavy thundershower caught us with the spinnaker on deck!

After rounding Strómboli, we began a long windward course to the Egades. The wind raged (up to 40 kts) and the waves were difficult to steer through.  In this section, the larger and heavier boats could pound through the seas better and took off from us.

We rounded Favignana rocks on the third night.  We believe this is where the JPK 1180 got away from us, as until this time we were still very close to them after beating upwind for so many hours.  At this stage, the wind was aft and the big waves behind us.  This leg was over 150 miles with 20-30 kts of wind.


We tried the A4 spinnaker for 15 minutes.  But, we quickly realized the boat was difficult to control in the big waves.  So, we lowered the A4 before losing control and breaking something. We sailed this leg with the main and 105% jib only, sailing much slower than many of our rivals.

We finally rounded Lampedusa the fourth night and we had a very wet leg from there to Malta, with 20 knots of wind.

We passed between Gozo and Malta before sailing under kite the last 15 miles and crossing the finish line after four exciting days of racing.

Good times, exciting duels, new lessons, a 3rd place in our class and we want to repeat next year!” Add to Flipboard Magazine.

The Evolution of Family Sailing in Chile

(Santiago, Chile)- It all starts with family, children, friends and tradition.  Plus, a few boats that people from across that family spectrum can enjoy from 8 to 80 yrs old.  Imagine what has happened in the past ten years in Chile, it’s nearly a revolution in how sailing in various J’s has brought more families and friends into the sport in Chile- the world’s longest and skinniest country at 2,653 miles high and averages 110 miles wide.  How did that ever happen, one might ask rhetorically, given all the chatter around the world about whether or not sailing is growing?!

The plan has been simple in Chile.  Whatever you do, make sure the “family wins”.  Period.  That means Mom, Dad, the girls, the guys, the pro’s, the experienced, the less-than-experienced, the cruisers, the racers should have fun, too.   Sound familiar? Yes, that is exactly what is happening with the phenomenon of sailing leagues in Europe- one of the world’s most difficult markets to get sailors engaged after centuries of tradition.  Breaking down the barriers of entry and engaging everyone works when done well with the proper boats- ones that do not intimidate sailors, but brings enough fun and excitement that it can be shared with everyone.  That is exactly what has happened in an entire country, where no one ever expected it to happen.

The famous Chiloé Regatta 2016 in Chile’s southern archipelago (e.g. like Sweden’s famous islands off Stockholm), is considered to be the pinnacle of the Chilean sailor’s summer vacation.  This year, there were thirteen J/105’s, four J/70’s (in cruising mode!) and four J/24’s in the J/Boats fleet; they represented 1/3 of the total fleet in Chiloé Regata in Puerto Montt during January this year!  That is an astonishing evolution in less than ten years for any regatta, forgetting the fact that it’s tantamount to taking over the 1,000 boat Cowes Race Week with 333 J’s on the Solent!

The story of J/Boats in Chile as a brand and a class began in 1992 when Germán Fuchs started sailing with ATTACK, that is when the J/24 class started locally. The first J/24 South American Championship in Chile was organized in 1992 on Rapel Lake.  By 1994 to 1996, the J/24 class had fleets of 30 or more boats in Nationals events in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Brazil and Argentina.  After 2000, the fleets of J/24 started to change a little; in fact the class drew the attention of the Chilean Navy in Talcahuano and the Chilean Navy started to use the J/24 in their Naval Academy.  In fact, some J/24s for the Navy have made it as far south as Porto Williams, by the far the southernmost embarkation point to the infamous Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn, and for most expeditions to Antarctica. There is a sailing school today at Porto Williams on J/24s!

About the same time as the J/24 evolution in Chile and South America, there were also several J/35 offshore keelboats  that arrived at the end of 1990.  One boat, in particular, was the famous SCARAMOUCHE, she famously won several offshore circuits over a 5-6 year period in Chile’s regattas off Algarrobo and Chiloe.

In 2010, a group of friends from YC Algarrobo choose the J/105 (the J/35 “evolution”) to expand their sailing experience from the J/24 to a larger boat.  Since then, more than thirty J/105’s have arrived in Chile between Algarrobo and Viña del Mar (60 miles away); it is by far the largest one-design keelboat class in Chile. In fact, it’s the largest one-design keelboat class in the world outside of the San Francisco J/105 fleet!! Impossible to fathom for some, but not for familes that are interested in including their friends, family and children in the experience.

On the other hand, the port of Talcahuano (450Km south from Santiago- where the 8.8 earthquake/ tsunami hit the hardest in 2012) had developed an important J/24 fleet with more than 15 boats. The class’s success was in part due to the Chilean Navy supporting the growth of the class as a valuable trainer for their officers (e.g. similar to the US maritime academies like the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD).  As a result, the J/24 developed all across Chile, mainly in the lakes and some maritime bays. Today, there are around 150 J/24s in Chile.

But the story didn't end there.  In 2012, after the successful launching of the J/70 worldwide, the local dealer Juan Eduardo Reid started to promote this “little jewel” and formed the class in Chile.  Today,  there are 17 boats in Chile and probably 20 by the end of 2016.  Chile has the largest circuit of J/70’s in South America and already they have organized their 3rd National Championship with 13 boats in Lago Panguipulli- it's one of the most spectacular Patagonian mountain lakes and ranks amongst the best mountain sailing lakes in the world. A few of these teams will be sailing the first J/70 South Americans in Punta del Este, Uruguay!

Commenting on the development of J/Boats sailing in Chile, Juan Eduardo said, “It was a special feeling in Chiloé looking at three  successful one-design classes (J/24, J/70, J/105) sailing in the regatta; it’s a summary of 25 years of J/Boats history in Chile.  Every boat has their own group of fans. The owners see the value of sailing in budget-friendly one-design formats and choose the class that fits the most with their sailing skills, boat preference, logistics, size and budget!  And, it was remarkable to see the two, only two, full women crews of Chiloé 2016 on J/Boats!"

"Our challenge for next Chiloé Regatta (2018), is to keep a good J/105 fleet and have a larger J/70 fleet. Also, I would love to see a couple of J/112E and J/122E teams sailing. Considering the great performance of both boats in IRC events, we are hoping to field some teams in the next Chiloe Regatta.”  For more J/Boats Chile sailing information

J/70s Growing Sailing in Chile!

(Algarobbo, Chile)- Here’s the latest report from Juan Eduardo Reid:  “Things are OK in Chile, the economy slowing down, but the momentum with the J70 is good!  We have six boats in Algarrobo, all in the same yacht club where most of the yachting activity is located in northern Chile.  Also, this is the same yacht club where the J/105 idea start with Mr Seguel, Del Castillo, González, Gumucio, Rosales and others.

Two J/70s are sailing almost every weekend...training a little for the upcoming J/70 Worlds in Newport.  It is winter time here, but you can sail nicely some days and two boats sailing and match racing is very nice and good marketing even if there are not to full at this time of the year.

We manage to obtain a sponsorship with Santander Bank, that enables the J/70 fleet to offer free dry-space parking for their boats to the owners until December. We expect five boats for the J/70 class regatta on August 30th!  Should be fun and we hope for a good breeze!