ACADIA Joins Mystic Seaport Fleet

ACADIA, a 21 ft solo transatlantic racing sailboat, raced successfully by Clay Burkhalter in the 4,200 mile France to Brazil 2007 MiniTransat, and designed by J/Boat co-founder Rod Johnstone, joins the Seaport fleet. Burkhalter sailed the course in 25 days, crossing the finish line in 12th place. He was only the fifth American to have completed the race, which has been running since 1977.

"ACADIA'S innovative design and construction was realized right here in Stonington, Connecticut," said Mystic Seaport president Steve White. "With this acquisition and our building relationship with Clay, Mystic Seaport is embracing today's sailing technology - just as the CHARLES W. MORGAN stood for innovation in its day." full article...

J/109 Class Invited to Vice Admiral's Cup

The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Cowes will host the fifth Vice Admiral's Cup regatta from Friday May 29-31, 2009. Each year the Vice Admiral's Cup organizers extend a special invitation to a fourth class to join the event. For 2009 that class will be the well established J-109 Class.
Fifteen to twenty J-109 teams are expected to compete including all of the top UK boats. "The J-109 Class is thrilled to be invited to take part in the Vice Admiral's Cup. This is a prestigious event and as such the phenomenally successful J-109 class will have much to offer the Vice Admiral's Cup in terms of quality of competition on the race track. We are looking forward to an outstanding weekend of racing." Commented J-109 UK Class Chairman Matt Boyle. NOR & Entry info

Stark Raving Mad IV Wins Cabo Race

Jim Madden's J/125 Stark Raving Mad IV officially crossed the finish line at 5:14:07 AM PST 3/10/09 to take line honors, a first in class and first in fleet at the '09 Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race!

After the race, SRM owner Jim Madden shared this brief message: “What a blast. The boat was easy to handle, fun to sail, and blazingly fast. The 790 miles down the Baja passed by quickly with speeds frequently at 15knots or more. We also managed to enjoy ourselves with some very nice amenities like Bordeaux’s and barbecued swordfish and steaks"... now that's winning in style! Results & more

J/95 Share the Joy Closer to Home

For the first time, many sailors will be able to keep a good-looking performance keelboat in front of their homes. J/95 has the capability of broadening a day’s sailing range by 5-10 miles thanks to her keel/centerboard configuration. That includes venturing safely outside of inlets into open water... even staying dry and comfortable when a 20-knot sea breeze kicks in. J/95’s large cockpit, the privacy of its enclosed marine head and the convenience of returning home under power if the wind dies, make picnic day sails more appealing to family and friends. Sailing is at its best when the joy can be shared. J/95 has the versatility and the qualities to optimize your sailing experience over a longer season, closer to home...

Download the new J/95 brochure to learn more...

J/100, J/122 and Wind at Heineken '09

It was breeze on at the St Maarten Heineken Regatta ’09, with 40 knot puffs on day 1, settling down to the lower 20s out of the northeast for the rest of the weekend. The conditions gave owner Robert Armstrong and his experienced crew yet another opportunity to prove that J/100 Bad Girl can win against pretty much any boat in any conditions. Conceived as a daysailor, this tricked up J/100 proved her pedigree against a group of single purpose sportboats in the heavy wind and sea conditions. The competition included a Melges 32, some Melges 24s, Mumm 36, and other sportboats, the Bad Girl team scored a 1,2,1,2 to handily win the spinnaker class 6.

In Spinnaker 4, it was the forty foot J/s dominating the standings with James Dobbs’ J/122 Lost Horizons defending his 2008 crown scoring straight bullets over four races and Rick Wesslund & Mike Caldwell’s J/120 El Ocaso scoring straight seconds. The J/109 Pocket Rocket finished forth. http://www.heinekenregatta.com/

J/42 'Crisis Mode'

A short email came across the J/Boat news desk recently and reads as follows:

“Just finished a 13 month circumnavigation on my J/42. The boat has served me well in all sorts of conditions. Thanks for a great boat!”

This understated note is from owner Todd Hybels and follows a great achievement and cruising adventure covering 29,000 nm in 18 months across the Pacific, Indian, and Altantic Oceans. Congrats to Todd and his crew and friends Jeremiah Dodson, and Joe Hays.

Now temporarily based out of Leverick Bay in the British Virgin Islands Todd and his extended family are celebrating Crisis Mode's successful voyage before setting sail in a few weeks for his home port of South Haven, MI. ... For some great stories and photos of the adventure please visit http://www.crisismode.org

Blue Water Medal to Scott Piper

The Cruising Club of America has selected William (Scott) Piper III, M.D. to receive its prestigious 2008 Blue Water Medal for 12 years of adventurous cruising and voyaging in two boats, Pipe Dream VI, a J/40, and Pipe Dream IX, a 52’ J/160, aboard which he has logged over 132,000 miles, for a total of 180,000 miles. The medal was recently presented at the club’s annual Awards Dinner in New York by CCA Commodore Ross Sherbrooke, of Boston, Mass.

Dr. Piper has crossed the Atlantic eight times and the Indian and Pacific Oceans four times each. His routes have varied substantially, including high latitude crossings of the North Pacific and Southern Oceans. His voyages have included roundings of three of the world’s great capes, Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Leeuwin on the southwest tip of Australia. Full article

Fisher Captures J/22 Midwinters

Tampa, Florida, USA ....... Greg Fisher of Annapolis, MD prevailed as the 2009 J/22 Midwinter Champion at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. With a total score of 17 points, Fisher edged out a fellow Annapolis racer, Jeffrey Todd, who finished with 19 points. Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY rounded out the top three with 30 points.

Sailing with Jeff Eiber and Todd Hiller, Fisher used consistent scores in the top four, dropping his lowest score of nine. The winners for Friday’s races were Todd, Kelson Elam of TX and Daniel Ramsay of LA. Temperatures cooled on the final day of racing, but winds in the low- to mid-teens allowed the Race Committee to complete 3 races. Phil Wehrheim of NY and Terry Flynn of TX close out the top five overall. Visit www.diyc.org for complete results.

2009 J/122 North Americans

The inaugural J/122 North American Championship will take place June 21-26, 2009 in Block Island, RI as part of Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. J/122 teams from all over the country are invited to participate in the first national championship of the class. Early indications point to strong attendance with two J/122s coming from Texas, two from Annapolis and one possibly from California in addition to the already strong New England fleet. Event website

One-Design Open House Feb 28th

J sailors are invited to attend the Waterline Systems One Design Open House, Saturday February 28th in Portsmouth, RI. Waterline Systems (US Watercraft) is the USA builder and leading service provider for the J/22, J/24 and J/105 classes as well as several other well known one-designs.

Attendees will be in for a treat, as the day is packed with seminars with go-fast tips from one-design experts, a new 2009 Racing Rules update, as well as keynote presentations by World Champions Brad Read and Terry Hutchinson. Several boats will be in the build process (J/24 and J/105) and several in various states of optimization.

This will be a fun day to shake off the winter cobwebs and start getting prepared for the coming season. Bring your jeans, boat shoes and your questions. All J sailors welcome! more info