
Sunday, September 30, 2012
J/70 Demos "Big D"-> Dallas!

Location:
Dallas, TX, USA
J/70, J/97 & J/111 @ Grand Pavois Show

Labels:
belgium,
boatshow,
europe,
france,
germany,
j111,
j70,
j97,
mediterranean,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailboat show,
sailing
Location:
La Rochelle, France
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
J/70 Yachts & Yachting Test

Andi then had this to say about the 70s dramatic popularity, "Despite only being a few months old the J/70 is already topping the best- seller lists – J-Boats knows it has hit the mark with this simple, exciting new one design pocket racer. In the USA and Europe it has sold like no other ‘off plan’ (meaning- off boat drawings), and that is just the start." Furthermore, Andi adds that, "complete simplicity is the key throughout the boat with easy, proven, refined systems which also, of course, maintain a very even one design."
Reflecting on Y&Y's role with the famous J/24, Andi says, "it would be nice to think that Y&Y might play some role contributing to the future success of the J/70, bearing in mind that the J/24 really took off all those years ago when Jack Knights described it as a ‘Laser with a lid’ on these pages. For the record more than 5,300 J/24’s have been built since 1977."

Labels:
england,
europe,
j70,
offshore,
one-design,
photographer,
racing,
sailboat,
sailing,
solent,
women
Location:
London, UK
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
LARCHMONT Wins USQS Sailing J/70s

(Newport, RI)- After a seeding series on Wednesday and Thursday advanced the top twelve teams to the Gold Flight of the U.S. Qualifying Series, this group was now being thoroughly vetted in the new J/70s to see who would be among top three teams to advance to the amateur 2013 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, hosted next year by NYYC in Newport.
After seven races on Friday, the final day on Saturday delivered 12-17-knots, setting the landscape for a litany of some "crash & burns" for some teams and plenty of penalty turns for those squeezing into places they shouldn't be going into! In the end, the last qualifier for the Gold fleet, Larchmont Yacht Club, climbed to the top as Seattle and San Francisco yacht clubs held on to gain the final two spots and berths for next year's event.
"We struggled in the qualifying round, but really started to feel comfortable finally today," said Danny Pletsch, skipper for Larchmont. "The left side of the course was heavily favored today so we started there, then began starting at the boat to be more conservative near the end."

On Day 1, the sailing had a fast start but ended with a whisper of breeze. What started with 15-18-knot planing conditions for the quick J/70s came to an end when the final rain squall killed the breeze by mid-afternoon. What did not change throughout the day at the U.S. Qualifying Series was Newport Harbor Yacht Club's grasp on the top spot of the red fleet. One point ahead of San Francisco and Seattle yacht clubs, Payson Infelise and his crew of Chris Raab and John Fuller have put up nearly all top-five finishes save a ninth in the sixth and final race of the day. The red fleet started the day in Sonars and swapped with the blue fleet after four races to end the day in the J/70s.
One of the most impressive performances of the day was given by the gentlemen from Jacksonville and the Florida Yacht Club. Posting a 3,2,6,2,2,1, skipper Greg Griffin and teammates Andy Culver, Will Newton and David de Camp were fast in both fleets of boats. Two points behind is the team from Indian Harbor Yacht Club.

After the end of the second day of racing, the Championship Series teams were selected. The story of day two was not the dominant performances put in by The Florida Yacht Club and Seattle Yacht Club but more the way the last Championship series qualifiers clawed their way back from poor starts and bad breaks to maintain a chance at attending the 2013 Invitational Cup.
Today's results split the fleet into a Championship and Consolation series. When protests were resolved after sunset, the scores showed two points separating fourth through sixth in the red fleet. A third place in the last race of the day allowed Larchmont squeak into the Championship series after a day that typified the tooth-and-nail competition seen throughout both fleets.
"Half way down the run of race 10 we were pretty depressed thinking we were in the consolation series," said Larchmont tactician Clay Bischoff. He said that the team needed the first day to get used to their individual roles on the boat. And though they had few shifts go their way, the team is working to keep their confidence after the last race. "We were over-thinking it yesterday," said Cardwell Potts, "and today we just kept things simple."
The race committee waited until a seven-knot, shifty sea-breeze filled in at 2 p.m. to start the first race of the day. As it turned out, shifts did go some teams' way. Florida was over the line in a race, came back, had to make a penalty circle and wound up second. Youngstown Yacht Club, a team that narrowly missed qualifying for the Championship series, was over in two races in a row and ended up with a 1,2 score line.
Pequot Yacht Club ended up four points out of qualifying but their coach, two-time Olympian Stuart McNay, testified to the complexity of the race course on Narragansett Bay. "The breeze was very uncertain today," he said, adding that that the shifts were rarely seen on the water. The strong current going upwind and shallows on both sides of the course added to the challenge, but McNay said that the competition was top notch. "Everyone was sailing as hard as they could and it was fun to watch."
In the blue fleet, Fort Worth Boat Club made a run after a last in the first race today with a series of top three finishes to move up one place to fourth overall, two points ahead of Indian Harbor Yacht Club. A highlight of the day for spectators was watching the other position changes around Fort Worth live on the online TracTrac while the racing was unfolding on the water.

Beneficiaries of the top group's misfortune were Larchmont, the winners of the final race of the day moving them into third, and Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, a team that was finally on the positive side of the subtle shifts and strong current lines on Narragansett Bay Course ending with a 1,5,5 score line. There is no throwout for the Gold and Silver series, putting more pressure on each race.
For fellow Texans in the Gold fleet, Fort Worth Boat Club, just one too many bottom half places put them at the bottom of the fleet despite several top five finishes. Only ten points separated them and the next four places, roughly the same difference between first and seventh. "It's a very tight fleet and you can't make any mistakes," said Fort Worth skipper Glenn Darden after the long day of racing. "They're all good and somebody is going to get a twelfth in each race."
The last day of sailing dawned clear and windy with predictions for breezes to hit 20-25 kts in front of an impending Low blowing in from the West. If the previous days of sailing were any indication, all the skippers knew Saturday was going to be the toughest day. With a perfect 12-17-kt sea breeze punctuated by puffs in excess of 23 kts, the top seeded Gold fleet teams faltered from broaches (boat-handling mistakes) and penalties allowing hope for the lurking pack close behind. In the end, the last qualifier for the Gold fleet, Larchmont, climbed to the top as Seattle and San Francisco yacht clubs held on to gain the final two spots and berths in the 2013 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex.

Labels:
j70,
new york yacht club,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailing,
women,
youth
Location:
Newport, RI, USA
Monday, September 17, 2012
Discover the Joy of Sailing a J!


Newport Boatshow- September 13-16- Newport, RI- As part of the "Discover Sailing" program offered by the Newport Sailboat Show and J/Boats, anyone attending the show can sign-up to sail the brand new J/70 speedster, International J/80 One-Design and the fabulous shoal-water performance cruiser/ daysailor- the J/95! Please be sure to contact your J/Dealer now for an appointment and a demo sail soon! For more Newport Sailboat Show information - http://www.newportboatshow.com/
Southampton Boatshow- September 14-23- Southampton, England- Key Yachting Ltd is exhibiting five J/Boats, including the new J/70 Speedster which will be making its UK debut. Other J's on display are the International J/80 one-design, J/109 IRC offshore cruiser/racer champion, the latest J/111 offshore speedster (recent IRC Benelux Champion) & J/122 IRC offshore benchmark for cruiser-racers in the 41 foot sailboat range. For more Southampton Boatshow information, please contact J/UK Key Yachting at "info@j-uk.com".
Saturday, September 15, 2012
J/70 @ Lido Yacht Expo

Labels:
boatshow,
california,
children,
day sailor,
double-handed,
family,
j70,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailboat show,
sailing,
women
Location:
Newport Beach, CA, USA
Friday, September 14, 2012
J/70 Flies Around Island

This year 100 boats competed in the 85th CYC Around Island Race for both the new elapsed time trophy as well as the PHRF handicap corrected time trophy. Plus, there were one-design classes competing, including J/22s and J/24s from the local Narraganset Bay fleets.
The forecast for the day was a bit variable, but suffice it so say the SSE winds of 8-12 kts ultimately developed such that the fleet was treated to yet another classic around the island romp. While fleets A to F started in light winds with a massive "ebb current" flushing them out of the start area just off Conanicut YC, the combination of current "wind" and actual "wind" conspired to push the small boats out to the first major turning mark off Beavertail Lighthouse at a rapid speed of current + wind of about 3 kts VMG. The RC's PRO wisely decided to postpone the "big boats" for 45 minutes until the wind re-established itself. At that point, it was going to be clear that the overall elapsed and corrected time silverware was going to be a run-for-the-money by the "big boats". The fleet was treated to a "classic" Bay sea breeze, building up to 15 knots so the sailors could enjoy a fast downhill ride down the West Passage to the northern part of Jamestown (against the strong ebb current) before turning back upwind into the moderate southerly against a tide that changed to beat (guess what) back into the flood tide!! Ouch. Can't win some days, but the current/wind Gods conspired so the fleet was basically fighting against the current all the way around the island!! Little boats got crushed in the standings, big boats dominated by a country furlong.
For the one-design boats, none of the wind/ current stuff mattered-- whomever beat who got the ultimate bragging rights. In the J/22 class, 1st was LUCY sailed by Cory Sertl, 2nd was WHARF RAT helmed by Matt Dunbar and 3rd was MACHBUSTER led by Jeff Westcott. In the J/24s, it was "girl power" again like their compatriots in Hong Kong! This time is was Lindsey Turowski winning with BERLY MOVIN, followed in 2nd by Bob Lambert's BARFLY and 3rd was Newport J/24 class veteran Mike Hill on OBSTREPEROUS.
In PHRF handicap world it was an eclectic bunch of boats and fleets that made up the rest. Starting with Class B the J/24 NIGHTHAWK finished 3rd with Richard Barker and Mike Ryan. Class F saw two J/29s taking two top spots with Dennis Nixon's LYNX in 3rd and Steve Wood's BIG TAZ in 4th. Class G was a tough fleet, but the J/109 PICANTE sailed by Dr Rob Salk led the J teams home with a 2nd, followed by Paul Grimes' J/35 BREAKAWAY IN 4th and EC Helme's J/92s SPIRIT in 5th.
In PHRF Class H, it was "sports-boat" shootout with J/80s, a J/70, a pair of VX-One's and others. In the end, the J/70 J-HAWK sailed by Stu Johnstone and Julia Langford (sailing double-handed) were first across the line elapsed amongst the smaller boats but ended up 3rd on PHRF corrected (sailing with a 111 PHRF rating). Winning the top two slots were the J/80s GROMIT sailed by Andy Burton and GOOSE in second sailed by Chris Bulger. Fifth in class was Peter McCarthy and gang on the J/80 EAGLE! A great performance overall by the J/Sports boat gang.
Finally, in PHRF Class J, finishing third was the custom J/44 WHITE GOLD sailed by Jamestown "hommie" and CYC member Jim Bishop.
The trophy winners for the event included a proverbial J/Alumni list of owners, including Phil Lotz (J/24s and J/105s) sailing his Swan 42 to the Fastest Elapses Award and Malcom Gefter (J/105s) on his Melges 32 winning the Handicap Award. Plus, the Eads Johnson Trophy (large boat, fastest corrected time) went to Jim Bishop's J/44 custom WHITE GOLD and the Robert A. MacLeod Rear Commodore Trophy (day-sailer, fastest corrected time) went to Cory Sertl's J/22 LUCY!! For more CYC Around Island Race sailing information
Labels:
children,
day sailor,
family,
handicap sailing,
j105,
j22,
j24,
j29,
j35,
j44,
j70,
j80,
ocean,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailing
Location:
Newport, RI, USA
Thursday, September 13, 2012
J's Love Dartmouth Week

(Dartmouth, England)- Earlier in the summer of 2012 the International J/80 One-Design Class felt it would be worthwhile to host a J/80 World Championship in one of the most picturesque sailing venues in all of the United Kingdom. Such wisdom was not unfounded. The sailing can be superb and simply mind-blowing-- Beatle's Yellow Submarine, Strawberry Fields eye-opening spectacular. No wonder sailors in the UK don't ever mind taking a wander down with their trucks, campers and boats to this magical part of this island nation. And so, there is this nice regatta that is held at the end of summer that perhaps could have a "Newport-like" Jazz Fest associated with it (like a mix of old Rolling Stones blues, Jimmie Hendrix, Stan Getz, early Led Zep, Beck, Davis and others) that bring additional cache and fun to what has to be one of the best end-of-season summer sailing regattas in the world.

The J/109 teams seem to agree and have attended Dart Week with tremendous enthusiasm. In the J/109 One-Design class one of the class leaders managed to walk off with all the marbles, with Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB winning with a 4-7-2-1-4-2-1 tally for 10 pts net. Their erstwhile competitors, Liam Shanahan's RUTH sailed a solid series to compile a 5-1-1-5-6-3-5 record for 15 pts net. Just one point back was Angus McPhie's WAVE WARRIOR in third with a 9-2-3-3-7-1-7 for 16 pts net.

Division 2 IRC was a serious, tough class to win. But, yet again the J/97 came up "spades" at the critical juncture to simply walk off with class silverware. This time it was the J/97 JIKA-JIKA sailed by Mike Holmes that finished first in class. They were followed by the J/97 JEOPARDY 2 skippered by Richard Watney that finished 5th in class and in 6th was the J/105 JACKPOT sailed by Vernon Bradley. Sailing photo credits- James Walker For more Royal Dart Yacht Club & Darmouth Week sailing information
Friday, September 7, 2012
J/70, J/97 & J/111 @ Newport Boatshow

(Newport, RI)- From September 13th to 16th, J/Boats and J/Dealers will be displaying the NEW J/70, J/97 and J/111 at the traditional location on the end of the Newport Yachting Center just NW of the "gas dock", right on the waterfront- location NYC Dock N-O E.
As part of the "Discover Sailing" program offered by the Newport Sailboat Show and J/Boats, anyone attending the show can sign-up to sail the brand new J/70 speedster, International J/80 One-Design and the fabulous shoal-water performance cruiser/ daysailor- the J/95! Be sure to book your calendar now and take the opportunity to sail three fun J's around Newport Harbor! Please be sure to contact your J/Dealer now for an appointment and even a demo sail soon! For more Newport Sailboat Show information
Labels:
boatshow,
community,
cruising,
day sailor,
family,
j111,
j70,
j80,
j95,
j97,
newport,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailboat show,
sailing,
women
Location:
Newport, RI, USA
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
J/70 Owner Testimonials

- "Seabird" from Portland, Oregon- "We have sailed hull #18 in Cascade Locks, Oregon (a.k.a. THE Gorge) the past few weeks. I've sailed the boat with my kids and the local pros and my view is that the boat is very versatile. I really could sail it alone with my 11 year old daughter in 10-15 kts of wind, and the next night go out with guys in more breeze (20-30 kts) and have fun both nights!
I spoke with Dan Kaseler (Quantum Seattle) who was on the boat at Whidbey Island Race Week and confirmed they went 1" longer than their forestay to get helm in light air at WIRW. We found (limited experience on the boat) that in the breeze we like 1" shorter than the "designed" length. This is a new boat and I'm sure some experience in one design will sort this out soon. Definitely feels closer to my Laser than my old J/80 on the helm at any length. :)
It's really a nicely built boat that's pretty quick and fun, yet less of a handful than a Melges 24 (which is a good thing for the target audience, myself included). Resale value will be good. Casual daysailing is possible. My kids actually think the interior is great!! Most importantly, my wife is not reluctant to sail the boat!! That's huge. I think they (J/Boats) are going to sell these to a wide range of sailors and develop a nice class long term. Lots to like here."
- "JustMike" from Seattle, Washington area commented, "Anyone coming up to Bellingham Yacht Club's PITCH Regatta on September 1st & 2nd?? I think it would be a great chance to put a couple of 70's on the line with slightly different rig set-ups and sails from different manufactures (I've got Quantum and I believe others are sailing with North)?
If not at the PITCH here is the short list of Regattas in Shilshole bay, that I will be racing hull #19 in over the next few months it would be great if we along with the other J/70s could meet up at one or more of these.
- Seattle YC's Stars and Bars - 09/15 - 09/16
- Corinthian YC's PSSC - 10/13 - 10/14
- Seattle YC's Grand Prix - 10/26 - 10/27
- Corinthian YC'S Turkey Bowl - 11/17 - 11/18
Also we will be out on Wednesday nights for Corinthian YC's fall series 09/05, 09/12! Please come join us!!"
- "TheRick" from Lewes, Delaware had this to say of their first long-distance race on a J/70 off New Jersey- "We entered the "Cape to Cape Cup" regatta this past weekend and sailed a J/70 22.5 nm in the Atlantic from Lewes to Cape May, NJ in 15-18 knot of breeze. Had a blast passing a few J/24's and really enjoyed the long downhill run to the finish line in 18 knots-- WOW, what a RIDE!!"


Labels:
chesapeake,
children,
community,
day sailor,
family,
j70,
offshore,
one-design,
racing,
sailboat,
sailing,
san francisco,
women,
youth
Location:
Annapolis, MD, USA
Monday, September 3, 2012
J/70 @ HISWA Boatshow

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