J/70s in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- One of two fleets of J/70s developing in Mexico is the Puerto Vallarta fleet on the Pacific side (the other is Valle de Bravo Lake west of Mexico City).

The Ignacio Perez family has five brothers that have sailed all of their lives. And all of their kids sail, too! They bought their own fleet of J/70's through J/Boats Southwest and will sail them with their family and friends in Puerto Vallarta.

Said Scott Spurlin from J/Southwest, "we worked with the Puerto Vallarta J/Dealer Wayne Zittel to deliver these total turn key boats to the Perez family. And we made many new friends along the way who are interested in the J/70s! It was a wonderful experience and we hope to support more J/Boats sailing in Mexico."

J/70 Teams Debut In SPI OUEST

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The 35th edition of the SPI OUEST-France Intermarché starts on March 28th and goes for four days of racing in the Bay of Quiberon off the famous seaport of La Trinite sur Mer.  SPI OUEST France is one of Europe's largest regattas, and certainly the premiere regatta of the spring sailing season, and over 150 volunteers from the Societe Nautique La Trinité-sur-Mer have been preparing for several weeks to host the 423 registered sailing teams and several thousand sailors. And among the skippers, some of the biggest names in French sailing will once again take part in SPI OUEST; including none other than Thomas Coville, Franck Cammas (Volvo Ocean Race winner on GROUPAMA), Vincent Riou, Michel Desjoyeaux, Nicolas Troussel Souben Daniel, Nicolas Lunven, Franck-Yves Escoffier and others.

The weather scenario is a bit uncertain as a huge depression in the North Atlantic is expected to arrive Monday in the late afternoon, but is preceded by a trough carrying winds. The path it will takes varies from hour to hour based on the various weather models.  Explained Christophe Gaumont (renowned meteorologist), "yesterday, we predicted 35 knots Friday and this morning, we did not expect more than 10 kts!  We should have a weekend with a wide range of conditions, sustained wind Friday and Monday and low to moderate Saturday and Sunday. The east, west, south, a little rain, a little sun. In short, an Easter weekend of varied, colorful and variable weather." Now that's a weather forecast all the sailors can rely upon, isn't it?

Of the 423 boats sailing, over 130 alone are J/Teams (31% of the entire fleet) which makes "J" the dominant sailboat brand at the biggest regatta hosted in France!

This event marks the debut of one of the world's fastest growing one-design classes in recent history-- the J/70.  The class was first introduced in America in the spring of 2012 and now one year later sports a one-design fleet in France produced by J/Composites from nearby Les Sables d'Olonne.  With nearly 400 J/70s sold worldwide,  the European circuit is just starting to get off the ground as boats started delivering to continental sailors in late Fall 2012.  The first J/70 European event was the Primo Cup hosted by Yacht Club Monaco about a month ago.  For SPI OUEST, a fleet of nine J/70s will be sailing for French class honours.  Like Key West Race Week in January, it's difficult to predict who may be front runners as all teams sailing are quite competitive.  For example, Philippe Delaporte of J/122 RORC winning fame is now sailing his PEN AZEN with friends and is apparently incredibly excited and enthusiastic for racing in the class.  Fred Bouvier of J/Composites is sailing J BECRE, M Gosset is racing SAILS CONCEPT and M Gellez is sailing ECSAIL DUNKERQUE and finally M Thomas is skippering OEUST GREEMENT.  For more SPI OUEST France Intermarche sailing information

J/70 SoCal Circuit Rolling!

(San Diego, CA)- The J/70 schedule on the Pacific Coast is beginning to ramp-up with a number of great regattas in Southern California for the fleets that are developing in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Newport Harbor and San Diego.

According to Julie Servais, the 2013 Yachting Cup Chairperson, the J/70s are all invited to participate in the next major event on the West Coast schedule, the Yachting Cup hosted by San Diego Yacht Club from May 4th to 5th!  She reminds everyone there is a reduced entry fee before April 1st 2013.

At this time, the J/70 schedule for California looks like the following:

• May 4-5     Yachting Cup- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
• May 31- Jun 2     Cal Race Week- Cal YC- Marina del Rey, CA
• Jun 28-3     Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach YC- Long Beach, CA
• Jul 20-21    Fiesta Cup- Santa Barbara YC- Santa Barbara, CA
• Sep 27-29    J/Fest- San Diego YC- San Diego, CA
• Sep 26-29    Big Boat Series- St Francis YC- San Francisco, CA
• Sep 26-28    J/70 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD

Specialty Events (ones that J/70s would love to do!):

• Jun 8         Delta Ditch Run- from Richmond to Stockton up the Delta on the Bay
• Jul 13-14    High Sierra Regatta- Huntington Lake, CA

For more SDYC Yachting Cup sailing information on Facebook   For more information on the SoCal fleet #4, please contact Karl Pomeroy (karl8144@att.net) or J/Concierge- Joanne O'Dea (joanne@jk3yachts.com) or phone# 619-347-9407.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.com

J/70s Training UK

(Southampton, England)- This past weekend could be construed as a very valuable weekend for J/70's in the United Kingdom.  The weekend of the 9th and 10th of March saw  J/70 teams congregate in Hamble for constructive and informative tutorials and sail-training on the water.

On Friday North Sails designer (and the only Brit to have ever taken the J/80 Worlds title) Ruairidh Scott, conducted a clear and concise session on the optimum tuning and rigging settings of these record-breaking performance boats. The session was of great use to many owners who are new to the world of keelboats, as well as those who have had their boats a number of years and were keen to check their settings are right. Ruairidh was also on hand to answer questions from the sailors.

On Saturday the fleet held their annual pre-season training day for small boats, led by legendary Yorkshireman and Olympic coach Jim Saltonstall. Light winds were ideal for the three new J/70 owners who braved the cold temperatures in order to get to know their exciting new sportsboat, and to meet other owners within the J fleet.

After a quick briefing at the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Jim's RIB led the troops out into the Solent, where they enjoyed a good few hours of practice starts, boat handling exercises and some racing. Jim spent time with each boat, advising them what they were doing right and (more importantly) what they were doing wrong with regard to every facet of performance, from rig tuning to crew position. Back at the club Jim went through his video footage of the day, which effectively demonstrated the points he had made on the water!  Many thanks to all who attended the sessions and to the Royal Southern, Ruairidh, and Jim. 

Challenging Start For Warsash Spring Series

J/70s Love Fickle Solent Conditions
(Warsash, England)- The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series got underway on 17th March 2013 with a tough trial for competitors, race officers and especially foul weather gear! It was certainly a cold wet start to spring. In the eastern Solent, the wind, initially at 25 knots, died to 5 knots and moved from easterly through to south then north westerly. In such a changeable situation, it was not an easy day for the course setters; neither did they want to keep crews waiting on a chilly damp day. Nonetheless, most of the day’s program of racing was completed with time for everyone to relax and warm up at Warsash Sailing Club’s Shore House afterwards for results, day prizes and FREE beer for competitors!!

On Peter Knight’s White Group sportsboat line, close inshore conditions were similarly fickle with the wind varying from 0 to 15 knots, sleet and very occasional sunshine. The RC team was determined to get some racing despite the lack of stable conditions.  Averaging 5 knots the breeze swung from north-east to south, nearly to the west before settling briefly at south-west. The committee boat first set up station at Meon buoy, moved offshore due to a left shift, then back again. The J/70 class got underway but the wind was beginning to die and many finished close to the hour target time. As the wind died away again, the second race was shortened to a single lap. The light and variable conditions did have the benefit of encouraging no one to be over the line.  In both races Ian Atkins (Boats.com) dominated the newly introduced J/70 fleet.    Sailing photo credits- Iain McLuckie   For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information

J/Teams Sail Frenetic San Diego NOOD!

J/70s Challenge Shifty Winds
(San Diego, CA)- The second stop for the eight event Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta circuit was in San Diego, CA on March 15th to 17th weekend. The feast or famine tradition for this event prevailed, where strong conditions in past events were set aside this year for light and spotty winds. Three race courses hosted 101 boats competing in 12 one design classes. A total of 38 J/Teams participated, accounting for over one-third (37%) of the fleet!

According to Benjamin Miller, SailFlow.com Meteorologist, spring in San Diego can be quite dynamic. The passage of winter storm systems continues but these winter storms become less frequent and less potent as the month of March progresses. Meanwhile, the North Pacific High begins to rebuild, resulting in some modest WNW breezes, too. However, despite all great and wonderful prognostications, such was not the case!

On the opening day, the fog lifted to deliver great conditions for racing for the J/Teams for the duration of the afternoon.  But, the light winds and significant shifts tested the patience of sailors in all fleets.  By the end of the regatta, it was self-evident the weather was putting a premium on good starts and conservative strategies.

Emerging from the heat of battle amongst the rock-star laden J/70 fleet was Bennet Greenwald, sailing a consistent series on PERSEVERANCE to win the emerging 10-boat J/70 class, scoring a 2-3-1-4-2-4 for 16 pts.  On-board with Bennet was fellow San Diegan and Star/ Etchells 22 World Champion Vince Brun.  Next in line grabbing an early lead on the first day but succumbing to a deep finish on the second day was champion sailor David Ullman sailing USA 32 to a 1-1-4-7-4-3 tally to snag second by one point!  Recent St Petersburg NOOD winner, Joel Ronning, sailed his brand new midnight blue/black CATAPULT to a great series, improving just about every race to collect a 3-5-5-2-5-1 for 21 points to grab the third spot on the podium.  Aside from the usual sailing rock stars, the NOOD Regatta also attracted a couple other notable celebrities in the field, including national talk radio host and author Dr Laura Schlessinger.  She sailed her new J/70 called VENGEANCE to a credible fourth place for her first outing!  Like Joel, she too improved virtually every race to win the top J/70 scoreline on the last day, counting an 8-4-3-5-3-2 for 25 pts!  You go girl!!  Rounding out the top five was Karl Pomeroy sailing with Scuttlebutt Newsletter editor Craig Leweck on their boat- ZERO TO 60.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com  For more Sperry Top-Sider San Diego NOOD Regatta sailing information

J/70 Demo Sails @ Southwestern Boat Show

(Houston, TX)- Come join us in Texas on land or in the water!  The J/Boats Southwest team will be at the Southwestern Boat Show in Houston, Texas located at the South Shore Harbour Marina- March 21 to 24!  They have a booth next to Discover Sailing in the on-the-water boating area. They look forward to discussing all things J/Boats, the southern circuits for each of the one-design fleets (J/22, J/24, J/70 and J/80) and, of course, the new J/88 family friendly speedster!

For the on-the-water programs, J/Boats Southwest is providing a J/70 for Discover Sailing! If you or your family and friends want to go for a demo sail around the lake on the new hot J/70, be sure to head over to Discover Sailing and sign up immediately after you enter the show!  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.com   For more Southwest In The Water Boat Show information

J/70 Fleet Growing Sailing in Texas!

* J/70 Fleet Southwest continues to expand and there are many new faces that have been joining the fleet and having fun.  Some members have already been traveling to various J/70 regattas, while others are just taking delivery and getting ready to jump into the J/70 Southwest Circuit.

- Al Poindexter- seen here recently took delivery of Hull #98 in time for Key West Race Week. We properly christened his boat at the Sail tuning day he so graciously organized. Al races out of LYC in Seabrook, Texas and has been enthusiastically sailing his boat, including Key West, St Petersburg and also Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.

- Steve and Sheryl Strout- have been re-invigorated by the new J/70 and have taken hull #178 home to Fort Worth. They are members of FWBC and will be joining the J/70 teams on the circuit this season as it begins to unfold. It's always exciting to put together that first circuit! In years to come as people scroll through the historical results that first circuit series winner will always be remembered!

Texas has three fleets: Fort Worth Boat Club, Austin Yacht Club and Houston Yacht Club. The members put together a six stop circuit- all piggybacking Regatta's: HYC Elissa, FWBC Audi Annual Regatta, LYC Shoe, HYC Leukemia Cup, HYC HOOD, and LYC J/Fest Southwest. Tighten those lug nuts and get ready to travel!  Here is what the J/70 Texas Circuit looks like at this time:

Apr 6-7        HYC Elissa Regatta
Apr 27-28    FWBC Audi Annual regatta
May 18-19    LYC Shoe Regatta
Jun 22-23    HYC Leukemia Cup Regatta
Sep 21-22    HYC HOOD
Nov 2-3        LYC J/Fest Southwest

SAVASANA Flies @ Bacardi Sailing Week

(Miami, Florida)- The J/70 class made a strong debut in Miami with twenty boats racing for top honors in the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week regatta. Teams participated from all across America, including two foreign entries from Germany and the United Kingdom! The Bacardi sponsors did a fabulous job hosting the event along with the three clubs that support the entire regatta (Biscayne Bay YC, Coconut Grove YC & Coral Reef YC).

The fact that Bacardi has perhaps at least a cosmic connection to the Weather Gods (e.g. plenty of red wine to offer Neptune), it was clear they were pleased and delivered near postcard-perfect sailing conditions for most of the regatta.  While practice Wednesday was truly blowing "dogs off chains", with gusts over 25 kts, Thursday's sailing provided one race in light air followed by two days of superb sailing (eight races alone Friday & Saturday) with plenty of sun, moderate shifty northerly breezes and light chop on aquamarine waters on Biscayne Bay.

In pole position with no finish worse than third to start the final day of the series, Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) sailed SAVASANA to add two more wins to his score line to take the inaugural Bacardi Miami Sailing Week J/70 class win with a mere 13 points.

“We learned a lot in Key West, tried new things here in Miami and things have worked out!,” said Keane. “Our goal was to be in the top-five and we did it. The J/70 class is the most exciting class in 10 years with top sailors; it’s the best fleet in North America right now; and winning Miami is a great accomplishment.”

Keane had the largest point cushion – 19 points – of any top finisher in the competing fleets across the entire Bacardi Cup Miami Sailing Regatta.  Peter Duncan (Rye, N.Y.), who won one of the day’s races, finished second overall with 32 points, beating Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.) in a standings tie-breaker. Joe Woods (Torquay, GBR) sailing RED with 43 points, and Brian Elliott (Sayville, N.Y.) onboard B-SQUARED with 47, complete the top-five.

The regatta started out on a slow note.  On the first day of racing, Mother Nature and the NOAA forecast clearly were not in-sync with one another and the Bacardi Chamber of Commerce! Although twenty J/70s made it across the starting line in their class debut at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, eight did not make the time limit to cross the finish line and were scored accordingly.

Winning the first race, prophetically was the St Pete NOOD Regatta winner, Joel Ronning on CATAPULT.  "This boat works very well in light air,” said race winner Joel Ronning (Minneapolis, Minn.). “We're very excited about the J/70, it controls just perfect. I also like the fleet, it's very active and competition is great fun. We had tuned it up for light air and today it paid off. But I must say that yesterday we practiced in heavier air and I was very satisfied as well; it's enjoyable in both conditions. I'm looking forward to more racing."  On that first day, finishing second was Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) on SAVASANA, followed by Joe Woods (Torquay, GBR) on RED, Bodo von der Wense (Wayne, Penn.) on TURBO DUCK and Juergen Waldheim (Berlin, GER) on TORQEEDO.

The second day of racing could only be described as "perfect".  A clear NNE breeze filled in blowing 8-13 kts all day with a light chop and the fleet could not have been more pleased; especially as the northeast USA was getting blasted again by yet another powerful northeaster snow-storm, blizzard with ginormously powerful 20-25 foot waves driven by 35-50 kt winds washing houses away on Cape Code and Boston beaches.

The 20-boat J/70 class managed to sail five races, allowing them to drop their worst race in calculating the overall points. Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) SAVASANA sailed consistently and at that point in the series (with two wins) had nine points and the top position in the overall standings after finishes of 2-3-3-1-1-2. Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.) sailing with Key West Champion Tim Healy aboard on RASCAL won the final race of the day and had 13 points for second overall and a nine-point cushion over Joe Woods (Torquay, GBR). Brian Elliott (Sayville, N.Y.) on B-SQUARED also won a race, and was fourth overall with 25 points, followed by Peter Duncan (Rye, N.Y.) and Jud Smith with 26 points. Mark Ploch (Bronx, N.Y.) on SUGAR DADDY won the opening race of the day -- a strong recovery after not making the time limit in the first race of the series. He was sixth overall with 30 points.

The third and final day of the series again dawned with more northerly breezes with a mild front pushing through that generated 8-14 knot winds in gust cells under puffy dark clouds.  With three more races under their belts, the J/70 fleet could not have been more pleased as they sailed back to shore mid-afternoon, knowing they had all left all their energy out on the sunny, gorgeous azure waters of Biscayne Bay.

During the event sailors enjoyed the fabulous hospitality lounge, BACARDI Rum tastings, as well as the daily prize giving for the top-three finishers and the final awards dinner. This also included the BACARDI SKY BAR in Coral Gables at Bacardi USA HQ ... it's Bacardi Cup Party time!  A special exhibit of America’s Cup history and memorabilia featured the work of Rhode Island-based photographer Cory Silken in the North Hall of the Coconut Grove Convention Center. The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club coordinated on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami also supported the event. Kudos to all that made the event an enormous success, and to Bacardi's Andrea Falcone, to Coral Reef's Jane-Ann Pincus (J70 course PRO), Marc Pincus (Regatta Chair) and the Bischoff family (Connie, Rick, etc) for the J70 race committee boat- the famously green SEA SHELL!  For more J/70 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week sailing information

J/70 Debuts Moscow, Oslo & Houston Boat Shows

(Moscow, Russia)- As spring is about to blossom around the corner after world time has "sprung ahead" by March 21st, some exciting boat shows around the world will be celebrating with the debut of the J/70 in the Moscow, Oslo and Southwest Boat shows.

From March 12 to 17 you can visit J/Russia at the Moscow International Boat Show in Russia- http://eng.mosboatshow.ru/boat.  And, from March 13 to 17 you can visit Marstrand Yachts at the Oslo International Sailboat Show in Norway- http://www.norboat.no/index.php?page_id=69.

On the American side J/Boats Southwest will be participating in the Southwest International Boat Show from March 21-24, 2013 at South Shore Harbor Marina in Houston, Texas-- http://www.southwestinternationalboatshow.com/   Most importantly, they will have a J/70 to view on land and one J/70 on the water to go sailing! Come join them and other J/Boat owners!  We love talking sailing!  Sail America's "Discover Sailing" program will be supported by J/Boats Southwest as they take people out for a spin in the hot new J/70!  Sailing photo credit- Carlo Borlenghi/ Yacht Club Monaco.

J/70 Teams San Diego NOOD Preview

(San Diego, CA)- The western stop for the Sperry Topsider NOOD Regattas will be the San Diego event that will be held at San Diego YC from March 15th to 17th.  The event is breaking new ground as it will be the debut of the J/70s first West Coast one-design regatta, the world's fastest developing sportboat class.  Perhaps most importantly, J sailors overall will be well represented with a strong fleet of J/80s, a renowned fleet of remarkably competitive J/105s and, of course, one of the best 40 ft offshore one-designs rolling along the Pacific coast, the J/120s.  With 101 boats registered to sail, the thirty-six J/Teams represent 36% of the overall fleet!

It looks like the J/70’s have a great fleet, a very deeply talented group no less, and may have up to a dozen boats sailing.  For such a fleet, it's remarkable to see some of California's offshore and one-design racing luminaries participating, testimony to the fact the J/70 is perhaps one of the most fun and easy-to-sail performance sportboats ever created.  Leading the charge is past 470 and M24 World Champion Dave Ullman from Ullman Sails sailing is own boat USA 32.  Then you have one of talk radio's more famous hosts, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, sailing her new VENDETTA USA 201 with Chris Snow on board and you also have Bennett Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE USA 206 with Vince Brun aboard! Then, you have Sean O'Keefe on DECOLORES 3; Craig Leweck of Scuttlebutt newsletter fame sailing with Jeff Brown; Scott Grealish on SPLASH from Portland, OR; and several other characters giving them all a "run-for-the-money".   For more San Diego NOOD sailing information

J/70 Sailing in Chile!

(Talcahuano, Chile)- We recently got an updated report from our friends "down under" in South America regarding J/70 fleet development.  Juan Eduardo-Reid sent us a report and photos of demo-sailing on the spectacular Panguipulli Lake nestled into the western part of the Andean Mountains during their summer!  Juan's commentary follows:

"We have finally had the chance to show the J/70 in four different places this summer:

- Talcahuano- along the Pacific Coast where the Soto 40 World Championships were recently sailed by some of the world's best sailors.  We only exhibited the boat since we were still waiting for our sails!

- Ranco- it's a very big lake and sailing area, small sailing activity, but we sailed the boat four days there!  Great interest because it was so easy to sail!

- Frutillar- we went racing the 8th to 10th of February there and have the J/70 in a very good position at the club, with the J70 winning most of the time!

- Panguipulli- this is where I rigged and sailed J/70 #156 with the customer and also sailed with 5 or 6 potential customers there. In Panguipulli, it's the lake with the greatest potential as there are over twenty J/24 sailing teams and another group of good sailors, too.

We're focusing on bringing in new people to sailing on the lakes and so far the effort is bringing nice results!  More news in the near future.  J/70 is a very nice solution for Chile, easy to tow behind a car, easy to ramp launch-- very, very important here in Chile-- we have no hoists!"

J/70s Southern Bay Race Week Invite

Plus, J/24 Match Race Challenge
(Hampton, VA)- This year, the Southern Bay Race Week is inviting the J/70 class to join them.  This event has been a full-blown, long standing, large regatta (around 100 keel boats) that traditionally includes one-design racing for J/24s and J/105s.  Racing is on the southern Chesapeake Bay (Hampton Roads waters); regatta Headquarters is Hampton Yacht Club, Hampton, VA; and the dates are from May 31 to June 2, 2013.  It's a nice "fit" after the Annapolis NOOD and summer events in Newport!

Later in the summer, from August 3-4, 2013, the Hampton YC also hosts the Third Annual Match Race Challenge sailing in J/24s. This is a “bring your own boat, race your own boat with your own crew” format.  The event is fully umpired, has lots of racing, and no one goes home early-- if you know what I mean!  Plenty of social events on the schedule as these Virginian sailors certainly know how to roll-out the red carpet and provide some good'ole Southern hospitality.

Regatta Chair Lin McCarthy commented, "We make a concerted effort to keep racers’ costs down for both of these events – free rafting, free launching, free trailer storage, special rates at nearby waterfront hotel, etc.  And, we really do work at making all the racers, their families, and friends comfortable at the regatta.  Great racing and Southern Hospitality are our trademarks!!"  For any questions regarding these events, you may contact Lin at mcbear@earthlink.net or ph# 757-850-4225.  Sailing Photo credits- Onne Vanderwal  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information   For J/24 Match Race Challenge - Hampton YC sailing information

Russian J/70 Racing is Family & Friends Affair!

(Kaliningrad, Russia)- Over the past several years, the Russian sailors have become increasingly visible on the international sailing circuit and they're developing their local sailing talent quite quickly.  Having sailed the J/80s in Lanzarote, Canary Islands for their Russian Federation Sailing Championships, the Russian sailing teams are not only learning fast, they've taken a few "plays" from the Spanish and French "playbook" on how to develop better, faster, smarter sailors!  This past year JBoats in Europe was pleased to announce the creation of "J/Russia" with partners Grigory Aksenov and Dmitrii Zaritckii.

We had a chance to catch up with this dynamic duo recently after their participation in the J/70 class at the Primo Cup in Monaco.  Here's Dmitrii's commentary,

"For starters, we just picked up MOJO, the first J/70 in Russia and Eastern Europe, she just arrived to Kaliningrad, South Baltic, Russia!  As you know, already much has been written about Primo Cup Monaco before. So, we will add our $0.02 about our experiences so far as J/Russia!

The big news is that the J/70s just had their first regatta in Europe, debuting at the Primo Cup at Yacht Club Monaco.  We have sailed in the Primo Cup before, so know it well and love it! This is a good event to start the European sailing season, with good organization, comfort and the social part is especially great, if not fantastic!  How can you not like Monte Carlo!? Unfortunately, the weather in the Bay of Monaco was a real challenge, due to the proximity of the mountains. The wind was not stable coming offshore from the North, constantly changing direction and strength. But, the high level of competition and sailing new one-design J/70s made this regatta very interesting for us. We will definitely go to Primo Cup Monaco again next year!!

We were happy to see the tremendous interest and focus on the J/70s by Yacht Club de Monaco.  There were dozens of participants who came up to us and asked us our opinion of the J/70s! Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves sailing the J/70, it's quite easy to steer, easier to control the sails and easier to crew relative to other types of sailing boats.  Just so you know, for a basis of comparison, we've had a lot of experience of racing against top Europeans and Russians sailing J/24s, Platu 25s, J/80s and SB20s. But, we like the J/70 more than anything else! It's a fun, amazing boat! We think many Russian sailors will like it, too.

After the race in Monaco, we drove across France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Poland and arrived to Kaliningrad, Russia. We drove with the J/70 on a trailer for more than 4,000km, but the road-trip did not seem very difficult for us and our Nissan Qashqai 2L passed the test very well. On the road we were traveling as a normal passenger car, the overall weight of the car and the boat was a little more than 3 metric tons. On toll roads, we also paid as a regular passenger car, this is also good news!  Easy to trail in Europe and economical!

We live in Kaliningrad, our sailing club is based here and we plan to create the Russian J/70 Fleet here, too. Kaliningrad is the best place for sailing in Russia (and ex-USSR nations) - we have a lot of water (the Baltic Sea) and two huge bays with good breeze. From Kaliningrad, in one day you can get by car to the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, and can quickly go by ferry to Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. At the same time, the one day trip to the East means you can quickly reach the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and St. Petersburg, Russia.  Moscow is a bit far, but only 2,000km away-- a long, long day's drive!

We plan to buy a few J/70s and open a J/Sailing School here in Kaliningrad, holding regattas and taking part in other regattas in Europe and ex-USSR countries. We hope to see all European J/70 sailors again soon! Best, Dmitrii and Grigory.  Sailing photo credits- Irina Belousa  Irina also photographed the Russian Federation Championship sailed in J/80s off Lanzarote, Canary Islands this past November 2012.

Bacardi Miami J/70 Preview

(Miami, FL)– It's less than a week before the fourth annual running of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week. A hot list of competitors, great race management and the impossible-to-top winter sailing destination of Biscayne Bay combine with the hospitality Bacardi is known for to put on an outstanding event for one-design sailors from 13 nations who will compete in five classes, including the debut of the J/70 class now taking the world by storm!

After the Quantum Key West Race Week and the Sperry Topsider St Petersburg NOOD Regatta it's pretty self-evident the J/70 class is flying down the learning curve, both linearly (for some) as well as exponentially (for most).  Yes, for those near the top of the fleet it's a process of refinement and for those on the "exponential learning curve" it's a quick education on how to sail a very, very simple boat faster.

For many, it's boiling down to the basics, how to start effectively, sail a reasonable windward first leg, set the chute the first time without shrimping it, then staying in pressure to get down to the first downwind mark while making trade-offs between "planing mode" versus "soak mode". The jury is still out on this one, but even one-design sailing guru David Ullman from ULLMAN SAILS says soak vs plane mode is about 11-14 kts of TWS, "all depends on the wave train and angle."

For the Bacardi, there are many teams that can be considered contenders, with J/22, J/24, J/80 World Champions amongst the group, e.g. some of the world's best sailors.  One then can't forget those who've learned how to sail fast offshore and translate those experiences onto the short course. It's quite a remarkable cross-section of sailing experience that will be present for this year's J/70 debut in the Bacardi Regatta Miami.

For starters, there's "Tito Bacardi's favorite son"- Dick Stearns- a former STAR World Champion and Havana's "King of Sailors" and family. A long time ago, when you could travel to Havana, Cuba, a little kid named "Richie" followed in his Dad's footsteps and wished he could sail there, too. This coming week, Richie will be sailing with Amy Neill, of Chicago's NITEMARE fame (Melges 24, Melges 32, Farr 40, Santa Cruz 70), on their J/70 in one of the most dynamic one-design classes ever created.

Challenging them will be a "rogues gallery" of extraordinary competitors from across the spectrum of sailing from national to world champions in some of the word's most competitive classes. For starters, Joel Ronning from Minnesota aboard CATAPULT will be hoping to defend his first outing in the J/70 class at St Pete's NOOD Regatta.  Then, you have a J/24, Melges 24/32 champion in the form of Joe Woods from Torquay, England sailing RED taking a swing at the brass ring. Not far behind them will be a couple of rascals in the form of past J/24 World/ National Champions Tim Healy and Will Welles sailing together on RASCAL.  Giving the first two J/70 regatta winners a "run for the money" will be the following championship teams: RELATIVE OBSCURITY sailed by Peter Duncan and Tom Blackwell with Jud Smith (Etchells 22 World Champion); SAVASANA skippered by Brian Keane (J/80, J/105 Key West Champ and College All-American & Singlehanded champion); SPRING sailed by Dave Franzel (Corinthian's Champion at Key West Race Week); STAMPEDE sailed by some Texas guys who really know how to sail- the Loring/ Pasquinelli team (4th Key West and are J/80 North American champions); SUGAR DADDY sailed by Mark Ploch and Mike Bruno (Mark was first J/24 Midwinters Champion in 1978 and Mike is J/122 North American champion in 2009); and TORQEEDO has Rolf Schmidt and Juergen Waldheim showing up from Germany (famous one-design sailors from Berlin).

During the event sailors will enjoy the hospitality lounge, BACARDI Rum tastings, as well as the daily prize giving for the top-three finishers and the final awards dinner. The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club will coordinate on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami will also support the event.  YouTube sailing video- What it's like to sail a J/70 in a moderate breeze.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.  For more Bacardi Miami Sailing Week information

J/70 Sailing World Awards Ceremony

(Bristol, RI)- J/Boats and CCF Composites were honored in Bristol for earning recognition in Sailing World magazine’s "Boat of the Year Awards" this past week.  Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and United States Senator Jack Reed joined the state’s civic and marine industry leaders to celebrate J/Boats' national and worldwide recognition.

“The annual Sailing World Boat of the Year Awards are much-anticipated by the marine industry and consumers,” said the spokesman for the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association (RIMTA). “An independent panel of experts puts new designs launched the previous year through rigorous inspection and sea trials before announcing an authoritative pick of overall and category winners.”  The J/70 from J/Boats and builder CCF Composites earned overall honors from the magazine.

“If you look at a map of our state, it’s not hard to understand why the marine trades have always been one of Rhode Island’s premier economic assets. They are among our state’s oldest and proudest industries, and this legacy continues to the present day with outstanding companies such as J/Boats and CCF Composites,” Rhode Island's Governor Chafee said. “I offer my congratulations and my thanks for helping to maintain Rhode Island’s reputation for excellence in the marine industries.”

With 400 miles of coastline and its compact size, Rhode Island is a magnet for marine businesses. Traditional and modern boat builders, sailmakers, hardware and component manufacturers, riggers, marinas and other services together form a manufacturing continuum that has created a significant center of expertise.

Joining the Senator and the Governor as speakers were Peter Van Lancker, who spoke on behalf of RIMTA; David Reed, Editor of Sailing World magazine; and George Brengle, Director of Marketing for Sailing World; and Jeff Johnstone, President of J/Boats to recognize the company teams behind the award-winning J/70 one-design speedster.  Amongst the dignitaries and sailing industry leaders present were North Sails President Ken Read of Newport, Rhode Island; most recently renown for his Volvo Ocean Race exploits aboard PUMA Mar Mostro winning the Inshore Series of the event and, miraculously, nearly winning the event overall despite an unexpected "vacation" in Tristan da Cunha (a lovely island in the middle of the South Atlantic with a golf-course laid out by the mythical unicorns).

J/70 TORQEEDO Sailing is a family affair!

(St Petersburg, FL)- Yes, indeed it is and they have a really fun time doing it, too, as evidenced by the wonderful time they had at the Sperry Topsider St Petersburg NOOD Regatta this past weekend!  Torqeedo's J/70 sailing team fielded the two youngest crew members in the regatta.  During the racing, Atlantic Marketing's Brandon Flack steered the boat with his wife, their 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. However, we have evidence that shows on Friday's light air racing, that "little Flack" took over the helm from his Dad and commandeered the ship!  "Avast ye mateys, man the oars and let us sally forth into the great unknown", someone overhead from nearby as the little guy took over--- oh dear, weren't they supposed to use those white sails?

"The J/70 was built to be an easy-to-own, high performance one-design that is exciting to sail and stable enough for the family," said Flack. "Adding a Torqeedo Travel 1003 electric motor makes perfect sense. It requires no maintenance and eliminates any concerns about gas storage or leakage. I'm thrilled to be able to demonstrate this concept with my own family."

And so, it was!  For Friday afternoon as well as on Saturday morning, you could see the great Viking ship TORQEEDO powering away on its mighty mite Torqeedo motor towing other boats and cruising merrily along without making a sound-- quite eerie, really, when all you hear around you was the "weed wacker motors" of the 2-cylinder outboard variety buzzing along next to you.

According to Brandon, "the Travel 1003 can push the 22.7' sailboat along at 6 knots. When cruising at 5 knots, it provides an 8-mile range on a single battery charge. Comparable to 3 hp and weighing only 31 lbs, the Travel 1003 is great for dinghies, tenders, Jon boats, fishing boats and sailboats up to 3,000 lbs. It can be rigged for remote throttle, too!"  For more info on these electric engines, check out:   http://www.torqeedo.com

J/Teams Loving Sailing SoCal Sunshine

(Marina del Rey, CA)- As one of the first racing series of the Southern California midwinter sailing events, the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey starts off the New Year  with their Berger Series for PHRF racing in SoCal.  It is a five-race event and is the premier distance, day-time series in Marina del Rey, culminating with a race to their Catalina Island Harbor facility and returning to Marina del Rey (yes, that beautiful, massive 10,000+ boat marina just north of LAX airport.

So far, several J/Teams are loving the sunshine and moderate breezes (if not a bit light) and are leading their divisions.  In PHRF B, theJ/80 AVET sailed by Curt Johnson from Cal YC won the first race.  Third is the J/70 DFZ sailed by the team of Kownacki & Jenkins, also from Cal YC.  Fourth is the J/109 SPRAY skippered by Peter Nelson and just behind him in 6th is Alice Leahey's J/109 GRACE O'MALLEY.

In PHRC C, Jim Bauerley's J/24 CRITTER is leading followed in third, appropriately enough, is the J/24 TRIPLE sailed by Lars Radmall and in 6th is the J/30 EGGEMOGGIN led by Kris Helm.

The PHRF A divisions sees three J's all in a row together in the top ten with the J/125 TIMESHAVER sailed by Viggo Torbenson in 8th, followed by the J/111 JATO skippered by the Webster & Moorehead team in 9th and Joe Simpkin's J/124 FORGIVENESS in 10th.

The next two events are the Santa Monica Bay Race- Saturday, March 2nd and then the finale, the Pt Dume Race- Saturday, May 4th.  For more Del Rey YC Berger Series sailing information

J/70 Moscow Boat Show

(Moscow, Russia)- Recently, the J/Russia team of Grigory Aksenov and Dmitrii Zaritckii picked up their new J/70 MOJO in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, drove down to Monte Carlo, Monaco and sailed MOJO in the Yacht Club Monaco's Primo Cup regatta on the Mediterranean.  After having a fabulous time getting to know the Monagesque and Italian J/70 sailors, and enjoying some of Monaco's renown nightlife, Grigory and Dmitrii drove MOJO back to Kaliningrad, that beautiful Russian city on the southeastern end of the Baltic Sea.

Now, the J/Russia Team are taking their J/70 MOJO eastward to Moscow to attend the Moscow Boat Show- running from March 12th to 17th- for the introduction of the J/70 speedster to the Russian Sailing Federation and to all Russian sailors east and west!  For anyone in the European area, this is a great opportunity to travel to Moscow, enjoy its remarkable history and culture (plus great food & drink!) and "talk shop", discussing the rapid growth of the J/70 in Europe and the enormous enthusiasm Russian sailors have for the J/70.

Please be sure to contact Grigory (aksenov.grigory@gmail.com) or Dmitrii (dzar@mail.ru) for an appointment and let them know you're attending!     For more J/70 Moscow Boat Show sailboat information