Healy Crowned J/70 Midwinter Champion

(Key West, FL)- There was plenty of final day drama at Quantum Key West 2014 as the winners of several classes were determined during the last race. And, conditions could not have been better for those winner-take-all scenarios with the southernmost point of the United States delivering the strongest winds of the regatta. NNE breezes in the 18-25 knot range made for some spectacular racing on all courses and enabled all classes to complete 10 races for the five-day event.

The most impressive performance of the regatta was skipper Tim Healy and his team on HELLY HANSEN, which won the 60-boat J/70 class in convincing fashion. Healy, from Newport, RI, repeated as class champ in Key West by winning two races and placing second or third in five others. HELLY HANSEN clinched the regatta by finishing third in Race 9 and therefore did not sail the final race, using that as its throw-out. Geoff Becker and John Mollicone combined on tactics and trimming while Gordon Borges worked the bow for Healy, who is also a standout J/24 sailor.

“Obviously the biggest key to success is having a good team. My guys did an awesome job of boat-handling and tactics,” Healy said. “We sailed here last year so we had a real good feel for the race course. This team has also sailed J/24s together the past few years so we have a comfort level that makes a big difference.”

Healy and HELLY HANSEN came away with the biggest prize – capturing Quantum Sails “Boat of the Week” honors. “We had a huge class down here last year with a lot of really good sailors so it’s a great accomplishment to come out on top. Winning Key West is definitely one of the highlights of my career,” said Healy, a 42-year-old resident of Jamestown, RI. Eight different boats took first place during the week.

Behind them the standings were closely fought for the top five.  Other than having to drop a 28th in race 4, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA sailed a very strong series and were in the hunt as regatta leader until the 8th race when they had to count a 13th.  The SAVASANA crew reveled in the windy conditions on Friday and sailed to a 204 to wrap up second overall with 48 pts.

The “come-back kids” had to be Ian Atkin’s crew on BOATS.COM with Rory Scott skippering.  After starting out slowly with an 11-10-OCS, the J/70 UK National Champions managed to get their act together and sailed strongly to jump into third overall for the regatta, finishing with an emphatic win in the very last race! That’s wonderful news for European J/70 teams to understand that top sailors in their region are every bit as fast as the top American teams.  Follow Ian’s and Rory’s J/70 experiences here on their BOATS.COM blog.

As a winner of some of the regional J/70 events over the 2013 sailing season, many expected Joel Ronning, a long-time Lake Minnetonka, MN sailor, and crew aboard CATAPULT to be contenders.  Indeed they were, sailing extremely well in the first and last days of the regatta to sew-up fourth place with 71 pts.

Another “come-back” story was wily veteran David Ullman sailing US 32 to a fifth place finish.  After starting with a 39-14 the first day, Ullman and crew clawed their way back into contention by winning a race and placing in the top ten six times.

Top woman skipper, repeating the same feat from last year’s Key West, was Heather Gregg-Earl from Boston, MA.  Heather’s team on MUSE persevered and despite being over early in the last race and literally starting DFL about 300 yards behind the fleet, she climbed back into contention to capture a 19th in the last race and finish 14th overall.

HOT MESS, skippered by Rob Britts of St. Petersburg, Fla., was crowned as Corinthian champion of J/70 class. Britts posted six wins and three seconds within the 14-boat sub-class comprised of all-amateur crews.

As an illustration of fleet depth and competition, eight teams won races with, oddly enough, only two teams taking two wins in the total of ten races— Healy’s HELLY HANSEN and James Allsop’s MOXIE.  To finish in the top five would take at least an 8th place average and to finish in the top ten meant you had to average 12th or better!   Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal.

Sailing video interviews:

Tim Healy- Team Helly Hansen- J/70 Midwinter Champion & Overall Race Week Award winner.  Tim is also current J/24 World Champion.
Alan Terhune- J/22, J/70 boat owner, skipper & crew providing perspectives on sailing J/70s in Key West.  Alan is also current J/22 World Champion.

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Epic Sailing off Key West- Day 4

(Key West, FL)- It's been said the only certain things in life are death and taxes. But, for sailors “in the know”, you gotta add to that list a full week's worth of racing in Key West. Thursday’s sailing was simply spectacular, with a classic NNE breeze blowing 10-20 kts, clear blue skies, and white caps dotting the seas over turquoise waters.

The strong northerly winds allowed for another three-race day on all courses. Hap Fauth, skipper of Bella Mente, felt exhilarated as he stepped onto the dock following Thursday's action.  "We had absolutely fabulous conditions out there today," Fauth declared. "Anybody who complains about any aspect of this regatta has a screw loose. This is just fantastic sailing."

So far, Tim Healy’s HELLY HANSEN has put forth an impressive performance in the J/70 class, largest of the regatta with 60 boats. Healy, the defending class champ in Key West, has placed first or second in five races and counts no lower than a fourth in accumulating 15 points. SAVASANA, the second place entry skippered by Brian Keane, is a whopping 27 points astern.

Healy won two races on Thursday and finished fourth in the other to earn the Industry Partner Boat of the Day honor. He received the beautiful handcrafted Ship's Bell Clock trophy from Chelsea Clock. Geoff Becker and John Mollicone are teaming to call tactics while Gordon Borges works the bow aboard HELLY HANSEN.

"The big takeaway today was that you can't get too focused on one side of the course. We saw big shifts both ways and there was plenty of pressure on both sides," Healy said. "Our strategy has been to choose a side, but not be the furthest boat out there. You don't want to get pushed all the way to the edge."

Just behind the two leaders and only four points out of second is Great Britain’s Ian Atkins and his team sailing BOATS.COM.  The come-back of the week award must surely go to David Ullman sailing USA 32 after their slow start on the first day of racing.  Starting off with a rather humble 39-14, Ullman’s team added a 5-4-1-7-19-7 for a total of 57 pts to leap into fourth overall after ending the first day’s racing in the high 20’s.  Fifth is Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT with 60 pts.

Friday’s racing promises to have another epic, even windier day, with 15-25 kts wind forecasted from the NNE.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Spectacular Sailing- Day 3 in Key West

(Key West, FL)- Broad smiles and weary bones usually means a successful day on the water for sailors. There was plenty of both on the docks around the Conch Republic on Wednesday after organizers of Quantum Key West 2014 completed three races in strong winds.

Northerly winds that held steady from 12-20 knots provided the best racing conditions yet for the 10 classes on three divisions. After completing three races combined on Monday and Tuesday, the competitors were thankful for the full day's work.

There is a new leader in the J/70 class, the largest of the regatta with 60 boats. Tim Healy steered Helly Hansen to 2-2-3 on Wednesday to take control with a low score of 29. Catapult, skippered by Joel Ronning of Minneapolis, MN, is 12 points behind in second. Third is Brian Keane on Savasana and leaping into the top five was Dave Ullman on US-32 with a 5-4-1 on the second day of sailing.  Notably, Ian Atkins's "boats.com" also jumped into the top ten with a great day of sailing.

Geoff Becker is calling tactics upwind on Team Helly Hansen while John Mollicone is doing the honors downwind for Healy (Jamestown, RI), the defending regatta champ. "Going downwind we were in-between planing and displacement mode so you had to decide when to keep the bow up and the jib out," Healy said. "There were big gains and losses to be made downwind."  Healy explained that a J/70 begins to plane in around 15 knots of breeze and attempting to do so when the wind is not strong enough causes the boat to really slow down. "It's crucial to know when to soak it low," he said.
Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Chile J/70- Mile High Sailing

(Santiago, Chile)- J/70s continue to pop-up in some of the most amazing places to sail in the world and are also doing some amazing things in even the most common places to sail in the world.  On the highest order of magnitude of “coolness” has to be the two J/70s that are sailing on Vichuquen lake, 350 kms south from Santiago, Chile way, way, way up in the spectacular, breath-taking Andes Mountains.  Here we find J/70 #76 sitting safely high and dry on her “dry-sail” cradle on a dock- “sweet” to have this baby sitting behind your “crib” a mile high on this gorgeous lake!

Sailing on the ever-popular Galveston Bay is a rapidly growing fleet of J/70s.  While not sailing one-design events, some have been sailing the Galveston Bay Icicle Series in the PHRF handicap fleet- a series of “pursuit-style” races over several weeks.  Recently, Michael Byrne posted a YouTube sailing video of their J/70 flying a Code Zero in this PHRF handicap pursuit race!  Apparently, the J/70 was simply flying!  According to Mike:

“We were in the PHRF staggered start race, we used a Code 0 built from the Galveston Bay UK loft.  The race started off pretty tight with an apparent about 50 degrees, but ended up around 60-65 degrees.  The pole was out just about 2.5 feet.  Wind was around 6-10 kts true.  Boat speed averaged about 7.5 knots C.O.G in flat water with no current.  A J/109 with a Code 0 took forever to overhaul us, they ever so slowly rolled us to leeward with an extra 0.5 knots of boat speed, but chalk that up to the extra 13 feet of waterline!”

It sure looked like it was a fun day on the water. Last week the J/70 was the first boat across the line.  Enjoy their YouTube J/70 sailing video here.

Slow Start to Epic Key West Race Week

(Key West, FL)- The prognosticator “extraordinaires” of all things weather were, for one of those rare moments, remarkably accurate in their predictions for a light air day with next to no wind or just enough wind to make it happen.  As it turns out, the light southerlies driven by a “pancake flat” mini-High shadowing the Florida Keys and into the Straits of Florida that border Cuba to the south were enough to get two of the three race courses racing on the first day.

While Division 1 managed to sail two races on super-shortened courses (with breezes fluctuating wildly from 3.2 to 4.4 kts and swinging from 220 to 270 degrees), the other fleets on Division 2 and 3 had even less to contend with.  Neither the gradient breeze nor the sea-breeze  along the coast fully developed during the day.  The J/70 fleet with 62 boats strong sat around for 5+ hours on the water and the RC PRO wisely canceled racing for the day.  Nevertheless, there’s a fun blog being written by UK J/70 sailor Ian Atkins sailing “boats.com” with a number of his mates who’ve raced with him on the Solent off Cowes (read more here)

Aside from D-1, the other “lucky dogs” for the day were the Division III teams sailing on the course that is further east along Key West.  Waiting until at least 1530 hrs, their RC PRO managed to squeeze in a race for all three classes— the two PHRF fleets and the J/80s.

For the rest of the week, most weather models are in agreement that Tuesday will see a building breeze for the rest of the week with plenty of sunshine.  Sailing photo credits- Ken Stanke/ kenstanek.com    For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

Another Epic Key West Sailing Forecast!

(Key West, FL)- This year’s Quantum Key West Race Week is gearing up for its trademark week of racing on the aquamarine waters off the coast of the Conch Republic. As the sailors make their way down the Florida Keys by air, water and land over the weekend, it looks like they will be greeted by either the tail feathers of another “polar vortex” spinning madly across America or they’ll be hammered by a “clipper system” ripping SSE across the continent spinning up all kinds of winds.  By Monday, the “good word” from the colorful Key West Chamber of Commerce is that sunny, benign weather will caress the fleet with near-perfect Caribbean-like conditions all week— some forecast!  Realistically, various weather forecast models (GFS, NAM, ECUWF) show 8-12 kts from NW to NE quadrants for Monday, Tuesday followed by increasing winds from the NW to NE in the 10 to 20 kts plus range from Wednesday to Friday’s closing day.

There will be nearly 130 boats sailing, but what’s different, like a lot different, about this year’s Key West is that J/Teams comprise two-thirds (66.0%) of the fleet with 85 J’s sailing.  In other words, Key West is now the de-facto “Winter J/Fest”!  That’s a good thing since the new regatta HQ at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar & Grill, situated on Caroline St between Whitehead St and the infamous Duval St will be over-run by members of the J/Tribe sailing J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, and J/125!

Newport-based Tim Healy will be back to defend his title in J/70 class aboard TEAM HELLY HANSEN, which has attracted a whopping 62 boats. Runner-up Brian Keane’s SAVASANA (Weston, Mass.) and third place finisher Bruno Pasquinelli on STAMPEDE (Dallas, Texas) will also be back as the J/70 class contests its second Midwinter Championship.  They’re up against a formidable array of teams from across the world, not just top Americans, but also teams from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Great Britain, Canada and Bermuda.  The top boats from the Tampa Bay Quantum Winter series will be attending, including the top three- Jud Smith on AFRICA, Rob & Sandy Butler on TOUCH 2 PLAY and Rob Britts’s HOT MESS.

The balance of the J/70 fleet is deeply talented with any number of teams capable of top ten finishes.  Amongst the top foreign teams could be one of Great Britain’s top J/70 crews, Ian Atkins sailing BOATS.COM; from Puerto Rico is Marco Teixidor skippering CACHONDO; from Bermuda is Chuck Millican racing ELUSIVE; and from Mexico is Julian Fernandez Neckelmann’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO.

Several Etchells 22 World, North American and Jaguar series champions are sailing J/70s, namely Jud Smith as mentioned, but also Peter Vessella sailing RUNNING WILD, Peter Duncan helming RELATIVE OBSCURITY and Jim Cunningham on LIFTED.

Other contenders that have won or were “in the chocolates” in various J/70 regattas in the past year include Brian Elliot’s B-SQUARED, Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, Bob Hughes’s HEARTBREAKER, Kerry Klingler’s MENACE, James Allsopp’s MOXIE, Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE, Dave Franzel’s SPRING and Dave Ullman’s US 32 from Newport Beach, California.

Designers Rod and son Alan Johnstone will be sailing the latest RAGTIME and welcoming other renown class newcomers like Johnny Demourkas sailing GROOVEDERCI from Santa Barbara, CA (Farr 40 and J/105 West Coast Champion); John Brim from Fisher’s Island skippering a “baby RIM” called RIMETTE; Johnny Wynacht sailing STRANGE BREW from Nova Scotia (Canadian J/24 champion and J/29 sailor); Richard Bergmann on ZUNI BEAR II (of J/105 Zuni Bear fame); John Arendshorst on 20/20 RACING from Macatawa Bay; Chris Whitford sailing a baby HOT LIPS (top Farr 40 team from Chicago); Stu Williams on CLOUDSOURCED from Whitefish Bay; Malcolm Gefter sailing CELERITAS from Newport (long-time M32 and Swan 42 sailor); and Tim Molony skippering JOUST (with his New Orleans friend, Olympic medallist Johnny Lovell, as tactician!).

The dynamic match-racing duo of Taylor Canfield (current World Match Racing Champion) and Stephanie Roble (USA #1 Women Match Racer) are sailing as tacticians and could be the proverbial “dark horses” in the fleet. Taylor is sailing with Dan Cheresh’s EXTREME team from Macatawa Bay and Steph is helping Juddie Smith’s Marblehead team on AFRICA.

Amongst the record nine women J/70 skippers (15% of the class!) will be current J/70 North American Champion Heather Gregg-Earl skippering MUSE along with Suzy Leech sailing JUNKANOO, Catharine Evans steering MOJITO, Maegan Ruhlman on SPACEMAN SPIFF, Kathy Parks on SUNDOG, Amy Neill on NITEMARE, Kirsten Berry sailing DANGER MOUSE, Carrie Austin skippering CHINOOK and Tris Worth sailing ALIBI.

Dave Franzel attended what was known as Key West Race Week way back in 1981 as crew for a J/24 program. The founder of the Boston Sailing Center returned 32 years later as a J/70 skipper and was crowned as Corinthian champion after finishing eighth overall in the 39-boat fleet.  "I had an absolute blast. It was one of the best regattas I've ever been to. It made me wish I hadn't waited so long to come back," said Franzel, a resident of Somerville, Mass. "I was very impressed with the race management. The courses were sound and the starting lines were solid. We got in 12 races in five days and you can't ask for more than that."

The Demourkas family from Santa Barbara, CA are back again.  This time, John Demourkas will be racing his new J/70 GROOVEDERCI in the class as the couple makes their annual winter pilgrimage from Santa Barbara.  His wife Deneen is sailing her M32 GROOVEDERCI, commenting that, "John and I have been attending this event the last 14 years and we love the relaxation Key West affords, particularly after a hectic holiday season.  And then there is Race Week, which always delivers. You can pretty much guarantee great sailing conditions, beautiful weather and good competition. Why wouldn't you be here?"

NOTE- the North Sails J/70 team is providing FREE pre-regatta clinics in Key West— come one, come all! Here's what’s happening:

• Saturday 1-4 pm- North On-the-water clinic (run by Tim Healy, Allan Terhune, Andreas Josenhans and Chuck Allen) with starting drills and short course races with complete photo and video coverage.
• Saturday 5:30 pm- Clinic Debrief at the North U. Regatta HQ (725 Caroline St, formerly West Marine)- review photos and videos and pick the brains of top J/70 sailors in a relaxed and casual environment. Refreshments courtesy of North Sails.
• Sunday 10 am- North Dockside clinic- will be held at Tim Healy's boat located near the ramp at the Truman Annex. Bring your questions and a notepad to get the latest, hands-on, tuning tips

For Key West sailing video entertainment, look at this beautifully produced summary from Chris Odom @ Chris Odom Photos- nice sequences of J/70s, J/80s, J/109, J/111, J/44, J/122 in the 3-minute clip.    Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal Photos and Tim Wilkes.com Photos.   For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information

AFRICA Dusts J/70 Quantum Winter Series

(Tampa, FL)- The J/70 Winter Series got off to a strong start with thirty-nine boats competing at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. The three-weekend series kicked off on January 11-12, with Jud Smith of Eastern Yacht Club snagging the victory. Jud and his wife Cindy sailed with their daughter Darby and Rick Myers. It was a unique milestone in the J/70 class as not one, but two couples, placed 1st and 2nd overall!

The hosts, Davis Island YC, did a terrific job of running the six races over the two-day weekend event.  The fleet was blessed with awesome sailing weather.  On Saturday, winds started at 12 knots and built to 20 kts by the end of the day. With the breeze out of the south, waves increased to 1-3 feet. Sunday dawned with lighter northerly winds that flattened the wave action; breezes began at 8-10 kts but dropped to 4-6 kts at the end.

The Smith’s AFRICA team sailed a very consistent series, finishing with a 1-5-1-10-2-6 record for 25 pts, winning by a comfortable nine point margin.  Canadian sailors Rob & Cindy Butler, yet another couple team, took second overall on TOUCH 2 PLAY, sailing to a 5-4-3-13-1-8 for 34 pts total.

Third place was anything but a “walk in the park” for the next six teams, with just five points separating them and 3rd to 5th places determined by a three-way tie-breaker (Britts, Brauer & Dressel- sounds like a law firm, eh?)!  All six teams displayed “Phoenix-like” track records, rising to the sun with thrilling performances then (suffering a nose-bleed perhaps, plus losing their wings) crashing to Earth and cratering their scores with some “soon to be forgotten races”.  Winning this war of attrition and taking the bronze was local Rob Britts and company on HOT MESS from DIYC, compiling an impressive 9-1-8-17-16-2 for 53 pts.  Fourth was Marblehead’s Henry Brauer sailing SCAMP with an equally unusual “stop & go” record of 17-2-12-14-3-5 for 53 pts.  Getting the short end of the trio’s tie-break to take fifth overall was Ft Lauderdale’s Mike Dressel with a 14-8-7-4-7-13 tally for 53 pts.

Just behind the top five were the other teams that could easily have cracked third position, but for one reason or another just missed the podium.  In the group was Doug Strebel on BLACK RIVER RACING with 54 pts in 6th place, Mark Ploch on SUGAR DADDY with 57 pts in 7th and Kris Werner sailing SUPERFECTA to 8th with 58 pts.

Nineteen boats competed in the Corinthian Division with Rob Britts’s HOT MESS winning followed by  Peter Tuite on CURRAGH in second and Joe Colling’s USA69 in third.

An interesting observation of the J/70 fleet competitiveness is that Smith’s AFRICA team counted just two bullets to win with a 4.2 average finish position. In fact, five of six races were won by different teams, including Britts, Butler, Bennet Greenwald and Kris Werner.  To finish 2nd overall, Butler averaged 5.7 and to get a top five, those teams averaged 8.8!  And, to get into the top ten you had to average better than 12th!  More thrilling racing on Tampa Bay continues at DIYC on February 7-9 and March 28-30.
 For more J/70 Quantum Winter Series sailing information

Quantum J/70 Winter Series Preview

(Tampa, FL)- The Davis Island YC, one of the “most sailingest sailing clubs” in Florida, graciously extended the red carpet and their famously fun hospitality to the J/70 class to host a winter series over three weekends.  Starting this coming weekend, January 10-12, forty-two teams will be participating in the shifty, choppy waters of Tampa Bay, many of the teams using the event as a “warm-up” for the upcoming J/70 Midwinters held in conjunction with Key West Race Week.

While the weather may have been downright terrible in the past few weeks in the eastern 2/3rds of the USA, it’s done nothing to dampen the spirits of the J/70 teams.  Many are looking forward to thawing out from sub-Arctic cold and “making their beach” with an ice-cold Corona on a sunny, warm, breezy day (at least that’s what the local Chamber of Commerce promised!).  Coincidentally, NOAA Marine Weather is forecasting ESE light winds 4-8 kts Friday with a sunny day at 80 F.  However, Saturday the breeze looks to veer further into the SW and increase to 15-25 kts by afternoon with cloudy skies with an approaching frontal system.  Classically, as the front blows through overnight, the sailors magically wake up to a southern-style breakfast with bacon, eggs, grits, a cup of Navy Joe (e.g. coffee thick as mud) and enjoy a sunny, sybaritic Sunday afternoon down on the water with lightish NW to NE winds caressing their hangovers with a gentle 6-12 kts breeze.  Some forecast.

Many “veterans” as well as newcomers will be sailing in the “Open” and “Corinthian” divisions in the fleet.  Showing how healthy the competition is within the J/70 fleet, it’s fairly evenly split between the two, with 24 open and 18 corinthian.  With so many new faces and some veterans sailing with new crews, it’s anyone’s guess the ultimate outcome for the front-runners. Plus, there are teams from Great Britain and Canada joining the fleet, all with very good helm/tactician combos.  Amongst those American teams who could finish “in the chocolates” might be Brandon Flack on TORQEEDO, the Johnson’s on VITAMIN J, the Kimbrough’s on NOSTALGIA, Henry Brauer sailing SCAMP, Joe Colling on US 69, the Finkle’s on JUNIOR, the Klingler's on MENACE, Mark Ploch on SUGAR DADDY and Jud & Cindy Smith on US 179.  The Canadians Andrew Papierz on DYNAMO and Rob Butler on TOUCH 2 PLAY and Joe Woods on RED from Great Britain have proven their capable of top five performances!  One thing is certain, there will be surprising performances from new teams as everyone keeps playing games of “leap-frog” as they learn their boats better and better.   For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information

J/70 Expands to Asia/ Pacific Rim

(Newport, Rhode Island) - J/Boats announced today that McConaghy Boats has been named the J/70 builder for the Asian and Pacific Rim markets.  This is following the recent news of the J/70 receiving International Class status from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).  Nearly 500 boats are already sailing in 20+ countries within 20 months of launch.  McConaghy Boats joins J/Composites (France) and CCF Composites (USA) as part of the J/70 world building team.

“McConaghy Boats and the J/70 are a perfect fit,” said Jeff Johnstone, President of J/Boats.  “McConaghy is world renowned for building high performance custom racing yachts (such as the famous 7-time Rolex Sydney-Hobart winner WILD OATS XI), and they’re also highly regarded for producing one-designs to exacting tolerances.  We look forward to working with Mark Evans, Stephen Oliver and their team in Zhuhai to build on the momentum the J/70 is already generating in the Pacific Rim.”

“The rapid growth of the J/70 has been nothing short of phenomenal and we’re proud to become a building partner with J/Boats,” commented Mark Evans, Director of McConaghy Boats.  “The J/70 represents the next-generation of fun, easy-to-sail sportboats— a perfect match for the Asia/ Pacific Rim markets we’re supporting.”

New tooling arrives at McConaghy in late January and production is expected to begin this spring. The J/70 will be distributed in the Pacific Rim region by J/Boats Asia.  For more information, please contact Jim Johnstone of J/Boats Asia at jimjboats@gmail.com or J/Boats USA headquarters at info@jboats.com.
For more International J/70 sailboat information

J/70 Speeds Across The Bodensee

(Lake Constance, Germany)- With the advent of the J/70 as an International Class in November 2013, several sailing regions around the world have exploded with enthusiasm.  One area in particular, Lake Constance, has seen the J/70 become the one-design sportboat of choice for the Lake Constance Sailing Association comprised of 55 yacht and sailing clubs with over 10,000 members and at least as many boat owners.  The selection was a demanding one for the J/70, having eclipsed many highly regarded contenders and winning the final “bake-off” against two other well-known sportboats.

Since that time in the fall of 2013, the reports coming from German sailors on the lake has been nothing short of amazing.  Many had experience with the J/70 first-hand when the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailed their five regatta series all over Germany last summer.  With the first deliveries of J/70s on the Bodensee, many enthusiastic German one-design sailors have hopped aboard and, like many others before them, have been pushing the limits.

Recently, a Berlin skipper, Jurgen Waldheim, was down on the lake with a bunch of friends taking the J/70 for a spin in 20-26+ kts TWS.  The conditions in early December were a bit chilly, but the breeze was up, good-sized waves were rolling down the lake and there was even snow on the hills on the nearby Swiss and Austria Alps!  As they say, “can’t keep a good crew down” from rising up to the challenge and simply going for it.

Jurgen and crew managed to hook-up several GoPro video cameras and here’s the evidence of their blast across the lake.  What’s cool about their frolic across the Bodensee was that their crew never hesitated to throw in a bunch of gybes as they blew down the lake at speeds up to 20 kts!  Next time guys, keep the jib out and you’d go even faster with more control!    Here’s their YouTube HD J/70 sailing video.   For more International J/70 One-design sailboat information

Countdown to Key West

(Key West, FL)- Racing teams from across the country and around the world are getting ready to compete in the waters off America's southernmost city during the 27th annual Quantum Key West Race Week, scheduled Sunday through Friday, Jan. 19-24.

The "wow" factor is clearly in play again for the 2014 edition. All three divisions will feature well prepared programs gathering to enjoy great competition and renowned Key West sailing conditions, as they pursue coveted podium finishes.

The incredibly popular J/70 class is coming off a very successful Key West debut with the fleet topping 60 boats for their 2014 Midwinter Championship. Returning veterans and newcomers to Key West will experience big fleet racing with exciting starts, tight mark roundings, and close finishes. Both the J/70 Open and Corinthian winners will be recognized with daily and series trophies.

For those who can't be out on the race course, there will be plenty of ways to follow the racing. Last year was a first for "Key West Live" coverage (#QKeyWest) and there will be more real time bloggers and video coverage to keep everyone connected this year.   Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal
For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information