J/70 @ Moscow Boat Show!

(Moscow, Russia)- With a successful launch of their J/70 program last year in Russia, the J/Russia dealer team of Grigory Aksenov and Dmitry Zaritckii have covered thousands of miles promoting the J/70 across Europe and Russia.  First sailing in the Y.C. Monaco’s Primo Cup in 2013, they returned again  in 2014 with two Russian teams for a weekend of great sailing and camaraderie with fellow J/70 sailors from across Europe.

This dynamic duo will again be presenting the J/70 at the Moscow Boat Show from March 11th to 16th and will likely take another “victory tour” around Moscow’s famous Kremlin Square, hopefully not in a blizzard like last year!  For an appointment or more information, please contact Grigory Aksenov at Kitira Ltd (http://www.kitira.ru), phone- +7-495-540-4529 or via email- aksenov.grigory@gmail.com  Sailing photo credits- YC Monaco/ Carlo Borlenghi.   For more Moscow Boat Show information

The Flying Russians- Sailing off Monaco

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The Flying Russians!? Not on trapezes in the Moscow Circus nor Rudolf Nureyev leaping about in the Moscow Ballet, but the waterborne version!  Sailing in this year’s YC Monaco Primo Cup- Credit Suisse Regatta were two Russian J/70 teams, one from Kaliningrad and the other from Moscow.

The “veterans” of the Primo Cup were Grigory Aksenov and Dmitry Zaritckii sailing on their now famous J/70 MOJO.  If you recall, last year Grigory and Dmitry picked up their J/70 at J/Composites European boat-building headquarters in Les Sables d’Olonne, France and drove to Monte Carlo, Monaco for their first J/70 regatta ever.  In fact, they were un-packing the boat and learning how to piece everything together as they rigged MOJO to go sailing for their first time! TEAM MOJO loved their experience at the Primo Cup Regatta and promised to return.

In the meantime, Grigory and Dmitry drove the 1,100 miles back from Monaco to Kaliningrad, Russia, at the easternmost reaches of the Baltic Sea— in a snow storm!  If that weren’t enough travel for one month, this dynamic duo then took the mighty MOJO to display the J/70 in the Moscow Boat Show!  It was, in fact, the first time a J/Boat has ever been displayed in the Moscow Show.  As they left Moscow, it was only appropriate they create another “first” for the J/70 and proceeded to befriend the local Moscow Police and took a “tour” of the famous Red Square and took photos of MOJO in front of the Kremlin!!

With a successful year of promoting J/70s in Russia, Dmitry hitched up MOJO again and took her down to Monaco for their second appearance in the Primo Cup. TEAM MOJO sailed well and managed to finish eighth. Perhaps equally as important is that Igor Raspopov, Founder and CEO of the MARC Sailing Club in Russia, chartered a J/70 to also participate in this year’s Primo Cup.


According to Raspopov, “We’re really proud to be a part of the worldwide J/70 sailing family! More than that, we are doing our best with friends to develop the J/70 class in Russia and to invite fellow Russians to sail J/70s in Russia and throughout Europe.

We founded a Russian-Italian sailing club called M.A.R.C. (http://www.marcsail.com) that is based on Lake Garda in Italy and I have been working closely with my friend Dimitry from Kaliningrad.  As we participate in upcoming J/70 events in Europe and Russia, we will provide you reports about our team’s activities!

We also sail J/80s and will organize an amateur Match Race event from April 2nd to 6th at Riva del Garda with the support of Fraglia Vela Riva del Garda, together with the other J/80 events during the year on the French Riviera and Italy.

Also, we plan to participate in some IRC regattas like Giraglia Rolex Cup in St Tropez, France and San Remo, Italy and Copa del Rey in Palma Mallorca, Spain on a J/109 and J/122. Such events enable us to give to give our MARC Sailing Club beginners a unique opportunity to try sailing J/Boats. This is our goal! Growing sailing in Russia has been fun and people LOVE it once they discover how fun it can be!”

In the end, both Russian J/70 teams can bring back memories of an absolutely epic sailing experience on the last day, with “fresh to frightening” conditions with ginormous 10-12 ft waves and 15-25 kt winds.  Those memories have been forever captured by “the Master”, Carlo Borlenghi, the world renown yachting photographer who was on-hand shooting photos for YC Monaco.  Also on hand were Team MOJO’s friend “Elena”, she captured some poignant moments of Team MOJO in the yacht harbour.  Sailing photo credits- YC Monaco/ Carlo Borlenghi and Elena Otekina- https://www.facebook.com/elena.otekina.

Please contact Igor Raspopov to learn more about Sailing Club MARC and their sailing programs.  Contact Igor at email- gorazionelson@gmail.com

Scott Crowned First J/70 EuroCup Champion

(Riva del Garda, Italy)- Warm fall weather and a gracious, friendly host in the form of Fraglia della Vela welcomed the J/70 one-design class to Riva del Garda for their first edition of the J/70 EuroCup.  As expected the Northern part of Lago di Garda offered perfectly epic sailing conditions.  The J/70 Fleet sailed in the early afternoon with constant steady breeze from 12-23 kts from the south- the famous "Ora" wind.  The last day of racing had an early morning start with a solid northerly breeze up to 25 kts, the classic "Peler" mountain winds that blow down the mountain valleys onto the lake at night.

Seven nations (Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russian, Netherlands, Monaco) participated in the event that saw the competition dominated by the British team led by Ruairidh Scott and crew (Ben Field, Charlie Cumbley and Matt Curthoys).  Scott's team were already UK J/70 National Champion and winner of the Cowes Week J/70 class. Fred Bouvier of France and British sailor Joe Woods fought hard for second place all regatta long, often trading places in the standings.  In the end, Bouvier captured second with Joe Woods' team on RED taking third.  Perfect boat-handling and good speed were enough for the young German Team skipper Mehlig Kevin to defend fourth place.  Pietro Saccomanni (Diporto Velico Veneziano) along with Salvatore Eulisse, Alberto Grippo and Giulia Sent are the first of the Italian teams in fifth place.

Fraglia della Vela provided perfect organization on the water. At the end of sailing each day a tasty, delicious pasta party and local wines were offered to all exhausted and very hungry competitors. At the very generous Awards Ceremony there were the classic trophies for great performances, but thanks to the generous sponsorship of Hannspree Italia, enormous HD flat-screen LED TV's were provided to the top three finishing teams and Alcatel cell phones and tablets were also provided to the top finishers!  Furthermore, J/Boats Italy delivered to Fraglia della Vela a J/70 half-model as the "Challenge Trophy" to be awarded each year to the winner of next J/70 EuroCup regattas.

The report from Fred Bouvier, second place finisher in the regatta, provides some nice insights.  "After a lot of excitement and a busy week (our crew was set-up 4 days before the event and the boat was brand new and finished twos day before) we arrived in Riva", said Bouvier.  "We launched the boat on Tuesday and trained for a few hours in the afternoon (it was the first time we sailed together and I was the only with any experience in the J 70!)."

"We were very impressed about the beauty of the city, the gorgeous lake and the mountainous environment around us", commented Bouvier. "We clearly understood after two days that the North guys couldn't be beat and that we would fight for the 2nd or 3rd place. Before the last days we were standing 1 points behind Joe Woods' RED and we knew that we had to be good to beat them.  Unfortunately we were not that good but still had a bit of luck.  At the finish in the final race RED was stuck just two boat lengths from the finish line in a dying breeze from the north, when all of a sudden a puff from the other direction came in and 90% of the fleet, including us, just passed across their bow!"

"The event was perfectly organized," continues Bouvier, "the welcome was wonderful and the race committee is highly professional in the way they managed the typical Garda conditions. As the lake is 300m deep, they used fixed mooring for buoys and committee, for this reason the leg lengths are unchanged for all types of championships. Because of this fact, the race committee could tell us that the first J/70 in its fastest race was a bit faster than the best Melges 24 on the same course!!  Incredible!!"

Similarly, Paolo Boido from J/Boats Italy commented, "The J/70 has been able to demonstrate a great show of Speed + Power + Stability + Easy Handling in the solid breeze of Garda-- going very fast downwind with speed on the Velocitek showing up to 20 knots (note-- that's an average GPS speed)!!  Plus, the J/70 was comfortable and dry upwind, beating easily at close true-wind angles in the irregular big chop typical of the Lake".  Sailing photo credits- David Turrini- www.recordiamo.net.    For more J/70 EuroCup sailing information

First J/70 Russia Regatta

(Kaliningrad, Russia)- From August 1st to 4th, the first J/70 regatta in Russia, the "Yachting Russia Cup", took place off Kaliningrad's beautiful beaches on the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea.  The format was an amateur match-race supported by the local yacht club and "Amber Breeze" with the theme of "Jazz & Sail"-- the sailors had fun on the water by day and were treated to excellent jazz music in the evening for three straight days!

Participating in a round-robin format followed by a championship/ repechage elimination ladder, teams from Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Germany participated.  The first day of racing was nearly perfect-- plenty of breeze blowing up to 15 kts and lots of sun.  Everyone had fun both on the water and at the beaches watching the racing inside the breakwater of the old fishing harbor.

In the end, the teams all pronounced the regatta a huge success and the music/ jazz session as OTT (over the top)!  A special "thanks" goes out to Elena Otekina for the fun photos taken of the event.  For more sailing photos and information on this first J/70 regatta in Russia, please go to Elena's Facebook page.

J/70 Kaliningrad- Sailing on the Baltic Sea!

(Kaliningrad, Russia)-  The first training and boat demonstration session for the J/70 MOJO took place over the June 7th to 9th weekend off Kaliningrad.  The wind was somewhat light, just 4-7 kts with gusts up to 12 kts.  The conditions were gorgeous with plenty of sun and warm weather.  Taking the boat for test rides included Irina Gorbatyuk and Dmitry Zaritskiy from Kaliningrad.  Their comments were that "the J/70 is very well behaved, to windward it has very good speed. Downwind with gennaker we were planing in the puffs, very nice!  All who have tried it give the J/70 very high praise, noting that the boat is light and nimble, well-balanced, and very comfortable to drive."  J/Russia are planning on getting a complete sailing program running in Kaliningrad with a fleet of J/70s!

J/70 Red Square & Moscow Boat Show Tour!

(Moscow, Russia)-  Grigory & Dmitry of J/Russia where not only working hard selling both the J/70 and various J's at the Moscow Boat Show recently, they were also having fun playing "tourist" on the way home from the show.  And, so they decided to take a "side trip" with their J/70 around Moscow's RED SQUARE!  

Imagine.  Red Square remains, as it has been for centuries, the heart and soul of Russia. Few places in the world bear the weight of history to the extent that Moscow's central square does. Inextricably linked to all the most important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century, the Kremlin (built between the 14th and 17th centuries by outstanding Russian and foreign architects) was the residence of the Great Prince and also a religious centre. At the foot of its ramparts, on Red Square, is the 16th Century St Basil's Basilica, one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments and most famous pieces of architecture in the world.  Then, across the square is the constructivist pyramid of Lenin's Mausoleum, leader of the famous Communist Party in Russia (then known as the Soviet Union or CCCP). Red Square is rich in symbols of Russia's turbulent and intriguing past.  If you want to learn more about Moscow- read more here- http://www.moscow.info/ or on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square.

The photos of the J/70 are taken in front of the Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral.  Yes, a J/70 actually went around Red Square without getting arrested, impounded or destroyed!  In fact, it was attracting a crowd!  Here's the photo journey of the J/70 MOJO in front of some famous landmarks before heading from Moscow back to Kaliningrad on the Baltic.  Very, very cool stuff. On the right is what it looks like on a sunny day!

We also believe the J/70 is the first SAILBOAT that has ever traveled around Moscow's Red Square in front of all those famous monuments, the Kremlin and all those other historical elements of Russian history.  Next time Grigory & Dmitry, put up the mast, hoist the sails and spinnaker and go sailing around Red Square on the trailer!

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.

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.

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

FREMITO D'ARJA Wins J/70 Primo Cup

J/111s Enjoy Windy IRC Racing
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- “It’s been a long time since I had so much fun on the water” said a competitor at the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse about their full weekend of racing on the water in "fresh to frightening" breeze conditions, rather epic 4-8 ft Mediterranean seas sweeping into the bay and the mountainous principality swept by a combination of snow flurries and sun-kissed by the soft winter Mediterranean sun.

Monaco’s bay again delivered a varied regatta full of surprises. From bright blue skies on Friday to the scattering of snow on Saturday, not to mention the tail end of a Mistral, the weather conditions delighted the IRCs and the one-design fleets, including the enthusiastic J/70 class.  Note that for the J/70s, voted “European Boat of the Year 2013” by the international press in the “Special Yacht” category, the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse was the first official regatta in the Med for this young class, which has only been available in Europe for six months.

Even though conditions were not quite good enough to race on the Sunday, due to the centre of a depression in the Gulf of Genoa changing tack, five very enjoyable races were started over this second weekend compared to six last weekend.  With fourteen nationalities present and a high level of competition, the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse confirmed its demanding reputation and quality for all yachts and hundreds of sailors.

A special note must also be made that makes the Primo Cup – Trophée Credit Suisse unique in its prize-giving for regattas around the world-- Credit Suisse Bank, appropriately enough, offers a 24 carat 99.999% Gold 1 oz. ingot to the winner of a drawing amongst the winners (a 1 in 6 chance)!!  Plus, Slam Advanced Technology Sportswear is awarded to the first three J/70 crews and to the top three in IRC Class.

The first day of sailing was fabulous.  It started with a steady 10 knots south-westerly wind, with beaming sunshine and calm sea, reaching 30 knots by the end of the day.  Three races were started for the J/70s while the IRC class sailed two races.  The J/70s had fun and fast sailing and this 7-meter keelboat has delivered on all its promises on the Monegasque bay. On the results side, the Italian crew of FREMITO D'ARJA sailed by Dario Levi, lead the day's race by two wins out of the three races, followed very closely by the Italian SPIN ONE team sailed by Pietro Saccomani and the Dutch HENRI LLOYD team sailed by Wouter Kolllmann, the three top crews only 5 points away from each others.

For the second day of the regattas, the early starts of the morning saw spring sailing conditions.  Then the weather Gods got a bit chaotic!  Later races were replaced by snow falls and wind gusts reaching up to 20 - 25 knots of wind towards the end of the races, challenging the nerves and physical skills of the racing crews on their last legs.  Two races were completed Saturday, allowing the Race Committee to count five races in total for the J/70 one-designs and four for the IRCs.

In the IRCs, the J/111s were sailing against 14 boats in a massively competitive fleet. Loving the conditions was the J/111 ESPRIT SUD sailed by Thierry Bouchard, finishing a well-deserved 4th place overall with a 7-5-3-3 scoreline and only missing the podium bronze by just two points.  The other J/111, MERLIN sailed by Michel Buffet and Gilles Conte, finished in the top ten by gathering a record of 9-6-10-8 to finish 8th overall.

In the end, the J/70s were swept by the Italian armada.  The Italian crew on FREMITO D'ARJA dominated throughout, ahead of fellow countrymen aboard SPIN ONE and the HENRI LLOYD Dutch team.  The winners received the J/70 Class Challenge Trophy awarded by J/Boats Italy, which from now on will be awarding the best in this series at future Primo Cups.

We received a great report from Paolo Boido, Chief of J/Boats Italy:

"We made it! Thank goodness. The J/70s were getting ready for the first European regatta in Monaco, mooring at "Quai d'Honneur" at Yacht Club Monaco.  A total of seven teams have showed up for their first Primo Cup, it's a great honour for J/70 to be admitted at this prestigious event-- its attendance is generating a great interest for this lovely boat.  Four Italian Teams, one Dutch, one Russian and one representing the YC Monaco burgee, an amazing international attendance for such a new class.

Dario Levi with Andrea Casale from Quantum Italy playing tactician dominated all the races, winning the Credit Suisse Trophy and J/Boats Italy Challenge Trophy.  Second was Piero Saccomanni with Nevio Sabadin as trimmer and tactician.  Third was the Dutchman Wouter Kollmann, who was able to reach Monaco in a heavy snow storm across all of France!

The experienced Race Committee, with Thierry Leret Chairman, did a great job adjusting the sailing course according to frequent wind changes, from medium light up to strong blast over 30 knots in shifty conditions.  The J/70s put on a great show in all weather conditions, sailing fast in light with big left-over storm waves on Friday and on Saturday surfing/planing full speed at 15.0+ kts and with great stability with puffs over 30+ kts.

Boat handling has been perfect and easy in all conditions. All the teams sailed four-up. One of those was a family team, Vittorio di Mauro who sailed with Filippo Domenicali and his two kids 7 & 10 years old!! They were quite competitive even in heavy air; but most importantly, this team shows the great stability of the J/70 and how safe it is boat-handling even with two kids on board!!

It’s always a pleasure for boat designers and dealers to watch their owner's smile when they show happiness for their performances achieved with their boats. Here (pictured at right) Dario Levi’s smile showing his Velocitek displaying 17.8 kts reaching downwind in winds less than 20-23 kts!

Championat Monégasque 2013- The J/70 Fleet has been invited to sail again in Monaco, sailing March 16-17 for the YC Monaco Championship!  That is quite an honor for the new "baby J"! Therefore, in the next weeks J/Boats Italy will be offering demo sails of the J/70 in Monaco leading up to the up-coming event!

By the way, the new trailer design is working out quite nicely.  Balbi Rimorchi & J/Boats Italy engineered and set-up the new trailer Model BD-1500.  It's easy and light to tow with medium-size cars, this trailer is very stable thanks to the well proportioned body and wide axle. Independent suspension system and brakes.  A custom-made GRP front hull support with GRP flat supports aft allow easy hauling/launching from a ramp."  Thanks for Paolo's contribution.  For more J/70 Italy/ Monaco information, please contact Paolo at "jboats@jboats.it".

Finally, the Primo Cup- Credit Suisse has already been set for the 30th edition which will take place February 7-9, 2014. Significantly, the regatta will have both J/70s and J/24s and will be the IRC Mediterranean Championship.

In the meantime, the YCM will soon host from 8th to 10th March 2013, a new Team Racing event in J/24s as well as the J/24 European Championship, organized from the 6th to 12th October 2013.

Sailing photo credits- YCM/ Carlo Borlenghi.  For more Yacht Club Monaco and Primo Cup- Credit Suisse sailing information