J/111 FLEETWING Tops Verve Cup Sailing Regatta

(Chicago, IL)- Sponsored this year by AUDI Chicago and SLAM Weather Gear and hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, the Verve Cup Offshore regatta took place from August 9th to 11th along the magnificent Chicago city front on the azure blue waters of Lake Michigan.

Despite enormous challenges from the light air weather forecast for the entire weekend, the Chicago YC Race Management team managed to get in a full slate of races all three days on both circles- Course A to the north and Course B to the south.  Friday dawned sunny, clear but with little wind.  After a slow start compounded by a 3 hour postponement the RC ran three races in a light 5-9 kts southeast sea-breeze along the Chicago shoreline.  The prognostications for wind on Saturday were no better, with light northeaster of 5-9 kts filling in after another 2.5 hour postponement, enough for two more races.  Sunday again dawned with a gorgeous day and a "harbor hurricane" of 3-5 kts filling in from the northeast.  That breeze never filled out from the harbor, with yet another 2 hour postponement before the wind built as a sea-breeze from the ESE at 5-8 kts for two more races.

On Course A were the J/111s and J/109s (whom were also conducting their North Americans-- see above).  The nine J/111s that were sailing had most teams using the event as a "practice regatta" for their upcoming J/111 North Americans being held this coming week in Chicago.  Making the most of that opportunity was Henry Brauer's team on FLEETWING from Marblehead, MA, managing to avoid the big roller-coaster rides some other teams were experiencing from race to race to take the Verve Cup J/111 class with a 1-2-2-6-1-6-1 scoreline for 19 pts.  Starting slowly but ultimately learning the ropes around the course was Marty Roesch's team from Annapolis, MD, posting a 3-8-3-1-2-2-4 for 23 pts and securing the second spot on the podium.  Third was local hero Len Siegal from Chicago sailing yet another famous LUCKY DUBIE, managing a relatively consistent 5-6-1-3-4-3-6 for 28 pts.  The "Lucky Dubsters" just nipped out fellow rivals Paul Stahlberg from Milwaukee, WI sailing MENTAL into fourth with 29 pts.  Another Chicago boat took fifth, Bill Smith's WOOTON with a 34 pts total.
   Sailing photo credits- Barry Lively   For more Verve Cup Offshore Regatta sailing information

J/111 SEGLING Test

(Marstrand, Sweden)- Recently, the largest Swedish sailing magazine, SEGLING, published a full-on test/ review of the J/111 with a team of experienced sailors led by Curt Gelin.

As reported by Peter Gustafsson, owner of J/11 BLUR.SE, "We had the test team out on a windy day last August and managed to put some smiles on their faces! Curt wrote the book "700 Tested Sailboats" - and I've never read such a passionate review!! They loved the boat."

Some quotable quotes:
- "Do you love speed and have 2 million kronor left over. Then, the J/111 might be the boat for you."
- "The lines are swanky, the speed amazing, and control direct and distinct."
- "The long sprit was introduced by J/Boats on the J/105 in 1991 (the world's first modern sprit production boat) and it offers fabulous control. We managed to broach anyway, because we laughed too much and trimmed to little, when the boat thundered away at 15-16 knots of boat speed!"

Please read more about the J/111 SEGLING Test here.   And, you may have fun checking out the SEGLING J/111 YouTube sailing video here.

J/111 in Capetown Mid-Summer Fling!

(Capetown, South Africa)- While those north of the Equator are still fighting old Mother Winter, the intrepid sailors of Capetown are having a ball sailing in balmy breezes and slightly "cool" waters-- the stuff Great White Sharks love to swim in chasing yummy brown seals!  Yikes!  Even though the infamous Shark Island is just offshore with various Great Whites leaping 10-15 ft into the air while vying for their "aerial shark world chumping-ship", the sailors are blissfully ignorant about it and go their separate ways, planing down massively long slopes of fast-moving South Atlantic storm swells at a zillion miles per hour!

Having great fun in the Royal Cape YC's Mid-Summer Fling Regatta was the new J/111 TENACITY sailed by Erol Stern and Rob Meek.  With their magnificent "purple people eater" asymmetric spinnaker straining hard at the end of its dyneema "leash", the TENACITY gang certainly had their fair share of full-on screaming planes down the huge swells in the high teens!  In the end, their team managed to pull off a third overall in IRC Division I!  A bit off the pace but having just as much fun was the J/105 PANTS ON FIRE sailed by Dwayne Assis and Paul Thompson, managed a third in the final and extremely windy last race-- gusts over 30 kts!!

If you're ever down in the South African region, be sure to stop by the Royal Cape YC in the shadows of the enchanting Table Mountain.  The Club hosts important sailing events including South Africa's premier keelboat regattas. The Cape to Rio and South Atlantic Races have been hosted by Royal Cape Yacht Club since inception in 1971. Other international events have included the Whitbread Race, the BT Global Challenge, The BOC Around Alone Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Hong Kong Challenge, to name but a few. Down the centuries, the Southern tip of the African continent, has extended a welcome to seafarers, gaining for the city and the RCYC the soubriquet- "The Tavern of the Seas"!!  Sailing Photo Credits- Onne Vanderal.com.    For more Capetown Mid-Summer Fling sailing information

Lovin' J/111s @ Fall Boatshows

Jump on the Bandwagon and Have Some Fun!
(Newport, RI)- For the  past few months J/111s have demonstrated time and again that a great all-around design can succeed in a wide variety of weather conditions worldwide.  Plus, it's just as easy to sail as a couple double-handed or with a full crew!  Beer-can racing with a J/24 sized crew is, in fact, quite easy and a lot of fun!  Whether sailing off Sydney Heads, Australia, dueling off the coasts of France and England, flying down the coast of California and Baja, Mexico, enjoying the sparkling waters off Key West, or winning in the challenging racing on the Great Lakes or the Northeast, J/111s have brought lots of smiles and silverware to their lucky owners.

Even if you're just thinking about J/111s, take a trip down to one of these boatshows in the near future to see J/111s up-close and personal.  You'll begin to understand why current J/111 owners simply love their boats-  friends and family for daysails and beer-can racing, with standing headroom and a bathroom (!), but can go offshore with the "big boys" and make them pay!  Check them out at:

Sep 14-19- Grand Pavois Boatshow (J/111, J/108)- La Rochelle, France
Sep 15-18- Newport Boatshow (J/111, J/109, J/95)- Newport, RI
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
Oct 6-10- Annapolis Sailboat Show (J/111, J/108)- Annapolis, MD

  

Lovin' J/111s @ Fall Boatshows

Jump on the Bandwagon and Have Some Fun! 
(Newport, RI)- For the  past few months J/111s have demonstrated time and again that a great all-around design can succeed in a wide variety of weather conditions worldwide.  Plus, it's just as easy to sail as a couple double-handed or with a full crew!  Beer-can racing with a J/24 sized crew is, in fact, quite easy and a lot of fun!  Whether sailing off Sydney Heads, Australia, dueling off the coasts of France and England, flying down the coast of California and Baja, Mexico, enjoying the sparkling waters off Key West, or winning in the challenging racing on the Great Lakes or the Northeast, J/111s have brought miles of smiles and cases of silverware to their lucky owners.

Even if you're just thinking about J/111s, take a trip down to one of these boatshows in the near future to see J/111s up-close and personal.  You'll begin to understand why current J/111 owners simply love their boats-  friends and family for daysails and beer-can racing, with standing headroom and a bathroom (!), but can go offshore with the "big boys" and make them pay!  Check them out at:

Sep 14-19- Grand Pavois Boatshow (J/111, J/108)- La Rochelle, France
Sep 15-18- Newport Boatshow (J/111, J/109, J/95)- Newport, RI
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
Oct 6-10- Annapolis Sailboat Show (J/111, J/108)- Annapolis, MD 

    

J/111 and J/108 Florida Debut

SAIL Key West Reception
(Key West, FL)- Come on down and take a peek at two of the latest 35+ footers to debut in the J stable of fun, fast, easy-to-sail boats.  SAIL Magazine, in concert with its industry partners NORTH SAILS and HARKEN, are hosting a reception for sailors interested in taking a closer look at the J/111.  You also get a chance to meet and chat with the SAIL Best Around Buoys winners, Jim Sminchak and crew from Cleveland, OH.  The event will be held on Saturday, January 15th at 5:00 pm at the Galleon Resort Marina- free beer, wine and munchies!

The SAIL Best Around Buoys 111, KONTIKI V, has arrived in Miami, FL (photo above) and is heading down to Key West to be sailed by Jim's Cleveland J/105 "Team it".  The electric royal blue and candy red color scheme look spectacular on the water.  With North Sails latest carbon wardrobe with brilliant candy apple red spinnakers and Harken's latest sailing equipment, the 111 will turn heads anywhere it goes.

In addition to the 111, CrossCurrent Marine's Craig Crossley will feature J's newest shoal-draft performance cruiser- the J/108 along with its siblings, the J/95s that were introduced in 2009.  It's all happening down at the Galleon Resort Marina in Key West.  Please join us.  For more information please call J/Boats at ph- 401-846-8410 or email info@jboats.com.  More J/111 sailboat information is here.  And, J/108 shoal-draft performance sailboat information can be found here.

  

J/111 Speedster Update

HOT and Getting Hotter

(Bristol, RI)- The J/111 first hull is molding and the deck plug is complete.  The project is on track for sailing in June. Interest continues to grow, with two dozen orders from Europe, New Zealand, America and China.  Perhaps more importantly, some of the key specifications have been determined to provide state-of-the-art performance and affordable racing for a grand prix one-design class. The J/111 will sport a carbon pre-preg Hall Spar.  The spar design and tube section make use of Hall Spars leading carbon technology-- it  promises a rig that is both stronger and lighter than comparable carbon rigs.  For superior lift, low VCG and maximum righting moment, the J/111 has a vertical L-shaped bulb keel comprised of a 316L formed stainless steel fin and an antimony-reinforced bulb attached to the hull with a broad SS flange.  The deck plan is ultra-simplistic for maximum ease-of-use for a crew of just six people.  The large 60" wheel affords superior visibility of wind, waves and the leading edge of the jib.  The interior for the American market has simple cruising accommodations, a functional galley and navigation station.  For more J/111 one-design sailboat information.