(Paris, France)- It was truly a vintage year for the J/80 class in France. Strong turnouts at all major events. And, the total number of French teams participating in this year's Coupe de France J/80 exceeded all expectations- 189 boats sailed, up 17% from 2010! That's a remarkable performance given the economic and political times we live in today. To provide you some context, the International J/80 is by far the largest European circuit of one-design keelboats- larger than all other sportboats combined! And, it is the only national one-design keelboat circuit that has women's teams competing at the highest level of sailing in the sport- women's boats took three of the top ten in this year's circuit!

| 21 December 2011 | Read more J/80 Coupe de France sailing story | 

(Santander, Spain)- This year's "Mini-Worlds" (as El Mundialito refers to) held each fall in Santander, Spain almost always seems to live up to its billing, hosted by Federacion Cantabra de Vela. It is an event that attracts some of the top one-design/ keelboat talent in all of Spain. Who can argue with the turnout, thirty-one J/80s and about 140 crew, with some of Spain's best sailors in the mix-- J/80 World Champions, TP52 Champions, Olympic Champions and friends of the Martinez's (one of them, Iker Martinez, is now racing the Volvo 70 TELEFONICA in the Volvo Race), amongst others.

This year, Cantabria hosted a new edition of its traditional 'Mundialito' fleet that has been hosted for the last six years in the J/80 class- one of the the largest and highest quality International One-Design keelboats fleets worldwide. Top sailors are invited as "guests" to participate as both skippers and crew with the J/80 owners.

| 19 December 2011 | Read more J/80 El Mundialito sailing story | 

(Lanzarote, Canary Islands)- For a fleet of twenty-five boats, it's hard to beat some of the world's best J/80 sailors in the windy, wavy conditions you often see for even the evening beer can racing off the Canaries. Blessed with "super San Francisco" conditions- 15-30 knots, sunny, clear azure blue waters, it's hard not to like racing in these conditions, especially planing off the wind in clouds of spray.

| 17 December 2011 | For more J/80 Lanzarote Island Cup sailing information | 

(Middle Island, Hong Kong, China)- The J/80 class in Hong Kong were treated to "chamber of commerce" conditions-- sun and gorgeous 12-15 kt Easterlies- for the first J/80 Hong Kong Class Championship. Hosted by the gracious Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the highly competitive fifteen boat fleet were treated to some great racing over the first weekend in November sailing in the waters off Lamma Island.

The regular fleet racers we're pleasantly surprised to see three bullets of the four-race first day go to Tristan Stewart on JAVELIN, they were sailing in only their second regatta outing with the J/80 - well done guys! Other notable results for the day was a 1 and a 2 for Peter Backe on INVICTUS, a 2 in the first race for Rob Tanner on his new boat EPEKWIT'K and a third for Lucinda Ho on MOZZIE.

| 13 December 2011 | Read more J/80 Hong Kong Nationals here | 

(Santander, Spain)- Pichu Torcida and his championship crew on the J/80 ECC VIVIENDAS were proclaimed "El Maqueche", celebrating the overall win after winning the third and final race of the series. Second overall went to yet another J/80 World Champion, Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING and third overall was GO FIT sailed by Paul Santurde and David Madrazo. With two J/80 World Champions at the top of the fleet, the fleet of thirty J/80s knew they were going to be in a battle to be in the top positions.

| 07 December 2011 | Read more Santander El Maquche Regatta | 

(Grevelingenmeer, Belgium)- Last weekend the Benelux J/80 sailors were greeted by unseasonably warm, sunny weather like their British counterparts across La Manche (the Channel). In the the bright weather was some "bright sailing" by Team JALAPENO, sailed by Erik Scheeren. "Hot weather, hot boat", they played a dominant role all weekend. The first race marked the JALAPENO boys "thankful" streak as well-- after a failed start in race one, they chose the "other side" of the field and the race course, this decision ultimately resulted in a spectacular first place in race 1!

| 29 November 2011 | Read more J/80 Benelux Championship here | 

(Saint Cast, France)- The record fleet of seventy-four boats were treated to a superb weekend of sailing in the 2011 French J/80 Nationals, hosted in Saint Cast along the Bay of Biscay by Centre Nautique Saint Cast. The event also marked the "changing of the guard" amongst the leaders in the French fleet. Many of the top teams that had been dominating the standings all season long found themselves fighting for contention at the top of the fleet. A new leader emerged that probably surprised everyone in the fleet, the team of CO-PILOTES for YC Granville won sailed by the team of Benoit Charon, Christian Ponthieu, Gael Fichet and Olivier Camebourg. And, they won BIG! Twenty four points big after seven races!

| 23 November 2011 | Read more J/80 French Nationals news here | 

(Daya Gulf, Shenzhen, China)- Inaugurated in 2007, the China Cup International Regatta is the biggest boat sailing regatta held in China, approved by the General Administration of Sport of China. Each year, the regatta attracts over 80 teams from more than 20 countries, gaining wide attention from the sailing community and the international media. It's a unique event. It's aimed at building an international recognition that China is serious about developing the sport of sailing and, most importantly, in the long run China plans to popularize the sailing culture in China. With a steady and vigorous development program in place for the next 5-10 years (Chinese rarely think short-term), it's likely the China Cup and the sport of sailing will continue to grow rapidly in China!

| 21 November 2011 | Read more J/80 China Cup sailing information | 

(Xiamen, China)- Congratulations to Hudson Wang and his team at Hudson Yachts in Xiamen, China. This past week, the J/80 was awarded the "Best Sailboat (Under 40')" by the Chinese Sailing Federation for its role in expanding the sport of sailing in China. They were given this title because the J/80 has been the principal one-design selection and the largest fleet for the following events:

- China Cup in Shenzhen- the premier International sailing event in China
- China "Club Cup"- largest yacht/ sailing club event in China
- Asian Sailing Games- largest one-design keelboat class
- Taiwan Straits College Cup- largest college sailing regatta in China
- Taiwan Straits Cup- a challenge cup between China and Taiwan

| 20 November 2011 | Read more J/80 Best Sailboat Award | 

(Berlin, Germany)- Gorgeous autumn sailing conditions. Picturesque lake in one of Europe's most historically significant cities. Exciting match racing with some of the worlds best sailors on J/80s throwing the boats around the cans just a few feet from shore with thousands of screaming spectators cheering you on. Throw an Australian match racer into the den of wolves and hope he comes out alive? Maybe, maybe not.

This past weekend was one of the top match-racing tour events around the world. Coveted for many sailors for being an extremely well-run event, in a fabulous location with extraordinary hospitality. Supported by BMW Yachtsport, replete with some famous German Hollywood A-Listers, actresses, actors and sporting types.

With that as a backdrop at the BMW Sailing Facility on the "Wannsee", the "golden boy" sailing off into the golden autumn sun was none other than Australia's Keith Swinton! Perhaps the latest generation version of "the cardiac kids"! Keith's team beat Alvaro Morinho's team from Portugal by the skinniest of margins- just 3-2 in the finals. Germany's Markus Wieser won bronze, all sailing in front of nearly 5,000 spectators.

| 17 November 2011 | Read more J/80 BMW Match Race Cup | 

(Berlin, Germany)- In early October, the J/80 team called BERLIN ONE took the German BMW Sailing Cup Championship. This victory in the national final of the world's largest international regatta series for amateur also secured the team's invitation to the International Final in spring 2012, when BERLIN ONE will be up against the national winners from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Jantz and his crew on BERLIN ONE earned their ticket to the Germany Final by winning the regatta on the Lake Wannsee at the beginning of July. The event was organised by BMW Niederlassung Berlin, in cooperation with the 'Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee' sailing club.

"We experienced the fascination of competitive sailing at close hand, with excitement right down to the final race, and all against the unique backdrop of HafenCity. That is what makes amateur sport and the BMW Sailing Cup so special," said Magnus Wiese at the presentation ceremony, Chief of Events/ Tradeshows/ Sports Marketing for BMW Germany. Wiese and Oliver Kosanke, Chairman of the cooperating Muhlenberger Sailing Club, presented the prizes and congratulated all 14 teams.

| 15 November 2011 | Read more BMW Sailing Cup information | 

(Saint Cast, France)- Over seventy-one boats including three from England and one from Spain are ready to set sail in the 2011 French J/80 Nationals, hosted in Saint Cast along the Bay of Biscay by Centre Nautique Saint Cast.

What a fantastic success for the J/80 French Class! It's extraordinary to see so many competitors sailing the final regatta of the 2011 season, a four day event taking place in the beginning of November. From Thursday the 10th of November to the 13th of November, this armada expects to have a great event on the gorgeous Saint Cast Bay. This event also determines the final results of the French J/80 Fleet season series that started back in April with the famous Spi OUEST Regatta in La Trinite Sur Mer.

| 11 November 2011 | Read more French J/80 Nationals sailing information | 

(Miami, FL)- The J/80 Class in America has organized a Winter Tour 2012 for those J/80 owners that wish to take advantage of all the free Florida sunshine that's unencumbered by any winter blast from up North! This series will feature three race weekends spread out over a month and a half all taking place on Biscayne Bay, Florida. The races will include the following venues:

- Jan 15-25- J/80 Midwinters- Key West, FL- http://www.premiere-racing.com
- Feb 11-12- ’Valentines Cup"- Miami, FL- hosted by the US Sailing Center in Miami.
- Mar 8-10- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- http://miamisailingweek.com
- Mar 24-25- ’Biscayne Cup"- Miami, FL- http://www.j80.org/j80usa.php

The J/80 competitors will be able to arrange mast-up storage at either the US Sailing Center or the Shake-A-Leg Sailing Center. Details will be posted as they become available at http://www.j80.org/j80usa.php

| 10 November 2011 | Read more J/80 Winter Tour 2012 Sailing information | 

(Annapolis, MD) - This year's J/80 East Coasts were hosted by Eastport YC in Annapolis, MD. Ramzi, who was sailing the J/80 STACKED DECK, had this to report of the crazed weather and conditions that sailors faced this past weekend on the Chesapeake Bay:

"What an amazing weekend we had! We had windy, choppy and shifty weather on Friday but had solid racing... getting in four races! We knew that the weather would be questionable for Saturday so we did all we could to get in all we could with races starting at 10:30 and ending at 4-ish. We had a fun event Friday night with one of our sponsors hosting wings and beer. We decided to cancel for Saturday after our party Friday night when we learned that AYC had cancelled the J/105 regatta. We figured that if they were concerned... perhaps we should follow. Although the weather didn't get as awful as predicted... it was still pretty bad and the right decision.

| 08 November 2011 | Read more J80 East Championship | 

(Stockholm, Sweden)- It was in brilliant sunshine and winds of 4-6 metres/second for the last and final J/80 regatta of the year. A total of nine J/80's were on the starting line at 10am for the first start. What followed was a brisk tempo with short and quick races for everyone. Many boats were leading the various races with many changes at the top due to the premium put on not only boatspeed off the starting line but good boat-handling as well!

The winner was TEAM HAPPY with John Berg at the helm with 53 points.

| 25 October 2011 | Read more about J/80 Dynamant Cup in Sweden | 

(Flensburg, Germany)- Flensburg Sailing Club hosts the annual Flensburg Sailing Week every autumn and for the last few years has also hosted the FSC Deutsche Open for the J/80 class.

Over the three days in mid-September, sixteen J/80s managed to get in some great sailing with the weather, in general, cooperating nicely for the three days.

| 24 October 2011 | Read more about German J/80 Open | 

(Berlin, Germany)- What do Jochen Schumann, Markus Wieser, and Bjorn Hansen - the match race world elite have in common? They're guests competing in Wannsee on J/80s soon! These World class sailors will participate in the 20th edition of the Berlin Match Race, that was initiated by prominent members of both organizing clubs, Achim Kadelbach (VSaW) and Peter Barnikow (BYC).

Markus Wieser, multiple World, and European Champion is looking forward to challenging his adversary of last year in the finals, Bjrn Hansen from Sweden, who won the 19th Berlin Match Race and currently is 4th in the world ranking list. Mads Ebler, the Danish European match race champion in 2010, will also be fighting for every inch of the race. Undoubtedly the helmsmen William Tiller (New Zealand) and Keith Swinton (Australia) and their crews have had the longest journey to Berlin. Having travelled all the way around the world, returning empty handed is not an option for them. In the fight for the title Markus Wieser will be challenged by the top German sailor Jochen Schumann, twice winner of the Americas Cup and Olympic Games, who would also like to reclaim the victory and prize money (totaling about 20,000 Euro)! The race will be sailed on J 80 class boats from 2nd to 6th November.

| 20 October 2011 | Read more about BMW Berlin Match Race here | 

(Xiamen, China)- The China Club Challenge Match is the premier Chinese sailing event for Chinese sailors, with 34 teams from around this country of 1.0+ billion people battling it out for the right to challenge the 2010 trophy holder. It is run on the waters off Xiamen in Fujian Province, renowned for serving up good breezes every day, like clockwork, at this time of year.

The event is open to all sailors in China - including foreigners who live and work in the country. The China Club Challenge has earned a reputation in recent years for good winds, tight courses, fair, unbiased umpiring and rulings, and good tight racing in the "proper‘ spirit of sailing. Such is the good-natured spirit of the event that even defeated teams crossing the line a few boat lengths behind the victors have been seen spontaneously raising their hands in applause for the victor! Read more here: http://bit.ly/vGIS9j

| 15 October 2011 | Read more here on J/Sailing Blog |