NEW! J/80 Winter Tour 2012
(Miami, FL)- The J/80 Class 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
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.

For details contact Curt Johnson (cjohnson@rpa.com)

| 03 November 2011 | 

J/80s join 2012 BACARDI MIAMI SAILING WEEK
The J/80 class has decided to add the 2012 BACARDI MIAMI SAILING WEEK in March of next year to the class calendar. The organizers have extended a warm welcome to the class and are looking forward to having us at their event. This is a perfect extension of the winter season in warmer waters.

Stay tuned for more detailed announcements of a 2010 J/80 Winter Tour soon. For details contact Curt Johnson (cjohnson@rpa.com).

| 31 October 2011 | 2012 BACARDI MIAMI SAILING WEEK | 

Church Key wins wintery East Coast Championships in Annapolis
Here is a report from Chris Chadwick, Skipper/owner of Church Key:

If anyone has seen Church Key, you'll know what I mean when I say she doesn't look all that special. She's hull number 59. She's a little beat up, with outdated blocks and parts, many of which we have scavenged from discards of other boats (we actually took smaller parts off of bigger broken things, like masts, to stay sailing at the worlds!). As a military family with 3 children (all of which sail, too), resources are tight. As a result, the old girl doesnt get much love, but we do the best we can. Kerry Klingler, a longtime friend and the Quantum Sails J Boat guru helps us out as best he can, often selling "lightly" used sails to keep us on the water (our race main is the sail Terry Flyn used in last year's World's). This year we were fortunate to hook up with Sail 22 for rigging sponsorship, providing much needed new halyards and sheets! (Becky and Ed are the best!!)

Well, back to Church KeyAs I said, shes not the prettiest girl at the dance, but she gets the job done (sort of like a German Sausage maker) and she is loved by her family

So after a whirlwind summer experiencing moderate success traveling around the Northeast, the old girl made it home in time for the 2011 J80 East Coast Championships at Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis 28-30 October. We finalized the crew for the event only 2 weeks prior at the Annapolis Boat Show. Tom Murray, my constant on the boat was set to trim jib. Ed and Becky Furry, owners of Sail 22, were going to be in town, and they never get to sail together, so the offer of teaming up on the boat was too good to pass up, so Ed trimmed Spinnaker and called the upwind shots, and Becky called wind, boats and generally attempted to keep me at least moderately in check during an incredibly shifty regatta.

The forecast for the weekend was sketchy. Friday would be chilly, with a nice breeze from the Northeast that would slowly diminish. Saturday we were to be besieged by an early winter Noreasterand then Sunday was just cold, with even shiftier conditions from the Northwest.

The first day of sailing was intense. Firebolt, owned by Bill Hunt, sailed a great first day. Through four races they ended the day in first with 11 points. Will Crump, sailing on Jeffs Boat and our crew on Church Key were right on Firebolts heels in a point tie for second (Will was winning the tie breaker) at 13 points. John White was 5 points back sitting in 4th. At the end of the day, we took a good look at the impending storm and made the smart decision to postpone sailing for Saturday. Seeing the weather that hit, this was an incredibly smart call!!

The last day of sailing started with freezing temperatures and shifty winds. We got out to the racecourse and commenced race 1 of the day. We went for the boat end at the start and were given the opportunity to push Jeffs Boat over the line. Though not our greatest race, we scored a 5, better than the 2 boats in front of us going into the day. Suddenly we were sitting 2 points in first, and John White had moved into the second position. The second race we launched. Ed and Becky kept us in the wind and Tom did a great job on the jib to keep us driving through increasingly shifty conditions. By the end of the second leg, we had a nice lead and played cover for the remainder of the race. The 3rd continued with the consistency. The wheels stayed on and we were able to work the shifts nicely. We finished with a 2nd. At this point the wind had shifted drastically. The Race Committee attempted to shift the course and get 1 last race off. A fourth race was started, but the shifts were so drastic that the committee decided to abandon the race and call it a day. We had won the regatta with a solid 10 point lead!!!

As we all know, the driver is just the idiot in the back of the boat trying not to screw it up! All credit for the win goes to Tom Murray, who is always there for me on Church Key, and to Ed and Becky Furry, whose support for our family program on and off the water has been truly a blessing. And without the joy of sailing against such a tight group of friends that is the J80 class, what would be the point?

And, as always, my love and thanks to Liz, Riley, Madeline and Hadley, the 4 other women in my life

See ya on the water soon!!!

Chris Chadwick
USA 59
Church Key

| 31 October 2011 | Final Results | 

Crash between ESP 880 (Bancaja) and ESP 886

| 07 October 2011 | Watch the Video on YouTube | 

2011 North American Championships - PICTURES
Here are links to photo albums posted of the event. Enjoy:

http://www.photoboatgallery.net/f512558289
http://j80nationals2011larchmontyc.shutterfly.com/
http://tinyurl.com/2011J80NAs
http://tinyurl.com/j80nas

| 03 October 2011 | 

Glenn Darden new North American Champion
After a total of 11 races LE TIGRE, sailed by the Glen Darden / Reese Hillard team from Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX won the 2011 North American Championships.
The last day was challenging with shifting winds which nearly died right around the starting time, but filled in with up to 20 knots from the south to allow for 2 amazing races. Les Beckwith's team on FKA won two bullets and finished only 11 points behind LE TIGRE overall followed by Kerry Klingler on USA 352 in third.
The event was a great success thanks to the perfect organization by Kerry Klingler as the Regatta Chairman, the amazing race committee and the help of Larchmont Yacht Club which extended a warm welcome to all participants and provided a great venue for the races and the after race parties. A big THANK YOU to you all from the sailors and the whole J/80 class.

| 02 October 2011 | Final Results | 

Second Day of NAs
Today we had 4 great races with northerly winds around 12-15 knots. After a total of 9 races LE TIGRE is leading over USA 253 by 18 points, followed by TIAMO and ANGRY CHAMELEON.

Check out the website of photoboat.com for great pictures of the day.

| 01 October 2011 | Results | 

Glenn Darden leads after first day of J/80 NAs in Larchmont
The racing was dominated by two boats that are on top of the fleet. (Larchmont, NY)- The fleet of J/80s racing their 2011 North Americans in Larchmont, NY were greeted with spectacular sailing conditions on their first day of racing. According to Regatta Chairman, Kerry Klingler, "racing toady at Larchmont Yacht Club was great". They had perfect conditions to get the racing off. A nice sunny day, winds out of the southwest, from 8 to 15 knots with gusts in the 20s. The racing was dominated by two boats that are on top of the fleet. LE TIGRE, sailed by the Glen Darden / Reese Hillard team from Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX, and FKA sailed by the Les Beckwith team. Both boats showed consistency and the ability to edge out the competition in close racing. They also showed great tactics to be able to bounce back in races when they were down in the fleet. In third place ANGRY CHAMELEON, sailed by the Robinson team, raced consistently to hang in the top three. The top five was rounded out by Kerry Klingler on USA 352 and Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO, who are currently tied for fourth place.

| 30 September 2011 | 

28 boats decent on Larchmont Yacht Club for the NAs
It's this time of the year again - North American Championships. This year at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York. Racing will start tomorrow so today was all about getting 28 boats registered, crew weighed, equipment checked (no - nothing will escape Liz's eyes), fix what's wrong, spend money at the Layline truck for last minute equipment and then launch. Two rainstorms, one light and one torrential passed through and put everything on hold for an hour each.

But at the end all the boats made it into the water, some did an initial sail and at 7pm crews met for welcome snacks and drinks sponsored by McMichaels Boatyard and J-boats.

Crews went home early to catch some sleep before tomorrow's predicted winds gusting up to 20kts.

Come back tomorrow evening for more news ...

| 29 September 2011 | Regatta information | 

GOOSE wins Long Island Sound Championships
This year Fleet 17 hosted the Long Island Sound Championships the weekend before the 2011 NAs in NY. We sailed as part of the American Yacht Club Fall Series, which typically is blessed with LOTS of wind. This year was different. After a thrilling first race during which Tim Pitts on PORTSMOUTH PRINCESS lead around the first mark but was overtaken last minute by Chris Bulger and his crew of GOOSE to take first in the first - and as it turned out only - race. We waited for another hour for the wind to come back and returned the next day for swimming and floating around the starting line. Unfortunately we only scored that one first race. Next year the LIS Championships will be a series of race, but for 2011: Congratulations to Chris and the crew of GOOSE who are the first Fleet 17 Long Island Sound Champions.

| 28 September 2011 | 

Angry Chameleon wins at Lake Winnipesaukee
Congratulations to Kristen and Brian Robinson and their crew on Angry Chameleon for winning the J-Jamboree last weekend. It was a great event with 5 races in 8-15kts on Saturday and one race on Sunday. The RC was shooting for 2 or 3 races on Sunday but the breeze swung a ton and then shut down. Overall it was tight racing but Angry Chameleon clearly had a gear that the rest of the competitors could not find. In classic J80 fashion the crews had a lot of fun hanging out with competitors, race management, and other volunteers at an informal gathering on Friday night as well as our Saturday night party.
On a side note, the crew of the J109 Caminos who is shooting for the J109 NA title this fall in Annapolis is particularly psyched that the 3 boats who have crew who regularly sail on Caminos went 1,2,3 at the J-Jamboree! Brian Robinson usually trims main, Kristen does bow, the Caminos tactician Conor Hayes in 2nd on Gostosa. In 3rd was Ryan, Caminos's driver and Tina, the best squirrel in the 109 class. Good luck at the J109 NAs!

| 13 September 2011 | Final Results | 

Fleet 17 races in Leukemia Cup at Larchmont
Past weekend a fleet of 5 J/80s joined the first ever Leukemia Cup at Larchmont, a perfect tune-up for the upcoming North Americans at the same location. Winds between 8-15kts and sunshine made for maybe the best racing on the Long Island Sound this summer. On day one the fleet was sent on an unusual 5 mile windward-leeward course with KiaOra leading at the rounding mark but Juggernaut winning after choosing the Connecticut side for the downwind leg which proved to have more wind. After a spectacular dinner party with silent auction and speeches of dignitaries like Gary Jobson, the second day started strong with an Easterly blowing at 15 kts. KiaOra was first at the mark but after touching it was passed by 3 boats before completing the penalties. Juggernaut and Courageous dueled for first around the rest of the course with Juggernaut winning with only a slim margin. In the last race of the day Mark and Caroline Honorowski who have just bought USA 1001 (now Callisto) from Kerry were caught on the good side of a 100 degree wind shift and won the race. Overall first went to Juggernaut followed by Courageous winning a tie for second over KiaOra.
It was a great event for a good cause and showed that the J/80 class is growing on the Long Island Sound.

| 12 September 2011 | Larchmont Leukemia Cup | 

Reminder - Early Sign-up for NAs extended to 16th
BREAKING NEWS - you can now sign up for the North American Championships in Larchmont this fall until Sept 16th without paying the late fee of $75. Sign-up now and join us for a great event.

| 07 September 2011 | Sign up here | 

2011 North American Championships in Larchmont
By now the first signs of fall are visible and we finally also have wind again on the Long Island Sound. Therefore it's time to register for the 2011 North American Championships which will be held at Larchmont Yacht Club from September 28 to October 2nd.

Fleet 17 (Western Long Island Sound) is also inviting all of you to a pre-NA tune up regatta the weekend before. We are sailing the open Long Island Sound Championship as part of one of the biggest annual regattas on the Long Island Sound, the American Yacht Club Fall Series. American Yacht Club is about 4 miles from Larchmont and the race area is practically the same on both weekends. This is the perfect opportunity to already set up your boat and familiarize yourself with the area. You can then leave your boat rigged either at the local J-boats dealer McMichaels (www.mcmichaelyachtbrokers.com) or at Larchmont Yacht Club.

So sign up for both events on Yachtscoring:

NAs:
www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=473

LIS Chamionships:
www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=447

| 17 August 2011 | Registered boats | 

Buzzards Bay Regatta, a Church Key Tale!
As we all know, getting to a regatta and organizing your gear, in addition to boat preparations, are always part of a successful regattausually
However, due to the insanity of life, parenthood and job expectations, these preparations tend to suffer. They arent quite as important as that last hug from your daughter on the way out the door! This is usually the case with Church Key. As a government employee who is married with 3 daughters, we usually make do with everyones leftovers/ discards, routinely putting the boat back together on the way out to the course for the first race. So, on to Buzzards
The regatta actually started for us 2 days prior when half the crew bailed because of sudden work issues and personal injury (dont put your foot between a boat and a dock again, Jeff!!!) I had my bowman all set in longtime crew and friend, T-Muff. So the scramble beganLuckily I caught Kerry Klingler at a moment of weakness (one Im sure he regrets!) So with a tactician/trimmer secured I was able to round out the team with our Class Treasurer and friend, Kristen Robinson. And off to New Bedford we went.
Things went fine for us until we were ready to head out to the race course, when our bowman, Tom, decided to burn the ends of our turnbuckle tie downs. Shortly after this, Kerry asked if anyone smelled smoke. Thats when we noticed we had about 4 different fires going on the boat! After we resolved this minor situation, we continued on to the race course, slightly singed (the burns are healing nicely). We continued to annoy Kerry throughout the weekend with similar escapades; sailing with us is akin to being stuck in a funhouse!
All this and we havent even started a race!
Well, first race went off, with a few hitches, of course. The wind was less than cooperative and eventually did a 180 by the finish. We went from 2nd at the windward mark to last at the leeward mark to 4th at the windward to eventually finishing 2nd. We were fortunate as the frustration factor for all boats was palpable!! Once the wind settled in from the South, we had 2 more races, one of them punctuated by skying the spinnaker halyard on the last downwind run. Luckily we were able to drop the jib, rehoist on the jib halyard, and salvage a 6th. We ended the day with another 2nd! After the first day of sailing, Bruno and his TIAMO team were in first, and there was a 3 way tie for 2nd between Chip Johns on Cavitica, Brian Keane on Savasana and Church Key. Great competition!!!
The second day of sailing went off much better. We had solid breeze and sailed well, posting a 4, 5, 2, 1, 1 in 5 races to move solidly into second place , closing the gap on Bruno.
On the final day we were greeted by big breeze and rainy skies. The small boats were kept in, and we were moved closer to the seawall. It took a long time to get the first race off because the pin and committee boat kept dragging anchor. Once the race started, the wind had increased to 22-25 knots. We had a tight group at the windward mark, popped the kites, and watched the show! Carnage everywhere!!! Couple things here; dont overshoot the layline in breeze and dont turn the boat too far up, just sayin we were able to get to the leeward mark in 3rd, and the next lap was status quo. Fun rides downwind, for sure, but as we all know, upwind in breeze is a slow slog! After we finished, a consensus was reached by the top 4 boats to head in and not risk damage in the building breeze. We had closed the gap to within 1 point of first, and Chip had closed with us by a point, winning that race, but sometime we do make good decisions, though its never easy to say enough!
Final results for the regatta were: Bruno Pasquinelli on Tiamo in 1st, Church Key 2nd, and Chip Johns on Cavitica in 3rd.
And, as always, the best part of traveling is getting to see our friends from the different boats! Thanks, everyone for the camaraderie on and off the water; this truly is a special class! And thanks to Chip for allowing the Church Key Team to crash at his house for the weekend!

Thats it for now! See everyone up in New Hampshire at J Jamboree next month!!!
Cheers,
Chris Chadwick
USA 59 Church Key

Photos by Spectrum Photo (www.spectrumphotofg.com)

| 11 August 2011 | Final Results | 

CRAZY IVAN Wins J/80 Northwests
(Anacortes, WA- June 11)- This international contest was attended by four boats from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, two boats from the Seattle Sailing Club, one boat from Idaho, and two more boats from the San Juan Islands.

Mike Brewis, fleet captain, enjoyed playing host on foreign shores at the Windermere Regatta hosted by the Anacortes Yacht Club. The first day saw a 2 hour delay due to a lack of wind, but racing got underway with all nine J/80s on the line a first in the Northwest! The first days racing was won by Don Sargent on EXCITABLE taking two bullets in close competition. The Canadians held all of the four top spots after the days racing!

J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing Pacific Northwests off Anacortes, WASunday saw the return of the owner/skipper Chris White on CRAZY IVAN who had attended his sons graduation the day before. He stepped aboard and went 1-2-1 on Sunday to retain his trophy for the second year. Dunnery Best on SHEVA and Don Sargent on EXCITABLE took second and thirds, respectively.

Mike Brewis on SWISH and the other Canadian boat, Tara Smiths JOY RIDE, took the next two spots. The rest of the fleet included William McKinnon on the oldest J/80, SKYE ROCKET, hull #1, Joe Cline on TAJ MAHAL and Michael Sawyer on FEARFUL SYMMETRY both from the Seattle Sailing Club, and Jerry Judd on GO FISH from North Idaho.

Thanks go to Jerry Judd for hosting a great welcoming party, Mike Brewis for taking care of fleet captain duties, and Chris White for working with the Anacortes Yacht Club and their race committees. Contributed by William McKinnon on SKYE ROCKET.

| 22 July 2011 | From J News & Updates | 

The Newport Regatta Report - Jeff Johnstone schools the fleet in close racing
Warm sunny weather and light airs caused postponements on both days of racing during the annual Newport (Rhode Island) Regatta July 9th and 10th. Jeff Johnstone and his team on Little Feat gave the rest of the J/80 fleet at a lesson on sailing the boat, finishing with three firsts and a second in the four-races. The big thing we noticed with the conditions on Sunday is that the best breeze seemed to be right up the middle of the course, he said. So we always tried to take it back into the middle with pressure, and nearly every time we did, we had more wind than the guys we tacked away from who extended more into the corner. We also got really fortunate in two key situations when the converging Swan 42 fleet picket-fenced the race leader (Church Key) in one race, and Goose in another.


Race committee chairman Tom Duggan, who ran our Worlds last year, said Saturday was a pain in the ass--but Sunday was really fun. He and his team only got one race off in light sloppy conditions on Saturday, as the famous Newport sea breeze failed to fill in solidly. Conditions stabilized on Sunday and, after a short wait, the puffy clouds formed over Providence, and the sea breeze filled in nicely. The fleet sailed in 12 knots from the southwest by the end of racing, which allowed the R/C to finish three good four-mile races.


Gary Kamins sailed Fired Up to second place with 18 points, in third was Andy Burton on Gromit with 19 points. The fleet experienced very tight racing with lots of positions lost and gained throughout and only 5 points separating the 2nd- and 8th-place boats.
- Andy Burton

| 11 July 2011 | Final Results | 

In depth report from J/80 worlds from J/news
Camino Wins, Spanish Sweep J/80 Worlds

Posted: 09 Jul 2011 01:27 PM PDT
Ignacio Camino- NEXTEL Team Wins!
(Copenhagen, Denmark- July 8th)- As one of the world's leading one-design keelboat classes, this year's J/80 World Championships did not disappoint. With sixty-eight competitors participating in a world-class regatta sailed by some of the top sailors in the world, most sailors expected the top Europeans to factor in amongst the leaders. With multiple Olympic and World Champions participating as skippers or tacticians and the best sailors from Spain sailing as a team, too, it was also expected the Spanish teams would be amongst the leaders at the end of the regatta. In fact, the script for this "movie" played out nearly the same as it has in past worlds- perhaps it could've been called "Los Tres Amigos y Su Hermano Canarino!".

The last day racing dawned with grey skies, easterly winds of 10 knots and rain pouring down in Dragor, but that was not going to stop the Royal Danish YC's PRO from pressing forward to complete yet another challenging World Championship. One where the actors were nearly the same as in the past four championships, but with roles swapping as to the new "cinderella story" and who would be the "new sheriff in town" for 2011.

After four days and nine races of excellent sailing in conditions that saw light to moderate winds for the entire event, it was clear the Spanish sailors are not only fast in a big breeze and big waves, they're also quite fast and smart in shifty, wind streak, "drag race-type" sailing conditions on the Baltic Sea where the winds never exceeded 12 knots! Showing their extraordinary versatility was the new sheriff, World Champion for 2011, Ignacio Camino's team sailing their renown NEXTEL ENGINEERING to a very well deserved win over some extremely tough competition. Ignacio and crew only had to get to good top 10 finishes on the last day to win, finishing with a 4-6 to win his second J/80 World Championship, the second Spanish sailor in a row to do so (countryman Pichu Torcida won the 2010 J/80 Worlds in Newport, RI in epic conditions). They finished with a total score of 34 points to win by 10 points over the second place boat.

Jose Maria, son & crew- 2nd!
The Cinderella story of this year's Worlds has to be the remarkable comeback of Jose Maria van deer Ploeg sailing his boat GREAT SAILNG. Jose started off the series on the first day barely in the top 20 with a 27-17-11, disappointing to say the least. Thereafter, from day two to day four, Jose's team (including his young son) simply smoked the fleet! Perhaps, near total domination and a "schooling" of the fleet may be a better perspective regards how well Jose's team sailed the last six races. How about a scoreline against Olympic medallists and World Champs in multiple classes that would be the envy of any team sailing in Dragor-- a 5-1-5-2-2-1 to finish with 44 points and win a tie-breaker with another Spanish team-mate Carlos Martinez (himself a former World Champion). Proof that "family teams" can be competitive at a world-class level in one of the world's premiere one-design keelboats!

Third in the Spanish sweep of the podium was Carlos Martinez racing MAPFRE with his very strong, well-practiced team. Carlos' team was yet another Spanish team that raced up the ladder after a disastrous first day, starting with a 3-26-4, to then finish off the series with an average of 6th place to finish with 44 points and lose the tie-breaker to Jose Maria!

Fourth yet another Spanish J/80 World Champion, Rayco Tabares and crew on HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA GRAND CANARIAS, the same boat he's raced for years. Amongst the top five, it was apparent that Rayco was the most despondent after the first day's racing- starting off with a disastrous 4-9-52. Nevertheless, Rayco has proven to be a strong, indomitable competitor, and his "never say die" attitude serves him well (perhaps the original "Canarino Feroce"). Rayco's team confidently bounced back to be the only team to score back-to-back 1st places in races 7 & 8 to jump higher than most kangaroos and finish with 53 points. In fact, had Rayco pulled off a miracle and finished in the top three in the last race, he would've finished 2nd overall!

Perhaps the "hard luck" award has to go to American Glenn Darden, yet another J/80 World Champion, sailing with his veteran team aboard LE TIGRE. After starting off strongly to lead the regatta for the first two days, a lapse in race 7 on the third day was too much for them to absorb to stay in contention for the top three. Now having to count both an 18th and 15th, Glenn's team nevertheless showed the rest of the world the LE TIGRE team is a class act and is never to be counted out in the final results. After getting the second best record of the final day behind Jose Maria's 2-1, LE TIGRE's 5-2 bounced them back up the ladder to fifth place overall with 56 points.

If Glenn's LE TIGRE team fell on some hard luck in some races, so too the same can be said for Sweden's Ingemar Sundstedt SWE 243. Sundstedt was lying second going into the last day with a very good chance of being the first Swedish team to win the J/80 Worlds, especially since their worst race up to the last day was a 14th and their average finish was about 6th place, the most consistent team on the race course for the first three days! However, the first race of the last day erased all chances of that happening, finishing with a 27th, then followed by a 7th in the last race to end the regatta with 58 points and finish 6th overall.

Eric Brezellec- French Team IC2
Finally, mention should be made of the very strong showing by the top French teams, Eric Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2, the current French J/80 National Champion, finishing 7th and Jean Charles Moriceau finishing 8th! Furthermore, it was also the first time the German teams showed both good boat-speed and good tactics, getting the next four places in the standings! German teams finished 9th- Sven Vagt's GER 1027, 10th- Martin Menzner's GER 614 (a regatta leader on Day One), 11th- Bjorn Beilken's GER 1107 and 12th- Malte Christoperhson's GER 745. Top Danish team from the host country was Jesper Kragh Jespersen's DEN 850 in 13th, the top Italian team was Massimo Rama's EXTREME SAILING TEAM beating fellow Italian Aldo Samele's CANARINO FEROCE 2 by a HALF point! The top Russian team was Vitaliy Tarakanov RUS 999 in 29th, top British team was Tom Phipps' HAMBLE YACHT SERVICES in 32nd, top Polish team was Pawel Boksa's POL 1187 in 39th, top Netherlands team was Laura Vroon's NED 831 in 36th, top Estonian team was Peeter Meressaar's EST 603 in 56th and top Finnish team was Otto Reittila FIN 1144 in 64th.

Spanish "Tres Amigos" Sweep Worlds
In the final analysis, the racing was extraordinarily close going into the last day, as has been the case for at least the past four J/80 World Championships. Excellent world-class sailing by the top fifteen, at least. What was interesting was to see the depth of the teams that could pull off a top three finish during the course of the regatta, particularly in conditions where hitting corners often did NOT pay-off. The top three podium finishes only accounted for 8 top three finishes (of a potential 27 possible!) and only four 1st places (just 44% of the 9 races!). That's stunning fleet depth. Moreover, the only teams that could get two first places in the series were the winner, Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL ENGINEERING and Rayco Tabares' HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA GRAND CANARIAS. The lowest placing race winner (race #4) was Frenchman Luc Nadal who finished 24th; lowest place 2nd (race #5) was the Danish/American team of GULDFAXE (Tom Klok, Will/Marie Crump and Will Welles) in 17th overall. Lowest place 3rd (race #2) was Italian Naval Academy Sailing Team's Giorgio Guzzi who finished 37th. There are few, if any, international one-design keelboat/ sportboat classes of any kind that can demonstrate that kind of fleet depth and ability to sail a boat fast enough, easily enough to fire one into the top three in any given race! That's cool. Moreover, a "family boat", finished second overall- the father/son team aboard Jose Maria van deer Ploeg's GREAT SAILING-- that's even cooler.

The two women's teams faired well considering the depth of the competition, the best was Denmark's TEAM MALTESERS ("The Sweeter Side of Sailing"), Gritt Bjornshave's five women team on DEN 1176 getting three finishes in the 20s and finishing 43rd overall.


Sailing Photo credits: Peter Sogaard Photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/petersogaardphoto2

For more J/80 Worlds sailing information
http://worlds.kdy.dk/index.php4

Report published on J/News

| 11 July 2011 | J/News article | 

Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL new J/80 World Champion
The 4th day of the 2011 worlds in Denmark started with pouring rain but wind around 10 knots from the East. Two more races were sailed today after which the final results showed the strength of the Spanish Armada again:
1st ESP 899 IGNACIO CAMINO
2nd ESP 1340 Jose Maria van der Ploeg
3rd ESP 977 Carlos Martinez
4th ESP 783 RAYCO TABARES LVAREZ
5th USA 1152 Glenn Darden

| 08 July 2011 | Final Results | 

J/80 fleet waiting for wind on Day 3 of the 2011 J/80 worlds
After another slow start another 2 races have been finished in Dragr. The boats are on the way to the harbor after a long day on the water. After a total of 7 races the leaderboard has changed. ESP 899 with Ignacio Camino at the helm is now in front with another Spanish yachtsman in ESP 977 Carlos Martinez right behind. Third place is taken over by SWE 243 Ingemar Sundstedt and former World Champion Rayco Tabares is in 4th place. With the Spanish Armada coming up to speed, yesterdays leader USA 1152 Glen Darden is now in 7th place and Thomas Klok's Guldfaxe (NYYC) has slipped to 18th place again.

| 07 July 2011 | J/80 Worlds 2011 | 

2011 J/80 Worlds - Day 2: Le Tigre leading the pack
Day 2 of the 2011 J/80 worlds started with light air and harbor postponement. But ultimately the wind filled in and the teams were able to get 2 more races in. Glen Darden's LE TIGRE is still leading the field after an 18th and a 4th place today.
GULDFAXE from the NYYC was able to secure a 16th and a 2nd which adds up to a 14th overall.

| 06 July 2011 | Link to all pictures of Day 2 | 

Glen Darden leads after first day of J/80 Worlds in Denmark
Glen Darden's Le Tigre was able to win the first day of the 2011 J/80 Worlds with a 2nd and two 5th places in the first 3 races. Thomas Klok from the Royal Danish Yacht Club and the NYYC had a slow start with a 42nd place in the 67 boat fleet but then recovered and ended the day in 24th overall.
It looks like the winds were too light this morning to get a start in, but around 3p a light breeze began to fill in.

| 06 July 2011 | Results of day 1 | 

Video form the practice day at the 2011 J/80 Worlds in Denmark

| 05 July 2011 | Watch the Video on YouTube | 

Interesting new event for J/80s in the Newport area
West Passage Regatta

The West Passage Regatta at Wickford Yacht Club on July 23-24, 2011 should be your next stop after The Newport Regatta on July 9-10. Regatta co-sponsor Brewer Wickford Cove Marina will provide half-price haul-out, dry storage and relaunching for those wishing to keep their boats there after Newport.

West Passage was created by the J/105 fleet in 2010 and many said it was their best regatta of the year, with 4 races each day run on reasonably short courses in West Passage near Quonset Point, quite close to the launching area. With little waiting in between races, this was an ideal set-up. J/80s are now invited to have their own start. Samson Rope, West Marine, Waterline Systems, will award thousands of dollars of running rigging and marine gear so this an exciting addition to the J/80 season.

For more info contact Regatta Chairman Skip Whyte skip@1stplacesailing.com 401-481-2997 or Larry Colantuono Brewers Wickford Cove LColantuono@byy.com 401-884-7014 or J/105 Fleet Rep Bruce Stone bruce@brucestone.com 917-822-4060 cellular

| 03 July 2011 | Event Webpage | 

Team nuhunu wins Kent/Golison Family Trophy at Long Beach Race Week
Steve Wyman with daughters, Dana and Sarah won the Kent/Golison Family Trophy for the top scoring boat crewed by at least three immediate family members at the 140-boat Long Beach Race Week. Team nuhunu sailed well to take second in the J/80 class with 18 points in the seven-race regatta.
Curt Johnson and the crew of "Avet" won the J/80 class with Dan Gribble and Kurt Weise sailing "Monkey Shoulder" rounding out the top three. Most of the regatta was sailed in unusually light (4-9 kts) and shifty conditions. The fleet was rewarded, however, with one day of the 14-18 kt. sea-breeze that Long Beach is known for.
The next stop in the Southern California J/80 Circuit is the Cabrillo Yacht Club Sportboat Regatta July 9-10.

| 27 June 2011 | Results | 

J/80 crews (nearly) rule at Block Island Race Week
Last week more than a thousand sailors came to Block Island (RI) for the Storm Trysail Club 2011 Block Island Race Week XXIV presented by Rolex. While John Storck's RUMOR was the only J/80 in the fleet (and won the PHRF 4 class), many more familiar faces from the J/80 fleet sailed on various boats, mainly J109s, this year.

Congratulations for a 2nd place in the J/109 class to the crew of the CAMINOS (picture) which was sailed by Ryan Dempsey and Tina Filippelli (both J/80 GALLANT FOX), Kristen and Brian Robinson (J/80 ANGRY CHAMELEON) and Conor Hayes (J/80 MORE GOSTOSA). Kerry Klingler (J/80 LIFTED) called tactics on STORM which took 3rd in the J/109 class, the Chadwicks (Chris and Liz, J/80 CHURCHKEY) and Trey Sunderland (J/80 FIREBOLT) sailed on VENTO SOLARE and Ansgar Chorhummel (J/80 KIAORA) on the J/109 SANIBEL.

Overall the event was plagued by light air and race postponements, but usually the wind filled in during the afternoon so we got some good racing in. The Round The Island Race on Thursday was timed perfectly to get us back into the harbor before torrential rain hit the island - it rained so much that our local taxi driver could not remember something like this in his past 30 years of living on the island. But most crews used these delays to party hard, enjoy the perfect organization of the on-shore events and the great tent parties which BIRW is known for.

All in all a great week of vacation with good sailing and great company. Maybe the J/80 class should aim to get a OD start at the 2013 BIRW. Certainly worth a thought!

| 27 June 2011 | Results | 

The Storck family strikes again
Congratulations to John Jr., John III and their crew on RUMOR for winning the PHRF 4 division at Block Island Race Week with a dominating lead of 8 points over their nearest competitor. RUMOR also took first in their class in the 16nm Round The Island Race (picture).

Picture by www.photoboat.com

| 26 June 2011 | Block Island Race Week Webpage | 

So. Cal. Circuit Stop #3, Cal Race Week
June 4th and 5th marked the third stop of the Southern California Circuit, Cal Race Week.
Racers were greeted with winds from 6-9 kts out of the WSW and Santa Monica Bay's typical swell and chop. The regatta was won by Curt Johnson and the crew of Avet with new owners, Kurt Weise and Dan Gribble on DUI in second. Bob Hayward and the crew of Blue J rounded out the top three. The next stop on the So. Cal. Circuit is Long Beach Race Week June 24-26.

| 10 June 2011 | Results | 

Cedar Point One Design Regatta was a great success
Six J/80 made their way to Westport, CT, this weekend to sail in the annual Cedar Point One Design Regatta which also had J105, J109, J30, Ben 36.7 and Viper 640 at the start. The wind forecast was a bit weak, but luckily NOAA was wrong it blew between 8-15 knots all weekend except for a brief moment when the boats rounded the windward mark in the second race on day one, hoisted the kite only to find themselves close hauled again after a 170 degree wind shift a minute later.
We sailed 6 races in 2 days with a great sailing breeze and plenty of sunshine. In the evening the club invited all crews to a great BBQ and some crews hung out near the open bar all evening. After the last race was scored, Al Minella on RELENTLESS won the event followed by Ansgar Chorhummel's KIAORA in second and Mac Cooper on WORKBOAT in third. Houk Reed and his crew of SCOUT won the prize (new binoculars) for the boat that had traveled the longest distance to the regatta.
All in all a great event with lots of good sailing and fun on shore.

Photo by www.photoboat.com / Michael Bagley

| 07 June 2011 | Final Results | 

Seattle NOODs
Six J/80 started at the Seattle NOOD which was a race of patience in the soggy Seattle May. On Sunday unpredictable shifts winded across Puget Sound but at the end Chris White on CRAZY IVAN prevailed over William McKinnon and his team on SKYE ROCKET in second and Joel Shapiro on HEART ATTACK in third.

| 23 May 2011 | Results | 

J/80 sailors rule Audi MedCup Soto 40 class
Two wins on the first ever day of class racing for the Soto 40 Class in Europe sees Spains Iberdrola Sailing Team earn a clear lead in the Cascais Trophy.
Conditions to showcase the exciting new 40 foot one design could not have been better, with the NWly breeze piping up to 22kts during the second race, placing a real premium on boat handling and downwind surfing. Team Iberdrola is lead by Santanders Jose Maria Pichu Torcida, double J80 world champion, and crewed for the 2011 season by a combination of J/80 and 49er crews.

| 19 May 2011 | Audi MedCup 2011 | 

Yachting Cup San Diego
Fun-racing J/80, J/105 & J/120 Fleets
(San Diego, CA)- 2011 marked the 39th year of San Diego Yacht Club's signature regatta, the Yachting Cup. This premiere regatta brings together competitive fleet and one-design racing at multiple venues on courses both inshore and offshore San Diego.
The seven boat J/80 fleet saw some spirited racing. A repeat winner was Curt Johnson's AVET sailing to four 1sts and a 2nd for 6 pts. John Steen sailed UNDERDOG to a 2-4-2-1-2 for 11 pts for second. And, third was Bob Hayward's BLUE JAY with a 3-2-5-3-3 for 16 pts.

| 05 May 2011 | Event Webpage | 

Annapolis NOOD - The "other" side of the story
Well - we have heard a lot about the results of the Naptown NOODs. Congratulations to Thomas and his team of DEN 1312. They sailed a great regatta in really difficult conditions.

For me it was my first Naptown NOODs. I have sailed in Newport, Charleston, Cedar Point - all great events and fun parties. But there is something very different about coming to Annapolis with a J80.

First of all EYC is really well organized. Brian and Kristin are doing a great job to make everybody feel at home at their club. Registration happens on the fly, everybody helps out rigging all the boats, there is a keg and a grill to fulfill some basic human needs and the boats are launched without any drama in no time.

While rigging the boat on Thursday somebody handed us a flyer - party at one of the crew's houses that night. Nizar's crew of ARROW had brought some sort of devil's machine from Minnesota - a crossing between a lawn mower, an outboard engine and a mixer. It was used to create the most delicious Caribbean cocktails on the porch of their rental home and many crews gathered, chatted, drank and partied before the NOODs had even started.

After racing on Friday some crews went to dinner together, a couple of other crews invaded Jesse's home to watch hockey and raid his fridge (thanks Jesse :-) but some others never made it further than the keg at EYC.

Some people claim that they race better with a good hangover - I don't know ... anyways - another great day on the water on Saturday was followed by an open invitation to all J/80 sailors to the Chadwick's compound. Liz, our Mid-Atlantic Measurer, had switched from checking out boats to preparing an awesome party for the crowd. We had BBQ, snacks, drinks and great conversations about the day on the water. Thanks again for hosting us!!

So why is this place different? In the words of Chris Chadwick, who also is the local fleet captain,: "I firmly believe the comraderie of the J80 class is something special." - and there is no place where you can experience this comraderie better than in Naptown.

A big thanks to all of you who were involved in making this an unforgettable event. And to all of you who did not make it this year: Add next year to your bucket list!

Ansgar

| 04 May 2011 | 

J80 Class Calendar Update
In the last couple of weeks we have gotten many requests to put some great events, local and regional, on the class calendar on this website. So far though the class hesitated to put too many and potentially conflicting events on the calendar, since we feared it may cause confusion as to which are the key events for our members to travel to. Typically the main, class supported events on the website had been selected by the class officers at the beginning of the season based on input from fleet captains around the country.

While we plan to keep this tradition, we also realized that the class webpage is used by many local fleet members to learn about events in their region. Therefore the class officers have decided to try a new system to classify regattas on the calendar which will allow us to publish both Local events and major Class supported regattas.

If you take a look at the calendar today, you will see that all events have been classified as CLASS EVENT or LOCAL EVENT.

CLASS EVENTs will continue to be selected by the class officers based on input from the fleet captains at the beginning of the season. Theses are the main events for the three circuits (Southern, Northeast, Southern California) where we anticipate large numbers of J/80s.

LOCAL EVENTS are key events in our local sailing communities where the different fleets plan J/80 one design starts with local and regional boats. Publishing these on the national calendar will increase the visibility of class activity for members of other fleets and we hope to show how much J/80 sailing is going on around the country to also increase the attractiveness of the class for prospective new owners.

In the future we also plan a way to filter for local vs. class events. Bear with us on that one ...

While this is an experiment we would like to encourage you to do two things:
1. Please send us your fleet's local events so we can add them to the calendar.
2. Feel free to send us your thoughts on the new system.

You can send both to kiaora444@gmail.com

Have a great 2011 season,
Your class officers

| 04 May 2011 | 

J/80's return to Newport in 2011
Following up on the wildly successful 2010 Worlds, J/80's will be back in Newport this summer for 3 great events over a two week period. First up is the inaugural Newport edition of Bacardi's international sport boat event Bacardi Newport Sailing Week June 23 26. On July 8th there will be a one day advanced J/80 speed clinic providing a great opportunity for teams to address any weaknesses from the Bacardi regatta and tune-up for the final event on the Newport mini circuit. The annual Newport Regatta will take place July 9 10. All three events will be run from Sail Newport's facilities at Fort Adams Park with storage available enabling
competitors to rig once and focus on sailing. Stay tuned for details on a J/80 bash being sponsored by Fleet 9!

Register today!

June 23-26 Bacardi Newport Sailing Week www.newportsailingweek.com
July 8th J/80 Speed Clinic goose@j80fleet9.com
July 9-10 Newport Regatta - www.sailnewport.org

Photocredit: Paul Todd at Outside Images

| 02 May 2011 | 

By the Slimmest of Margins
The crew of Thomas Klok's Guldfaxe won a three-way tie for first in the J/80 class and earned the overall victory at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.

After a weekend of big breeze and dramatic windshifts on Chesapeake Bay, you might not expect an out-of-towner to come out on top of the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD, where members of the Capital City's strong racing community accounted for the majority of the 220-boat fleet. Nonetheless, when the overall winner was announced, it was Copenhagen resident Thomas Klokwhose team won a three-way tie for first place in the 29-boat J/80 divisionwho came bounding up to accept the silver dish, as well as the real prize, an invitation to join the winners of seven other NOOD regattas at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship, hosted by Sunsail in the British Virgin Islands this November.

For the full interview go to: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/annapolis/by-the-slimmest-of-margins

| 02 May 2011 | Final Results | 

CRW Day 3
From the J/Newsletter- April 20th, 2011: "For the J/80s, it was a beautiful, but disappointing day. The one and only race was punctuated by a series of events for the leaders and the entire fleet that could best be described as "unfortunate". The PRO elected to start the race in a rapidly dying breeze from the NW (it was forecast to die by 11am) at precisely 10:40 am after it was obvious the Viper 640 fleet that started at 10:35am were struggling getting to the first windward mark. Toss in a dying breeze with massive holes, 40 degree shifts and a full-moon ebb tide flowing at 3 knots and what do you get? A very ugly picture that many sailing in England's Solent are all too familiar with. Out of 26 boats only 5 managed to finish the race (exactly 1/5th of the fleet) and the rest scored TLE (time limit expired!). Not exactly a "fair or reasonable" race for all involved, e.g. an awfully expensive one-day regatta! Nevertheless, not often you see top three finishers scored with TLE's as counters! Kerry Klingler's team avoided the mishaps and secured a finish to win with 15 pts with a 5-2-2-3-3 score. In finishing second, the Brauer/Welles team got caught by the finish line buoy, literally, and instead of winning the regatta was forced to take a TLE, scoring 3-3-1-2-TLE for 16 pts. Third was Bruno's TIAMO team who seemingly took an involuntary tour of Fort Sumter over on another course as they were getting flushed out to sea, finishing with a 1-1-4-6-TLE for 19 pts."

| 21 April 2011 | Final Results | 

CRW Day 2
Day off on the Rooftop Bar in Charleston overlooking the harbor ...

From the 2011 Charleston Race Week event:
Inshore Circles 0, 1 & 2: No Races will be run today, Saturday April 16, 2011

From the North Sails Weather Service:
WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES: The National Weather Service has issued a GALE WARNING that is currently in effect until 1800 LT this afternoon. You can expect very strong winds with GALE FORCE gusts (30-40 kts) during this period.

| 16 April 2011 | 

CRW Day 1
Great sailing. We had 4 races with the wind slowly increasing from mid teens to lower twenties until race 3 and then a bit lighter again for the 4th race. The top 3 boats are very close with Henry Brauer and Will Welles on RASCAL having a tight lead over TIAMO and 352 tied in second. Overall going right in the early races with the tide still coming in paid off, later the left side was good for big gains.
The party afterwards was epic as ever. This is the place to be in April. Check out the pictures by our friends of Photoboat.com!

| 16 April 2011 | Link to Photoboat event pictures | 

Charleston Race Week started
Kudos to the organizers of CRW. What yesterday still looked like a chaos of boats converging on Charleston and racing for the hoist was dissolved today with everybody getting their chance to get in the water before the tide was too low at the hoist to get keel boats in. By 9 - 9:30am most of the 80s were in the water at Charleston Yacht Club, helping each other to get the boats ready to sail over Patriots Point.
The early lock-down of registration left many of the boats who wanted to come here out with the effect that now quite a few boats have 2-3 owners on board who teamed up to race in this event.
The weather gods meant it well so far and especially all the crews from the Northeast enjoy to finally end this long winter and go sailing again. Many of us were out on the bay to practice and get a first glance at the ripping tides which will determine much of this week's outcome. After the skippers briefing and a great info session on the tides on the inshore course, we were sent off to hit the tents where the party had already started.
All in all a great opening day - now the fun begins! If you want to follow the event, here is the list of sources for you:

OFFICIAL EVENT MEDIA
Official Event News:
http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/news-results/charleston-race-week-news/

Official Results:
http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/news-results/results/

Event YouTube Channel, Penalty Box Productions:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CharlestonRaceWeek

Event Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/CharlestonRaceWeek

Event Photo Gallery, Meredith Block:
http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/news-results/photo-gallery/

Event Twitter Feed:
http://twitter.com/#!/CHSRaceWeek

Official Onsite Photography Partner/Team Photo Sales,
Photoboat: http://www.photo-boat.com/charleston-race-week.html

VIDEO:

Sailing Anarchy's On-The-Water Anarchy:LIVE streaming video, daily interviews and highlight reels @www.sailinganarchy.com and www.justin.tv/onthewateranarchy

News 4 WCIV: Television News @ http://www.abcnews4.com

Post & Courier: http://www.postandcourier.com

INDEPENDENT PHOTOGRAPHY

Sarah Proctor, Sailfastphoto: www.sailfastphoto.com

Karen Ryan, Karen Ryan Photography: http://www.karenryanphoto.com/yacht.html

Billy Black,http://billyblack.com/

EDITORIAL

Charleston Post & Courier: www.postandcourier.com
Charleston Vacation: Paper online
Moultrie News: www.moultrienews.com
Charlie Mag: www.readcharlie.com
Sailing Anarchy: www.sailinganarchy.com
Strictly Sailing: www.strictlysailing.com
Sailing World: www.sailingworld.com
Sail Racing Magazine:www.sailracingmagazine.com
Spinsheet: www.spinsheet.com
Southwinds: www.southwinds.com
Southern Boating: http://southernboating.com/

| 14 April 2011 | 

Charleston Race Week Preview
The largest contingent of J one-designs at CRW are the J/80s. Twenty-eight J/80s will be led by top teams like Al Terhune from Annapolis, MD, Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, TX, Tom Klok from Copenhagen, Denmark, Mike Sudofsky from Marion, MA, Chris Bulger from Brookline, MA and past World Champion Kerry Klingler from Larchmont, NY. Amongst the luminaries in the class will be Don Trask from Mooresville, NC, renowned for starting the Laser and J/24 franchise on the West Coast of America.

| 08 April 2011 | Follow the action here | 

Proposed change of J/80 class rules
The international J/80 class association has started an initiative to make sailboat racing more interactive and attractive for the shore audience. As a consequence the following rules have been proposed for immediate release:

1. Every J/80 has to carry a VHF, GPS, EPIRB and AIS all networked with Wi-Fi and directly linked to race HQ via satellite link
2. Placement of Sat phone antenna must be 3 feet above the mast head for clear reception (see picture on the left)
3. Twitter feeds will be required from the rail, the bow and the cockpit with an update each every 15 minutes
4. Facebook status must be updated by each crew member at each mark rounding
5. Check-in into Foursquare and Google Places is required at every mark by the tactician
6. YouTube video uploads are limited to 15 but shall not be less than 10 per race day per boat
7. Navigation and tactical decisions must be performed by crew consensus using the iNav "Hero or Zero" voting function linked to a display in the cockpit and in the race HQ on shore
8. At the end of every race day, one boat will be voted out of the competition by the public using American Idol's telephone voting system
9. The judges can save one boat per race series

We believe these changes will make J/80 class racing more attractive for crews and spectators alike. Any objections to these rules can only be voiced until midnight of April 1st, 2011.

| 01 April 2011 | 

J/80s on the rise in China
Here is a great article from J/News about the latest event by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club - don't you wish we had that much media attention e.g. at Charleston Race Week?

Johnstone Wins On Global TV Broadcast To Billions!
(Hong Kong, China)- One day in the future it may seem like a turning point the first local regatta to be televised live in China. So were not talking about the Olympics here, or even one of the fly-by-night pro events Volvo, Clipper, Extreme 40s, whatever but club sailors, in J/80s, in Hong Kong harbour. Sort of, a Club event all grown up for billions of Chinese.

The event was sponsored and broadcasted by Phoenix TV. Apart from CCTV, Phoenix is the biggest broadcaster in China, and that makes them pretty ginormously huge. The Phoenix Cup is a fleet racing event to be sailed in J/80s, based out of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, and with race management provided by RHKYC. That guarantees good organization all thats needed to make the event shine is a bit of sun.

J/80 chinese crew- sailing Phoenix Cup off Hong Kong, ChinaIt was an inauspicious start for the first day cold, rainy and miserable, and with a distinct lack of wind. Competitors looked out gloomily out from the balcony at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Many wondered with some justification whether the racing might be canned altogether. But when you have the assembled millions of Phoenix TVs China audience just waiting to switch off the horse racing and the game-show channel and switch on to small boat racing in Hong Kong harbour on a Saturday afternoon well, youd better not disappoint! ...

Read the full article on the J/News webpage

| 29 March 2011 | Read on ... | 

San Diego NOOD Report
The San Diego NOOD regatta held March 18-20, marked the first regatta of the Southern California Circuit. Sailing conditions over the three days ranged from 2 to 25 knots of wind and the boats that were able to sail in a variety of conditions were rewarded. In the end, it was Curt Johnson and the crew of Avet that prevailed in the closely contested event. A J/80 fleet party that was held on Friday night highlighted the weekend. Special thanks go to Bob Hayward and the crew of Blue J for hosting the party on the yacht, Manatea.

| 22 March 2011 | Results | 

San Diego NOODs - a J80 owner's view
Great article by Sailing World ... check it out ...

| 20 March 2011 | Sailing World Article | 

Copa del Rey Invites J/80 class
(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- The J/80 class has been invited to participate in one of the most prestigious events on the Spanish sailing calendar, the eponymous Copa del Rey held on the beautiful bay and waters off Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The event is hosted by the Real Club Nautico de Palma e Mallorca and includes select one-design classes, IRC and Maxi boats. The regatta will run from July 30th to August 6th. The entry limit is 40 boats and 5 berths have been reserved for foreign (non-Spanish) competitors, so please chose your best team and make an early entry.

| 17 March 2011 | More details are here | 

Registration for Annapolis NOOD online - already 6 boats registered!
Greetings fellow J80 fanatics! Spring is fast approaching, and with it, the beginning of the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Sailing sailing season! (though some of us more damaged folks have been frostbiting all winter...) With that being said, the first big event of our year is right around the corner; the 2011 Annapolis NOOD Regatta. Last year we had over 35 boats on the course and we are anticipating that number growing for this year's event! Eastport yacht Club will again serve as the hub of the J80 activities. We are anticipating travel boats launching at both EYC and Annapolis Yacht Club this year to accommodate the growing fleet. If you have any questions, please fire an email off to Chris Chadwick, Fleet Captain for Fleet 10 on the Chesapeake at J80churchkey@gmail.com!!! Hope to see you April 28th!!! Registration is open NOW!!!

| 11 March 2011 | Regsiter here | 

Registration for Cedar Point One Design Regatta (June 4-5) now online
2011 will be a great year for the Cedar Point OD regatta. Wind and weather conditions are typically perfect for good racing on the Long Island Sound in early June. Last year was the first time J/80s visited Cedar Point for their annual One Design Regatta. Many of the class felt that it was a great event, highly professional race management and fun shore entertainment. J/80 immediately were the largest fleet on the line in 2010 and are expected to join in even larger numbers this year. Come join us and sign up via the regatta web site!

| 09 March 2011 | Link to Regatta Webpage | 

Registration for Buzzard's Bay Regatta 2011 now open
From the Chairman:

Once while standing on the beach at Cape Hatteras, N.C., getting ready to windsurf, I was approached by a fellow windsurfer and he asked me what part of Massachusetts I was from. I said South Dartmouth and he responded with a hint of dismay in his voice, oh Buzzards Bay? and I said yes. He then snidely postulated, what the &%$# are you doing here, Buzzards Bay has the best consistent winds and conditions in North America? He was right, I had gotten so used to the conditions of Buzzards Bay that I had taken it for granted. Buzzards Bay is known through out the sailing world for its conditions. I have sailed in many places and people know: great winds, great conditions, great Buzzards Bay.

This year, like every even numbered year, the New Bedford Yacht Club (NBYC) is providing its facilities for the venue. The NBYC is, and has been, the quintessential venue for three primary reasons: first, its on the water location is right at the mouth of Buzzards Bay where the traditional afternoon southwester kicks up through the narrow opening and accelerates right onto the racing area; secondly, the BBR through the NBYC, its membership, co-hosts and connections, provides outstanding, recognized race management; and third, the NBYC and its neighbors land side resources include state of the art water access, convenient parking, excellent food and entertainment and generous hospitality facilitates a central event for camaraderie, story telling and socializing.With all the sailing and racing I have done throughout my life, there is no place like home, especially when home happens to be on Buzzards Bay at the New Bedford YachtClub.

Kenneth D. van Colen, BBR Chair.

| 09 March 2011 | Link to Regatta Webpage | 

Registration for 2011 North American Championship online!

| 08 March 2011 | Registration | 

Charleston Race Week - TODAY - payment deadline for inshore boats
Courtesy Reminder! Today is the payment deadline for inshore boats. Please check your payment status below, and submit payment here, if needed:

| 08 March 2011 | Check registration status here | 

J80 Austin Circuit 2011
For many in the Northeast the winter has barely left but down in Texas the season has already started. Check out the Southern Circuit stops calendar and get a taste of 2011 sailing on YouTube!

| 06 March 2011 | YouTube link | 

NEXTEL Leading J/80 Memorial Regatta
J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing off Santader, Spain(Santander, Spain)- The Santander J/80 fleet is competing in the 5th Antonio Pereda-Sealing Memorial Regatta on the Bay of Santander. In the past weekend, the fleet was greeted by a NW wind that started out nicely but slowly diminished during the course of the day. It was pert clear that the right hand side of the course was the place to be along the shore to get out of the current and play the shifts and puffs coming off the shore, providing strong lifts on starboard tack. Conversely, riding a puff on starboard gybe after the set to get out into the current and gybing on a good shift to get on port to ride it hard downwind was the best bet.

Making the best "plays" of the day was past J/80 World Champ Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING, now standing in first. Second for the day in this regatta was Tono Gorostegui sailing SLAM RACING and third is currently Jose Miguel Oriol on MABLE. Not too far from the hunt for the top three is another J/80 World Champion, the 2010 winner Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS, now lying fourth and just behind him is Javier Lopez-Vazquez, a Spanish Champion, in fifth sailing BANCAJA AVIVA.

With one more weekend to go in this Memorial Regatta, anything goes for the top three as with one more race, the fleet can then post scores with throwouts and the picture will change dramatically, especially if Pichu's ECC VIVIENDAS sails consistently. It also means BANCAJA AVIVA ha a chance to finish in the top three as well. It's been close and very competitive racing in the fleet of twenty-nine boats, surely one of the most toughest gathering of J/80s in the world on a weekend basis!

| 06 March 2011 | Read more | 

Charleston Race Week
From the 2011 Charleston Race Week event:

2011 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week's inshore courses have seen incredible growth this year. Due to the unprecedented number of entrants, the difficult decision has been made to limit the number of inshore entries as of February 24. This is being done to preserve the high caliber of racing expected in Charleston.

All new entries for Inshore Circles One and Two as of February 24, 2011 will be placed on a waiting list.

Inshore boats that are already entered must complete their registration with a payment in full by 1800 March 8, 2011 or their entry will be removed from the scratch sheet.

Entries received after March 8, 2011 will be considered on a case by case basis at the discretion of the organizing authority. Inshore Circles One and Two consist of the J/22, J/24, Ultimate 20, Viper 640, Melges 24, Melges 20 and J/80 classes. If you have not paid your entry fee please do so. Please remember, a registration is not complete until the entry fee is received.

| 28 February 2011 | Charleston Race Week | 

St Pete NOOD Results
Congratulations Al Minella and and Kerry Klingler on #655 RELENTLESS for winning the St. Pete NOOD!

| 26 February 2011 | All Results can be found here | 

Tabares Wins J/80 Match Race Qualifier
J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing off Canary Islands, SpainSailing J/80s In Club Canarias Match Race
(Islas Canarias, Spain- Feb 22)- Over the past weekend, a qualifying regatta in J/80s took place at the Real Club Nautico de Arrecife in the Canary Islands to decide the representative of the club in the next Canarios Club Match Race to be held on March 11-13 in Lanzarote.

The four finalists had been racing and practicing quite hard to win the honor of representing the RCNA club in this prestigious match race event. At the end, one of RCNA's best known J/80 sailors, Rayco Tabares won the event on his J/80 HOTEL PRINCESSA YAIZA. Second was Nete Arms with TGA ADVISERS. Third was Alfredo Gonzalez with the OKUPA III and Juan Pablo Rompeltien with BODEGAS EL GRIFO ended up fourth.

The mode of competition was under the Round Robin system. In the first round, the HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA beat OKUPA III. At the second round, TGA ADVISERS defeated BODEGAS EL GRIFO. At the third round, Rayco bdeat Juan Pablo and with two wins climbed the ladder into the final. In the fourth round, Nete defeated Alfredo to also go into the final with two victories. In the Finals between the Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA and TG ADVISERS' Nete Arms it was very close in the first race, but with Rayco winning. The second race of the best of three match clearly went to Rayco Tabares, winning the series 2-0.

The Canaries Match Race event will take place in the capital of Lanzarote, close to the coast, between the zone from the Islet Reef and the harbor, making it even more beautiful and close to the viewer, with ideal condition and winds between 12 and 14 knots.

| 23 February 2011 | 

J/80 Challenge Trinitaine
(La Trinite Sur Mer, France)- Ever wonder why the Spanish and French teams continue to get stronger and stronger every year and the talent level in their fleets overall continue to improve significantly? The British J/80 teams understand the problem, and do a lot of training with their RYA Coaches at various venues.

The Trinitaine J/80 fleet is conducting their 3rd edition of the Challenge J/80 Trinite over five weekends in the winter/ spring- February 12/13 and 26/27 - 12/13 and 26/27 March - 9 / 10 April. It's a great program with specific training targeted on Saturdays and race-training on Sundays. Afterwards, the entire training class goes to a debriefing at the "Cafe Zing"/ Internet Bar for video and tactical review. Most importantly, to improve training, they're trying a new method for tracking via mobile phones. Go here to check out the iSea 3D program for ANY SmartPhone. Or, for Apple iPhone's Sailboat Tracking app, you can go to iTunes. For more information regarding J/80 sail-training in La Trinite Sur Mer, France, go here:
http://www.j80-trinitains.com/

| 10 February 2011 | Read more | 

J/80 Palma 2010 Video
J/80 video- of J/80s sailing off Palma Mallorca, Spain(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- In a tribute to his friends who sail amongst the many J/80s that comprise the fleet in Palma, the highly regarded sailing photograher, Jesus Renedo, produced a nice compilation of the year's sailing events along with a powerful musical soundtrack mixed in-- perhaps an inspiration from a long, entertaining evening down along the city-front? See the Jesus Renedo YouTube video of J/80s in Palma.
For more J/80 saling information in Palma de Mallorca. Link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pDwpEeXgG0

| 09 February 2011 | Read more | 

ZEIKA Wins J/80 Winter Trophy
J/80 sailing off Spain(La Coruna, Spain- Feb 7th)- This past weekend the J/80 Spanish class held the penultimate round of the Winter Trophy organized by the Real Club Nautico de La Coruna and Sada Yacht Club. On Saturday, the J/80s completed 3 windward-leeward races in the Ria de Sada, with a northwest wind of 6 knots at the start, but reached 15 knots during the third race.

At the end of the Winter Series Trophy, it was a good day for MARINA CORUNA skippered by Paul Chavert, with two wins and a third for the day to hold on to second place overall with 13 points for the series. ZEIKA skippered by Mariano Zapata, with a second and two fifths, remained the class leaders in the standings with 12 points, one point ahead of MARINA CORUNA. LA SAL DE BAZAN sailed by Blanco-Iglesias, with a 2-4-5, goes from fifth to third place overall with 23 points, ahead of IN ITINERE, skippered by Fernando Bonilla, in fourth place with 24 points.

After the racing, the J/80 fleet held the traditional version of a "Spanish Tea" in the storeroom of the Real Club Nautico de La Coruna in which the sailors were able to taste the delicacies cooked up by various members of the class.sounded yummy and tasty! Paella, red or port wine to warm up the insides? For more Barcelona J/80 sailing information.

| 09 February 2011 | 

J/80 class association on Facebook
Not only since the movie "The Social Network" has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards Facebook has become a social phenomenon for internet users of all ages. Therefore we also opened the J/80 Facebook site and already have 262 Fans. We are planning to use the site to post more interactive content like photos and videos, but also want to encourage you all to actively participate on the page, use it as a platform to share your experiences, discuss what's on your mind and connect with other J/80 sailors around the country and maybe around the world. It is also a great tool to stay in touch during the cold winter months or between regattas.

So sign-up and help us grow the community and create more interest for new crews to enter the class. You find us on Facebook by just entering "J/80" as a search term into the search box on top of the page. See you soon!

| 09 February 2011 | Facebook | 

J/80 World Trophy de Cantabria- Spain
J/80 one-design class sailing off Santander, Spain, CantabriaSLAM RACING Wins First Spanish Regatta of 2011!
(Santander, Spain)- While his brother is out amongst the leaders of the Barcelona World Race on IMOCA 60s, Jaime Piris was taking the upper hand amongst the local J/80 fleet in their first regatta of the year- the World Cantabria Trophy. An excellent turnout of 29 boats assured everyone of a highly competitive and fun sailing regatta.

For the first weekend of racing, the Race Committee set up a course in light wind from the west in the bay and managed to get off a good series of races. Jaime's FONESTAR was leading after the first weekend, followed by MABLE sailed by Alberto Padron, third is SLAM RACING with Tono Gorostegui sailing very fast downwind. Past J/80 World Champion Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING is fourth and fifth is MERCEDES BENZ sailed by Alvaro Elorza. Current J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida had a bad second race, finishing an uncharacteristic 17th in his local fleet to knock him out of the top 10 for now.

For the second weekend of racing, the standings amongst the fleet leaders changed a lot! Two straight days of racing were scheduled to complete the first regatta of the year. The Committee decided to set up the race course off Cape Minor. The wind was blowing about 10 knots from the west to northwest. It was very cold with wind chill close to 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). The wind was very shifty and contributed to the huge changes in the standings. Those who went left on the first beats did a lot better than those who went right. A surprise leader at the first mark on the first race was COMPESCA with Olympic Gold Medalist Fernando Echavarri at the helm. Chasing him fast was NEXTEL, MAQUECHE and RAITA. After a disastrous spinnaker takedown, COMPESCA dropped back allowing MABLE, RAITA and Pichu on ECC VIVIENDAS to round out the top three, respectively. After a good series of races, the Race Committee was careful to provide the fleet reasonably "fair" racing conditions. However, the wind dropped a lot and veered in direction, so the PRO Perez-Sanchez decided it was better to conclude the racing and head for the clubhouse.

At the end of the day, Tono Gorostegui on SLAM RACING counted a 3-2-1 to win the first Spanish regatta of the year. Second was Alberto Padron sailing MABLE with 9 points, third was Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING with 12 points, fourth was Adiran Zamacona's LUPA, one of his better finishes to date in the J/80 fleet. Fifth was Jaime Piris on FONESTAR, the early regatta leader falling from grace with the sea- the last weekend was very tough on their team. Again rising like a "phoenix from the ashes" was Pichu Torcida, salvaging an 8th to finish with 22 points on ECC VIVIENDAS. For more J/80 Spain sailing information. For more J/80 one-design sailboat information. Sailing photo credit- Chapifoto.com

| 03 February 2011 | 

9 boats signed up for St Pete NOOD
Come and join the fleet of 9 boats at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club from February 18 to 20. Registration is still open until February 7, 2011, so sign up soon if you plan to escape the snow and ice storms of the northern states!

| 02 February 2011 | Registration | 

SPI Ouest France Expects Strong J/80 Class
J/80 one-design class- sailing in Spi Ouest, France(La Trinite Sur Mer, France)- Expect over 100 J/80s from Italy, Spain, France, England, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany. Like every year, the Spi Ouest France will be the first Cup race in Coupe de France J/80. The fleet will be rafted on the pontoons in front of the NTS, the mooring slips will be reserved for J/80s, the biggest class at Spi Ouest! Thank you to everyone to keep his place from the beginning to the end of the race to avoid the bazaar in the back at the dock. Be sure to make plans now and register for Spi Ouest and take advantage of all the special rates for launch/ haul and dockage for the J/80 class- go now to Spi Ouest Regatta site.
For more J/80 one-design sailboat information.

| 01 February 2011 | 

Darden Wins J/80 Midwinters- Key West
(Key West, FL)- A large contingent of J sailors certainly had a wonderful time sailing in this year's Key West Race Week. With great turnouts in the two strong J one-design classes, the J/80s and the J/105s, everyone was sure to have a wonderful time in nearly perfect Key West conditions. The six J/24s that showed up in PHRF 3 were wondering where the rest of their buddies were from points north, east and west were hiding! Next time, come on down all!

The sailing was simply wonderful, hard to believe it's possible for the Caribbean trade winds and weather patterns to serve up five straight days of nearly postcard, chamber of commerce conditions when the rest of the world is getting blasted by massive snow storms and extreme cold. Competitors may have wished for some days of more epic winds, bashing and crashing into ginormous waves, but one can hardly argue with benign 5-18 knot breezes from the ESE to SSW quadrants with plenty of sun! We even had FOG one morning down in the Keys-- how weird is that?

For the J/80s sailing their J/80 Midwinter Championship, it was another strong fleet with some excellent competitors, it took that magic combination of keeping your starts clean, getting an early clear lane, avoiding the corners on the first beat and playing the packs to your advantage. There was no question that Glenn Darden and his team sailing LE TIGRE from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas were in a class by themselves, winning 2 of the last three races (5 total 1sts!) and taking home the big glass crown without a challenge from any of the other teams, winning the J/80 class by 11 points with a 1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-12/zfp for 23 points. Second was Jeff Brown's team from San Diego's J/WORLD SAN DIEGO TEAM, showing their tail-feathers to the rest of the J/80 fleet, getting two seconds in the last two races and posting a score of 6-3-5-6-3-3-3-2-2 for 33 points, nearly as consistent on the leader board as Darden's team. Sailing one of their best regattas in awhile was Mike Sudofsky on BOB DYLAN third with a 7-8-3-5-5-1-7-5-1 for 42 points, fourth was Chris Bulger on GOOSE from Buzzards Bay sailing to a 2-2-10-4-6-7-9-3-6/zfp for 49 points and fifth was Nigel Brownett and Ron Buzil on VAYU 2 posting a 5-6-1-8-1-5-4-6-14/zfp for 50 points.

| 26 January 2011 | 

CRW - already 17 J/80s signed up
Charleston Race Week is the next major event on the East Coast schedule for the J/80s. It was a great success last year and we already have 17 boats signed up for this year. Sign up now or check out www.charlestonraceweek.com for more details.

| 25 January 2011 | CRW Registration | 

Key West Race Week dominated by LE TIGRE
No question that Glenn Darden and his team from Texas were in a class by themselves, winning 2 of the last three races and taking home the bacon without a challenge from any of the other teams, winning the J/80 class by 11 points. Second was a real donnybrook and Jeff Brown's team from San Diego's J/WORLD SAN DIEGO TEAM showed their tail-feathers to the rest of the J/80 fleet, getting two seconds in the last two races. Sailing one of their best regattas in awhile was Mike Sudofsky on BOB DYLAN third, fourth was Chris Bulger on GOOSE from Buzzards Bay and fifth was Nigel Brownett and Ron Buzil on VAYU 2. (quote from J/News Newsletter)

| 23 January 2011 | Final Results KWRW | 

2011 Season starting in Key West
15 J/80 are competing at Key West Race Week starting tomorrow. Today Div 3 had its first practice race in what looks like a sunny day with 10-15kn of breeze.

Check out results during the week on www.yachtscoring.com

| 16 January 2011 | KWRW Results | 

J/80 ECC VIVIENDAS Wins ImpreDigital Trophy
J/80 Spain- one-design trophy winners(Santander, Spain)- Ending the year in 2010 for the final race, the local J/80 fleet in Santander races a fun regatta that basically takes them up and down the beautiful Santander waterfront, using government marks and set marks to keep the fleet moving up and down the coastline in full view of spectators walking along the waterfront and the gorgeous beaches.

The start and finish of the event is run by the RCMS, they set up the windward mark off to the southwest. The J/80 fleet made two very entertaining laps of the course, with the fleet very tight and position changes all the way past the mark set off the steps of beacon. The closeness of the race course along the coast of the Cantabrian bay enabled many walkers to enjoy the spectacle of the race, with more than 25 boats and 100 sailors competing. The snow-capped green peaks south of the bay, matched by the white sails of the J/80s on the sparkling blue-green water, simply added a spectacular touch to the extraordinary afternoon.

J/80 ECC Viviendas- one-design is ultimate sailing- the winning sailboat in SpainThe race itself was very close. In the end, Pichu Torcida sailing ECC VIVIENDAS won with a total of 6 pts. Second was yet another World Champion, Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez on NEXTEL ENGINEERING with 8 pts. Third was Alberto Padron and Jose Miguel Oriol on MABLE with 9 pts. Rounding out the top five was SLAM RACING sailed by Tony Diaz-Alejandro in fourth with 10 pts and fifth was renowned sailor Jaime Piris on FONESTAR. All agreed it was a great way to end the year for the 28 J/80s racing the final regatta of the year. For more J/80 Spain ImpreDigital Trophy sailing information. For more J/80 one-design sailboat information.

| 12 January 2011 | 

WINNER of the 2010 USA J80 TOUR is...
Kerry Klingler and his crew aboard Lifted!

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Tour. It was a tremendous success that we will be repeating in the future! The top three finishers were:
1- Kerry Klingler on Lifted
2- Henry Brauer and Will Welles on Rascal
3- John Storck on Rumor
We had almost 100 different boats competing on at least one tour stop!

And special recognition goes out to the 2010 Road Warriors:
Competed in ALL 8 Tour Regattas - Henry Brauer on Rascal
Competed in 7 Tour Regattas - Kerry Klingler on Lifted

Our top 3 finishers and our Road Warriors will all be receiving embroidered J80 USA Tour tech shirts on behalf of the Class. Thank you to everyone for an extremely successful 2010!

| 29 December 2010 | 

Pichu Torcida Wins 2nd J/80 Worlds
Jose Maria Torcida and his team from Santander, Spain won a hard fought championship in Newport yesterday to capture his 2nd J/80 World title, a first in the class history. Conditions were "epic" with winds ranging from 15 to 30 knots over four days, including a race 11 final with boats hitting 20 knots off the wind.

Please visit the worlds website for all the results and the great action photos by photoboat.com

| 12 October 2010 | J80 Worlds Site | 

Live On the Water at the World's!
Follow the action live from Newport, RI as the Class kicks off the 2010 J/80 World's!

| 28 September 2010 | Link to Blog | 

2010 J/80 Worlds Preview
The 2010 J/80 World Championship, hosted by Ida Lewis Yacht Club and Sail Newport, promises to be one of the most competitive J/80 events to date. 66+ boats from nine countries are currently registered including boats from Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and USA. Seven past World Champions are participating.

Outside of a strong US contingent, the Spanish J/80 Class is showing up in force with ten sailing teams. Amongst them are 2010 J/80 European Champion Carlos Martinez sailing PERALEJA GOLF from Santiago, past World Champions Jose Maria Torcida sailing Team ECC VIVIENDAS from Cantabria, Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESSA YAIZA from Las Palmas, and Ignacio Camino Rodriguez on NEXTEL ENGINEERING from Cantabria. In fact six of the top ten teams at the 2010 Europeans (lake Garda, Italy) are competing. Other top European teams include Tom Whitmore (the J/80 Swedish Champion), Federico Rajolas of Italy, Thomas Klok of Denmark, Jurgen Waldeim of Germany and Bruno Trouble from France.

The American fleet is the deepest it's ever been and well tuned up after a busy nine month USA Tour including the recent North American Championship. Teams from 12 different states are represented. While all eyes will be on past World and North American Champions Jay Lutz/Gary Kamins (Houston, TX), Glenn Darden (Ft Worth, TX), and Kerry Klingler (Larchmont, NY), they will be pushed hard by other top ranked teams including John Storck on RUMOR (2010 North American Champion), Terry Flynn & Scott Young (Annapolis NOOD Champion), Chip Johns (Marion, MA), Allan Terhune (Arnold, MD) and Bruno Pasquinelli (Dallas, TX).

| 23 September 2010 | 

Register today for J Fest Houston!
Great opportunity for the boats coming from the Worlds and driving back west to come have a fun regatta to end the season!

Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau is ready to set sail for the regions newest water-sports event, Lakewood Yacht Clubs Annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta sponsored by the City of Seabrook , cruising our shores this October 16-17, 2010.

We are thrilled to see such a prestigious event come to the Clear Lake area, stated Pam Summers, President, Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (BAHCVB). Its a wonderful means to showcase our beautiful region, its many attractions, fine dining and accommodations to a new audience.

Lakewood Yacht Clubs Race Committee Chairman, Dwight Bengtson, announced that the club will be hosting this first-time competition on Galveston Bay . J/Fest Regattas have been held for over 25 years in such venues as Annapolis , Newport Beach , New Orleans , San Diego , San Francisco , and Seattle , explained Bengtson. This will be a great opportunity for Lakewood to promote and support a national caliber event.

Approximately 60 J-class boats are expected to participate in this first annual extravaganza. Any J/boat is eligible to register, and regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting competition formats.

Lakewood Fleet Captain, Carl Drechsel, is working to make this occasion a fun-filled, family weekend. While the sailors are racing, their spouses, children, friends and family can explore the areas unique and entertaining activities, stated Drechsel. Our Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau staff has corralled all kinds of discount coupons for attractions such as Space Center Houston and the Kemah Boardwalk.

Holding this nationally-recognized regatta in Bay Area Houston is another example of how our region benefits economically from events that encourage travel and tourism, added Summers. This competition will bring in visitors from around the nation, helping us further promote our beautiful lakes, parks, attractions, accommodations and activities.

To learn more detail about registering for the Annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta, visit the home page of Lakewood Yacht Club at www.lakewoodyachtclub.com.

| 21 September 2010 | NOR | 

Storck Family Wins J/80 North Americans
Vene, vidi, vici. Five strong. The Storck family team prevailed as J/80 North American Champions with a dramatic finish over a very strong fleet that saw competitors from Canada as well as from far-away places like Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan! It was an extraordinary event hosted by Beverly Yacht Club and superbly run by PRO Sam Vineyard. Three great days of sailing, thirteen races and in wind conditions that varied considerably, providing a tremendous test for all forty-four teams. And, it certainly proved to be an excellent "training" event for all teams participating in the J/80 Worlds happening in Newport, RI in early October. Perhaps what was most remarkable about the quality and depth of the fleet was the fact that EIGHT different boats won over the course of thirteen races! Boats were loaded with talent with National, North American, World Champions, college All-Americans and College Sailors of the Year spread across the top fifteen boats.

The fleet was blessed with blustery N-NW winds on Friday. Upwards of thirty degree shifts swept across the course varying in intensity from 5 to 18 knots...nowhere near what was forecast for the day (less). With a course laid out across the easternmost portions of Buzzards Bay, the starting line was set just shy of the Cape Cod Canal shipping channel and weather mark set in the general vicinity of Converse Point. It was clear the Storck's (Dad- John III, sons John Jr and Eric, daughter Katie and Kayla Johnson) threw down the gauntlet early and were not to be denied, winning the first race in their well-known boat RUMOR, followed by Glenn Darden of Fort Worth Boat Club in second sailing LE TIGRE, Jay Lutz/ Gary Kamins from California YC sailing FIRED UP in third and Jeff Johnstone from Ida Lewis YC racing LITTLE FEAT into fourth. This race proved to be a premonition of things to come, as three of the top four in the race took the top three overall! The fleet continued to be treated with great racing conditions all day and PRO "Sam the Man" Vineyard simply told any competitor that inquired, "we're racing all day". He wasn't kidding, managing to pull off five races by 5pm... a fun but exhausting 9+ hours of sailing! In addition to the teams mentioned above, one of the better performances of the day was turned in by Ben Schwartz from New York YC, sailing his LUCKY FROG to a 5-8-8-3-6 record to be amongst the early regatta leaders. Everyone else seemed to have one throw-out race already accounted for on the first day!

By the second day, the fleet continued to see a northerly gradient wind flow with N-NE winds forecasts up to 15 knots at midday and diminishing to 5 kts.. very atypical for Buzzards Bay, more renowned for its powerful San Francisco Bay-like sea breezes than for multi-day northerlies. How wrong those computer weather models were again! By the start of the first race the winds were gusting well in excess of 15 knots from the Northeast and for the rest of the day winds blew in excess of 23 knots at times, creating some carnage on the race course with torn spinnakers, blown up spinnaker poles, bent stanchions and bruised egos. But for most, a blast to sail downwind as the 80s simply took off on fast planing angles. At this point, the early regatta leaders began taking their steps to cement their positions atop the leader board. Like the first day, the left side of the course continued to pay most of the time because of the geography (instead of Converse Point, this time it was Butler Point). The Storck's RUMOR managed to avoid the one BAD race and sailed to a 9-8-7-2-8 score for the day; Darden's LE TIGRE really did have a tiger by the tail and got the day's best tally at 7-2-3-1-4; and Johnstone's LITTLE FEAT sailed nearly as well with a very consistent 4-6-5-4-5 record. Sailing strongly on this day was New York YC's Henry Brauer and Will Welles on RASCAL, making their bid for a phoenix-like comeback with a 3-4-6-8-10 score, but had to take a DSQ for their 6th.

Sunday dawned with lots of low-level flying clouds with high-level cirrus layered above and another not so promising forecast with winds pegged to be in the 5-13 knot range from the NE and diminishing during the day. Following the same theme of wrong forecasts as the previous two days, the fleet was treated to another excellent day of sailing with NE-ENE winds in the 8-17 knot range. With the course setup so the windward mark was in the general vicinity of Bird Island south of Butler Point, one might have guessed that sailing off into the Cape Cod Canal shipping channel with favorable current in the morning races might help. It didn't. The first two races still saw a strong play to the left side of the course. Not until the last leg of the last race did the "giant right-hand" shift kick in as all models kept forecasting to favor those who could see the black puff rolling across the Bay from Cape Cod. With the regatta on the line, it was clear the top five boats were very aware of their placement relative to one another. Johnstone's LITTLE FEAT drew first blood, opening the first two races with a 1-2 followed by Scott Young's and Terry Flynn's QUANTUM RACING Team from Austin YC (TX) with a 5-3 and Chip Johns' CAVITICA from host Beverly YC with a 3-5. The Storck's started the day slowly, getting themselves in trouble with a 16-6 while Darden started with an 8-7. The result of these finishes were that Darden's LE TIGRE could win the regatta if they could press Johnstone's LITTLE FEAT below 20th in the last race and simply hope that the Storck's RUMOR wouldn't get anything higher than a 2nd--- for the most part a pretty good bet. Darden succeeded in preventing Johnstone from getting a 20th or better but he could do nothing but watch the Storck's sail an incredibly dramatic race to win the last one, the biggest one, to take the regatta, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat right at the finish line! Nearly six boats all crossed the line in less fifteen seconds for the final race! At the end, the top three were the Storck's RUMOR, Darden's LE TIGRE and Johnstone's LITTLE FEAT. Fourth was Scott Young/ Terry Flynn's QUANTUM RACING and fifth was Kerry Klingler and Robert Miller's LIFTED.

Special thanks to BYC Commodore Chip Johns and to Karen Manning, the regatta chair, and her team of volunteers for delivering a fantastic regatta. As usual, the Beverly Yacht Club were terrific hosts, great volunteers and had amazing support from the local Marion community. The racing was excellent, with great courses and the pace of the racing kept everyone on their toes with little time to waste between each races. Barden's Boat Yard also chipped in, and deserves special "thanks", for providing all the hauling/ launching for all J/80s for the event, including having an entire team of crane operators, bobcat drivers for moving trailers and cherry pickers for picking masts on Sunday (their day off!)-- now that's service with a smile!

| 15 September 2010 | Full Results | 

Registration Deadline for the 2010 Worlds is Today!
Today is the final day to register for the 2010 World Championships in Newport, RI. With 65 teams from nine countries signed this will be the largest US based J/80 regatta in history, and it looks like everyone will be there! At last count there are 7 World Champions, and most if not all the recent year's North American, Midwinter and European champions. Dont miss out on this great sailing opportunity!

| 15 September 2010 | Registration | 

Rumor wins the 2010 North American Championships!
Congratulations to John Storck and his crew (aka his kids!) on hull #19 Rumor, who won the 2010 J/80 North American Championships in Marion, MA this weekend in the biggest NA Fleet in US history 44 boats!

More details of this great weekend to follow!

| 13 September 2010 | Full Results | 

Register Today for the 2010 North American Championships before the LATE FEE
Planning on attending the 2010 North American Championships? Then register today before you forget and the $75 late fee is applied! You have until this Thursday, August 26th to register without paying the late penalty.

| 16 August 2010 | NOR | 

Jeff Johnstone wins the Buzzard's Bay Regatta!
Jeff Johnstone and his team on Little Feet won a hard fought three day regatta this weekend in Buzzards Bay! The conditions were light and fluky, but a fun time was had by the largest keel boat fleet at the regatta 27 boats! Rounding out the top three were Jay Lutz and Gary Camins on Fired Up Racing and Kerry Klingler on USA 352. Check out the full results below.

| 09 August 2010 | Full Results | 

Watch the Action at Buzzard's Bay in Real Time this Weekend!
Check out how your local favorites are doing this weekend at the 6th stop on the J/80 USA Tour - Buzzard's Bay Regatta using Kattack! You can login and watch the action using the link below.

| 05 August 2010 | Kattack - J/80 BBR | 

Register Today for Buzzard's Bay Regatta
This is the 6th stop on the 2010 J80 USA Tour and your last chance to tune-up before the North American's in September. The Class will once again be using Kattack technology so your friends and family can see your progress in real time. And you will get the chance to review the days racing under the tent while enjoying a beverage! Register using the link below.

| 30 July 2010 | Regatta Website | 

Want another weekend to tune up in Newport for the World's?
NYYC Race Week(end) July 17 & 18th - is coming up and in 10 days! This will be the first year that the J/80 class participates in this great event. Another weekend of sailing Newport with superb race management not to mention a great lobster boil on Saturday night at Harbour Court.

Chris Bulger
J/80 1172

| 07 July 2010 | Register Here! | 

Calling all Sailboat Racers and Volunteers
REMINDER: Next week The Coastal Living Newport Regatta will gather a thousand sailors, 19 classes of One-designs over two hundred boats and two hundred plus volunteers for the premiere multi-class event of the season. Please visit the link and get registered today.

Register online at www.sailnewport.org (Also, check out the cool TV coverage of America s Cup events on the home page!)

Sail Newport is known for running spectacular events! Their top notch race committees have designated 5 different racing areas for the classes. Additionally, this year they will add a fifth circle of racing at the Coastal Living Newport Regatta to run the Vanguard 15 Nationals.

You dont want to miss out on the great parties too. Come to the Heineken Welcome Party on Friday, July 9th during check-in and after Etchells racing. On July 10th, there will be a full on party after racing Saturday with dinner and drinks and music. And on Sunday, awards will be given out along with cold beer, rum and wine, Crystal Spring water and New England clam chowda.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

This is an enormous event and they always need extra help on the race committee. This is a great time to give back to Sail Newport and help out. Please email Kim Cooper at kim.cooper@sailnewport.org

See you next week!

| 02 July 2010 | Read more | 

Register now for the Houston Yacht Club Leukemia Cup Regatta!

| 09 June 2010 | NOR | 

J/80's Boast Largest Fleet at the Cedar Point Annual Regatta
The Cedar Point Annual Regatta was a great event for the newly re-formed Western Long Island Sound Fleet 17 with ten boats on the starting line. They were the largest fleet in the regatta with Farr 30s, J105s, J30s and Ben 36.7s also attending in good numbers. While the other fleets had mostly local boats, the J/80 Class had boats coming in from Texas, California and Rhode Island joining on their way north during the 2010 US Tour.

Glenn Darden's LE TIGRE won the regatta by a good margin followed by a close fight for second between Kerry Klingler's LIFTED who came in second and Brian Keane's SAVASANA in third position. LIFTED, SAVASANA and John Storck's RUMOR all were tied at 16 points going into the last day of racing. The weather cooperated on Saturday and the RC did a great job getting 4 races. After a lobster bake at the club on Saturday evening crews retired early to get ready for a windy Sunday. NOAA called for gusts of up to 30kn in the afternoon and racing ended after 2 races when the RC saw 25 kn with gusts up to 27kn on their anemometer. Shortly after the boats arrived back at the dock and crews gathered for the awards ceremony BBQ when winds of 35-40kn hit the area accompanied by heavy rain. Great call of the RC to get the Fleet in before that weather hit.

Overall it was a very competitive and fun event that the local fleet hopes to establish as an annual stop for the J/80 race circuit in the North-East and a tune-up regatta to the 2011 North Americans.

| 09 June 2010 | Results | 

Luck Frog Wins the J-Jamboree
Congratulations to Ben Schwartz and his team on Lucky Frog for winning the 2010 J-Jamboree. A lack of wind prevented any racing on Saturday, but Sunday saw a steady breeze with the usual Lake Winnipesaukee shifts!

A special thanks to Fleet 1 for re-arranging their sailing schedule to accommodate the 2010 World Tour. Lets all thank them by attending the 2011 J-Jam next year and get that event over 40 boats. (You know you want to attend the Lobster and Steak dinner!) Congrats to another successful event!

| 02 June 2010 | Results | 

Registration for the 2010 J/80 NA's and Worlds is Open!
Register today to help us make these the largest North American fleete in J/80 history! To register for the World's, please use the 2010 World's website link on the lower left of the homepage.

| 26 May 2010 | NOR & Registration | 

Registration is Open for the Always Popular J-Jamboree!
Register early to help our original J/80 Fleet to achieve their goal of 25 boats (and a windy start to the season). Due to the early start date, they have moved the regatta headquarters from Fay's Boat Yard to the Wolfeboro Corinthian Yacht Club in Wolfeboro, NH. Racing is on the same body of water, however the launch and events will be held in Wolfeboro, a 40 minute drive Southeast of their traditional home at Fays Boat Yard in Gilford.

| 14 May 2010 | Register Here! | 

Register Now For the Cedar Point One Design Regatta!
This event is shaping up to be a whos-who of J/80 racing! Test your skills against former North American Champions while working your way north to the next events on the J/80 USA Tour. Cedar Point Yacht Club is hosting the J/80 class and is located in Westport, CT. Contact Kerry Klingler for more details kerry@ukhalsey.com.

| 11 May 2010 | Register Here! | 

Terry Flynn is the OVERALL winner of the 2010 Annapolis NOOD's
As the J/80 freight train rolls northward on its USA Tour, bound for the World Championships in Newport, R.I., in October, the class just keeps picking up steam. The 36-boat fleet at the 2010 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD was the largest of the regatta's 16 divisions, and, arguably, the most competitive.

Over the course of eight races, four boats posted first-place finishes; Houston native Terry Flynn had just one bullet in his scoreline, but his team sailed with enough consistency to win both the division and the overall prize, which includes an invitation to compete in the NOOD Championship in the B.V.I. in November.

The Annapolis NOOD was the first time Flynn had sailed with his crew of David Whelan, Mark Foster, and Charlie Snyder, but the Quantum sailmaker had no trouble getting everyone on the same page. "Too many times, when it's your first time sailing together as a crew, everybody's real quiet the first race of the regatta, and you do terrible," says Flynn. "We made an effort to say, 'You start giving input, and if we don't want to hear it, we'll tell you."

With Foster and Snyder feeding information to Whelan, the tactician, Flynn was able to concentrate on steering the boat through the light wind and mixed-up chop on Chesapeake Bay. "I didn't do anything but drive," he says. "I put my head down, concentrated on keeping the boat moving, and listened to what they wanted me to do. I very rarely got involved in the tactical end of things. I'm pretty good at listening, and they're pretty good a putting me where we need to be.

"It's important for everyone on board to give feedback," continues Flynn. "I've been on boats where the tactician doesn't really share the information, he just kind of tells the skipper when to tack. But I think it's important that the skipper know the thought process. That way, it's not like, 'Why are we doing this?'"

Refined communication, uncharacteristically good starts"I historically have terrible starts," says Flynnand close attention to changes in wind speed propelled Flynn's team to victory. And, apparently, word is spreading that the affable Texan is a fun guy with whom to sail. "I've already had a few people come up and tell me they want to go to the B.V.I. to crew with me," he says.

Between now and November, Flynn will be competing in the J/80 North American Championships, and the aforementioned Worlds. So there's a good chance that, by the time he hops aboard that Sunsail 39 in Tortola, Flynn could have a few more feathers in his capand a few more eager crewmembers.

Michael Lovett

| 04 May 2010 | Final Results | 

J/80's Have the Largest Fleet at Annapolis NOOD
Are you coming to Annapolis? Why not? It is not too late to sign up for the largest J/80 turnout in recent history - 35 boats! Contact Fleet Captain Chris Chadwick if you think you can pull it together! j80churchkey@gmail.com

| 22 April 2010 | Link to NOOD registration | 

Watch the Racing at Charleston Race Week!
The Class has employed Kattack again which was a huge success during Key West Race Week. Each boat will be outfitted with a small GPS unit that will be affixed to the transom. The units will remain on the boat for the weekend and the data will shown in REAL TIME. Your friends and family can watch the racing as it is going on!

| 02 April 2010 | Kattack CRW | 

J/80 Best Practices Part II
Since publishing J/80 Best Practices Part I, many J/80s have undergone the seven-step inspection recommended annually for the keel/keel floor area. If you have not conducted this inspection, we strongly urge you to do so before the coming season. Part II documents the damage found on a 1994 J/80 as a result of this inspection as well as the subsequent repair. The subject boat is a 1994 J/80 that was purchased by its current owner in the fall of 2008 after 14 seasons of sailing with at least two previous owners. The boat was run through the seven-step inspection process at International Marine, in Bristol, RI. IM has extensive experience with all aspects of composite construction including all of the J/ models.

For a detailed accounting of the inspection and results please open the J/80 Best Practices document below.

| 18 March 2010 | J/80 Best Practices Part II | 

On the Water Clinics at Charleston Race Week
Quantums One Design specialists Terry Flynn, John Bowden, Tim Healy, Wally Cross, and Scott Nixon will all be at Charleston Race Week. Join them for an on the water clinic on Thursday April 8th. Dont miss this opportunity to sharpen your skills before the racing starts!

Plan to be on the water (between Shutes Folly and Ft. Sumter) by 1300 hours for tuning, practice starts, and some quick races; with the debrief following at 1600 hours. Terry will be taking videos of this practice and the rest of the weekend.

Classes include the J 80, Viper 640, Melges 20, Melges 24, and J 24s

Contact Terry for more info tflynn@quantumsails.com

| 11 March 2010 | 

Proposed Amendments to Class Rules Posted
The proposed amendments for the J/80 Class Rules are now published (click on the Class Rules link below) and subject to a 60 day review by class members, followed by an Executive Committee vote. Approved amendments will then be submitted to ISAF for approval, with an expected effective date of June 1, 2010. The proposals follow several months of development and review by the Technical Committee and Executive Committee. Please send your comments and concerns to your USA Class President, Kristen Robinson at kristeneyc@yahoo.com.

| 16 February 2010 | Class Rules | 

Kerry Klingler and the crew of Lifted win the St. Pete NOOD's
Kerry Klingler and the crew of Lifted won the second stop of the J/80 USA Tour, the St. Petersburg NOOD's.
The weekend began on Friday when the AP went up the yardarm of the St. Petersburg YC, and the sailors assembled around the widescreen television in the club bar to watch the historical Americas Cup 33. There were, of course, the occasional grumbles about conditions being perfectly suitable to sail. PRO Pat Seindenspinner, however, wasn't about to send 113 boats out on a furious-looking Tampa Bay. Not on her watch. "It's nasty out there," she said at 0900. "It'll only get worse." Racing for the day was canceled as gusts and rain squalls swept in by 2 P.M.

With a frigid 15 to 20 knots, racing finally got underway on Saturday on a day that was very much about boatspeed. The race committees got in four races before setting everyone in to warm up from daytime highs in the 50s.

As the final day of racing progressed on Tampa Bay on Sunday, the towering smoke stacks on the eastern shore hinted at what was to come: the morning's horizontal streaming plumes slowly giving way to vertical trails. The race committee managed to squeeze in two more races before it all went kaput. And in the dying northeasterly that defined the day's sunny but cold conditions there were all sorts of puffs, lulls, shifts, and holes and to avoid.

Rounding out the top five were John DiMatteo of Christe in second, John Storck, Jr. of Rumor in third, Henry Brauer of Rascal in fourth and Al Minella of Relentless in fifth.

| 16 February 2010 | St. Pete NOOD Final Results | 

Fleet #17 Western Long Island Sound
This past Thursday, February 4th marked the re-establishment of the J80 Fleet 17 on the Western Long Island Sound. We had 14 people attending our initial meeting at Larchmont Yacht Club representing 9 boats (and one soon to be purchased boat) based in the area.

We agreed that we all want to promote local J80 One Design sailing on the Long Island Sound to complement the national race schedule. This is especially important since we have some members who are actively travelling to most of the national races but also others who would prefer a strong local schedule since they cant attend that many travel races. The goal of the fleet is to jointly choose local races we plan to attend and coordinate a J80 start with the respective race committees.

We as a fleet have been invited by Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club and by Cedar Point Yacht Club to participate in their OD regattas. Even though the dates for Cedar Point conflict with the Sprit Fest in Sag Harbor (part of the J80 2010 USA Tour), most of the owners at the meeting did not plan to travel to Sag Harbor this year and thus preferred to add Cedar Point to the local calendar. Therefore we chose 3 local regattas to complement the national schedule:
May 22-23 Lloyd Harbor Race for the Case, Lloyd Harbor, NY
June 6-7 Cedar Point One Design Regatta, East Norwalk, CT
September 25-26 American Yacht Club Fall Series, (1st weekend only), Rye, NY
Lloyd Harbor and Cedar Point already have agreed to a J80 start if a minimum of 4-6 boats register. We will reach out to AYC in the next week to confirm with them as well. We are also inviting boats from MA, NH and NJ to join us for these races. Our vision for 2011 is that we will extend this calendar with other local races leading up to the national championships at Larchmont in the Fall of 2011. In addition Garry Corwin donated a perpetual trophy for local J80s which will be scored by a combination of local and regional races. The final name (e.g. J80 LIS Cup), qualifying races and scoring will be published soon.

We are also planning to organize some non-racing events:
March (exact date tbd) J80 trim and tactics evening seminar with Kerry Klingler (Let me know if you have any date preference and we will coordinate time/place that works for most people)
May (probably 15th or 16th we will confirm soon) J80 on the water trim and maneuver training with Kerry Klingler
Summer social for all crews and their families (maybe after the May training session)
End-of season social to award the J80 trophy
Finally a first draft of a Fleet webpage: http://www.wix.com/fleet17/Fleet-17 - Feel free to send your comments, additions, and fill in the news/comments boxes on the webpage with your own boat news. Please also send a picture of your boat which we could show on the members page.

Ansgar Chorhummel
Fleet Captain

| 15 February 2010 | Fleet 17 | 

2010 J/80 Tour High-Point Percentage Scoring System
Scoring for the 2010 J/80 USA Tour has been posted. The Class will be using the US Sailing High-Point Percentage Scoring System.

| 05 February 2010 | 2010 J80 Tour Scoring | 

J/80 Selected as a Designated Keelboat OD Fleet at Annapolis Yacht Club
"There is enough movement in current members buying J/80's that we
needed to ensure there was a designated OD Fleet here at the Annapolis Yacht Club", stated AYC Fleet Captain, Jonathan Bartlett. Currently there are 5 members (Rob Mairs, John White, Rich Harrision, Derrick Lynch, Jen and Ken Comerford) that have J80s and more who have expressed a strong interest in purchasing in the near future.

Th following is an example of indicators that this class is going thru a serious growth spurt in the Annapolis area:
1. Just given High Point OD status sanctioning by CBYRA.
2. 16 boats entered in AYC Frostbite series, 2009-2010 season.
3. OD start every Thurs night during the summer in J/World racing.
4. AYC is giving a OD start to the J 80's in 3 of events on the racing calendar for 2010.
5. Rigorous bay schedule.

Annapolis Yacht Club has a strong history of supporting OD keelboat racing in Annapolis and the J 80 class is a current "can't miss."

2010 Schedule for the class on the Chesapeake is as follows including
events that local Bay sailors will be attending outside of the region.
April 30 -May 2 Annapolis NOODs Annapolis, MD
May 22-23 EYC One-Design Annapolis, MD
June 19-20 AYC Annual Regatta Annapolis, MD
Jul 18-20 Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge Annapolis, MD
Aug 24 AYC Summer One-Design Annapolis, MD
Sept 4-6 CBYRA Race Week Annapolis, MD
Sept 9-12 J/80 NA's Marion, MA
Oct 4-9 J/80 Worlds Newport, RI

You can follow this growing Fleet on Facebook (J80 Fleet 10) or using the following link to their website.

| 05 February 2010 | Fleet 10 Link | 

2010 USA J/80 Tour Continues
The J/80 class kicked off the first event of the USA Tour in fine fashion with 19 boats making the trek to Key West for five days of championship racing. The third largest fleet, and the only one to grow at least 20% from the prior year, the J/80 class had great racing with many past champions in the fleet.

The fleet now moves to St. Petersburg, FL for the NOOD Regatta in February, and then continues working up the coast culminating with the J/80 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island. If you can't do them all, partner up with a buddy to share the program and enjoy great sailing, world class competition, and camaraderie in some of the worlds most famous seaports.

Jan 18-22 Key West Race Week - J/80 Midwinters
Feb 12-14 St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta St. Petersburg, FL
Apr 9-11 Charleston Race Week Charleston, SC
May 28-Jun 2 Annapolis NOOD Regatta Annapolis, MD
Jun 5-6 Sprit Fest Shelter Island, Long Island
Jul 9-11 Sail Newport Regatta Newport, RI
Aug 6-8 Buzzards Bay Regatta Marion, MA
Sep 9-12 North American Championship Marion, MA
Oct 4-9 J/80 World Championship Newport, RI

| 03 February 2010 | 

(Re-)Formation of Fleet 17 - Western Long Island Sound
While the East Coast circuit is moving on from Key West to St Pete, many of the J80 sailors who don't have the time to attend all the national races are gearing up for an active local season and the perspective to attend a few of the major races in their area. Fleet 17 on the western Long Island Sound has been inactive for several years and the word on the Sound was that if you wanted to do OD keelboat racing you needed to buy a J105. But now with the 2010 Nationals in Buzzards Bay, the 2010 Worlds in Newport and the 2011 Nationals at Larchmont Yacht Club, J80s are back on the Long Island Sound! The class lists approx. twenty J80s from New Jersey all the way up the eastern end of the Sound and the number is growing - some of the local J105 owners are adding a J80 to their portfolio to participate in the high profile events of the coming seasons.

In an effort to organize the fleet, Kerry Klingler and Ansgar Chorhummel are inviting all current and prospective J80 owners to an inaugural meeting of the new Fleet 17 at Larchmont Yacht Club on February 4th at 7pm. The goal of this meeting is to officially form the fleet, agree on a local J80 race schedule complementing the national races and plan other events like race clinics, tactics seminars, etc. If you are interested to join us or have any questions or suggestions, contact Kerry or Ansgar.

By Kerry Klingler & Ansgar Chorhummel
Fleet 17 - Western Long Island Sound

| 27 January 2010 | 

Glen Darden and Le Tigre win a Tightly Contested Key West Race Week
The J/80s have enjoyed a great Mid-Winter Championship in Key West with class leaders trading places during the week. Going into Race 9, the team on Le Tigre enjoyed a slight-comfort zone of six points over Little Feat who posted a 1-1 on Thursday. Sitting in third place only one point behind Little Feat was Rascal. Le Tigre, co-owned by Glenn Darden and Reese Hilliard of Forth Worth, TX, Darden has competed in eight Key West race weeks, but has never taken a top win. Until now. An experienced racing sailor, he is a past J/105 North American Champion and has won the J/80 Worlds. This week, the team placed third or better in seven of 10 starts in capturing the J/80 Mid-Winter Championship, which was contested as part of Key West 2010. Little Feat, skippered by Jeff Johnstone
of J/Boats, won both races on Friday to get within one point of Le Tigre.

"We had a great battle with Jeff and were just able to hold on", said Darden, who had Ullman pro Max Skelley aboard as tactician.

Wrapping up Fridays racing, Will Welles team on Rascal maintained third overall with a respectable 5-2 day, and Kerry Klinglers Lifted took a third-place finish in Race 9, tying in points with Al Minellas Connecticut based entry, Relentless for fourth overall.

"The depth of the competition was much better than ever before", said Jay Lutz, calling tactics on SWE 803. Magnus Tyremans entry (Sweden) placed sixth in fleet, not bad for the tough, 19-boat class battle. Blake Billman was on the bow and Cal Herman worked the middle. Winning race 2, and finishing in the top ten consistently, the SWE 803 team followed the suspense of the final races between Le Tigre and Little Feat. "The lead boat almost lost it", Herman said. One extra point and that wouldve been the case.

By Bill Wagner and Rebecca Burg

| 25 January 2010 | Article Begins on Page 2 | 

John Storck, Jr. Awarded the Paul Washburn Award For The Love of the Sport
John Storck Jr., has said on many occasions that it is truly a blessing that his four children have taken to sailing with such enthusiasm.

Storck, a resident of Huntington, NY, is a lifelong sailor so it is certainly rewarding to see his kids enjoying spending time on the water capturing the wind as well.

However, it is no accident that John III, Erik, Kaity and Ian Storck have come to love sailing as much as their father. All four were introduced to the sport in a positive environment that fostered a passion.

John Stork Jr., and wife Colette brought each child aboard the family cruiser-racer Jonrob when they were babies. The kids learned the basic fundamentals of sailing while cruising Long Island Sound aboard the Ericson 39 and were later introduced to the competitive side of the sport as crew for their father when he raced in local events sponsored by Centerport Yacht Club or Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club.
Our kids literally grew up on the Jonrob doing summer cruises and were able to experience sailing in its purest form, Storck said.

All four children attended sailing school to further hone their skills, learning how to steer and trim in the Optimist dinghy and Club 420 classes. During those years John Jr., and Colette were the absolute antithesis of the infamous helicopter parents that push their kids to compete and focus solely on results.

When my kids were junior sailors, I rarely ever went to the regatta unless I was working on the race committee, Storck said. If John and Erik were doing a big regatta, I would take Kaity and Ian to the zoo. My wife and I never wanted to put any pressure on the kids.

That approach paid dividends as the Storck children came to love sailboat racing on their own terms and for personal enjoyment. Perhaps not coincidentally, all four have developed into high-level performers. John Storck III captured the 2005 Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship while sailing at Hobart and is now the intercollegiate head coach at Dartmouth. Erik Storck was a two-time All-American sailor at Dartmouth and is currently serving as an assistant coach at Stanford while pursuing an Olympic campaign in 49er class. Kaity Storck was named the Female College Sailor of the Year while at Tufts and is now mounting an Olympic campaign in 470 class.

My children have come to love sailing more than I do. They have all been very successful at sailing and have taken an active interest in furthering the sport, John Jr., said. My wife and I have been blessed. Young people are the future of our sport and we managed to nurture a passion for sailing in all of our children.

That statement sums up why John Storck Jr., was an ideal recipient of the Paul Washburn Award For The Love of the Sport, which is presented annually by Premiere Racing. Steve Washburn, a Long Beach, CA, resident and long-time race committee volunteer for Key West, created the special award to honor his youngest son, who passed away suddenly three years ago.

Washburn fostered a love for sailing in his three sons in much the same manner as Storck, taking them cruising aboard the family Columbia 52 and racing on a B-25. Young Paul absolutely loved the sport and was named Outstanding Beginning Sailor by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club.

Previous winners of the Paul Washburn Award are Farr 30 sailors John and Linda Edwards of Solomons, MD, and Melges 24 skipper Bruce Ayres of Newport Beach, CA. Both the Edwards and Ayres are competing in Key West 2010, presented by Nautica.

Rather than ride around in a motorboat coaching or watching his children sail, John Storck Jr., chose to do something more constructive by serving as president of the United States Optimist Dinghy Association. In that role, Storck was able to contribute greatly to junior sailing and the development of young competitors. He has organized boat donations that enable Huntington area children learn to sail through a local YMCA program and has volunteered countless hours as a race committee worker.

For the past eight years, the entire Storck family has come together to successfully campaign a J/80 named Rumor. John III, Erik and Kaity were all aboard last year as Rumor repeated as class champion at Key West 2009. Colette has been an instrumental member of the team by organizing travel plans and provisioning the boat, just as she played a major role in the childrens development by driving them to regattas.

Storck said sailing has brought the family together and helped create a special bond among the siblings. Its because of sailing that theyre all very close and its because of sailing that they have the utmost respect for each other, on and off the water.

Erik Storck is here in Key West this year to serve as tactician for his father and said he relishes their time on the water together. Erik did not hesitate when asked what his parents did to encourage each of the children to excel in sailing.

First and foremost, they exposed us to the full spectrum of the sport. Growing up, we experienced big boat cruising and racing as well as dinghy racing, he said. When we all started doing our own racing at the junior level, there were never any goals or expectations in terms of results. It was all about having fun and enjoying the experience. Our parents were always there to just support us and provide opportunities, for which we are all very thankful.

Erik Storck said his father very subtly instilled a passion for sailing in the four children that will carry on forever. John Storck Jr., whose home port has always been Huntington Bay on the North Shore of Long Island, learned the joys and rewards of sailing from his own father.

My dads biggest goal is to create Sailors for Life. That is the motto that he lives by, Erik said.

by Bill Wagner

| 25 January 2010 | Original Article on page 14 | 

Following the J/80 Class at Key West Race Week
Follow the J80 action at Key West Race Week in real time! Kattack is now using real time GPS technology to track the action and the J80 Class will be outfitted with units for the week. Now you can have a drink over the KWRW racers performances before they can!

| 13 January 2010 | Kattack Website | 

J/80's Have the 3rd Largest Fleet at Key West Race Week 2010!
Use the link below to follow the action and cheer on your local team.

| 04 January 2010 | KWRW Homepage | 

2010 J/80 Worlds Site is On-line
The 2010 J/80 Worlds website is now online with the Preliminary Notice of Regatta and general travel information. Many more details will be filled in during the coming weeks, but this will get J/80 sailors started on their planning for this pinnacle event in 2010.

| 24 November 2009 | 2010 Worlds Website | 

Klingler Reclaims North American Championship
The 2009 J/80 North American Championships proved to be the perfect ending to a great season of J/80 racing. The best of the best came to Texas to give it their all in a fight for the championship. Six past North American Champions joined the fleet of 27 boats, in what proved to be almost perfect conditions on Galveston Bay. The regatta went down to the wire of the final race of the 8 race series, with Kerry Klingler and crew aboard Lifted edging Terry Flynn by 1 point, to win the 2009 North American Championships. In third place was another past champion, Glenn Darden, followed by Jay Lutz in fourth. The current Midwinter Champions, the Storck Family, rounded out the top 5. We went back to our 7th place finisher, Bill Rose and the crew of Kicks to win the Corinthian Trophy. Congratulations to all the competitors, the fleet was mixed every race through out the regatta, making it the most competitive J/80 regatta I have seen.

I want to thank this years host venue, Lakewood Yacht Club for having us. Terry Chapman, the club General Manager, and his staff did a fantastic job. A lot work was put in by our race committee, Marc Holdaway, Principal Race Officer, and Dwight Bengston, Race Committee Chairman, did a great job in putting together a very organized group of individual to run all the races. There were 29 different people helping on race committee on either mark set boats or committee boats, thank you all. Andrea Todaro served as our Head Judge and Protest Chair person. Thankfully to all the J80 racers, we handled our business professionally on the water and the protest room was never used. Finally, I want thank Kristen Robinson and the J80 Class for their support and for the party on Friday Night. Thank you guys the sailors and members of the J80 class, you make events like this fun to put on. Practice up all winter if you can, the 2010 Season is just around the corner, and Marion is hosting the North Americans, followed by the Worlds in Newport. It is a great time to be in the J80 class.

Robert McMahan
Kaos USA 703

| 28 October 2009 | Results | 

Upcoming North American Tune Up Regatta
Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA) is hosting its annual BBVA Compass Bank Regatta on the weekend of October 17-18, 2009. This is the weekend prior to the J/80 North Americans being hosted in the same racing area of Galveston Bay. Great chance to come get some practice in on Galveston Bay and tune up your boats and crews for the North Americans the following week. Lakewood Yacht Club is hosting those for launching and storing their boats during the event as well. Register online for the Bank Regatta at http://www.regattanetwork.com/club/gbca.html.

Also if you havent registered yet for North Americans do so at the same time, looks like a very strong and competitive fleet this year as 18 boats have registered for the event at this time. Any questions or help please feel free to contact me at robertm@higman.com or robdoyle2@aol.com.

Robert McMahan
Fleet 2 Captain

| 23 September 2009 | Bank Regatta Registration | 

Registration is Open for the 2009 North American Championship!
Texas is welcoming back J80 sailors from across the country on October 23-25, 2009 at Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas for the 2009 North American Championships. Fleet #2 is excited and looking forward to hosting this event, especially one year after Hurricane Ike landed ashore in Galveston and resumed across Galveston Bay into the Seabrook area. The area has fully recovered and is back on the water racing. Lakewood Yacht Club is excellent host club, providing great facilities, a very experienced race committee, and very near by accommodations. It is always year-round sailing here in the Houston areas, temperatures in October are very mild with low humidity, typically find it in the 70s during the day with sunshine. Robert McMahan (USA 703 Kaos) and Uzi Ozeri(USA 122 Infinity) are leading the regatta organization and the social calendar for the event. Fleet 2 is looking forward to seeing you and your crews here for some good ole Texas hospitality. Follow the link to register now!

| 01 September 2009 | Register Here! | 

Charter boats are 1, 2 at the Worlds
Race-ready and fast out-of-the-box take on a whole new meaning with the J/80. Consider that in this year's World Championship in Spain, the 1st and 2nd place teams (out of 132) raced newly built, unmodified charter boats supplied by the local J dealer. There was no time in advance with the boat, no time to even think about changing anything just add sails and go. The Worlds winners sailed an incredible regatta in dynamic conditions, but isn't it great to know you can hop aboard a new boat in a competitive class without having to complete a laundry list of items to get up to speed? And to prove it wasn't a fluke, charter boats were 2nd and 3rd at the 2008 Worlds in Kiel!

| 14 August 2009 | 

Rayco Tabares is 2009 J/80 World Champion
Rayco Tabares and his team from the Canary islands aboard Princesa Yaiza raced a nearly flawless series to capture the 9th J/80 World Championship in Santander Spain. A record 132 boats competed in the 12 race, one discard series, that saw a wide range of conditions and very tough competition.

The Royal Santander Yacht Club and their sponsors put on a very impressive show both on the water and ashore. The jury was active on the water enforcing the bowsprit and pumping rules. The fleet was split into Gold and Silver after three days of qualifying. All scores were carried forward. For complete results, pictures and stories of this fabulous event, click on the worlds website link.

| 16 July 2009 | World's Site | 

Jay Lutz Accident at the J80 Worlds
Jay Lutz, the 2006 J/80 World Champion and a long time competitor and supporter of the J/80 Class, was involved in a rather unfortunate accident at the J/80 Worlds in Santander, Spain when a rib crashed USA 407 "Fired up" right before the practice race. The photoboat crossed the boat from port to starboard, the prop got stuck in the cockpit, smashed the boom, blew apart the mainsail and partially landed on Jay. Steve LeMay was aboard Fired Up as well and was checked into the hospital as a precaution, probably with a mild concussion. And from Jay Lutz: "I used my superhuman strength to move the boat off me, but fractured my pelvis (3 places) and slight fracture of my L2." This picture here does not do justice to what actually happened other than the fact you can see the engine stuck on the windward rail and the photoboat out to windward. We wish Jay and Steve well and hope that they recover in good health and spirits quickly!

| 06 July 2009 | 

2009 Worlds Fleet to be the Biggest in J80 History
Most classes consider 60-70 boats to be an incredible turn-out for a world championship. Try doubling that and you get a sense for just how big the 2009 event will be in Santander, Spain. Months ago organizers had already anticipated a big turnout and so plan to initially seed the fleet into four groups who will sail against each other for a series of qualifying races. Scores will carry through when the fleet is divided into gold and silver fleets. Representing the USA will be the Jay Lutz/Gary Kamins team aboard USA 407 and Jeff Johnstone USA 1173 who will sail with an all-French team aboard JACUZZI.

| 02 July 2009 | Read more | 

ISAF Approved 2009 Rules Changes
ISAF recently confirmed the approval and new release of the 2009 J/80 Class Rules. This document along with the summary of the rules changes is now uploaded on the RULES page of the International J/80 site. Most notable of the changes is the expansion of the advertising rule to allow more than one advertiser on the hull (where previously there was a limit of one advertiser for the boat and sails). The bowsprit rule is also simplified by ridding the conflicting language regarding retracting the sprit at the leeward mark. The new wording suggested and approved by the ISAF rules committee reflects the same intent as the previous rule only with less chance for misinterpretation by event judges.

| 29 May 2009 | Read more | 

J/80 Best Practices Guide Now Available
J Boats has compiled, with the help of several industry experts, a best practices inspection, maintenance and use guide for J/80 owners. All owners are strongly urged to read the recommendations, to proactively and periodically inspect all critical components of their boats, and to contact anyone in the J/80 network of dealers, builders and class associations when any questions. Please click on the J/80 Best Practices link on the left side menu of the Int'l Home Page.

| 18 May 2009 | Read more | 

Inspect Your Keels Update
Following two separate incidents in the past 12 months where 15+ year old J/80s suffered apparent keel stub failures, J Boats, with the help of several industry experts, is compiling a best practices inspection, maintenance and use guide for J/80 owners. The following is an excerpt of the draft document, specifically regarding inspection of the keel and keel floor area. We strongly urge all owners to read carefully the recommendations and to inspect their boats.

INSPECTION FREQUENCY
Considering the typical high-frequency use seen by many J/80s, at a minimum, we recommend that J/80s be inspected on an annual basis and that a professional survey be done every five years.

HOW TO INSPECT YOUR KEEL/KEEL FLOORS (For Owners and Surveyors)
1. With your boat suspended from travel lift straps (OK) or braced in a cradle (best) or trailer (good), grab the keel at the bottom and forcefully rock it back and forth. This tip deflection test on a deep keel boat should create a small amount of flex over the span of the keel and sump (if solid fiberglass like the J/80), but there should otherwise be minimal movement from side to side. When you release the keel it should immediately return to position (and not continue to cycle). It is also important to have someone belowdecks to check for movement in the keel floor or bilge area, or any evidence that the sump is moving independently of the keel floors.

2. Are there any visible signs of cracking on the hull at the front and back of keel? Check the leading edge and bottom of keel for any impact marks/dents, scrapes. The two go hand in hand with grounding or impact damage.

3. Is there any cracking at the sump/keel joint? A crack in the cosmetic wrap could indicate that the keel nuts have loosened and need to be re-torqued. A crack may also permit water to penetrate to the keel bolts and cause crevice corrosion over time particularly if in salt water. Keel nuts should be torqued according to ISO standards, which specify the setting based on bolt material and thickness. For example, a 316 stainless keel bolt has a torque setting of 125 ft lbs assuming clean threads.

4. Is there any cracking, no matter how small, along the radius of the hull to molded sump interface? This is the transition from the hull fairbody to the keel sump. If yes, then bottom paint/gel coat should be sanded back to identify depth of cracking. One should also inspect the corresponding area on the turn of the sump inside the boat and consider sanding back interior gelcoat to see if any damage to the glass (white crazing). The tip deflection test (#1) can help better identify whether the cracks are a result of flex or a different issue.

5. Pull up all floorboards and thoroughly clean and dry all bilge components. With flashlight and mirror check all keel floor to hull intersections, including all edges of tabbing for any cracking or debonding. The integrity of the molded keel sump relies primarily on the keel floors and their secure attachment. If the keel and sump have excess movement, it is likely that the tabbing of one or more keel floors is compromised in some way (i.e. the floor is floating free from the hull). If there is any sign of different color gelcoats or paint, it is likely the keel sump has been previously repaired. When in doubt, sand away any gelcoat, clean area with a solvent, and look for white spots in the laminate-- this may be a sign of delamination. Have a surveyor immediately inspect this area for structural integrity.

6. Carefully inspect the keel bolt nuts for signs of corrosion. Periodically have your yard back off the keel nuts (one at a time) and inspect for crevice corrosion on the keel bolts. This can also be checked with a magnet. 316 stainless steel is not magnetic but crevice corrosion changes the properties and the steel could become magnetic.

7. A surveyor will use other tools to check the area: the tap test- tapping with a phenolic hammer to sound out both the exterior and interior for voids or delamination as well as to check the integrity of the glass tabbing along the keel floors; a moisture meter for finding areas of elevated moisture; even thermal infrared imaging to check for any inner laminate damage that might not otherwise be visible to the naked eye (see www.inspectboat.com for sample thermography images).

Structural Repair Considerations
For J/80s, the owner and a certified SAMS (www.marinesurvey.org) surveyor or composites expert should (1) determine the extent of cracking, distortion, wetness or delamination and (2) if there is any evidence discovered in step #1 that indicates a potential problem, the surveyor should then conduct destructive or non-destructive testing and, depending on the results of the test, recommend a repair procedure that is carried out by a qualified repair facility.

| 01 May 2009 | 

Inspect Your Keels - Notice to J/80 Owners from J Boats
We learned this morning that a 1994 J/80, racing offshore in a rough Double-handed Farralones Race off San Francisco lost its keel about 8 miles from the finish. Thankfully, both crewmembers were safely rescued by the Coast Guard.

In the absence of a specific incident such as a collision, hard grounding or drop from a crane, a failure of this kind is highly unusual without some kind of warning sign. In the only other keel loss incident among 1,150 J/80s worldwide, the composites surveyor judged the boat to have had significant longitudinal crazing visible at the exterior hull fairbody/ keel sump juncture that predated the failure. In other words, a routine inspection or survey could have led to the repairs needed to have prevented such a failure.

No sailboat is going to last forever without some updating and repairs, particularly if campaigned hard. We do not know what factors over its 15 year life may have led to the keel failure on J/80 hull #45. But we strongly urge all J/80 owners, indeed all J/Boat owners, to routinely inspect keel stringers and keel sump areas, both internally and externally with frequency and most importantly prior to entering an offshore race. Owners should specifically look for any longitudinal (fore/aft) cracking that appears on the outside of the hull and/or on the turn of the bilge, as well as any issues with the fiberglass tabbing attaching the stringers to the hull. Any compromise to the stringer tabbing, due to any number of reasons, can severely weaken the overall sump system. If you find cracks, do not assume that it’s OK, without confirmation from an expert surveyor.

For all boat owners, the keel sump and stringers, along with other high stress areas, such as rigging attachments, chainplates, rudder pintles, mast step, mast partners and primary bulkheads should be inspected at least once per year. As this unfortunate incident reminds us, one can not be too vigilant when dealing with life threatening situations. Pro-active inspection of the key structural elements of the boat are part of keeping oneself, family and crew safe.

Owners should contact their local J representative if they need assistance.

| 31 March 2009 | Read more | 

Inside the Storck Family's KW Success
Stuart Streuli of Sailing World magazine caught up with Kaity Storck in Key West last week to find out more about their successul defense of the J/80 Midwinters.

What's your job on the boat?
We actually have a really cool thing. I sail with my dad and usually my two older brothers. We all sort of rotate through positions. This week I am the second most forward person and I'm pulling the spinnaker up, taking the spinnaker down, and helping call tactics. I'm also calling waves and puffs as we go upwind.

Give us this history of this team?
My dad has sailed Key West I think probably six times in the J/80, maybe seven times. This is my fourth year in the J/80. We basically started sailing as a family together four years ago. We were actually gearing up to sail the worlds in Corpus Christi, Texas. We were all busy with junior sailors, and, my dad, he sailed a PHRF boat, and then he realized that if he got a one-design boat, we would actually sail with him. So he did, and then we did. I actually have a younger brother and we've sailed with all five of us once, and that was at Block Island Race Week two years ago and that was cool because I got to drive for that.

Tell us a little about your day?
It was definitely a really difficult day. The breezeI'm not sure if it was this way on all the coursesbut on our course it was really streaky and localized. You could easily be going upwind next to a boat that you're pretty close to and suddenly you're pointing 20 to 30 degrees different. Sometimes something would last for a while, sometimes it would only last for a second. You'd get a big header and tack, and then get a big header again. It was definitely really difficult, which made for really tight competitive racing. The first race we finished fourth and I think there was something like 15 seconds between the first six boats [Ed's note: first five boats finished in 35 seconds according to the Premiere Racing website]. The second race we won by less than a second. It was the same thing on the downwind. People sometimes don't realize that in an asymmetrical boat, as shifty as it is on the upwinds, you've got to be just as game on for the downwinds.

The J/80 is a tight one-design boat, but is there any one piece of equipment that was particularly valuable today?
Our personnel is our key tool. We have a new jib that seems to be working pretty well. We've had UK Halsey sails since we've gotten into the boat and they've always done really well. This one seems to have a little more shape at the bottom than our older jibs. This is our first time sailing with it, so we're just figuring it out.

Who would be the MVP of the team today?
The one thing our team has always done really well, is that everyone focuses on doing their own job and just their job. I think that's a problem that a lot of boats have difficulty with, especially when you have a lot of really good sailors together. It's hard for everyone to focus on doing just their job. More often than not, it's not that you run into problems with people messing up their job, but people sort of overstepping boundaries. So everyone always does a really good job on our boat. But probably with the conditions being so shifty and up and down breeze wise, we were seeing easily 10 knot ranges and the really big shifts, I think John, my brother, who was driving the boat, probably gets the MVP for keeping the boat moving.

What sort of advice would you give to another J/80 sailor looking to sail at Key West Race Week for the first time?
Trying to put together a team that has sailed together before so you can be really focused on going fast for the regatta, and everybody knows what they're doing. I will not hesitate to say our strongest point is our speed. If you have a good mix of all-stars and people who have sailed the boat before that's definitely better than all all-stars that maybe have never sailed before because things can get done a lot better. Like I said before, the most important thing on a boat is everybody doing their job. They've got to be good at their job, so they've got to be an all-star at that. But, yeah, speed is really important down here.

| 31 January 2009 | Sailing World KW Blog | 

Rumor Wins Key West Race Week 2009!
Key West's famous sailing conditions returned to form last week as sailors from across the planet congregated for the annual battle of the high seas at Acura Key West Race Week, including the 2009 J/80 Midwinter Championship. John Storck Jr. and family (John III and Katie) aboard Rumor repeated as Midwinter champions, and earned the Lewmar Boat of the Day on Thursday for the top performance in the most competitive class. The J/80 Class was able to boast as one of the largest one-design Classes in attendance this year. Over the 10 race series, Rumor finished on top followed by Bill Rose (League City, TX) on Kicks and Kristen Robinson (Annapolis, MD) on Angry Chameleon.

| 29 January 2009 | Results and Photos | 

Can't Make It to Key West Race Week this Year - View the Action on Your Computer
The USA J80 Class has hired Kattack to track all the action at Key West Race Week 2009. You can see all the choices and lanes the racers choose and keep track of your local favorites! Every night you will be able to view the days racing at www.kattack.com. Good luck to all who are making the trip down south!

| 15 January 2009 | Kattack Website | 

2009 J/80 Class Rules Submissions
Please review the attached 2009 J/80 Class Rules Submissions. In accordance with the class by-laws, there is a minimum 60 day minimum review period from the date the resolutions were submitted by the Technical Committee to the Executive Committee (December 3, 2008). This would mean that the ExCom can vote on the submissions after February 3rd. Please email any comments or questions you may have to your Fleet Captain and/or Executive Board.

| 16 December 2008 | 2009 J/80 Class Rules Submissions | 

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 J80 USA Class Officers
The Class Officers for the J80 USA Class has been voted in. Your Class Officers for 2009 through 2010 are:
President: Kristen Robinson, #255, Fleet #10 Annapolis, MD
Vice President: Conor Hayes #265, Fleet #1 New Hampshire
Treasurer: Lane Wimberly #703, Fleet #2 Galveston Bay, TX
Secretary: Curt Johnson #284, Fleet #11 Southern California
Lets support them and encourage them to facilitate the growth of our class. Some of the major issues they will be tackling and assisting the Class with in the coming months will be:
* Organizing the 2009 North American Championships in Texas
* Organizing the 2010 North American Championships in Marion, MA
* Organizing the 2010 World Championships Newport, RI
* Transferring the Class from the current sail patch system over to non-removable buttons.
* Training more Class Measurers, in more locations, in the USA
* Assist in the Class in getting through this downturn in the economy and emerge stronger than before!
Please email your Class President if you have other issues that you believe the Class needs to address and rectify. Thanks for the support and we look forward to serving as you Class Officers.

| 02 December 2008 | 

J/80 One-Design Racing in China
Eight teams from eight countries participated last week in the first International J/80 Invitational Regatta in Xiamen, China hosted by J Boats Asia and J World Xiamen. This marked the first ever J/80 one-design event in the Pacific Rim.
Team Belgium captained by Barry Hayes and skippered by China's Olympic Yngling skipper Song Xia Qun won the five race no-throw out series over Team Hong Kong, Team Singapore and Team USA. Other countries included Philippines, France, China, Taiwan, and Australia. Sailors enjoyed the use of brand new J/80s right off the production line of J Boats new Asian builder, Hudson Yacht Industries of Xiamen. Jeff Johnstone of J Boats was on hand to measure boats and run the sailors (most of whom were new to the J/80) through a pre-regatta speed clinic.
"We couldn't be happier with the turnout and the high quality of the competition," said Jeff Brown, president of J Boats Asia and the event chairman. "Xiamen is a beautiful sailing venue and the perfect location to launch a new J World sailing school and the J/80 Asian class. We look forward to welcoming new students when the school officially opens in 60 days and to hosting even bigger J/80 events in the future."

| 02 December 2008 | 

Bruno Pasquinelli and Tiamo are the J80 North American Champions!
Light air was once again the order of the day, for the final two races of the J/80 NAs but with an unusual twist. At the scheduled time for the warning signal, the breeze was coming from 200-210 far left from the normal direction. PRO Tom OConor postponed the start for about 15 minutes, hoping the wind might shift a bit to the right before sending the fleet up the course. That didnt happen, so O'Conor had the weather mark placed at 205 degrees and started the sequence in 7-knots of wind. No one was surprised when the wind clocked 30 degrees in the next 25 minutes, but those boats who positioned themselves properly on the course to take advantage of that shift were launched. The first three finishers were the top three boats in the standings. More importantly, however, Bruno Pasquinellis second place finish was more than good enough to insure that his Tiamo had won the championship without even needing to sail the eighth and final race. That set the stage for the final race which became a duel between Kerry Klinger from Larchmont, New York and CYCs Curt Johnson a duel to see who would occupy the second spot on the podium. It was an intense race from start to finish, but in the last few feet of the race course, Klinger passed Ed Cummins Bold Forbes by inches to take second place. Johnsons fifth place finish in that race put him into a tie with Klinger a tie that was broken in favor of Klinger to give the New York team second place, with Johnson settling for third.

| 03 August 2008 | 

J80 North American's Day Two Update
The second day of the J/80 North American Championship had a decidedly different look than Day One. The sun made a late appearance – showing up only for the third and final race of the day. As a result, the sea breeze had a difficult time grabbing a solid hold, so the winds were lighter and much shifter than the fleet experienced during the previous three races on Day One. Most of the racing took place in 6-8 knots of wind. However, the pressure varied considerably over the race course, which helped shuffle the pecking order a bit at mark roundings. But there were at least a couple of constants. Bruno Pasquinelli’s Tiamo – the boat that has occupied the top spot in the standings since the opening race – and defending champion Kerry Klinger, always started near the pin, and more often than not both worked the left side of the course on the weather legs. Tiamo looked very fast going upwind, and has now opened up a six-point lead on the leaderboard. Curt Johnson from the host club seemed much less baffled by the shifty conditions than many of the other competitors. Johnson was never dueling with Pasquinelli or Klinger for the pin at the start but consistently was able to find a comfortable hole on the starting line so he was always able to sail his own race. Johnson “won” Day Two with finishes of 1-2-4, and is now in second place. At the same time, Klinger took a 40% penalty for an issue at the leeward gate with Pasquinelli in race five of the series, and is now in third place – five points behind Johnson. Although a throw-out has now kicked in for scoring purposes, it would be shortsighted to overlook the fact that Tiamo’s worst race is only a fourth – four points less than that of any other boat in the fleet. This fact will not be lost on Bruno Pasquinelli’s team as they go into the final two races of the championship on Sunday.

| 02 August 2008 | 

J80 North American's Day One Update
A casual observer on the water watching the first day of the J/80 North American Championship, might easily have gotten the impression that Bruno Pasquinelli from the Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas was giving a seminar. Pasquinelli's Tiamo won the first race of the series rather easilty and although he needed to pass a boat or two on the first run of the second race, after two races he was still undefeated. He and his crew seemed very comfortable in the 7-9 knots of breeze in which both of those races were sailed, and seemed happy to start each race at or near the pin and protect the left side of the course upwind. The third and final race of Day One had a bit more breeze, but once again Pasquinelli started at the pin and protected the left side, which rewarded him with yet another first place rounding at the weather mark. However, on the second beat, the left side magic deserted him. Steven Hammerman, also from the Dallas area, hit the right corner on that beat in a breeze that built to 11 knots...and was several boat lengths ahead of Tiamo at the top mark. Hammerman's Hammertime held on to that lead to win the third race and move into a tie for third place with defending North American Champion Kerry Klinger from Larchmont, New York. However, after three races, Pasquinelli sits comfortably at the head of the pack with a five point lead over Ed Cummin's very consistent (3-2-4) Bold Forbes, steered by Mike Sturman, with Hammertime and Klinger's Infiniti two points further back. Three more races are scheduled for Saturday with the final two races on Sunday. The weather? Look for more 7-11 knots of breeze with bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70s.

| 01 August 2008 | 

Rodriguez is new J80 World Champion
The winner of the Tutima J80 Worlds comes from Spain. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez and his "Nextel engineering" Crew took the title despite the fact that the Spanish crew was black flagged in the last race. Only two points ahead Ignacio Camino Rodriguez saved his lead and was happy that race officer Mandus Freese did not start the twelth race because of strong winds. All three days before of Tutima J80 Worlds the Spanish team was on first place in the daily rankings. First time skippering a J80 in a Worlds the president of the J80- Class, Jeff Johnstone, USA sailed into the second place, just two points behind the winner. With the boat chartered from a German trader and equipped with sails of the Kiel sail makers Faber and Mnker the 48-year-old sailor needed a couple of races to get used to the conditions in Kiel, but showed then with three day wins and further rankings in front. The fleet of 63 Boats and crews from 12 nations was dominated by, besides the Spanish crews, especially teams of France, Great Britain and Sweden under the top ten of the fleet. After all, French sailor Patrick Bot could achieve four wins in the daily valuations. But after some worse places unfortunately rank 4 was left for the French team. Although rarely worse than 15th, Kevin Sproul (GBR), sailed himself into the total rank 5. The hosts and initiators of the Tutima J80 Worlds Uli Mnker and Peter Hecht finished as best German team. Temporarily being on rank three finally the Kiel ones have to be satisfied with place nine. We always had nice conditions here in Kiel, winds between 10 and 20 knots all the time and very seldom a strong rain shower. With a total of eleven races we could deliver a perfect performance", head of organisation, Thore Hansen, summed up. Final results: 1. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez/Alberdo Padron Gomez Jose Luis/Armando Gutierrez (ESP) 52 2. Jeff Johnstone/Bo Teichmann/Stella Mau/Florian Fh/Henning Mittelmann (USA) 54 3. Carlos Martinez/Chencho Ortega/Eugenio Pedreno/Juanma Barrionuevo (ESP) 63 4. Patrick Bot/Frederic Denis/Matthieu Durand/Frederic Hauville/Agathe Brucelle (FRA) 71 5. Kevin Sproul/Yoann Richomme/Robert Gullan/Aarian Gray (GBR) 75; 6. Javier Padron/Juan Gonzalez/Abelardo Queuedo/Cesar Obregon (ESP) 79 7. Ingemar Sundstedt/Jrgen Strmquist/Olof Detlefsen/Anne Tempelmann/Mikael Linquist (SWE) 79 8. Jonathan Lobert/Flix Pruvor/Thomas Le Breton/Benjamin Diouris (FRA) 81 9. Ulrich Mnker/Philipp Schn/Willem Geertz/Erik Hecht/Peter Hecht (Kiel) 87 10. Luc Nadal/Francois Meesmaecker/Pierre Mousselon/Gilles Curcaud (FRA) 106

| 14 July 2008 | Read more | 

Johnstone gets second
A real perfect performance shows the boat with the number USA 1151 on the third day of Tutima J80 Worlds in Kiel. Jeff Johnstone, president of J-Boats himself, steered his J80 on the second place overall. Going further ahead to fetch the titel, the crew of Ignacio Camino Rodriguez is leading with eleven points in front of Johnstone. In Kiel Jeff Johnstone gives daily proof that he controls his “own” boat perfectly. He belongs to the second generation of the boat- builder family Johnstone from Newport/Rhode Island. The J80, designed by his brother Alan in 1993, which is represented in Schilksee 63 times, stands out due to her wide dynamic. “She is, nevertheless easy to handle ", how Jeff stresses. "All boats we built must pass the test by the family”, emphasizes Jeff Johnstone, sole American Skipper at the J80 Worlds. He appreciates very much that the J80 class takes it for granted to be open for young people. That’s why 14-year-old Stella Mau and 15-year-old Florian Föh are part of his crew. It is the first time that Jeff Johnstone takes part in a J80 World Cup. Until now he was known more to be an adviser and measurer in the regatta scene. Nevertheless two races have to be sailed on Saturday and perfect conditions will be expected. Top five after ten races: 1. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez/Alberdo Padron/Gomez Jose Luis/Armando Gutierrez (ESP) 2,2,6,8,3,4,(11,00),4,5,8/42 points; 2. Jeff Johnstone/Bo Teichmann/Stella Mau/Florian Föh/Henning Mittelmann (USA) 7,11,3,5,13,(14,00),7,1,1,5/53; 3. Carlos Martinez/Chencho Ortega/Eugenio Pedreno/Juanma Barrionuevo(ESP) 4,18,7,2,6,5,2,(65,00),4,10/58; 4. Javier Padron/Juan Gonzalez/Abelardo Queuedo/Cesar Obregon (ESP) 1,9,4,9,8,8,8,2,10,(21,00)/59; 5. Kevin Sproul/Yoann Richomme/Robert Gullan/Aarian Gray (GBR) 3,14,2,4,14,15,10,(32,00),3,3/68

| 14 July 2008 | 

Tutima J80 Worlds Day 2: Rodriguez still ahead
Already two Spanish teams resume the lead in the Tutima J80 Worlds at Kiel, with Ignacio Camino Rodriguez (ESP) on top and Carlos Martinez on second place. From a position far behind yesterday the German team of “Needles and Pins” with Uli Münker and Peter Hecht celebrated their comeback into the tops today. With a series of 1, 3 and 5 today they take the third place in the fleet of 63 boats in Kiel. While many collisions and unavoidable protests characterized the first race day, today constant southerly winds between 2 and 5 Bft brought calmness into the field. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez from Spain has the lead unchallenged. Still without a first place in a race but always among the first eleven boats the vice- world champion of 2007 dominates the 63 boats fleet from twelve nations. As the Spaniard, like all crews, could discard his worst result, he was able to enhance his balance to 25 points. Only one point behind ranks Carlos Martinez (ESP) with his crew. While things ran not quite optimal on board of "Needles and Pins" of Peter Hecht and Uli Münker at the start of Tutima J80 Worlds yesterday, the Kiel Yacht- Club team confirmed their world class condition and catapulted themselves onto a potential bronze rank. More than half of the Tutima J80 Worlds races have been accomplished with that. So until Saturday five races are left according to plan. Top five after seven races: 1. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez/Alberdo Padron/Gomez Jose Luis/Armando Coniertua (ESP) 2,2,6,8,3,4,(11)/25; 2. Carlos Martinez/Chencho Ortega/Eugenio Pedreno/Juanma Barrionuevo (ESP) 4,(18),7,2,6,5,2/26; 3. Ulrich Münker/Philipp Schön/Willem Geertz/Erik Hecht/Peter Hecht (Kiel) (26),6,8,11,1,3,5/34 4. Javier Padron/Juan Gonzalez/Abelardo Queuedo/Cesar Obregon (ESP) 1,9,4,(9),8,8,8/38 5. Tomas Movin/Peter Ohlsen/Nils Ohlsen/Peter Thorwid (SWE) (17), 8,11,10,2,1,9/41

| 11 July 2008 | Read more | 

Tutima J80 Worlds Day 2: Rodriguez still ahead
Already two Spanish teams resume the lead in the Tutima J80 Worlds at Kiel, with Ignacio Camino Rodriguez (ESP) on top and Carlos Martinez on second place. From a position far behind yesterday the German team of “Needles and Pins” with Uli Münker and Peter Hecht celebrated their comeback into the tops today. With a series of 1, 3 and 5 today they take the third place in the fleet of 63 boats in Kiel.
While many collisions and unavoidable protests characterized the first race day, today constant southerly winds between 2 and 5 Bft brought calmness into the field. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez from Spain has the lead unchallenged. Still without a first place in a race but always among the first eleven boats the vice- world champion of 2007 dominates the 63 boats fleet from twelve nations. As the Spaniard, like all crews, could discard his worst result, he was able to enhance his balance to 25 points. Only one point behind ranks Carlos Martinez (ESP) with his crew. While things ran not quite optimal on board of "Needles and Pins" of Peter Hecht and Uli Münker at the start of Tutima J80 Worlds yesterday, the Kiel Yacht- Club team confirmed their world class condition and catapulted themselves onto a potential bronze rank. More than half of the Tutima J80 Worlds races have been accomplished with that. So until Saturday five races are left according to plan. Top five after seven races: 1. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez/Alberdo Padron/Gomez Jose Luis/Armando Coniertua (ESP) 2,2,6,8,3,4,(11)/25; 2. Carlos Martinez/Chencho Ortega/Eugenio Pedreno/Juanma Barrionuevo (ESP) 4,(18),7,2,6,5,2/26; 3. Ulrich Münker/Philipp Schön/Willem Geertz/Erik Hecht/Peter Hecht (Kiel) (26),6,8,11,1,3,5/34 4. Javier Padron/Juan Gonzalez/Abelardo Queuedo/Cesar Obregon (ESP) 1,9,4,(9),8,8,8/38 5. Tomas Movin/Peter Ohlsen/Nils Ohlsen/Peter Thorwid (SWE) (17), 8,11,10,2,1,9/41

| 10 July 2008 | 

Spain takes the lead in the Tutima J80 Worlds
‘Have a shower..’, that was the motto for today’s races. Heavy rain showers cooled down the fresh winds during the first day of the Tutima J80 Worlds on Kiel Bight. In between wind speed decreased a bit, but the wind came back punctually for the third race. Finally four races were sailed in at least best conditions. The courses were dominated by the crews from Spain, at the end Ignacio Camino Rodriguez (ESP) and his crew took the lead in front of Javier Padron (ESP). The British team of Kevin Sproul achieved the third place. J-Boats designer and maybe the first J80 sailor in the world at all Jeff Johnstone from the US came in fourth and showed how well he knows his ‘own’ boat.

Race director Jobst Richter had fired the signal for the first race of the day at firm winds from west at 11:25 a.m. “We had very variable wind conditions on the courses and had to lay out a new course for each new race. With every cloud the wind shifted by at least twenty degrees, which made it a challenge for the sailors as well”, declared Jobst Richter.

He will now give the race management responsibilities into the hands of Mandus Freese for the rest of the Tutima J80 World Cup

The new J80 World Champion will be determined on Saturday.

Top five after four races:
1. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez/Alberdo Padron/Gomez Jose Luis/Armando Coniertua (ESP/2,2,6,8) 18; 2. Javier Padron/Juan Gonzalez/Abelardo Queuedo/Cesar Obregon (ESP/1,9,4,9) 23; 3. Kevin Sproul/Yoann Richomme/Robert Gullan/Aarian Gray (GBR/3,14,2,4) 23; 4. Patrick Bot/Matthieu Durand/Frederic Hauville/Agathe Brucelle (FRA/22,1,1,1) 25; 5. Jeff Johnstone/Bo Teichmann/Stella Mau/Florian Föh/Henning Mittelmann (USA/7,11,3,5) 26.
Follow the link for exciting pictures

| 10 July 2008 | Read more | 

J/80 Worlds Entry Closes
More than 60 teams from 12 countries are now entered in the Tutima 2008 J/80 World Championship, taking place in Kiel, Germany next month. Never before have so many countries been represented at the worlds. Kieler Yacht Club and the German J/80 Class are proud of this result and look forward to welcoming all competitors to Kiel.

| 19 June 2008 | Read more | 

J/80 Hull #21 Skillagalee
We regret to report that on Saturday, while racing in the Sprit Fest Regatta in Long Island, J/80 hull #21 broached with spinnaker the up and in the process lost its keel. Conditions were 22-25 knots with higher gusts. The incident took place on the last leg of the first race, where hull #21 broached three times, the third and final of which took place just after finishing. Everyone aboard was safe. The J/80 was later towed very slowly back into port and then hauled out. The boat will be undergoing a thorough survey in the coming weeks, and a full investigation will take place to determine, if possible, the cause of the accident. We will endeavor to inform all J/80 owners what is learned from the investigation. The J/80's 15 year record speaks for itself regarding the boat's durability and seaworthiness. At this point, this is believed to be an isolated incident.


We will keep you posted on the developments.

| 04 June 2008 | 

2008 J80 North American's Update
California Yacht Club is pleased to host the J/80 Class for their North American Championship this July 30th through August 3rd. Sailing conditions in Marina del Rey at this time of year are ideal for a championship event, with a 10 to 15 knot breeze typically filling in by noon under warm and sunny skies.

Come sail on the same waters where many championship regattas have been sailed, including the Star Worlds, the Laser Radial Worlds, the J/105 North Americans, and the J/24 North Americans. Experience the dedication of a race management team that has been awarded US Sailings prestigious St. Petersburg Trophy three times in the past decade.

Marina del Rey is an ideal vacation destination for the whole family. Enjoy shopping experiences from chic Rodeo Drive to eclectic Melrose Avenue. Visit cultural attractions such as the Getty Museum and the LA County Museum of Art or enjoy a concert under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. Family excursions include Universal Studios, Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. Competitors and their guests also are welcome to use the Clubs facilities during race days, including a heated pool, snack bar and dining facilities.

Chairman: Marylyn Hoenemeyer
310.472.3577 or 310.617.3870
J80NA@roadrunner.com

A full calendar of events has been planned. Please click on the link for further details:

| 20 May 2008 | Read more | 

J/80s Finish 1-2 in Asian Sportboat Champs
The J/80 recently debuted in Asia at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Maersk Asian International Sportboat Championship, where two out-of-the-box J/80 yachts took the top two spots, finishing ahead of a mixed fleet of custom and production built sportboats from China, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Jeff Johnstone of J Boats and his all-Hong Kong crew edged out colleague Jeff Brown of San Diego to complete the one-two sweep. Brown, with partner Hudson Wang, recently opened the J Boats Asia dealership with an office in downtown Hong Kong and with plans for a mainland China office in early 2008.

The Asian debut comes at a time when J/80 activity is booming worldwide. The recent J/80 World Championship in La Trinite-sur-Mer, France had 124 competing teams - a record for the Class, and momentum continues to build. "The J/80 is a solid all-around performer that's really easy to sail," Johnstone said. "It's more stable than most sportboats, and so attracts and rewards sailors from a wider age and ability range."

Jeff Brown is equally enthusiastic about the J/80's Asian debut. "We see Hong Kong, China, and Asia as great opportunities for J/80 sailing and for the J/80 Class," said Brown. "There is no better small keelboat for new sailors - the J/80 combines the speed and responsiveness of a small boat with the comfort and stability of a larger yacht. With momentum so strong around the world, we're hoping to host the J/80 Pacific Rim Championship in a few years!"

The J/80 will be on display at the Shanghai International Boat Show next April.

| 23 November 2007 | Read more | 

Kerry Klingler wins 2007 J80 North American Championships
Eastport Yacht Club and its top-notch race committee team hosted an outstanding regatta last weekend. A strong fleet of 33 boats showed up in Annapolis with teams from as far away as California and Texas who were treated to a typical mixture of fall conditions on the Chesapeake Bay. Kerry Klingler, a class veteran and professional with UK Sailmakers, used solid crew work and superb boat speed to capture the North American crown with a low score of 16 points. The crew of Lifted consisted of Doug Lynn, Neil Bresnan, John Bowden, and Kerry Klingler. This victory was Klingler’s third North American Championship and second consecutive win. Everyone had high praise for EYC race committee, chaired by Jeff Borland. "Overall, the race committee did a great job of running races in difficult conditions. They worked hard to ensure fair and fun races," Klingler wrote in a blog entry on the UK Sailmakers website. "The regatta was well run and a lot of fun. I would like to thank Eastport Yacht Club, which provided the home base for the event. If you missed the regatta, you missed out on some great sailing and great competition."

| 15 November 2007 | Read more | 

2007 J80 North Americans Moving to Annapolis!
Due to the very low water levels in Lake Norman, NC the 2007 North Americans will now be held in Annapolis, MD. Eastport Yacht Club will be hosting the event. Dates for the championship regatta remain the same, Nov. 9-11, and if you have already registered, you registration fee and application will be transferred to the new race organizers. If you have not already registered, please do so now! Annapolis is the “Sailing Capitol of the World” and promises great race committee, great parties and a great atmosphere. Details, including a new NOR, schedule of events and information on visiting Annapolis, will be posted shortly. Please help Eastport Yacht Club, Fleet 18 and your J80 USA Executive Board in making this a great National Championship! Click "dots" to enter Regatta Website

| 10 October 2007 | Read more | 

2007 J80 North American Championships
Sign up now for the 2007 J80 North American Championship being held on Lake Norman, NC and being hosted by Don Trask and the Lake Norman Yacht Club. The registration form and NOR can be found in the calendar section of the USA website and also by clicking on the NA's header of the homepage of the USA website. Check out the great activities planned in the Schedule of Events! Current Entries

| 14 September 2007 | 

USA J/80 Production Update
J/80 momentum is cranking along worldwide and production has resumed in the USA with six boats already having shipped from Pearson Composites in Rhode Island. Current J/80 Midwinter and former J/80 World champion Kerry Klingler picked up Hull #1001 last month. Designer Rod Johnstone has sold his bigger J and will be sailing his new J/80 at the North Americans in November. The new 2008 USA model incorporates several features from the J/Europe J/80 while retaining the SCRIMP molding used on all previous USA built J/80s: New style rails and stanchions reduced to the 450mm class minimum height; Molded companionway step in lieu of old style ladder; Tack line clutch; Sparcraft France J/80 anodized spar package; J/Europe new style bowsprit and end fitting; All California gray deck; Harken carbo block upgrade; New style Ronstan jib tracks and plunger cars.

| 30 August 2007 | 

J/80 Worlds Declares New Champion
La Trinite, France....It first came as a surprise but the astonishing superiority of a strong Spanish contingent at the beginning of the week turned almost into a clean sweep as Santander's skippers Jose Maria Torcida Seghers and Ignacio Camino struggled against each other until the last and decisive 11th race. Torcida Seghers emerged as the new J/80 World Champion with an impressive 5 wins in 11 races.

"We came here with very limited objectives knowing we would face the word's best. We've only been sailing seriously and competitively in the J/80 since last October. We decided to train as a team with the entire 30 boat fleet gathered in Santander. All that hard work has paid off."

Germany's Ulrich Muenker's third place overall prevents the Spaniards from heading home with a unique grand slam in the J/80's World history. For the very first time, the Worlds winner does not come from the organizing country. 124 J80s entered this competition. Defending champion Glenn Darden made an excellent showing, finishing 6th overall, including a bullet in Race #7.

Overall top six
1. Jose MariaTorcida Seghers, ESP, 29 points
2. Ignacio Camino, ESP, 46
3. Ulrich Muenker, GER, 57
4. Rayco Tabares, ESP, 61
5. Sylvain Pellissier, FRA, 65
6. Glenn Darden, USA, 66

| 09 July 2007 | Read more | 

Ole! Spanish Armada takes on J/80 Worlds
First a great showing at the America’s Cup, both as host country and a leading challenger, and now Spain is showing its stuff at the top of the one-design world with the top 3 placings with one day to go at the 2007 J/80 World Championship in La Trinite sur Mer, France. In what is likely to be the largest keelboat World Championship of the year (with 124 boats), three Spanish teams led by Jose Torcida Seghers, Ignacio Camino and Rayco Tabares are showing their heavy air prowess with a dominating performance. Four races were held today in the relatively “lighter” 15 knot conditions and even lighter winds are expected to shuffle the fleet on the final day of racing. All previous J/80 Worlds have been won by a team from the host country, but this is likely to change with the top 7 teams all from visiting countries. 3rd place is still within reach for several boats including defending champ Glenn Darden, as well as Ulrich Muenker of Germany and Kevin Sproul of Great Britain.

| 07 July 2007 | Read more | 

Spaniards Solidify Lead at Worlds
With 6 races complete and another 5 to go, Ignacio Camion of Spain leads the 124 boat fleet at the 2007 J/80 World Championship in La Trinite sur Mer, France. Spain is the newest country to adopt the J/80 as its one-design keelboat of choice (100 new boats delivered in the past 14 months with another 30 on order), and the results at the Worlds are showing. Fellow Spaniard Jose Torcida Seghers is in 2nd place just in front of Victor Lanier of France and Kevin Sproul of the UK. Five countries are represented in the top six teams with defending champ Glenn Darden of the USA in 5th and Ulirch Muenker of Germany in 6th. The fleet now splits into Gold and Silver divisions with all but one race carrying forward to the final tally.

RESULTS (with one discard)
1: Ignacio Camino, Spain "Nextel Engineering" (6 pts)
2: Jose Torcida Seghers, Spain "Ecc Viviendas" (9 pts)
3: Victor Lanier, France "Equipe de France Militaire Ecole Navale" (11 pts)
4: Kevin Sproul, Great Britain "The Duke" (12 pts)
5: Glenn Darken, United States "Le Glide" (20 pts)
6: Ulrich Muenker, Germany “Needles And Pins" (22 pts)
7: Sylvain Pellissier, France "Voilerie All Purpose" (24 pts)
8: Jean Queveau, France “Nantes St. Naarre) (22 pts)
9: Rayco Tabares, Spain “Hotel Princesa Yaiza” (26 pts)
10: Luc Nadal, France "Gan'ja" (28 pts)

| 06 July 2007 | Read more | 

Racing Cancelled on Day #2 of Worlds
Racing was cancelled on Day 2 of the 2007 J/80 Worlds due to high winds and seas. With the competitors awekening to 25-35 knot winds out of the Northeast, and no let-up in sight, the race organizers kept the boats in harbor for the day. The forecast for the rest of the week looks to be much improved and racing will continue on Thursday.

| 05 July 2007 | Read more | 

Spaniards Take Early Lead at 2007 J/80 Worlds
With 124 boats from 8 countries, the 2007 J/80 World Championship (in La Trinite sur Mer, France) kicked off with 3 qualifying races on opening day (Tuesday July 3rd). The fleet is split into four flights for a qualifying series, before being sorted into gold and silver divisions later in the week. With most of the qualifying races counting in the cumulative score, there’s no time for competitors to relax. Ignacio Camion and Jose Torcida Seghers, both of Spain, sailed nearly flawless to take the regatta lead. French match racing champion Victor Lanier is in 3rd, narrowly in front of Kevin Sproul of the UK and defending World Champ Glenn Darden of the USA.

RESULTS
1: Ignacio Camino, Spain "Nextel Engineering" (4 pts) (2,1,1,)
2: Jose Torcida Seghers, Spain "Ecc Viviendas" (6 pts) (1,4,1,)
3: Victor Lanier, France "Equipe de France Militaire Ecole Navale" (9 pts) (1,4,4,)
4: Kevin Sproul, Great Britain "The Duke" (11 pts) (7,1,3,)
5: Glenn Darken, United States "Le Glide" (12 pts) (4,6,2,)
6: Luc Nadal, France "Gan'ja" (14 pts) (5,2,7,)
7: Sylvain Pellissier, France "Voilerie All Purpose" (15 pts) (5,2,8,)
8: Ulrich Muenker, Germany “Needles And Pins" (17 pts) (2,7,8,)
9: Patrick Bot, France "Ecole Navale Cg29" (17 pts) (6,5,6,)
10: Nick Chery, Great Britain "Unlimited Sailing" (18 pts) (10,5,3,)

| 05 July 2007 | Read more | 

Boats Still Available for 2007 Worlds
Anyone interested in chartering a boat for the 2007 Worlds should contact JEurope at mic@jeurope.eu.com.

| 08 May 2007 | 

2007 North Americans at Lake Norman, NC
The 2007 J80 NAs have been awarded. They will be hosted by the Lake Norman Yacht Club and J80 Fleet #15. Lake Norman Yacht Club is located in Mooresville NC. The dates of the regatta are November 8-11, 2007. The central location, about equidistant from NH and TX should draw a great number of boats. More details to follow.

| 29 March 2007 | 

JAN 4th, 2007 New Board Elected
The votes are in and a new Board has been elected to serve our J80 Class for the next two years.
They are:
Steve Hammerman - President,
Kerry Klingler - Vice President,
Kristen Robinson - Secretary,
Kevin Hayes - Treasurer

| 04 January 2007 | 

J80 Class Association USA Officer Elections

Nominations for the open J80 Class Association officer positions (President, VP, Secretary & Treasurer) have been open on the Forum under “Class Association Business” for some time now. Nominations will close on 12/20, when the class will hold an election online for the positions. The new officers will hold 2 year terms beginning January 1, 2007.

Class members will receive a link for the election by email from the class Treasurer on Thursday, December 21st from the email address jwbalich@gmail.com. Now would be a good time to update your member profile if your email address is out of date.

It has been a pleasure to serve the class for the past two years.

Uzi, Bob, Bernie & Jason

| 10 December 2006 | 

And the winner is...
Thanks for all those who voted. Owner J/80 Class Association Members will be receiving a trailer hitch cover with the following design. The hitch cover is cast in pewter and then painted with a navy blue enamel.

| 18 October 2006 | 

J/80 Trailer Hitch Covers
The Class Association will be creating custom trailer hitch covers cast in pewter and highlighted in blue enamel to decorate your tow vehicle when you are not towing your J80 to a regatta. We are considering the following three options and would like your input to pick which one is used. Please vote in the weekly poll to the right.







Hitch covers will be given for 2007 class members and will be available for purchase on this website once they become available in November.

| 09 October 2006 | 

2007 Class Membership & Sail Royalties
October 31 is the final date to make payments for 2006 Class Membership. Starting November 1, all transactions will go toward 2007 dues. Also, sail royalties for 2006 will be closed December 15. Orders received after that date will go toward 2007 purchases.

| 02 October 2006 | 

KLINGLER'S LIFTED WINS 2006 NA's
Light winds dominated the event with no races completed on Friday. A total of six races were scored with the final race on Sunday being a bit of frustration. As the breeze diminished to zero, only Jason Balich's Over Achiever was able to finish within the time limits.
Congratulations to Kerry Klingler and his crew of Jay Lurie, Doug Lynn, and Neil Bresnan on Lifted, the 2006 J80 North American Champions. The top three finishers were: 1st-Lifted (Kerry Klingler, Larchmont, NY), 2nd-US 352 (Blake Fleetwood, Amagansett, NY), 3rd-FKA (Les Beckwith, Wolfeboro, NH).
More reports to follow in the days ahead.
Get full results at

| 11 September 2006 | Read more | 

RULES CHANGE PROPOSAL TO BE SUBMITTED
Please review the Rules Change Proposal on THE FORUM at Class Rules Discussion/ 2006 Rules Change Proposal.
Your inputs are important to the overall process so please comment on the Forum with pro or con.

| 07 August 2006 | 

2006 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP REGISTRATION IS OPEN
The Lake Winnipesaukee Sailing Association and J80 Fleet 1 cordially invite you to participate in this year's North American Championship Regatta on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, September 8th - 10th. Check out the website for all you need to know. The J-Jamboree traditionally produces excellent winds, great race administration, lots of races, the famous Beer Truck, and an outstanding barbecue. This year's NAs promises no less!

| 12 May 2006 | Read more | 

2006 J-80 WORLDS
The 2006 World championsip web site is up and running everybody is urged to sign up as soon as possible, Please note that the hotel the class will be using is the Omni, The class has secured special rate for the competitors.Omni at 361-887-1600 or on the web http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/default.asp?h_id=60, Thanks, Uzi Ozeri

| 06 March 2006 | 

More J-80 Key West News
Report by Jay Lutz

WOW! What a regatta! Five days of fabulous racing (scary at times), and the atmosphere of Key West to boot! This should be a stop for any J80 owner. Slightly expensive but where else could you attend the finest regatta in the world in the cold of January. Plus there is something to do for all non-sailors as well.

I first want to congratulate our crew …because this regatta in particular, was a total team effort, especially during the mid week with the winds 25-35.. JT, Brian and Derek were fantastic and it was a pleasure to race with them. Now on to the racing.

We arrived early Saturday morning and had plans of setting the mast quickly and spending most of the day out on the water. Unfortunately, and maybe it was an omen of things to come a Front came through early that morning and it “Honked” out of the North-NW about 30. The temporary Marina at the Truman Annex was scared to death of us gin-poling the mast up in those winds and asked that we postpone until later. Well, later almost never came so after negotiating with S&S Marine and taking all responsibilities we took 5 minutes and raised the mast between 30 knot puffs. Not a big deal when you have a good gin pole…Thanks “Hammertime”.Sunday was a perfect practice day and allowed the crews to get the cobwebs out and start to think about “Sprit” sailing again.

Monday – Race day 1

Winds were light North Easterly with the possibility of a right hand shift during the day. Our racecourse consisted of Melges 24, J105’s and the J80’s. In the light lump the J80’s were sure to be faster then the “class” jib 105’s and our discussion prior to the start proved correct. We were going to have to deal with the 105’s as we caught up during the race. What we didn’t know was how quickly we would need to start looking for clear air “lanes” from the 105’s… By the time we reached the windward mark our strategy had changed to dealing with the 105’s---and our normal fleet! After having to over stand the windward mark by 15 boat lengths in order to stay in clear air we still arrived with a very comfortable lead. Glenn Darden on “Hoss” was second. Our lead quickly shrunk at the leeward gates when a pack of 105’s stalled and hearing a “no room” from a 105 clearly outside two boat lengths we proceeded to see the J80 fleet from behind roll right up from behind and the race was on again! We were lucky to hold off the group for the win with Rick Shaffer second and Hoss third.

Race two saw slightly more wind which kept most of the 105’s ahead for the race duration as well as that right hand shift I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately for us, knowing about it and positioning for it was two different things. After leading half way around the course we gave up two spots to John Stork and Glenn Darden after a “mind fart” and forgot we were going to protect that side!

Tuesday – Race Day 2

When we left the dock winds were SE at 20 with the potential to build, and build they did (to around 30) till mid afternoon. Race one was probably the hardest with the mainsail flogging most of the windward legs. Downwind…what a ride! Speeds in the area of 16- 18 knots…Throw in the jibes and look out. The best J80 wipe out we saw was Shaffer and crew on “Nasty” with an unplanned jibe broach that I would have to give a 9.6 with a high degree of difficulty… A sideshow was that we set up mostly on the port tack layline and watching the Melges 24’s scoot downwind was amazing. Also what was amazing was how many Melges 24 masts were breaking. I think we saw (and heard) 5 and counted about 8 broken.

Race 2 was more under control with the breeze lowering into the 25 range….which really seemed light and manageable!! The results were similar with our Synergy winning and Nasty second. Oh, and more Melges 24 masts exploding on the run made for interesting conversation during our upwind leg. Instead of “Up 5, big wave” were heard “CRACK! There goes another one”.

Wednesday – Race Day 3

And you thought yesterday was windy! A cold front arrived during the night and brought with it North winds 30+. Now a cold front in Key West is not like the rest of the US, the temperature dropped to about 65!! A 90 minute dock postponement by the RC let the wind drop to 30+…. But the forecast was for less in the afternoon. At least, because we raced in the lee of the island, the waves were not as big a factor as Tuesday but the velocity was higher. For the J80’s the start was all the fireworks with “Hoss” unable to make the leeward boat and stuck head to wind as the jib backed onto port. That was not a good thing for our “Synergy” as we were the next boat up on the line. As the “Hoss” crew remembers vividly, me yelling “OH NO, THEY ARE ON PORT!” we collided and spun towards the leeward RC boat only to avoid a head on but unfortunately got our port life line tangled with the RC boats bow cleat!! For the next couple of minutes (seemed like an hour) we were One. That incident started a chain reaction with “Nasty” and “Hyperdrive” tacking to port to avoid the melee which then caused “Emotional Rescue” to force both boats back to starboard and another collision occurred. Unfortunately, somehow the protest committee ruled it two separate incidents and DSQ’d “Nasty”…Weird. Downwind the A-spinnaker runs were completely out of control. In the big puffs the spray from the boats waves made it so you could not even see where you were going…and then we had to pick our way through the two fleets in front of us that were going back upwind and THEN figure out when and HOW to jibe!! You had to be there to understand completely! “Nasty” got the gun but John Stork and his Young Guns got the victory. J80 President Uzi and Dave Hendrickson were second, passing our “Synergy” on the final run after a combination of shrimping, broaching and tangling our spinnaker around the jib. (Because of all the problems we had I did not even want to mention to the crew that the rudder gudgeons were loose and the rudder was about to fall the boat). Winds never did die down and in fact might have increased a little. The RC called it for the day. More Melges 24 masts and even a couple of J105 sticks came tumbling down. Oh, our thought for the day was that J105 masts sound louder when breaking then Melges 24’s. Aluminum is louder then carbon fiber.

Thursday – Race day four

NE winds 13-20. An absolutely beautiful race day. All clear at the start and what a fun first beat. There were about 6 boats vying for the top spot at the windward mark with Shaffer and crew hitting a nice left shift just before the mark, after ducking transoms and then blasting away on a nice downwind puff that the rest of us never saw to extend his lead at the leeward gates. The rest of the race was catch up for us and after a fantastic jibing battle we were able to pass Rick at the finish. Third was the Darden/Hillard crew. Race two for this day was similar at the finish with “Nasty” pushing us around for most of the course and “Rumor” third. No mast breaking! The tough though for the day was downwind. When to head up and plane and when to rotate the spinnaker and try to sail low. We were at that wind speed when (at least for me) it’s tough to decide. We actually did both during the each downwind leg depending on the puff and/or lull’s.

Friday – Race day five

East 10-15. Another outstanding day on the racecourse. Key West, your beautiful. The RC had two races planned in order to make up for the single race on Wednesday. Our position in the regatta allowed for us to only race one, and since we were last on the list for haul outs, and I needed to get to my son’s Opti regatta in St. Pete we headed for the barn early. The Stork crew on “Rumor” with two 1sts dominated this day and a hard fought second overall for Key West Race Week. “Nasty”, with a 3-4 closed out the week in third with Glenn Darden fourth and rounding out the top five in the overall standings was USJ80 president Uzi Ozeri.

Victory thoughts:

Crew work was key in very heavy days.
Ability to flatten mainsail without turning sail inside out and flogging in heavy air.
Making sure the mainsail boom jibed in heavy air without hesitation.
Having the vang ready, and releasing after jibe in the 30+ stuff.
Ability to sail low on the run opens many tactical doors.
Staying out of the previous fleets bad downwind air and waves. (Did not do a good job on Synergy”)
Then tactical mistakes are made limiting the loss.
Go faster then everyone else..

| 11 February 2006 | 

J-80 Key West Race Week
We started off roll tacking and ended up hiking our butts off.”

Congratulations to the Synergy team for a great win and congratulations to all the other competitors for making it through a very tough regatta. We had very light winds to start the week off and then very heavy winds for the remainder of the week. The racing was very competitive. Look at some of these stats.

16 Different boats had races in the top 10

9 Different boats had races in the top 5

16 Boats competed in 2005 and 19 boats competed in 2006

11 Boats competed in 2006 that were not there in 2005

11 Different states and Canada

0 Lost rigs

As a class, we had our share of collisions and protests but we had no where near the carnage that occurred in the Melges 24 and J105 fleets.

The top 5 boats, Synergy, Rumor, C’est Nasty, Hoss Racing and Infinity, were consistently at the top, but the rest of the fleet was always hanging around waiting for an opportunity to stick it in with the top boats.



Off the water, the events were well planned and thought out. Thanks to Al for setting us all up with information and planning even though he couldn’t attend himself. We got a great introduction for the Worlds from Uzi. Everyone should show up it looks like it is going to be an awesome event! The “meeting” at Monty’s was well attended and everyone had fun meeting up with the competitors from the water.



Next up, St. Pete NOODs for those of you who are remaining on the East Coast.



Also, remember, to all the Fleet Captains out there, this year we will be getting the results from you as soon as the regattas end. And we will make sure that the results and recaps are posted in a timely fashion.



Thanks Brian and Kristen Robinson #255 “Angry Chameleon”

| 10 February 2006 | 

WINTER CIRCUIT REGATTA BOAT STORAGE
We have arranged for the J80 travelers this winter to store their boats (and maybe your vehicle) in between the designated winter stops.
Storage will be secure, be at no or minimal cost, and must be arranged by you directly with the noted contact below.
ST PETERSBURG - Storage location: JSI, contact Bill Wright at bill@newjsi.com.
CHARLESTON, SC - Storage location: Charleston Boat Works, contact Teddy Turner and his people at 843 554-7775.

| 23 December 2005 | 

J-80 Southern Circuit Austin Result
Pos Boat Skipper Race 1 2 3 4 5 Total
1 Le Glide Darden/Hillard 1 3 3 1 1 9
2 Flyer Rush, Ira 4 1 2 3 5 15
3 Tiamo Pasquenelli,Bruno 3 2 6 8 4 23
4 Wild Hare Welles, Claude 6 8 1 4 8 27
5 DnA Hammet, Dave/Amanda 2 4 5 7 9 27
6 Infinity Ozeri/Hinrichsen 7 11 8 2 3 31
7 Lickety Split Leonard, Buck 5 10 4 5 7 31
8 C'est Nasty Schaffer, Rick 11 6 9 6 2 34
9 Gremma Cohen/Wimer 8 5 7 9 6 35
10 Sting Bencavenga, Valeria 10 7 11 10 11 49
11 Cluster Caldwell, Walter 12 9 10 11 12 54
12 Vamanos Hanszen, Thomas 9 12 12 12 10 55

| 22 October 2005 | 

New Merchandise Page
There is now a new page on the website to promote J-80 merchandise. The first item available is the J-80 battle flag which looks great flown from the forestay or backstay during regattas. In November the new 2006 J-80 calender will be made available for those who would like more than 1 copy as a gift (you get 1 with '06 dues). These are great quality shots of J-80's in action mode at numerous regattas the past few years and they include the entire '06 regatta schedule. I encourage anyone to take advantage of these & future merchandise postings, to help support your class and keep us a vibrant part of one design racing.

| 21 October 2005 | 

J-80 2006 Calender
There will be a full color 2006 calender with action photos of J-80's racing, available in November '05. This will be provided to all members who wish to pay their '06 dues beginning November 1st. It will include the entire J-80 regatta schedule for 2006, so if you pay your '06 dues early you will have available info to plan your campaign for next year.

| 21 October 2005 | 

2006 rule changes proposal,
All rule change proposals for the year 2006 have been approved by ICA Ex Com, Pending ISAF approval Nov 15th the USA Ex Com will allow the use of kevlar headsails starting January 1st 2006 in all US major regattas.
All kevlar headsails will carry a 2006 royalty sticker.

| 04 October 2005 | 

25 boats enjoy first East Coast Championship on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
Twenty five J80s hit the starting line in New Hampshire on September 10th and 11th for the 18th annual J Jamboree and the first ever J 80 East Coast Championships. Ten traveling boats and fifteen locals met on the starting line and the talented fleet made for some exciting racing, with local skipper Les Beckwith and the crew of The Boat Formerly Know as Anagazander besting perennial favorite, Jason Balich and his Over Achiever team and Kerry Klingler's Lifted to win the title.
The complete results of the regatta are available at www.lwsa.org/j-jamboree. Some great photography of the event can be viewed at www.LakesRegionAerials.com

| 19 September 2005 | 

Proposed Rules Changes Ready for Review
Now is the time to review the proposed rules changes that would be effective next year (March 1 2006). Make your comments known on the J80 Forum at "Class Association Business" on the "Proposed Rules Changes for 2006" thread. The ICA ExCom will vote on the proposal on August 15th.

| 13 July 2005 | Read more | 

Pinnochio wins Long Islang Championship IV!
Bob Knowles and Team Pinnochio topped a 15 boat fleet and light air to win the fourth annual Long Island Championship! Bob & his crew capitalized on getting good starts and manuvering around shifty 3-5 knot winds to win the regatta on Day Two. Jamie Nawojchik and Team Grace who were in first place after Day One. Kerry Klingler/Blake Fleetwood (USA 352)were 2nd followed by John Stork (Rumor, USA 19)and Jamie Nawojchik (Grace, USA 56).

| 04 June 2005 | Read more | 

J/80 North American Championship Regatta
John Kolius and team Quantum Racing crowned new J/80 North American Champions. Follow this link for more information:

| 23 May 2005 | Read more | 

J/80 North Americans
The North American Championship will be held May 18-22, 2005 and hosted by the Lakewook Yacht Club in Seabrook, TX. For NOR, Entry, Entry List, and additional information go to the web site:

| 24 March 2005 | Read more | 

A new fleet is formed
The executive committee welcomes the latest edition to the J80 class. Fleet 11 has been formed in Southern California with CURT JOHNSON as the fleet captain. The fleet has already put together their 2005 race schedule which you will find on this web sight. The fleet curently has eleven (11) boats and more are anticipated. Information about individual boats & owners in this fleet are available in the OWNERS section of this site.
Once again, Welcome to the class.
UZI OZERI

| 03 February 2005 | 

KEY WEST RACE WEEK
The J80 class at Key West Race week was won by Rick Schaffer on C`EST NASTY and his seasoned crew of Joe Sircely,Paul Brigenzer and David Hiebert. They sailed a challenging set of races with winds ranging from 5 knots to over 35 knots gusts finishing first with one race to spare (dnc on Friday).
In second place was SOONER MAJIC skippered by Mac Kilpatrick followed by John Storck on RUMOR.
Congratulations to the winners and to all participants for a job well done, We will see you all at the North Americans in May.
Uzi Ozeri

| 24 January 2005 | 

2005 J/80 North Americans
Lakewood Yacht Club, ph# 281-474-2511 in Seabrook, Texas will host the 2005 J/80 North American Regatta on May 20-21-22. This will be a stand alone regatta. The RCC is John Barnett ph# 281-474-5122, email bio@net1.net.Also David Whelan is future RCC at Lakewood ph# 832-643-2481, email dwhelan2@houston.rr.com. They have promised us a great regatta.

| 29 December 2004 | 

New J80 USA Class Officers ready to take charge!
The J80 USA class is very fortunate to have four extremely capable individuals step forward to assume new roles as Executive Members. They will be Uzi Ozeri-President, Bob Knowles-Vice President, Jason Balich-Treasurer and Bernard Nauta-Secretary. These gentlemen will assume two-year posts and focus on improving our class in a multitude of ways. Please join me in welcoming them. Their enthusiasm and determination will certainly serve our class well.

Please also recognize the exiting USA Class Officers. Craig White-President, David Jannetti-VP, Scott Spurlin-Secretary, and both Karl DeHam & Matt Baker (Treasurers) improved our class markedly during their time tenure. They built on Steve hammerman's progress and improved the website, centralized a member database, organized a phenomenal Worlds regatta in Ft. Worth and produced a successful NA in Sag Harbor. All achievement, of course, was most largely due to the many selfless volunteers who dedicated their time & efforts along the way. Here's to progress and a promising new slate of officers!

| 15 December 2004 | 

Sail Royalties
Sail royalties for 2004 will be closed December 15. Orders received after that date will go toward 2005 purchases.

| 13 December 2004 | 

New Fleet IV Captain - Jamie Nawojchik
On behalf of Fleet IV it's my pleasure to announce that Jamie Nawojchik is the new Fleet Captain. Jamie owns Grace (hull 56) and has been instrumental in building one of the most promising fleets in the Northeast. As an active J80 enthusiast Jamie has raced at Key West, Annapolis, Newport, Winnipesaukee, Annapolis and locally at Sag Harbor. Please join me in welcoming Jamie. Our class will certainly benefit by his energy and enthusiasm.

David Jannetti
Former Fleet IV Captain

| 28 October 2004 | 

2005 Class Membership
October 31 is the final date to make payments for 2004 Class Membership. Starting November 1, all transactions will go toward 2005 dues.

| 26 October 2004 | 

Class Officers for 2005
The current term of the current Executive Board is coming to an end this year. It is time for some new ideas and new blood in the administration of our class. Members seeking to help organize and run the class business should contact any Executive Committee member to see about getting on the ballot for election. Working with David J, Scott S, Karl D, Matt B, and Jeff J has been a pleasure I will alway remember. We hope that we have lived up to your expectations as Class Officers.

Craig White

| 22 October 2004 | 

J80 Whitebread Results!
New Suffolk, NY. - The running of the Peconic Bay Sailing association's 11th Whitebread "'round the whirl" attracted 105 boats this past weekend, including 8 J-80’s, the largest one-design fleet present. USA352 sailed by Kevin Fallon had a strong showing at their 1st local J-80 regatta of the season with a breakaway early lead and soon became the boat to beat. John Storck & Team Rumor ground them down and passed for a convincing lead at about the half way mark on the race winning the J-80 fleet and finishing 4th overall on corrected time. J-80 Fleet 4 has donated a perpectual tropy to be awarded annually to the best perfromance by a one-design boat. Click link for complete results!

| 11 October 2004 | Read more | 

OverAchiever wins its second NE Circuit stop at the Marblehead NOOD
The three days of racing challenged the J/80 fleet both mentally and physically. Although the first day of racing was in light and shifty winds, the day's racing was hair-raising. In the first race of the regatta, all boats but Jeff Kirchhoff's Gostosa, from Fleet #1 on Lk. Winnipesaukee rounded the incorrect turning marks forcing the boats to retire after the finish. The "second" race was even more bizarre as the race committee began a race without a starting pin in the water--and even called one boat over early! The race committee realized their mistake only after all boats crossed the finish line and informed them of their error. The "real" second race of the day showed the close competition of the fleet with several finishers being separated by mere inches. The second day brought the physical challenges for the fleet with strong winds and 6ft chop after a cold front passed before racing began, requiring all the boats to adjust their boats after the previous day's light air. The regatta ended in medium breeze that once again brought close racing, tacking duels upwind and downwind legs resembling matc hracing more than fleet racing. Jason Balich on OverAchiever won with 5 bullets in 7 races, John Storck on Rumor finished second, only 5 points back, and Jeff Kirchhoff on Gostosa rounded out the top three finishers.

| 27 July 2004 | 

OverAchiever wins Red Grant!
Like the name says, Jason Balich and crew overachieved once again, winning the Red Grant Regatta in decisive fashion. Matt Baker on Hyperdrive took second and Vicky Neiner on Thrown Together finished third. Special thanks to Jason for traveling from Mass., and extra-special thanks to Vicky for organizing the entire regatta!

| 12 July 2004 | 

Darden/Hillard and Team Le Glide take the 2004 NA's in Sag Harbor!
The inclement combination of dense fog, rain & high winds prevented resumption of the last scheduled race on Sunday. A total of seven races of disparate conditions were sailed and Glenn Darden, Reese Hillard and Team Le Glide earned 1st place. Congratulations Le Glide for a terrific showing of how to move a J80 quickly around a race course.

Jay Lutz and Synergy crew took a 1 point advantage over Kerry Klingler (USA 352) for second and third place respectively.

Many thanks to everyone who attended the largest J80 regatta EVER in New York waters! Please use the following link to view the official final results.

| 06 June 2004 | Read more | 

NA's - Day Two
Four races were held today in 8-15 knots of breeze. Synergy/Jay Lutz took the first gun and C'est Nasty/Rick Shaeffer took the second gun. The Easterly winds continued to build throughout the day. Le Glide, co-owned by Glenn Darden & Reese Hillard took the final two bullets and clinched the regatta. The top five boats overall are as follows:
Le Glide, 10 pts; Synergy, 17 pts; USA 352, 18 pts; C'est Nasty, 28 pts; Banjo, 31 pts.

| 05 June 2004 | 

NA's - Day One Results
The 2004 J80 NA's began with USA 352/Kerry Klingler conquering shiftly light air and taking the first race. The Northery wind dropped out completely leaving the 25 boat-strong fleet no other other choice than to patiently await new breeze. Well over an hour later a light Westerly filled Noyack Bay and FAST COMPANY/Paul Baehr's expeditous performance earned them the second gun of the day. The Westerly turned South and gained strength. Le Glide/Darden, Hillard seized the new conditions and the third race to finish as the top boat of Day One.

The top three positions (after Day One):
Le Glide, 9 points;
Banjo & USA 352 (tied), 10 points;
Synergy, 17 points

Stay tuned for results from an anticipated blustery day tomorrow!

| 04 June 2004 | 

Rumor takes Annapolis NOOD
Congratulations to the team on Rumor, J80 hull #19 skippered by John Storck, Jr. who grabbed 5 bullets in 7 races and 1st place at the 2004 Annapolis NOOD this past weekend. The 12-20 knots of consistent breeze were optimal conditions for great J80 sailing! Rumor led the fleet through the 2-3' chop from the first day and never looked back. Hyperdrive and Jibber Jabber finished second and third respectively.
Next Northeast circuit stop is the Long Island Championship/North American's which will be held June 4th-6th in Sag Harbor, NY.

| 04 May 2004 | 

Southern Circuit Stop #2 Results
Crazy Weather, Crazy races, crazier racers and good times! Here are the results from the 2nd Circuit Stop held at Ft. Worth. Results

| 04 April 2004 | 

2004 J80 NA's registration list growing!!
TWENTY FIVE boats have registered for the J80 North Americans to be held in Sag Harbor (June 4-6th. If you're not on the official list of entrants below then sign up today! Skippers bags are limited to the first 25 entrants ONLY. Registration, including crew weigh-ins and sail measurements will be conducted Thursday, June 3rd from 0900 to 1700 at BYC. Local boats and earlier arrivals may be registered, sails measured and crews weighed on Wednesday, June 2nd if time allows. Racing is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Warning given at 1000 hours.

C'est Nasty, Rick Schaffer; Fort Worth, TX
Best Betts, David Betts; Southampton, NY
Kikiyaon, Bob Lyons; Tyngsborough, MA
Hyperdrive, Matt Baker; Skillman, NJ
Clipper, Paul Rendich; Delray Beach, FL
Jibber Jabber, David Jannetti; Sag Harbor, NY
Vertigo, Guy Perrone; Wading River, NY
Dreamland Express, Mark Belsky; Avon, CT
Warrior, Craig & Martha White; Fort Worth, TX
Jester, Robert Miller; El Paso, TX
Margaret, Bud Rogers; North Haven, NY
Bigamy, Dennis Meichel; Pittstown, NJ
USA 352, Kerry Klingler; Larchmont, NY
Synergy, Jay Lutz; Houston, TX
Pinoccio, Bob Knowles; Meredith, NH
Gostosa, Jeff Kirchoff; Northfield, NH
What Me Worry?, Jim Ryan; Seaford, NY
USA 155, Les Beckwith, Wolfeboro, NH
Banjo, Rod Johnstone, Stonnington, CT
Currahee, John Chapman, New York, NY
Fast Company, Paul Baehr, Montreal, Canada
Grace, Jamie Nawojchik, Sag Harbor, NY
Le Glide, Darden/Hillard, Ft. Worth, TX
Joie, Brown, Yardley, PA
Kicks, David Balfour, Austin, TX

See the January 22nd posting for entry info or call David Jannetti at 631.921.2787!

| 12 March 2004 | 

Want to sponsor the J80 North Americans?
The 2004 J80 NA's are shapping up to be an awesome event. This regatta will be a terrific place to advertise your product or services so please contact David Jannetti (631.921.2787) ASAP if you're interested in being a sponsor!

| 23 February 2004 | 

Class Association Bussiness & Class Rules Discussion
Please check the Forum for Karl Deham's replacement and the Rules effective March 1, 2004.

| 09 February 2004 | 

Get Ready! Its on! Southern Circuit 2004
The Southern Circuit for 2004 gets underway the last weekend of February at Austin Yacht Club in Austin, Texas. Judging by the enthusiasm and the new owners that we have this years circuit promises to be competitive with each stop exceeding 20 boats and over 40 owners participating. Along with the regular stops at Austin, Fort Worth and Houston your Southern Circuit Fleet Captains have added new stops at Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club in conjunction with the Luekemia Cup and the season ends at windy Corpus Christi. Make plans to join the fun!-See you in Austin! NOC

| 08 February 2004 | 

Thinking about the Worlds?
The 2004 Worlds will be held July 26-31 in Sandhamn, Sweden. For more information, click on the logo:

| 03 February 2004 | 

2003 Southern Circuit Final Results Posted
Another record year for growth in the South with 37 boats participating in one or more of the five circuit stops. The three fleet captains from the host clubs of Austin YC, Fort Worth Boat Club and Houston have cooked up a great schedule for 2004. Several more J80's have been purchased which indicates even more growth for 2004! Results

| 28 January 2004 | 

Membership Dues
Membership dues are now due for 2004. You can mail them or pay online with PayPal. We are working out the bugs to try to get the membership database updated once we receive the snail mail or the PayPal notification. We understand that this is frustrating for you the membership but be patient with us and we will figure it out. In the meantime rest assured that your money is in good hands and the class appreciates your support (and needs it!). In the meantime if you use PayPal it would help us if you could include your hull number and boat name and other owners in the message box. Dropus an e-mail to let us know you paid and this will help us get the database updated soomer. Thanks for your patience!

| 28 January 2004 | 

More News coming!
As our class association grows there will be more news items generated. We rely on the membership to submit this information to us to post on the web. This is a volunteer run organization and as such we rely on your inputs. With this in mind please plan on having someone that participates in your event to send us the NOC, NOR, results and writeup for any J80 news worthy event. We should have last years 2003 SC results up today or tomorrow. We've been waiting for the Notice of Circuit for the 2004 Southern Circuit along with the Notice of Race for the first stop in Austin. Please contact Chris Block at cblock@austin.rr.com if you have questions about the 2004 southern circuit. Chris as soon as you send us the info we will post!

| 28 January 2004 | 

LATE Breaking News! Tom Gore wins the last 2003 SC Stop
The last Southern Circuit stop was held the weekend immediately after the worlds this past October. It was a weekend of great racing with the entire fleet made up of die hards that had competed in the Worlds the previous week. Tom Gore battled it out with the last race deciding who would take the first place trophy home. It was a great weekend of racing and a great capper to another excellent seaon of racing down south!

| 28 January 2004 | Read more | 

2004 North Americans Entry Form and NOR
The 2004 North American's is gearing up to be the largest event in the NE since the 2001 Worlds! Here's the NOR and Entry Form. Complete & send today to guarantee your crew gets event freebies!

| 22 January 2004 | 

Key West Race Week 2004
Go to the USA Class Forum, Events and Scheduling, for marina and boat accomodations in Key West. Start finalizing your plans now.

| 04 November 2003 | 

Announcing the 2004 NA's - June 4th-6th in Sag Harbor, NY
J80 Fleet IV in conjunction with the Breakwater Yacht Club has been selected at the venue for the 2004 North Americans! The NA's look to build on the success of the 2003 Worlds and we anticipate 25-35 boats attending! Since the Worlds will be held in Sweden this is your chance to race in North America's most prestigious 2004 J80 event. Jay Lutz, winner of the 2004 Worlds and several other top performers will be there. More information will be posted soon. For interim information please contact David Jannetti (631.921.2787 or djannetti@americanteleconnect.com)

| 28 October 2003 | 

J80 Worlds 2003-A Truly Superb Event!
Forty eight teams participated in 10 races over four days to compete for the title of 2003 J80 World Champion. Boat speed was secondary as the top teams fought for position in the "wind lanes" and to keep in phase in the tricky, shifty conditions found on Eagle Mountain Lake. Jay Lutz's team consistently found the lanes and stayed out front Wednesday thru Thursday, and did not need to race on Friday, as they wrapped up a convincing championship run after race 9.

This was a fantastic event hosted by Fleet 5, Ft. Worth, Texas. More details can be found at: http://oemsites.com/OEM/oem.cfm?event_id=7

| 21 October 2003 | 

Photos Posted
Sue Bodycomb has some great shots of the Texas NOOD/North Americans. As always, she has sorted them by boat name. We've put them in the photo album section for future reference.

| 26 September 2003 | Read more | 

Great Racing at the North Americans!
Jay Lutz and team topped the 33 boat fleet to win the 2003 North Americans. Second place went to John Kolius and his crew, which included 4 female members of the LaPorte High School team. 3rd place went to Glenn Darden and team from Ft. Worth, Texas. It was a great weekend of racing as the fleet was able to log 6 races on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was rained out. Great job by the Houston Yacht Club, The race Committee and the local J80 fleet. Along with all of the NOOD activities the class held an owners meeting on Friday night and the local fleet hosted a fantastic party on saturday night. Fun was had by all in attendance!

Look for more great J80 racing at the Worlds in Ft. Worth-October 13-17.

Sailing World has the daily articles and they can be read by clicking on:

| 23 September 2003 | Read more | 

J-Jamboree Results
Thanks to Bob Knowles and J-Jamboree organizers who produced the largest NE event this year with 16 boats attending! Unusual light air conditions produced a good mix of top finishes but Overachiever walked away with their 2nd NE Circuit win! Congratulations to teams Gostosa and Anagazander who took 2nd and 3rd place. Click for photo of winners circle.

| 19 September 2003 | Read more | 

North Americans-Notice of Regatta (NOR)
Click the following link for a .pdf file of the NOR.

| 11 September 2003 | Read more | 

USA 352 takes Larchmont NOOD
Kerry Klingler and his crew aboard USA 352 capitalize on light air tactics in near-drift conditions to take first place at the 2003 Larchmont NOOD last weekend. Boat waves, current and extreme wind shifts challenged the entire 12 boat fleet but somehow USA 352 persevered to maintain their winning streak in the Northeast. Matt Baker (Hyperdrive) and crew take close second followed by John Storck, Jr. (Rumor) in third place. It was encouraging to see several new faces & boats at Larchmont. It further demonstrates that J80 growth in the Northeast is alive & well! Next NE event? Winnipesaukee J-Jamboree next weekend!

| 09 September 2003 | 

IMPORTANT: WORLDS REGISTRATION DEADLINE
If you have not paid to enter the WORLDS, you have not entered!

PAY BY SEPT. 15 OR SUFFER THE LATE FEE.

| 06 September 2003 | Read more | 

Gear Up for the WORLDS!!
Nautica has signed on as a sponsor for the 2003 Worlds. The Worlds organizers are offering this gear for sale to anyone that loves the J80, the class, and the Worlds event. Please consider buying these great products at great prices. Proceeds support the Worlds.

| 06 September 2003 | Read more | 

North Americans-September 19, 20, 21
Its time to start finalizing your plans to make it to the North Americans. This is being held as part of the Galveston NOOD, so the Regatta will be excellent in regards to organization, race committee, and shoreside activities. NOOD Notice of Race link: Galveston NOOD NOR. Three weeks later the Worlds will be held in Ft. Worth making this an excellent regatta combination. Keep your boat at Houston after the NOOD and then pull to Ft. Worth for the Worlds. Members of the Southern Circuit may volunteer to tow east/west coast boats from Houston to Ft. Worth if this would motivate you to attend both events. Fly out of Houston and then fly into DFW for the Worlds. (Boat set up not included!)e-mail: info@j80.org for more information. We may need additional charter boats for the Worlds as well-so please consider chartering your boat and make a little extra cash!

| 06 August 2003 | 

Overachiever wins Marblehead NOOD
Congratulations to Jason Balich and his crew aboard Overachiever who posted 5 bullets out of 8 races to win the J80 Marblehead NOOD! Hyperdrive (Matt Baker) and Gostosa (Jeff Kirchhoff) take second & third place. Next stop in the NE Circuit? Larchmont NOOD, September 5-7th. See you there!!

| 30 July 2003 | 

J80 Fall Special-Get one now in time for the worlds!
JBoats is again offering the fall special. Act now and get one in time to race at the NA's in September and the Worlds in October. Or the class needs charter boats, buy now collect a charter fee for the worlds and then race it next year. For 2004 additional OD events are being planned in all areas of the country. Get a boat and join the fun. Here's the link for more details on this offer: JBoats 2004 package offer.

| 28 July 2003 | 

Nautica Onboard! New J-80 Worlds Registration Form
Good News. Nautica has signed on to help sponsor the J-80 World Championship to be held at the Fort Worth Boat Club, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Because of this, prices for the Nautica Collared Short Sleeve Shirt will be lowered to $30 US and the Nautica Long Sleeve Tee Shirts will be lowered to $18 US. We will also be offering a Nautica fleece garment with the description and price to be announced soon. A new Registration Form will be forthcoming on the Worlds web site with these changes. Refunds for boats that have already entered and ordered shirts will be provided at registration.

As a reminder. The completed entry form and the entry fee of $325.00 US must be received by the Organizing Committee on or before Sept. 15, 2003. Late entries with the corresponding late fee of $200.00 US may be accepted at the discretion of the Regatta Committee up to Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003. No entries will be accepted after October 1, 2003.

| 20 July 2003 | 

John Storck Jr. & crew win Fleet IV's July 6th Sprint Series
In light wind conditions and record J80 turnout John Stork Jr. and his team aboard RUMOR (Hull 19) win 3 bullets and capture Fleet IV's July 6th Sprint Series! John's experience as President of the Optimist Association and past Chair of Storm Trysail coupled with a talented family crew made all the difference edging out Grace (Hull 56) skippered by Jamie Nawojchik and their ambitious crew by one point!

| 10 July 2003 | 

Now collecting dues electronically.
If you have not yet paid your 2003 Class Association dues, you can do so easily using your credit card and PayPal. Click the Membership tab on the left menu and follow the directions.

| 10 July 2003 | 

Forum is back!
Please note that if you self-registered, you need to do so again. The Forum does not know your site password, so will probably want to choose the same password for both if you self-register.

| 09 July 2003 | 

Proposed International Constitution and Summary of Rules Submission changes
There are three new documents posted in the "member area" under class business. The documents are: "Cover letter for 2004 Constitution changes", "Proposed International Constitution - ISAF", " Summary of Rules Submissions- ISAF".

These three documents were generated to further pursue the requirements of updating our class constitution to be reflect the J80 class as a recognized international class byt the ISAF. The rules submissions document reflects the rule change submissions from each of the national class associations that make up the international J80 class.

| 07 July 2003 | 

Website & Forum Down
Our website has moved to a new server after a catastrophic failure. Please resubmit any membership changes or classified submissions made after 6/18. The FORUM will take a little longer to reappear.

| 30 June 2003 | 

Northeast Circuit Championship Racing is heating up!
Matt Baker on Hyperdrive won NE #1 at the Annapolis NOOD, Klingler/Fleetwood on USA 352 won the NE #2 as part of the Long Island Championship. Next stop: Marblehead! More results and information on the great racing action in the NorthEast is coming soon.

| 12 June 2003 | 

Forum now open.
The new Forum is now available. Click on "Forum" in the left menu bar.

| 02 June 2003 | 

New USA home page launched.
This is the new home page for the J80 USA Class Assocation. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the new features and the new navigation scheme. Most of what was on the old site can be found here on the new site.

| 01 June 2003 | 

WARRIOR wins again.
WARRIOR conquers Southern Circuit on home waters in Ft. Worth.

| 06 May 2003 | 

WARRIOR best at Texoma.
WARRIOR was the top boat in a 20 boat fleet at Texoma Lakefest to continue leading the Southern Circuit.

| 15 April 2003 | 

Rule Changes.
The procedures for changes to class rules have been posted.

| 08 April 2003 | Read more | 

Northeast Circuit.
The Marblehead NOOD has been added to the Northeast Circuit thanks to the efforts of Jason Balich.

| 15 March 2003 |