(Larchmont, NY)- Over the past weekend, Larchmont YC hosted twenty-seven teams from across the country sailing a highly competitive fleet over an eleven race series. The sailors were not at all prepared to either be "schooled" or trounced by a bunch of guys from Texas. Nevertheless, they were treated to a spectacle of great racing by one of the class's premiere ambassadors, Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard from Fort Worth Boat Club. The LE TIGRE Team put on a clinic for how one should get it done over the three day event. After five 1sts and three 2nds in the first nine races, Glenn and Reese stepped off the gas pedal and gave the fleet a breather, winning the regatta by 11 points.

J/80 sailors- Glenn Darden - Fort Worth, TexasSailing just off the pace was a trio of three boats caught up in a real dog-fight for second to fourth overall. Not until the last few races did the smoke start to clear and the standings get jumbled yet again. The contenders at this point were the teams of Kerry Klingler on USA 352, Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO and Les Beckwith on FKA. By winning the last two races and getting five 2nds, Les Beckwith on FKA secured second on a tie-breaker with Kerry Klingler's team. Getting the short end of that stick on the last day was Bruno's TIAMO gang, having to settle for a fourth. In fifth was Kristen Robinson's team on ANGRY CHAMELEON, clearly having elevated their game quite significantly, getting five top 5 finishes and finishing just out of the top three. Go Kristen! Sailing photo credits- Howie McMichael- http://j80nationals2011larchmontyc.shutterfly.com/

| 08 October 2011 | More J/80 North American Sailing results | 

(Lorient, France)- As if winning two previous regattas and sailing in the top ten at the recent J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark was not enough, Eric Brezellec and crew on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 continued their winning ways this season sailing the French J/80 Circuit. With 35 boats sailed by many of the top teams in France, it was quite remarkable to see Brezellec sail to 4-3-6-6-1-rdg for 14.4 pts, not having to sail the last race to win!

Second to Eric\'s team was yet another IC boat, the team of INTERFACE CONCEPT I sailed by Jean-Charles Moriceau. Their 6-1-14-3-6-1 record for 17 pts was not enough to overcome IC2\'s dominant sailing. Lying third was J ILE\'DE\'RE sailed by Olivier Guillemin, their 2-bfd-1-7-3-4 for 17 pts losing the tie-breaker (their BFD unfortunately came at a bad time for them, taking them out of contention for the lead). Fourth was ATLANTIS sailed by another renowned French sailor Laurent Sambron, learning the ropes and angles of Lorient waters very quickly to garner a 8-7-6-1-4-6 record for 24 pts. In fifth was another top J/80 sailor, Sylvain Pellisier sailing VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE with flashes of brilliance, but inconsistent, record of 1-13-23-4-5-2 for 25 pts. For more J/80 Atlantique Regatta sailing information

| 04 October 2011 | More J/80 L\'Atlantique Sailing results | 

(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 a great. They had perfect conditions to get the racing off. A nice sunny day, winds out of the southwest, from 8 to 15 knots.\\'

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 and Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO, who are currently tied for fourth place.

| 01 October 2011 | J/80 North American Championship sailing results | 

(Larchmont, NY)- This weekend Larchmont YC is hosting the J/80 North American Championship from September 28th to October 2nd. Twenty-seven teams from across the country are sailing in what may be one of the most competitive J/80 fleets assembled in awhile. While the recent J/80 Worlds in both Newport, RI and Copenhagen, Denmark were tough fleets with upwards of seventy boats, this shoot-out on Long Island Sound will have four J/80 World Champions, five J/80 North American Champions and several Key West Race Week Champions across multiple classes- J/80s, J/105s and PHRF! That's what one might call a "stacked deck"!

Expect to see amongst the leader-board teams like Kerry Klingler (NA and World Champion) from Long Island, NY; John Storck sailing RUMOR (Key West and 2010 NA's winner) from Long Island, NY; Glenn Darden/ Reese Hillard sailing LE TIGRE (Key West, NA's and World Champions) from Fort Worth, TX; Brian Keane skippering SAVASANA (Key West J/105 Champion) from Buzzards Bay; Curt Johnson helming AVET (J/80 Pacific Coast Champion) from Los Angeles, CA; Gary Kamins/ Jay Lutz sailing FIRED UP (Key West, Worlds and NA Champions) from Houston, TX/ Los Angeles, CA; and Bruno Pasquinelli skippering TIAMO (NA and Buzzards Bay Champion) from Houston, TX. For more J/80 North American Championship sailing information

| 25 September 2011 | J/80 Sailing results | 

(Darmouth, England)- The 2012 J/80 World Championship will be held in the stunning port of Dartmouth on the south west coast of the UK . The event will commence on Saturday 9th of June 2012 and will close on the evening of Friday 15th of June 2012. In an unprecedented move, the Britannia Yacht Club has agreed to act as the Senior Hosting Club for the championship, working alongside the Royal Dart Yacht Club and the J/80 UK Class Association. The 2012 J/80 World Championship Opening Ceremony will be hosted by the historic Britannia Royal Naval College , as will the Prizegiving Dinner at the close of the regatta.

Seventy or more J/80 teams will arrive in the beautiful South Devon town of Dartmouth to compete at the 2012 J/80 World Championship. Entries are expected from the UK, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Italy, Russia and the USA, ensuring a truly International, top-level sporting event. This small armada will comprise approximately three hundred and fifty competing athletes and a total of around five hundred visitors to the port. The sailing area for the championship will be in Start Bay, just outside the harbour entrance and so easily visible from the nearby beaches and cliff tops for the enjoyment of spectators.

The UK J/80 fleet recently enjoyed stunning sailing conditions in Dartmouth for their 2011 National Championship which took place in June this year and which was run by the same team from the Royal Dart Yacht Club which will be helping to deliver the Worlds next year. Start Bay offers everything competitors would expect and wish for: open water, big waves and tactically challenging tidal conditions. The prevailing conditions themselves will no doubt prove a real draw for the athletes in the J/80 fleet, but this coupled with the proven warmth and hospitality of the town of Dartmouth alongside the amazing opportunity to experience first-hand the magnificent grandeur and history of Britannia Royal Naval College will ensure that this is a J/80 World Championship quite unlike any other sailing regatta.

The website for the 2012 J/80 World Championship is live now at http://www.j80worlds2012.com and it contains a whole host of information which will be useful to J/80 Competitors. The regatta is now just ten months away and the excitement and anticipation is palpable.

For more information please contact Becci Eplett at Key Yachting on 02380 455669 or email becci@keyyachting.com

| 09 August 2011 | For more 2012 J/80 Worlds Information | 

(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.

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.

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. 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 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 winningg, 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 in 6th place overall.

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, 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.

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. 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 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

J/80 Worlds Results:
http://www.jboats.com/newsletter/2011_J80Worlds_Results.pdf

| 10 July 2011 | For more J/80 Worlds sailing information | 

(Copenhagen, Denmark- July 7th)- Once again the third day of sailing for the J/80 Worlds started off with a postponement. The announcement this time was for races to start at 12:30 pm. It was "moving day" as it is often in many major regattas, time to move up or down the leader-board or else forget winning.

After seven races, the Spanish contingent (the three past J/80 World Champions and Olympic Champion) all made huge moves into the top spots, now occupying four of the top five positions! Leading the charge is Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL ENGINEERING, scoring a 1-5 to take a 5 point lead after three days of sailing. Fellow Spanish sailor Carlos Martinez's MAPFRE leapt into second overall after posting a 4-4 to for a total of 29 points. Perhaps sailing the most consistent regatta of all teams is the Swedish sailing champion Ingemar Sundstedt, posting an 8-8 score to secure third overall with 37 points. Within striking distance of the top three is Canary Islander Rayco Tabares sailing HOTEL GRAND CANARIAS, posting a 3-1 for the best record of the day and catapulting himself into 4th place, just two points back from Sundstedt and only 13 points from first place!

Perhaps the story of the regatta so far has to be the ascent of Jose Maria van deer Ploeg sailing GREAT SAILING. Jose's team started out very, very slow in the first three races with a 27-17-11. Nevertheless, Jose's team got their act together and figured out not only how to get off the starting line, but sail very solid races to post the best record of the fleet for the past four races, getting a 5-1-5-2 to place themselves in 5th place overall with only 41 pts, just two points back from Tabares and also having a shot at a podium finish.

Yesterday's leader, American Glenn Darden on LE TIGRE, simply had a classic "hard luck" day, managing to only get a 15-30 and has to count to finishes in the teens to drop from 1st place and, like the classic board game of "Chutes and Ladders", dropped down the chute so far that they now lie in 7th place. Rounding out the top ten are Jean Charles Moriceau from France, posting a 2-9 score to move up into 6th overall with 49 points. In 8th is the German team from Kieler Woche led by Martin Menzner with 60.5 points, 9th is Eric Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 team with 68 points and 10th is another German team, Bjorn Beilken with 71 points.

Of note, the top Danish team from the host country is Jesper Kragh Jespersen lying in 14th, the top Italian team is Aldo Samele on CANARINO FEROCE in 15th place, top Russian team is Vitaliy Tarakanov in 21st, top British team is Tom Phipps in 25th, top Polish team is Pawel Boksa in 36th, top Netherlands team is Laura Vroon in 43rd, top Estonian team is Peeter Meressaar in 59th and top Finnish team is Otto Reittila in 63rd.

The racing on the final day sounds very similar to the past four J/80 World Championships. All very, very close racing with at least 6-7 boats having a mathematical chance to win the entire Worlds overall! At this level of world-class sailing, you simply cannot have any closer racing than what these teams are experiencing. Friday will surely dawn with a lot of anxious skippers and tacticians pondering the best strategies to go win the regatta while avoiding any kind of massive mistakes. What's unusual is that the only boat in the top ten with a toss race under 15th place is the Swedish team of Ingemar Sundstedt, every other team has toss races in the 20s, 30s or higher! Friday will be an interesting day and the champion that arises like a Phoenix from the smoke of battle will be a well-deserved J/80 World Champion.

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

| 08 July 2011 | For more J/80 Worlds sailing information | 

(Copenhagen, Denmark- July 6th)- As the sailors wandered down to the waterfront this morning, the forecast was not promising. Light airs and no promise of a developing sea-breeze. Undaunted, the RDYC RC/ PRO postponed onshore and simply waited, hoping for the possibility of a developing sea-breeze in order to keep the sailors moving forward, there's lots of nervous energy to expend!

By 1430 hours, there was a sufficient breeze that the PRO sent out the teams to race their second day in a 6-10 knots onshore wind, with the fleet framed in the background by the famous Oresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden- the longest road and rail bridge in Europe at 5 miles end-to-end (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge).

Glenn Darden's American team on LE TIGRE continued to hang on to their lead but now only by one point. Glenn's first race of the day, an 18th, didn't help to stave off the expected onslaught from the top European teams. And sure enough, they came at him hard and fast. Only a 4th place in the second race saved the day for Team LE TIGRE, now counting a 2-5-5-18-4 for 34 pts.

As was anticipated, the Spanish contingent were not content to be flailing around in the top ten nor even in the middle of the fleet. Nor was Swedish Champion Ingemar Sundstedt. It's scary how fast these guys are racing up the ladder. The standings now have Ingemar's team with a 5-7-14-2-7-for 35 pts, one point back from Darden. J/80 World Champion Ignacio Camino from Spain leapt up to third overall adding an 8-5 to his scores of 1-4-21 for 39 points. Another World Champion, Spaniard Carlos Martinez, also jumped up the leader-board and lies fourth with a 3-26-4-6-8 score for 47 pts. Fifth is yet another Spaniard, Olympic Champion Jose Maria van deer Ploeg, overcoming a slow start the first day to post the best scores for the entire fleet on the second day. Jose Maria now has a scoreline of 27-17-11-5-1 for 61 pts.

Past J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares from the Canary Islands sailing HOTEL GRAND CANARIAS added a 9-13 to his 4-9-51 day one scores for a total of 88 pts, so he's looking good after a throw-out after six races. Also of note was the sparkling performance in the first race of the day by French champion Luc Nadal, winning race 4, as well as Massimo Rama's J/80 Italian Championship team getting a third in the same race. Fellow Frenchman Eric Brezellec is sailing a very strong series, getting a 3rd in Race 5 and the Danish/American team on GULDFAXE sailed by Tom Klok and Will and Marie Crump got a strong 2nd for their best race to date.

The standings are looking very intriguing. Hidden in several score-lines are some big, big drop races for the leading contenders. By Thursday afternoon the standings could look radically different as many teams will have total scores in the low 20s to high 30s after sailing tomorrow and earning a "toss race". Right now, there are seven countries represented in the top 10, a mark of how strong J/80 fleets are around the world- 1 American, 1 Swede, 3 Spaniards, 1 German, 2 French, 1 Italian and 1 Danish crews. Look for some more roller-coaster rides around the Oresund Bridge!

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

| 07 July 2011 | For more J/80 Worlds sailing information | 

(Copenhagen, Denmark- July 5th)- Sixty-eight J/80s have descended upon the quaint little seaside village called Dragor, a beautiful town just north of Copenhagen along the seaside of the Baltic Sea. The competition is hot and with multiple World Champions competing, the Royal Danish YC's RC/PRO teams are doing a good job of keeping the competitive fleet in check, having conducted three races on the first day.

Currently, the American team on LE TIGRE, skippered by Glenn Darden is winning by just three points with a 2-5-5, demonstrating that lessons learned from previous Worlds and his successful Key West Race Week wins are currently giving his LE TIGRE team an edge in the light to medium winds on the Baltic. Says Glenn, "Thank goodness for doing the J/80 Swedish Championships/ Pre-Worlds over in Malmo the weekend before! The team's working great, all in sync and we feel good just to be in the running. The next few days will be difficult sailing as the racing is very tight." What is clear is that current leaders are managing to avoid the "big bad one" in their scores, many teams have single-digit scores for two races but have bombed one race badly to currently keep them off the podium.

Showing surprising speeds and cunning tactics is the German team from Kieler YC, Martin Menzner sailed to a 6-1-8 to be in second with 15 pts. Also showing excellent speed were the two French boats, Jean Charles Moriceau in third with a 9-13-1 for 23 pts and Malte Christopherson with a 16-2-7 for 25 pts. Fifth is the first of the formidable Spanish teams, past World Champion Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING, starting strong in the first two races with a 1-4 but getting a 21st in the third race for a total of 26 pts (Ignacio hopes to score well going forward to toss the 21st!). Tied with Ignacio is the Swedish J/80 Champion Ingemar Sundstedt with a 5-7-14 also for 26 pts. Lying 7th is another Spanish Champion, Carlos Martinez sitting with a 3-26-4 scoreline for 33 pts. 9th is the first Danish boat sailed by Jesper Kragh Jespersen with a 15-20-12 at 47 pts. Top British sailors are Tom Phipps, the young, fast crew on HAMBLE YACHT SERVICES sailing to a 14-10-24 tally for 48 pts. Past J/24 Italian Champion Dr Aldo Samele from Milano is sailing a new CANARINO FEROCE and is top Italian boat in 11th with a 7-8-38 record for 53 pts. Top Russian team fresh from having sailed in the Russian Nationals in the Canary Islands last fall is Vitaliy Tarakanov, sailing to a 19-16-29 for 64 pts.

Two teams that qualified the most for riding the biggest roller-coasters of the day were current French J/80 Champion Eric Brezellec sailing to an OCS-6-3 record for 77 pts and past J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares from the Canary Islands sailing his famous HOTEL GRAND CANARIAS to a 4-9-51 for 64 pts. Watch out for both these teams as they've demonstrated they can climb the ladder very quickly and given that there are at least 6 to 9 more races to sail, both teams could easily factor into the top five overall.

| 05 July 2011 | For more J/80 Worlds sailing information | 

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The fleet for this year's 2011 J/80 Worlds is looking about as strong as ever with multiple World Champions again seeking dominance in the world of J/80s. So far, seventy boats are attending and are looking forward to sail the challenging waters of the Baltic Sea from July 3rd to 8th, in the same area that the famous Danish Olympian, Paul Elvstrom, learned how to sail so long ago on the famous Fireflies.

The Royal Danish Yacht Club is hosting the event based in the idyllic harbour of Dragor. For "pre-Worlds practice", some sailors are planning on participating in the J/80 Swedish Championship held in Malmo, only a couple of hours sailing from Dragor across the Baltic Sea, from 29 June to 1 July.

Eleven countries are participating, including past World Champion Glenn Darden from the Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX, the only American sailing; one boat from the Netherlands; four from Italy including Massimo Rama; eleven boats from Germany including Jochen Schmidt; eleven boats from the United Kingdom including UK champion Ian Atkins; six boats from France including French champions Luc Nadal and Eric Brezzellec; twelve boats from Sweden; one boat from Finland; one from Estonia; fourteen boats from Denmark including Tom Klok with sister Marie Klok-Crump and brother-in-law Will Crump; and finally eight boats from Spain including multiple champions like Carlos Martinez, past World Champion Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING, Olympic Medallist and Cantabrian sailor Jose Maria van deer Ploeg on GREAT SAILING and World Champion Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESSA GRAND CANARIAS.

| 01 July 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Santander, Spain)- The fifth edition of the J/80 Championship of Spain was quite the epic affair. Multiple J/80 World Champions and Olympic Medallists dueling for the honor being the top one-design keelboat sailor in a country that has produced an extraordinary number of champions in sailing over the last decade.

The host was the renowned Real Club Martimo de Santander, hosting the forty-five teams in the same venue that had a 100+ boat fleet sail the J/80 Worlds a few years earlier. After the first day of racing, the current World Champion, Pichu Torcida with ECC VIVIENDAS was leading. Interestingly, a recent Around World sailor, Tonio Piris was second on GO-FIT/ YATES & COSAS, proving he had not lost his touch sailing J/80s after being on a 60 foot IMOCA boat for a few months. And third Tono Gorostegui with CINCO SOLUCIONES. Fourth was Carlos Martinez on MAPFRE and fifth was Toni's brother Jaime Piris on FONESTAR!

| 19 June 2011 | Read more here... | 

Dartmouth, England)- The Tacktick J/80 National Championship 2011 in Association with Baltic Wharf was hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club from the 7th to 10th June. The twenty-six boat fleet reveled in a variety of conditions across the eight race championship series from full on a full on thirty knot foam-up on the first day through to a much more ten to twelve knots on the final Friday. The fleet fell in love with Dartmouth during the course of the Nationals and in return, Dartmouth delivered the some of the most exciting racing coupled with the warmest welcome that the J/80 Class has experienced in recent years: a super precedent for the 2012 J/80 World Championship which is scheduled to be held in the port a year from now.

The last two races of the series were scheduled on Friday morning, and precisely as you would expect, every single boat on the track, irrespective of their position on the leader-board, arrived in the starting area with a job to do, a specific set of personal goals to achieve results-wise and a target finishing position. No real surprise then that this jittery bunch pushed a general recall on the first start of the day and the deployment of the black flag thereafter, catching a few out and only serving to add to the tension. Rob Larke won the first race of the day in J2X but this was not enough to significantly narrow the points gap between his boat and Kevin Sproul. A win for Sproul in the final race confirmed the series victory and the Tacktick J/80 UK National Championship title for the crew of J.A.T: Kevin Sproul, Adrian Gray, Phil Taylor and Chris Taylor.

| 18 June 2011 | Read more here... | 

Crouesty Arzon, France)- It was a busy day for the 113 competitors in the Grand Prix when they started the regatta, nearly 50% of the fleet were J's- 42 J/80s, 7 J/24s, the J/97 J-LANCE in IRC 4, 3 J/109s in IRC 3 and the J/122 JOLLY JOKER in IRC 1. "We are satisfied with the number of boats. We have very high quality sailors here, the best are present in J/80 and with 42 boats it should be very good racing," said Jacques Fily, President of YCCA.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the sailors. Saturday, there were 3 races that were contested in a wind of ten knots and under a bright sun. The race committee abandoned late in the day the fourth race due to an unstable breeze. For Sunday, there were 3 races also in a wind of between 15 to 25 knots and large seas, offering magnificent surfing downwind. By Monday, there were two more races to settle out the winners in the Grand Prix, sailing in winds of 8-10 knots, a masterful job running the races by PRO Jean-Paul Vallegand.

For the J/80s, it was clear the fleet was decidedly too eager to do battle on Saturday. First start was a general recall, then black flag with eight competitors having to pay the cost, including Eric Brezellec's Interface Concept 2. Under these competitive conditions, consistency is an important asset and it is no surprise that Voilerie All Purpose, led by local Sylvain Pelissier was the winner of the first day with two second places and one fourth place. They were followed by Atlantis (Laurent Sambron).

| 15 June 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Sandhamn, Sweden)- As part of their preparation for the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Swedish J/80 teams have spent a lot of time training since the winter/ spring sailing season. One of these events was the recent Sandhamn Open. Leading the way home was Pontus Tornlund's team sailing HEAVY DUTY to just beat Johannes Bergh's HAPPY team by one point, the final race determining the outcome of the regatta! Tornlund's team earned a 1-4-2-3-5-1 for 11 pts (with toss). Second was Bergh's team with a 4-2-1-5-1-4 for 12 pts. Third was Jonas Danneaues' team on A2, compiling a "roller-coaster" record of 6-1-4-1-6-6 for 18 pts. Look for some of these teams to sail well in the upcoming J/80 Swedish Championships in Malmo, Sweden and also compete in the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen in July

| 15 June 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Presque Ile de Crozon, France)- The French Navy and The Naval Academy has always been intimately linked to the world of sailing in France. In fact, sailing is one of the pillars of the training offered by the School and the Navy is a partner in offshore racing for many years in charge of rescue operations. In 2002, The Naval Academy decided to host a premiere one-design keelboat regatta to further support offshore one-design sportboat sailing and showcase the sport to the public and Navy personnel. This year, the Academy welcomed over 1,000 sailors that were sailing over 200 boats. The event has now achieved enough notoriety that the President of the French Sailing Federation (FFV), Jean-Pierre Champion, has decided to entrust the organization of the Championship of France Monotype to the Ecole Navale for another two years.

This year, eight nationalities were represented, giving an international dimension to the Grand Prix with teams from: France, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenija, Oman and New Zealand. Alistair Moore, coach of the Sail Oman Team said, "This is the first time the Youth Racing School of Oman Sail were able to implement their learning in an international regatta. It was a great test of their skills!"

With forty-five boats attending, the largest and most prominent class of the regatta, the J/80 competition ended after 10 races were sailed in fantastic 10 to 20 knot winds to determine "Le Champion of France Monotype". The winning team aboard INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 sailed a strong series, Morgan Riou leading his team to a 4-13-1-7-1-2-3-3-3-1 series for 25 pts (including toss).

| 10 June 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Dartmouth, England)- The Tactick J/80 UK National Championship 2011 in association with Baltic Wharf is being hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club this June 8th to 12th. Amongst the fleet of 26 runners and riders is an extremely impressive group of old and new faces in the fleet.

Frank Rowsell is one of the "new kids on the block". Frank is based in Exmouth and is a very skilled skiff and dinghy sailor. East Coast sailmaker Matthew Vincent also makes his J/80 debut in Dartmouth this week in his brand new boat FLIPPER. Mark Greenaway and his crew on the imaginatively named TBA have plenty of sportsboat experience and are a very skilled sailing team; Mark will be looking to put everything hes learned over the years into practice in the West country this week.

Local boat BALTIC WHARF, skippered by one of the youngest competitors at the event, Henry Bomby has shown great form before and one would certainly expect this talented young crew to finish somewhere "up in the chocolates" (e.g. "the podium"). Nigel Banford (Dartmouths J/80 Class Captain) has worked tirelessly to put this event together and he will be racing JUST SO.

The famous SPITFIRE, raced by the Royal Air Force team, Tony Hanlon and Andy Rodders Rodwell have been super quick on the Solent in recent months and with the legendary Ian Southworth on board to call the shots, they are clearly serious contenders. They will be missing their front-man though: Simon Sling Ling is part way through a tour in Afghanistan but will be watching his crew-mates performance when he can.

Stewart Hawthorn comes back to the J/80 fleet after some time away and he is always fast in JUMPIN JENGA. For the Nationals, Stewart has tactician Duncan McDonald (past I-14 World Champion) joining his crew, fresh from his win at the J/109 Nationals which took place last week-- talk about "loading the deck"! Also back after some time away are Rob Larke and his co-owner Nic Barnes, sailing their new rocket-ship J2X. Theyve been quick before and expectations are high for a strong performance this week

| 04 June 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Hong Kong, China)- On the weekend of May 14-15, the Royal Hong Kong YC hosted their annual Spring Regatta and had an enormous turn-out for their one-design classes. This year's event also served as the inaugural Spring Regatta for the club's J/80 fleet.

In a clear demonstration that they've begun to master sailing J/80s fast are Andrew Moore's team on TIGRINA, taking the Spring Regatta with a 1-2-1 to win with 4 pts. Second was Lucinda Ho and Sam Phillips racing MOZZIE with a 3-1-4 tally for 8 points. Third was Bruce Perkins on DELIAWITE with a 5-3-2 score for ten points. Rounding out the top five were Clark/ Bulmer racing JASMINE to fourth and Pauline Kong sailing FIGURE OF EIGHT to fifth.

| 03 June 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Xiamen, China- Apr 4-6)- The Xiamen Sailing Club hosted the first ever China College J/80 Regatta over the weekend of April 4th to 6th. The regatta played host to college sailing teams from Xiamen Universities and Taiwan Universities.

Seven races were held over three days, including two distance races to Kinman Island, Taiwan lying just offshore from Xiamen, China. Nineteen teams participated, including a team that had the Vice Mayor of Xiamen as an honorary crew-member participating in the race over to Kinman Island.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating elements of this regatta was how well coordinated the "diplomatic exchange" of sailors took place, on the fly, on the water, in real-time as the teams sailed across from Chinese water to Taiwanese waters! The Chinese Coast Guard and Taiwan Coast Guards were very supportive, handling escort across the borders to allow this event to happen seamlessly and with extraordinary decorum. It was remarkable to see the two "Coast Guards" line up in a line on either side of a "GPS line" in the water to show both respect for each other, but also to fly signal flags and exchange pleasantries as each boat sailed across into another country. Cool stuff!

| 28 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Valle des Fous, France)- This year's Interface Concept J/80 Cup, was won by the crew of the boat INTERFACE CONCEPT 2, skippered by Eric Brzellec and sponsored by the CEO of this company, Bruno Rolland. Jean Michel Lucas, President of the Club de la Valle des Fous was the organizer of the event. About 130 competitors participated during the three days event which was attended by 25 J/80s from across from the western coast of France, from Cherbourg to La Rochelle. The whole idea behind the regata in the "valley of fools" is to have fun and enjoy sailing with friends.

However, on the morning of registration, the organizers learned of the death of Hubert Desjoyeaux, the elder brother of Michael who was sailing in the J/80 regatta. A great sailor in his own right in his young years and the leading composite race-boats builder in France for 27 years, Hubert Desjoyeaux passed away yesterday at 52, following a several months battle with cancer. The early Formula 40 tris, Sport Elec (Jules Verne holder), several ORMA 60s, Vendee globe winners PRB, Foncia and other IM0CAs, more recently BP V and the first two MOD 70's have set his yard at the very top, and will carry his legacy. On Sunday morning, everyone wanted to show their affection to Hubert Desjoyeaux and relatives accompanying the boat carrying the ashes were scattered behind Penfret, to Glnan. An emotional moment before the last two races played out on Sunday.

| 27 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Stockholm, Sweden)- This year, the Saltsjbad Regatta was sailed in good conditions hosted by the Royal Swedish YC- KSSS. Lots of sun, wind and a race committee which did a superb job. They got in six races! The Sundstedt team won but not without a good fight from the rest of the fleet!

Ingemar Sundstedt will compete for the J/80 World Cup in Copenhagen this year. While some other famous J/80s like KISSER showed up on the starting line with Jim Rotsman and Daniel Winberg in control; their guest performance on Saturday was amazing and they sailed as good as usual. We look forward to seeing more of them on the water!

Lars Gellerhed's MK PRODUCTS team continues to show off, they gave Sundstedt a real match for the winner's circle and finished second in the regatta with a 4-1-3-1-2-2 record for 9 points (1 toss). In third place was HAPPY sailed by Johnannes Bergh with a 2-5-6-5-4-3 for 19 points.

The racing was incredibly close, rarely more than boat length difference between 1st and 6th boats!! Really fun racing on the bay. On Sunday it was behaving quite decent, but on Saturday was a whirlwind and the wind fluctuated between 2 and 9 m/s. The sailing over the weekend gave everyone very good training-- light, medium and strong wind.

An extra big "Thank You" to Jenny who had a tough year starting on Sunday-- they had a crash and ended up in the mound of stones at the pier. Bruised and stiff they sailed both races on Sunday and despite 70 kg underweight they sailed very well.

| 26 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Barcelona, Spain)- The Real Club Nautico de Barcelona hosts what has become a fantastic fixture in the Spanish J/80 sailing spring circuit each year, the Grand Prix Iberdrola. A first-class event, the RCNB was blessed with remarkably good weather conditions this year for the entire regatta.

After four races were held on the second day of the regatta, CROCS sailed by Javier Aguado was leading, followed by GREAT SAILING's Jose Maria van der Ploeg, and in third was FORTY FIVE sailed by Roman Solete Turro. Challenging this trio was the fact that on Sunday, two more races were held in a a solid 15-18 knot breeze to determine the ultimate champion. After the smoke cleared in two intensely fought races, it was Jose Maria van der Ploeg on GREAT SAILING that won, followed by CROCS skippered by Javier Aguado and TURISMO DO ALGARVE sailed by Hugo Rocha. Remember these guys? They all sailed in the regatta in Palma Mallorca the previous weekend. Said Jose from Yacht Club Bals - "We are very pleased to have competed in the Grand Prix Iberdrola, and win. It is our fourth race in J/80. The first three were in Palma Mallorca and we were excited to come to Barcelona, where my son for eleven years has been part of the crew!"

| 26 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Marseilles, France)- Damien Iehl and his French Match Racing Team made the perfect start to their World Match Racing Tour season after defeating Bertrand Pace's Aleph Sailing Team in an all French Final at Match Race France in Marseille. Surprised? Most French sailors in J/80s wouldn't be. After all, only 107 J/80s recently sailed Spi Ouest-France. Many French sailors are fast in J/80s.

This was Iehl's second ever victory on the World Match Racing Tour following his win at Match Race Germany in 2008 (also in J/80s) and his early justification for being awarded a Tour Card for the 2011 season. The victory caps a week in which the Frenchman has been in majestic form, firstly by Qualifying in second position, then defeating the 2003 Tour Champion Jesper Radich (DEN) 3-1 in the Semi-Finals and finally Pace in the first all French Final on the Tour since 2007.

| 18 May 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Chiavari, Italy- May 13-15)- In their usual sublime, easy-going but elegant style, the Yacht Club Chiavari hosted the J/80 Italian Championships. The fleet was blessed with nice weather, warm temperatures and nice breezes across the Mediterranean Sea. It was a closely fought regatta for the top two and perhaps an even tougher fight for third spot between three boats over the course of seven races. The first day was light offshore scirocco breeze of only 5-8 knots that died in the afternoon, permitting two races to be run. On the second day, more scirocco breezes from ESE of around 150 degrees and never more than 10 knots, but it was sufficient to get in three races. At the end of the day, it was time to return to port and happy hour at the Marquee Club, with beer, white wine, peas, salami and cheese for everyone! The third day started out with storm conditions blowing 30-35 knots from the northeast and raining, a classic winter day in Italy. The Race Committee at YCC wisely decided to postpone racing and were rewarded with a great day for sailing by midday, winds 15-25 knots from the northeast with 30 degree shifts.

| 18 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Shanghai, China)- This past week saw over 27,000 visitors from 70 countries attend the largest boatshow in China, the China International Boat Show in Shanghai. Considered the most prestigious in all of China, the event also hosts the Asia Pacific Boating Awards. With over three dozen panelists selecting the winners for each category, it was not surprising that the creme'd'la'creme rose to the top. Winner of the this year's CIBS Best Sportboat Award was the International J/80, recognized for being the world's leading one-design sportsboat class with over 1,600 boats competing worldwide. J/80 is also the premier sportsboat in China. On hand to accept the award was J/Boats China's representative Jimmie Johnstone.

| 18 May 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- As predicted, the Copa de Espana for the J/80 class in Spain was every bit as competitive as a J/80 World championship, but there was a surprise victor! Cesar Espinosa sailing IURISNAUTIC ended the first day of racing in first and managed to hold off all contenders to become the Copa de Espana Champion 2011.

On Saturday, the fleet racing began in the waters off Palma with 2 World Champions, 2 class Olympic Medallists and 14 Palmistas from the local fleet, all strong teams. And, it was a "local Palmista" that sailed a very strong series to win the day. IURISNAUTIC sailed by Carlos Espinosa of the Club de Mar in Palma was ranked first with Jose Luis Serra at the helm and tactician was none other than Tono Piris-- now that's called "stacking the deck" in your favor-- all smart sailors. In second for the day was the PalmaVela winner MAPFRE sailed by Carlos Martinez from the RCR Santiago de la Ribera club. And, third for the day was J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares sailing his well-known, and famous, HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA from the Canary Islands.

J/80s racing across Palma Mallorca Bay in front of super-yacht LIMITLESS.For the second day of the Cup of Spain there were less stable conditions for the participants. Saturday's test was marked by the struggle between the top three overall. The second set of races on Sunday for Carlos Espinosa's IURISNAUTIC showed that the lead in the opening day was not a gift! Ultimately, they were proclaimed Champion. Sailing strongly on Sunday to jump onto the podium was TURISMO DO ALGARVE sailed by Olympic medallist Hugo Rocha and Gonzalo Araujo just three points behind. Third place was Carlos Martinez's MAPFRE. Fourth place went to another J/80 World Champion, Ignacio Camino sailing his famous NEXTEL ENGINEERING and in fifth place was HM HOTELS sailed by Javier Chacartegui. It was a great day of racing in the Bay of Palma, plus the local Palma J/80 fleet paid a tribute to the late Severiano Ballesteros-- a famous Spanish athlete/ golfer.

| 17 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- Aurelie and Romain Pilliard, organizers of the Tour de Belle-Ile, are amazed at success of the event, which this year attracted 486 boats on the same line, against 329 last year. It's seemingly a gathering of those who love the fun and challenge of "round island" events, the "tour" is like England's famous Round Island Race (Isle of Wight), Newport's Around Jamestown Island, San Francisco's version (the 3BF- Three Bridge Fiasco) and Brazil's Round Ilhabela. Friends and family from all over France gather together for a 41 nm jaunt around the spectacular scenery of Belle Ile, marked by its mountainous terrain and enormous cliffs with picturesque lighthouses perched atop verdant green rolling hills. It's always a challenging race and the massive fronts that come rolling off the Bay of Biscay often see the less prepared "running for the hills", so to speak, headed back to the cozy confines of La Trinite sur Mer's harbor.

Perhaps the big story was the large J/80 fleet of 14 boats, the largest one-design class in the Tour de Belle-Ile. And, it included several notable, famous French sailors- Mr. America's Cup/ Louis Vuitton- Bruno Trouble on-board his COYOTE (pictured right) and also Yannick Tabarly, the son of the very renowned offshore sailor Eric Tabarly of PEN DUICK fame. It was a tough fight for this group. Starting out fast downwind, the J/80s got down to the SW tip of the gorgeous Belle Ile knowing that after they past the eastern tip it was going to be a tough, uphill windward battle to the finish. As they demonstrated in the J/80 Worlds in Newport, Bruno's "Jurassic Park" team were as tough as Tyrannosaurus Rex! Bruno's COYOTE team won by nearly 9 minutes over Yannick Tabarly's ALARME DELERUE PROXEO sailing for Ecole de Voile Oceane. In third was Hubert Wargny sailing AXELLE J from Yacht Club d France, fourth was Eric Bastard sailing SENJI from Societe Nautique Trinite sur Mer and fifth was Patrice Mack sailing GIGA also from SN Trinite s/Mer.

| 11 May 2011 | Read more here... | 

By the Slimmest of Margins- Mike Lovett at SAILING WORLD interviewed the crew of Tom Klok's J/80 GULDFAXE that just 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 wind shifts 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.

The Guldfaxe team has a unique dynamic. Klok is the owner/ main trimmer. His brother-in-law, Will Crump, drives the boat. Klok's sister, Marie Crump, handles foredeck duties. The trio also works together in the management consulting business, which is why they refer to fourth crew member, Scott Collins, as their therapist. "A lot of people wonder how we can work together and sail together," says Will Crump. "Somehow, we make it work. I think it's because we can be honest with each other. Sometimes, it's hard for family members who sail together to be honest with each other about what needs to change."

| 06 May 2011 | Read more here... | 

(Annapolis, MD)- While the script called for battles to rage on after Charleston Race Week in some classes, it was not to be. Instead, an entirely new cast of characters stepped onto the stage for this spring's Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta and established their roles as top dogs for the weekend. And, what a roller-coaster it was for nearly every fleet on the water. With three forecasts from North Sails Weather Services that were basically dead wrong for all three days, it was up to the skippers and tacticians to break out their "divining rods" and simply find the most wind with most favorable current advantage. Most experienced Annapolis sailors will often error on the side of the current play versus the wind play, sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. And, this chaotic and somewhat schizophrenic wind/current condition had some skippers apoplectic and their tacticians simply catatonic! It was not a pretty picture. Nevertheless, the enormous turnout of twenty-nine J/80s simply stepped up to the challenges and made the most of them.

The J/80s were having a slug-fest while riding a roller-coaster up and down the standings at 100 mph. Crazy. Desperate. Ecstatic. Wild. Psychotic. Name an adjective within those broad terms and you may only begin to understand how rapidly the J/80 teams were moving up and down the standings race-by-race. Even the local sailors from Annapolis were beyond frazzled. Consider this, two World Champions in the J/80 class (Glenn Darden and Kerry Klingler) didn't even make the top five in this highly competitive fleet of 29 teams. To add to the insanity, the winner was chosen based on a THREE-WAY tie for FIRST place! Pass the Pepto-Bismol, please-- a few upset stomachs and ulcers brewing shortly! Nevertheless, it took a Danish brother/sister team (Tom and Marie Klok) and Marie's husband Will Crump on GULDFAXE to win the 3-way tie-breaker with 1-7-5-19-3-1-5-12 score for 53 pts....

| 05 May 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- This weekend's Copa de Espana for the J/80 class in Spain is nearly as competitive as a J/80 World championship, especially since many of the top J/80 teams worldwide come from Spain. Hosted by the Real Club Nautico de Palma, the thirty teams will be competing on Palma's gorgeous bay, with spectacular green mountains as a backdrop and the famous Cathedral La Seu along the waterfront, it will surely create a memorable and beautiful canvas for those sailing this weekend in Palma.

As a reflection of the fact that the J/80 has grown into the most important one-design racing boat in Spain, there will be many highly competitive teams taking part in this year's regatta, including many top Olympic and World-class sailors. Featuring amongst them will be HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA skippered by ex-J/80 World Champion Rayco Tabares Alvarez from the Canary Islands. Also sailing is another J/80 World Champion, NEXTEL ENGINEERING, skippered by Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez.

| 04 May 2011 | Read more here... | 

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The largest one-design fleet in the history of SPI Ouest-France delivered in spades. Great competition, good sailing and a champion whom is greatly respected in French sailing circles. Eric Brezellec, from Saint-Quay Portrieux, residing in Brest, was the overall J/80 class winner. With his crew, he won his second brilliant Spi Ouest France.

Eric has won four J/80 Cups in France (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010). "This morning, I have no aches because we did not have severe weather conditions. For cons, I'm tired mentally because it's not easy for nerves to function in a split-fleet of 100 J/80s (the fleet was split into two flights). It is the happiness of winning for the second time this great race of the season that brings great pleasure", said Eric.

I sailed in the J/80 since 2004. Our victory is linked to a good analysis of the water but also to our knowledge of J/80. We know how it works and we have a great set of sails. And, we are used to sailing in large J/80 fleets. In the J/80 Coupe de France, we regularly sail 60 boats on the starting line. We are not surprised at the mark roundings, they can be jammed!" Eric plans on sailing the J/80 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark in July 3-8.

| 27 April 2011 | Read more here.... | 

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The largest one-design fleet in the history of SPI Ouest-France is expected for the J/80 class with more than 105 teams planning to attend. Seven countries are represented with international crews from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The strength of the French J/80 class have contributed to this record turnout, it's considered the best one-design class in France and routinely attracts the best French one-design sailors; included amongst them is Bruno Trouble, the managing director of Louis Vuitton's participation in the America's Cup. Bruno is again expected to sail with most of his "Jurassic Park" COYOTE crew that accompanied him in Newport for the J/80 Worlds--- one tough group of hombres!

This strong turnout also bodes well for the J/80 Worlds 2013 that will take place in France (over 140 crews expected) and for which preparations have already begun (applications of organizing clubs are open, the final site selection will be done later this year).

Of note will be the fact that one of the best PRO's in France, Christophe Gaumont, will be managing the races at SPI Ouest, as he did for the 2007 J/80 Worlds. The fleet will be split in two with four flights rotating against one another to determine the Gold and Silver fleets, then competition will commence to determine the ultimate overall champion.

| 22 April 2011 | For more SPI-Ouest J/80 sailing information. | 

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- Some of the most magnificent sailboats of the world will compete from the 20th to 24th of April in the Mapfre PalmaVela regatta. Twelve classes will join competition during the four racing days. A total of 120 boats, 1000 sailors, 15 divisions and 15 countries will compete, distributed across four racing areas.

While the giant sailing yachts will be racing further offshore, the giants of sailing in Spain will be racing in the J/80 class. The J/80 has grown into the most important one-design racing boat in Spain and will see 23 highly competitive teams taking part in this year's regatta. It's a gathering some of the best national and international sailors that call Europe home. For these teams, the Mapfre PalmaVela will also serve as a warm-up for the debut of the class in the Copa del Rey Audi-Mapfre regatta that will be sailed in July.

The participation of three Olympic Medallists and a World Champion is proof of the extremely competitive level of the class. Barcelona 1992 Gold Medallist Jose Mara van der Ploeg will take the helm of the J/80 GREAT SAILING and so will Montreal 1976 Silver Medallist Too Gorostegui onboard CANTABRIA INFINITA. Portuguese Hugo Rocha, Bronze Medallist in Atlanta 1996, will skipper TURISMO DO ALGARVE, while J/80 World Champion Ignacio Camino will sail onboard NEXTEL ENGINEERING. ALCOLA sailed by Estanislao Carpio, FIERABRAS skippered by Diego Coln, PORTCALL COMPOSITES helmed by Jos Carlos Frau, Javier Sanz's PRO RIGGING, or Miguel Pujadas' EDER HOTELS are some of the strong Majorcan J/80 teams to compete this week in Palma. Defending champion Carlos Martnez also stands out as one of the favorites.

| 22 April 2011 | For more Mapfre PalmaVela Sailing information. | 

The 2011 J/80 Swedish Championship will be held 29 June 1 July in Malmo, Sweden the week prior to the World Championship in Copenhagen. Only a short sail from the Worlds regatta site it is the perfect tune up event.

For more information please contact the Swedish J/80 class association:
secretary1@j80.nu

| 04 April 2011 | Read more | 

(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.

| 11 February 2011 | Read more | 

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.

| 10 February 2011 | Read more | 

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 | Read more | 

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

| 02 February 2011 | Read more | 

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.
http://www.spi-ouestfrance.com/avis-de-course-eng.php

| 02 February 2011 | Read more | 

(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 | Read more | 

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 | Read more | 

J/80s sailing in China
(Xiamen, China)- There was light air this weekend, but no lack of turnout again for the second week of racing. With 8 boats on the water and over 50 people attending to help with committee or sail, things have been going very well. Since the overall participants in many cases have not sailed J/80's before, the first two weeks of light air have allowed teams to start to figure out the best ways of handling the asymmetrical spinnaker sets, jibes and take downs.
We had two races and tried to get a third but lack of wind lead to abandoning the last race. Boat #6 driven by Jacky Chen showed consistent first place finishes to win the day. I must say that it is great to see so many kids joining the sailing. Last week we had Laura and Phil Harvey with 4 small kids on board and this week we had Alain and Sacha Vermeulen and Pieter van der Plas sailing with their kids. You will notice from the photo that the kids are driving when they got 2nd in the first race.
J/80 family sailing one-design with childrenI am glad to see that everyone is having a great time. We have changed the schedule a little to help with the holiday travel schedule. We will be racing Dec. 19th, Jan. 9th, Jan 16th, Jan. 23rd and finishing on Jan. 30th. We are keeping track of the overall score but it is good for people to realize that this is just for fun and that we are all out just bettering out sailing ability. I look forward to seeing everyone this weekend, We will be trying to get the first start off at 1:30pm sharp if we have breeze this weekend so don't get too far from the starting area.

| 15 December 2010 | 

J/80 sailing in Xiamen, China winter sailing series
(Xiamen, China)- The first annual J/80 winter series started this past weekend. Nine boats are participating in a 7 week series in Xiamen, China. The event starts each week with a 30 minute lesson followed by boat assignments and then first race at 1:30. No starts after 3:30. This is open to anyone that would like to join each sunday until the end of January (Space Limited). 58 people showed up for the first event. Too many for the nine J/80's, but with support boats available everyone was able to have a great time.
There were three races to start the series with each being won by a different boat. There was a tie for second place and winning the day was David Zhou with 2-1-2. Current was a major factor in this days racing and consistent starts played a big role with the current pushing most competitors over the line early at least once during the day. Reports Jim Johnstone, "We look forward to a fun series and the sailors are all quite happy to be on the water regularly in this new series."

| 08 December 2010 | 

J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing off Santander, Spain
(Santander, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 teams are at it again. No matter how many J/80 World Champions they have, their fellow J/80 sailors are simply having fun getting out on the water and thrashing around the buoys before retiring after the race for some great Spanish paella and vino rojo.

The wavy conditions and good southwest 10-20 knot winds, combined with the flexibility of the Race Committee, allowed three good sets of races to play out on Santander Bay for the weekend. It was fortunate that three sets of six races were completed, it's been a nasty few weeks for storms that have lashed the coastline. The winner Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS sailed to a very consistent 3-3-5 score. Second place went to NEXTEL ENGINEERING sailed by Ignacio Camino and Armando Gutierrez and bronze was won by the BANCAJA-AVIVA, raced by Javier Lopez-Vazquez and Alvaro Mazarrasa. Rounding out the top five were MABLE in 4th sailed by Alberto Padron and Jose Miguel Oriol, winning on a tie-breaker over Jaime Piris on FONESTAR (5th overall). For more J/80 Autumn Championship sailing information. Sailing photos courtesy of Chapifoto.com

| 03 December 2010 | Read more | 

J/80 World Champions- Pichu Torcida and crew
(Santander, Spain)- In the Cantabrian region there are many excellent, world-class sportsmen. Many are cycling, soccer and basketball stars that win medals at an Olympic level or play professionally on such teams as Real Madrid or Barcelona. In that rarified air is none other than Pichu Torcida. A jury of the board of the Sports Press Association of Cantabria (APDC) and the heads of the major sports media in the region, selected eleven winners across a range of sports. Pichu's team is recognized as the "Best Team of Cantabria 2010" for their victory in the J/80 Worlds in Newport, RI. The entire team won the award, including his team-mates Carlos Martinez, Javier de la Plaza and Juan Gonzalez of Real Club Maritimo de Santander. For more info on Pichu's awards for sailing.

| 02 December 2010 | Read more | 

SLAM Racing- J/80 winning sailing team
SLAM RACING's Gorostegui Wins
(Santander, Spain)- Last Saturday it was a freezing cold November day, but the sailors were undeterred. They headed out for their version of a "mini-J/80 Worlds" (e.g. "mundialito"). Hosted by the Real Club Martimo de Santander, the event is a traditional friendly and festive trophy "Mundialito" which brought into Cantabria many renowned Spanish sailors.

J/80 one-design- sailing off Santander, Spain with FonestarOn Saturday afternoon the race committee sent the 27 teams around windward-leeward courses for a series of good, tactical racing. By Sunday morning, the PRO's instead ordered a special tour and unusual hitch, starting with coastal stretch down the coast and back and finishing off the RCMS after a final double windward-leeward laps halfway between Santa Marina and Camel Beach. The conditions were tough, because a strong hailstorm struck the sailors when sailing against upwind to the first mark. It was in this race that SLAM RACING took control of the regatta, winning by a comfortable margin. Unfortunately, one of the contenders in the race, current J/80 World Champion Pichu Torcida, had to retire due to some painful muscle injuries in the difficult weather conditions. Overall, the results were SLAM RACING in first sailed by Tonio Gorostegui and Harry Lavin, 2nd was Fernando Rita and Jaime Piris sailing the picturesque FONESTAR, 3rd was Ignacio Camino racing his familiar NEXTEL ENGINEERING, 4th was a new face amongst the leaders, Chuny Bermudez de Castro sailing COMPESCA and tied for 5th were Jesus Amaliach on RAITA and Angel Herrera on GROUP RHIN, the latter getting 6th on the tie-breaker. For more J/80 Santander sailing information. Sailing photo courtesy of Chapifoto.com

| 01 December 2010 | Read more | 

J/80 sailor Bruno Trouble leading Louis Vuitton Cup* Louis Vuitton Cup For AC34- Bruno Trouble (J/80 sailor extraordinaire from France), Russell Coutts, Yves Carcelle, Richard Worth, and Pietro Beccari celebrated their new partnership between Louis Vuitton and the 34th America's Cup! Amazing, from the ashes a Phoenix yet rises again-- gotta hand it to Bruno, brilliant man and a French gentleman who knows how to get the job done.

Continuing its 30-year long association with the America's Cup, the Paris-based fashion house will present the prize, the Louis Vuitton Cup, to the winner of the America's Cup Challenger Series, as well as serve as Official Timing for the 34th America's Cup. "We are thrilled to announce today the continuation of our 30-year partnership with the America's Cup. Having met with the team several times, we believe that the 34th edition will be the best America's Cup yet," said Yves Carcelle, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton Malletier.

| 01 December 2010 | 

J/80 sailor Lee's new book on life and sailing* Now and Zen- We sail for a lot of different reasons. Some people like to win races, but they dont even really like the pure act of sailing. Some people never win a race in their life, but they just love being out the water. Then, there are those of us for whom sailing can become an act of personal salvation. Lee Carlson has an excellent story to tell about how sailing gave him back his life through his book Passage to Nirvana.

You can read the whole version of the events in Lees life that led up to his need to write this book, but the short version is that a culmination of some pretty negative things a nasty divorce, his mother falling down a flight of stairs and dying, topped off by being hit by a car and sustaining a traumatic brain injury gave the net result of his book. Somehow, Lee found the resolve to recover his life and did so largely because of the support of his fianc Meg, and their boat, aptly named Nirvana. Toss in some Zen, and you have a book not so much about Lees life, but lessons that can be applied universally. Heres a quick Q & A with a guy who has had more than his share of bad luck, but who has also had the good fortune to have the ability to turn it around. Scot Tempesta at Sailing Anarchy did one of his famous "SA InnerViews" with Lee--- here's the intro, you gotta read the rest. Absolutely amazing and inspiring story.

SA - What is your background in sailing? Where, and on what, have you sailed?

Lee - I was born on the Navy base in San Diego when my father was on a destroyer there. I started sailing soon after I was born, going out with he and my mother in a Star. I grew up at the Buffalo Canoe Club on Lake Erie. I raced with some of the top Lightning sailors in the world, and I also raced the usual and not-so-usual assortment of dinghies and small keelboats: Tech Dinghies, Lasers, 420's, 470's, Albacores, Sharks, J24's. Then I graduated to larger keelboats: Ted Hood's fantastic centerboard one tonner Abino Robin, an Ericson 39 Warlock on Lake Erie and LIS, Eight-Meters on Lake Ontario (changing headsails in the middle of the night in freezing 8-ft. seas while clinging to a knife-edge bow with no lifelines is not something one ever forgets), and other bigger custom keelboats. Those were the days of the SORC and I raced on the maxi Windward Passage, on a mini-maxi that was a Doyle team boat, as well as racing captain of a Dubois 46 and as crew on assorted other boats. I also cruised fairly extensively, first on my family's Islander 37 on the Great Lakes, with a few charters in the Caribbean. My father bought part ownership of a 34-footer with a family in Miami, and we used to do family vacations in the Bahamas, before the drug scene got too bad. For my honeymoon my wife and I bareboated in the Virgins. When I moved to New York City to become a magazine editor, I raced a number of different boats on Long Island Sound, such as an Evelyn 32. Before my accident I was crewing regularly on a J/80. Read the rest of Scot's SA InnerView here. For the book, you can get it here.

| 27 November 2010 | Read more | 

J/80 fleet for Asian Games- ready to go sailing in match racing
(Guangzhou, China/ Shanwei Sailing Center- Nov. 20th)- Japan won the Gold Medal in Open Match Racing of Sailing at the 16th Asian Games in co-host city Shanwei. This is a tribute to the long-term focus of the Japanese Sailing Team in the match-racing arena, no doubt helped by the presence of Peter Gilmour and his influence on the Japanese America's Cup programs over time. A surprise Silver Medalist was the Indian team skipper by Balraj Balraj. Third was Korea getting the bronze led by Sungmin Cho. Here are the standings for the Asian Games Sailing medalists and their crew:

1. Gold- Japan- OKAMOTO Yasuhiro- skipper, SAKAMOTO Wataru, WADA Daichi, YOSHIFUJI Hiroaki

2. Silver- India- BALRAJ Balraj- skipper, HELEGAONKAR Trunal, SINHA Atool, TARAPORE Farokh Fa, YADAV Shekhar Sing

3. Bronze- Korea- CHO Sungmin- skipper, KIM Sungwok, LEE Dongwoo, NAM Yongjin, PARK Gunwoo

Read more about their in the Sailing section here on the Asia Games 2010 site.

| 24 November 2010 | Read more | 

J/80 one-design sailboat- sailing on Lake Garda, Italy
(Tigullio, Italy)- The fourteenth of November. 1400 hours. On a lake in Italy. Mediterranean climate. Warm. Sunny. Gentle warm breeze. Anything wrong with this picture? Not if you live in Italy. Or, you live someplace else driving a desk and wish you could be there!

The beginning of the Winter Championships in Tigullio started this past weekend in Italy. For those of you so inclined, they still have room on some of their boats for refugees from America and northern Europe to join them for the next few weekends! They promise an enormous amount of generous, warm-hearted, real-Italian hospitality, fabulous food, extraordinary wines, delectable truffles, deliciously yummy breads and tasty cheeses and a lot of love to spread around to any fun-loving J/80 sailors!

J/80 Italian sailing team- sailing around markThe PRO managed to run two splendid races on the first day. Only a mild "scirocco" with 10-12 knots, warm, mild, dry air gracing one's skin, beautifully replenishing the strains of a weeks worth of abuse driving a desk at the office. As our Italian friends say, the Tigullio is no longer the "Gulf of Nesci" and continues to give an "elixir" for anyone taking days of sailing and racing for the benefit of their well-being. Out on the water it just so happens that JENIALE crushed the faithful with MONTPRES in second and OLD SPIRIT third. In the second race, JENIALE walked away again (next time feed them more red wine at dinner!), second was J'BES and third OLD SPIRIT. While these are just the first rounds of sailing, the next are on November 28. Still time to book Alitalia or British Airways and join them! Sailing Photos by F. Prandini. For more J/80 Italian Winter Series sailing information.

| 17 November 2010 | 

J/80 BMW Match Race- Hamburg, Germany- sailing on the bayGermans Compete For Match Race Supremacy In Hamburg
(Hamburg, Germany- Nov. 6-7)- How's this for a headliner- "BMW Yachtsport 2010. BMW ORACLE Racing wins the America's Cup, while the BMW Sailing Cup, the largest international amateur regatta series, enters its fifth season". The BMW Sailing Cup has evolved over the past 5 years, according to BMW Yachtsport, into "the biggest amateur sailing event in the world. A sporting challenge, team spirit and joy in sailing are just a few reasons why the BMW Sailing Cup is enjoying increasing popularity. Six J/80 sailing yachts are made available to amateur crews and each event can take up to 90 sailors in 18 equal strength teams for each regatta on the circuit." Add in world famous, gorgeous, sexy, Der Spiegel tabloid star and Olympic Gold Medal figure skater Katarina Witt, and you have an amazing feast for the eyes to savor over a few days of sailing on the famous Hamburg harbor.

J/80 BMW Match Race- Katarina Witt sailing in Hamburg, GermanyBefore the Germany Final got underway on Friday, Hamburg was visited by several celebrities and professional yachtsmen. After three races, TEAM NORD with Ulrike Schumann, Niko Mittelmeier and Phillip Buhl were able to celebrate their victory over Markus Weiser while stars like ultra-hot ice-skater Katarina Witt were enjoying their first experience out on the un-frozen water. The biggest winners, however, were the children-- 10,000 Euros were raised for the World Childhood Foundation! That's a cause for celebration and kudos to BMW Yachtsport Team for supporting such an wonderful program!

A noteworthy prelude to this event was Germany's Championship of Champions held the week before, the winner was- Markus Wieser. Germany's sailing elite met in Hamburg the previous weekend for the 31st Championship of Champions. Only German, European and world champions in Olympic and international classes are invited to this exclusive and historically unique regatta. European Dragon champion Markus Wieser and his crew of Matti Paschen and Eberhard Magg defeated 35 other teams on Hamburg's Alster to win the Championship of Champions for the first time.

J/80 BMW match race- sailing around mark in Hamburg, GermanyIn the finale, which featured the top three teams, the BMW Yachtsport Ambassador (Markus Weiser) and his crew produced two immaculate races to leave the opposition in their wake: second place went to the team skippered by Denmark's Sten Mohr, who was part of the afterguard in the BMW ORACLE Racing team for the 32nd America's Cup and was at the helm of the then Challenger of Record in the semi-final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. German match race champion Stefan Meister came third.

"It is fantastic to win this important regatta for the first time," said Wieser. "We produced the best sailing in difficult conditions and with little wind, and were deserved winners. We won all the starts and always led coming to the first buoy. The fact that our crew is used to sailing in various boat classes, as well as in match and fleet races, really paid off. This versatility was the key to our success." Despite their good performance in Berlin, Wieser ran into the chainsaw of a top-class field in Hamburg; the most important sailing regatta in the capital region all year. For more BMW Yachtsport German sailing information English version of BMW Yachtsport.

| 11 November 2010 | Read more | 

J/80 France Pornic Cup winners- one-design sailboat(Nantes, France- Oct 30-31)- With sixty-six participants, under optimal conditions, perfect organization both on water and on land, a good atmosphere and sailors thrilled to be racing, what more could one ask for in the penultimate event of the French National J/80 Series. Great sailing for the large fleet and challenging conditions all four days.

The crew of ATLANTIS, skippered by Laurent Sambron was untouchable for four days. Their composure and consistency enabled them to climb the top of the podium for the third time (they're winners in 2006, 2007). One notable performance was that of the SPANISH GOLD Sailing crew, comprised of Almandaz Iker, Sanchez Inigo, Borja Ponte, Jaunegi Inigo-- their long journey was rewarded with a second overall! They are part of the top 5 best teams in Spain (the other four went to America to show Americans how to sail J/80s downwind). Third was INTERFACE CONCEPT II sailed by Yannick Le Clech, Xavier Haiz, Gildas Mahe and Ronan Dreano.

J/80 Coyote- Jurassic Park- Bruno Trouble of Louis Vuitton fame- sailing off NewportOn the last day of racing, the whims of the wind Gods forced a delay for the race committee. Originally scheduled for 10 am, the racing didn't start until 11 am. Even then, with wind oscillations of 45 degrees every fifteen minutes, the PRO was having a difficult time setting a good course. Nevertheless, a race was launched at 11:30am with a change of course during the race. The "traditional" general recall, the black flag, had to be used on the aggressive fleet. It's almost a custom for the J/80 class! But again, it was a very good race under a bright sun and mild temperatures for the season. No one was arguing since it was such a gorgeous day. After the races, everyone went home happily, feeling it was one of the best regattas all year in the French National Series. It's worthwhile to note the excellent job performed by the race committee team and the PRO from the Metropolitan Club Nantes- Saint Nazaire (APCC). M.I.A. was dear friend Bruno Trouble on COYOTE/ JURASSIC PARK, perhaps still nursing some strained muscles and some good vintage California (and Newport) wines after the J/80 Worlds (seen here to the right having a ball off Newport!)-- the Clarke Cooke House Candy Store evening after the J/80 Worlds Awards was lots of fun! For more French J/80 sailing results. Photo courtesy of Paul Todd/ Outside Images.

| 10 November 2010 | 

(Auckland, NZ)- Paul Todd's Outside Images is pleased to announce the publication of the J/80 World Championship 2010 Coffee Table book. This book is a memento to sailors and everyone involved with the J/80 World Championship held in Newport, Rhode Island October 2010. There are over 200 images throughout the book and each chapter relives some of the awesome sailing and how close the regatta was between the American and Spanish teams.

The book will make a great holiday gift for crew and skippers alike, it opens to extraordinary double page spreads that are 26 inches wide. This book will look great just sitting on the table for everyone to browse through and get a real taste for the action that played out in Newport between the teams and crew. Take a sneak peek and place your order for the book. Your family and friends who love sailing will love you even more for such a thoughtful gift!

Also you can order any images in the book as prints or digital downloads or any image taken at the regatta. There is also coupon offers for 3 or more images 25% off ( J80worlds3 ) and for 5 or more 40% off ( J80worlds5 ). The coupons can be applied at the "checkout" stage of purchasing prints or digital downloads at the Outside Images site (http://www.outsideimages.com). There are over 500 high-resolution images on the web site.

| 05 November 2010 | View and Order J/80 Worlds Coffee Table Book Here. | 

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 J/80 Worlds website for all the results, all reports from all four days of racing and the great action photos by Allen Clark at http://www.photoboat.com.

| 09 October 2010 | J/80 Worlds 2010 Site- Reports-Results-Photos | 

The J/80 class is known for attracting and retaining friendly competition. It's also a class that spreads the wealth around when it comes to world titles. Consider that in the 9 years since the first World Championship was held in Newport, no team has won the event twice. All this may change next week as a record five former J/80 World Champions (Klingler, Lutz, Darden, Torcida and Rodriques) and the current defending World Champion Rayco Tabares (pictured to the left) square off in Newport. It's only been a few years, but already the J/80 class has enjoyed some of the most memorable world championships in some of the most beautiful sailing venues of the world. We congratulate the past champions:

2001 Newport, RI, USA Kerry Klingler (USA)

2002 La Rochelle, France Pascal Abignoli (FRA)

2003 Fort Worth, TX, USA Jay Lutz (USA)

2004 Sandham, Sweden Peder Arvefors (SWE)

2005 Falmouth, England Ruairidh Scott (GBR)

2006 Corpus Christi, TX, USA Glenn Darden (USA)

2007 La Trinite, France Jose Maria Torcida (ESP)

2008 Kiel, Germany Ignacio Camino Rodrigues (ESP)

2009 Santander, Spain Rayco Tabares (ESP)

| 30 September 2010 | 2010 Worlds Site | 

(21 September 2010...Newport, RI) 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 of Sweden, 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).

| 21 September 2010 | 

(Marion, MA)- Vene, vidi, vici. Five strong. The Jackson Five they're not, but they sure put on quite a show. The Storck family team again 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 (pictured below), 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!

Sailing Photo Credits- Spectrum Photo/ Fran Grenon (BTW, some amazing shots!) http://www.spectrumphotofg.com/

| 16 September 2010 | regatta site | 

With nine days remaining to register, 65 teams from nine countries are already signed up for the 2010 J/80 Worlds in Newport. 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.

| 06 September 2010 | 

(June 5-6- Barcelona, Spain)- A strong seventeen boat fleet attended this well-run regatta hosted by Real Club Nautico de Barcelona. After a gorgeous first day of racing with good wind, partly cloudy skies and four excellent races, the expectation was for an epic battle for first place between Hugo Rocha on TURISMO DO ALGARVE and Josep Maria Pujol during Sunday's racing....Read on at link below. Photo credits: Alfredo Farre

| 23 June 2010 | J/80 Spain sailing article | 

(Dartmouth, England)- Team Baltic, a young J/80 team from Dartmouth, sponsored by Baltic Wharf boatyard, Totnes, had a great start to their season winning the J/80 Class at the 2010 J-Cup hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in the Solent. The Team were using the regatta as training for the J/80 Europeans on Lake Garda where they will compete this week. Joining them will be several UK, European and World Champions, including Ian Atkins' boats.com and the NEXTEL ENGINEERING Team from Spain. Read more by clicking link below.

| 23 June 2010 | For more J/80 Europeans sailing information | 

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- A total of 1,754 entries sailed in this past weekend's JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race crewed by nearly 16,000 sailors! On Saturday, June 19, the race began at 5am, from the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, after which the fleet raced westabout to The Needles, around St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy and back into the Solent, to the finish line in Cowes... Read more at link below.

| 21 June 2010 | J/80 Round Island Race Sailing information | 

(Lago di Garda, Italy- 14 June)- With the last day's racing at Malcesine wrapped up, JENIALE! of Extreme Sailing Team are the winners of the Italian National Championships 2010. In the stunning area of Navene, Fraglia Vela Malcesine assured impeccable organization and Lake Garda provided 3 days of consistent wind of around 15-20 knots allowing the full schedule of races to take place. Read more at the link below.

| 16 June 2010 | J/80 Italy Sailing Information | 

(Hamble, England- 3-6 June)- Having already had two days of awesome shorts and shades racing at the J-Cup 2010, the fleet were postponed ashore for a short time on Saturday until ten to twelve knots of breeze filled in from the south east. In the J/80 Class John Coopers OI! was one point ahead of the young crew on Steve Mittlers TEAM BALTIC, with two races left to sail and before discards were applied. Read more at the link below.

| 09 June 2010 | J/Cup J/80 Sailing Information | 

(Barcelona, Spain- May 29-30)- Real Club Nautico de Barcelona and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation hosted the fourth J/80 Copa de Espana, a prelude to the J/80 Spanish Championships next month. Sailing TURISMO DE ALGARVE, Hugo Gonzalo Rocha and Arajo, who was competing under the pennant of Arenys de Mar Boat Club, have been proclaimed champions. Read more at the link below. Photo credits- Jesus Renedo

| 02 June 2010 | J/808 Copa de Espana Sailing Information | 

(Saltsjobad, Sweden- May 25th)- The J/80s are warming up in Sweden with some of the leaders of this fleet aiming to get in enough sailing to perform well at this year's J/80 World Championships in Newport, RI. One crew in particular that is hoping to sail in Newport is Tom Whitmore's on HUNDEN sailing for KSSS. They've started off their 2010 Dynamant Cup season long championship very strongly, leading this series by winning the Saltsjobad Regatta with a 2-5-1-6-1-2 score. Read more at the link below.

| 26 May 2010 | J/80 Sweden Sailing Information | 

J/80 sailors can now register for the 2010 Worlds online at the regatta website. With 25 requests for charter and a record US turnout expected, Newport is bracing for a J/80 invasion in October!

| 20 May 2010 | worlds website | 

(Brest, France)- Sailing as part of the Grand Prix Ecole Navale in Brest, the large forty-nine boat J/80 class conducted their 2010 French Nationals. Eric Brezellec and his crew won. And how! At the end of the ten races run off Brest in the Grand Prix Ecole Navale, Eric's J/80 JACCUZZI / GOLD SAILING finished 33 points ahead of second, never finishing below 6th place. Undeniable victory as they say! Read more at link below.

| 19 May 2010 | J/80 France Sailing Information | 

(Cardiff, Wales, UK)- The Tacktick Suunto J/80 UK National Championship was hosted by the Cardiff Bay Yacht Club and was presided over by PRO David Cairncross. The fleet were greeted by more breeze on Saturday morning than they had enjoyed over the previous two days of the Championship; a blustery 15 to 23 knots blowing from the cold North East. Going in to the final day only seven points separated the top three at the Championship; BOATS.COM, ELLE S'APPELLE and PURPLE HAZE. Read more at link below.

| 12 May 2010 | J/80 UK Sailing Information | 

(Annapolis, MD)- The large J/80 fleet were met with better than expected weather conditions, soaking in the sunny skies and gentle warm breezes from the southerly quadrant for most of the weekend and even the partly cloudy, extremely shifty winds on Sunday did little to diminish sailors enthusiasm for this remarkably well-run event. Read more at link below.

| 05 May 2010 | J/80 SW NOOD Sailing Information | 

Terry Flynn- a past J/80 World Champion had a great time in the recent SW Annapolis NOOD Regatta, in particular since he had long-time Texas friend Mark Foster sailing with him (a former 470 Champion with Mark Ploch and J/24 Champion, too). Sailing World's Mike Lovett interviewed Terry, read more at link below:

| 05 May 2010 | Read more | 

(Hong Kong, China)- In late 2009 the Royal Hong Kong YC firmed up plans to purchase a number of new boats in partnership with members. A short list of designs was studied, and after many long hours of discussion and negotiation an agreement was reached with J-Boats Asia, with the boats being built by Hudson Yachts in Xiamen. Read more at link below.

| 28 April 2010 | J/80 Hong Kong Sailing Information | 

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....

| 18 March 2010 | Link to Best Practices Part II | 

The proposed amendments for the J/80 Class Rules are now published (click on the Class Rules link on menu in left column) 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.

| 16 February 2010 | 

Join in on the USA J/80 Class in 2010 for an incredible East Coast tour of events. The fleet now moves to Charleston, South Carolina for Charleston Race Week in April, 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.

Apr 9-11 Charleston Race Week Charleston, SC
Apr 30-May 2 Sperry Topsiders Annapolis NOOD Regatta Annapolis, MD
Jun 6-7 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

| 30 January 2010 | 

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.

10 races were contested over five days. Special thanks to Neil Martin and his UK team aboard Jammy Dodger, as well as Magnus Tyreman from Sweden, who returned to Key West for a second straight year to enjoy the competitive mid-winter racing.

Past World and North American champion Glenn Darden with partner Reese Hilliard aboard LE TIGRE, of Fort Worth, Texas, sailed an impressive series (placing third or better in seven of 10 starts) to capture the J/80 Midwinter Championship. LITTLE FEAT, skippered by Jeff Johnstone, won both races on Friday to get within one point of LE TIGRE. Class newcomer Will Welles, a veteran J/24 racer, sailed RASCAL to an impressive third place finish in his first regatta.

1. LE TIGRE Darden/Hilliard 34 points
2. LITTLE FEAT Johnstone 35 points
3. RASCAL Will Welles 41 points
4. RELENTLESS Al Minella 54 points
5. LIFTED Kerry Klingler 54 points

The USA J/80 Class sponsored KATTACK live GPS tracking and J Boats hosted nightly replays at their hospitality tent. The tour now moves north to St. Petersburg.

| 29 January 2010 | Results | 

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.

| 23 November 2009 | 2010 Worlds Website | 

Attention J/80 Sailors - get ready for some fantastic sailing on Lake Garda next summer, as the Italian J/80 Class Association invites you to the 2010 European Championship. The event will be hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine Yacht Club and take place 21st-26th of June. The Italian National Championship will be held two weeks prior (11-13 June) at the same venue.

The event weblink is up and running and complete information will be posted there in the near future.

| 03 November 2009 | 2010 Europeans Site | 

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

| 27 October 2009 | 

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 | 

The Swedish Championship took place in Sandhamn in the Stockhom Archipelago 25-28th of June as a part of Sandhamn Race Week, Volvo Ocean Race Stopover and Around Gotland Off Shore Race. Twenty boats competed with representatives from both Estonia and Norway. With stable winds of 3-5 m/s and a sunny sky the conditions couldnt be better and the races offered a really tight fleet. The proud winner was SWE 562 with former Olympic Champion Peter Sundelin as a tactician and his son Martin Sundelin at the rudder.

| 03 August 2009 | 

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.

| 13 July 2009 | Worlds Site | 

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. CLick on the link to the left of the home page for the latest results and pix.

| 02 July 2009 | 

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 this 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 | J80 Rules Page | 

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 home page.

| 18 May 2009 | 

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 | 

Were pleased to announce that the Danish J/80 Class was recently formed. At the founding General Meeting, Jens Kristian Andersen was elected class Chairman, with Morten Lorenzen, Helle Jespersen, Kim Londal and Niels Sorensen serving on the National Committee. The Committee estimates there will be 19 J/80s sailing in Denmark this spring. The 2009 schedule includes an Open Danish Championship in Aarhus (close to Germany) September 5-6 together with the Fest Woche.

Visit the new Danish J/80 Class website at www.j80.dk

| 30 April 2009 | Danish Class site | 

The France J/80 class kicked off the season with the largest turnout ever for Spi Ouest, the annual Easter classic held in La Trinite. 90 boats raced a 10 series event over four days, providing an early season glimpse of the competition to come, as sailors prepare for the upcoming worlds in Santander, Spain. French claimed a sweep of the top ten spots led by skippers Laurent Sambron in 1st, J. Queveau in 2nd and Jacques Hubert in 3rd. Sailing in his first J/80 regatta, Americas Cup Bruno Trouble finished a remarkable 6th.

| 22 April 2009 | 

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. We have few details at this time, so can only proceed based on the little we do know.

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 by a substantial period of time. Additionally, the keel floors tabbing had delaminated from the interior hull laminate prior to the incident. 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 its 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 | 

Texas is welcoming back all J/80 sailors 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. Feel free to contact myself with any questions at robdoyle2@aol.com . I will have more information and a website set up with postings by the end of April. Fleet 2 is looking forward to seeing you and your crews here for some good ole Texas hospitality.

Robert McMahan
Fleet 2 Captain

| 09 March 2009 | 

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 (John, pictured with Kaity) 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.

| 30 January 2009 | Sailing World KW Blog | 

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.

Over the 10 race series, RUMOR finished with an impressive 16 points followed by Bill Rose (League City, TX) on KICKS with 26 and Kristen Robinson (Annapolis, MD) on ANGRY CHAMELEON with 47 points. Excellent performances were also put in by overseas competitors Neil Martin of the UK (shown in fine downwind form above), who finished 4th and Hans Renman of Sweden who ended up 10th.

The USA J/80 Class sponsored KATTACK GPS tracking coverage during the event and competitors enjoyed nightly replays under the J Boats hospitality tent. The 2010 Midwinters will once again take place at Key West Race Week in January 2010.

| 24 January 2009 | event results and news | 

The final wording is now complete for the new Rules and Constitution proposed changes for 2009. In accordance with the class by-laws there is a minimum 60 day review period by the NCA's before an official vote it taken on each submission by the International Executive Committee. You can find the proposed amendments by clicking on the RULES link to the left.

| 16 December 2008 | 

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."

| 13 November 2008 | regatta info and results | 

This coming weekend is the first International Asian J/80 Invitational Regatta, sponsored by J Boats Asia and J World Sailing School. 8 teams are slated to compete aboard brand new J/80s built by Hudson Yacht Industries, of Xiamen, China, J Boats' J/80 builder for the Pacific Rim. Pictured is the Hudson Yacht Industries J/80 team, proudly showing off two of the boats.

| 05 November 2008 | 

The inaugural J/80 Italian National Championship took place September 25-28th 2008 in the Poets' Gulf in La Spezia. 14 boats from across Italy participated in this 6 race, one discard series held over three days.

The opening day featured 18-20 knot northeasterly conditions as the fleet enjoyed three very competitive races. J VIVADO, owned by Cesar Barsottini took the early regatta lead with a 6,3,1 opening, but couldnt hold back the charge of MONT PRES, owned by Paolo Montedonico & Sergio Presta, who tallied races of 1, OCS, 2, 2, 1, 3 to finish with 9 net points, ahead of J VIVADO and Paolo Mussos JEMINI.

"It was a very successful first national championship for the J/80 class," said Massimo Rama, president of the Italy J/80 Class Association. "We can now say that the Italian J/80 Class is off and running with a bright future."

| 02 October 2008 | Event Site | 

The Swedish National Championship was sailed on 16-17 August in Saltsjbaden, outside Stockholm. The Royal Swedish Yacht Club was hosting club and 21 entries came to the starting line. On Saturday 4 races were sailed in moderate winds. On Sunday wind increased and sometimes reached over 30 knots in the gusts presenting "high speed sailing" and spectacular broaches. Tomas Movin with his crew Peter Thorwid, Nils and Peter Olsn won with a fantastic series 1-1-1-(3)-2-1. Second was last years defenders Ingemar Sundstedt/Michael Lindqvist with 15 points followed by Mikael Sundelin/Viking Kjellstrm with 21 points. After sail was sponsored by the J/80 class with German beers brought home from Kiel. A regatta dinner was held on Saturday evening. During the dinner a lottery was arranged and the prize was a new kevlar jib from North Sails. The Swedish J80 class would like to thank the Royal Swedish Yacht Club for arranging this regatta and also many thanks to North Sails, SLAM, Gill, Dynamant and Seglarshopen, who generously contributed with prizes. Photo by: William Blanck

| 02 September 2008 | 

The Italian J80 Class Association is proud to announce its first Italian National Championship in La Spezia (North Italy), from 25 to 28 of September 2008.

We would like to invite all international teams to participate in our championship. Please visit our website www.j80.it to see the Notice of Race. We are arranging some support for foreign teams, which will be given in order of registration until the end of the budget.

Hope to see you in La Spezia!

Regards
Massimo Rama
Presidente Associazione Italiana di Classe J80
Tel: +39 320 0760802
Email: info@j80.it

| 23 July 2008 | www.j80.it | 

J/80 sailing has exploded in Spain over the last two years, and the Spanish have shown just how quickly they have mastered the boat. After a near sweep of the 2007 Worlds in La Trinite, France, Spanish teams captured 1st, 3rd and 6th places at the 2008 Tutima J/80 World Championship sailed last week in Kiel Germany. Ignacio Camino Rodriguez with his crew of Alberdo Padron, Gomez Jose Luis and Armando Gutierrez aboard ESP 899 NEXTEL ENGINEERING sailed a nearly flawless series from start to finish to capture the world title. But their task was not easy. Runner-up Jeff Johnstone, USA, sailing with the all German crew of Henning Mittelmann, Bo Teichmann, and teenagers Stella Mau and Florian Fh, narrowed the gap to only 2 points after winning race #11 while Rodriguez suffered a black flag disqualification, which he was able to discard to preserve the victory.

Sailing conditions were dynamic with winds from 10-25 knots, big shifts, alternating rain and sun on a daily basis, not to mention 64 boats from 12 countries on one starting line with liberal use of the black flag penalty to keep the fleet in check. Rounding out the top five were Carlos Martinez of Spain in 3rd, followed by Patrick Bot of France in 4th and Kevin Sproul of UK in 5th. 6 different countries finished in the top ten, including hosts Peter Hecht and Uli Muenker from Germany aboard NEEDLES and PINS who finished in 9th. Spain will host the 2009 Worlds in Santander June 28th-July 4th.

| 16 July 2008 | Event Website | 

64 teams from 12 countries will be competing this coming week at the Tutima 2008 J/80 World Championship in Kiel, Germany. Never before have so many countries been represented at this pinnacle J/80 event, now in its 8th year. Kieler Yacht Club and the German J/80 Class Association look forward to welcoming competitors to Kiel for the week long event. Several of the top teams from last years worlds will be in attendance including Ignacio Camino (Spain), Uli Muenker (Germany), Kevin Sproul (UK) and Patrick Bot (France).

| 04 July 2008 | Read more | 

The Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth hosted the 2008 J/80 UK National Championship from the 18th to 21st of June. An entry of 26 boats (the largest turnout for a UK Nationals to date) arrived on Wednesday for an eight race series managed by PRO Mike Pearson and his team.

DAY 1: After one general recall to start the regatta, the conditions and the need to get in three races) saw the immediate use of the black flag for all of the rest of the days starts. Kevin Sproul in JANE had only put his brand new boat in the water for the first time the day before but quickly showed his intentions with a win in Race One from local boat JIMINI, owned and raced by John McLaren. Paul and Marie-Claude Heys also started their series promisingly with a third in another brand new boat, Janner. The second race saw different faces at the top of the fleet with Sebastian Ripard in AgainstMalaria.com taking the race from Ian Atkins in Boats.com with Kevin Sproul finishing third. Enthusiasm to get away in the third race caused eight boats in total to be black flagged in two starts. The whole of the J/80 Committee, Class Captain, Secretary and Treasurer managed to join the (newly formed, but not-so-exclusive) Black Flag Club! The race was won by Kevin Sproul with Sebastian Ripard having a good day in second. One of the Plymouth University boats, Jang Bang, steered by Mark Yeabsley came third.

DAY 2: The first race of the day was won by Kevin Sproul and Neil Martin in Jenga 4 was now showing some excellent speed in second. It was the turn of the other Plymouth University boat J.I.L.F sailed by James Eastbury to get a good result in third. In the next the first two positions were reversed with Ian Atkins and his lovely crew of ladies in Boats.com coming in third. The final race of the day saw the left hand side of the beat pay with Hester Robertson of the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme boat taking a good lead at the first beat which they held to the finish. Sebastian Ripard and his team in Against Malaria.com came second with Jimini from the home club getting back up their in third. Kevin Sproul had his lowest position of the championship in 5th, a result that he was able to discard.

Day 3: Heavy overnight rain did nothing to dampen the spirits and although low cloud and drizzle did not make the final day seem quite like summer, good breeze from the south soon brought some decent waves to surf on. Kevin Sproul was not going to let this championship slip away with wins in both the races. Neil Martin took second from Liz and Chris Savage in Savage Sailing Team who finally got some reward for putting in the preparation of coming to Plymouth for the previous weekends open meeting and staying down to practice. Paul and Marie-Claude Heys also had a much better final day with a fourth and third. Scott Cole in Purple Haze from Cardiff also had a happy end to their championship with a second in the final race.

At the prize-giving on the Saturday night, the trophy for Best Newcomer at a J/80 UK Nationals was won by Neil Martin and his team in Jenga 4 who finished second overall. The trophy for the best local boat was won by John McLaren and his crew in Jimini who finished fifth overall. Overall Kevin Sproul and his team; Adrian Gray, Nick Fraser and Rob Gullan showed great speed and consistency, winning the 2008 J/80 UK National Championship by 18 points. Neil Martin was second from Ian Atkins in Boats.com. Photo by www.TekterImages.com Report by Becci Eplett

| 24 June 2008 | 

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 | 

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.

A full calendar of events has been planned:
Wednesday, July 30 Measurement & Weigh-In by appointment
Thursday, July 31 Measurement & Weigh-In by appointment
Skippers Meeting; Practice Race
Friday, August 1 Championship Racing
Post-Race Social Event
Saturday, August 2 Championship Racing
Post-Race Banquet
Sunday, August 3 Championship Race
Trophy Presentation

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

| 15 May 2008 | Event Site | 

Last month, Peter Hecht of Kiel, Germany was named the new Chairman of the J/80 Class Association, taking over from Jean-Baptiste Bernard of France, who led the class through 2+ years of tremendous growth, including the addition of three new national classes (Spain, Benelux & Italy) and a new comprehensive measurement website.

Peter is known to many J/80 sailors as the co-owner of Needles & Pins GER 508 along with his partner Uli Muenker. He has sailed at most of the European and World Championships since 2003 and most recently finished 3rd place at the 2007 Worlds. Peter sails frequently with his son Erik and wife Ute. In fact he and his wife double-handed the J/80 from Kiel to Stockholm in 2006.

Peter looks forward to welcoming J/80 sailors to his home town of Kiel, Germany for the 2008 J/80 Worlds in July.

| 07 April 2008 | 

In a recent letter to J/80 Class Presidents, class President Jean-Baptiste Bernard confirmed that:

"Following our discussions during the world championship in La Trinit and the official invitation received from the Santander Yacht Club, I am glad to inform you that the J80 World Championship 2009 will take place in Spain in the Real Club Maritimo de Santander from June 27 to July 5th.

Thank you to the Spanish J80 class to welcome us!

| 18 February 2008 | 

The J80 world championship 2009 will take place in Spain in the Real Maritimo Yacht Club of Santander from June 27th to July 5th.

Thank you to the Santander Yacht Club, the Spanish Sailing Federation, the Cantabrian Sailing Federation and the Spanish J80 owner's Class to welcome us or this event.

| 14 February 2008 | 

A Swedish J80 has just crossed the Atlantic.We all knew the J80 was fast and strong. Need to be convinced?
Here is a piece of their blog:
"My friend Kim wondered what it was like sailing a J80 in the middle of the Atlantic. There are not many similarities with racing around the buoys in Baggensfjrden (the place for J80-racing in Stockholm), not even with the off shore race Around Gotland.
Were we are now there is always lots of wind. Seldom below 20 knots and, at least during our crossing, often close to 40 knots. The wind is easterly so at least it's blowing from the right direction. The waves are also a lot bigger than at home. Lots of nice long surfs. The drawback is that it tends to be a bit messy when they break over the boat.
Another difference is that we rarely steer the boat by hand. Instead there's a rubber band and a rope that through two pulleys are connected to the jib sheet that steers the boat. It works fine for most of the time and it's actually the rubber band that holds the current top speed record of 19.8 knots.
We are often forced to sit inside the cabin to get away from the constant spray from waves. In the beginning it was a very eerie feeling when the boat surfed down a wave in 12-13 knots without anyone steering. In rough weather this happens once every minute or so so after a while you hardly think about it. The boat is unbelievably stable especially at high speed with the rubber-band steering system and it has never broached nor jibed at speeds over 10 knots.
The few times we are forced to steer the boat by hand is during extreme conditions. At that time all three reefs in the main has been used and the jib is replaced by the storm jib. Despite the tiny sail area the boat is heavily over powered and is constantly planing. Waves are washing down over the boat all the time and it has happened more than once that I've wished that I had brought my ski goggles for protection against the spraying water.
The last two days the weather has been a lot nicer though. Around 12 knot winds and the deck of the boat is actually dry for the first time in many many days. It's great to sit in the sun for once. :-)
Only 599 nm to go"

| 29 January 2008 | more on the following link | 

With only three races in, two days cancelled, and the fleet in a 3 hour postponement, it wasnt looking pretty 11am Thursday during Acura Key West Race Week. But then the ON switch was activated, and Premiere Racing's expert race management team ran off five races in the last day and a half, to ensure another successful week at Key West and the J/80 US Midwinter Championships.

John Storck of Huntington, NY aboard RUMOR captured the J/80 Midwinters over perennial champion Kerry Klingler of Larchmont, NY and Magnus Tyreman from Stockholm Sweden. Storck, with son Eric driving and daughter Katie trimming, managed an impressive 6 bullets in 8 races. Fleet participation was up from last year, and all indications are that 2009 will be a banner year - the 15th with the J/80 in attendance!

Special recognition goes to Magnus Tyreman (Sweden), Neil Martin (UK), Terry McKenna (Canada) and Curt Johnson of Marina del Rey, CA, for the long distance awards.

TOP FIVE OVERALL

John Storck, RUMOR 8 pts
Kerry Klingler, LIFTED 19 pts
Magnus Tyreman, PANEKILLER JANE 27 pts
Geoff Pierini, USA176 29 pts
Al Minella, RELENTLESS 31 pts

| 29 January 2008 | Read more | 

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 | www.jboatsasia.com | 

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 | 

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!

| 16 October 2007 | Updated NOR | 

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 (see picture). 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 | 

The 2007 North American Championship will be held at Lake Norman, North Carolina from November 8-11th. The event is being hosted by Lake Norman Yacht Club and J/80 Fleet 15 with J Boats West guru Don Trask heading up the event. This will be the perfect stop for Northeast US and Canada teams who are heading south to Key West and a convenient central location for teams coming from Texas and the mid-Atlantic. Please visit the USA J/80 Site for more details.

| 09 August 2007 | 

The Swedish J/80 Nationals took place at Sandhamn Island, off Stockholm during 26-28 July. 8 races were sailed during perfect sailing conditions; winds varying between 15-25 knots and perfect arrangements by the hosting club KSSS. The sailing conditions on the third day were like that of the Worlds in La Trinit with strong winds and big swells. 20 boats came to the starting line. For the 3rd time SWE 243 with Ingemar Sundstedt/Mikael Lindqvist took the title by winning 5 of the races and with 10 points as final result. 2nd finished SWE 621 with Fredrik Hallsten/Noel Barkelius, with two wins and 15 points, closely followed by SWE 621 Tomas Movin on 17 points. Tomas was the defending champion.

| 30 July 2007 | 

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.

| 09 July 2007 | Read more | 

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 | 

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 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 | 

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 | 

The entries are in, boats are arriving, and next Tuesday, the 2007 J/80 World Championship begins in La Trinite. The event will be double the size of any previous Worlds and defending champion Glenn Darden will have his work cut out, if he and his Texas team are to defend their title - something that has not happened in the seven year history of the event. Organizers plan to split the fleet into two divisions after a qualifying series. To see results, click on the worlds link on the left side of this home page.

| 28 June 2007 | 

The world championship in La Trinité has a record registration of 119 boats to date. This promises to be an oustanding event for all J80 fans. See you there!

| 19 June 2007 | 

Last year, the French J/80 Class Association developed an online measurement database to help owners and measurers keep track of certificates, sail tags and class dues. The site was then expanded and updated for all NCA's to participate. The site is now accessible by clicking on the MEASUREMENT button in the left column menu.

| 14 June 2007 | Read more | 

Paul and Marie Claude Heys won a challenging 6 race series to capture the Nexus J/80 UK National Championships last weekend in Cardiff Bay. Winds were generally light and the current strong, but thanks to the support of the Cardiff Harbour Authority, Nexus Marine and the able leadership of Chief Race Officer Mike Pearson, the event was very successful both on and off the water. Ian Atkins came second showing skills taken from the 1720 were not amiss in the J/80 and Simon Thomas and Scott Cole held up the honors of the home club in third.

| 11 June 2007 | Read more | 

The ISAF Sailor Classification certificate will be required upon registration for all helmsmen who are not the owner of their boat. This process can take up to one month, so competitors needing a certificate are advised to apply on the ISAF website as soon as possible. We have also implemented the new international measurement website. In that connection, the data regarding the measurement of your boat and your sails (2006 and 2007) have to be registered in the international measurement website before you arrive to the world championship. Please contact your national measurer in order to check that the data has been entered. You can access the new measurement website below in order to check the data on your boat (or any other).

| 29 May 2007 | Read more | 

The USA J/80 Class Association recently approved a bid from the California Yacht Club and J/80 USA Fleet #11 to host the 2008 J/80 North American Championships. The event will take place in Marina del Rey, CA from August 1-4, 2008. More details will be announced on the USA J/80 site.

| 21 May 2007 | 

Spi-Ouest Regatta in France will serve as the official European kick off for 2007 J/80 one-design racing season and (as of this post) has registered over 77 boats, a record for the class and an explosive 40% growth rate over the fleet at the event last year. Needless to say this will be the largest class at the event for the second year in a row.

J/80 demand is on the rise in a major way with over 100 new J/80s being built this year alone and production set to resume in the USA at Pearson Composites. J/80 is the official Royal Yachting Association training and match race keelboat, the choice training boat of the French Naval Academy, the latest new fleet in America’s Cup host nation, Spain, with a newly established J/80 one design fleet now in Italy. It is also the training boat of choice for J/World Sailing Schools around the world. J/80 is coming of age and 2007 promises to be a great year!

| 15 March 2007 | 

We are glad to inform you hat the Italian J80 class association has been created on December 19th 2006. Welcome to the new class association!
the link to their website is www.J80.it

| 21 January 2007 | Read more | 

US SAILING, national governing body for sailing in the USA, has awarded its prestigious St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy for excellence in race management to Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, TX. Corpus Christi Yacht Club was selected from a list of 19 nominations for outstanding organization and execution of the J/80 World Championship held last July. The Trophy was presented to Commodore Steve Hastings, Teri Ficken, Regatta Chairman and Mark Foster, Principal Race Officer of Corpus Christi Yacht Club by US SAILING’s Race Management Committee Chair Jim Tichenor during an awards dinner at US SAILING’s Annual Meeting in Newport, R.I.

With 33 boats from five different nations, the host club had its hands full organizing this regatta and ensuring world-class racing. All skippers were asked to rate the race management and all gave very high ratings for mark setting accuracy and setting of marks, starting lines, finishing lines, signal visibility, course location, and reaction to wind. According to Teri Ficken, one of the things that put CCYC over the top in the scoring was 100% participation of the J/80 World Championship skippers. Congratulations to CCYC and the J/80 Class Association!

| 21 November 2006 | 

Light winds dominated the running of the 2006 J/80 North Americans held Sept 8-10 at Lake Winnepesake, NH. Calm winds prevented any racing on Friday, but six races were finished on the last two days, with the final race turning into a drifter with one finisher (Jason Balich's "Over Achiever") able to cross the line within the time limit. 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).

| 12 September 2006 | Read more | 

22 teams came to the starting line of the Swedish Nationals hosted by the Swedish Royal Yacht Club/KSSS. There were at least 5-6 challengers to win the races. Among them were former Olympic Gold medal winner Peter Sundelin. The event took place at Saltsjobaden close to Stockholm. The winds were very light and shifting, thus very difficult sailing conditions. KSSS did a great job on the water with 6 races completed and ashore with aftersail parties, daily firsts and a fantastic regatta party. The winning team, SWE 615 with Thomas Movin at the helm, sailed nearly flawless with a 1, (8), 2, 2, 5, 1. Second was SWE243 with Ingemar Sundstedt/Michael Lindqvist and 3rd SWE 387 Anders Karén. Thomas Movin is presently leading the Swedish ranking series in front of Anders Karén. The J80 Class had generous sponsors who arranged fantastic prizes to the winners. NORTH SAILS/CONTENDER sponsored the first prize being a new mainsail! Murphy & Nye and SLAM contributed generously for the 2nd and 3rd boats and GILL were sponsors of the daily firsts. Pictures and more info on www.skota.se and www.ksss.se

| 28 August 2006 | Read more | 

The 2007 J/80 World Championship will take place July 1-7 in La Trinite sur mer on the northwest coast of France. La Trinite, famous for the start of many ocean races and the home of the annual Spi Ouest Regatta, is one of the top sailing venues in France, and is in the heart of J/80 action in France. More details to follow.

| 28 July 2006 | 

Texas is famous for having the biggest and best of many things. Now they can add J/80 talent to the list. After 10 races and four days of racing at Corpus Christi, Glenn Darden was crowned the 2006 world champion, out gunning fellow Texans John Kolius, Scott Young and Rick Schaffer and the rest of the international fleet. While not a record sized fleet at 33 boats, the leaderboard was deep, with notable class champions Kerry Klingler (US), Ruairidh Scott (UK) and Jay Lutz (US) finishing up 5th, 7th and 9th respectively.

| 14 July 2006 | Read more | 

A fleet of nineteen boats (including travellers from Wales, the Westcountry and the East Coast) assembled on the Solent at the weekend to compete in the 2006 J/80 National Championship, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble. Kevin Sproul (2nd at the 2005 Worlds) and his team of Adrian Gray, Helen Yates and Ben Duke on Silva Jane won the event by 10 points over Marie-Claude Heys on Jenga, on the strength of 3 bullets.

| 27 June 2006 | Read more | 

Benjamin Diouris and his crew of Nicolas Pauchet, Felix Pruvot and Thomas Le Breton, sailed a nearly flawless, consistent regatta to capture the 2006 J/80 European Championships held over the May 26-28 weekend in Brest, France. Representing the event host (ECOLE NAVALE), Diouris and team bested 37 boats from four countries (France, UK, Germany and Spain) in the 12-race, 2 discard series. Fellow countrymen Victor Lanier and Remy Arnaud took 2nd and 3rd place respectively, just ahead of Kevin Sproul of the UK.

| 30 May 2006 | Read more | 

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 | 

Perennial J/80 class champion, Jay Lutz and his TX team recently won the J/80 Midwinter Championship held in conjuction with Premiere Racing's Key West Race Week. It was the windiest Key West on record, with most races sailed in 20+ knots of wind. The 19 J/80s thrived in the conditions, while many of their lighter sportboat cousins struggled.

John Storck, Jr., sailing with an all-family crew, broke up what was otherwise an all-Texas sweep, by finishing 2nd, followed by Rich Schaffer, Glen Darden and US Class President Uzi Ozeri. We expect to see all of these teams at the 2006 Worlds in Corpus Christie, TX in July. See results link here

| 10 February 2006 | Read more | 

The J/80 Class just received approval from ISAF for the 16 amendments submitted last fall in advance of the ISAF Annual Meeting. The Keelboat Committee did add minor revisions on the language but did not change the intent of any submission. A summary of the amendments and the 2006 J/80 Class Rules (effective March 1, 2006) are now posted on this site. Click on the "Rules" link on the menu to the left.

| 10 February 2006 | 

The European championship will take place in France in Brest from 22nd to 28th of May 2006. The event will get the support of the french Navy. The french class is working in making some boats for charter available. You will find more information and updates on:

| 14 December 2005 | Read more | 

The french nationals took place in La Rochelle from 10th to 13th of November. With 30 boats attending the events, including world champion, vice-world champion,and a spanish crew, the race became international. The wind conditions, from 5 to 25 knots made the race very balanced and interesting with 5 race winners. The french-navy crew was the most regular with 4 race victories and only 12 points. Second came the spanish crew of Iker Martinez de Lizardy who showed a nice regularity, and a second french-navy crew being third.

| 14 December 2005 | 

Scotsman Ruairidh Scott and is UK teammates aboard VOLVO won the Silva J/80 World Championship in Falmouth, UK last week, as 52 boats from 6 countries competed. The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club hosted the weeklong event, with Principal Race Officer Jeff Martin and his committee able to run 10 races over a five day period, despite several days of light wind conditions. Fellow Scotsman Kevin Sproul (Silva Dream Machine) finished second overall followed by Mikael Lindquist of Sweden, Laurent Abignoli of France and Peter Hecht and Ulrick Muenker of Germany in fifth. Five of the top 7 boats were from different countries and seven different boats were race winners.

| 20 July 2005 | Read more | 

June 22, 2005: The J/80 Executive and Technical Committees completed their review of rules change submissions and released a summary of the Rules Proposals for membership consideration. The class will now have a 60 day review period before the Executive Committee votes in August. All submissions that are approved by the ExCom will be submitted for ISAF approval and if subsequently approved, will become effective March of 2006. To be considered, proposals needed the support of at least one national class, a builder or the technical committee. Please find the summary of proposals on the “Rules” link.

| 30 June 2005 | 

The military Worlds ran in the Brest Roads on twenty J80s belonging to the French Navy.
Please find a link to photos.
A press release can be requested at the following address: cmmv39@hotmail.fr

Click to view photos.

| 31 May 2005 | 

2005 J80 North American Championship Regatta

The 2005 J80 North American Championship Regatta is now history. It’s was one of the hottest NA’s on record. I speak of the temperatures as well as the sailing. Galveston Bay produced record high heat with temperatures reaching the mid-nineties. It was not just the weather that was hot however as the light winds produced some hotly contested racing over three days. The high pressure system that was stationary over the southwestern US produced some unusual winds for Galveston Bay with Friday seeing very light Northwest winds in the morning. Race one started in 3 to 6 knots but after 3 legs it turned into a drifter that left many boats frustrated and at wits end while trying to reach the finish line. Positions shifted as much as 20 places during the final downwind leg.. The QUANTUM RACING Team was able to find the puffs and take the gun. Races 2 and 3 were started in winds out of the south to southeast (the sea breeze) and everybody was able to really start to stretch their legs. This breeze was cooler and consistently at about 5 to 7 knots. As the breeze went west, the Race Committee kept up and moved the windward mark giving everyone a chance to evaluate their tactical prowess. When the finishing gun went off, it was INFINITY that was at the line in race two. In the third race, Le GLIDE sailed a magnificent set of windward legs to take the final gun.

Friday night it was time to party Texas style. Barbeque brisket, chicken, and sausage filled in with grilled cabbage, beans, and all the jalapenos you could eat. The bar was a very popular spot as well as most folks were still dehydrated from the day!

Saturday was almost a repeat of Friday but winds were much more consistent and developed quickly in the morning. Race four produced another opportunity for a new boat to score a bullet and LIFTED was able to get the gun. There were four different boats taking first place in four different races. This regatta was far from being decided. Once again the winds lay down so everyone decided to go swimming, floating and what have you while the signal boat went off in search of the sea breeze. An hour or so later we were sailing once again in a southerly breeze toward the windward mark. Of course this was after two General Recalls by the RC, an "I" flag AND a “Z” flag. (Obviously, the boys were very anxious to show their stuff). The racing was tight but Le GLIDE showed everyone how to call the wind that day. They took a bullet in each of the last two races which positioned them with three first place finishes over the two days of racing.

Saturday night's party was at the pool with burgers, beer, music, and boasting by everyone to anyone that would listen. It was shaping up to be a shoot-out for the 2005 NA Champion.

Sunday dawned with a wonderful 7 to 10 knot south-southwest wind that promised to help make the determination of who would walk away with the regatta.. The PRO set up a five leg windward finish race that started much like Saturday. Once again it was necessary to have a General Recall and once again the “I” flag went up. When the boats settled down, the next start was a “Kodak Moment”. Everybody was off and headed upwind like somebody had told them there was free money for the first boat to make the windward mark. The wind on the other hand decided it was time become shifty with 20 degree swings catching many boats on the wrong side of the course. After three legs of ping pong like winds across the course, the wind said enough! Winds dropped to 1 to 3 knots and puffs were hard to come by. You have to hand it to Quantum Racing; these guys must “smell” wind. They took the gun in the seventh race to total out with 12 points in the Regatta.

The QUANTUM RACING Team, lead by John Kolius, is the new 2005 J80 North America Champions. Congratulations, Guys. Well Done!

PRO Brad Davis, who travelled from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, did an exceptional job of managing the challenging conditions to complete seven races. Kudos to him and his RC for a job well done.

Special thanks to Fleet #2, headed by Fleet Captain Clay Morrison, for putting on a great event!

| 23 May 2005 | Read more | 

The J/80 class rules submission from Aug 2004, regarding the jib leech profile, was approved by ISAF. A copy of this approval and the updated rules (as of March 1, 2005) can be viewed by clicking the RULES button on the main menu.

| 25 March 2005 | 

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 | 

The J/80 USA Midwinter Championship (at Key West Race week) was recently won by Rick Schaffer on C`EST NASTY and his seasoned crew of Joe Sircely, Paul Brigenzer and David Hiebert. They sailed a challenging nine-race series over 5 days with winds ranging from 5 knots to over 35 knots gusts. In second place was SOONER MAJIC skippered by Mac Kilpatrick followed by John Storck on RUMOR. The long distance award went to Noel Barkelius and his team from Stockholm, Sweden who made the long trip, won race #4 and finished 6th overall.

1. C’EST NASTY, Rick Schaffer Fort Worth, TX - 22;

2. SOONER MAGIC, Mac Kilpatrick Oklahoma City, OK - 23;

3. RUMOR, John Storck, Jr. Huntington, NY - 26;

4. WILD HARE, Claude Welles, Austin, TX - 38;

5. EMOTIONAL RESCUE, John DiMatteo, Annapolis, MD - 40.

| 30 January 2005 | Read more | 

The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club of Falmouth is delighted to be chosen to host the 2005 World Championship of the ISAF class J/80. Falmouth is the jewel in the crown of sailing and a well kept Cornish secret. The port boasts the third deepest harbour in the world and has a magnificent bay ideal for keelboat racing. Falmouth has excellent road, rail, ferry & air links with Europe and therefore makes an ideal location for world class sailing events. The town has a wide range of accommodation from budget campsites to 4 star hotels.
The Championship series will be 10 races sailed in Falmouth bay. The Bay accommodates windward/leeward courses of up to 2 ½ mile beats laid typically within 3 miles of Marina facilities where all boats will be berthed during the championships. Launch and recovery is likely to be at Falmouth Docks immediately opposite the marina.
The RCYC has a successful record of hosting major sailing events and has just successfully completed the 2004 Dragon “Gold Cup”.
The J/80 is ideally suited to the sea conditions frequently found in Falmouth Bay. It is a modern, tough, 8 metre trailable sportsboat that gives challenging close racing. It sets a 65 sq. metre gennaker which gives exciting down wind sailing.
For further information, please contact:

Royal Cornwall Yacht Club
Peter Maddock, Hon Sailing Secretary
Tel. 01326 317190
E-mail sailing@royalcornwallyachtclub.org
www.royalcornwallyachtclub.org
J80 UK Class Association
Roger Hollingsworth, Chairman
Tel. 01326 378965
E-mail roger.hollingsworth1@btinternet.com
http://www.j80.org.uk/

J Boats UK (boat charter)
Becci Eplett
Tel. +44 023 80 455669 e-mail becci@j-uk.com

Accommodation.
For details of the area and available accommodation, please contact:
Falmouth Tourist Information Centre
E-mail: falmouthtic@yahoo.co.uk
28 Killigrew Street
or visit http:/www.go-cornwall.com
Falmouth TR11 3PN - Tel. 01326 312300

| 04 September 2004 | 

Peder Arvefors of Sweden, sailing SWE 200 OUTER SPACE, saved his best for last to win the 2004 J/80 Worlds in Sandhamn, Sweden. With an impressive 2, 2, 1 in the final three races, the OUTER SPACE team edged out former world champion Kerry Klingler and 54 other teams to capture the 2004 title. This was the largest J/80 regatta to date and featured all three of the former world champions, Klingler (2001), Pascal Abignoli (2002) and Jay Lutz (2003).

“I didn´t think about the results, I just tried to do my best together with my dream team,” said Peder, who sailed with his sister Tintan (who finished 4th at the 2001 Worlds in Newport), his 13 year old son, plus Martin and Magnus Grävare, former Olympic sailors for Sweden.

Final results after ten races: Points
1. Peder Arvefors, SWE 59
2. Kerry Klingler, Robert Miller, USA 65
3. Ingemar Sundstedt, SWE 80
4. Anthony Merrington, SWE 81
5. Gustav Nilsson, SWE 84

| 06 August 2004 | Read more | 

From Jeff Johnstone, J/80 Class Sect: The ISAF-approved Class Constitution is now posted under the Rules section of the website. In addition a typographical error has been corrected on CLASS RULE #G.3.3 and #G.4.2 that pertain to the distances of the battens from the corners of the main and jib: The J/80 Class Submission #19 (submitted last fall to ISAF) established new MINIMUM dimensions under these rules, which ISAF approved. The generated .pdf file of the updated Class Rules March 1, 2004 does not clearly identify whether the measurements should be minimum or maximum.

OLD G.3.3
Head point to intersection of leech and centreline of uppermost batten pocket 1970 mm.
Clew point to intersection of leech and centreline of lowermost batten pocket 1930 mm.

OLD G.4.2
Head point to intersection of leech and centreline of uppermost batten pocket 2200 mm.
Clew point to intersection of leech and centreline of lowermost batten pocket 2050 mm.

We have made the appropriate correction to the Class Rules posted on the International site so that it now reads:

NEW G3.3
Head point to intersection of leech and centreline of uppermost batten pocket Min 1970 mm.
Clew point to intersection of leech and centreline of lowermost batten pocket. Min 1930 mm.

NEW G.4.2
Head point to intersection of leech and centreline of uppermost batten pocket Min 2200 mm.
Clew point to intersection of leech and centreline of lowermost batten pocket Min 2050 mm.

| 05 August 2004 | 

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 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! Click here for the results!

| 06 June 2004 | Read more | 

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

| 03 February 2004 | Read more | 

Go to the USA Class Forum, Events and Scheduling, for details about marina and boat accomodations in Key West. We have secured a great marina in Historic Key West Bight. Start finalizing your plans now.

| 04 November 2003 | 

Jay Lutz and crew Joe Taylor, Derek Gauger, and Alex Crowell bested a 49 boat J/80 fleet to capture the 2003 Worlds in Fort Worth, TX. America's cup veteran John Kolius was second followed by Christer Faith-Ell of Sweden. Click the link to see all the news and results.

| 18 October 2003 | Read more | 

you have not entered!

PAY BY SEPT. 15 OR SUFFER THE LATE FEE.

| 06 September 2003 | Read more | 

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 | 

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 | 

Welcome to the new j80.org website! This is the new International Class Association home page which will have links to all the national home pages. Please take a few minutes to enjoy the photography and take a peek at the new USA site as well.

| 01 June 2003 | 

(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.

The last day racing dawned with grey skies, easterly winds of 10 knots and rain pouring down in Dragr, 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.

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. 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 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.

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.

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. 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 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 J/80 Worlds Results
http://www.jboats.com/newsletter/2011_J80Worlds_Results.pdf

| 07 November 2002 | For more J/80 Worlds sailing information |