27.Jan.12 - J/105s and Strictly Sail  
Stop by the J/105 Fleet 5 booth this weekend at Strictly Sail. Booth 204 on the East end. Photographed are: Clark Pellett of Sealark and Keith Krause of Vytis.  Strictly Sail website

19.Jan.12 - Kattack page  All of the information you and your fleet will need to utilize the Class licence for the Kattack tracking system can now be found on the new  Kattack page.

15.Jan.12 - Strictly Sail Chicago: Booth #204E  Please visit J/105 Fleet 5-Lake Michigan between January 26-29 at Navy Pier. Fleet 5 members will be marketing the J/105 Class, and sharing the Fleet 5 2012 race/social calendar. In additon, refurbished hull #226 will be displayed at the booth compliments of Stearns Boating LLC. Larsen Marine, Skyway Marine and S&S Composites are all helping get the boat there.  Strictly Sail website

09.Jan.12 - NOR posted for J/105 Midwinters  The Notice of Race is posted and registration is open for the 2012 J/105 Midwinter Championship. The regatta dates are March 8-11, hosted by the Lakewood Yacht Club (Seabrook, TX) and Fleet 17.  Notice of Race

05.Jan.12 - Chilean J/105 Clinic Report from J Boats  Andrew Kerr recently spent some time down in Chile enjoying the hospitality of the Chilean J/105 Fleet and providing them a sailing clinic. Here is the report from Andrew: The growing J/105 fleet in Chile recently hosted a 3-day seminar at Club de Yates Algarrobo in Algarrobo on the beautiful coastline. The yacht club is friendly and is excited about having active one-design sailing and the J/105. Daniel Gonzalez, the fleet captain, and Juan Reid of J Boats Chile organized the clinic, and I came in from the US to coach the seminar. Local sailor Phillip Goyeneche helped with translating the technical terms of sailing. TEN J/105 teams attended the clinic. We spent 3 days sailing right in front of the yacht club in light, medium and heavier conditions which was perfect for teams as they developed their techniques and boat handling. We would meet in the morning in the classroom for a talk on topics such as starting techniques and tuning and then sail a short course with lots of starts and mark roundings, all of which were videotaped for review back onshore. What is fantastic about the J/105 is how it is great for family and friends to sail on. Daniel Gonzalez regularly sails with his 3 daughters. Vernon Robert sails with his father steering and his sons trim and are on the foredeck. The J/105 fleet is growing fast in Chile, as there are already 16 boats in the area with many sailors expressing interest in the boat and the fleet.

31.Dec.11 - New year, new calendar  Need to replace that 2011 calendar? You can purchase the colorful 2012 J/105 calendar on the  Merchandise page.

30.Dec.11 - More Seabrook  Stay close to it all when you stay in Seabrook, Texas. Located 25 minutes south of Downtown Houston, conveniently located in the Clear Lake Bay Area halfway between Houston and Galveston--minutes away from the Kemah Boardwalk and the NASA Space Center Houston. The Texas Coastline location places visitors in the heart of Clear Lake water activities with convenient access to the Port of Galveston and the major cruise lines. View hotel and bed and breakfast video tours and make your hotel reservation now to take advantage of special offers.   Seabrook Tourism website

30.Dec.11 - Seabrook  It has been said that Seabrook is As Grand by Land as by Bay! See what the city of Seabrook, Texas is all about as you consider whether to attend the upcoming J/105 Midwinter Championship.

  Seabrook website

23.Dec.11 - Fall Newsletter  Members should have received the Fall edition of the J/105 newsletter via e-mail. It is also posted on the  Newsletter page.

20.Dec.11 - Beaudin Wins Fleet 6 Season  The fleet computers have finally stopped whirring and the results are in: Paul Beaudin on loulou is the 2011 Fleet 6 champion. Counting a total of seven victories out of 25 starts, Beaudin still just narrowly beat out Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes on Kincsem. Kincsem sailed six fewer races and had one fewer throw out. The difference was enough for loulou to edge Kincsem by a score of .9169 to .9137 under the Cox Sprauge system, which weights finishes based on the number of participants in each race. The margin between the two boats was so narrow that when fleet scorers first ran the calculations, Kincsem came out on top. The numbers were then carefully checked, the computer rebooted, and the spreadsheet re-run multiple times with the final results showing loulou on top. Kincsem completed the season with five race wins. Third place went to Eclipse with a score of .9055. Damian Emery and team recorded nine victories over 25 races.  Complete article and results

15.Dec.11 - 2012 J/105 Midwinter Championship  
The J/105 Officers have studied the Fall 2011 survey results, and the information shows that the Class would prefer a stand-alone Midwinter Championship. With the lack of support for KWRW and with this new survey data in hand, J/105 Fleet 17 has stepped up to announce that they will host the 2012 J/105 Midwinter Championship in Houston, TX! Yes, you read that correctly. Join local boats in Galveston Bay for a three-day weekend of one-design racing to determine the 2012 J/105 Midwinter champion! The dates are March 9-11, 2012 at the Lakewood Yacht Club. Check the regatta website often for the latest news and information.  Midwinters website

13.Dec.11 - 2012 J/105 calendars  Work on your holiday shopping on this webpage! Buy a colorful J/105 calendar for your family, friends or crew. Only $13 + shipping on the  Merchandise page.

09.Dec.11 - Santa Barbara YC Holiday Regatta  The end of the Santa Barbara YC Summer Series is the Holiday Regatta held on the first weekend of December. Sailed over two days, five races are generally planned. Despite the hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that had been blowing mid-week, the weekend sailing was a bit anti-climactic. A series of mistakes (like marks losing anchors and chain) led to having most all racing Saturday called off for most fleets, leaving Sunday to run as many races as possible in the light-medium flukey conditions. Sunday on sailing saw a 7 knot southerly blow in that backed left into an Easterly for some decent racing. The J/105 fleet made the most of the difficult conditions and had some good racing against one another. First was John Demourkas on Rockin & Groovin with a 2-1 for 3 points. Second was Ken Kieding sailing Advance to a 1-3 for 4 points (this is Bernie Girods old Rock & Roll with a new paint job and graphics). Third was Escapade with a 3-2 for 5 points.   Santa Barbara YC website

09.Dec.11 - San Diego YC Hot Rum Series   At the San Diego Yacht Club Hot Rum Series, the J/105s sailed very well in PHRF Class 3, with Dennis and Sharon Case on Wings leading the pack, finishing second in class and top J/105. Jumping up into third in class (second J/105) was Dave Vieregg on Triple Play with a second on the last race. Third J/105 was Team Fisher/Dagostino on Viggen, also sailing well on the last day grabbing a third, but not enough to win the tie-breaker over Triple Play.  San Diego YC racing information

07.Dec.11 - Forum Back  Our Forum is back in business. Let us know if you notice anything strange.

06.Dec.11 - Forum Down  Our Forum is down for the moment. We're working on fixing it and will let you know when it is back.

01.Dec.11 - Miscellaneous Part Numbers for Replacement Parts  Doing some seasonal maintenance on your J/105? Check out Miscellaneous Part Numbers for Replacement Parts on the  Resources page.

26.Nov.11 - Cal-Stanford Rivalry Hits the Bay in Big Sail  There are many sports rivalries. None, perhaps, runs deeper and wider and splits as many families as Stanford versus Cal. That is what Big Game week, which this year culminated in last Saturdays football game, is all about. If you thought you heard a distinct roar earlier that week from the San Francisco Marina District, that was the Big Sail. The format is a boat-on-boat, best-of-three match race, with the varsity teams facing off first, followed by young alumni teams and then age 41 and older masters-level alumni. The boats were identical J/105s on loan for the race by their owners.  Full story

20.Nov.11 - HYC Turkey Day  On November 19 and 20, cool east and east southeast 10-15 kt winds greeted some 39 one design and cruising class boats racing in the Houston Yacht Club annual Turkey Day Regatta. Yes, the prizes are frozen turkeys. The five-boat J/105 fleet saw Mark Masur and crew on Two Feathers take first with 10 points, and Bill Lakenmacher and crew on Radiance take second with 12 points. Bee Bednar and crew on Stinger managed to crawl out of the cellar with two bullets in the last two races for 16 points. Bee won the tie-breaker over Dave Christianson and crew on Zippity. Racing was extremely close for all five races.  Houston Yacht Club website

18.Nov.11 - Survey says  Members--please look for an important survey in your e-mail inbox. Your feedback is needed!

16.Nov.11 - 2012 J/105 calendars  Introducing the sixth J/105 wall calendar (and the 2012 regatta schedule along with it). This high-gloss calendar measures 11 inches wide and hangs 17 inches tall. Each month includes a unique, dynamic, and full color photo from this sailing season. Photography has been contributed by professionals Allen Clark, Leighton OConnor, Cameron Taylor, Pim Van Hemmen and Tim Wilkes. Treat yourself and your entire crew for the holidays.  Merchandise page

07.Nov.11 - Minutes posted  Minutes from the 10/28/11 Annual Meeting are posted.   Class Business page

03.Nov.11 - J/105s in Chile  Five J/105s sailed in the official debut of the J/105 Class in the Valparaiso Regatta in Chile. The J/105s were the second most important class after the Soto 40s. The J/105s sailed over two days in light winds from 5-10 knots. Here's the report from Juan Eduardo Reid on the J/105's development in Chile, on South America's Pacific coastline: "On Friday, one race was scheduled and the fleet was not able to race due to lack of wind. On Saturday the condition were unstable during the morning with winds getting to 5 knots. The first race started at 3pm after 2 hours of delay due to light wind conditions. During the second race of the day the wind died and re-built from the ocean with a big split in the fleet. The PRO provided the fleet with windward-leeward courses. For Sunday the wind was more stable, the races were postponed until 13:30 hours and 2 races where finished for a final program of 5 races. Windward/leeward courses with 5-8 knots of breeze and flat water provided good, fair sailing for the fleet. Daniel Gonzalez and Claudio Leon's Tricalma won with a family crew (3 of Daniel's daughters). Second overall, with a family crew as well was Arquimides sailed by Vernon Robert. Third was Rodrigo Gumucio/Pablo Cisternas'; Spin Off. A mostly woman crew on-board Tri Calma and also Antonio Gonzalez's Plan B showed the great potential of the class in Chile to include excellent sailors from different ages and experiences-such as 420, Laser and the active base of J/24 sailors with a lot of family sailing experience (all amateurs compared to the professional Soto 40 crews). The annual calendar of the J/105 class continues with the Interclub Regatta on November 12-13 in Algarrobo Bay. 10 boats are expected for that event as some of the boats are still getting to Chile in October/November this year. By the end of the year, 14 boats are expected in Algarrobo Bay and 20 in the central coast of Chile as Higuerillas/Recreo is starting to develop local fleet as well."

01.Nov.11 - New Officers Elected  
At last week's J/105 Annual Meeting, new officers were elected, including: President Vic Forsyth, Vice President Ian Farquharson, Secretary/Treasurer Joe Colling, Chief Measurer Walt Nuschke, At-Large #1 Carter Williams, At-Large #2 Bee Bednar and Technical Committee Member Robert Baker. Also appointed by the Copyright Holder: Technical Committee Member Pat Benedict and Fleet At-Large James MacDonald. For their contact information, visit the  Officers' page.

31.Oct.11 - J/Fest in Texas  
The second annual J/Fest was held under the auspices of Lakewood Yacht Club from October 29-30 on Galveston Bay. Some 49 boats participated and raced on two different lines. Line A included the J/22s and J/24s, while line B included the bigger PHRF boats along with the J/105s and J/80s. Cool Texas 10-15 knot North breezes began a perfect fall day but, unfortunately, quickly gave way to 5-10s and finally 3-4s resulting in only two races on Saturday. Although the forecast for Sunday was for winds no higher then 5-6 knots, spectacular 15-17 knot East winds greeted all the competitors and made for some first-rate racing. Competition on the 7-boat 105 line was extremely competitive, but as has become the custom, Bill Zartler and crew on Solaris schooled the rest of us to take first place with 2 seconds and 2 firsts. He was closely followed by Mark Masur from Dallas Corinthian Sailing Club on Two Feathers. Matt Arno out of Forth Worth Boat Club took third after losing the tie-breaker to Mark. The party afterwards on Saturday saw everyone filling up on good Texas hot sausage and creole shrimp along with new potatoes, corn on the cob and all the beer one could drink. (Photo by John Lacy, www.lacyphotos.com)  Lakewood YC website

31.Oct.11 - J/105 Annual Meeting  
The J/105 Annual Meeting took place last Friday at Annapolis Yacht Club. New President Vic Forsyth was elected, as the torch was passed from Bernie Girod. Thank you, Bernie, for your guidance, time and wisdom! (Minutes from the meeting will be posted soon.)

31.Oct.11 - East Coast Championship  16 J/105s braved the winter-like conditions in Annapolis, MD for this weekend's J/105 East Coast Championship. Racing was cancelled on Saturday due to high winds, low temperatures and a rain/snow mix. Three races were completed Sunday in sunny but cold surroundings, as Pete McChesney on Mystery Machine tallied 6 points to edge out James Rathbun's Hey Jude (8 points) and Jim Konigsberg's Inigo (12 points).  Complete results