03.Feb.12 - Rules updates online  The updated Class Rules are now available online for viewing under the "Racing" link at left (then click "Rules"). You can also review the Rule Submissions for February 2012 on the same page under the "Links" section. This document is the second one under that section (History of the rule changes).

01.Feb.12 - Jam Session wins J/105 Class in Three Bridge Fiasco  340 entrants and the usual on-again, off-again winter wind pattern under clear skies made for challenging race conditions for the 2012 Three Bridge Fiasco. 10 Double Handed J/105s made it to the starting line off GGYC which, by 10:00am, was a windless mosh-pit of stationary boats. Helped across the line by the waning ebb towards the temporary replacement for Blackaller buoy, Jam Session and Nantucket Sleighride established an early lead over Donkey Jack, Nirvana and Akula. Five hours later, that is how it ended with Jam Session victorious by a margin of less than two minutes.  Complete reults

30.Jan.12 - J/105 Dana Point Series report from Bruce Cooper  For a January race, we had good sun, good wind, more sun, low wind, even more sun and finally no wind during our race this weekend. The J/105 Legacy owned by Brian and Betsey Dougherty of Newport Beach has been campaigning in PHRF races the last couple of years and was back to defend the top place in last years Dana Point Series. On the morning of the race, the J/105 found itself in the back end of class A with some boats rating more than a minute a mile faster! This was a big change from last year when Legacy was the fast boat in Class B. Class A is stacked with a J/125, Melges 32, Sydney 41, two Henderson 30s, IMX 38, Columbia 30 and a modified Soverell 33. To prepare for PHRF racing in our area, we have optimized sails and tuning for winds between 4 and 18 knots. For this race, we first sailed a mile beat with the 155 and then second turned for a seven-mile spinnaker run. The code 2A was the right sail to hoist (without the wrap though) which was quickly complemented with the spinnaker staysail in 10-12 knots of wind. The speed usually comes up a couple of tenths when we put up this sail; it helps the wind flow between the main and spin and does add some sail area. The crew loves this little sail! As we approach our leeward mark, the breeze kept lowering and by staying a little outside rhumbline, Legacy pulled up to second boat-for-boat behind the J/125. Legacy was looking real good for boat-to-boat finish and smashing the fleet on corrected time. As the J/125 and Legacy gybed for the leeward mark, the RC sounded short horn blast signally that they were shortening course. Cool! But, the wind totally died and classed off sweeping us, the J/125 and the 2 Henderson 30s below the mark which was now upwind and up current! As the breeze came back up, the boats from behind sailed right to the leeward/finish mark, leaving Legacy and the speedy J/125 and Hendos all short-tacking back to get their finish. Legacy stayed in the money finishing second in class A behind the Columbia 30 who corrected first, sailing a great rally from next to last place before the breeze died. Lesson learned, never count your eggs before they are hatched!  See video

30.Jan.12 - Minutes posted  Minutes from the 1/24/12 Executive Committee Meeting are posted.   Class Business page

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