Fisher wins 2008 J/22 Worlds

Rochester, New York . . . . Greg Fisher of Annapolis, MD prevailed over 103 other J/22 teams from around the globe at the J/22 World Championship in Rochester, NY. Sailing with wife JoAnn, Jeff Eiber and Sarah Paisley, Fisher finished 17 points ahead of Anthony Kotoun of the Virgin Islands and 30 points ahead of Phil Wehrheim of Rochester, NY who finished third. Fisher was also the victor at last year’s J/22 North American Championship.

“It was such a thrill to be able to win a huge regatta with 104 boats and great sailors from other countries,” Fisher beamed. Multiple nations were represented at the championship, including the Netherlands, South Africa, France, the Virgin Islands, Canada and the United States.

Racing began on August 20 and concluded Sunday with variable breezes of 5 to 10 knots. The Rochester Yacht Club did a stellar job of getting 10 races completed over a five day period, and all this with 104 boats starting together on one line. Rounding out the top ten were: 1) Greg Fisher, 2) Anthony Kotoun, 3) Phil Wehrheim, 4) Chris Doyle, 5) Bill Hardesty, 6) Peter McChesney, 7) Jim Barnash, 8) Todd Hiller, 9) Rob Johnston and 10) Allan Terhune, Jr.

Visit www.myyc.org/j22worlds for complete results.

104 J/22s on One Starting Line

The J/22 Class celebrates its 25th birthday this week at the Ultimate Marine Group J/22 World Championship, taking place in Rochester, New York, USA from August 20-24. 105 teams are competing, representing sailors from across the United States, nearby Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, France, the Virgin Islands and other countries. Host Rochester Yacht Club plans to start the fleet on one line with 2007 champion Mark Sadler of South Africa given the near impossible task of defending his title.

Visit www.myyc.org/j22worlds for daily updates and results.

J Update from Pacific Northwest

J sailors are already well into the season in the Pacific Northwest and collecting some serious silver as well. In the season opener, the new J/122 ANAM CARA owned by Tom Kelly and Barbara Woodford won the Center Sound Series with two firsts and a fourth. Barb & Bob Brunius’ J/120 TIME BANDIT won class and overall fleet honors in the Oregon Offshore Race with Scott Campbell’s J/46 RIVA taking second overall, and Al Calcagno’s J/30 RAUZER II winning PHRF B. It was TIME BANDIT’s 5th overall title (winning crew pictured to the right). 2008 also marketed the first year for the Seattle NOOD Regatta which drew an incredible 231 boats, and featured one-design starts for the J/24, J/29, J/105 and J/109 classes. Coming up June 13-15, is the greatly anticipated 25th anniversary J/FEST SEATTLE regatta. J guru Bob Ross and his staff at Sail Northwest are hosts for the weekend and all J owners and sailors are welcome! J Fest Seattle Event Site

Js Sail Fast @ Rolex International

Winning four of the seven handicap classes, J/Boat sailors were having more than just fun at the Rolex International regatta in St. Thomas., they were collecting silver. In total, (including the IC 24 class) over 37% of the Rolex fleet were sailing aboard J/Boat hulls at the event.

Winning Spinnaker Racing 2 was Gilberto Rivera's (Guaynabo, PR) J/24 Urayo, which also won in 2006. Rivera, who gave his Rolex watch to his father in 2006, gave this year's prize to foredeck crew Francisco Velez and plans to give any watch he wins in the future here to a crewmember until it's his turn. "That's so my crew will stay with the boat," said Rivera jokingly. "Seriously, this is such a great event; we've been coming since 1998."

Jens Hookansen (Middletown, R.I.), who steered Robert Armstrong's J/100 Bad Girl to win Spinnaker Racing 1, had similar sentiments. "I love coming down here," said Hookansen, a native of St. Croix and past J/24 World Champion. "The venue is fantastic and you get a chance to wear a Rolex home. What could be better?"

Non-spinnaker Racing class was won by Juan Moline's (Vega Baja, PR) J/24 Medalla Light, while Spinnaker Racing/Cruising class was won by James Dobbs' new J/122 Lost Horizon continuing his string of 2008 wins... results and pics.

Junior Sailors Thrive on Keelboats

More junior sailors are discovering the thrill of sailing larger keelboats, thanks to a slew of JBBS (Junior Big Boat Sailing) initiatives cropping up around the country. This is no more evident than on Long Island Sound, where young sailors have been competing in the Beach Point Overnight Regatta now for 50 years. For 2007, the event (also known as the Junior Distance Sailing Championship of Long Island Sound) drew 17 boats, ranging from 30 to 45 footers, all sailing the 60 mile course from Mamaroneck, NY to Stratford Shoals and back. Winning the top prize was the junior team from Black Rock Yacht Club (pictured at left), sailing Dave and Mary Ellen Tortorello’s new J/122 Partnership. Black Rock Yacht Club started an innovative JBBS program 7 years ago that now is being modeled elsewhere. US Sailing is also developing curriculum for JBBS, and will soon be providing sailing program directors with the tools needed to start JBBS programs in their communities. Check out some of these other junior keelboat initiatives that are making a difference in the sport - Team Tsunami . . . . . . Storm Trysail Club

J/Fest Weekend in San Diego

This weekend (9/28-30) J/Fest San Diego 2007 will be hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club and sponsored by Longboard Vineyards and JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc. Nearly 50 J/Boats are expected including J/24’s, J/80’s, J/105’s, J/120’s and J/109’s. It should be fun for all with great racing, seminars and parties.

After the traditional warm up race on Friday afternoon come visit us for the annual wine tasting party hosted by our good friend Robert with Longboard Vineyards. On Saturday morning we'll kick off the day with a seminar by B&G and then it’s off to the races!

Upon the return to the dock the festivities will kick into high gear! We’ll be raffling off tons of great stuff and tossing a few hats! This event is always the best of the year with lots of food, fun & friends. Look forward to seeing you all there! Complete Regatta Info Here.

Charleston Race Week 2007

J sailors from around the country continued their migration up the eastern seaboard with a stop in South Carolina for Charleston Race Week April 13-15. This annual spring event has become a must-regatta for many classes and this year boasted 150 entrants, of which 39% were J’s. For the J/105 class, it was the third stop of the Southern Circuit (after Key West and St. Pete NOOD). Brian Keane of Weston, MA won the class in a tie-breaker over Worth Harris’ RUM AT SIX of Raleigh, NC, and the overall winner of the J/105 President's Trophy for 2007 was Don Wilson and his crew aboard CONVEXITY from Chicago, IL. J/24s, J/80s and J/109s also saw one-design action with Daniel Borrer on JESUS LIZARD winning in J/24s, Kristen Robinson aboard ANGRY CHAMELEON topping the J/80 fleet, and John Yonover of Lake Geneva, WI winning the J/109 division. Results and news: www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm