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Local News:
Australian J/122s continue to dominate Division 1 IRC in Sydney Added April 2010
Ray & Sandra Entwistle’s J/122 ‘Jackpot’ has won the 2009/10 Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Short Ocean Pointscore Series on IRC. The SOPS is an 11 race series which runs from October to February, and is a combination of both windward / leeward courses and short passage races, held on the waters offshore from Sydney. Jackpot has also collected a 1st in the Gascoigne Cup, 1st in the David Burke Memorial Trophy and a 3rd in the Morna Cup, held throughout the series.
Jackpot finished 3 points ahead of her nearest rival Ed Salter in his famous AFR Midnight Rambler, completing the series on 17 points. Jackpots worst result was a 5th, which we were able to drop. "We were caught up in an entanglement at the start of a particular race where the winds were drifters and the tide relatively strong – we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Other than that, we finished in the top 3 places for all the other races. The top class fleet is a mixture of yachts in the 38-60 foot range with everything from a Swan 60, TP52’s, Cookson 12’s, new Bene 40’s, 47.7’s, 44.7’s, Sydney 38s and others." The season comprised of a variety of wind, sea and weather conditions but Jackpot and her crew remained consistent throughout.
"We have an uncomplicated sail wardrobe from Ian Short Sails which is incredibly effective, consisting of a carbon main, #1 light carbon jib, #1 Medium Heavy carbon jib, #4 Kevlar jib. The kites we fly are asymmetric, being a 140 mtr sq.m reacher and 155 sq.m runner. The J/122 is designed to carry non-overlapping jibs so tacking is quick and easy, and the kites fly from a fully retractable carbon sprit making the hoists, drops and gybes simple and efficient. The J/122 is a joy to sail, she doesn’t slam in rough conditions, her hull shape allows her to ride up the waves and surf back down, in the light winds she simply glides along. In one race gusting over 30 knots and waves peaking at 15 feet we hit a speed of 19.3 knots and averaged 14.4 knots on a leg from Botany Bay to Sydney Heads. "
As a result of the resin infused construction, the J’s are light but extremely strong, so you don’t have the excessive sheet loading you get with some other brands. This also means you don’t need to have a crew of rugby players on board – in fact 40-50% of Jackpots crew are women.
The J/122 really epitomizes what sailing should be about. We can race her hard and win a prominent and competitive series, but then load her up with food and water and head up the coast cruising. She truly is a dual-purpose yacht.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our crew for making this series not only a ‘winner’, but also a lot of fun. Our congratulations and respects to all our competitors for their sportsmanship throughout this highly competitive series.
J/122 ‘Marta Jean’ Maiden Voyage - Sydney to Newcastle - March 2010 Added March 2010
For the start of this story we’ve borrowed the tune from an old Billy Joel song– see if you can pick it..... Its 9am on a Saturday, the south-easterly breeze is kicking in, We’re sailing up to Newcastle, the maiden voyage of the J/122 - ‘Marta Jean’. Lah de dah, de de da’ah..........
That’s the extent of our combined creative talent, so it’s back to our usual narrative.
The Rae family’s pride and joy ‘Marta Jean’, a new J/122, left Greenwich Flying Squadron, west of Sydney Harbour Bridge with water and fuel tanks half full and the dockbox holding the inflatable, for her maiden voyage up to her new home base, Newcastle, about 70nm north of Sydney. She had spent her first couple of months at Greenwich, nestled close by to 2 other J/122’s.
We motored under Sydney Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and hoisted the mainsail in the lee of Watsons Bay. After a quick radio check reporting into Sydney Marine Rescue, 3 on board, destination Newcastle, zeroed the speedo and a few minutes later we sailed through Sydney Harbour Heads. A couple of 44 footers were half a mile ahead also heading north. Good, something to chase, even though we were in full cruising mode. ‘Marta Jean’ dipped her bows into the Tasman Sea swell and with the wind now at 16 knots over the starboard beam we surfed down the first big wave and hit 12.4 knots, with the owner Steve on the helm grinning from ear to ear and commenting “it really does what it says on the label“. We knew it was going to be a nice days sailing. Manly and Dee Why beaches soon slid past and within the hour we were clearing Long Reef - the other two larger yachts we had passed were already specks in the rear view. Twenty five miles further north we radioed to Gosford Marine Rescue, it was almost midday and we were making great time. We tested the auto pilot in the two metre swell but not for long, we were having too good a time surfing down the waves at the wheel.
Averaging over eight knots, we soon found ourselves checking in with the chirpy Swansea Marine Rescue on the shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie, as we continued to surge north. We were already 75% through our journey. We were now sailing through all the gigantic coal ships which were at anchor waiting for their turn to be called into port to take their precious loads to all parts of Asia. We were also pushing 2 knots of the Australian eastern current but with the wind dropping to 12 knots and swinging a little more south we hoisted the spinnaker and sped towards Nobby’s Head beach. Nobby’s Head was made famous when the giant coal carrier “Pasha Bulker “made global news when she grounded on the beach in a huge winter storm in June 2007.
After gybing a few angles we dropped the spinnaker and sailed into Newcastle Harbour on a twenty knot squall hitting 12.3 knots and being amused by the fact that we had finished as we started. We found ‘Marta Jeans’ new pen and checked our watch and instruments. We covered the 70.8 n.miles in eight and a half hours averaging 8.35 knots. Ten minutes later we were sat in the new Newcastle Yacht Club with a well earned beer in hand and watched a rain squall cover the harbour, wondering how far back the other two boats were that started their journey just ahead of us from Sydney.
New J/111 - Hull 1 nearing completion Added March 2010
Please see below for a great photo of the first J/111 coming out of its mold. The J/111 is being built in the USA, and is suited perfectly for those who want to put the fun into sailing. The J/111 is a sleek, speedy, one-design 36 footer that is the ultimate day sailing, racing and weekend cruising sailboat. J/111 is an easy-to-handle, comfortable sailboat that accelerates quickly, slices to windward at 7+ knots and hits double-digit speeds downwind. Perfect for Australian conditions.
For more details regarding J's latest 36 footer, please check out the J/111 webpage.
J/122 'JACKPOT' wins CYCA Spring SOPS Series Added December 2009
The final race of the 6 race Short Ocean Pointscore Series was held on Saturday 5th December. It was going to be a nail biter because the first 3 yachts were tied on points for first place, so the final race would decide the winner. The way the drops were working the J/122 JACKPOT helmed by Ray Entwistle needed to win by 2 places to secure the series for IRC Class 1. That was a tough call given the skill level of the competition.
The fleet awoke to a glorious Sydney summer day, about 25 degrees C, and a soft 8-10 knot E/SE breeze. The seas outside the Sydney heads had abated, with only a slight swell remaining after the southerly from the previous night. They were also racing for the ‘David Burke Memorial Trophy’. With a combined fleet of 22 yachts on the start line ranging from 40 footers to 60 footers - the J/122 at 40 feet was amongst the smallest.
According to Ray, "Our initial concern was not to be buried at the start by the larger yachts in the fleet. We stayed back a little at the start which allowed us to come in at the committee boat end and tack into clean air. We had a pretty clean beat to get out of the heads to the top mark which was about 6nm offshore. The course was windward / leewards so we popped our 155sq.m asymmetric running kite for the downwind legs, and with first-rate trimming we ran just as square as the symmetric rigged boats. The design work on the asymmetric kites by ‘Ian Short Sailmakers’ is excellent. After 3 laps around the course we had maintained our lead. The finish was a kite run/broad reach back through Sydney Harbour Heads, then a quick gybe and a reach down Sydney Harbour to the committee boat at Watson's Bay. We just simply had a great days' sailing. The crew worked seamlessly and our J/122 JACKPOT just revelled in the conditions. We came in 1st in IRC, and most importantly, the required 2 places ahead of our main rivals that enabled us to win the series in Division 1."
Ray's perspective on the J/122 after a season's worth of sailing is helpful for those of you considering a great all-round racer-cruising yacht- "The main thing about the J/122’s performance is her consistency. Our worst result over the 6 race series was third, and given that the series had all types of wind conditions from 6-8 knots up to 30-35 knots, and from windward/leeward courses to 40nm return passage races, there is a lot to be said for her consistent performance." Her accomplishments are no fluke – this is the same series in which JACKPOT finished equal first in the Australian Autumn, just after she was commissioned. "She just doesn’t have any vices."
"Special thanks to all of our crew for their consistent effort and skill which really made this race series a lot of fun" said Ray and Sandra Entwistle.
J/35 'SOUNDTRACK' wins Division 3 of CYCA Spring SOPS Series Added December 2009
The J/Boats are really making an impact around the Sydney racing circles in this year's 2009/2010 summer sailing season. The J/35 SOUNDTRACK sailed and owned by Tim Cox, and also sailed by his son Edward, finished first in Division 3 in the final race of the CYCA Short Ocean Pointscore Series, thereby winning the Spring Series. Even though she is one of the older J/Boat designs, this race series proves she is still a very competitive boat. Congratulations to Tim, Edward and their crew.
Of note- Across the harbour at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Tony Coleman is busy getting his J/133 EUPHORIA up to speed. As Tony and crew get to know the boat better, they've begun to score firsts, seconds and thirds on IRC over the past weeks.
Also, from the beautiful Port Hacking River, south of Sydney, Keith Wilson's J/109 MAJIKAL finished first in his division in the Port Hacking to Botany Bay Short Ocean Race. He is delighted with the J/109’s performance in all conditions. More news on them soon...
New J/111 Rocketing Out of the Blocks Added December 2009
Worldwide interest in J's latest speedster seems to be growing exponentially every week. From every corner of our blue planet, enthusiasm for a fun, easy-to-sail 36 footer continues to grow-- and it's from all members of the sailing community. Not just J sailors but people who've sailed other racer-cruiser production boats, out-of-control over-canvassed "wedges of cheese" and everything in between. Everyone appears to be zeroed in on having a great time, with great performance and solid R.O.I --- in the J vernacular, that means FUN for the dollar! We've had overwhelming interest in the J/111. Specs are available now and pricing will be out in January.
For more details regarding J's latest 36 footer, please check out the J/111 webpage. You'll find an interior layout depicting the comfortable weekending accommodations, navigation station, galley and spacious dining/ living area. The deck and cockpit plan give you an idea of how we've integrated some of the better features of past J's to give you excellent comfort for day sailing as well as enough ergonomic elbow-room to race a boat of this size. Finally, the profile and baseline technical specifications for DSPL/ Length and SA/ DSPL Upwind and Downwind provide insight as to the horsepower and upside speed potential of the J/111. No question, this will be a fun, easy-to-sail boat that has an extraordinary turn-of-speed when you want it to-- planing off the wind in with finger-tip control on a 60" wheel will make the J/111 a joy to sail. Learn more about this exciting new sailboat.
J/95 is SAILING WORLD 'Overall Boat of the Year' Award
J/95 Wins CRUISING WORLD 'Best Weekender' and 'Best Domestic Boat' Award
J/95 Wins SAIL 2010 Best ‘Performance Sailboat’ Award
J/97 Wins SAILING WORLD 'Best Club Racer'
Added December 2009
The newest issue of Sailing World magazine has just arrived with an action cover shot of the J/95 sailing upwind, and a feature article announcing the J/95 as the OVERALL WINNER of Sailing World's Boat of the Year for 2010! Three pages later, the J/97 is announced as the winner of the Best Club Racer. This is the first time in J history that two different J designs have won BOTY in the same year; and much appreciated recognition for the huge effort by the whole J network to bring these models to market in 2009.
Here are a few excerpts from the Sailing World press release: “Rodney Johnstone, the J/95's designer, has been designing boats for decades, and when he says this is his best boat yet, he's not kidding,” says Dave Read, Sailing World's editor and Boat of the Year director. “The judges were struck by how well it sails and how well it's built. But what cemented the J/95's selection was its versatility. It's a 31 footer that sailors of all skill levels will love to race. And because of its clever centerboard keel and twin rudders, it can be raced or daysailed virtually anywhere – shallow bays, lakes, or the open ocean.”
The J/97 sails beautifully and has the volume, look and feel of a 40 footer. Somehow in the populated J/Boat world, designer Alan Johnstone has found himself a sweet spot between the more racing oriented J/105 and the cruise-able J/109 and J/122. “This is a really versatile boat,” said Chuck Allen, who was most impressed with its simplicity and comfort. “The perfect sort of boat for taking to an out-of-town regatta. You could stay on it and race it. It definitely feels bigger than it really is.”
Please click here for the details of all the Boat Of The Year Awards won by the J/95 and J/97
J/95 Annapolis Show Interview with Rod Johnstone Added December 2009
Alan Block from Sailing Anarchy was covering the Annapolis Boatshow for Sailing Anarchy enthusiasts. Alan and Jeff Johnstone participated in the forum regarding "Saving Sailing / Growing Sailing"- one of the many activities where J/Boats continues to support the community of sailing and grow the sport. Alan also had an opportunity to discuss with Rod Johnstone the insights and concepts that hatched the ground-breaking, highly innovative J/95 shoal-draft cruiser-- the perfect boat for those who love to sail ANYWHERE weather and draft limitations permit them (e.g. a beach or the most secluded anchorage inaccessible to no one but yourself!). For a great perspective, take a look at Alan's exclusive SA Interview- here's the link.
J/122 'Jackpot' scores equal first on points in CYCA Autumn SOPS Series Added March 2009
The J/122 ‘Jackpot’ came equal first on points in the CYCA Autumn Short Ocean Point Score Series – a six race series commencing with the 173rd Australia Day Regatta. The Australia Day race was sailed in a 10-12 knots southerly breeze with a race fleet of 35 yachts sailing a course from Sydney to Botany Bay and return. The Australia Day race was closely contested with ‘Jackpot’ coming 3rd on IRC. “We came in 3rd which was a great result for our first serious race, however we couldn’t believe it when we found we had missed 2nd place by just 1 second. 1 second in a 4 ½ hour race could have been lost on so many things but we decided we’d blame the guy with his finger on the stopwatch!”
“The last race was a nail biter from start to finish as we tried to hold on to first place. We had some exciting tactical racing against the rest of the fleet just to get out of the harbour. It was a long beat in the 12-15 knot n/n’easter taking us over an hour to get to the top mark, by which time the 50 and 60 footers had established an impressive gap. The quality of the fleet sailing in the CYCA SOPS series certainly gets you focussed and accelerates the fine-tuning process. We tied equal 1st on points in the series with a Swan 60. The series would have been ours except for that one second lost in the Australia Day Regatta!“
Thanks to the CYCA for running an excellent series, to all the competitors for their skilled sportsmanship and camaraderie, our crew for their teamwork and to Ian Short and his team who did an outstanding job on the sail wardrobe. It’s great to be able to prove the J/122 racing pedigree here in Australia, to match it’s success in Europe and the US where it has won RORC Best Overall IRC Yacht of the Year, Best Series-Produced Yacht, wins in Newport-Bermuda race, Chicago-Mackinac race, Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco & numerous event wins in the UK to name a few.
Newsletter - March 2009 Click here to read our March 2009 Newsletter.
New Releases - J/97 Cruiser Racer and J/95 - Sails in just 3 feet of water Added January 2009
To learn more about these great two new releases from JBoats, then please click here.
Newsletter - December 2008 Click here to read our December 2008 Newsletter.
The J/80 Invitational Regatta in Xiamen, China Added December 2008
The Inaugural J/80 Regatta was hosted by J Boats Asia / J World in Xiamen, China in early November.
The regatta was organised to celebrate the first J/80’s to be built in the new factory and the opening of
J World Sailing School in Xiamen.The regatta was attended by 10 teams from around the globe. Jeff Johnstone (CEO of J Boats Inc) competed with Team USA, and also gave his time and experience to pass on some great tips for sailing this 8m sports boat.
Jeff Brown and his team at J Boats Asia/J World did a remarkable job of organising the regatta. The facilities and venue at J World were first class.
The J/80 is a lively, responsive yet simple to sail sports boat. It has been extremely popular world wide, with nearly 1200 built to date. The opening of the factory in Xiamen will allow the J/80 to become a stronger player in the southern hemisphere and provide the opportunity to build some great class racing.
The Xiamen factory is run by US management and quality control. The first 10 J/80’s raced were a testament to the time and effort the team has put into to producing a top-quality boat. The racing at Xiamen was excellent. The course was held in the Wuyuan Bay area, and each day had perfect breezes in the range between 10-20 knots.
The crews were of mixed skills and experience but everyone found the J/80 a boat which would perform and yet remain in control if pushed to the extremes, but also be easily manageable yet still exciting for those on the learning curve. “It was the first time on a J/80 for all of us, and when the asymmetric kite went up for the first time, and we hit 11.3 knots in 15 knots of breeze, it was a case of ‘uh-oh what do we do now’, but the J/80 just hopped up onto the plane and flew across the water. We couldn’t wait to get to the top mark to do it all over again”.
Congratulations to Team Belgium for winning the regatta.
In local news, congratulations to ‘Aquaholic’ a Sydney based J/80. ‘Aquaholic’ competed in the 24hour ‘Heaven Can Wait’ Race on Lake Macquarie over the October long weekend. The crew sailed the J/80 up the east coast from Sydney to Lake Macquarie (about 60nm) in order to compete in the charity event
The configuration of the J/80 allows for mixed crew of all ages and is the only sports boat which is rated Category B. (A pair of Swedes sailed one across the Atlantic this year!)
The J/122 has arrived in Sydney Added December 2008
The J/122 ‘Jackpot’ hit the water in November after a seamless commissioning at Noakes-Woolwich Dock. “The keel and keel bolts aligned perfectly with the keel sump and hull, the Grand Prix Sparcraft mast went together straight out of the box, and the BSI toggles on the rigging are an excellent feature, making rig tuning a simple task.”
Ian Short has developed a beautiful set of carbon sails which were fitted late one Wednesday afternoon, just in time for a shake down sail with Greenwich Flying Squadrons twilight race. “We allowed 30 minutes to fine tune the sails and rig prior to the race, but it wasn’t required. The sails fitted perfectly, and ‘Jackpot’ went on to win line honours just 4-up. “She sailed beautifully, with the conditions varying between 10-25knots, as they do on the west side of the harbour bridge. The non-overlapping jib makes for easy tacking, and allows the yacht to sail in a wide wind range with little adjustment. What a joy to finally have her sides wet, we could have sailed under the bridge and kept going – we were all loving it.”
‘Jackpot’ joined in with RSYS Spring series race in mid December, and had an excellent race in blustery 20-25knot NW winds.
“We held off the Sydney 60 for the first 3 marks, kept in front of the Jutson 52 for 2.5 hours until they retired, and the 20m Americas Cup yacht ‘Kookaburra’ only managed to sneak by on the last beat to the finish. It was a great race ziz-zagging all over the harbour, the ease of handling the kite during the gybes and low sheet loadings allowed the crew to stay on the ball for the entire race. We finished 3rd over the line behind 2 much larger yachts, and came in ahead of like 40footers by more than 20 minutes.
She is stunning to sail and handles like a dream. We had more than 13 knots of boat speed out of her on many occasions, and were able to carry the non-overlapping no.1 headsail up to 22 knots. We will have her competing on the race circuit in the New Year. She’ll be joined by another Sydney based J/122 in March, being the 3rd to Australia and the 70th worldwide.”
Newsletter - September 2008 Click here to read our September 2008 Newsletter.
J/122 is coming to Sydney Added 10th September 2008
YachtSpot are pleased to announce the new J/122 will be arriving in Sydney at the beginning of November. The J/122 is a new versatile 40 foot performance sprit boat with comfortable live-aboard accommodations, a refined deck layout, low VCG keel with a moderate 7.2' draft. The first J/122s have quickly set the new performance standard for dual purpose 40 foot yachts both inshore and offshore. Racing against the latest 40' competition, J/122 is winning both in Europe and the USA. Victories include American Spring Regatta, Cervantes Trophy Race, Greenwich Cup Regatta, Myth of Malham Race, and Cowes to Deauville Race. Other notable finishes include 3rd and 4th at Spi Ouest in a class of 45 boats (the J/122 debut regatta) and a 2nd place in the Block Island Race.
Developed with and built by J/Europe in France, J/122 is distinguished by a well executed high quality interior, a non-overlapping sailplan configuration that helps simplify the deck layout and sail selection. A setback headstay with furler are recessed into the deck to maximize the jib luff length while retaining the convenience of jib furling from the cockpit. Plus, the simplicity of an asymmetric spinnaker flown from a retractable carbon bow sprit, that makes it easy to achieve near peak performance with minimal crew effort.
Give us a call or send us an email if you would like to see the new J/122.
J/109 Ultimate World Tour Added 30th August 2008
Welcome to Australia to Dr. Bob Riggle and Phyllis McCay who are mid way through their round the world adventure in their J/109 “Gaia”.
This cruising adventure started back in September 2007, with the pair having sailed the entire west coast of the US, Mexico and Central America, across the Pacific and into Darwin. They’ll be making their way through Indonesia next.
The J Boats on Sydney Harbour had an excellent 2008 Winter Series, racing from both the RSYS and CYCA sailing clubs. Click here for all the details..
J/109 "Sweet Chariot" wins CYCA Winter Series 2007 Added 9th March 2008
The 2007 CYCA Winter Series was the usual winter mixed bag of weather conditions, from quite a few drifters to the odd heavy weather race. In Division D, Ray and Sandra Entwistle’s J109 Sweet Chariot comfortably won Division D with 30 points, second going to the J35 J Force (Moty & Judy Bergman) on 35 points.
Ray Entwistle was pleased to see the J109’s older sister the J35 coming in 2nd. “There aren’t too many J Boats in Australia which is surprising considering the huge fleet numbers in America and Europe. For us, the J109 caters for all our sailing needs, from competitive racer to comfortable short handed cruiser. It was great to have the J’s finish 1st and 2nd in this years’ Winter Series.”
Morna Cup - ‘Sweet Chariot’ brings home the silver Added 9th March 2008
The weekend of the 17th – 18th November 2007 saw the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Spring Offshore Regatta, with the Squadron Offshore Division fleet racing approximately 20nm north from Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour to Broken Bay, Pittwater on Saturday and then back to Port Jackson on Sunday for the Morna Cup, one of the club’s traditional trophies.
J/120 Euphoria wins Hamilton Island 2003 Added 9th March 2008
Sydney skipper Anthony Coleman steered his exciting J120 Euphoria to a consistent series to win the prestigious Hahn Premium Race Week IRC Cruising class title
