15.May.13 - J/105s Shine at Larchmont Edlu  Breezy conditions made for some challenging sailing conditions under the 58th Edlu Distance Race, which took place on May 11. Larchmont YC's Race Committee decided to go for an early start with the first warning sound shortly after 9AM. Southerly winds gradually increased from 12-15 knots to 20 knots with gusts up to 25 knots throughout the race. Several J/105s attended and finished at the top of their respective divisions. Morning Glory not only won PHRF division II but finished (on time-adjusted basis) as the fastest PHRF boat of the day. Morning Glory was followed by Young America, which finished just four minutes later after approximately 32 miles of sailing. The PHRF double-handed division was also dominated by J/105s. Stratos finished first, followed by EnGarde. Jaded finished in fifth position. An onboard view from Marcus Wunderlich on Stratos: "Southerly winds of 20 knots with gusts up to 25 knots made for some challenging but exciting sailing conditions, the kind of weather under which the J/105s perform best. It all came down to the right choice of sails and avoiding being overpowered under broad reaching conditions. We frequently hit 13 knots and despite the shortage of crew (we sailed double-handedly), we were able to keep Stratos well under control during the entire race."

14.May.13 - Oregon Offshore  J/105 #519 Free Bowl of Soup, out of Portland, Oregon, was fifth to finish, placing first in PHRF B and seventh overall in the Oregon Offshore. This was the 37th annual running of the Oregon Offshore 193 mile race from Astoria, Oregon to Victoria, BC as a feeder to the International Swiftsure. This year was true to form with variable conditions consisting of no wind to the upper 20s for some boats (though Free Bowl of Soup never saw anything over 18kts). The race started at 10:05am Thursday in remarkably nice conditions of 10-12kts out of the North. The wind built throughout the afternoon, also clocking a bit West creating some steep seas, before finally dying to almost nothing in the morning. The next day was light and variable until getting around Cape Flattery and past Neah Bay. Inside the Straits of Juan de Fuca, they had a nice midnight broad reach with speeds from 9-11.4 kts for several hours. At daylight, the wind backed and eventually shut down creating a challenging fight against the fading ebbing tide. Free Bowl of Soup was lucky to ride the beginning of the flood tide near Sooke through Race Passage in virtually no wind. Finally, they caught a new 7-8kt Southeasterly that brought them into Victoria at 4:10pm Saturday afternoon. The J/105 is a great versatile boat and handles offshore conditions quite well. Their sail inventory consisted of class jib, main, and spinnaker supplemented by a light air reaching 1A, a light air running AP, a heavy air reaching kite (not used) and a daisy staysail. They sailed with four crew this year, which was nice for space, but another set of hands would have been nice periodically, particularly downwind. They look forward to switching into One-Design for the Seattle NOOD. The main items that will come off consist of the life raft (strapped on in front of the mast), emergency rudder, Man-Overboard-Module (MOM), ditch bag w/EPIRB, jack lines, gimbaled propane burner, and lee cloths.  More info and complete results

07.May.13 - Revelation Repeats as AYC Spring Champ  Revelation wrapped up its second consecutive American Yacht Club Spring Championship with finishes of 2-3-4-9-1 over the second weekend of the 11-race regatta. George and Alex Wilbanks started Saturday in second place, but their team moved into the lead by making fewer mistakes than the competition. Sean and Susan Doyle matched Revelation's three race victories with three of their own in the 14-boat fleet. But Kestrel finished 10th twice and had to count one of them in the series that only allowed one discard. That accounted for much of the nine-point difference that separated the two boats in the event. Paul Beaudin came on strong the final weekend. His loulou won two races and moved up to third. Harald Edegran and Jermey Henderson finished fourth aboard Conundrum, while Kevin Grainger finished fifth on Gumption3. Conundrum and Gumption3 both won one race, as did Carl Olsson's Morning Glory. The top 12 boats in the event all had at least one finish of 5th or better in the changing conditions.  Complete results

05.May.13 - Tequila Storm Hits San Diego  The typically sleepy sailing conditions of San Diego got hit by a tequila storm for the annual Yachting Cup, with 20+ knots on Saturday preceding the Cinco de Mayo party that night. Amid stories of torn sails and broken boats, there were 83 boats competing in 10 PHRF and one-design classes. Winning the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club overall crown was Dave Vieregg's Triple Play team, which took the title in the 13-boat J/105 class.   Complete results

05.May.13 - Annapolis NOOD  18 J/105s competed in this weekend's Annapolis NOOD, which is the same host as the 2013 J/105 North American Championship. Cedric Lewis and Fredrik Salvesen took Mirage to the victory with 33 points. Also the winners in 2011, they tallied a line of 5,2,9,2,1,8,5,1 to beat the MBE Syndicate of Marty Hublitz, Bobby Marinelli and Eddie Hornick on Veloce who totaled 45 points. Jim Konigsberg's Inigo placed third with 52 points. Eight races were completed in all, with Friday as the nicest day of breeze around 15 knots. For Saturday and Sunday, the winds began around 10-12, but decreased and became shifty with choppy seas.  Complete results

30.Apr.13 - Race for the Case  The Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club Spring Series Race for the Case is less than 3 weeks off. Entry is now available.  Sign-up early

30.Apr.13 - Doyles Lead Halfway Through AYC Spring  Sean and Susan Doyle are at the top of the leaderboard midway through the American Yacht Club's Spring series. Their Kestrel posted finishes of 2-2-4 on Saturday and then came back with a 2-1-1 on Sunday. The performance left them with 8 points counting one throw-out at the halfway point of the regatta. One might think that recording only eight points in six races would have left Sean and Susan with a wide lead. It did not. Hot on their heels with just 9 points are the veteran J/105 sailors from Cedar Point, George and Alex Wilbanks, on board Revelation. Their finishes: 6-1-3 and 1-2-2. That one point difference between the Doyle and Wilbanks teams on Sunday is the difference so far in the event. Kevin Grainger, winner of the third race on Saturday, stands in third with 14 points. Tied for fourth: the new AYC junior team sailing Kincsem and Harald Edegran/Jeremey Henderson aboard Conundrum. Thirteen boats raced in the 105 class, which has the largest one-design turnout at the event. The racers all got beautiful weather for the season opening weekend, with warm temperatures and plenty of wind to sail six races. The event concludes next weekend.  Complete results

29.Apr.13 - Houston Yacht Club Offshore  The Houston Yacht Club's annual offshore triangle is part of Texas Offshore Race Week. It is one of a three-part series required to win the Texas Navy Trophy. The eight yachts competing in the spinnaker class included two J/105s, a J/109, a J/120, a Beneteau 44.7, a Beneteau 36.7, a Macgregor 65 and a Contessa 34. Bee Bednar's Stinger finished in second just behind the J/109. Except for the care required to get to the start, the race was unremarkable in that it was basically a parade from the start to the finish. Another big compressed natural gas tanker required the RC to postpone the start in order to allow sufficient time for all of the spinnaker boats to arrive at the starting line.

29.Apr.13 - Houston Yacht Club's Reach Down the Beach  Houston Yacht Club's second annual Reach Down the Beach from Galveston to Freeport (40 nm) was held on April 25. Two J/105s signed up but only one showed up and finished. Bee Bednar's Stinger took line honors about 30 minutes ahead of a J/120. That elapsed time also resulted in first overall. Average wind backed and veered around 105 degrees providing a 120 TWA resulting in an average overall speed of approximated 8.2 knots. Surprisingly the most interesting part of this race was yet to come. As Stinger neared the Freeport City Marina, she was stopped by two Coast Guard ribs with mounted and manned 50 caliber machine guns. The Coasties had established a 1000 foot security zone around a compressed national gas tanker that was poised to exit the channel. Their ribs were making sure that no one came withing 1000 feet of that boat. As Stinger circled, the larger of the two ribs came up and asked what Stinger's intentions were. Stinger responded by saying that she was heading to the Freeport Marina. That produced an escort, in the narrow channel, by the smaller rib allowing Stinger to safely pass the tanker. Interestingly, the Coastie manning the 50 cal was a 20+ year old young lady. Seeing that she had both hands on the 50 cal, Stinger figured the best option was to keep very clear.

26.Apr.13 - J/Fest San Francisco  This year's J/Fest hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club had another strong turnout. The J/105 class on San Francisco Bay continues to remain a strong fleet and fresh blood is always popping up over the course of time to make life interesting. Such was the case this past weekend. Leading the way home was Steve Kleha sailing the renown Donkey Jack to first place with a 3-5-10-4-1 record for 23 pts to just nip a group of four veteran boats hot on their tail. Second was the team of Jason Woodley and Scott Whitney sailing Risk to a 4-2-5-5-9 tally for 25 pts, just two points back. Third was Pat Benedict on Advantage 3 putting on a strong effort to finish in the money with a 5-7-6-6-3 scoreline for 27 pts. Rounding out the top five based on a tie-breaker at 29 pts were Scooter Simmons on Blackhawk in fourth and Walter Sanford on Alchemy in fifth.  Complete results

26.Apr.13 - Grand Slam Wins Chile J/105 Nationals  For two consecutive weekends of April (6-7th and 13-14th), the fleet of 18 J/105s sailed on the beautiful waters in the Bay of Algarrobo, competing for top honors in the Chilean J/105 fleet's first National Championship. Both weekends had a great wind conditions for sailing, between 10 and 15 knots from the southwest - the best local wind - and gently rolling offshore swell in excess of 6.5 feet. Teams that could master good upwind speed and turn the top mark and make use of the great surfing conditions often made significant gains on their competitors. From the beginning, it was clear that three teams were battling for the podium and dominated the regatta. However, notably five boats won races in the nine race event, and 13 of the 18 boats (nearly 75 percent of the fleet) posted top five scores in their overall records. That's a wonderful indicator of good, close, competitive racing to have the kind of scoring distribution across the fleet. In the end, Patricio Seguel's team on Grand Slam were declared Chile''s first J/105 National Champions. They managed to hold off their two closest competitors and after two discard races, scored all top three finishes for a total of 13 net pts. Scoring two firsts and two seconds was not enough to chase down the leader for Miguel Salas' team on Big Booty, ending up with 19 net pts to secure a well-deserved second overall. Chasing both teams was Vernon Robert's Arachimides, themselves also counting two firsts and a second in their scoreline, but not enough to catch the others with a 22 pts net for the regatta. Rounding out the top five were Pedro Perez's Recluta with 28 pts net in fourth place and in fifth was Daniel Gonzalez's crew on Tricalma with 31 pts. The J/105 was introduced in Algarrobo, Chile 17 years ago with a few units, and at the end of 2010 the class was launched by Algarrobo Yacht Club members. Nowadays there are more than 25 boats in the central part of Chilean Coast. As a result of that effort and passionate enthusiasm by Chilean sailors, the J/105 class has become the principal family-fun, one-design yacht in Chile. The fleet will meet again on May 11-12 in Vina del Mar for the Chilean Navy Day Celebration, locally known as Glorias Navales, where many classes join together to celebrate the event.  More Chilean J/105 Nationals sailing information and photos

24.Apr.13 - Minutes posted  Minutes from the 4/18/13 Executive Committee meeting are posted.  Class Business page

13.Apr.13 - North Americans NOR posted and registration open  The Notice of Race is now posted for the 2013 J/105 North American Championship. Be in Annapolis October 31 through November 3 for your chance to compete with many of the best J/105 sailors in the world! Registration is open, so enter early to save. Do not wait until the last minute to register. Everyone wants to know who is coming!  NAC website

09.Apr.13 - Houston Yacht Club's Elissa  Over the weekend of April 6-7, six J/105s battled it out during Houston Yacht Club's annual Elissa regatta. The Elissa regatta is held every year to benefit Galveston's Tall Ship Elissa. Winds in the 15-25 knot range made for some exciting extremely tight racing under beautiful Texas skies and very comfortable temperatures. First place changed hands several times during the 6 races, but Mark Young on Killer Rabbit won his first ever J/105 regatta and was properly doused in the drink afterward by his admiring competitors. Has Fleet 17 found a new tradition? Bill Lakenmacher on Radiance stole second by one point from Bee Bednar on Stinger. A great time was had by all.

02.Apr.13 - Dark Star Shows Well at St. Thomas Rolex Regatta  
Jonathan Lipuscek's J/105 Dark Star from Puerto Rico was leading the last race and the regatta in the CSA II class at the 40th International Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas USVI when the forestay broke on the downwind leg. Even with the DNF, they finished third in the event. The forestay pin came loose and as it worked out bent the toggle too severely to repair on the run. They took the mainsail down with the spinnaker flying to access a halyard to hoist the bowman, but could not get it reattached while surfing at 10 knots. Good idea to check these periodically. Paul Beaudin, also on board, built a new Carbon jib to the CSA Rule which does not measure girths. The sail had about 6" more roach and put the leech right on the spreaders. Dark Star also tested a class sized spinnaker using 1/2oz cloth. Both sails made a big difference in performance with no penalty under this rule. The rule also allowed a much heavier crew, 1700 lbs, which was a real treat in the 15-20 knot Caribbean trade winds. This is a beautiful place to sail.  Regatta website

31.Mar.13 - Register now for Fleet 10 annual Manhattan Regatta  Please join Fleet 10 in competitive sailing and merriment in one of the most exciting ports in the world, New York Harbor. The challenge of navigating between tugs, barges, and the Staten Island ferry, whilst in a current, makes for intense and complex, competitive racing.Last year there were nearly a dozen boats on the starting line with talk of even more this year. Courses will be primarily windward/leeward under the watchful gaze of the statue of liberty and multi-support boats. Social events include an outdoor barbeque aboard Liberty State Park's lightship and an awards party at North Cove Marina on Sunday after racing. Please bring family and friends to watch the action. Never far from the shores of either New York or New Jersey, the race provides spectators and tourists alike with the site of big boat racing.   Register

28.Mar.13 - Winter Newsletter  Members will receive the Winter edition of the J/105 newsletter via e-mail. It is also posted on the  Newsletter page.

18.Mar.13 - Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta   The second stop for the eight event Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta circuit was in San Diego, CA on March 15-17. The feast or famine tradition for this event prevailed, where strong conditions in past events were set aside this year for light and spotty winds. Three race courses hosted 101 boats competing in 12 one design classes, with the J/105 and the Viper 640 leading the way with 14 boats in each fleet. Gary Mozer's Current Obsession 2 dominated the four-race series scoring all firsts and seconds for 6 points. Tom Hurlburt and Chuck Driscoll on Blow Boat took second place with 12 points. Rich Bergmann's Zuni Bear came in third with 21 points.  Complete results

10.Mar.13 - Bill Zartler's Solaris Repeats as J/105 Midwinter Champion  
Bill Zartler and his Solaris team will be keeping the title of J/105 Midwinter Champion. Despite placing seventh in Sunday's only race, Solaris hung on for the two-point victory and back-to-back Midwinter Championship trophies. With crew Chris Lewis, Karen Lewis, Gustavo Eacobar, Michael Byrne and Cynthia Powell, Zartler completed the nine-race series with 28 points and a line of 8,1,5,1,3,1,1,1,7. Host Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, TX claimed the top two boats of the event, as Bill Lakenmacher's Radiance placed second with 30 points. New York's Paul Beaudin on Avici came in third at 40 points. Zartler praised the Race Committee for fulfilling their goal of nine races, and also commended the stellar competition. "It was great to have competitors coming from all over the country, and see the fleet continue to grow" he said. Teams were postponed on shore in the morning when a line of storms came through. When the AP flag came down and the 13 boats were sent to the race course, winds averaged 10-12 knots. Greg Turman's Horny Toad won Sunday's only race, trailed by Beaudin and Lakenmacher. The top five: Bill Zartler, Solaris (28 points), Bill Lakenmacher, Radiance (30), Paul Beaudin, Avici (40), Greg Turman, Horny Toad (52), James Macdonald, Distant Passion (52). The J/105 Class extends its appreciation to the Lakewood Yacht Club and all of its volunteers. Photos are available on the J/105 Facebook page, and complete results may be found at the   event website.

09.Mar.13 - Bill Zartler's Solaris Commands Day 2 of J/105 Midwinter Championship  
Reigning Midwinter Champion Bill Zartler snagged three bullets on day 2 of the J/105 Midwinter Championship to take a six-point lead into the final day of the competition on Sunday. Racing Solaris with Chris Lewis, Karen Lewis, Gustavo Eacobar, Michael Byrne and Cynthia Powell, Zartler has recorded 21 points in the eight races. Host Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas boasts the top two racers thus far, as Bill Lakenmacher's Radiance stands in second place with 27 points. Paul Beaudin and Damian Emery on Avici hold the third place position with 38 points. It was another beautifully breezy day on Galveston Bay with winds starting at 10-12 knots and building to 16-20, with temperatures around 70 degrees. Uzi Ozeri helmed Infinity to another regatta victory in the day's first contest, followed by Mark Masur's Two Feathers. Zartler lodged a third in that race, before winning the next three contests. Familiar faces rounded out the top three in races 6-8, with Lakenmacher claiming three second-place tallies, Beaudin finishing in third on two occasions and Ozeri taking the other third. Racing concludes Sunday. Photos are available on the J/105 Facebook page, and complete results may be found at the  event website.

09.Mar.13 - Blakely Rock Race  Generally described as the most unique of all the light-air Blakely Rock Center Sound Series races, the Northwest offshore sailing season is off to a great start. Over the course of the day, the wind waxed and waned and flopped and held, but just as the fleet began to wonder whether the race would be shortened, the sailors could see the forecasted northerly coming down the Sound. In the PO4 Division was the one-design J/105 fleet. The top three included Jerry Diercks sailing Delirium to first in class. Not far behind was Jim Geros' Last Tango in second, and taking the last spot on the podium was Erik Kristen sailing Jubilee; all three teams from CYC Seattle.  Corinthian YC website

08.Mar.13 - Bill Zartler's Solaris on Top After Day 1 of J/105 Midwinter Championship  
Local Bill Zartler took Solaris to the top of the leaderboard after four races on the first day of the J/105 Midwinter Championship. Defending Champion Zartler, of host Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas, began the day with an eighth place tally, then won two of the next three races for an overall score of 15 points. He leads another local, Bill Lakenmacher on Radiance, by 2 points. Paul Beaudin of New York, NY is another point behind with 18. LYC's Uzi Ozeri on Infinity kicked off the event with a win in race 1, followed by Donald Santa's Santas Reign, Dear and Mark Smith's Marian V. Conditions were perfect on Galveston Bay with 70 degree temperatures and winds between 10-12 knots. Zartler took the victory in race 2, with Lakenmacher in second and Greg Turman's Horny Toad third. Lakenmacher moved up to race winner in the third bout, trailed by Santa and Beaudin. Zartler won the race back to shore by claiming race 4, when wind conditions had increased to 16-18 knots. Beaudin placed second and Lakenmacher third, although with a scoring penalty notched a 9. Racing continues through Sunday. Photos are available on the J/105 Facebook page, and complete results may be found at the  event website.

08.Mar.13 - Midwinters Underway Today  It is a gorgeous day at Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas for the first day of racing at the J/105 Midwinter Championship! All those reading this from home, you are missing 70 degrees and winds 12-16 knots. The goal is 4 races today. Pictures will be posted on Facebook later. Also look for a few real-time updates on Twitter. Keep up with results at the  event website.

07.Mar.13 - Midwinter Championship Launches on Friday  Teams are gathering at the beautiful Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas for the J/105 Midwinter Championship. Racing begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Photos will be posted to the J/105 Facebook page daily, and results will be updated at the  event website.

03.Mar.13 - Lakewood Yacht Clubs Bay Cup I  After a 1-hour postponement due to low water levels, 47 boats in Lakewood Yacht Club's annual Bay Cup I regatta got off to a rousing beginning at 11:30. Winds out of the NW ranged from 10-20 knots with an occasional 9 thrown in just for fun. As the day progressed, the winds strengthened to 18+ with maximum gusts in the low to mid 30s. The 9-boat PHRF A fleet included a Melges 24, four J/109s, two J/105s, one J/80 and a Beneteau 10R. The 11.74 mile course was divided into 4 legs with a reaching start, a run to the second mark, and two beating legs to the finish. Kevin Hayes/Mike McGagh's Melges 24 Mojo took first with Bee Bednar's J/105 Stinger coming in second and Al Goethe's J/109 Hamburg finishing third. The warm Texas sun and strong winds made for an exciting day on Galveston Bay.  Results

22.Feb.13 - SCYA Midwinters  After a busy fall 2012 sailing nearly four J/105 regattas in a row, the San Diego J/105 sailors were back on the water for the SCYA Midwinters. Dennis & Sharon Case on Wings sailed a closely fought series to win with three firsts and two seconds, beating Rick Goebel and gang on Sanity by just 3 points. Lying third was Dave Vieregg on Triple Play.  SCYA Midwinter Regatta website