02.Jul.08 - Fleet #17 announces Mid-Continent Regatta. J/105 Galveston Bay Fleet 17 is proud to announce it is hosting a “Mid-Continent J/105 Championship Regatta” in conjunction with the 2008 Sailing World Houston, TX, NOOD Regatta, September 19-21, 2008. The J/105 fleet will be racing in its own Division, on its own line, under national class rules with special trophies and awards awarded to the top finishers. NOR will follow very soon.  Watch the fleet #17 site.

01.Jul.08 - FREE ENTERPRISE takes LBRW. Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week was won by Alex Rasmussen sailing FREE ENTERPRISE. Notable was that among the nineteen classes (including two PHRF classes), the J/105 class was the largest with 14 boats. Notable also was that two points separated the top three boats. The top three were: 1. Alex Rasmussen, FREE ENTERPRISE, 23; 2. Rick Goebel/Jeremy Davidson, SANITY, 24; and Bennett Greenwald, PERSEVERENCE, 25.  Full results.

24.Jun.08 - Single Handing the J/105.
Oystein Thorup of Oslo, Norway sent in this photo by Lars Johansson. This was an early morning shot in a southwesterly gale on a reach going north off the coast of Sweden in the doublehanded Watski Skagerak. They were doing 18-19 knots when the photo was taken. Thorup and Johansson believe that the J/105 is "perfect for shorthanded offshore racing." Click on the photo for a larger version.

23.Jun.08 - NAC On-line Registration Now Open. You may now register for the 2008 North American Championship, being held in San Francisco from August 21-24. The link below takes you directly. The link in the right column takes you to the NAC website.  Register now.

21.Jun.08 - Jeff Janov takes Chicago NOOD. There were 23 boats competing this year for the Chicago NOOD, which was won in a seven race, no throwout regatta by Jeff Janov of Fleet #8. Top three: 1. Jeff Janov, INVISIBLE, 29; 2. David Wagner, GIGI, 37; and 3. Dorin Candea, MESSY JESSY, 42.   Complete results.

20.Jun.08 - BIRW finals. It went down to the wire in the last race on Friday, but Damian Emery prevailed when he found a favorable rip on the last downwind leg to pass at least four boats. Finals: 1. Damian Emery, ECLIPSE, 23; 2. Brian Keane, SAVASANA, 28; and 3. Ken Colburn, GHOST, 48. For more see the links below.  Final results.

18.Jun.08 - ECLIPSE leads at BIRW. After three days and seven races including one throwout, the leaders at Block Island Race Week were 1. Damian Emery, ECLIPSE, 9; 2. Brian Keane, SAVASANA, 20; 3. Nathan Boylan, JOYSEA, 25.

15.Jun.08 - Block Island Race Week. This is the week. For Nelson's commentary, click here. For daily results, click here.

05.Jun.08 - C-JEM wins Detroit NOOD. They had an even dozen for the eight race Detroit NOOD and C.J. Ruffing won it by 14 points. The press called it "Wild and Wooly" for the first two days on Lake St. Clair, but then it calmed down a bit for the final day. Top three: 1. C.J. Ruffing, C-JEM, 14; 2. Harry Bloom, DIRTY HARRY, 28; 3. Colin Mills, WISH, 31.  Full results.

05.Jun.08 - ExCom Minutes Posted. The Minutes of the conference call of May 27 have been posted. Go to Members --> Class Business (login required).

05.Jun.08 - Two Unusual Events. In Chicago they just wrapped up their 4th Annual J/105 Match Race event. The top three boats were CONVEXITY, GIGI, and STRIKING. This event was sailed with owner/drivers, but pros were allowed as a seventh man. See the Fleet #5 site (fleet5.j105.org) for details. Meanwhile, in the Southern Chesapeake, Fleet #15 attracted some boats from "up north" to complete a milestone regatta at their Southern Chesapeake Bay Race Week. Fleet #3's Carl and Scott Gitchell's brought TENACIOUS and strung together a perfect series of bullets to win the competition. For details read about it on the Fleet 15 site (fleet15.j105.org).

20.May.08 - Schiltz takes first at new Seattle NOOD. The press release called it "three perfect days of sailing on Puget Sound" and Mike Schiltz came out the winner of the J/105 Class in the inaugural NOOD in Seattle. There were 10 boats sailing in the fledgling fleet's six race, one throwout regatta. The top three were: 1. Michael Schiltz, MONEY SHOT, 5; 2. Erik Kristen, JUBILEE, 12; 3. Michael Pearson, BIFROST 3, 18. You guys need to head south in August for the NAC!   Full Results.

13.May.08 - Jim Sminchak wins Hospice Regatta. The National Hospice Regatta was won by the J105 team from IT, led by Jim Sminchak out of Fleet 22 on Lake Erie. Jim was representing the Grand River Hospice Regatta. 2nd was taken by Tom Doran representing Jefferson County, NY, and 3rd by Gary Schwarting, representing Naples/Marco Island, FL. The teams all rotated through a different boat during the three day event, all donated by Fleet #3.  (More ...)

12.May.08 - BER 888 does it again. The Bacardi (Bermuda) International Invitational Race Week was won by Alan Williams and Buddy Rego, sailing BER 888, NOT MINE. While the other four boats in the fleet mixed up their positions, it was the second year in a row for NOT MINE. Top three: 1. Williams & Rego, NOT MINE, 24; 2. James McDonald, PASSION, 26; 3. Adam Barboza, HARLEQUIN, 32. The Race Week (in Bermuda fashion) ran from April 27 to May 1.  Full results.

10.May.08 - San Diego Yachting Cup. The San Diego Yacht Club's Yachting Cup turned out 24 J-105's on May 3-4 to battle larger than normal quantities of kelp and shifty winds. The winner and best kelp dodger was Bill Logan's "Pholly" (Hull #3!) followed by Dennis & Sharon Case on "Wings" and in third was Jeff Janov's "Invisible".   Full results.

09.May.08 - Attention History Buffs. I have finally scanned and uploaded my stash of old Newsletter and they appear on the Newsletters page (Members -> Newsletters). They started in 1992 and there are about 15 new ones on this page. I think I have the complete set, but if anybody has additional Newsletter, please let me know (e-mail Nelson.) There are useful tidbits, old results, cruising information, tips from owners, etc., etc, etc. Did you know that Class Dues started at $50 per year in 1993? Did you know that the weight limit was 882 pounds prior to 1995? All this and more. Reminder: you need to be logged in to visit this page.  Direct link.

02.May.08 - Taxes Filed. Our 990-EZ 2007 tax return (due 5/15/08) was filed today. The J/105 Class Association is a 501(c)(7) organization and must file annually even though we owe no taxes. You may see a copy by going to Governance --> IRS Documents. You may also review our 2007 final financial statement by going to Members --> Class Business. The numbers are presented a little differently because of IRS requirements.

30.Apr.08 - Single Point Lifting (updated). Walt has revised his article about lifting boats from the aft keel bolt and added more photos. It's really a "piece of cake" once you know how. See it on the Measurer's Resource page. First choose Racing, then Measurer Resources on the left menu.  Direct link.

28.Apr.08 - Annapolis NOOD. The third NOOD regatta of 2008 is now in the books. Held in Annapolis with 31 boats on the line, the three day event was plagued with the normal fickle winds and vicious currents. In the end it was a Naval Academy Team that won the event. There were six different winners in six races. The top three: 1. US Naval Academy, DREADNOUGHT, 35; 2. Brian Keane, SAVASANA, 46; 3. Rob Marsh, BLOWBOAT!, 46.  Complete results.

25.Apr.08 - Southern Circuit Results. The Southern Circuit (KWRW, St. Pete NOOD, and Charleston Race Week) is now complete and there were 13 qualifiers for the President's Trophy (sailing in 2 or more regattas). The top three boats were: 1. ECLIPSE, Damian Emery, .823; 2. RUM AT SIX, Worth Harris, .7268; 3. SEA SHADOW, Bill Riker, .7099. The winner of the Sportsmanship Award was Jim Flanagan, whose ACHIEVER V sailed in all three regattas. The President's Trophy (a perpetual) will be engraved with the names of the winners, plus the current year Class President (Robert Mock) and sent to Damian for display in his trophy case.  Complete results.

25.Apr.08 - Charleston Race Week. Everybody that participates in this Regatta says that Charleston is a wonderful venue for racing, and the weather cooperated with three great race days last weekend. The top three boats in the seven race, one throwout, twelve boat regatta were: 1. BIG BOOTY, Patrick Eudy, 10; 2. MAX POWER, Gerrit Schulze, 14; and 3. RUM AT SIX, Worth Harris, 20.   Complete results.

18.Apr.08 - Retrofit for 12:1 Outhaul. You can either pay hundreds to have this done for you by a rigger or you can Do-It-Yourself for the cost of a Harken 304 block and a few feet of spectra. For the diagram go to our Resources page (J/105 Information --> Resources on the menu).   Direct link.

12.Apr.08 - The Spring News. Our Spring 2008 News has gone to the publisher. You should see it in you mailboxes in about 7-10 days. If we have received your 2008 dues, you may read it on-line by going to Members --> Newsletters. Included are articles on the new boats (Jeff Johnstone) and behind the scenes at the 2007 NAC (Walt Nuschke). Enjoy!  Direct link.

10.Apr.08 - Single Point Lifts. Now that weighing has become the "law-of-the-land", we've been fielding quite a few questions about how to weigh boats. Thanks to Walt Nuschke, we have a writeup and photos of what is entailed to pick up a boat from the aft keel bolt (a method used with success in Fleet #3 for some time). Go to Racing --> Measurer Resources on the left menu.  The direct link.