J/122s Take-off @ BI Race Week

J Owners turned out in force last week at the 22nd running of Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. 40% of the total fleet were J’s including five one-design classes (J/29, J/120, J/109, J/105 and J/44) and numerous other Js sailing in PHRF and IRC. The new J/122 made its Block Island debut with George Shaw’s TUMBLEWEED and Andrew Weiss’ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON finishing 1, 2 in IRC 4. Two of the three overall Rolex watch awards went to J owners: Overall PHRF winner was John Storck's (Huntington, N.Y.) J/80 RUMOR, skippered by his college All-American daughter Kaity, while Stephen Tedeschi's TASTES LIKE CHICKEN (St. Petersburg, Fla.) took overall honors in One-Design racing, sailing in the 19-boat J/109 class. Brian Keane on SAVASANA topped the highly competitive J/105 class (24 boats). Other class winners included John Esposito’s HUSTLER (J/29), David & Sandra Askew’s FLYING JENNY V (J/120), Jeff Willis' CHALLENGER IV (J/44) and Kel Weber’s J/34c RASCAL in Non-Spinnaker. complete results

J/122 & 124 Top Class at NYYC Annual

J/122 RAGTIME, skippered by J Boats’ president Jeff Johnstone and the new J/124 WAR BRIDE sailed by Pete Dupont, sailed to a 1-2 overall in IRC 4 at New York Yacht Club’s 153rd Annual Regatta June 9-10. Both boats excelled in the generally light and shifty conditions that prevailed on Rhode Island Sound. Acceleration out of the tacks, keeping pace through an awkward chop, and pointing the boat in the right direction were the keys to staying ahead of the pack. The J/105 class had the best one-design turnout, and the series came down to the final race. Class veteran Brian Keane of Beverly, MA aboard SAVASANA took the bullet and the overall victory, finishing ahead of Phil & Wendy Lotz on INDEFATIGIBLE and Ken Colburn on GHOST. The northeast J fleets head next to Block Island Race Week. This will also continue the J/122’s string of debut events, only this time with three sisterships competing for IRC honors. NYYC results...