IN THIS ISSUE: 2007
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To celebrate the end of the year, we have provided monthly highlights to show how much the J/109 is appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. Enjoy! We look forward to seeing you on the water in 2008.
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| FROM CLASS PRESIDENT Rick Lyall
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Fellow J/109 Class Members,
I thought I'd take this opportunity to write a "state of the class" letter to you as we approach the end of 2007.
I'd like to thank my predecessor, Len Siegal, who ably served our class as its first president. Len provided leadership and direction as we drafted the constitution and class rules and worked diligently during our first official year as a class. He will continue as Great Lakes Fleet Captain and I look forward to his ongoing contribution as an active class member.
I'd like to welcome Steve Tedeschi as Vice President. As many of you know, Steve has had an extraordinary run during 2007 with victories... view the entire letter
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| JANUARY: Key West Race Week |
 Winter's racing highlight has to be Acura Key West Race Week. For 2007, five fabulous race days and a 20th anniversary celebration led Gary Jobson to comment that the weather was "stuck on gorgeous." Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION (Long Beach, CA) won a tiebreaker to take the ten boat regatta. Photo by Tim Wilkes
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FEBRUARY: English Enthusiasm
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Southampton, England: On a cold, dark February night a number of owners, crew and general 'J/109
enthusiasts' congregated for the first
ever J/109 Class Prizegiving and Dinner. Trophies were presented for
J/109 successes during 2006. So much mayhem, merriment and dancing ensued, it was agreed that another party would be
held toward the end of the year.
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MARCH: Spring Coaching
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 The J/109 Class
held a Coaching Weekend with Jim Saltonstall (MBE). Jim
has a formidable reputation as probably the UK's leading coach and the nine teams who took
part in the weekend would vouch for the many reasons why. Saturday a classroom session was followed by four taxing hours
on the water and then a video debrief. Sunday was
a spring series race day and Jim followed the action for comment and critique on
return the clubhouse later. We certainly look to
running another coaching weekend with Jim in the future.
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APRIL: Charleston Race Week
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 John
Yonover and the crew onboard
evonne.com put up an impressive performance in the challenging
conditions off the coast of South Carolina to win Charleston Race
Week.
Jeff Johnstone sailed with the Great Lakes team. Bill Sweetser's RUSH
took an early lead with bullets in the first two races, but then it was
all evonne with RUSH and the shorthanded FREEDOM nipping at their heels.
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MAY: American Yacht Club Spring Series
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| MAD DOGS and ENGLISHMAN ended the winter season with a victory over a
competitive eleven boat fleet. The jovial Adrian Begley was able to
stay in front of Rick Lyall's STORM and Eric Kamisher's PHLING with good boat
speed, great crew work, and consistent starts. Crowded mark roundings and overlapped finishes were typical of the tight eleven boat fleet.
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JUNE: EuroCup in Deauville, France/Block Island East Coasts
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 Sixteen J/109s from the UK and France turned
out to compete for the 2007 J/109 EuroCup. The racing was
extraordinarily close with seven different boats scoring race wins
across the eleven race series. After a monumental battle
it was Matt Boyle and his team on SHIVA who took the EuroCup home
with them, beating FIRESTORM by just one point. Photo by Jean-Marie Liot.
Across the pond on Block Island, nineteen J/109's competed at Storm Trysail's biannual race week. Steve Tedeschi (TASTES LIKE CHICKEN) won the event, as well as a Rolex for best performance in a one design class. Rick Lyall's STORM and Steve Kenny/Greg Ames' GOSSIP were second and third in the eight race series that combined buoy racing with a traditional favorite, the Around the Island Race.
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JULY: CORK Week
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Despite the fact that
the weather was wet and the wind was unreliable, the four day CORK Week combined boats
scattered around Ireland with visitors from the UK, Wales and Scotland into a fourteen boat fleet, while building the foundations of an Irish Class
Association and sailing an Irish National Championship. Of course
there was a good deal of après sail revelling done as well. The
winner of the Class was JAMBO, owned by Nick Fry and Kate Buckingham, followed by James Tyrell's AQUELINA and local boy Chris Power-Smith's ROLLERCOASTER.
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AUGUST: Chicago-Mackinac
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 This 333 mile distance races takes the fleet from Chicago, IL to the north end of Lake Michigan. Twelve 109s competed in this offshore classic and class winner ZEITGEIST posted a corrected time of 50:00:50, only a half hour ahead of GUARANTEED PERIOD.
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SEPTEMBER: UK National Championship
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 The UK Nationals were a nail-biting affair that went all the way to the wire at the J-Cup 2007, hosted by the
Royal Western Yacht Club. With sunshine the first day followed by more typical "English" weather, competition included some of the UK's hottest sailing names. Defending champs Mike Ewart-Smith and Ben Richards led off with two blistering
bullets in ZELDA, but eventually finished second to Jeff Dakin and Bruce Jubb on JOHNNY BLUE II.
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OCTOBER: 2007 North Americans
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 Long Beach Yacht Club hosted a three day, seven race North Americans for eight top boats. The father and son team of Brian and Stephen Tedeschi sailed TASTES LIKE CHICKEN consistently to win the event. "It was very competitive, tough racing," Stephen Tedeschi said.
"These are some of
the top boats in California." Photo courtesy of Rick Roberts. Complete Results
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NOVEMBER: SWEET CHARIOT Brings Home the Morna Cup
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 Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's Spring Offshore Regatta took the fleet approximately 20 nautical miles north from Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour to Broken Bay, Pittwater, and back to Port Jackson the next day. Ray Entwhistle's SWEET CHARIOT was one of the smaller boats in the fleet but still
managed 3rd over the line on the way north and 2nd over the line on the return, just 2 minutes behind a Pacific 50. Ray Entwistle says: "Most of our competition thinks the boat is much larger than 35ft. She was even loaded with all our cruising gear for a comfortable overnight stay for all the 6 crew. "
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DECEMBER: Earls Court Boat Show
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 J-UK, the J Boats dealer in England, starred at the new Earls Court Boat Show in London with a record breaking eight Js on display. The J/109 on exhibit, J DREAM, is the new weapon of choice for David and Kirsty Apthorp. Many UK J/109 sailors already know of Kirsty and David from their victories in the J/105. The team are a formidable force on the race track and will be welcomed as such by the UK J/109 fleet.
Photo: Roger Hollingsworth.
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Last but not least... DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR KEY WEST 2008. 