From San Francisco, CA... August 13-14 - What do AC34 45 foot catamarans and the J/120 class have in common? An addiction for fun and games when it's going nuclear out on San Francisco Bay! However, betting's good that a J/120 will fair a bit better when it's blowing 20-35 knots versus a carbon cat suddenly turned into a three-legged cartwheel!

Sailing on the Bay in August is an experience not for the faint-of-heart. In fact, only "manly mans" and no "drama queens" need apply. You gotta be able to sail all day in some of the coolest summer sailing conditions in America. That said, the venue is spectacular and the weather can be breath-taking. Sun, lotsa wind, ginormous 3-5 foot chop and big fog banks enshrouding the gorgeous hills surrounding the Golden Gate Bridge make for a photographers dream. It can be epic, to say the least. With full-on ebb, winds blowing 20-35 knots from the West, the ride to the windward mark is almost as thrilling as the wild-planing rides downwind. What's not to like about sailing on the Bay in August? Go for it!

The J/120s are again hosting their North American Championship on these fabled waters. So, make sure to pack your bags, sails tossed over your shoulder, and "go West young man (and girl)"! The J/120 fleet on SF Bay will welcome you with open arms and provide you a boat! Just call them. And, with Kattack Systems attached to each boat, you'll learn a lot about how to sail around SF Bay faster—note to some wannabe America's Cup sailors, this is a good deal! So, you Detroit, Long Island, Chicago and San Diego guys gotta join us!!

From San Fransisco, California... Here is a great video of the J/120's rounding the top mark in the St. Francis Stone Cup last May.

From San Francisco, California... Close racing again took place in the Big Boat Series September 10 - 13, 2009 sponsored by the St. Francis Yacht Club. Winning by a tie breaker, Barry Lewis's Chance won the series in the last race. More info can be found at http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=281

From Key West, Florida... Will Hankel's Emocean overwelming took PHRF 2 in 2008 Key West Week by getting 7 bullets with a 3rd place throw out. This after taking overall honors in the 2007 Charleston to Bermuda Race on May 18th. Attention racers, Emocean has air conditioning. Who's says J/120's are obsolete!

From Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada... Richard & Sharon Calder's J/120 Brilliance finished a successful Chester Race Week by winning the Gold Fleet. The crew sailed a consistent regatta in weather that ranged from light, fluky winds with great sun to high winds combined with driving rain over the four day event. The Gold Fleet sailed two distance races and two windward leeward courses. Some of her competitors included a Swan 48-2 & 51, an Aerodyne 38, a J/44. The regatta draws over 150 boats including one designs (13 J/29's) and handicap fleets. Chester Race Week is the largest keelboat regatta in Eastern Canada.

From St. Maarten in the Caribbean... Rick Wesslund's J/120, El Ocaso, won over pre-regatta favorite Sergio Sagramoso's Lazy Dog, and to clearly overwhelm the class in the Spinnaker 5 class. Also placing 3rd is Tom Mullens's J/120 Shamrock V and Jean Marc Noel's Paulista in 10th. Because of Rick Wesslund's heavy air experience I am sure it went pretty far in Saturday's 25 knot breezes.

From warm San Diego, California... In San Diego Yacht Club's Hot Rum Series Nov. 5, 19, & Dec. 3, 2006 there were three races with over 150 boats entered. J/120 CC Rider, owned by Chuck Nichols, was first in class and third overall. Needless to say the J/120's scored very well competing against some of the best professional sailors in southern California. This is very technical race in the sense, that the sailors have to deal with currents, seaweed, shifting winds.

From San Francisco, California... Steven Madeira (Menlo Park, Calif.) earned his third straight Perpetual Trophy – the 2006 Keefe-Kilborn Memorial – for his victory in the 10-boat J/120 class on Mr. Magoo (green & white spinnaker center) in the Rolex Big Boat Series. "It was an unbelievable race," said Madeira. "Three boats could have won it. We all had bad starts and we all sort of moved up through the fleet as a pack. At the last mark, Chance was first, Desdemona was second, we were third, and El Ocaso was fourth. On the last upwind leg they went off and took a flyer. We went south of Alcatraz. Everyone but El Ocaso went south to Alcatraz so that paid off for them. They went out and won the race. In the meantime we worked our way past Desdemona." Down to the finish they went with Mr. Magoo needing to finish third to win the series. "We were coning into the line on port tack," he said. "We jibed to starboard and forced Desdemona to jibe. They messed up their kite and I went as perpendicular to the line as we could." Mr. Magoo crossed just ahead and clinched the overall victory. "I love this event. I absolutely look forward to it all year."

From Newport, Rhode Island... Windborn, a J/120 owned by Richard W. Born at the start of the 100th annual Newport to Bermuda Race. "The Bermuda Race is the pre-eminent distance race on the East Coast and has been for 100 years," said Gary Jobson, who has competed in the race seven times, once as skipper and always as a watch captain. "It's a feather in every sailor's cap to have done the race, and many consider the Lighthouse Trophy the most coveted trophy in distance racing. It's no small feat getting to Bermuda, and the reward itself is being there on that friendly, subtropical island out in the Atlantic Ocean." This race was sailed by no less than six J/120's with two of them competing in the double handed division. I am happy to report that a J/120, Flying Jenny V, owned by L. David Askew, came out to win the 21 boat St. David's Lighthouse Class 6 in spite of a mostly light headwinds. Atta boy, Dave! John Niewenhous' Loose Fish, took 3rd under both ORR and IRC scoring. Gary Grant's J/120 Alibi finished 2nd in the double-handed division. More info is available at http://www.bermudarace.com

From San Diego, California... Jim, a J/120 owned by John Snook is being steered by son Captain Alexander for a mid-winter sail. Next stop Honolulu!

From Cape Town, South Africa... With all the days getting longer and the air getting warmer (in the southern Indian Ocean) our thoughts turn to sailing again. Fortunately for Felix Bieshin he actually gets to experience it. Felix actually placed in this regatta 3rd in IRC 1 in the above photo.

From Newport, Rhode Island and Bermuda... Loose Fish (Hull #77) competed in the 2005 Bermuda 1-2. The race has two legs; solo to Bermuda and double handed back to Newport. Loose Fish finished 3rd on the solo leg finishing 37 minutes behind the first place boat and 8 minutes behind the second. This was after 630 some miles and 100 plus hours. On the return leg they were first across the line 24 minutes ahead of their main competition, French Magic, an Aerodyne 38. French Magic corrected out to beat Loose Fish and place 1st overall. Loose Fish placed second overall. Their division had four Aerodyne 38s and one J/120. Conditions varied on both legs from dead calm to big thunderstorms with hard rain, gusts and lots of lightening, deep fog, hard beats with blade and double reefed main in 20 to 25 knots, to 10-12 hour spinnaker runs surfing in the mid teens (both legs). They did tear one spinnaker, but broke nothing else. John said the J/120 is a great boat to race solo! Many J/120 owners would agree. More info at www.bermuda1-2.org.

From Annapolis, Maryland... Three J/120's in PHRF I Class came up the coast neck and neck in the biannual 2005 Annapolis-Newport Regatta this past June 13th. The Annapolis to Newport Race is one of the most historic and well-known of the U.S. East Coast blue water races. Linking two seaports dating from our nation's birth, Annapolis and Newport, the race provides challenging diversityover different bodies of water, as well as convenient ports of refuge along the entire course. Windborn, Rick Born's entry racing for the Annapolis Yacht Club, headed inshore, splitting with the other J/120's and fell behind as they entered Block Island Sound. Flying Jenny V, skippered by David Askew of Annapolis, Md., finished first of the three J/120's, quickly pursued by Eurotrash Girl. Currently standing in first on corrected time in PHRF I Class, Eurotrash Girl finished under spinnaker at 0842 hours. Jibing as they approached the line, Windborn crossed the Castle Hill Light at 0912 hours. "We had 10 knots more than expected during the entire race. It was a dream—we had the chute up for two days straight" said Nicole Christie, skipper of Eurotrash Girl. According to Christie, the first day was tough for Eurotrash Girl after making a wrong call on the current. They hit the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay the first night, and by morning, "We were in a pretty good position on the fleet." Christie credits two strong watches who both worked hard, even at night, "which isn't always the case. All three J/120's including David Askew's Flying Jenny V took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in PHRF I.

From Charleston, South Carolina.... K2 vs. Carinthia, part duex. Charleston continues as a venue to attract boats from across the country this past April 7-10, 2005 . Three J/120's participated in this growing event. New this year were the larger boats sailing on the ocean course. With wind shifts and a substantial current K2 and Carinthia got to go at it again after facing off in Key West. K2, out of Mullet Bay, Vermont, managed to carve out a first while Carinthia from Detroit, Michigan placed second in the 9 boat PHRF fleet including three J/109's.

From Orcas Island, Washington... The crew of the J/120 Time Bandit, owned by Bob and Barb Brunius had a fantastic year racing in the Pacific Northwest. They took first place in all three of their major overnight races - Southern Straits, Oregon Offshore, and the Swiftsure.

 From Key West, Florida... Again it is time to get in your applications in for the 2005 Key West Regatta. We have been building the participation by J/120's......last year we had 7 boats. This year we are working to achieve our own start with 10 J/120's.

From Charleston, South Carolina... After 6 races at Charleston Race Week, Roger Elliott's team on the J/120 Crosswave needed only to keep Nicole Weaver's crew on J/120 Eurotrash Girl in their sites to wrap up an overall win. Both boats were over the line early and had to turn back, but Weaver's team made the best of it and worked out to enough of a lead to put three boats between themselves and Crosswave . That was enough to take overall honors by one point in PHRF Class A. In fact, 3 J/120's took the first 3 places in class. For race web site click here.

From Key West, Florida... Pictured above is J/120 OuiB5, owned by John Sylvia. He won the J/120 subclass. "This may be the best boat racing venue in the world. I haven't been to all the top spots, but I'm confident you would be hard pressed to do better," said Sylvia, a San Francisco resident. "The sun was out every day, the water was warm and the wind was great. The people at Premiere Racing do an incredible job making sure everything runs like clockwork. What else could you ask for?"

From St. Peter Port, Great Britain... Eight J/120's competed in the UK's J-Cup this past August. With the breeze beginning to die, the race became increasingly tricky; Chris Dunning's Marionette cashed in on the situation, finding breeze on the right hand side of the course in both the second upwind and downwind legs. This provided them with a strong win; their results have risen steadily through the regatta with 4,3,2,1 showing a perfect curve of improving form. Chas Ivill made for a popular winner of Class One and the J-Cup itself, driving his J/120 Charley J (pictured above) into a podium position in every race. Third place was their worst result; this was only as a result of the wrong spinnaker packed into the wrong bag by the J-UK PR girl.

From Hamilton Island, just off the Queensland Coast of Australia... the J/120 Euphoria (green & yellow spinnaker) sailed by RSYS member Tony Coleman won the IRC Cruiser division (for yachts up to 12 meters LOA) at the 20^th Hamilton Island Race Week held from 16 to 23 August 2003. Competing under IRC handicapping in a mixed fleet that included yachts from every state of Australia, Euphoria scored 3 wins, 2 seconds and a third in the 6 race series including a win in the 60 nautical mile Edward Island Race. The series was conducted in ideal weather conditions with the breeze predominantly in the 10–15 knot range.

From Long Beach, California... Sixty-one boats—the largest fleet since 1985 and the 10th largest ever—are signed up to race the 2003 42nd biennial Transpacific Yacht Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu in July. Included in the entries reflect the character of this year's fleet: Dan Sinclair's Andrews 70, Renegade, from Canada; Francisco Guzman's J/145, Jeito, from Mexico; John Harrison's Cal 40, Seafire, from Honolulu, and Tom and Doug Jorgensen's J/120, Hot Tamale from Los Angeles, California and Louis Bianco's Swept Away J/120 of Seattle, Washington.Transpac hasn't topped 60 entries since 64 boats raced in 1985. The record is 80 in 1979.

From Long Island Sound on the east coast of the US... This ad appeared in the November issue of 'Sail' magazine. The photo is of Robert & Barbara Pico's Blackhawk hull #180. Robert reports that he had great time racing his new J/120 in August and September.

From Cowes in the United Kingdom... A nice slow sailing day. Steve Dyke's J/120 Jack O' Lantern is learning the subtle characteristics of a broach. Skandia Life Cowes Week (August 3-10 2002), the World's largest sailing regatta, played host to nearly 900 entries this year, and is being judged a great success all round, based on feedback received to date from sponsors, competitors and the media interest this year's event generated. Three J/120's were entered in Class 10 IRC Bowsprit Class.

From Hawaii... A veteran of the 1996 Single Handed Sailing Society TransPac race from San Francisco, California to Hanalei, Hawaii, Mark Deppe won Class 1 in a recently constructed J/120 named Alchera this past June, 2002 regatta. "I formed a lot of strong opinions about what is important to long distance singlehanding during the 1996 race and in the many years as a member racing with the SSS. The J/120 came the closest to meeting most of my requirements, and the factory was very cooperative in making several additional changes I insisted on".

From Southern California... This picture was taken at the J/120 Nationals when they were last held there in 1999. This year's North Americans are being held in Long Beach, California on June 28-30. The event is to be run concurrently with North Sails Race Week and run by Premiere Racing.

From the Netherlands... J/120 Bernard Schep's Fleur sailing into the sunset. Bernard's homeport is Muiderzand. His hull number 165 was purchased in April 2001 and was built by J/Composite in Les Sables d'Olonne Cedex, France. When not racing, Bernard sails with his wife Mirjam and three kids, Kim, Stacey, and Demian.

Marda Gras & J/120 Time Bandit (right) off of Ucelet, B.C. in the 2001 Cadillac Van Isle 360 (photo by Linda Wagner). In Division 1 there was great battle. Time Bandit sailed an excellent race and was leading her division going into leg 9, but suffered some bad luck on the last two legs. In the endMarda Gras, the Santa Cruz 52, owned by Marda Phelps of Seattle captured first place, Time Bandit owned by Bob & Barb Brunius of Orcas Island, WA took 2nd.

Nicole Christie's J/120 Euro Trash Girl Wins Race to Solomon's Island - 8/3/01. EYC Annapolis to Solomon's Race 55nm. The 2001 EYC Annapolis to Solomon's Race began on Friday evening, July 20. J/120 Euro Trash Girl finished less than 2 hours later, winning class PHRF A1 by 25:45 and correcting overall by 8:08.

Ted May's J/120 Ouch won the 2001 Transpac's New Don Clothier Trophy. This trophy is awarded to the performance cruiser under 49 feet with the fastest elapsed time in the Transpac race.