From the shifting breezes of Key West to the unpredictable currents of San Francisco Bay, competitive sailing continued to deliver high-stakes drama, intense rivalries, and moments of sheer exhilaration. As the 2025 racing season gains momentum, sailors and spectators alike have witnessed thrilling battles on the water, from the J/111 North American Championship to the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series in Miami and the ever-chaotic Three Bridge Fiasco in San Francisco.
These events have not only tested the skill and strategy of seasoned crews but have also showcased the raw beauty and challenge of sailing across different conditions— from steady Caribbean trade winds in Grenada to light, drifting duels in the Bay Area. With top-tier teams claiming victory and new challengers rising through the ranks, this season is already shaping up to be one for the books.
SAIL Magazine Top 10 Best Boats 2025 Winner- the NEW J/40!
(Boston, MA)- Do you remember the moment you got hooked on sailing? Jumping behind the helm of the new J/40 brought all that rushing back for me. This new design is beautifully balanced and responds to even the subtlest changes in the wind. Like many J/Boat designs before her, she is a true racer/cruiser.
Not to be confused with the classic J/40, built between 1984 and 1994, this new design, launched in 2024, aims to push the envelope as an offshore-worthy, high-performance cruising yacht capable of double-digit speeds. While the breeze never even hit double digits the day we sailed, I have no doubt she would accelerate well into her promised performance range off the wind. Read more here.
Yachting World J/40 Performance Cruiser Test off Palma
(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- Bob Hodges, a yachting journalist for YACHTING WORLD in the United Kingdom, recently put the new J/40 through its paces sailing offshore and evaluated its striking interior and super-efficient new deck layout. Read more here.
SKELETON KEY Four-peats J/111 North Americans
(Key West, FL)- The 2025 J/111 North American Championship was sailed on the gorgeous aquamarine waters off Key West. Sponsored by SAILING Inc. from Cleveland, OH, the regatta was hosted at the Galleon Hotel Tiki Bar, where the sailors enjoyed a fun, easy-going regatta in the rustic atmosphere of Key West.
A strong ten-boat contingent of J/111s experienced a challenging four days of racing with mostly overcast skies and northerly breezes. With shifty, streaky winds, it was a game of “chutes & ladders” for the top five on the leaderboard. In the end, winning was Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY team from San Francisco, CA- Seadon Wijsen (tactician), Ryan Kern (spinnaker trimmer), Cory Schillaci (pit), John Collins (bow), John Hayes (mast), Dave Lyons (spinnaker trimmer) and Nicholas Gibbens (headsail trimmer). They climbed to the top of the podium on the last day to be crowned J/111 North American Champion for the fourth time! Read more here.
They Came, They Saw, They Drifted- a REAL 3BR Fiasco!
J/125 Crushes Overall! J/Crews Clean House and Silver in Various Divisions(San Francisco, CA)- An annual favorite in the bay, the SSS (Singlehanded Sailing Society) Three Bridge Fiasco is the biggest yacht race in the USA west of the Mississippi River, with 300+ boats every year. The race is a pursuit race (slowest boats start first), starts and finishes on the city front at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the course involves the Blackaller Buoy (by the Golden Gate Bridge), Yerba Buena Island/Treasure Island (Bay Bridge), and Red Rock (by the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge). The marks can be rounded in any order and any direction, providing the crazy appeal of this race.
There were 303 keelboat entries for this year’s edition of the 3BF!! And, there are 54 J/Teams entered as mostly doublehanded teams- 18.0% of the fleet! Here’s the shocker, the wind conditions were so light this year that just 40 boats in total finished the race! Amazingly, J/crews nearly cleaned house and silvered in several divisions! Here is how it all went down. Read more here.
Read more of John Arndt’s story on LATITUDE 38 herehttps://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/drifted-three-bridge-fiasco/
RELATIVE OBSCURITY Dominates Bacardi J/70 Winter Series II Regatta!
(Miami, FL)- The seventh edition of the Bacardi J/70 Winter Series II Regatta kicked off last weekend with forty-one teams pointing their bows across the starting line on the gorgeous aquamarine waters of Biscayne Bay.
Winning with relative ease was ex-J/70 World Champion Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY with a World Championship-level crew of Jud Smith, Willem van Waay, and Victor Diaz de Leon. Their 1-6-3-1-12-1-4-1-DNC in the nine-race series was good enough to not sail the final, take the DNC drop race, and still win by 10 pts net! An impressive return to the class for Senor Duncan after a few year’s hiatus. Read more here.
J/Crews Enjoy Gorgeous, Windy Grenada Sailing Week
(Grand Anse, St. George’s, Grenada, West Indies)- Hosted by the Grenada Sailing Club, the Grenada Sailing Week is an exciting 6-day event for sailors who enjoy and love sailing in the eastern Caribbean in the “Windward Islands”. The format is fun and easygoing. The first day was the 30.0nm Around Carriacou Island. Then, day two was the Offshore from Carriacou to Grenada. On day three, it was Lay Day for big boats and small keelboat classes doing short buoy races- e.g. the J/80 one-design class. Then, the last two days are around the cans on the South Coast of Grenada for the entire fleet. Thirty teams were entered from all over the Caribbean.
Read more here.
J/Weather Jacket- February 25% Special
(Newport, RI)- The J/Weather jacket is a multi-layered jacket with a warm fleece liner for comfort and a poly shell to repel the elements. Reflective piping stripes on the shoulder and back make it cool for night sailing.
The J/Class logo is embroidered and you may customize it for the whole crew. Order the J/Weather Jacket here
