J/Newsletter- May 21st, 2026

As spring gives way to summer sailing, the international J/Boats calendar stretches across every kind of racecourse. Racing ranges from the tidal sandbanks of the North Sea to the mountain lake breezes of Switzerland. There is Danish league competition in Svendborg and classic offshore starts in New England and the Pacific Northwest. At this point in the season, fleets are no longer just warming up. They are beginning to reveal form, depth, and momentum.

Offshore, the RORC Season’s Points Championship continued to test teams in Europe’s most tactically demanding waters. The North Sea Race again delivered its signature mix: tides, traffic, sandbanks, wind farms, and shifting weather. J/99 and J/122 teams collected silverware on the 165.0nm course from Harwich to Scheveningen. In France, the Armen Race added another endurance test. It sent crews on a 350.0nm ‘Grand Parcours’ that rewarded those who were well-prepared and resilient. Looking ahead, the Myth of Malham Race promises another serious early-season benchmark. Its 235.0nm Cowes-to-Eddystone-and-back course is a classic RORC challenge and a proving ground for ambitious offshore teams.

Meanwhile, Europe’s one-design scene continued to show remarkable strength. In Denmark, the J/70 Sailing League opened in Svendborg with 39 teams, four days of tight racing, and a festive atmosphere around Svendborg Sunds Sejlklub’s 160th anniversary. In Spain, the Alcaidesa Marina J/80 Circuit wrapped up its season in La Línea de la Concepción after a full calendar of Autumn, Winter, and Spring Series racing. And in Switzerland, the J/70 Sailing Super League battled fickle alpine lake conditions on Lake Thunersee, where patience, sharp race management, and late-day breeze finally delivered competitive racing.

Across North America, the offshore calendar is also shifting into high gear. In New England, sailors are preparing for the 55th FIGAWI Race, a Memorial Day weekend tradition that blends pursuit-style racing, charity, camaraderie, and a spirited 23.5nm crossing to Nantucket. Meanwhile, the Storm Trysail Club’s 79th Block Island Race will send a deep fleet— half comprised of J/Boats— around one of the Northeast’s most historic offshore courses. Out west, the Swiftsure International Yacht Race will once again bring a strong J/Team turnout to Victoria, British Columbia, for one of the Pacific Northwest’s signature distance races.

Beyond results, this week’s stories also speak to the people and communities shaping the sport. For example, in Chicago, the revival of the local J/70 fleet shows what can happen when sailors stop waiting for opportunity and start building it themselves. Meanwhile, during the Chicago-Mackinac Race, Richie Stearns’ double-handed campaign for prostate cancer research reminds everyone that offshore sailing can carry a purpose far beyond trophies. From silverware to stewardship, and fleet-building to fundraising, J/Sailors are once again showing that the season’s best stories are found both on the racecourse and in the communities that make the sport matter.

J/99 & J/122 Podium in RORC North Sea Race
(Cowes, England)- The world’s largest offshore racing series, the RORC Season’s Points Championship, continued on the 15th of May 2026. First raced in 1931, the RORC North Sea Race is one of the Club’s longest-standing offshore races, linking the UK and the Netherlands. Starting from outside the Royal Harwich Yacht Club across a demanding 165.0nm North Sea course, the race finished off Scheveningen, Netherlands.

The North Sea Race is a serious offshore test with strong tides, sandbanks, commercial traffic, wind farms, and shifting North Sea weather all playing their part. Crews must balance tidal strategy, VMG/VMC, and boat speed while negotiating restricted areas and shipping lanes. Key decision points include the sandbanks near the start, the approach to Smith’s Knoll, and the complexity of the finish off the Dutch coast.

This year’s 2026 North Sea Race was shaped by steady conditions and long downwind legs. J/Teams fared well against their “wedges of cheese” competitors. READ MORE HERE

Kaløvig Bådelaug Wins Danish J/70 Sailing League Opener

(Svendborg, Denmark)- The Danish J/70 Sailing League opened the 2026 season with four intense days of racing in Svendborg. Sailors, volunteers, and spectators enjoyed a fantastic atmosphere for the season opener.

Svendborg Sunds Sejlklub hosted the event while celebrating the club’s 160th anniversary. Conditions in the Svendborg Sound provided exciting and close racing for the 39 teams throughout the weekend.

Both the 1st and 2nd divisions got the 2026 season off to a strong start. This once again demonstrates the high level and continued development of the Danish J/70 Sailing League. Several teams have already positioned themselves for the top rankings. New talent also delivered promising performances.

READ MORE HERE

PENINSULA Wins 2026 Alcaidesa Marina J/80 Circuit

(La Línea de la Concepción, Spain)- The Alcaidesa Marina J/80 Circuit concluded another edition this weekend in the waters off La Línea de la Concepción. This was the third and final event of the Spring Series. The regatta brought the curtain down on a season calendar that included the Autumn, Winter, and Spring Series.

The J/80 one-design fleet once again demonstrated a high level of competitiveness during a weekend marked by highly changeable conditions. On Saturday, two races were contested in light winds of 5-6 knots, blowing from 125º to 110º. On Sunday, however, the wind shifted to the south, stabilizing between 180º and 190º and increasing to 8 or 9 knots, allowing for the completion of four additional races. READ MORE HERE

J/Teams Score Strong Results in Armen Race Offshore
(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The Société Nautique de La Trinité held its 16th edition of the Armen Race last weekend. The unique appeal of this major coastal race is the “Grand Parcours” (Long Course)—covering 350.0nm and involving two nights at sea. Several top French offshore teams sailing their “J’s” managed strong performances in their respective divisions. READ MORE HERE

J/70s sailing off Oberhofen, Switzerland

Club Nautique Versoix Wins Swiss J/70 Super League Act II
(Oberhöfen, Switzerland)- This past week, the Regattaclub Oberhofen hosted the second act of the Swiss J/70 Sailing Super League on Lake Thunersee. Fifteen teams did battle, which ultimately ended with nine races for each of the teams. The weather was a bit fickle, as it can be on the high Swiss mountain lakes!

Saturday was a difficult day for the Regattaclub Oberhofen RC/ PRO team. Shifty winds allowed for some races, but many attempts had to be canceled. Even the remote control “RoboMarks” had a hard time keeping its positions adjusted! Then, Sunday started off tricky as well with light winds. But, in the afternoon, the long-awaited breeze filled in and allowed for good, competitive races. READ MORE HERE.

RORC Myth of Malham Race Preview
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC Myth of Malham Race returns with a potent fleet for one of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s most respected offshore tests. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes, the race sends the fleet west out of the Solent, along the English Channel to round the Eddystone Lighthouse before turning back towards the Solent.

At around 235.0nm, the Myth of Malham course is short enough to demand intensity from the start, but long enough to expose every weakness in boat speed, tidal strategy, crew work, and stamina. The race is often a tough beat west, followed by a fast return, and the opening 100 miles mirrors much of the early challenge of the Rolex Fastnet Race. READ MORE HERE.

J/122 sailing FIGAWI Race to Nantucket Island

J/Teams Ready for 55th FIGAWI Race to Nantucket
(Nantucket, MA)- An annual right of spring for sailors in New England is the fun-loving pursuit race called “the FIGAWI”. It is serious fun, camaraderie, sailing, and most of all, charity- that is what FIGAWI is all about.

The Race attracts over 100 boats each year. Hundreds of sailors convene for New England’s first major regatta to kick off summer. The Figawi Charity Race is recognized as a premier sailing event not only on the East Coast but also nationally and internationally. The Charity Ball is held the weekend before the race. A premier event featuring a live band, a great DJ, a sampling from eleven local restaurants, and a fabulous silent auction and raffle.

The race starts on Saturday morning, May 23rd, just outside of the Hyannis harbor mouth. The fleet of 119 sailboats (of which 17 are J/teams) will all have a pursuit-style start, meaning the first boat (with the slowest rated PHRF handicap) takes off promptly at 0900 hrs, and about three hours after that, the last and fastest boat starts. READ MORE HERE.

J/Teams Dominate 79th Block Island Race Fleet

(Larchmont, NY)- The Storm Trysail Club’s 79th Annual Block Island Race gets underway Friday, May 22, at 12:00 PM in the waters of the Long Island Sound off Stamford, CT. Fifty-eight boats will take on one of the Northeast’s most historic offshore regattas, with a challenging, 186.0nm course that exits Long Island Sound, rounds Block Island to starboard, before returning to Stamford. A true test of seamanship, this year’s race is seen as a proving ground for the upcoming 2026 Newport Bermuda Race, with thirty-four of the entries appearing on both races’ scratch sheets.

The fleet represents a strong mix of modern offshore race boats, performance cruisers, double-handed teams, youth programs, and grand prix entries. ORC continues its rapid growth in offshore racing with the largest Block Island Race fleet to date, with fifty-eight entries- J/Boats have twenty-nine teams- 50% of the fleet!! The race is divided into 12 classes, including dedicated ORC and PHRF Double-Handed divisions. Five J/99s are entered this year, highlighting the growing popularity of the offshore-focused design in both shorthanded and fully crewed competition. READ MORE HERE.

J/111 sailing Puget Sound and Straits of Juan de Fuca

J/Teams Set for Swiftsure Cape Flattery Race
(Victoria, BC, Canada)- Fifty-eight yachts are entered in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race that will start on Saturday, May 23rd. The fleet will use either the PHRF or the ORC rating system for one of the four courses, ranging from 79 to 138 nm, that start and finish in Victoria, BC. Many J/Teams are participating in this famous offshore event in the Pacific Northwest- seventeen J/Boats entries of 58 boats is 30% of the fleet!

The Cape Flattery Race goes from the Clover Point start, leaves the mark at Neah Bay to port, and crosses the finish line across Victoria Harbor– 101.9 nautical miles. READ MORE HERE.

Chicago J/70 Fleet Builds New Momentum
How Chicago’s J/70 fleet went from quiet to thriving. And what every sailing community can learn from it.

The dominant narrative in American sailing right now feels like one of decline. There, we said it. Fleets are aging. Clubs are consolidating. The path from “I’m interested” to “I’m on the water” is, for far too many people, a path that leads nowhere. A friend of ours, Doug Fritz, knows this better than most. He tried for years to break into the racing community in San Francisco. Then he tried again in Santa Cruz. Both times, he found the same thing: courses that led to certifications, certifications that led to nothing, and a culture that assumed you’d had a lifetime of yacht club membership and decades spent around the buoys.

He didn’t. But that didn’t deter him. Finally, he moved to Chicago, bought a J/70 with a friend, and decided to stop waiting for someone else to build the scene.

This past spring, seven J/70s lined up at the Chicago Yacht Club’s starting line. More than 25 different crew members had been sailing together since the fall. High school and college sailors were crewing alongside weekend warriors. Telmo Basterra and Chuck Nevel, Chicago Yacht Club’s waterfront directors, were implementing tech-enabled race management solutions and planning upcoming training nights. Naomi Jamboretz, Sailing Program Director at Lake Forest Sailing, was helping to coordinate schedules and racing calendars. And world-class local sailor, John Heaton, was quietly transferring hard-earned knowledge from his pro team to anyone who showed up with a willingness to learn.

None of this happened by accident. But it also didn’t require a grant, a committee, or a ten-year strategic plan. It required a builder. READ MORE HERE.

J/105 sailor Richie Stearns- Chicago Mackinac Race

Richie Stearns Races Chicago Mackinac for Prostate Cancer Research
“I’m taking on one of the toughest challenges of my life: racing double-handed in the Chicago Mackinac Race at 71 years old. Sailing short-handed requires hyper-vigilance, resilience, and the ability to face the elements head-on. But I am navigating these waters for a cause that is far more daunting than any storm: raising awareness and money for prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men, yet it is shrouded in silence. Men simply don’t talk about it. In fact, very few people even know what the prostate does (for the record, it’s a walnut-sized gland responsible for producing seminal fluid, vital for male fertility). Because it sits quietly below the bladder, changes often go unnoticed until it is too late.

We need to change the conversation, break the silence, and save lives. Here is what every man— and the people who love them— needs to know: READ MORE HERE.

J/Gear May Special- 20% off!

The J Sail Plan Polo comes with the J Class logo on the front and corresponding sail plan on the back. This long sleeve polo is a nice crew shirt for competition or relaxing. Durable and comfortable.

Specifications:
– 5 oz./yd² / 172 gsm (US), 8.4 oz/Lyd (CA), 100% polyester face plaited to 60/40 polyester/cotton back (total overall garment 61/39 polyester/cotton)
– Proprietary dual-sided mesh pique knit constructed of fine denier wicking polyester on the outside and soft-as-cotton wicking blend on the inside
– Moisture-wicking performance
– UPF 39 protection
– Luxury, comfort and performance in one
– Active fit
– Matching flat-knit collar
– Three-button placket with dyed-to-match buttons
– Side vents

Order your J/Sail plan polo here – CLICK HERE

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