J/Boats News & Reviews

(Nieuwpoort, Belgium)- The J/80 World Championships 2025 are coming to the vibrant coastal city of Nieuwpoort from July 5th to 11th and registrations are officially open. This promises to be a world-class event packed with thrilling competition, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments on and off the water.
The Royal Yacht Club Nieuwpoort (KYCN) and the Flemish Yachthaven Nieuwpoort (VYN) are organizing this event in collaboration with the Belgian J/80 Class, which promises to be a memorable week.
Registration for the J/80 Worlds Nieuwpoort 2025 is officially open at this link:
https://www.j80worldsnieuwpoort2025.com/news-pictures/registrations-are-open-for-the-j80-world-championships-in-nieuwpoort
So far, there are 23 entries from Belgium, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland.
The J/80 Worlds is an “open” regatta! Consequently, anyone who becomes a member of the J/80 class and can charter/ beg/ borrow/ steal a J/80 can participate! You can register by specifying the skipper, your emergency contact, your boat name, and sail number. Your crew information and the documentation related to your crew and boat can be uploaded later. Also, payment can be completed at a later stage (just keep in mind the amount is increased from the 15th of May onwards, as specified in the Notice of Race).
The organizing team of this year’s J/80 World is looking forward to welcoming you to Nieuwpoort!https://www.j80worldsnieuwpoort2025.com/home

(St Petersburg, FL)- The Helly Hansen St. Petersburg Sailing World Regatta will be taking place this coming weekend on sunny Tampa Bay! The host St. Petersburg Yacht Club is looking to roll out the red carpet for all and hope there is always fun to be had on race day! Three days of racing are planned from February 16th to 18th, 2024.
The entire St Pete YC team will treat you to coffee and pastries on the main dock each morning and meet you right back there after racing with a cold beer!! Muchas cervezas, por favor!! Thanks to the beer sponsor Anchor Brewing, there will be coolers overflowing with “coldies” waiting on the docks when you return! Sounds awesome, a great break and an antidote to the “winter blues” up north!
J/Crews from across America will be participating in two one-design classes- eighteen teams J/70s and a half-dozen J/24 teams.
J/70 ClassThis fleet has a good turnout with several leading teams participating. Those crews include Dan Goldberg’s BAZINGA, Grace Renz’s GOODWILL, Steve Knoop’s AMERICAN FLYER, Mike Kirkman’s HOT TICKET, Al Minella’s LEVEL 5, Don Glover’s MISS KILLER, Kristen Berrry’s RHUMB RUNNER, and Alex Meleney’s TRUCKIN.
J/24 ClassThis fleet is mostly populated by Midwestern crews from Michigan! That quartet includes two teams from Macatawa Bay Yacht Club (Mike Norris’s MORNING BREEZE & Tracy Brand’s SOLUTION), Mike Popena’s POP’AYE from Bayview Yacht Club, and Dean Doman’s USA 30 from Michigan City Yacht Club.
For more St. Petersburg Sailing World Regatta sailing informationhttps://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=16265
For more Helly Hansen St. Petersburg Sailing World Regatta informationhttps://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series-st-petersburg/

(San Francisco, CA)– This summer marks the 25th anniversary of Summer Sailstice, the global celebration of sailing, set to take place on June 21-22, 2025. Founded in 2001 by John Arndt, Summer Sailstice unites sailors from around the world to share the experience of sailing, connect all sailors, and promote ocean sustainability. What began as a small initiative to have fun celebrating the pleasure, heritage, and value of sailing has grown into a global event with thousands of participants from over 40 countries.
Summer Sailstice encourages sailors of all levels— from seasoned veterans, and competitive racers to casual cruisers— to join sailors worldwide by hoisting their sails on the first weekend of the summer. The event coincides with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and participants can join in by sailing/racing/cruising their boat, crewing on a friend’s vessel, or joining activities onshore. Participants are encouraged to register online and share their experiences through social media, creating a global community of sailors connecting for one weekend to celebrate sailing.
“This milestone 25th anniversary is a rare opportunity to promote the sense of adventure, freedom, and community that sailing brings,” said founder John Arndt. “We’re excited to see how the celebration gives all sailors and sailing organizations a single weekend to work together to connect and inspire more people to experience the magic of sailing.”
Stanton Murray of Murray Yacht Sales on the Gulf Coast said, “Murray Yacht Sales has been an avid supporter of the Summer Sailstice global celebration of sailing because it’s been an easy and rewarding way to connect our customers and the sailing community while growing participation in sailing. We look forward to 2025 when we will participate with our team across the Gulf Coast and encourage our customers to join the world by posting their sailing plans and hoisting their sails on Summer Sailstice.”
In addition to fostering connection and participation in sailing, Summer Sailstice promotes environmental stewardship of the oceans. This year, participants are encouraged to support marine conservation efforts and highlight the sustainability of sailing. Several environmental partners, such as Sailors for the Sea, will be promoting eco-focused sailing events.
Plus, participating sailors will also have the chance to win prizes from supportive sailing companies. To be eligible, participants must register their plans on the official Summer Sailstice website.
Summer Sailstice Media Contact: John Arndt- [email protected]
For more information and to register your sailing plans, visit Summer Sailstice.https://www.summersailstice.com/

(Marion, MA)- The Marion Bermuda Race prides itself of staying abreast of offshore racing, making changes to enhance the experience for all competitors… 2025 is no different. Starting on June 20th, 2025 in Marion, MA, the race has expanded to add a PHRF division so now there is a choice between ORR and PHRF. PHRF will use Time on Time scoring and boats will be required to have a PHRF New England certificate. To improve scoring for ORR division boats, the race has adopted F-TCF scoring. It has proven to be the next step in leveling the playing field by using start day conditions and offering a single number system.
J/Boats have added a special performance trophy for best finish by a J/Boat on corrected time in both ORR and PHRF divisions. J/Boats have always been a big part of the Marion Bermuda Race and with this addition we expect to see a very competitive fleet.
An important offering to first time competitors is the popular Co-Pilot program. This program assigns an experienced skipper to a first-time participant to help them through all aspects of race preparation from boat inspections to registration.
Offshore racing is expensive, so anything we can do to make it more affordable we will do. For the 2025 race, BermudAir is offering a 20% discount to all crews, families and friends coming to Bermuda. Coco Reef Resort will also be offering discounts while in Bermuda.
For any questions and more informationo, please email: [email protected]
Registration is open. For further information: https://www.marionbermuda.com

(Marina del Rey, CA)- The annual Southern California Yachting Association Midwinters Regatta will be taking place from February 15th to 16th, 2025. The event is hosted by multiple clubs across the SoCal region, spanning from southern San Diego north to Santa Barbara. Two one-design fleets of J/70s and J/109s will be sailing off Marina del Rey, hosted by California Yacht Club.
In the J/70 fleet will be leading local teams like Jeff Janov’s NIMBUS, Curt Johnson’s AVET 2.01, Karl Herbst’s PIXEL, Steve Wyman’s BOONDOGGLE, Ryan Cox’s DJ, and Kim & Justin Kundrak’s JOY RIDE.
The J/109 fleet will feature Jim & Scott Barber’s FELEENA and Peter Nelson’s SPRAY.
For more SCYA Midwinters sailing informationhttps://www.scyamidwinterregatta.org/venues-dates-and-classes/

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The popular Yacht Club Monaco J/70 Winter Series, which commenced in November 2024, will be hosting Act III of the four regatta series this coming weekend from February 6th to 9th at their famous club on Hercules Bay.
So far, it has been a strategic duel between two local YCM teams- Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio at the helm of G-SPOT and Samuel Poons’s CHARISMA V. Not far off the pace is Stefano Roberti’s PICCININA and Graeme Peterson’s MOONLIGHT II to fill out the top four provisional slots on the overall leaderboard. Remarkably, all four teams hail from the host- YC Monaco!
In the Corinthian category (amateurs), the French team on EURO-VOILES managed to overtake and now leads YCM’s Matteo Scandolerau’s IRRUENZA in second place and the Swiss crew on RHUBARBE currently sitting in third place.
For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing informationhttps://yacht-club-monaco.mc/en/ycmevents/monaco-sportsboat-winter-series/

6 February 2025
The post Ready for the third act! first appeared on Yacht Club de Monaco.