J/Newsletter- July 16th, 2025

ByStuart Johnstone
Sailboats racing with colorful spinnakers on water.


Across oceans, coasts, and continents, J/Teams shined brightly last week. As the summer of 2025 hits full stride, J/Teams around the globe are lighting up racecourses from the rugged North Sea to the warm waters off Hawaii, from the legendary Aegean islands to Australia’s Gold Coast. This latest roundup captures a season defined by fast passages, fierce competition, and the kind of offshore drama that reminds us why we chase horizons under sail.

Whether it’s the Spanish crew battling the French to win the J/80 World Championship in Belgium, or a fleet of J/99s taking on one of Australia’s premier offshore races as a full-fledged one-design class, J/Boats continue to prove their mettle in a wide range of conditions. The Transpac Race saw history made, with J/Teams sweeping podiums across multiple divisions. Meanwhile, in North America, the Bayview Mackinac, Marblehead to Halifax, and Annapolis to Newport races delivered everything from fireworks and fast reaches to squalls and strategic chess matches in the fog.

Offshore and doublehanded sailors made their mark too— from a standout performance in the Aegean 600, to record-setting efforts in the other offshore races. It’s been a thrilling ride so far, and the season’s only halfway through. Read on for highlights, results, and some serious silverware hauls by J/crews pushing limits and loving every minute of it.

Spanish EUROFRITS AVIKO/ NEWIND FOODS Crowned J/80 World Champions

(Niewupoort, Belgium)- The 2025 edition of the J/80 World Championship was sailed off Niewupoort, Belgium, and was hosted by the Koninklijke Yacht Club. Over 270 sailors on fifty teams enjoyed the warm hospitality of KYC and four days of challenging sailing on the North Sea.  

Not surprisingly, the fight for the top of the leaderboard was a classic battle between the top two nations in the J/80 class- Spain versus France. Read more here.

J/Teams Rule @ Transpac Race 2025!

J/111s, J/125s, J/145 Dominate Podiums
(Honolulu, Hawaii)- Starting on July 1st, four divisions began racing the 2,225.0nm Transpac Race on the waters off of Los Angeles’s Point Fermin. Organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club, the biennial event is considered one of the world’s premier ocean races. It uses three pursuit-style starts spread over five days (July 1st, 3rd, and 5th) to help all 53 boats finish within days of each other at Honolulu’s Diamond Head. 

For the first time in the history of the Transpac Race, a single sailboat brand had podium finishers in every division they entered and won two of those three divisions, sweeping one of them.  Read more here.

Rise of the J/99s @ Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race

(Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia)- The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race starts July 26th, 2025, hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA). This year’s race promises thrilling competition and exceptional seamanship as fifty-one yachts, including thirteen doublehanded boats, will be sailing the challenging 384.0nm course from Sydney Harbour to the Gold Coast.

The Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race is one of Australia’s premier offshore yacht races, attracting top-tier sailors and vessels from around Australia. Participants navigate the picturesque yet demanding coastline, testing their skills and endurance against the elements.  Read more here.

A Memorable, Fast Bayview Mackinac Race

(Mackinac Island, MI) – Nearly the entire fleet of 191 entries in the 101st edition of the Bayview Mackinac Race organized by the Bayview Yacht Club crossed the finish line with the impression that this was a remarkable race, one likely to be remembered for years to come. Everyone in the fleet of boats ranging from 27 to 68 feet in length finished in 45 hours or less, half a day faster than last year’s 100th edition. 

The brisk southwest winds on Lake Huron on Saturday propelled both fleets at high speed downwind sailing northwards on the 259-mile Cove Island course and the 205-mile Shore course along the Michigan coast. 

There was, however, one hiccup to these ideal conditions when a squall came through the course a few hours into the race and resulted in rig, gear, and sail damage for some. The remainder of the first half of the race for both fleets remained fast until the wind speed dropped and shifted towards the west on Sunday night. 

. Read more here.

A Challenging and Memorable Aegean 600 Race

(Lavrion, Greece)– The successful 5th edition of the challenging Aegean 600 Race, organized annually by the Hellenic Offshore Racing Club (HORC), saw many smiling faces among more than just the winning teams who were poised to win their trophies. Their beaming smiles were knowing that they had just completed one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, 600-mile races in the offshore sailing world.

Perhaps that’s a reflection of the event’s promotional pitch… “A sailing race that has the makings of a legend. The sea of myths and legends. The sea of Homer, Seferis, and Elytis. The sea of painters and philosophers. The sea of sailors. 600 miles of sailing in the Aegean Sea. A race where the wind god- Aeolus- will make his own game to control sailors’ seamanship. A race where the dolphins will accompany the boats to drive them faster to the finish.” Read more here.

J/Teams Capture Silver @ Annapolis to Newport Race

(Newport, RI)- The 475.0nm Annapolis to Newport Race is one of the most historic and well-known of the US East Coast blue water races. Linking two seaports dating from our nation’s birth, Annapolis and Newport, the race provides a stark contrast between the country’s largest estuary-  the Chesapeake Bay- and the Atlantic Ocean. The course heads south for 120 miles from Annapolis to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, then east to the Chesapeake Light, and hence northeast to Newport, leaving Block Island to port. After navigating the shallows and currents of the Bay, navigators have to decide if they want to sail the rhumbline to Newport, go in towards the shore, or head further into the Ocean. This year, it seemed those that stuck it out to sea found better winds and weather conditions. Here is how it broke down for various J/Teams commanding a boatload of silverware for the trophy caves.. Read more here.

Fast Reaches, Fireworks and Fog! An Epic Marblehead Halifax Race!

(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- Marblehead’s Independence Day fireworks were still echoing across the harbor when crews began filing into the Boston Yacht Club race village for what would become one of the quickest and most keenly fought editions of this 361.0nm classic. By Sunday’s start, a strong south-westerly had sailors giddy with anticipation and spectators crowding Chandler Hovey Light. The starts were as lively as a dinghy race as the big yachts jockeyed for position through two quick in-shore legs, then popped their spinnakers and slid down Massachusetts Bay in what many simply called “champagne sailing.

From sprint to chess match in the fog
Dawn on day two brought a fleeting sunrise, then pea‑soup fog and softening breeze. The Gulf of Maine had switched from wrestling match to chessboard: every gybe, every sail change magnified by visibility that shrank to a single boatlength. Here is how it all went down by division.  Read more here.