Fellow J/109 Class Members:
I hope all of you are well and looking forward to getting back out on the water. I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some thoughts with you as we prepare for the 2009 season. First, I’d like to thank my fellow class officers and fleet captains for their efforts over the last year. They are the responsible for making the class run smoothly and they deserve a heart felt “thank you.” I’d also like to thank Jeff Johnstone and Kendra Muenter at J Boats for their continued support and valuable contributions to our class. Finally, I’m sure you will all join me in thanking Carol Cronin for the fine job she has done editing and publishing our class newsletter. The newsletter is a great vehicle for sharing news and staying current on the latest developments. It is also a great way to communicate with the members so I hope you’ll spare a few minutes to peruse this issue.
2008 was a good year for the class. While growth has slowed we continue to enjoy strong camaraderie and close racing whenever we have a one design start. The UK fleet certainly raised the bar for class participation with 39 boats at Skandia Cowes race week followed by a 26 boat fleet at Cork Week for the Irish Nationals. In the US, participation was slightly down but we still had a strong 15 boat fleet at the North American Championship at New York Yacht Club’s Race Week. There were also numerous other events that provided close racing and long lasting memories for everyone that came out to support the class.
2009 has begun with significant global economic challenges. The US and UK, home to the largest J/109 fleets, certainly have their hands full with recessions, troubled banking sectors and difficult financial markets. While this will no doubt present challenges to owners and crews, we need to remind ourselves of a few important things as we prepare for the coming season. First, we sail because it brings us pleasure; excitement for some and relaxation for others. We enjoy our boats and the company of our crews, whether they are family or friends. We also know that the more J/109s that show up at an event the more fun we have. Our class is only as strong as its members. We need to stick together during these difficult times and support each other. As you think about the coming season, please try to support as many Class events as possible. We need your continued participation to keep the class strong!
We will hold the J/109 North American Championship at the Chicago Yacht Club in conjunction with the Verve Cup in early August. The class is grateful to Pete Priede and Fleet 11 for volunteering to host the event. This is a new venue for our NAs and a reasonably central location so hopefully the event will attract participants from fleets around the country. Stay tuned for details. The US East Coast Championship will be held at Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week in June. This event typically draws a strong turnout and will serve as a great venue for this hotly contested championship. I expect Ted Herlihy’s GUT FEELING, 2008 North American Champion, will be there along with Greg Ames’ and Steve Kenny’s GOSSIP, runners up at last year’s NAs. Sailing World has offered to host a J/109 start at the Annapolis NOOD this April. We have designated the event the J/109 Mid-Atlantic Championship. Bill Sweetser, Fleet Captain of the Chesapeake J/109 contingent (Fleet 4) is coordinating this event for the Class. Bill has also proposed a new award for the boat with the best performance at multiple East Coast J/109 events to encourage owners to travel. This year, that award will be given to the boat with the best combined performance at the Annapolis and Larchmont NOOD regattas. We expect a strong turnout in Annapolis from the local fleet so hopefully this event will be made even stronger with boats from outside the Chesapeake Bay area.
I apologize for not being able to share news of other championship events in the UK or elsewhere in the US but as of this writing I am not familiar with all the Fleets’ schedules. If you have major events planned, please let me, the other officers or Carol Cronin know and we will make sure they are posted on the Class website. We encourage you to use the website as a resource. Share your news, regatta results, pictures, stories etc. on the site so we can stay current on developments throughout the Class.
The class officers and Fleet Captains have also discussed adding heavy air sails to the existing sail inventory. The basic thought is that the Class sails are fine for most conditions but when the breeze strengthens to 20+ knots it would be better to offer owners an option to change down to smaller, heavier sails. This will protect our investment in existing class sails and enhance safety. We began discussions on this topic last fall but unfortunately have not yet reached a decision on what to recommend to the class. We hope to have something to share with you very soon. I believe owners will be able to change up and down during a day or race as conditions dictate. If you have thoughts on this, please share them with us by email or on the Forum on the Class website.
I want to thank all of you for your continued support. Good luck this season. Now go enjoy yourselves!
Sincerely,
Rick Lyall
Storm, #146
J/109 Class President