J35 Class Season Wrap up 2021

Greetings J35 Sailors,

We have had a pretty exciting 2021 sailing season!

Most events after cancellations in 2020 returned in 2021 many with increases in attendance as pent up demand and a need to "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE" , not to mention the desire to see and talk to our crew and friends face to face.  NOOD Regatta's, Annapolis to Newport,  The Chicago and Port Huron Race's to Mackinac,  the Trans Superior Race, all had impressive participation   Congrats to all on a great season of sailing!

I am please do announce the return of our North American Championship Regatta to the Annapolis Yacht Club in Annapolis MD, October 20-23, 2022.   This will be our first trip back to AYC since the main clubhouse has reopened after the unfortunate fire of 2015.  We are excited to return and enjoy the hospitality and racing of this historic and iconic club.  Roger Lant is your contact  443-506-3905, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Launch and haul for those of you planning to arrive by land, contact Jabin's Boat Yard 410-268-9667 www.bjyy.com 

We have a solid and active fleet in the Chesapeake Bay area and I already know that several Great Lakes boats are planning on making the trip.  It should be a terrific regatta that you will not want to miss. 

In other news, our Eastern Great Lakes Fleet is continuing its rather remarkable renaissance!  The fleet, now boasting over a dozen J35;s, is showing remarkable growth and ultra competitive one design racing.  Perennial winners like Mr. Bill's Wild Ride, and Falcon are being pushed to the limit as this fleet gets more and more competitive. Fueled by hyper enthusiastic cheerleader and supporter Dean Fitzpatrick, the fleet continues to add new boats and owners..  North Star Sailing Club has been running a "learn to sail" program the last several years with a significant fee attached which is waived if certain requirements are met including racing on a J35 in the upcoming season.  This has resulted in many new crew being trained and developed and has also led to several students purchasing j35's.  This is an outstanding model program that could be successful in other parts of the country. We will be rewarding the success of this fleet with the 2024 North American Championship Regatta. 

In closing this message, it is the time of year that yacht clubs are having awards banquets to recognize the winners from 2021 and in many cases catching up for 2020 as well.  If you are a J35 sailor you are probably collecting some mugs or flags to add to your trophy case.  We are so blessed to have these Hall of Fame boat to compete in that still to this day, nearly 40 years after it was designed, is still very competitive and winning races. 

Look out for more information on the NA Regatta in Annapolis in October of 2022

Cheers

Larry Taunt

Bad Dog

J35 Class President