The World’s Most Popular One-Design Keelboat
Simon Grain NEW REGULATIONS FOR MEASUREMENT AND SAIL NUMBERS
Hello all, there is a need for a change in what we do in relation to measurement and measurement certificates and also sail numbers to comply with the International J24 class rules.
This is really important information for all boat owners, it concerns the registration, compliance and ulitmately the value of your boat.
The J24 “Comunity” is gaining momentum and our new site traffic stats are already impressive. We are now offering the opportunity to advertise your business to the J24 community. If you own a J the rates are unbeatable, if you crew or are a commercial operation wanting to advertise your business, then you will find our rates very attractive.
The J24 Community offers a wide range of skills that can benefit other owners and crew. We suggest you make a habit of supporting our advertisers, they are J sailors like you and will offer you the special service you expect from a small community.
In the very near future we will be commencing a promotional campaign on Sail-World.com – the world’s largest sailing news site. This will drive a huge amount of traffic to our site. So if you want to promote your business to our market then now is the time to talk to us about your ad.
Call or email Simon Grain for more details. Ph 03 9568 3666 BH
Here is a short chronicle of the J24 history in the US, very interesting reading and like the Australian Honour Roll it includes some of the world’s most famous names. Click here to go to the History page.
It’s the opening night of the J/24 Silver Anniversary Regatta in Newport, R.I. One after another, J/24 “legends” take the stage and offer up a story or two. “He loves to tell this one,” someone in the crowd whispers to a friend. On stage is 1984 world champion Dave Curtis, telling the crowd of 600 or so about the time he, Bob and Stu Johnston, and Major Hall spent Block Island Race Week racing and sleeping on the 24-footer, just so the boat’s designer Rod Johnstone could say it comfortably accommodated four live aboards.
Rolph Turnquist, 55, of Hamel, Minn., and John Gjerde, 54, of Delavan, Wis., the longest-running co-owners of a J/24 and founders of Fleet No. 1 (Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka), follow up with one about the day they went to pick up their first boat from builder Tillotson-Pearson. As they inspected their new ride, hull No. 7, they noticed the stanchions were too small. Says Turnquist: “Everett [Pearson] says, ‘No problem. I’ll be right back.’ He goes and raids the naval shipyard and eventually comes back with a car full of stop and yield signs, saws off the posts and gives us our stanchions. They’re still on the boat today.”
Read more of these ‘can’t take your eyes off’ stories here …
Your sailing calendar doesn’t get any clearer than the tassie page. Have a look at that organisation at work, looks like the rest of us need to do the same. We do plan to have the site calendar back up soon.
The NSW season starts with the Gosford Regatta on the 3rd & 4th October 2009, followed by the State Titles at RANSA on 21 & 22nd November.
NORs are available on the NSW page
JOCELYN FOGAGNOLO – Hobart Mercury
The Hobart fleet of one of the worlds must popular racing one design keel-boats is set to be increased thanks to an innovative move by local class enthusiasts.
Members of the Tasmanian J24 Association have taken the first step in an ambitious plan to enlarge the state fleet by buying boats interstate, doing them up son selling them on.
It is a strategy that has paid off already this month with the arrival of a J24 from Lake Macquarie, in NSW.
It was towed to Tasmania by J24 Association president Kaye Roberts and Stewart Geeves, both champion sailors in the class. It was overhauled by association members and is now ready for sale as an entry level boat for racing.
“The aim is to build up the number of actively sailing J24s in Hobart to at least 20,” said association publicity officer Nathan Males.
He said the J24 was the ideal one design boat for the Derwent with its strict design rules meaning there as a whole range of boats available of different ages and at varying prices.
“An older boat ran be bought for about $12,000 and with little effort can be made competitive against newer boats,’ he said.
It meant the class was accessible to younger sailors or those racing for the first time – while still remaining attractive to more experienced sailors.
“The J24 has the potential to be developed as a pathway into competitive racing on the Derwent end elsewhere in Tasmania – but fleet numbers need to be built up,” he said.
At present there were about 10 actively racing, sailing mainly in Derwent Sailing Squadron and Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania winter and summer pennant races.
But the aim was to develop class racing. Males said it was also
intended to provide an active training program with at least one training regatta a year with access to national and international J24 coaches.
The fast and stable J24 was designed and built in the US by Rod Johnstone in 1975. He wanted a fast multi-purpose boat that could compete under a variety of local racing rules but still be comfortable enough to be used for family weekend or cruising, ‘that first boat was called Ragtime and it provided the mould for the new class.
The natural extension of the success of the J24 was a one design, international fleet with rules governing and limiting the modifications that could be made to a standard production hull and rig to ensure that all racing J24s were essentially the same.
It means that crew are pitted against crew with the emphasis on skill and teamwork rather than technology and money.
The class’s Internet site says “more than 50,000 people sail J24s in more than 105 active fleets in 40 nations and the strict one design rules provide some of the closest racing found anywhere in the world.
“Many of the most successful sailboat racing sailors in the world have cut their teeth in J24s – and any J24 regardless of age can be made competitive.”
Males said the first boat to arrive in Hobart order the “buying-up plan” had been bought with class association funds and help from members.
It was now for sale and further information was available in both the J24 association and the boat, by ringing Nathan Males on 0424 305 184.
Members of the public can see local J24s being rigged up and racing out of the DSS and RYCT on Sunday pennant days in the winter and Saturdays during the summer.
For those of us that didn’t get to do the regatta, this is how the comp was won – or lost !
Arthur Crothers recently sent me these pics of the good time that they had last year.
UPDATE: These images are sourced from Andrew Palfrey: http://picasaweb.google.com/palfrey.andrew/J24SWithABitOn#
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The 2009/2010 sailing season will see some new faces in the J24 Fleet in Tasmania. There are now 11 boats in Tasmania. The latest edition to the fleet has been a purchase by several of the Hobart association members. The boat known at present as “Sailing Made Easy” was trailered down from Lake Macquarie … Read more of this great article on the Tassie Page
A new page specially for the 2010 Nationals is now online. Over the period leading up to the Nationals this page will contain information and links to help competitors enter and prepare.
Click here to go to the Nationals Page