J/70 News

(Charleston, SC)- After Hall of Famer Bob Johnstone and his brother Rod launched J/Boats, Bob started MJM Yachts, a line of luxury motor yachts. He is a force of nature that gets people on the water, and his current passion is radio-controlled sailboats. When the conversation turns to strengthening the…

(Chester, Nova Scotia, Canada)- The Chester Yacht Club is back in action with its famous Chester Race Week. Framed by the Tancook Islands to the southeast and the archipelago of islands to the west, the fleet enjoys gorgeous vistas while racing in the bay. The biggest issue is that fog…

(Newport, RI)- With seventy-six boats attending, the 2026 edition of the Safe Harbor Race Weekend marks the first time the event has become the most popular offshore keelboat regatta during the busy Newport sailing season. It's not hard to understand why, since it's a very entertaining, fun event. Sailing on…

(Chicago, IL)- One of the largest course-racing regattas in North America, Chicago Yacht Club's Verve Cup is an annual world-class sailing event attracting many national and international sailors to sail on Lake Michigan. Both the Offshore Regatta and, later, the Inshore Regatta host well over 100 yachts to sail off…

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The Royal Danish Yacht Club (KDY) is ready to host a fleet of thirty-seven teams from thirteen nations (Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain, Hungary, Norway, Turkey, United States, Japan, Germany, and Finland) for the 2026 edition of the J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship. Sailing will take place…

(Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, MA)- After a four-year run in June, Edgartown Yacht Club’s ’Round-the-Island Race (’RTI) returned to its traditional July dates, starting at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 25. Now in its 89th year, the ’RTI is one of the nation's oldest and most celebrated distance races, drawing sailors…

(Harbor Springs, MI)- Sailors from across the USA headed to Harbor Springs for one of the nation’s best-known sailing traditions: the Little Traverse Yacht Club’s “Ugotta” Regatta. The “Ugotta” brings some of the best sailboat racers in the country to sail in one of the world’s best sailing venues in…

(Marblehead, MA)- This past weekend, the trio of yacht clubs along the shores of Marblehead Harbor hosted their annual summer sailing festival known as the Sailing World Marblehead Regatta. The three famous clubs hosting the event were Eastern Yacht Club, with the support of Corinthian Yacht Club and Boston Yacht…

(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- Hosted by CORK/Sail Kingston, the 2026 J/80 World Championship attracted competitors from across North America, along with international teams from Germany and Gibraltar. In the end, James Buley's LE TIGRE team sailed an amazing series to duplicate the J/80 North American win the previous fortnight, taking the…

Heaton's EMPEIRIA Wins Open J/70 Europeans(Barcelona, Spain)- The Real Club Nàutic de Barcelona (RCNB) concluded the J/70 European Championship 2026 this past week. From July 18th to 26th, the championship brought together 87 boats in the waters off the Catalan capital. The teams were from 24 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria,…

(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- After storms and heavy winds kept the fleet ashore for Tuesday’s scheduled opening races, the 2026 J/80 World Championship got underway Wednesday on the waters of Lake Ontario, where 34 teams were greeted by gusty conditions averaging about 20 knots off Portsmouth Olympic Harbor. Hosted by CORK/Sail…

(Portland, ME)- The 95th Monhegan Island Race is coming up on Friday, July 31st, 2026. Portland Yacht Club hosts this classic Maine sailing event. A test of patience, strategy, tactics, and seamanship, this race is Maine’s premier overnight event. First run nearly a century ago in 1928, the Monhegan Island…

(Port Credit, ONT, Canada)- The Lake Ontario 300 originated through the interest and vision of several single-handed sailors at Oakville Harbor Yacht Club, now part of Oakville Yacht Squadron, and the Port Credit Yacht Club. Johan Pederson and his group envisioned a long-distance race to challenge the skills of those…

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The iconic Round the Island Race is a one-day yacht race around the Isle of Wight – an island off the south coast of England. Organized by the Island Sailing Club, the race annually attracts more than 800 boats and around 10,000 sailors, making it…

(Chicago, IL)- Next week, 211 sailboats and thousands of sailors will gather on Chicago’s lakefront for the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust, the largest annual offshore race in the world. Beginning Saturday, July 11, the fleet will take on the iconic 289.0nm course traversing the…

(Santa Barbara, CA)- For the first time, the J/70 US Nationals are being held from July 10-12, 2026, on the west coast of America, and the host will be the Santa Barbara Yacht Club in Santa Barbara, CA. The thirty-eight teams registered should look forward to the usual fabulous hospitality…

Published in: 2026 J/Newsletter- June 25th, 2026 As June turns toward July, the J/Boats sailing season is reaching one of its busiest and most ambitious stretches of the year. Ocean races, national and continental championships, one-design regattas, women’s events, and classic distance races are now unfolding almost simultaneously across the…

(Crouesty Arzon, France)- Hosted by the Yacht Club Crouesty Arzon from June 14th to 19th, the 2026 edition of the Duo Cat Amania will take the fleet south from Quiberon Bay towards La Turballe, then north towards Locmiquélic for the finish. The six-race stages visit the ports of Le Crouesty,…

(Oberhöfen, Switzerland)- This past week, the Regattaclub Oberhofen hosted the second act of the Swiss J/70 Sailing Super League on Lake Thunersee. Fifteen teams did battle, which ultimately ended with nine races for each of the teams. The weather was a bit fickle, as it can be on the high…

(Hamburg, Germany)- Three out of four female sailors are convinced there is a lack of equality in the sport of sailing. This and more is revealed in the "2×25 Review" study published by The Magenta Project. As part of this study, 2,500 participants were surveyed regarding how the issue of…

(San Francisco, CA)- This year's legendary San Francisco BAMA Doublehanded Farallones Race was not for the faint of heart. There was heavy rain and strong gusts well into the mid-20 kts, crossing the course from the south. The doublehanded racers knew they would face one of those epic and extremely…

(Naarden, The Netherlands)- Last weekend, twenty-one teams competed for the 2026 Dutch J/80 Sailing Championship. Teams arrived from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Great Britain. RZV Naarden organized the event as usual. Over three days, RZV Naarden’s RC/PRO team ran eleven races. Crew and volunteers were indispensable. All sailors…

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC Easter Challenge, organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, returned to the Solent from April 3-5, 2026, offering effective ways for racing teams to prepare for the season ahead. Hosted from the RORC Cowes Clubhouse, the three-day regatta combined high-quality racing with world-class…

(Seattle, WA)- What a year for sailboat racing in the Pacific Northwest! Many of our qualifying events saw attendance upticks, and it seemed there was a little more even distribution of wins across the fleets. More boats sailing and more boats winning races are good things. By our count, the…

(Vancouver, BC, Canada)- The West Vancouver Yacht Club will be hosting its 56th Annual Southern Straits Race this Thursday to Sunday, April 2nd to 5th, 2026. The start takes place on the Canadian side of the infamous Straits of Juan de Fuca that separate the wild and majestic Olympic Peninsula…