The 2025 J/109 North American Championship wrapped up in Chicago on August 24. It was a closely fought contest, with nine teams battling for the overall and Corinthian podiums. For those that were not able to attend, here is a quick synopsis of the championship regatta:
- 8/21 Thursday: All the teams arrived for boat and sail inspection. Everything went smoothly (aside from the typical sail button issues here and there)! A big THANK YOU to George Dorsch and his team for the smooth and “skipper focused” inspection process. His team did a great job and made the experience quite efficient! Also, thanks to Bill Kneller, our National Fleet Measurer, for guiding us through the administrative steps and answering all of our emails and phone calls! Thursday evening, we held a kick-off dinner and Evolution Sails sponsored a cold beer keg. Andy Camarda (180 Sails powered by Evolution) provided a weather briefing and thoughts on race course strategy. The Principal Race Officer, Darcy Cook, provided an overview of the racing plans and answered questions from the fleet. We welcomed all the teams and paid a special tribute to our teams from California, New York/Connecticut and Michigan. It was special to host the 2-time defending champs (Growth Spurt, Skipper: John Greifzu, Jr.), the team from San Francisco (Reverie, Skipper: John Arens) and the team from Michigan (Mezcal, Skipper: Andrew Koop). A great day and evening!
- 8/22 Friday: Day one of racing began with the AP flag and a sound signal ashore. The Chicago Yacht Club (CYC) expert race committee (RC) was closely monitoring the wind conditions on the race course, and a high pressure system was producing very little wind. So instead of having the fleet just float around offshore, the RC made the call to keep the boats at the docks until the wind filled in. There was concern that the day would be a loss, with no wind materializing. So the crews hung out on their boats, rechecking rigs and sails, while others enjoyed the air conditioning inside the CYC Belmont club barge. Finally, after a few hours, the RC lowered the AP flag and the fleet set out for racing. The RC timed it perfectly! The fleet was able to get in two solid races, with wind conditions ranging from 6-9 knots WNW. The first race was light and shifty. Getting a clean start with a clear lane was paramount to a solid finish position. Defending champs, Team Growth Spurt/NorthStar drew first blood with an opening bullet in Race #1 followed closely by Team Tumbler in second and Smee Again in third. The second race saw the wind build slightly and fill in to 7-9 knots. But still very shifty. Evan Jahn’s Tumbler team stayed in phase with the breeze and took first, with John Aren’s Daybreak/Reverie a close second and Growth Spurt/NorthStar in third. After two late races, the RC sent the fleet back to the club for our afternoon/evening festivities. The daily awards were presented to Tumbler (1st), Growth Spurt/NorthStar (2nd) and Daybreak/Reverie (3rd). We had a nice evening on the club patio with a DJ, great food and a North Sails sponsored cold beer keg! We interviewed the Tumbler team and got some advice from Seadon Wijsen (North Sails) on boat set-up.
- 8/23 Saturday: Otherwise known as “Moving Day,” the fleet was greeted with building breeze for Race #3 of the championship. We started in 8-10 knots and experienced 30 degree wind shifts in a tricky North Westerly gradient. The RC had a brief postponement to see if the wind would settle in, but to no avail. North-westerlies this close to shore produce oscillating conditions. So the RC found a relatively happy median axis heading and fired off Race #3. It was really important to pick the correct side of the first leg, and then stay in phase. Otherwise, you could easily go from first to last. Race #3 was dominated by Ray Douglas & Kristine Maybach’s Team Courageous, leading from start to finish, with Tumbler and Daybreak/Reverie in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Race #4 saw building conditions with crews considering jib changes. Winds were now a steady 13-15 knots with puffs to 20 knots. Again, big oscillating shifts across the race course. Growth Spurt/NorthStar came back strong to win this race convincingly, with excellent downwind angles and clean gybes. Mike Hendrie’s Team Bull showed their bigger breeze skills and placed 2nd, with Miz/Dreher/Hatfield/Neenan’s Team Smee Again finishing in 3rd. The RC quickly fired off Race #5, with the wind now building to a steady 15-17 with gusts to 25+ knots. This would be a 5-leg race with an upwind finish, which is pretty unusual. Passing lanes aplenty! Boat handling was critical for this race. Daybreak/Reverie were very fast in these conditions, with the team staying in phase and sailing very deep and fast downwind. All that SF-Bay sailing paid off as they took a solid first place. Smee Again showed their big breeze skills and finished in 2nd with Growth Spurt placing 3rd. After three demanding races, the fleet headed back to harbor. We had yet another patio party, with sponsor free pours, a live band and great food. Daily awards were presented for Day 2. All three top boats for the day were tied on 9 points each over the three races. On tie breakers, Courageous took the day with a 1st, followed by Daybreak/Reverie in 2nd and Growth Spurt/NorthStar in 3rd.
- 8/24 Sunday: This turned out to be one of the closest J/109 North American Championships in recent history. The top five boats going into the final race day (Growth Spurt, Daybreak, Tumbler, Courageous, and Smee Again) were only separated by five points! Any one of these teams was positioned to win the championship. The day was forecasted to be big breeze out of the NW with big oscillating shifts. Staying in phase, crew work, and putting the boat in the correct mode would prove critical. Race #6 saw the Daybreak/Reverie team again, sail a strong race and took the first bullet of the day. Chicago’s Smee Again had another solid second place with Jim Caesar’s Liquid Lounge team placing third. The wind continued to build, as Race #7 had consistent wind of 17-19 with gusts approaching 30 knots. The San Francisco Daybreak/Reverie team showed their affinity for sailing in big breeze and took a convincing 1st, with Tumbler resurging into a 2nd place finish. The defending champs Growth Spurt/NorthStar pushed hard for a 3rd. And so it came down to one final race. The RC did a great job to get in one more final race. Race #8 was set for five legs and had continued 17-19 knots with gusts to 30 knots, and yes, all those big 30 degree shifts. This final race would determine the overall champion for 2025. And it came down to the Left Coast Team versus the Right Coast Team! But not so fast! This time it was the Chicago teams that took on the breezy and shifty conditions to finish Race #8 in a close 1, 2 and 3 — with Tumbler rebounding to take the bullet, Bull in 2nd and Smee Again in 3rd. Daybreak/Reverie had their deepest finish of the championship with a 7th, but Growth Spurt/NorthStar’s 4th would give John Arens and his team the overall championship win by a mere one point! One of the closest J/109 Championships ever! The fleet headed back in after eight successful races in total, and a few injuries to attend to.
- Sunday Awards: We had a another great patio party and Day #3 daily awards went to Daybreak/Reverie (1st), Tumbler (2nd) and Smee Again (3rd). The J109 North American Championship overall awards were presented to the top three podium boats:
- 1st Overall: Daybreak/Reverie – Skipper John Arens
- 2nd Overall: Growth Spurt/NorthStar – Skipper John Greifzu Jr.
- 3rd Overall: Tumbler – Skipper/Owners – Evan Jahn & Alex Millet
- 1st Corinthian: Growth Spurt/NorthStar – Skipper John Greifzu Jr.
- 2nd Corinthian: Courageous – Skipper/Owners Ray Douglas & Kristine Maybach
- 3rd Corinthian: Liquid Lounge – Skipper Jim Caesar
- Finally, I would like to congratulate all of the skippers and crew for competing in this championship! I know personally how much time and effort goes into preparing your boat and your teams. Thank you for making this one of the closest and competitive championships.
- Full Overall Results:
- 1st – Daybreak/Reverie
- 2nd – Growth Spurt/NorthStar
- 3rd – Tumbler
- 4th – Smee Again
- 5th – Courageous
- 6th – Bull
- 7th – Liquid Lounge
- 8th – Full Tilt
- 9th – Mezcal
A special thanks to the 2025 NA Planning Committee, Chicago Yacht Club Verve Cup Committee, and Bill Kneller (National Fleet Measurer). We could not have had such a successful event without each of you!
Sail fast!
Ray Douglas
J/109 Fleet 11 Captain
