The J109 2010 North American Championship will be sailed July 17-19, 2010 in the waters off Newport, RI as part of NYYC’s Race Week.
An Amendment to the NOR will apply specifically to the J109 class has been posted under regatta documents.
Here is a quick summary of things competitors should be aware of as they approach this regatta.
1) This is our North American Championship so we will weigh in crews. The maximum crew weight, excluding the driver, is 1215 lbs. Weigh ins will be conducted at registration on Friday July 16th, 2010 at the NYYC Sailing Center.
2) Crew lists for each boat shall be submitted to me by July 9th, 2010. A valid ISAF number and category shall be indicated for each crew member so we can verify them against the ISAF Sailor database in advance of the regatta. If you expect to have any substitute crew members during the three day regatta, please indicate which days they will be sailing and which crew member they will replace. Substitute crew members will need to weigh in as well and the boat’s overall weight will need to be in compliance with the 1215lb limit each day the yacht competes. As you may be aware, ISAF eliminated the Category 2 designation in 2010 and reassigned sailors that had been in that designation to either Category 1 (Amateur) or Category 3 (Professional). I would strongly suggest that you have all of your crew members verify their ISAF status as soon as possible as some former Category 2 sailors may need to go through a review process with ISAF. If that is the case they may not have a designation in time for the regatta. PLEASE don’t wait until the last minute to focus on this!
3) All owners AND helmsmen will have to be current members of the J109 Class Association to compete in this regatta. Please arrange to pay 2010 dues on the Class website : http://www.j109.org/index.php
4) Sails used in the regatta will have to comply with class rules. We will be registering sails and inspecting them for Class royalty tags and reserve the right to measure any sails used at the regatta. PLEASE make sure that your sails have valid Class royalty tags in place. If they don’t, contact your sail maker now to make sure they are REGISTERED with the Class and have tags affixed to the sails. Anyone competing with sails that were purchased before September 2006 will need to furnish a sail declaration form signed by their Sailmaker attesting that the measurements of the sails comply with Class rules. These forms can be found on the Class web site. All yachts will be restricted to one (1) Class mainsail, two (2) Class jibs and two (2) Class spinnakers. As you will see from the amendment, owners will be allowed to change jibs and spinnakers (that have been registered for use at the regatta) each day at their discretion, except as provided in the amendment. If a sail is damaged beyond repair during the regatta please contact me and I will allow you to substitute a replacement sail as long as it complies with Class rules.
5) All participating boats will be inspected on Friday July 16th either at New York Yacht Club or at Sail Newport. I will verify the location as soon as possible. Owners will be responsible for ensuring that their boats have the appropriate safety gear aboard. We will verify that each yacht is carrying an anchor, emergency tiller, propane tank, dining table, cushions etc. in compliance with Class Rules. Sail inspection/registration may take place concurrent with boat inspection. We generally check life lines during these inspections to make sure they meet a minimum test for height above the deck (indicating taughtness).
As you know, this is our Class’s most prestigious championship so we need to abide by and respect Class Rules. If anyone has any questions, please contact me (rel@jwbristol.com), Class Secretary Ed Dailey (edailey@sunsteinlaw.com), Class Measurer Adrian Begley (Adrian.begley@verizon.net) or Class Treasurer Ric Campeau (ric.campeau@gmail.com). If you have any questions about the New York Yacht Club or the regatta itself I’d suggest contacting NYYC’s Sailing Office at:
Address 5 Halidon Avenue Newport, RI 02840
Phone (401) 845-9633
Fax (401) 846-3303
E-mail sailingoffice@nyyc.org
Please pass this on to your respective Fleet Members and encourage them to consider attending. Historically Rolex has awarded a Rolex watch to the winner of a North American or National championship held at Race Week, although they typically require a minimum fleet size of 15 boats to qualify for that award. This should be a great event and I hope many of you will attend. Please let me know if you are planning to participate in this event.
Best regards,
Rick
