From the Class President – I am pleased to announce that J/109 Class voting members have overwhelmingly approved the Class Rules change that applies to the 2020 North American Championship at Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago, Illinois. In short, this new rule (which expires at the end of 2020) permits the Great Lakes Fleet to conduct the event with “oversized” spinnakers they use for class racing, while allowing the class to maintain strict controls to ensure the boats racing in the regatta are as level as possible. The full text of the rule is below and now posted in the Class Rules section of the Class website.
I am also thrilled to let you know that the NOR for the 2020 North American Championship is complete and registration for the regatta will be open shortly on Yachtscoring. The Class is looking forward to Columbia Yacht Club putting on a spectacular event that will grow the national presence of our great Class.
John Greifzu
Class President
The approved rules change adds after J/109 Class Rules paragraph 5.7 the following paragraph 5.8.
5.8 For J/109 Class sanctioned events hosted by Fleet #11 (Great Lakes & Lake Champlain) during the 2020 calendar year, including the 2020 North American Championship and any event advertised as a ‘pre-NAs,’ ‘tune-up’ or similar, the following applies to spinnakers:
(a) The asymmetric spinnaker shall be manufactured from woven nylon with a minimum nominal weight of not less than 40 grams per square meter. The area of the asymmetric spinnaker (“SA”) shall not exceed 120 square meters, based on the formula: SA=(luff length + leech length) *.25 foot length + (half width -.5 foot length) *(leech length + luff length)/3. Adjustable leech, luff, and foot lines shall be fitted to the asymmetric spinnaker.
(b) All asymmetric spinnakers declared for use during the events must be measured for compliance with 5.8(a) and issued a J/109 sail tag. Sailmakers are responsible for obtaining sail tags, conducting measurement, and submitting measurement data in accordance with Rule 5.1.
(c) All asymmetric spinnakers shall be listed in the J/109 sail tag database and the notes field will distinguish sails used under this Rule by stating the actual measured area in the following format: “Oversized Spinnaker Area xxx.xx square meters.” This rule shall expire on December 31, 2020 and be automatically deleted from the J/109 Class Rules as of that date. The expiration of this rule shall not cause the sail tag or accompanying notes to be deleted from the database.
The updated class rules are now posted on the website and take effect February 1, 2020. The new rules are available via the menu by mousing over Class and clicking on Rules. Previous versions of the Rules and Constitution are available via the menu by mousing over Class and clicking on Other Documents.
