THE J CLASS NEWS
Check back here often for news and information
If you have information relating to the J Class please email the webmaster!
August 24, 2008
Where did the Summer go?? I knew I was behind in updating... but 5 months is a long time with a lot happening. Boats are popping up allover the country and in Europe also! Who would have thought? 4 boats are currently being built (that I know of) Germany, Italy France and UK. The Ranger hull mold from Bob Sennott is completed and in production, new hulls are going out already.
Obviously the NCR in Mystic caused me to sit down and get this done, you will want to check that page for information specific to the event there. Rumor has it that the next NCR for the J class will be in Sacremento CA in 2009. I told John Hanks that if no other offer came forward from Mid-America that we could host it again here in San Antonio in 2010. We have the same venue available as the 2007 event, and should have a new even better location fully operational by then along with a couple more local boats.
I am going to allow the "building boats" list to remain as it is for the time being, and I will refresh it and start a new one for 2009 towards the end of the year. I know that quite a few of the boats on that list are complete and competed in the event this weekend.
Thanks to all the skippers for attending the NCR in Mystic, and the cast and crew that made the event possible, Ken Shaw was RD I am told and did an excellent job. Stay tuned in and I will make certain to get an update on more often than 5 months again.
April 9, 2008
The new Ranger plug is at the mold shop and should be ready within a few weeks. This is great news as Ranger is most definitely one of the most popular boats of the class. Great to know that we will have a working mold ready to provide for the future of the class. Technically, we still have 18 boats under construction because there are some new boats being started almost as fast as some on the list are being completed. News and Rumors keep floating by as the NCR in Mystic is now only 4 months away... it will be here sooner than you think! I hope that everyone gets to go as it is certainly going to be an EPIC event, and remember you read my predictions here first.. this will be the largest attended event in the Class history.
March 28, 2008
Just a routine update today... and a change to the new boats list.. we now have a total for Eighteen (18) boats currently under construction! That is marvelous.. and I can't wait to see some pictures.. so come you guys... send them in! We have the pics of the 3 boats.. but there are now another 15 on the list.
February 28, 2008
Whirlwind has arrived! The first two hulls are out of the mold and looking good. The first hull has already been sold and will be heading to the West coast where J activity has been steadily increasing. There are already 4 new J boats being built (2 in San Diego, 1 in Santa Clara, CA and 1 in Port Orchard, WA) and now I am pleased to announce that Darren Thigpen will be taking the helm of the first Whirlwind. Pictures will be posted as soon as I can manage. Congratulations Darren! Remember, this is the first correct scaled Whirlwind, and the boat is extremely close in dimensions to Endeavour. It has been hard for me to keep that in mind because I have been seeing the Vanguard version for so long which was the smallest of the J models. Not any more man....
January 3, 2008
Updating some of the webpage and uploading some pictures/video of the event last October. Due to the webmaster pulling up stakes and moving everything on short notice, this has been delayed, but I am making every effort to fix this and get out all the latest news.
Bob Sennott reports that the 1/16th scale Whirlwind plug is completed and ready to be molded. I hope to hear something any day now to indicate the mold has been created and the first hull pulled out.
During the event in October Doug Wotring was pleased to tell me that he is working with Scott Todd of Blue Crab Model Yachts, and they are set to begin producing Shamrock V hulls from the mold created by Dave Brawner. Look for them on the links page.
The 2008 NCR will be held at Mystic River Seaport CT. and will be in conjunction with the Star 45 NCR in August.
October 26-28 NCR held in Live Oak Texas
See the information on the website for the 2007 event.
September 26,2007
Cleanup on the lake continues as the City and myself were heavily engaged in log removal and course inspection over the last week. Also the City is committed to helping our event provide the best venue possible will be out with their landscape crews making things as nice and presentable as we can manage. I spoke with Erik Barajas of the local ABC affiliate TV news program and he indicated that they would be very pleased to cover our event so be prepared to shine on television. The new marks made specifically for the event will be going in place quite soon as we go into the final phase of preparations.
August 29, 2007
New boats in the works! I know that this goes in the other section... but it's not up yet.... Let's see... I probably should ask permission before I report these things... but here goes anyway. Jimmie Hawkins is finishing a Ranger and we are hopeful he will be able to attend in October. Bill Liscomb is building an Endeavour and we are hopeful for him to be here as well. Rumor has it that Bob Eger will be going home with one more boat than he arrives with... another Endeavour! Seems that one way to help pay for your trip to San Antonio is pick your hull and spars here and save $200 on the shipping! Bob is a clever fellow. I have heard rumors of others, and when I have them confirmed you will hear of them here first!
August 26, 2007
With just under two months before the NCR here in San Antonio, things are buzzing as we try to nail down the final decisions and details of the event so everything is in readiness for the big event. Ray Seta, Commodore of Woodlawn Sailing Club AMYA #112 our cross town sister club has agreed to be Race Director for the event, and Barbara Hanks a veteran score keeper for events in AZ will be our scorekeeper.
Improvements continue to the lake and surrounding grounds by the City to make it is pleasant and enjoyable as possible. Weather has been pleasant with some rain, but no flooding. In fact, nothing that would be more than an inconvenience for the last 3 weeks. The lake is full and looking ready.
August 10, 2007
Bob Sennott does it again.... Master craftsman Bob is near completion of a 1/16th scale Whirlwind plug which will master a mold and begin producing hulls hopefully early in the new year (2008) This fills a gap for the Vanguard Whirlwind has been the only one commercially available, and even that mold has been out of production for decades.