Written by Russ Perry, skipper J/35 TOP GUN and Fleet 8 District Governor

The J/35 is a solid one-design sailboat that has retained its popularity after almost 10 years of being out of construction. The boat was introduced in 1983, and about 325 boats were built. The ongoing strength of the class is still outstanding with up to 35 boats competing at recent North Americans.

In many people minds, the J/35 is just about the most perfect racer/cruiser. It has standing headroom, sleeping for 6-8 comfortably, has shower, stove, oven etc yet is wickedly fast.

With a PHRF rating of 63-69, the J/35 will walk past just about anything under forty feet, and with a competent skipper and crew will hold its own against the big boys! The speed and ease of handling is what I think is the large appeal of the J/35. It keeps its resale value well, with boat selling for $50,000U.S. - $70,000U.S. depending on condition. Many people are turning to the J/35 who have been racing smaller 30-foot sport boats, such as MORC and other such racer cruisers for its cruising ability as well as its fantastic race ability.

If you were to see a J/35 sitting in a harbour with a bunch of two tonners, or newer triple spreader 40's or old eight meters, one would hardly think of it as the "hot rod" in the group. The J/35 is actually quite conservative in its looks, sail plan, rig and foils, yet when you sail the boat, you will know that this is truly a magnificently designed boat that sails superbly.

The Lake Ontario fleet has grown significantly from about 8 boats in 2000 to 22 boats now and still counting. The J/35 is now the largest "big boat fleet" on Lake Ontario. Last year, the fleet saw 16 boats attend the Youngstown Levels, 10 boats regularly racing in the LORC series, and 7 boats at LYRA. There were also two boats that attended the North American Championships at Detroit's Bayview Yacht Club. The 2002 NA's will be held on San Francisco Bay as Part of the "Big Boat" series that is held in mid September.

This dramatic increase in the number of boats in the fleet, has won it the right to hold the J/35 North Americans for 2003 in Toronto. At its recent fleet meeting, Andrew Kooiman (LOYALIST IV) from the National Yacht Club was elected Chairman of this prestigious regatta. In keeping with the spirit of the fleet, every owner has also offered to be part of the committee to make this a truly wonderful international affair. The committee has chosen EYC, as the host club, and setting the date for mid September 2003. The fleet 8 sailors are also offering sponsorship opportunities for the 2003 NA's to those companies looking to getting their name associated with this large fleet. The committee would expect to see at least thirty boats from all over North America attend. To see that many "big boats" on one starting line will be awesome!

Racing in this one-design fleet has truly been amazing. Many races are won or lost by less than a boat length, and this is shown in the results of the past years racing. It is interesting to note that no one dominated the fleet as we had three different series winners in our four major events. Winston Beckett and crew, from "CRIME SCENE" won the Lake Ontario and Western Lake Ontario series, Kurt Sertle and crew from "DAS BLAU MAX" won LYRA and Russ Perry and Crew from "TOP GUN" won the LORC regatta series.

The fleet has been very active in its growth by doing such things as running a tune up series in the spring, having its own start/finish at LORC, rafting up and "partying" together at the various regatta's, and even cruising in the company of one another. The enthusiasm and love of the boat is also evident in the amount of "potential" owners that are invited aboard to sail and experience the trill of sailing a J/35. The local fleet can be accessed on the web at www.j35.org/fleet8 or the National Fleet can be viewed on the web at www.j35.org . For more information on the fleet, or the North Americans you can also contact the J/35 Class Association Vice President and Fleet 8 District Governor Russ Perry at rperry@renoldcanada.com.

Come out and see what true one design "big boat" racing is all about.

Russ Perry
Skipper/Owner TOP GUN
Fleet 8 District Governor