J/22s sailing Cayman Islands Sailing Club(Cayman Islands)- As they have done over the past several years, the Cayman Islands Sailing Club have invited J/22 sailors from around the world to come down for some winter sailing on their gorgeous Caribbean aquamarine waters blessed with 10-20 kt trade winds each and every day you’re there along with more sun-kissed, cloudless sailing than you can possibly imagine!  Teams from the United States, Bahamas, Jamaica, Germany, Netherlands have all participated in the past.

This year, Team Nefeli (GER 1328) will be starting in the Cayman Islands SC Winter Series on their borrowed boat.  They will be participating in the Race Cayman Regatta from March 15th to 17th, 2013.  The team is comprised of members from the Sailing Club Rheingau in Germany, including Peter Karrie, Falko Brown, Gina Hess and Chrissi Böhnke.

People say the J/22 is the best sailing boat they’ve ever been on, including other J’s. It’s responsive, stable with its fixed lead keel and safe, as much fun to single-hand with main only as it is to plane under spinnaker in 18 knots of wind.

J/22 at 1800 lbs. can be towed behind an SUV and be launched on the local yacht club hoist. With its easy-to-rig, deck-stepped mast, you can be from trailer to sailing in 30 minutes. The key to J/22’s success as a training boat is durability. It’s no wonder Sail Newport and College of Charleston love this boat. Hulls and decks are built with Baltek cored laminates to withstand years of hard use. 12-15 year old boats routinely win major J/22 championships. You’ll find the newest J/22s are even easier to maintain with stainless handrails and white composite toe-rails.

Since its introduction in 1983, the J/22 has blossomed into an International class now with 1,550+ boats sailing in 65 fleets in 18 countries. Over 130 boats sailed in the 2004 World Championship. On the merits of its sailing characteristics, widespread popularity and small crew number (3-4), J/22 continues to be the boat of choice and was again used for the 2007 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship at Houston Yacht Club in Shoreacres, TX.

The boat that appeals to all ages and skill levels is now garnering more interest than ever before. With new boats available in Rhode Island, and an open J/22 World Championship in Newport, RI and the Rolex Women’s World Championship in 2013 you can have world class speed right out of the box and race with the top sailors in the class.

For more on this story go to:

http://jboatnews.blogspot.com/2013/03/j22s-cayman-islands-regatta.html