2025 J/70 US Mixed Plus National Championship at Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle - Preview
by Jay Leon 27 Apr 2025 12:29 PDT
June 13-15, 2025
The J/70 is the biggest and fastest growing sailboat racing class in the world. The Pacific Northwest has one of the biggest and the fastest growing J/70 fleets in North America. And the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, after hosting the J/24 World Championships last year, is hosting the 2025 US National Championship for mixed gender crews with no more than 2 males over 18 years old. The three day event will be contested on the waters of Puget Sound at Shilshole Bay in Seattle, WA from June 13th to 15th, 2025.
Sailboat racing demonstrated its commitment to gender equality at the 2024 Olympics with an equal number of male and female athletes competing in Paris/Marseille. The International J/70 Class is doing the same with the introduction of the Mixed Plus division where teams will have at least an equal number of men and women, and likely more women than men.
The event has already attracted top level competition with The Beat Machine Team coming from Detroit, Steve Wyman coming from Southern California and Will Howard and his 2024 J/70 National Championship winning crew coming from Chicago. Seattle based sailors including Libby Johnson McKee, Dalton Bergan, and Keith Whittemore have accumulated at least 8 world titles in other classes and have set their sights on the J/70 class and will be competing in the event. Over 25 boats and over 100 sailors are expected to participate.
The Seattle sailing community has a long history of hosting big championships dating back to the 1971 Star World Championships, won by Dennis Conner who went on to be a legend in the Star class and the America's Cup.
The Pacific Northwest J/70 fleet, known locally as the JPOD, eagerly welcomes new members and embraces a "we learn together" attitude. This spirit will be ever present during the event with a coach lead practice session on the Thursday before racing, and daily after racing debrief sessions where the race leaders of the day answer questions and share what they learned.
- Pre event coaching session
- Three days of racing (up to 10 races)
- Daily debriefs
- After racing cocktails
- Event dinner on Saturday night
- Great local restaurant and bar scene on Ballard Ave - 55 establishments on one street, just two miles from the yacht club.
- Charter boats available
CYC Seattle registration page for the J/70 US National Championship Mixed Plus.