The 29erXX takes the stage at the inaugural EUROSAF High Performance Grand Prix alongside Cats, Kites and the Foiling Moth.  This is the first event of its kind, showcasing the front-runners of small-craft sailing: fast, fierce and flying.

The event will take place in the warm waters of Southeast Spain at the sport centre resort Infanta Cristina the 11-16 of October.

And if 5 days of sailing in the Mediterranean isn’t tempting enough, over 4000 EUR in prize money will be awarded amongst the top 3 finishers* in the 29erXX class!  SEIKO, the 29erXX Class Official Partner, has also stepped up providing $2,500 USD prize money and watch trophies for the top team at the SEIKO Speed Challenge held as a part of the High Performance Grand Prix.

Read more: Fast, Fierce and Flying. 29erXX at EUROSAF High Performance Grand Prix

The Columbia Gorge Racing Association in Cascade Locks, Oregon (aka "The Gorge") hosted the 2011 Zhik US 29erXX National Championship. Seven teams braved the high winds, which averaged at over 20 and close to 25 for nearly every race of the three-day event. The racing was fiercely competitive with all teams rounding the weather mark within 45 seconds of each other by the last races of the event. The camaraderie in the fleet remains high with teams tuning together and sharing settings and knowledge.

Kristen Lane (San Francisco, CA) and Charlie McKee (San Diego, CA) dominated the event winning 9 of 11 races. They put in a lot of preparation and were very well tuned for the event. Congratulations! Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (Auckland, New Zealand) finished 2nd showing great speed, particularly as the smallest team at the event. These two girls are a team to watch, both having attended multiple Youth World Champs recently. Jen Glass and Matt Pistay (Seattle, WA) rounded out the podium finishes and are eager to keep up the great racing and have another go at the leaders.

Zhik continues to support high performance sailing as the title sponsor of the event, which also included the US 49er National Championship as well as an I14 fleet. Zhik also sponsored the 2011 29erXX Superbowl regatta in Miami in February. The 29erXX class thanks Zhik for their support, and encourages sailors to support Zhik.

Results
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US Sailing announced today that they will add the 29erXX to their Olympic Development Team in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games and the Women's Skiff Event. “Our goal is to provide an elite environment designed specifically to prepare young sailors for the highly competitive world of Olympic sailing,” said Chairman of the Olympic Sailing Committee Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.).

Read More Here

The Semana de Buenos Aires( (October 1, 2 8,9,10) will be the debut of the 29erXX in Argentina with more XX rigs on the water!  Contact Sofi Tedin ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )  or Matias for charter possibilities.  For more information on the regatta website

  

Teams representing five countries tested the waters off Travemünde, Germany the week of July 27-30 for the third edition of the 29erXX European Championship. 

The weather conditions were constantly changing with no racing held on one day due to no wind followed by a day with quite heavy wind of 20 knots consistent with gusts to 25.  Despite the challenging conditions, the team onf Frederikke Graversen and Jeanine Olrik on Denmark dominated the regatta posting mostly 1’s and 2’s with a 4th as their discard.  Graversen remarked, “Jeanine and I haven’t sailed in that much wind before in the 29erXX.  At least not for 4 races! And that was the biggest challenge. We had to de-power a lot and raised our board for about 10 cm. The weather conditions made us really, really tired and we were very glad that the race officer didn’t go for 5 races – even though he could have!”

She further commented, “It was very fun to race in heavy wind but the German sailors sailed faster than us in these conditions so we had to think about what to do different. During the regatta we tried different setups with the wires. Luckily to our advantage the wind dropped a bit and then we went 1st in the last three races!”

“So for us the regatta was very successful and well organised regatta and we really loves the SEIKO watches we won – they’re really cool!”

Second at the Europeans were sisters Jule and Lotta Görge from Germany who recently finished 15th in the 29er Europeans the week prior.  Paul Kohlhoff and Carolin Werner (GER) rounded out the podium in third place.  Full Results

by Lizzi Rountree 

The 29erXX was invited to join the recent I-14 Gorge Regatta, held earlier in July on the Columbia River in Oregon.  Skippered by Kristen Lane with crew Charlie McKee, the new Melges built 29erXX even won a race! This had less to do with being a faster craft than it did with staying upright in the challenging conditions of the Gorge.

“The 29erXX is not that hard to sail, but it is hard to sail well,” says Charlie McKee, Olympic 49er sailor, about taking line-honors in one of the races.

"The I-14's were very generous to let us race with them. It opened some eyes for sure! The I-14’s are very fast, powerful boats, a fairly complicated machine. They are very impressive, but a completely different kind of boat to the one-design simplicity of the 29erXX.”<

Melges Performance Craft has just come on as the US-based builder. Renowned for their furiously fast designs, CEO Harry Melges describes taking on the 29erXX: “We're always looking for new cool projects. The 29erXX is great and the reception so far has been incredible. We're keen to be involved with such a great class!” And then he adds, “Heck, I want to sail one too!”

Read more: Can a 29erXX and I-14 Share the Same Track?

27-30 July
Travemunde, Germany

4 Days – 18 Races
1 Night of Arena-Style Racing in the City Thursday, 28 July starting at 17:00

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Charter packages available with JESS Segelsport.
Complete kit including mast, sails, pole, vang arm, gantry, tiller extension, hull extensions.  Purchase for 4400 Euro or charter for 5 day Travemunde period for 700 Euro. Hull charters also available. Includes transport to Travemunde.

"WOW", "I've never gone this fast", and "This is so awesome" could be heard from every one of the over 20 female collegiate sailors who took their first ride on a skiff during the Women's Collegiate National Championship the last week of May, 2011. The Championship was hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing Association, well known for hosting skiff events on the Columbia River (aka The Gorge), a mecca for high-speed wind and water sports.

29er / 29erXX International Class President Jen Morgan Glass and 4 other experienced skiff sailors took the collegiate women sailing on 5 borrowed 29erXXs. Over the course of the 2 day clinic wind speeds varied from drifting to upper-teens. Most of the new skiff sailors had the opportunity to try both crewing and driving, and all were given a great introduction to skiff sailing including tacking, jibing, and even some capsizing! After each sail the women were smiling from ear to ear. The 29erXX class welcomes these new sailors and hopes to see more of them at upcoming regattas.