J/70 fleets eye Chicago, Istanbul and Uruguay for 2028 titles

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The J/70 International Class World Council has locked in four major championships for 2028, giving sailors nearly three years to plan campaigns at some of the most striking venues on the global one-design calendar.

Chicago Yacht Club will host the Mixed-Plus World Championship from 23-27 May 2028, the first time the event has come to the United States. Istanbul's Turkish Offshore Sailing Club takes the European Championship from 22-30 July. Porto Cervo in Sardinia hosts the main World Championship in September, at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. The Corinthian World Championship heads to Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 19-25 November, at Yacht Club Punta del Este.

Martin Dent, President of the IJ70CA, called it a stacked pipeline. "No other Class offers so much; not only the three World Championships (Open, Corinthian, or Mixed) but three Continental Championships (European, North and South American), and each of these in bucket list venues with sailing conditions for great racing."

Punta del Este will run its fifth Corinthian World Championship, open only to crews holding World Sailing Group 1 Classifications, a category that makes up the bulk of the J/70 fleet worldwide. Maldonado Bay typically sees 12-14 knot easterlies in November, with the occasional Pampero bringing planing conditions. Pedro Garra, President of Uruguay's National Class Association, said the club introduced the J/70 to the South Atlantic in 2015, adding that the bay "is a wonderful sailing spot, with a variety of sailing conditions that everybody will enjoy."

Chicago's Lake Michigan offers 6-15 knot breezes and tactical lake-breeze shifts, with racing set against the downtown skyline. It will be the fourth edition of the Mixed-Plus Worlds, following Lake Garda in 2025, Copenhagen in 2026 and Naples in 2027, a format that has drawn fleets from around 20 countries and at least 50 percent female sailors. Martin Dent said Chicago was "the perfect venue" for the event's first US hosting, calling Lake Michigan "a freshwater lake that feels like an ocean with the amazing backdrop of the city skyline."

Istanbul's European Championship, raced on the Sea of Marmara off Fenerbahçe-Kalamış, has previously drawn fleets of up to 115 boats from more than 20 countries. The July "Poyraz" wind, typically 10-20 knots over relatively flat water, suits the boat's planing conditions well. Emir Icgoren, President of J/70 Türkiye, said hosting the event was "a proud moment for the Turkish J/70 Class and an important milestone for sailing in Türkiye" since the class was established there in 2016. Vice President Erman Ayvaz told the World Council: "We have been coming to race with you for years. Now it's time to invite all of you to race with us."

Charter boats will be available at each of the four championships, lowering the barrier for teams weighing up an overseas campaign in the years ahead.