THE J24 class around the world will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the class this month. And while the main celebrations are expected to be in Newport, Rhode Island, the local class will be holding their own anniversary on Saturday, June 28.

Neil Redburn, Vice Captain of the Bermuda J24 Class Association, said: "The aim of the regatta is to celebrate 25 years of the J24 and to have a lot of fun in the process. To create an interesting mix we are inviting former class members and local J24 sailors to participate in this event as guest sailors on each boat. We will match each boat and it's crew with a guest skipper for the day. We have obtained a number of sponsors for the regatta including North Sails, Harken, Triangle Rigging, Island Embroidery, J World and J Boats. Every participant in the regatta will receive a prize and momento and there will be a post regatta party on the dock at RHADC immediately after racing." Many of the local J24s were brought to Bermuda in the mid 1980s. One of the local boats, Gripper, has the distinction of winning the first ever J24 World Championships when known as Smiles." In Bermuda there are 19 J24s and the local association regularly puts 10-12 boats out on the start line on Saturdays in the March to November RBYC championship and a similar number out every Wednesday between May and September in the RHADC series. Several J24s also compete in the BOCA offshore series. The local class boasts around 100 members and is generally considered to be the most vibrant sailing fleet on the island.

The J24 is manufactured in multiple countries and is known to have produced more world-class yachtsmen and women, professional sailors and America's Cup participants than any other class of sailboat. The J24 however remains the most successful design with over 5,000 boats manufactured to date. The boat's success is also evidenced by over 50 strong US fleets as well as fleets in Australia, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Holland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Strict one-design rules ensure old boats and new boats can compete equally.

It was the spring of 1976 that saw the launching of a 24-foot home-built sailboat that would later change the sailing world. The boat Ragtime, was the brainchild of Rod Johnstone, a family man and self-taught yacht designer, who aspired to create a boat that his family could sail. After 17 races that summer, sailing with the kids (who averaged 12 years old), Ragtime notched 15 victories and soon became the talk of New England. Enough people asked Johnstone for sisterships of their own, that he quit his job and formed a new company, J Boats, to meet the growing demand. He found the best builder in Everett Pearson and became partners with his brother Bob, who left AMF Alcort, and J24 production and J Boats was off and running.

J24s were sold to the far corners of the country in 1977 and then things really took off with the first J24 Midwinter's in 1978. Twenty J24s went to Key West, Florida, for the event that would unofficially rocket the J24 into one-design orbit. It was the first time the boat had been put under the microscope of such prominent dinghy, big boat and Olympic sailors as Scott Allen, Bob Barton, Gordy Bowers, Vince Brun, Augie Diaz, Neal Fowler, Rick Grajirena, John Kolius, Larry Leonard, Mark Ploch, Jim and Charlie Scott, Dave Ullman and Gary Weisman.

"We didn't know how these guys would react to a boat with no adjustable jib leads, a fixed headstay length and very few other things to fiddle around with," said Johnstone, recalling the fist Midwinters. "But when the week was over, everyone told us, 'don't mess around with the boat, you've got a great thing going here'." This good advice was followed, and within months the J24 class association was formed and the J24 phenomona spread worldwide. By 1981, over 3,000 boats were sailing in as many as 20 countries, and the J24 Class received its highest distinction by becoming one of the few non-Olympic classes to achieve "international status" with ISAF, the world governing body for the sport of sailing.

Hank Killion was International J24 Class chairman from 1986 to 1992, seeing the class through its "maturing" phase. When asked about his attraction to the class, Killion replied: "The J24 class was more about people than anything else. The boat brought us together as groups with similar sailing interests. It's the camaraderie of the people at both the local and world level that makes the class so much fun. This and the willingness of top people in the class to openly share their ideas with less experienced sailors. I felt we were part of a 'we' generation instead of a 'me' generation."

This family and gender friendly class can boast of producing more Rolex Yachtsmen and Yachtswomen of the Year than any other class in the last 20 years. If you scratch most of the America's Cup helmsman or tacticians, chances are they cut their teeth on the helm of a J24 as a youngster. It's a class that's changed an entire generation of sailors, and one that continues to attract generations, young and old.