Wednesday, December 2, 2009
J/80 Palma Otonocon Trophy
(Palma, Majorca- Nov. 28)- Palma's fleet continues Otoñocon Trophy celebrating the fourth day. On Saturday 28th of November they played two more races of the championship. For the time being leading the fleet is 'Portcall' by Jose Carlos Frau, followed by 'Jose Luis Ferrer Winery' Roses Antonio about unreachable 23 points of difference. Close on the podium is 'Expresso' by Jaime Fiol and Eduardo Horrach. For more sailing and regatta information.
J/80 MUNDIALITO CUP
Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS Wins
(Santander, Spain- Nov. 29) - This trophy is hosted each year in Santander with many of Spain's best sailors invited to climb in different boats and spend a weekend with their Cantabrian friends and sailors. This year, Pichu Torcida continued his winning ways racing ECC VIVIENDAS and winning over the twenty four boat fleet. His VIP "luxury guest" was Malaga Mainemare Vivi and rounding out his crew were Alex Muscat, Pure Ruigómez and Charly Martinez.The weekend of racing started out with a postponement on Saturday as winds were gusting upwards of forty knots. On Sunday morning, the sailors enjoyed a beautiful day, with two closely contested races, especially between ECC VIVIENDAS and MAGNIFYING GLASS. The winds were very shifty and puffy and, along with high tide, permitted the boats to play the shores and the beaches for tactical and strategic advantage.
While ECC VIVIENDAS won, Cesar Obregon and David Marazo sailed to a regatta-winning combination of 1-2 on Sunday but were disqualified for inadvertently touching the mark with their boom. Of note were some good performances from the "guest" sailors. YATES & THINGS, with Toño Piris at the helm and Vicente Tirado as a guest had a 4-11. PROPERNOR led one race with current World Junior Champions Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos on board.
After ECC VIVIENDAS in second place was SPACE 10 sailed by Chuny Bermudez de Castro. And, in third overall on the podium was FUNDESTIC sailed by Antonio Gorostegui. For more sailing and regatta information
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Commodores Trophy- Espana
ZEIK Wins Big In Gale Force Winds
(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.
On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters. The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day. Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races. However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former.
For more sailing information and regatta results.
(La Coruna, Spain- 9 November)- This past weekend was the penultimate day of Commodore Trophy for J/80s organized by the Real Club Náutico de La Coruña. It was a blustery regatta, marked by the storm that struck the Galician coast for two straight days with near Force 8 gale winds offshore.
On Saturday at 1600 hours was the first race of the day for the J80 class inside the Bay of La Coruña, with a northwest wind 16 to 19 knots and waves of 2-3 meters. The Race Committee had to delay until late afternoon because the weather was so ferocious earlier in the day. Ultimately, it was a good day for the "Big Boy Nautical Aussycrawl" Stuart Shimeld winning two races. However, by the end of the weekend, it was ZEIK that took the overall event winning on a tie-breaker over MARINA CORUNA with 17 points each, the tiebreaker to "greater number of first "wins" goes to the former.
For more sailing information and regatta results.
Bancantabria Sailing Cup
(Santander, Spain- 8-9 November)- The forecast for bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, with orange alert announced and forecast winds of force 7 to 8, meant that the Third Act (Series) of the Bancantabria Sailing Cup was going to be an experience to say the least. Fortunately, the Race Committee elected to setup the courses in the inner bay, therefore enabling the J/80s to have two fun, very windy races. Only twelve of the thirty boats raced in the demanding conditions. And the end of the weekend, it was Tono Gorostegui who maintained their composure to maintain the overall lead sailing FUNDESTIC.
Leaders for the weekend (Act III) were Pichu Torcida on ECC VIVIENDAS; then RAITA finished second and Tono's FUNDESTIC got third. The provisional Overall standings for the Bancantabria Sailing Cup has Tono's FUNDESTIC in first with 8 points, Paul Santurde's SPACIO in second with 12 points and Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS in third with 13 points.
For more sailing and regatta information.
French J/80 Nationals
(Cherbourg, France- Nov. 7-11)- A record turnout of forty eight J/80s showed up for this year's French J/80 National Championship in Cherbourg. The hometown hosts were fabulous and put on quite a show despite the somewhat difficult weather conditions they were presented with over the course of the four day regatta. Light shifty four knot winds and flat water to moderate rolling seas blowing upwards of twenty knots offered the fleet tremendous challenges. It was very difficult to stay out of the bottom of the fleet and maintain some kind of consistency.
However, Luc Nadal and his team aboard GANJA sailed magnificently, demonstrating remarkable consistency across the board to win by nearly thirty points over his next competitor. Their record of 2-1-9-1-7-1-1 for 22 points speaks for itself...four firsts was unequalled in the fleet. Second overall was Jean-Yves Jaffrezic racing ATLANTIS with a record of 5-8-21-12-1-3-1 for 51 points, beating JACUZZI on a tie-breaker. Ludovic Gilet raced the renowned JACUZZI into third place with a 1-6-13-3-5-19-4 also with 51 points but lost tie on most firsts. Fourth was the famous French woman sailor Christine Briand just three points back sailing J ILE DE RE and finishing behind her was Frederic Denis on ECOLE NAVALE CG29 with 63 points.
On a personal note, it was nice to see Pierre Follenfant- a former 470 and FD sailor whom Drake and Stu sailed against when they were kids in the 470 class in the mid-1970s sailing a respectable series to finish 11th in this highly competitive fleet! We're glad to see old warhorses like us can still hang in there with the top players in the class!
For more sailing and regatta information.
Bancantabria Sailing Cup
(Santander, Spain- Oct. 14-26)- Hosted by the FCV (Federacion Cantabra de Vela) in Santander, Spain, the Bancantabria Sailing Cup had a strong turnout of thirty-one J/80s. The Cup is a series of races taking place over several weekends sailing in the spectacular waters off Santander in often warm, sunny conditions.
While the last weekend of the two week event was nearly a wash-out, the sailors had an enjoyable time racing for this past weekend's Fundestic Trophy. Pichu Torcida racing ECC HOMES managed to take home another win. Pushing him hard was Jaime Pris onboard FONESTAR to take second overall and coming in third place was Adrian Zamacona racing MABLE. Notable amongst the competitors in this year's even was the return, after months of absence from racing J/80s, of the 49er Olympic Sailing medalists Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez. Iker and Xabi went sailing with friends aboard PROPERNOR-- looks like they'll need some practice after posting a twelfth in their first outing.
For more sailing information and regatta results, please visit J/80 Spain Class site.
2010 J/80 European Championship Sailing on Lake Garda
Texas J/80 North Americans
(Houston, TX- October 23-25)- Kerry Klingler has been sailing J/80s for a number of years. Yet, despite the talent and the CV that might favor a "three-peat", Kerry was perhaps the least confident of the class leaders going into this year's J/80 North Americans. With six previous J/80 North American Champions in attendance, including a current J/22 International Class World Champion Terry Flynn, it was not readily apparent who would come out on top of the heap of such a talented group of sailors. As Terry said. "it was closest competition ever in NAs amongst the top 10....it could've gone either way."
The first day was perhaps the best for the fleet as it was a windy, puffy northerly gusting to twenty knots on Galveston Bay. It made for difficult conditions to stay consistently in the top five against the tough fleet of NA Champions. On the second day, there was no wind in the morning and the fleet had to wait for a light, shifty sea breeze to develop out of the southeast. By the third day of racing, a solid sea breeze filled in making for extremely tight, fun racing amongst everyone-- the very tight mark roundings had an enormous impact on race outcomes.
Prevailing through the smoke and fog of battle was Kerry Klingler and team again aboard their J/80 LIFTED with a 1-4-1-5-[13]-1-4-5 record for a total of 21 points. Hanging tough was Terry and David Flynn, finishing second with a 3-1-[8]-7-1-5-3-2 for 22 total points! Third overall was Glenn and Reese Darden sailing LE TIGRE to a 4-2-6-[10]-5-4-2-3 record for 26 points. Special mention must be made of Jay Lutz- the victim of an extraordinary accident at the J/80 Worlds in Santander, Spain. Now fully recovered, Jay "feels like new again" and sailed to a respectable fourth overall onboard the appropriately named PAINKILLER JANE with a 6-[9]-4-4-3-3-7-1 tally for 28 points.
For more sailing information and regatta results.
J/80 Tour Update
Word on the street is that upwards of a dozen J/80s have been bought for competing in this years' upcoming J/80 Tour that starts with the Nautica Key West Race Week in Key West, Florida and ends with the J/80 World Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. J/80 Class leaders at the recent J/80 North American Championships in Houston, Texas have seen strong enthusiasm for the J/80 Tour. For more information on this circuit, please contact J/80 Class reps at the J/80 Class Association- http://www.j80.org
Monday, October 26, 2009
J/80 Atlantic Coasts- France
Team ATLANTIS- Lawrence Sambron Wins.
(Lorient, France- Sept 19-20)- Twenty-one teams gathered in Lorient this past weekend to race the "Atlantic Telegram" regatta, emblematic of the J/80 French Atlantic Coast Championships.
Under very light winds and somewhat unstable weather conditions, the ATLANTIS Team skippered by Lawrence Sambron with the crew of Jean-Yves Jaffrezic, Pierre-Yves Tinel and Stephane Guilbaud won the regatta. The ATLANTIS team was closely followed by Sylvain Pellissier and Dominic Vittet racing their J/80 VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE. The J/80 from La Trinité, AXELLE, raced by Damien J Zucconi finished third on the podium. JACUZZI from Breton was fourth and Gilles Drouet from Cherbourg was fifth.
This regatta was good practice and an indicator of which teams will be contenders for the upcoming French J/80 Nationals which will be sailed in Cherbourg, France from November 8 to 11. After the French J/80 Nationals, the J/80 French Class will announce the winners of the hotly contested J/Cup in France for the J/80 Class--- so far, everything is still in play for the top spots for many of the crews.
Lawrence Sambron commenting on his win had this to say about his team and the event: "It was the first time we had come to the Atlantic Coast and raced on the Bay of Biscay. We were seduced by the awesome racing, the beautiful waters and the warm welcome on this site. On the water, we started well on Friday and we continued our momentum. Jean-Yves Jaffrezic tactics were excellent in conditions that were not obviously clear for most crews this particular Sunday. We got a good result and this is good preparation for the J/80 French Nationals to be held in Cherbourg in November. The
outlook is positive so far!"
For more info.
http://www.cnlorient.org/photo/classements/ATG2009/J802.htm
(Lorient, France- Sept 19-20)- Twenty-one teams gathered in Lorient this past weekend to race the "Atlantic Telegram" regatta, emblematic of the J/80 French Atlantic Coast Championships.
Under very light winds and somewhat unstable weather conditions, the ATLANTIS Team skippered by Lawrence Sambron with the crew of Jean-Yves Jaffrezic, Pierre-Yves Tinel and Stephane Guilbaud won the regatta. The ATLANTIS team was closely followed by Sylvain Pellissier and Dominic Vittet racing their J/80 VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE. The J/80 from La Trinité, AXELLE, raced by Damien J Zucconi finished third on the podium. JACUZZI from Breton was fourth and Gilles Drouet from Cherbourg was fifth.
This regatta was good practice and an indicator of which teams will be contenders for the upcoming French J/80 Nationals which will be sailed in Cherbourg, France from November 8 to 11. After the French J/80 Nationals, the J/80 French Class will announce the winners of the hotly contested J/Cup in France for the J/80 Class--- so far, everything is still in play for the top spots for many of the crews.
Lawrence Sambron commenting on his win had this to say about his team and the event: "It was the first time we had come to the Atlantic Coast and raced on the Bay of Biscay. We were seduced by the awesome racing, the beautiful waters and the warm welcome on this site. On the water, we started well on Friday and we continued our momentum. Jean-Yves Jaffrezic tactics were excellent in conditions that were not obviously clear for most crews this particular Sunday. We got a good result and this is good preparation for the J/80 French Nationals to be held in Cherbourg in November. The
outlook is positive so far!"
For more info.
http://www.cnlorient.org/photo/classements/ATG2009/J802.htm
J/80 Central Optica Trophy Series- Spain
J/80 ECC VIVIENDAS Winning
(Santander, Spain- Sept 19-20)- The Federation Cantabra de Vela is hosting the Central Optica Trophy series for the twenty-one boat J/80 fleet, racing on the spectacular setting of Santander Bay, sight of this year's record 133 boat J/80 World Championships. The leader of this fall series classic is the J/80 team of BANCAJA raced by Javier Lopez-Vazquez.
The Santander J/80 class raced the second of three parts of their series this weekend under very gusty west wind conditions, with ginormous changes of strength and direction that allowed two long races with three-times around windward-leeward legs. The tidal currents helped some of the racers, like BANCAJA and ECC VIVIENDAS, ride favorable currents up inside the Santander Bay to the Moors. The two races were won by the ECC VIVIENDAS team of Pichu Torcida and his skipper Pablo Arrarte. Second for the weekend was BANCAJA raced by Javier López-Vázquez and his skipper Alvaro Mazarrasa, strengthening their overall series lead. MAQUECHE sailed by Alfonso Pascual ended up finishing third for the weekend. After sailing well on the first weekend, NEXTEL's Ignacio Camino had a relatively poor showing to lose the lead after the first weekend.
Currently, the standings for the series after six races and one discard is Jose Lopez-Vazquez's team on BANCAJA by just two points over Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL and Pichu Torcida's team on ECC VIVIENDAS. Next weekend completes the series for the Central Optica Trophy where tough competition is sure to breakout amongst these top three teams who collectively have a sizable lead (by ten points) over the rest of the fleet.
(Santander, Spain- Sept 19-20)- The Federation Cantabra de Vela is hosting the Central Optica Trophy series for the twenty-one boat J/80 fleet, racing on the spectacular setting of Santander Bay, sight of this year's record 133 boat J/80 World Championships. The leader of this fall series classic is the J/80 team of BANCAJA raced by Javier Lopez-Vazquez.
The Santander J/80 class raced the second of three parts of their series this weekend under very gusty west wind conditions, with ginormous changes of strength and direction that allowed two long races with three-times around windward-leeward legs. The tidal currents helped some of the racers, like BANCAJA and ECC VIVIENDAS, ride favorable currents up inside the Santander Bay to the Moors. The two races were won by the ECC VIVIENDAS team of Pichu Torcida and his skipper Pablo Arrarte. Second for the weekend was BANCAJA raced by Javier López-Vázquez and his skipper Alvaro Mazarrasa, strengthening their overall series lead. MAQUECHE sailed by Alfonso Pascual ended up finishing third for the weekend. After sailing well on the first weekend, NEXTEL's Ignacio Camino had a relatively poor showing to lose the lead after the first weekend.
Currently, the standings for the series after six races and one discard is Jose Lopez-Vazquez's team on BANCAJA by just two points over Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL and Pichu Torcida's team on ECC VIVIENDAS. Next weekend completes the series for the Central Optica Trophy where tough competition is sure to breakout amongst these top three teams who collectively have a sizable lead (by ten points) over the rest of the fleet.
J/80 Autumn Trophy Series- Spain
Bilbao Squalls Make For Exciting Racing
(Bilbao, Spain- Sept 19-20)- It was a clear victory for Jose Azqueta in the first test of the Autumn Trophy Series for J/80s racing off Bilbao. It was also the J/80s first racing since the long summer break. The weather conditions were harsh but fun since it blew 15 to 25 knots large seas on top of a huge ground swell. These conditions made it challenging upwind but the crews were showered with salt spray from monstrous bow waves as the teams had fun planning wildly downwind on the big seas and swells.
The start was rather uneven as it was highly favored to the Race Committee boat and there was not much room on the line. So whomever won the Race Committee boat end enjoyed a ginormous advantage over their competitors. The boats that had strong starts - Mandovi and Montarto - held their lead up the first leg. However, because of a strong right shift, they ended up second and third at the weather mark behind Azqueta's team; Bizkaia rounded fourth. After a wild planing downwind leg, Mandovi dropped back to fourth.
A strong squall of rain and wind buffeted the fleet with Azqueta lengthening their lead over Montarto and Bizkaia- that's how the first weekend ended up for the Autumn Trophy Series. The Race Committee canceled the second race because the squally conditions had deteriorated to the point where the ability to race safely around the course would be difficult for most teams.
(Bilbao, Spain- Sept 19-20)- It was a clear victory for Jose Azqueta in the first test of the Autumn Trophy Series for J/80s racing off Bilbao. It was also the J/80s first racing since the long summer break. The weather conditions were harsh but fun since it blew 15 to 25 knots large seas on top of a huge ground swell. These conditions made it challenging upwind but the crews were showered with salt spray from monstrous bow waves as the teams had fun planning wildly downwind on the big seas and swells.
The start was rather uneven as it was highly favored to the Race Committee boat and there was not much room on the line. So whomever won the Race Committee boat end enjoyed a ginormous advantage over their competitors. The boats that had strong starts - Mandovi and Montarto - held their lead up the first leg. However, because of a strong right shift, they ended up second and third at the weather mark behind Azqueta's team; Bizkaia rounded fourth. After a wild planing downwind leg, Mandovi dropped back to fourth.
A strong squall of rain and wind buffeted the fleet with Azqueta lengthening their lead over Montarto and Bizkaia- that's how the first weekend ended up for the Autumn Trophy Series. The Race Committee canceled the second race because the squally conditions had deteriorated to the point where the ability to race safely around the course would be difficult for most teams.
J/80 Dynamant Cup- Sundelin/Kallstrom Winners
(Sweden- Sept. 21)- There were fifteen J/80s participating in this year's Autumn Cups and Dynamant Cups in Sweden. The competition was very even between the top boats ENG 386 and ENG 562 in first and second, respectively. And the battle for third place was also a very even battle between bla MK PRODUCTS, HEAVY DUTY and DOG. Great prizes are promised to all of the top three in the overall rankings. First prize was a voucher with a total value of 6000 Kroner from the main sponsor Dynamant and second prize is a set of fine sailing shoes from SLAM.
The traditional Autumn Cup organized by KSSS took place in non-traditional winds. Autumn storms lost some of their strength, thank goodness and the fleet was treated to beautiful sailing on the archipelago in 17 degree C temperatures, clear blue skies and a southwest breeze of 2-4 m/s.
The host club KSSS was quite ambitious and planned eight races. However, they managed to still get in five races thanks to an alert and quick race committee crew. Sundelin / Kallstrom did what they could to snatch the top honors by taking home the regatta. But their competitor Rosenberg finished up nicely with a second place. The American Tom Whitmore who showed good form, despite a very bad first race to finish third. It was extremely even between 4, 5, 6, and 7 spots with only one point separating these four boats. You will find all the results on the KSSS site.
http://www.ksss.se
The traditional Autumn Cup organized by KSSS took place in non-traditional winds. Autumn storms lost some of their strength, thank goodness and the fleet was treated to beautiful sailing on the archipelago in 17 degree C temperatures, clear blue skies and a southwest breeze of 2-4 m/s.
The host club KSSS was quite ambitious and planned eight races. However, they managed to still get in five races thanks to an alert and quick race committee crew. Sundelin / Kallstrom did what they could to snatch the top honors by taking home the regatta. But their competitor Rosenberg finished up nicely with a second place. The American Tom Whitmore who showed good form, despite a very bad first race to finish third. It was extremely even between 4, 5, 6, and 7 spots with only one point separating these four boats. You will find all the results on the KSSS site.
http://www.ksss.se
Monday, August 31, 2009
2010 USA J/80 Tour
Join the J/80 Class in 2010 for an incredible East Coast tour of events - starting in Key West, Florida, then working up the coast and culminating with the J/80 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island. If you can’t do them all, partner up with a buddy to share the program and enjoy great sailing, world class competition, and camaraderie in some of the world’s most famous seaports:
Jan 18-22 Key West Race Week - Key West, FL (J/80 Midwinters)
Feb 12-14 St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta – St. Petersburg, FL
Apr 9-11 Charleston Race Week – Charleston, SC
Apr 23-25 Annapolis NOOD Regatta – Annapolis, MD
Jun 6-7 Sprit Fest – Shelter Island, Long Island
Jul 9-11 Sail Newport Regatta – Newport, RI (Pre-Worlds)
Aug 6-8 Buzzard’s Bay Regatta – Marion, MA
Sep 9-12 North American Championship – Marion, MA
Oct 4-9 J/80 World Championship – Newport, RI
Jan 18-22 Key West Race Week - Key West, FL (J/80 Midwinters)
Feb 12-14 St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta – St. Petersburg, FL
Apr 9-11 Charleston Race Week – Charleston, SC
Apr 23-25 Annapolis NOOD Regatta – Annapolis, MD
Jun 6-7 Sprit Fest – Shelter Island, Long Island
Jul 9-11 Sail Newport Regatta – Newport, RI (Pre-Worlds)
Aug 6-8 Buzzard’s Bay Regatta – Marion, MA
Sep 9-12 North American Championship – Marion, MA
Oct 4-9 J/80 World Championship – Newport, RI
Monday, August 24, 2009
Swedish J/80 Championships
Sundelin Family Affair Wins
Twenty boats competed with representatives from both Estonia and Norway. With stable winds of 3-5 m/s and a sunny sky the conditions couldn't be better and the races offered a really tight fleet. The proud winner was SWE 562 with former Olympic Champion Peter Sundelin as a tactician and his son Martin Sundelin skippering the boat!! Good on ya, mates! Awesome to see father/son combinations enjoying the love of a life long sport.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
HYS J/80 UK National Championships
JANE'S SISTER Led the Fleet Home(Hamble, England- June 10-13)- The HYS J/80 UK National Championships were held in the Solent under the burgee of the Royal Southern Yacht Club. A sportsboat sailor himself, the PRO for the event was Nick Hollamby. The series consisted of eight races each for the J/80s, which were sailed in a variety of conditions from five to twenty-eight knots over the course of the three days.
Ultimately it was Kevin Sproul and his team on JANE'S SISTER who took home the National Championship title for the J/80 Class. No one would deny that Sproul and the team on JANE'S SISTER sailed an A1 series, never dropping a result out of the top five, but here again, the on-track leaders were just too close to call on many occasions during the racing.
The major pressure on JANE'S SISTER was from Victoria Gregory and Rob Larke’s JOYSTICK and Ian Atkin’s Boats.com. After two races on the final day JOYSTICK had secured her second place overall and had just pushed Boats.com into second place by just two points. In fourth place overall was Charles Somerset and his boys on board LOUDWATER. These guys are relative newcomers to the J/80 Class and charge at their racing; their results are impressive. Tom Phipps of Plymouth University also slotted in a great result of fifth overall and this is his first J/80 UK Nationals.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
J/80 Spanish Championships
Morales Wins, Bodes Well for J/80 Worlds (Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Spain- June 5-7)- 26 J/80s participated in this year's Spanish Championships hosted by the beautiful club at Puerto Calero in the Lanzarote region of Spain. The regatta was largely seen as a prelude and warm up for the J/80 World Championships that will take place shortly at Porto Santander, Spain with 130 J/80s on the line.
Sailing as TEAM GANADOR with his two kids aboard, Alfredo Morales and family won the J/80 Spanish Championships over a three day of incredibly variable winds and sea conditions- from flat and light air to lumpy and blowing 18 knots. In second was Rayco Tabares sailing his J/80 HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA. Finishing just off the pace was Pichu Torcida sailing his ECC VIVIENDAS to third overall. For more info Photo credits- Maria Muina
Elvstrom J/80 Summer Championships
Joystick at Full Throttle for the Summer Season (Hamble, So'ton, England- May 16-17) The Elvstrom J/80 Summer Championship was hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble. This is the sixth year that Elvstrom have sponsored the event, which acts as a warm-up for the UK Nationals.
The fleet woke to howling gales on Saturday unfortunately, and after a postponement ashore, the Race Committee, under the careful guidance of the PRO Tony Lovell, decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valour and racing was cancelled for the day. The J/80 fleet were in agreement; much as the J/80 is a fabulous boat in a blow, no-one much fancied the 40 knot plus gusts which were battering the race area.
With everyone hoping for lighter airs on Sunday, but with forecasts differing in opinion, after an hour’s postponement ashore and once a 50 knot squall had blown past the Royal Southern pontoons and the readying fleet, the class set sail to do battle. Just two races were sailed, or perhaps ‘survived’ by the hardy J/80s, enough to constitute a series, and the eventual winner of the Elvstrom Champs, Rob Larke, who co-owns Joystick with Vicci Gregory. Behind them were Terry Palmer and Caroline Cooper on Just Do It by three points and in third was Andrew Ashworth steering Jammy Dodger. More J/80 regatta news. For more UK/Euro J/News.
Friday, April 3, 2009
90 J/80's Entered for Spi Ouest 2009
The J/80 class dwarfs all the others with a remarkable tally of ninety boats now entered for the 2009 Spi Ouest Regatta to be held over Easter Weekend in northern France at La Trinite.The huge turnout for the first European event of the season bodes well for the upcoming 2009 Worlds to be held in Santander, Spain in early July. According to Paul Heys at J-UK, there could be as many as fifteen boats from the UK in Santander for the Worlds. Pro rata that figure for other European countries and add in other expected overseas entries and the worlds could top 100 boats. With 78 boats entered to sail at the J/24 Worlds in Annapolis next month, one-design racing is alive and well! J/80 World's website J/24 Worlds website
Friday, January 30, 2009
Inside the Storck Family's J/80 Success
Stuart Streuli of Sailing World magazine caught up with Kaity Storck at Acura Key West Race Week last week to learn more about the family's successful defense of the J/80 Midwinters aboard RUMOR, which also won Boat of the Day honors on Friday.What's your job on the boat? We actually have a really cool thing. I sail with my dad (John, pictured with Kaity) and usually my two older brothers. We all sort of rotate through positions. This week I am the second most forward person and I'm pulling the spinnaker up, taking the spinnaker down, and helping call tactics. I'm also calling waves and puffs as we go upwind.
Give us the history of this team? My dad has sailed Key West I think probably six times in the J/80, maybe seven times. This is my fourth year in the J/80. We basically started sailing together as a family four years ago. My dad was sailing a PHRF boat, and then he realized that if he got a one-design boat, we would actually sail with him. So he did, and then we did. I also have a younger brother and we've sailed with all five of us once, and that was at Block Island Race Week two years ago and that was cool because I got to drive.
The J/80 is a tight one-design boat, but is there any one piece of equipment that is particularly valuable? Our personnel is our key tool. We have a new jib that seems to be working pretty well. We've had UK Halsey sails since we've gotten into the boat and they've always done really well. This one seems to have a little more shape at the bottom than our older jibs. This is our first time sailing with it, so we're just figuring it out.
Who would be the MVP of the team today? The one thing our team has always done really well, is that everyone focuses on doing their own job and just their job. I think that's a problem that a lot of boats have difficulty with, especially when you have a lot of really good sailors together. It's hard for everyone to focus on doing just their job. More often than not, it's not that you run into problems with people messing up their job, but people sort of overstepping boundaries. So everyone always does a really good job on our boat. But probably with the conditions being so shifty and up and down , we were seeing easily 10 knot ranges and the really big shifts, I think John, my brother, who was driving the boat, probably gets the MVP for keeping the boat moving.
What sort of advice would you give to another J/80 sailor looking to sail at Key West Race Week for the first time? Try to put together a team that has sailed together before so you can be really focus on going fast for the regatta, and everybody knows what they're doing. I will not hesitate to say our strongest point is our speed. If you have a good mix of all-stars and people who have sailed the boat before that's definitely better than all all-stars that maybe have never sailed before because things can get done a lot better. Like I said before, the most important thing on a boat is everybody doing their job. They've got to be good at their job, so they've got to be an all-star at that. But, yeah, speed is really important down here.
Sailing World KW Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)