Royal Hong Kong YC Selects J/80s

From Little Things, Big Things Grow

(Hong Kong, China)- In late 2009 the Royal Hong Kong YC firmed up plans to purchase a number of new boats in partnership with members.  A short list of designs was studied, and after many long hours of discussion and negotiation an agreement was reached with Jim Johnstone of J-Boats Asia, with the boats being built by Hudson Yachts in Xiamen. A few short months later the first J/80's rolled through the Boatyard gates. With a total of 16 boats currently ordered this is a spectacular start to a new fleet in anyone's books, and marks a new chapter in the already strong history of class racing at the RHKYC.

The seed of this idea was sown by past Commodore Inge Strompf-Jeppesen, and came from her own experiences sailing International events in one-design fleets that were owned and managed by a Yacht Club.

The new RHKYC fleet comprises of 6 boats owned by the Club in partnership with members and 10 boats that are 100% member owned. Hebe Haven Yacht Club has also bought 2 boats on the back of the fleet deal offered by J-Boats, and hopes are that we will be well into the twenties before too long.

It is expected that the new fleet will hit the water 'running', with a J/80 division being offered by the HHYC for the summer "Typhoon Series". Plans are for the fleet to base first at Kellett Island, move to Sai Kung for the summer then down to Middle Island for the start of the 2010 - 2011 season. Match racing and keelboat training programs will also be coming on line soon, and the Club owned boats will be available for use by members.  In this photo is new J/80 owner Lonny Chen (J/80 #1211) with Roger Eastham (RHKYC Manager).   For more Royal Hong Kong YC J/80 Fleet info and YouTube videos.  

J/80 Wake-boarding?

OK, so our British J/80 friends sailing on Plymouth Sound have a great sense of humor.  Or, perhaps whoever dreamed up this idea surely has a "mad streak"?  How about wake-boarding, powered by the big a-sail and using a 6 hp engine and towed by the main halyard to blow off some steam before a regatta?! A new side-bar event for J/80 regattas? If you don't believe it, watch this YouTube video with a rapping Moby song mixed into it. 

Spanish J/80s Miss Volcano Cloud

(Spain)- With the ash cloud hanging heavy over northern Europe and severely curtailing outdoor activities, the Spanish fleet of J/80s enjoyed good racing off their Mediterranean coastlines in Palma (see above), Santander and Bilbao.  In the Santander J/80 fleet, they're racing for the MAQUCHE TROPHY and FONESTAR raced by Jaime Piris, Alfredo Portilla, Carlos Bats and Bryan Lee continue to be the leader in the overall standings, winning four straight races against a thirty boat fleet! Second is LUPA skippered by Adrian Zamacona and third the MABLE V sailed by Oriol.   Photo credit- Jesus Renedo

In the Bilbao J/80 fleet, the Basques were racing for their Spring Trophy on a perfect day for sailing, sunny, clear with a fresh northeast wind around 15-18 knots creating surfable one meter waves.  José Azqueta with GUIDE VIII continues to lead with 11 points ahed of Meda Diego's SUMINAM and 15 points ahead of Ibon Basanez's JET SET. Next Saturday will be the second day of the championship.  For more Spanish J/80 sailing information. 

Hublot Palmavela Regatta

Tres Amigos, Tres Campiones

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- If there is any place on Earth that comes close to a sailing paradise, Palma surely has to be on the list with its spectacular geography, great sailing on the bay and beautiful, historic town anchored by the skyscraping Santa Maria cathedral.  The mountainous ridge along the NW portion of Mallorca creates a reasonably reliable sea breeze from the WSW.  No wonder Palma's town and harbors are favorites of super yachts and sailors alike for centuries, or why photographers like Jesus Renedo (featured here), that call Palma "home", consider it one of the most spectacular places to shoot sailboats in the world.

The first big event of the sailing season for Palma is the Hublot Palmavela and it's considered one of the best of the year, often because of the spectacular spring sailing conditions with bright, crystal blue skies.  This year's seventh edition lived up to those expectations, with skies made even clearer with no European air traffic due to Iceland's volcanic ash cloud over northern Europe.

The J/80 fleet had twenty-two entries, attracting a star-studded cast of sailors that included two former J/80 World Champions, Jose Maria Torcida and Ignacio Camino, from 2007 and 2008, respectively.  According to Jesus, "it was an incredibly tight fleet to watch and, to our joy, one of the WALLY super yacht owners, Thomas Bascher, left his Wally 100 footer OPEN SEASON to have loads of fun racing one-design in J/80s."

After two beautiful days of sailing, it was hard to hold the ex-World Champions and the Spanish National champions off the podium.  At the end, it was Martinez on PERALEJA GOLF that set the standard with just twelves points!  Camino on NEXTEL finished second with thirty one points, just beating his fellow World Champion Torcida sailing ECC VIVIENDAS who finished third with thirty five points.  Photo Credits- Jesus Renedo.  For more J/80 Sailing results.  For more Palmavela sailing and regatta information  

ECC VIVIENDAS Wins J/80 AVEGA CUP

(Santander, Spain)- Thirty two boats participated in the coveted J/80 AVEGA Cup in Santander.  The event is widely popular because the winners get to take home HUGE new LED television sets to enjoy with family and friends those popular futbol (soccer) matches so prevalent in Spain and Europe.  The picture here is of José Manuel Sansalvador, CEO of AVEGA SRL, along with the winners of the biggest TV, Pichu Torcida and crew from ECC VIVIENDAS.  They sure are happy aren't they?

After two very nice days of sailing in the beautiful waters off Santander, Pichu's crew won by six points over his arch competitor BANCAJA sailed by Javier López-Vázquez.  There was a big point jump after the leaders up to NEXTEL ENGINEERING raced by Ignacio Camino, fourth was GRUPO RHIN skippered by Angel Herrerias and fifth was a regular front-runner in this fleet, FUNDESTIC capably steered by Toño Gorostegui.  For more J/80 Spain sailing info.  

Nicolas Troussel, Famous French Sailor, Racing J/80s SPI OUEST

Of interest to those who follow the French offshore sailing scene were some of the notables racing J/80s at SPI OUEST the previous fortnight.  Sailing with J/France West Brittany dealer, PL Yachting, was the famous French offshore sailor "Nicolas Troussel", the past Figaro race winner and offshore Figaro annual championship winner.  Also joining them in the 93 boat J/80 class was Jean Galfione, the old French Gold Medallist at the Olympic Games (pole vaulting)!  Apparently, Jean said handling the J/80 foredeck duties with a carbon pole, the horizontal variety, was "tres simple"!  

J/80 Cruising Across the Atlantic?

Seriously? Why? Here's an amusing story about sailing a J/80 on the old "trade-winds" route from Europe to the Caribbean, going by way of the Azores and the Canaries.  Follow the adventurous blog of two Swedish J/80 sailors, Andreas and Jens, a fire-fighter and IT consultant, respectively.  "The idea of sailing to the West Indies was born during a warm summer night on our way to Fårö, Sweden. A J/80, is an eight metre long racing boat with the same conveniences as a two-man-tent and is so fast that it even leaves some 40-feet boats behind. J/80 boats have been sailed in races like Gotland Runt and other ocean races many times but still, no one has crossed the Atlantic Ocean in one. We will change that during the autumn 2007.  So follow us during our preparations and also during our journey to the West Indies in one of the smallest racing boats!"  They're now down in Los Roques/ Tortuga off Venezuela having a scream cruising, fishing and kite-boarding.

So, Ken, maybe you should get these guys to sail with you on the Volvo 70 PUMA!  Clearly, a luxury yacht ride compared to a J/80, eh?  Could even use their "rubber-band auto-steering" innovation, too, that works surfing down waves up to 20 knots!  This story had me in tears laughing.  http://adventure.roxen.com/  

Can Favourites Win Match Race France in J/80s?

Not.  Instead, it was "Local French Hero Reverses History!"  Here's the report from the WMRT.  "Twelve skippers went to Yacht Club Pointe Rouge, Southern France for the start of the 2010 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). The first of this 10 event global series starts in Marseille and will count towards points for the ultimate prize of becoming the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Champion.  With a daunting line up of skippers including seasoned World Champions, Olympic medal holders and adrenalin-fuelled youngsters, any skipper lining up to perform pre-start tactics would have to be confident of their match racing prowess and boat handling abilities onboard the J/80 yachts. The J/80 will provide a lively model for the skippers to race, a design that works for dinghy sailors as well as big boat racers making tight boat maneuvering during the pre-start achievable for all skippers. The J/80 cockpit is also spacious for the four person crew to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, involving constant alteration of sails, body weight and vantage points to see the competing boat's next move. The J/80's will be raced asymmetrically for this event so it will be interesting to see if those skippers who have previous asymmetric experience will have an advantage on the downhill legs."

As the regatta unfolded, it was clear that strong dinghy sailors had an advantage.  Here's what happened, "Stage 1 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), has put a new twist on an ancient maritime tale. The scenario of English sailors battling French sailors is reminiscent of the famed 1805 Battle of Trafalgar when UK’s Lord Nelson defeated Emperor Napoleon of France. Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAM ORIGIN took on Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team.  The French local, Richard, took a convincing victory winning both of the final two matches raced under a testing 6-7 knot westerly. Richard celebrated with local Marseille supporters, who were quick to take to the water in boats of all sizes."  Photo Credits- Gilles Martin-Raget

Mathieu Richard, who is also tactician for the French America’s Cup syndicate, ALEPH, observed, “We had a slow start to the regatta, but a slow start motivates you to really improve when it counts.” Ainslie sees his time invested in attending WMRT events as a profitable way to keep his match race training fresh, “My ultimate goal for the ISAF World Match Racing Tour events is to improve my match racing skills and rules knowledge”. The Tour forms an important ingredient in Ainslie’s long term America’s Cup ambition with TEAM ORIGIN.   Richard advanced to the finals by beating Francesco Bruni (ITA) 2-1, while Ainslie bested Paolo Cian (ITA) by a similar score. Bruni beat Cian in the single race Petit Final.  For more info sailing J/80s in the World Match Racing Tour  

J/80 Wins Asia's ABMA Sportboat Class Award

(Shanghai, China)- The awards and enthusiasm for the J/80 class continue to roll in, a phenomenal achievement for the world's largest ISAF International sportboat class and a boat first designed in 1993 to grow the sportboat revolution worldwide.  This past week, the Asia Boat Marine Association voted on the "Best Sportboat for Asia", a category that had a slew of other well-known sportboats competing.  The J/80 received five of ten votes while its erstwhile competitors received only one or two votes each!  The four reasons mentioned by the ABMA Committee that strongly influenced the voters were:
    * New Hong Kong Fleet
    * Use of the J/80 in the Asian Games
    * Production in Xiamen
    * Overall an all-around performer meeting the sportboat and daysailing requirements.
For more information on the ABMA Sportboat Sailing Awards  

Can The Favorites Win Match Race France in Marseilles?

Twelve skippers are headed to Yacht Club Pointe Rouge, Southern France this week for the official start of the 2010 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). The first of this 10 event global series starts in Marseille and will count towards points for the ultimate prize of becoming the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Champion.

With a daunting line up of skippers including seasoned World Champions, Olympic medal holders and adrenalin-fueled youngsters, any skipper lining up to perform pre-start tactics will have to be confident of their match racing prowess and boat handling abilities onboard the J/80 yachts. Tipped to win and "dark horse of the Tour" is new entrant, Francesco Bruni (ITA) who has recently won the Congressional Cup, while competitors should pay note of re-emerging helms such as Bertrand Pace racing on the waters of his home nation.

All teams including the new wild card entries will be up against the 2010 Tour Card Holders: Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), and Ben Ainslie (GBR) who finished in the top 3 standings during the 2009 Tour and have been actively training with their chosen teams prior to Match Race France.

Marseille offers excellent match racing conditions with excellent spectator opportunities. The J/80 will provide a lively model for the skippers to race. A small keelboat launched by J/Boats, the style works for dinghy sailors as well as big boat racers making tight boat maneuvering during the pre-start achievable for all skippers. The cockpit is also spacious for the four person crew to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, involving constant alteration of sails, body weight and vantage points to see the competing boat's next move. The J/80's will be raced asymmetrically for this event so it will be interesting to see if those skippers who have previous asymmetric experience will have an advantage on the downhill legs.  For more info sailing J/80s in the World Match Racing Tour- http://www.wmrt.com  

J/80s Dominate SPI OUEST Race Week

ATLANTIS  Dominates Field of French Sailing Legends

(La Trinite Sur Mer, France)-  This year's SPI Ouest fleet was blessed with good racing and an experienced committee was able to get off a full flight of races for all three days for all three courses.  The winds were strong, mostly offshore NNE and blowing with one moderate spell (somewhat similar to what they saw in Marseilles for SNIM).  The 93 boat J/80 fleet, by far the largest fleet at SPI OUEST, had some tight racing behind the runaway leader, Louis Sambron racing ATLANTIS.  The J/24s enjoyed tight racing as did the J/105 and J/109 fleet.  Over on the handicap course, the various J's had a tougher time getting off the competitive, crowded starting lines and picking the shifts to stay in contention.

The talk of La Trinite and the French sailing community was the domination of the 93 boat J/80 class by Louis Sambron sailing ATLANTIS. Sailing to  five firsts, a second and fifth in the first seven races, Team ATLANTIS didn't sail the last race to win by 32 points!  Quite an achievement when you have some of France's more renowned sailing talent and legends like Pierre Follenfant, Bruno Trouble, Christine Briand, French J/80 National Champion Luc Nadal and Yves Tabarly.  With teams representing Italy, England, Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden it was clear to most competitors that it was not going to be difficult to be consistent to do well in the event with so many good sailors fighting to get off the starting line.  Nevertheless, behind ATLANTIS's remarkable performance, that view held true for all other competitors.   Pellisier sailed VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE to second place just three points in front of Pierre Follenfant on TBS.  Christine Briand sailed very well to finish fourth overall and was Top Woman for the event!

On the J/105 and J/109 class course, there was a good regatta for the boats vying for top honors.  At the end, Blanchard's J'ADORE finished first by staying out of trouble, winning by just three points, despite having to drop a DNF/ 11th in the fourth windy race.  In second was Tostivint's J CROIS PAS sailing quite consistently, but having to eat a sixth in the ninth race and tossing an 11th/DNF in the seventh just to be a contender.  Third was the most consistent boat in the fleet, Barouch's J'VOLE finishing only three points back and tossing only a fifth!  Were it a no throw-out series, Barouch and team on J'VOLE would've tied for first but lost the tie-breaker!

In the J/24s, Aubert on JULIA finished strongly with two firsts in the last two races to win over Lemaistre racing MARTA and Cahto racing COUTOT ROEHRING.   For more SPI Ouest Regatta and Sailing information