Piris Is J/80 Champion of Spain

(Santander, Spain)-  The fifth edition of the J/80 Championship of Spain was quite the epic affair.  Multiple J/80 World Champions and Olympic Medallists dueling for the honor being the top one-design keelboat sailor in a country that has produced an extraordinary number of champions in sailing over the last decade.

The host was the renowned Real Club Marítimo de Santander, hosting the forty-five teams in the same venue that had a 100+ boat fleet sail the J/80 Worlds a few years earlier.  After the first day of racing, the current World Champion, Pichu Torcida with ECC VIVIENDAS was leading.  Interestingly, a recent Around World sailor, Tonio Piris was second on GO-FIT/ YATES & COSAS, proving he had not lost his touch sailing J/80s after being on a 60 foot IMOCA boat for a few months.  And third Tono Gorostegui with CINCO SOLUCIONES.  Fourth was Carlos Martinez on MAPFRE and fifth was Toni's brother Jaime Piris on FONESTAR!

By the last day of sailing the Cantabrian team (pictued above) of Jaime Piris, Alfredo Portilla, Bryan Lopez and Jesus Gonzalez, with his boat FONESTAR overtook all their famous, highly decorated competitors and were crowned the new champions of Spain in the J/80 class due to their remarkably consistent scores over the three day event.  The leader of the first two days, Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS had to settle for second place overall with Jose Maria van der Ploeg finishing third on GREAT SAILING.  Ignacio Caminos had to drop to fourth on NEXTEL ENGINEERING and Tonio Piris finished a very respectable fifth on GO-FIT/ YATES & COSAS.  Sailing photo credits- RCMS   For more J/80 Spanish Championships sailing information

Perhaps one of the best outcomes of the event was the "media publishing" by friends of the J/80 fleet.  You can check out each day's video summary here in these links:

Day 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCLj0-l11y4
Day 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOxt2TJ94GQ
Day 3- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvQdA-VfZk

  

Sproul Wins Epic J/80 UK Nationals

(Dartmouth, England)-  The Tacktick J/80 National Championship 2011 in Association with Baltic Wharf was hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club from the 7th to 10th June. The twenty-six boat fleet reveled in a variety of conditions across the eight race championship series from full on a full on thirty knot foam-up on the first day through to a much more ten to twelve knots on the final Friday. The fleet fell in love with Dartmouth during the course of the Nationals and in return, Dartmouth delivered the some of the most exciting racing coupled with the warmest welcome that the J/80 Class has experienced in recent years: a super precedent for the 2012 J/80 World Championship which is scheduled to be held in the port a year from now.

The last two races of the series were scheduled on Friday morning, and precisely as you would expect, every single boat on the track, irrespective of their position on the leader-board, arrived in the starting area with a job to do, a specific set of personal goals to achieve results-wise and a ‘target’ finishing position. No real surprise then that this jittery bunch pushed a general recall on the first start of the day and the deployment of the black flag thereafter, catching a few out and only serving to add to the tension. Rob Larke won the first race of the day in J2X but this was not enough to significantly narrow the points gap between his boat and Kevin Sproul. A win for Sproul in the final race confirmed the series victory and the Tacktick J/80 UK National Championship title for the crew of J.A.T: Kevin Sproul, Adrian Gray, Phil Taylor and Chris Taylor.

The Prize-giving Dinner took place at the RDYC on Friday night, and duly kicked off with music dancing and much J/80 mayhem, but not before Sproul delivered his thanks to his crew, the Royal Dart Yacht Club and all of the event sponsors: Tacktick, Baltic Wharf, Darthaven Marina, Henri Lloyd, North Sails, Rockfish, Scanstrut and Dart Sail and Cover.

Sproul reiterated the thoughts of all of the competitors when he said ‘Dartmouth is an amazing place. The hospitality we have received here is second to none and we, the J/80 Class have made many new friends in this port. The 2012 World Championship is going to be an awesome event and not to be missed’.  For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

  

J/80 Worlds Preview

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The fleet for this year's 2011 J/80 Worlds is looking about as strong as ever with multiple World Champions again seeking dominance in the world of J/80s.  So far, seventy boats are attending and are looking forward to sail the challenging waters of the Baltic Sea from July 3rd to 8th, in the same area that the famous Danish Olympian, Paul Elvstrom, learned how to sail so long ago on the famous Fireflies.

The Royal Danish Yacht Club is hosting the event based in the idyllic harbour of Dragor.  For "pre-Worlds practice", some sailors are planning on participating in the J/80 Swedish Championship held in Malmö, only a couple of hours sailing from Dragor across the Baltic Sea, from 29 June to 1 July.

Eleven countries are participating, including past World Champion Glenn Darden from the Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX, the only American sailing; one boat from the Netherlands; four from Italy including Massimo Rama; eleven boats from Germany including Jochen Schmidt; eleven boats from the United Kingdom including UK champion Ian Atkins; six boats from France including French champions Luc Nadal and Eric Brezzellec; twelve boats from Sweden; one boat from Finland; one from Estonia; fourteen boats from Denmark including Tom Klok with sister Marie Klok-Crump and brother-in-law  Will Crump; and finally eight boats from Spain including multiple champions like Carlos Martinez, past World Champion Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING, Olympic Medallist and Cantabrian sailor Jose Maria van deer Ploeg on GREAT SAILING and World Champion Rayco Tabares on HOTEL PRINCESSA GRAND CANARIAS.  For more J/80 Worlds sailing information

  

J/80s & J/24s Grand Prix du Crouesty

(Crouesty Arzon, France)- It was a busy day for the 113 competitors in the Grand Prix when they started the regatta, nearly 50% of the fleet were J's- 42 J/80s, 7 J/24s, the J/97 J-LANCE in IRC 4, 3 J/109s in IRC 3 and the J/122 JOLLY JOKER in IRC 1.  "We are satisfied with the number of boats. We have very high quality sailors here, the best are present in J/80 and with 42 boats it should be very good racing," said Jacques Fily, President of YCCA.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the sailors.  Saturday, there were 3 races that were contested in a wind of ten knots and under a bright sun. The race committee abandoned late in the day the fourth race due to an unstable breeze.  For Sunday, there were 3 races also in a wind of between 15 to 25 knots and large seas, offering magnificent surfing downwind.  By Monday, there were two more races to settle out the winners in the Grand Prix, sailing in winds of 8-10 knots, a masterful job running the races by PRO Jean-Paul Vallegand.

For the J/80s, it was clear the fleet was decidedly too eager to do battle on Saturday. First start was a general recall, then black flag with eight competitors having to pay the cost, including Eric Brezellec's Interface Concept 2.  Under these competitive conditions, consistency is an important asset and it is no surprise that Voilerie All Purpose, led by local Sylvain Pelissier was the winner of the first day with two second places and one fourth place. They were followed by Atlantis (Laurent Sambron).

By Sunday, it was clear that Pelissier's team were not going to easily sail away with the gold medal.  Laurent Sambron sailing ATLANTIS sailed beautifully on the windy Sunday to tie Pelissier with 12 pts after six races.  Lying with striking distance of these two was Eric Brezzellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 with 9 pts.

However, on Monday the VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE team skippered by Sylvain Pelissier with crew Sébastien Simon, Damien Changey and Joris Cocaud were going to win by sailing so consistently compared to their competitors.  The ATLANTIS crew of Laurent Sambron and INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 sailed by Eric Brezellec completed the podium.  "For us it is a fantastic opportunity to sail with Sylvain, he teaches us so much each year," said the crew made up of youth aged 20 to 21, who usually sail F18, 420 and match racing . "We won only one race, but it pays to be consistent," says Sylvain, who won only  b a little bit, but fully enjoying the pleasure of beating the invincible Eric Brezellec, the early favorite to win the regatta.

In the J/24s, is became a "jackpot for MARTA".  At the beginning, MAJIC sailed by François de Herce was an early contender for the lead, having won a race on Saturday.  However, Pierre-Antoine Lemaistre and his classmates sailing MARTA were eager to get going on Sunday morning to enjoy the big breeze and big waves.  Sure enough, they won three straight races. With big smiles on their faces, Pierre-Antoine commented, "We had top speeds of 12 knots, we were never getting in trouble at the roundings. First race? Impeccable. Second race? Impeccable. Third race? Impeccable! Yes, it was an impeccable day! For us, it's conditions we dreamed about! The race committee was really great, we wish to take our hats off, it was just a fine day!"  After that extraordinary day of sailing, MARTA ended up winning the J/24s in "grand prix style".

Also sailing impeccably was Didier Le Moal on-board his SPI Ouest-France winning J/97 J-LANCE-R.  Didier's team started out winning the first race on Saturday and never looked back.  J-LANCE-R won their IRC Class 4 in "grand prix style" as well, winning their class by a large margin.   For more Grand Prix Crouesty sailing information

  

HEAVY DUTY J/80 Sandhamn Open

(Sandhamn, Sweden)- As part of their preparation for the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Swedish J/80 teams have spent a lot of time training since the winter/ spring sailing season.  One of these events was the recent Sandhamn Open.  Leading the way home was Pontus Tornlund's team sailing HEAVY DUTY to just beat Johannes Bergh's HAPPY team by one point, the final race determining the outcome of the regatta!  Tornlund's team earned a 1-4-2-3-5-1 for 11 pts (with toss).  Second was Bergh's team with a 4-2-1-5-1-4 for 12 pts.  Third was Jonas Danneaues' team on A2, compiling a "roller-coaster" record of 6-1-4-1-6-6 for 18 pts.  Look for some of these teams to sail well in the upcoming J/80 Swedish Championships in Malmo, Sweden and also compete in the J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen in July.  For more Sandhamn Open sailing information

  

GREAT SAILING Wins J/80 Trofeo Conde de Godo

(Barcelona, Spain)- Real Club Nautico de Barcelona hosted the 28th edition of this regatta in the beautiful azure waters off Barcelona.  It was a very competitive event that saw world class Olympic sailors like Jose Maria van der Ploeg being pushed hard by their noteworthy Spanish compatriots.

On the last day, the weather conditions were good enough to hold three races for the fleet of J/80s, blowing 6-8 knots offshore.  However, amongst the J/80 contenders, no one seemed to be able to throw Van der Ploeg's team on GREAT SAILING off the number one spot on the podium.  As the end, the results were first- GREAT SAILING (CN Balís) skippered by Jose Maria van der Ploeg, second- CROCS (RCNB) sailed by Javier Aguado and in third MIKAKU (RCNB) with Rosa Artigas Natalia Via Dufresne at the helm.

Jose Maria commented on his sailing during the course of the event- "I'm from Barcelona and I feel comfortable sailing here. The crew has been the same as in the Grand Prix Iberdrola, except David More Jr sailed in place of Hugo Ramón.  We have a strong team.  We are very pleased to have won. There has been a major overhaul and our crew shows great concentration, bringing good results!  The next trophy in which we compete are the J/80 Spanish Championships in three weeks, the J/80 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark in five weeks and, finally, the J/80 Copa del Rey in Palma during July."   For more J/80 Spanish sailing information

  

J/80 and J/22 Grand Prix Ecole Navale

(Presque Ile de Crozon, France)- The French Navy and The Naval Academy has always been intimately linked to the world of sailing in France. In fact, sailing is one of the pillars of the training offered by the School and the Navy is a partner in offshore racing for many years in charge of rescue operations.  In 2002, The Naval Academy decided to host a premiere one-design keelboat regatta to further support offshore one-design sportboat sailing and showcase the sport to the public and Navy personnel.  This year, the Academy welcomed over 1,000 sailors that were sailing over 200 boats.  The event has now achieved enough notoriety that the President of the French Sailing Federation (FFV), Jean-Pierre Champion, has decided to entrust the organization of the Championship of France Monotype to the Ecole Navale for another two years.

This year, eight nationalities were represented, giving an international dimension to the Grand Prix with teams from: France, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenija, Oman and New Zealand. Alistair Moore, coach of the Sail Oman Team said, "This is the first time the Youth Racing School of Oman Sail were able to implement their learning in an international regatta.  It was a great test of their skills!"

With forty-five boats attending, the largest and most prominent class of the regatta, the J/80 competition ended after 10 races were sailed in fantastic 10 to 20 knot winds to determine "Le Champion of France Monotype".  The winning team aboard INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 sailed a strong series, Morgan Riou leading his team to a 4-13-1-7-1-2-3-3-3-1 series for 25 pts (including toss).  Second with a much more inconsistent scoreline was Maxime Rousseaux sailing GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES to a 3-8-27-2-3-1-20-5-2-6 record for 50 pts.  Third was Sebastien Metivier skippering CCVS CHERBOURG to a 8-7-1-1-2-22-5-1-4-12 for 61 pts.  Fourth was Christine Briand, second women helm at the regatta behind Maxime, skippering J'ILE DE RE to a 14-4-2-13-ocs-9-6-2-11-15 for 76 pts.  Fifth was Lionel Conort sailing MARINE BREST 1, showing moments of brilliance, scoring 11-12-5-9-20-8-1-17-14-4 for 81 pts.

The J/22s saw eight teams participating to determine the "monotype champion" also over the course of ten races like their J/80 counterparts.  The winner was not clear even after seven races! In fact, it was a closely fought event for the top four contenders.  Nevertheless, the cream does ultimately rise to the top, sailing a remarkably consistent series was Patrick Huet racing EUROPEAN HOMES to a solid score of 3-1-3-2-4-3-4-1-2-4 to finish with 23 pts (including toss).  Second was Reinhold Gross from the strong German J/22 fleet, sailing JAMAICAS KRONJUWEL- 22 CARATS to a 1-2-5-1-6-5-1-6-4-1 for 26 pts, the only boat to score four firsts!  Third was Clair Pouteau sailing SOFFE to a 5-3-1-3-2-6-7-3-1-5 record for 29 pts.
Sailing Photo Credits:  Pierrick Contin : pierrick.contin@wanadoo.fr    Jacques Vapillon : photo@vapillon.com     For more Grand Prix Ecole Navale sailing information

  

Tactick J/80 UK Nationals Preview

(Dartmouth, England)-   The Tactick J/80 UK National Championship 2011 in association with Baltic Wharf is being hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club this June 8th to 12th.  Amongst the fleet of 26 runners and riders is an extremely impressive group of old and new faces in the fleet.

Frank Rowsell is one of the "new kids on the block". Frank is based in Exmouth and is a very skilled skiff and dinghy sailor.  East Coast sailmaker Matthew Vincent also makes his J/80 debut in Dartmouth this week in his brand new boat FLIPPER. Mark Greenaway and his crew on the imaginatively named TBA have plenty of sportsboat experience and are a very skilled sailing team; Mark will be looking to put everything he’s learned over the years into practice in the West country this week.

Local boat BALTIC WHARF, skippered by one of the youngest competitors at the event, Henry Bomby has shown great form before and one would certainly expect this talented young crew to finish somewhere "up in the chocolates" (e.g. "the podium").  Nigel Banford (Dartmouth’s J/80 Class Captain) has worked tirelessly to put this event together and he will be racing JUST SO.

The famous SPITFIRE, raced by the Royal Air Force team, Tony Hanlon and Andy ‘Rodders’ Rodwell have been super quick on the Solent in recent months and with the legendary Ian Southworth on board to call the shots, they are clearly serious contenders. They will be missing their front-man though: Simon ‘Sling’ Ling is part way through a tour in Afghanistan but will be watching his crew-mates performance when he can.

Stewart Hawthorn comes back to the J/80 fleet after some time away and he is always fast in JUMPIN JENGA. For the Nationals, Stewart has tactician Duncan McDonald (past I-14 World Champion) joining his crew, fresh from his win at the J/109 Nationals which took place last week-- talk about "loading the deck"!   Also back after some time away are Rob Larke and his co-owner Nic Barnes, sailing their new rocket-ship J2X. They’ve been quick before and expectations are high for a strong performance this week.
Sailing Photo Credit- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com    For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

  

TIGRINA Wins RHKYC J/80 Spring Regatta

(Hong Kong, China)- On the weekend of May 14-15, the Royal Hong Kong YC hosted their annual Spring Regatta and had an enormous turn-out for their one-design classes.  This year's event also served as the inaugural Spring Regatta for the club's J/80 fleet.

In a clear demonstration that they've begun to master sailing J/80s fast are Andrew Moore's team on TIGRINA, taking the Spring Regatta with a 1-2-1 to win with 4 pts.  Second was Lucinda Ho and Sam Phillips racing MOZZIE with a 3-1-4 tally for 8 points.  Third was Bruce Perkins on DELIAWITE with a 5-3-2 score for ten points.  Rounding out the top five were Clark/ Bulmer racing JASMINE to fourth and Pauline Kong sailing FIGURE OF EIGHT to fifth.   For more Royal Hong Kong YC sailing information