Baltic Wharf J/80 UK Training

(Dartmouth, England)- Like their French and Spanish counterparts, the J/80 UK sailors are starting to "dial-up" their training programs this spring.  Four training weekends are planned for the UK fleet after Easter. They will include coaching for the fleet, tuning, boat handling practice, race work with the Race Management team for the Worlds and plenty of really good sailing.  It starts on 28-29 April in the Solent then transfers down to Dartmouth for the last three weekends of May.

The Baltic Wharf J/80 Training Program is precisely that: A coaching program which will be led by RYA/Olympic Sailing Coach Jim Saltonstall. It’s a series of training weekends designed to offer those skippers and crews who take part a real step up in performance in advance of the Worlds and a chance to learn the waters in which the regatta will be fought. One of the two final weekends will take place with the PRO and the full race team in attendance.  If you'd like to learn more about how to sail the one-design J/80 faster, please contact Becci Eplett (becci@keyyachting.com) at J/UK Key Yachting Group in Southampton, England.  Sailing Photo Credit- Peter Newton

J/80 Trofeo Maximo Bolado

(Santander, Spain)- The J/80 fleet in Santander enjoyed a good day of racing last weekend, vying for the Trofeo Maximo Bolado.  The high tide and northwest wind around 12 knots (which was subsiding throughout the afternoon), allowed the RC to locate a good race course up to the gorgeous moors that form the backdrop to the harbor.

The first race was dominated from start to finish by Alberto Padron at the helm. NEXTEL's Ignacio Camino was second. Third place was decided in the final meters in favor of VERIGUETO that had Santi Lopez-Vazquez at the helm, ahead of CROCS sailed by Javier Aguado. Finishing fifth was ECC VIVIENDAS, skippered for the occasion by Javier de la Plaza.

In the second race, it was FONESTAR with Peru Mujica at the helm, who led most of the race, but he hooked the anchor line of a mark and lost his position with an "auto-penalty", but managed to finish third despite the setback.

Overall, the thirty boat fleet is pretty tight with the Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS leading the first trophy of the year with 15 points, followed by Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL which has soared to second place (18 points) and third is maintained Jaime Piris on FONESTAR (22). David Madrazo's GO FIT is fourth with 26 and fifth with 31 is CINCUA SOLUCIONES sailed by Toño Gorostegui and Alejandro Diaz.  For more Santander J/80 sailing information   Sailing photo credits- Chapifoto.com

J/80s Sailing Grevelingen Cup Practice

* J/80 Grevelingen Cup Regatta in The Netherlands are having fun getting themselves up to speed in the middle of the European winter.  Conditions have been less than ideal, but they did manage to get some good "GoPro"-like video of their racing.  You can watch some of it here:

YOUTube video---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w1KKeVJ7wU

J/80 French Teams- Sportboat + Training Regatta

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- The J/80 teams in France are starting to dial-up their training programs for 2012 with a focus to get all boats up to speed in time for the early start of the J/80 Worlds in Dartmouth, England in June.

For the second weekend of training, seven enthusiastic teams showed up for a combined weekend of training on Saturday with a Sportboat Regatta on Sunday.

Saturday's sailing was simply fabulous.  Under a wind veering north-northeast from 6-12 knots, flat water and glorious sunshine, the fleet practiced sailing maneuvers and then worked on various starting situations.   At the end of the session, the skippers and crew met for a debrief with their coach and speaker Walter Arnaud (winner of a Spi Ouest France in J/80).  A video of the day is available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlblKR75rlQ

The Sportboat Regatta on Sunday was excellent training for all the crews.  Three windward-leeward races were held in a wind veering north-northeast 4-10 knots under sunny skies.  In the end, the top three J/80s were 1st SENJI, 2nd J-VENTURE and 3rd GREEN RIBBON.  To learn more or participate in the final training weekend email- arnoskipper@yahoo.fr  For more J/80 Challenge Sportboat Regatta sailing information   For more J/80 France Sailing Photo galleries

J/80 + SLAM for Worlds 2012

(Darmouth, England)- SLAM UK has this week confirmed major sponsorship support for the 2012 J/80 World Championship, which will now be "Powered by SLAM". The regatta will take place between the 9th and 15th of June and will be jointly hosted by the Britannia Yacht Club, the Royal Dart Yacht Club and the J/80 UK Class Association.  Both the Opening Ceremony and the Prize-giving Ceremony for 2012 J/80 World Championship Powered by SLAM will take place at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon.

In addition to significant financial support for the regatta, the partnership with cutting edge sportswear company SLAM UK will bring style, flair and inimitable glamour to the event, along with real and quantifiable added value for the competitors of the 80 teams which are predicted to travel to the UK this summer to compete. Not only will competitors be able to enjoy the tangible benefits of SLAM UK’s investment in the Championship, but they will also witness first-hand the competitive edge afforded on the race-track by this technologically advanced clothing range; Chris Ducker, owner of SLAM UK, will also be racing his brand new J/80 at the Worlds.

Chris Ducker explained his passion for SLAM and his commercial desire to be involved at a grass roots level with the J/80 Worlds: ‘I am delighted to have an opportunity to work with the Key Yachting team and for SLAM to sponsor the 2012 J/80 Worlds; this will certainly be a fantastic event on and off the water. I look forward enormously to sailing and socializing in the J/Community throughout the 2012 season.’

At the London Boat Show in January, SLAM UK was appointed official clothing partner of Key Yachting Ltd.  Paul Heys , Managing Director of Key Yachting explained ‘There is a strong parallel between the design credentials of the SLAM technological clothing range and J/Boats, not least in the fundamentally intelligent and performance oriented design. I’ve worn SLAM kit on the water for a number of years and it unfailingly delivers the results one expects. This new partnership is great for Key Yachting and it will also prove extremely valuable to our clients during the coming year. Competitors at the 2012 J/80 World Championship Powered by SLAM have a real treat in store.’

Entries for the 2012 J/80 World Championship are rolling in at serious pace now. The online entry system at http://www.j80worlds2012.com is easy to use, the entry fee represents real value for money and Brittany Ferries has offered discounted pricing for J/80 teams traveling to the UK from the continent. February may be frosty but the competition in Dartmouth in June is looking hotter than ever.

For those of you who may not be familiar with SLAM's participation in sailing, their mission is to conceive, test, and produce advanced technology sportswear in order to improve the performance of sailors and to create a nautically-inspired sportswear collection for everyone with a passion for the sea.  Selected by many of the world's top sailors and competitive racing teams, SLAM sailing gear not only protects against the worst of the weather but, at the same time, allows for maximum comfort and freedom of movement.  You can learn more about SLAM's sailing products here- http://www.slamuk.com

For more information on the J/80 Sportsboat or the 2012 World Championship Powered by SLAM, please contact Becci Eplett of the J/80 UK Class Association at becci@keyyachting.com.

J/80 Grevelingen Cup

(Marina Port Zelande, Ouddorp, Netherlands)- Over the course of the second weekend in January, the J/80 fleet in the Netherlands have their sites set on a good showing in this summer's J/80 World's in Dartmouth, England.  Like their French sailing friends to the south, they recognize the opportunity to grow their fleets, increase overall participation and have some good performances to show for their efforts.   Even further south in Spain, the evidence is abundantly clear that organization coalescing around several key events with training/practice weekends designed to get "everyone" up-to-speed makes an enormous difference for even the top crews! That the Spanish J/80 class has created several J/80 World Champions is no accident.  They have fun sailing and, most importantly, make sure that no one is left behind.  No prima-donna's there, that's for sure (must the sangria and tapas)!

As was reported this past week from J/80 sailors at the Grevelingen Cup, "training is clearly starting to bear fruit.  In the Grevelingen Cup last weekend, the fleet of fourteen boats sailed very close together.  How you finished was determined by meters or less for the top five positions.  That's great racing!"

For 2012, the J/80 class in Belgium and the Netherlands have a number of objectives to continue growing the class and participation in major events.  One of those is to grow a fleet of ten boats in the northern Benelux areas.  As a result, the summer 2012 sailing season is envisioned to encompass the following events:

February- Grevelingencup Series

March- last Grevelingencup plus awards.  JOIE de VIVRE proposes sail training between the G-Cup matches, time and place TBD.

April 28-29- Almere Regatta Muiderzand. Berths for the entire fleet in the harbor are "FREE"! Working on "free beer", too.

June-August- Naarden- sailing Wednesday "beer-can" races, minimum 5 J/80s present. Create a Netherlands/ Benelux Nationals.

Please contact us at the J/80 Benelux/ Netherlands class association.   For more J/80 Grevelingen Cup sailing information   For a nice video on J/80 sailing the Grevelingen Cup.

J/80 TV- J80s Sailing off Spain

The J/80s sailing off Santander, Spain are starting to document some of their adventures sailing against one another.  Not a bad fleet to learn from! Just a few J/80 World Champions in Spain and the tops guys are from Santander-- including the two most recent J/80 World Champs.  Here are a selection of videos from various boats.

For the ESP 880 team- here's their commentary-  "Great sailing conditions. NW wind ranging 18-25 knots. Gusty with rain squalls. Recorded while attending regular fleet racing. Unfortunately, I lost a GoPro2 attached to the bow-sprit in the process. Don't worry, a new one is on the way!  Javier Lopez-Vazquez helming on ESP 880."  The skipper of NEXTEL ENGINEERING is Ignacio Camino and, of course, the leader of ECC VIVIENDAS is Pichu Torcida.  Good perspectives on sail trim, body movements, boat positioning on waves and boat-for-boat positioning- very informative and instructional!

Jan 30th sailing- ESP 880 sailing team
Jan 28th sailing- ESP 880 sailing team
Jan 28th sailing- NEXTEL ENGINEERING sailing team
Jan 28th sailing- ECC VIVIENDAS sailing team
November- J/80 Mundialito off Santander