J.A.T. Wins J/80 Hamble One-Designs

J/122 JOULOU, J/109 J'TAIME, J/111 JET Lead Hamble Winter Series
(Hamble, England)- Winter finally showed its ugly, nasty teeth to the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships over the past weekend, to mark the halfway point of the series.  While nothing like what their American colonialist counterparts had to survive with an even nastier gal named "Sandy", the gangsters sailing around the Solent certainly had their fair share of bad stuff to contend with for weather.

Saturday was the first day of the final weekend of the Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships. But a ferocious forecast and bitingly cold northerly wind put paid to the plans of the J/80 class, whose racing was cancelled. Only the J/109s ventured out for one race, before racing was called off for the day. One boat lost their rig, which broke above the top spreader, and another two boats had already retired. Steve Maine’s J2EAU won the race, around a minute ahead of JYNNAN TONNYX and YEOMAN OF WIGHT.

Hopes were high for better conditions on Sunday, with competitors enjoying an extra hour in bed as the clocks went back. Despite the cold morning, competitors were greeted by a much more civilized 11-18 knots from the west. The race team set each class two races from up to Hill Head for the smaller boats, and East Knoll for the bigger boats, to laid gate and leeward marks downwind.  J/80s in the Lewmar Hamble One Design Championship fleet raced in the mouth of Southampton Water, sailing three races.

Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships
After the final three races of the two-weekend Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships on Sunday, Phil Taylor’s J.A.T won the J/80 class overall, three points clear of Jon Powell’s BETTY.

After the cancellation on Saturday losing 4 races, the final 3 races on Sunday were always going to set-up for a grand finale between the main protagonists at the top of the leader-board. 15 boats lined up just off from the Royal Southern race mark with a mixed forecast and strong tides set for the day.

Race 1 - saw Patrick Liardet 'Aqua-J' dominate from start to finish and the team of J.A.T for most of the race were not anywhere near the chocolates, getting the final mark with a strong tide proved the decider where Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul's 'J.A.T' shot back up to 2nd place just beating John Powell's 'Betty'.

Race 2 - the J/80 class is always known for never backing down from a start, and on this occasion it was only a matter of time when the inevitable was going to happen. At 20 seconds (due to about 2 to 3 knots of tide taking the fleet over the line) to go pretty much the entire fleet where recalled and the the PRO decided to break out the Z-Flag... much talk went around the fleet as usually the black flag is usually pulled. 2nd time lucky and the fleet got away, from start to finish it was lead by the team of 'J.A.T' followed by the new Royal Southern YC Academy team 'Spitfire' in 2nd and 'Betty' in 3rd.

Race 3 - with everything still to play for and no outright winner just yet, race 3 was all about getting away at the start. Off the line 'J.A.T' got caught in the pack but the vast experience of the team shot them out towards the front of the fleet. The course now with very little tide was a game of getting the right shifts upwind and down and therefore the fleet remained incredibly tight. At the finish though it was Phil and Kevin's 'J.A.T' bringing the fleet home first with John Powell's 'Betty' snatching 2nd place from new UK Chairman Mark Baskerville's 'Mistral'.

So overall the team of 'J.A.T' won but it wasn't an easy task. The fleet would like to thank Hamble River SC for organising a great event and look forward to working with them in 2013 to develop this fantastic end of year championships.

The J/109s raced with the main Garmin Hamble Winter Series fleet. Christopher Palmer’s J-TAIME posted two firsts on Sunday, but this wasn’t enough to beat Owain Franks’ JYNNAX TONNYX, whose 2 second places on Sunday, was enough put them two points clear overall.  In second is Richard & Valerie Griffith's OUTRAJEOUS with 25 pts.  This is Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB a scant one point back with 26 pts in third.  The balance of the top five is Steve Maine in J2EAU tied on points but in fourth on the tie-break with David Rolfe & Andy Johns' SHADOWFAX.

Garmin Hamble Winter Series
In the main series, the shifty, patchy breeze meant that large gains and losses were there for the taking, and in many classes the status quo was upset by some fantastic displays of tactical sailing. Andark was the day sponsor, and presented prizes to the winners in each class.

In IRC 0 Class, Ivan Trotman’s J/122 JOLOU posted two firsts to take them four points clear at the top of the class.  Things were closer in the IRC 3 class with Nick & Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE having an "off-weekend", scoring a 6-2 to drop back to second in class just two points off the pace for 1st overall with 11 pts.

In the one-designs, David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM enjoyed similar success in the J/111 class taking two bullets for the weekend to be winning class with 10 pts.  Second is Cornel Riklin's tough French crew onboard JITTERBUG with a 3-3 to keep 2nd place and third is Tony Mack's McFLY with 16 pts total.

For the J/109s, Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB is leading with 10 pts followed by Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX in second with 14 pts and David McLeman's OFFBEAT in third with 18 pts.

Next week, there’s a break in the series, before it resumes on the 11th November. The next four weeks have one race per day to get competitors in before the light fades. Enjoy the break and see you in a fortnight!   For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information

J/80 North Americans Preview

(Fort Worth, Texas)- This coming weekend, the Fort Worth Boat Club will be hosting the J/80 North Americans on Eagle Mountain Lake form Oct 31st to Nov 4th.  Thirty-one teams are expected to compete with an incredibly talented group of sailors participating, with multiple North American and World Champions represented.  With a weather forecast that looks considerably better than the "Superstorm Sandy" the northeast had to contend with, it looks like sunny and southerly breezes will prevail until Saturday, then a chance of thunderstorms with partly cloudy skies Sunday.  Nevertheless, since Eagle Mountain Lake is surrounded by rolling hillsides, the sailors will be tactically challenged all weekend to figure out which side of the lake to choose on each leg!

As a precursor for the J/80 NA's, the FWBC hosted the 38th "Old Man of the Sea Regatta" this past weekend- it was a great regatta warm-up for the up-coming J/80 North Americans.  Many of the top teams were sailing for "Old Man of the Sea" honors. Fittingly, the Terry Flynn/ David Whelan team onboard QUANTUM RACING took the event with four 1sts in their 7 races (past J/80 North American Champions).  Second were the renowned Forth Worth locals, Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard racing LE TIGRE just three points back (also World, North American and Key West Champions).  Third was Jay Lutz from Houston, TX sailing FIRED UP (another World and Key West Champion). Fourth was Brian Keane from Marion, MA on SAVASANA fresh off his J/80 East Coast Champs effort in Annapolis (also a Key West Champion) along with Bruno Pasquinelli (a North American champion) on TIAMO in fifth.  If you had to write a script as to which top five teams would be fighting it out for the top five spots at the J/80 North Americans on "home turf" on Eagle Mountain Lake, there you have it-- any one of them can win it!

Showing up for the event from other parts of the compass across America to give the "local cowboys" a "run-for-the-money" include top California team Curt Johnson sailing AVET from California YC; Kerry Klingler (a World and North American Champion) and Abuzeni Nizar sailing ARROW from Long Island Sound; the family team of Tom Klok, Will & Marie Crump sailing GULDFAXE from Annapolis, MD and Copenhagen, Denmark (SW NOOD Champions); class ring-leaders Kirsten & Brian Robinson with Tim Borland on the famous ANGRY CHAMELEON from Annapolis; and Chris Chadwick on CHURCH KEY also from Annapolis, amongst many others!   For more J/80 North Americans sailing information

SAVASANA Dominates J/80 East Coasts

(Annapolis, MD)-  Eastport YC hosted the J/80 East Coast Championship over the October 13-14 weekend, providing a great seven-race series.  The twenty-four boat fleet was deeply laden with talent as many boats were using the event as a warm-up for the J/80 North Americans being held Eagle Mountain Lake in Forth Worth, hosted by the Fort Worth Boat Club.  In the end, top J/80 and J/105 sailor Brian Keane sailed SAVASANA to a solid series with scores of 1-2-4-1-3-1-2 for 14 pts to win the regatta 19 pts clear of the rest of the fleet.  Brian's team was never really challenged for the lead as their erstwhile competitors could only muster short runs of races to even stay close.

Perhaps the biggest battle of the regatta took place for the balance of the podium in the silver and bronze spots.  Vying for silver were John White, Will Crump, Bruno Pasquinelli, Daniel Wittig and Kirsten Robinson.  All of their teams experienced quite the "roller-coaster" rides as they fought hard to stay in contention and avoid the one disastrous race.  At the end of the day, everyone in this drop had a least one bad race, destroying any chance to even consider catching Keane's sharp sailing team on SAVASANA.

The last two races provided the deciding factor amongst these half-dozen boats.  John White's crew managed to avoid some of the difficulties other teams had avoiding the nasty race, managing to hammer home a scoreline of 11-3-5-4-1-4-7 for a total of 35 pts to secure second overall.  Third was Will Crump, demonstrating that his team could sail fast and smart at times with a scoreline of 2-8-16-9-2-2-1 for 40 pts.  Fourth was Bruno Pasquinelli's team, they started strong and were vying for the lead, but faded hard towards the end, accumulating a 3-5-2-2-5-20-5 record for 42 pts.  Fifth saw Daniel Witting finish with a flourish in the last two races, but not enough to overcome some bomber races earlier, tallying a 6-6-14-3-15-3-3 for a total of 50 pts.

Thanks must go to the sponsors, West Marine Rigging, Annapolis Sailing School, APS, SpinSheet, Bacons, Tom's Shoes & Sunglasses, Eastport YC, J World, and North Point Yacht Sales.   Sailing photo credits- Tom Hasbrouck   For more J/80 East Coast Championship sailing results

Jesperson Wins Danish J/80 Championship

(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The Thiele J/80 Class Championship for Denmark saw twelve teams competing over five races on the weekend of October 6th and 7th near Copenhagen.  The weekend of sailing provided the teams with incredibly challenging sailing conditions, ranging from light, shifty airs the first day to near epic, "fresh to frightening" conditions on the second for the teams.

On Saturday the wind was very weak for the first two races, so it was difficult to keep pace in the boat and go in the right places on the course. A southbound current flow required further attention by the competitors.  In the light wind, it was Lier's crew that had consistently good starts and great speed-- they finished the first day in first place.

Sunday saw three races in the plenty of wind, often blowing in excess of 25 kts in the puffs.  It was in these sailing conditions that Jesper Jespersen's crew showed great speed, experience and flawless boat-handling make the difference.  No bad spinnaker hoists, great gybes downwind and no "shrimping" (dropping of spinnakers in the water), meant they were catching boats all-around the race course.  Sunday's first race saw Jesper Jespersen first, then Sofie Hessel Source and her almost girl crew and then Lier. The rest of the teams recognized that time spent on the water practicing was paying off for the top teams.  As Sunday progressed, sailed more and more without spinnakers for the more inexperienced teams, the top teams were flying around the course in the big puffs.  For others, it was getting too difficult to deal with the fast-closing speeds coming into the leeward marks and having to drop the spinnaker without getting into trouble.  For some, there were many "Kodak moments" and others a great educational experience.  By the third race on Sunday, it was obvious that fatigue was taking its toll on the sailors, so the RC's PRO wisely decided to send the boats in the harbor after 3 races.

One year after J/80 World Cup in Dragor the J/80 class continues to grow nicely with several new privately owned boats in Denmark as well as several sailing clubs considering buying the J/80 for their club sailing programs.  Today, there are nearly thirty J/80s actively sailed in Denmark.  Thanks for the contribution from Jens Kristian.   For more Danish J/80 sailing information

J/80 Police World Championship Preview

(Hong Kong, China)-  More fascinating sailing development in Asia.  As sailing activity continues to grow faster in China and the rest of Asia, the three principal sailing clubs on Hong Kong's amazing harbor- Royal Hong Kong YC, Aberdeen Boat Club and Hebe Haven YC- are coordinating with the Hong Kong Police Sailing Club to host the Police World Sailing Championship on International J/80 One-Designs.  Talking about broadening the scope of sailing and participation on a global scale!  Police teams from around the world have been practicing on J/80s, wherever they can find them, to prepare for this extraordinary event.

The J/80 Police Worlds will be held in Hong Kong from Oct 21st to 27th.  The event is being sponsored by the Hong Kong Police and a company called "SF Express" - a well known "FedEx" type company that services Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.  Thirteen teams from Hong Kong (3), Australia, England (2), Ireland, Austria, Netherlands, Germany (2) and Switzerland (2) will be participating.  Rumor has it that several police teams believe Lauren Mead's all-girls team on the J/80 HAKAWATI, recent winners of Hebe Haven YC's Typhoon J/80 Series, may have the magic ingredients for coaching better tactics and strategy in the capricious waters of Hong Kong Harbour!  For more Hong Kong Police Sailing Club and J/80 Police World Championship sailing information

Williams Trumps Match Race France

Englishman Eclipses World's Top Match Racers
(Marseille, France)- The reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour champion, Ian Williams won the Match Race France title and moved up to take the overall lead of the Tour. Williams did it by defeating the young New Zealander, Will Tiller 2-0 in a downpour and freshening breeze off Marseille in the matched fleet of J/80 one-design racers. The final was delayed by light winds, so the race committee shortened it to the first to two points. When it did freshen enough to start racing, the rapidly increasing breeze came with heavy rain - not exactly Mediterranean conditions! It did not put Williams off his game however, with a shut-out in the first race, he then passed Tiller at the final mark in the second race to close it out.

The overall Tour leader, Bjorn Hansen added no points to his score at Match Race France, after finishing ninth, while Williams scored 25 points for his win. It means that Williams now takes a nine point lead into the final two events of the year, the Gold Cup in Bermuda next week, and then the season finale, the Monsoon Cup in early December in Malaysia.   For some great YouTube video action   For more World Match Race Tour sailing information

DYNAMANT Wins J/80 Cup Sweden

J/80 Sweden End-of-Summer Update
(Marstrand, Sweden)- The J/80 fleet in Sweden continues to have a very active schedule, despite having one of the shortest sailing seasons in the world for any J/80 fleet!  With their J/80s spread across Sweden from Stockholm in the northeast to Marstrand on the west coast to Gothenburg and Malmo further south along the Baltic, the Swedish J/80 sailors make it a point to travel around to some great places to sail during the summer just a few miles south of the Arctic Circle!

The SM Regatta in 2012 again goes to ROCAD RACING, for the second consecutive year they sailed home with the gold for being top Swedish J/80 in this event.  The team has been on the podium before and during the past year they have also participated in several International J/80 events, including the J/80 Worlds in Dartmouth, United Kingdom. 

Finally, the J/80 Cup 2012 was settled over this past weekend and it was also the last regatta of the J/80 Cup season.  This year's winner was the team at DYNAMANT followed by HAPPY, HEAVY DUTY and MK-PRODUCTS. The TEAM DYNAMANT winners were rewarded with gift cards sponsored by BUBBLE and also the IT consulting company DYNAMANT (ironic, right(?), to win your own sponsor's trophies?).  Many thanks must also be given to all others - both sailors and officials who helped out over the course of the season.

As teams are now beginning to haul their boats, many were contemplating plans for the 2013 sailing schedule. There seems to be many who are eager to trade down to France during the winter and sail in both J/Cup French Championships in November and SPI Ouest France during Easter/ Holy Week in La Trinite sur Mer, France.  Then, of course, the Swedish teams could then sail the J/80 Worlds in early July in Marseille, France along the French Riviera!  More news on this concept soon!  For more J/80 Sweden sailing information

Tabares Takes J/80 Copa Espana

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- Only in Spain.  A nation that has produced some great sailors in the last decade or so.  J/80 sailors dominating the Volvo Ocean Race on Volvo 70s with the Martinez family having an impact on sailing TELEFONICA.  Olympic 49ers, Olympic 470s and other classes the Spaniards have sailed well.  And, sailing J/80s has proven to be their "national testing ground" for next-generation keelboat sailors.  It's clear Spanish sailing team efforts have seen their efforts come to fruition on a global scale in the J/80 class.  Nowhere is this more self-evident than sailing against some of the world's best sailors in the J/80 Worlds- Spanish teams have won the last SIX J/80 Worlds in a row (Dartmouth 2012 (UK), Copenhagen 2011 (Denmark), Newport 2010 (RI, USA), Santander 2009 (Spain), Kiel 2008 (Germany), La Trinite sur Mer 2007 (France))!

Therefore, when the top teams in Spain congregate for their Copa Espana from around the country at the High Performance Center in Los Alcazares Infanta Cristina de Murcia, it's going to be clear that year-end "bragging rights" for "top dog" in the Spanish sailing world will be the winner of the Copa Espana.  The world be damned, who wins in Spain is what counts.

The first day of sailing was marked by a good breeze of 15 kts average, which made it easy to get in three races for the madding crowd of champions. From the start the fleet opted for the left side of the course, led by Rayco Tabares at the helm of the J/80 AUTRAN who would never relinquish his lead to win the first race.  The second race was for local and reigning Copa del Rey Mapfre J/80 Champion Carlos Martinez.  With a great start, he controlled the race despite repeated attacks by Rayco Tabares' AUTRAN, with whom he had a nice "match race" in the second beat.  In the third and final race of the day, the strategy again favored those who got left.  Again, Rayco's AUTRAN team started well and won the race followed by Carlos Martinez on MAPFRE.  The reigning world champion Jose Maria van der Ploeg and his crew of NILFISK after a slow start stood at 6th place overall after the first day.

The second day was marked with hotly contested races amongst the top ten teams.  The Race Committee had a difficult job because the wind was unstable in strength and direction. It would not be possible to start the first race of the day until 2:30 p.m. with winds of 5 to 9 knots.  On the first beat the fleet divided between left and right with a clear advantage to HERBALIFE sailed by Leonardo Armas playing the middle of the course quite well, rounding the first weather mark first and never relinquishing his lead in difficult, shifty conditions.  The second race was clearly for NILFISK and MAPFRE on the left side of the course on the first beat, finishing 1-2 in that order.  For the third race, Jose Maria van der Ploeg after a great start took the lead from the start and with good speed controlled all his rivals to win the race.  Meanwhile, the battle for second place was between three boats, Rayco Tabares' AUTRAN, Carlos Martinez's MAPRE and Jose Ballester's Bureaufax-Eu; ultimately they finished in that order.

After trying to get races going on the third and last day of the event, the RC had to cancel all racing after 1500 hours. As a result, Rayco Tabares on AUTRAN was proclaimed the 2012 Copa de Espana Champion with just 11 pts net with a well-sailed 1-2-1-3-6-2-2 record.  Second was Carlos Martinez on MAPFRE with a dsq-1-2-8-1-3-10 record for 25 pts net.  Third was current J/80 World Champion NILFISK with José María Van der Ploeg with a 7-7-13-4-2-1-1 for 26 pts net, narrowly missing out getting second for the regatta.  Fourth was Emilio Azofra on YACHT PORT CARTAGENA sailing a solid series with an 11-3-3-9-4-9-1 record for 20 pts net.  And, rounding out the top five was Pablo Benjumeda on PUERTO SHERRY I scoring a commendable 4-4-9-7-5-7-3 for 30 pts net.  Close racing, indeed, for the top five overall!

The awards ceremony was attended by the Director General of Sports of the Region of Murcia, Antonio Peñalver, accompanied by the mayor of Los Alcazares, Anastasio Bastida; RFEV president, Gerardo Pombo, president FVRM, Pedro Román, Spain J80 class president, Alejandro Diaz, with his secretary, and Pepe Gándara Cartagena Premium BMW manager, Miguel Angel Poor.   J/80 Copa Espana YouTube  For more J/80 Copa Espana sailing information

J/80 Match Race France

World's Top Match Racers Sailing 80s In Marseilles 
(Marseille, France)- As the world’s top match racers arrive in Marseille for Match Race France this week, they embark on two crucial events in two weeks, which could transform the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) leader-board ahead of the season-finale Monsoon Cup in December. Pierre-Antoine Morvan believes his Vannes Agglo Sailing Team can be one of the surprise packages.

Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team comes to his home regatta after a podium finish at the recent St. Moritz Match Race and a strong performance at last week’s final warm-up, Internationeaux de France de Match Racing in Pornichet, where he lost in the final to compatriot Mathieu Richard.

Morvan holds a Tour Card for the first time this year but has proved his abilities against the world’s top match racers, establishing joint third position in the overall Tour leader-board. He now feels that a win at his favorite event of the season can set up an exciting showdown for the Tour title. He said: “We have been looking forward to this event, it will be a great feeling to sail the Alpari World Tour in France. We know the boats as we use the J/80’s at home and we know the event from previous years.  If we win Match Race France, we can start thinking about winning the whole Tour. Coming into our first full season we were targeting a top 5 finish. Now I think we can do a good event here and go to the Monsoon Cup aiming for the podium and challenging for the title hopefully.”

Twenty-five points are available to each the winner of Match Race France and the subsequent Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda (1-7 Oct) and should one team manage to win both, they could transform their season as Johnie Berntsson managed in the 2011 season, taking a podium finish at the last event of the season.

Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team went into last year’s final three events in mid-table but managed to take second place at both the Argo Group Gold Cup and Monsoon Cup, securing a third overall in the premier international sailing series. Having recorded a season-best fifth place at the recent St. Moritz Match Race and currently sitting in eighth position on the leader-board, he is hoping that he can recreate that late run of results once again. He said: “I’m expecting us to finish strongly again this year, perhaps even more so than last year. It is still wide open this season I think, there are a few teams that could come through to challenge and we’re one of them."

Match Race France sees wildcard entries from local favorite and 2011 event winner, Damien Iehl (FRA) Wind 2 Win, former ISAF Match Racing World Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) Black Match and recent Women’s Elliot 6m Olympic Champion, Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) Echegoyen Team.

Gold medallist Echegoyen is excited about taking on the world’s top match races and thinks her team can really hone their abilities amongst a world class professional field. She said: “The Olympics was a great experience and something that made me very happy. This is the a very different challenge and it’s the first time I’ve entered a men’s event at this level. It’ll definitely be a challenge and one I can really learn a lot from every day. It’ll be really good for our development. I am expecting that perhaps the racing will be slightly more aggressive and with the bigger boats, it is likely to be a bit more physical than we are used to. Let’s see how we get on.”   For more World Match Race Tour sailing information

PIKE Dominates J/80 German Open

(Flensburg, Germany)- This past weekend nineteen J/80s from Germany, Denmark and Poland sailed in the J/80 GERMAN OPEN 2012 off Flensburg, Germany. The GER-614 "PIKE" with helmsman Martin Menzner celebrated an outstanding title defense- with 6 bullets in 8 races (3-1-1-1-1-1-7-1 = 9 pts net)!  This performance equalled their triumphant victory in Kieler Woche earlier this season.  PIKE was the leader for all 3 days of the J/80 German Open championship, dominating in all conditions from 4 to 22 kts of breeze.  With this win the team continues to maintain their #1 position for J/80s in Germany.  So far, PIKE has enjoyed an excellent record sailing in the J/80 German sailing circuit, in six years of campaigning their J/80, they've won four German Opens and five Kiel Week titles!

Giving PIKE tough competition all year long were the second placed PROCEDES DIVA (1-2-2-10-2-4-5-4 = 20 pts net) and CAMPAIGN (4-5-5-2-DNF-2-1-8 = 27 pts net).   For more J/80 German Open sailing information

J2X Wins J/80 UK Nationals

(Hamble, England)-  Following on from the very successful J/80 World Championship held in Dartmouth this June, the J/80 fleet returned to the Solent on the weekend of the 8th September for the The MIQ Logistics 2012 J/80 National Championship. Hosted by Hamble’s Royal Southern Yacht Club, the event was included in the final weekend of their summer series. Sponsors MIQ Logistics, SLAM clothing and Coast Graphics continued their support from the World Championship.

The fleet of 27 boats was just one less than the previous highest total for the UK Championship. There was a very broad speed of ages competing, from the hugely experienced senior statesmen through to a handful of boats being sailed by students and other young teams. The generosity of owners who had loaned their boats had facilitated this.

Day one dawned with a lack of wind in the morning increasing to 8-10 knots in the afternoon.  Race officer Dermod O’Malley made the wise decision to postpone ashore for two hours.  The program got under way just before 1pm in a 6-8 easterly, in flat water conditions and warm sunshine. The hottest helm on day one was Rob Larke sailing J2X. Rob and his team achieved a perfect score of three bullets which converted into a six point overnight lead. Second best for the day was Nick Haigh sailing Slightly Steamy, a  very tidy two seconds and a fifth were the proof that Nick’s transition from his last boat, a 46 footer, had been a success.  The late start, combined with a breeze that softened as the ebb tide increased, saw the third race shortened and the fleet sent home at 5 o’clock. Allan Higgs’s Juicy completed the podium on the first day.

Saturday night saw the liveliest of the fleet mixing with the rest of the Royal Southern Yacht Club’s September regatta sailors, at the appropriately titled "Best of the Eighties Party".

A further three races were scheduled for Sunday. With the easterly breeze once again established, the program got under way on time and finally saw J2 X beaten as Stuart Hawthorn’s J’ai Deux Amours struck gold in race four. Second was Mark Baskerville’s Mistral, third place went to Jon Powell’s Betty.  The race team now signalled a postponement prior to race five, the easterly was waning and intelligence from the West of the race course indicated a new weather system was about to arrive.  Sure enough after an hour a nice South Westerly of 10 knots kicked in, which built to a solid 20 throughout the afternoon. Race five saw the fleet in full planing mode and if this was to be the last big event of the summer it truly was a great day to remember. Rob Larke managed to claw back the lead from Patrick Liardet’s Aqua J to score his fourth bullet. Aqua J followed home in second with Mark Lees’ boats.com in third.  In the sixth and final race J2X achieved an incredible fifth bullet. Boats.com took second and J.A.T took their second bronze of the weekend.

At the prize-giving, Rob Larke’s J2X was crowned the MIQ Logistics 2012 J/80 National Champion. Nick Haigh’s Slightly Steamy took a very solid second, Jon Powell’s Betty was third. A stellar performance from the team of 420 sailors on Chris Taylor’s J.A.T saw them sweep fourth.

Next year the National Championship is bound for England ’s East Coast for the first time in the class’ 15 year history. The 2012 J/80 World Championship will be held in Marseille, France in June with a forecast 150 boat entry, this will eclipse the previous record of 131 in Santander, Spain!  For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

J/80 UK Nationals Preview

(Hamble, England)- For The Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble, the weekend of Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September marks the last of their 2012 regatta series, one which provides competitive top class racing for one-design and IRC keelboats. Commencing on Saturday morning, the series will incorporate The MIQ Logistics 2012 J/80 National Championship, for which twenty boats are expected to compete.

The MIQ Logistics 2012 J/80 National Championship will be warmly welcomed back to Hamble after a brief hiatus in Dartmouth in June last year. Among the boats expected to collect silverware will be Hamble-based JAT, skippered by Chris Taylor. Chris is the son of co-owner Phil Taylor, who along with Kevin Sproul put in a fantastic performance at the 2012 World Championship, making JAT winner of best British performing boat. Chris will also be hoping to retain his father’s trophy; JAT was crowned National Champion in 2011.

The competition, as well as being a significant stand alone event, is great preparation for the world competition in Marseille next year, for which the international fleet predicts a record breaking 150 entries. At this year’s event, host town Dartmouth welcomed seventy-six J/80 sailors from Ireland to Hong Kong , demonstrating the on-going strength of this exciting fleet. Sixty new boats have just been sold in Europe, with even more in America.

The Race Officer will keep the J/80 fleet busy on the water; four races are scheduled for the first day of the event and three on the second and final day. A fitting and no doubt lively 80’s themed party will take place at the Royal Southern Yacht Club on Saturday night for those celebrating or commiserating their start to the Championship. The prize-giving will take place on Sunday afternoon, where as well as silverware and glassware, the top teams can expect to collect some desirable first-rate sailing gear from supporting sponsor SLAM.  For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

QUANTUM SAILS wins J/80 Pornic Cup

(Pornic, France)- As the next leg in J/Cup France 2012 series, the Pornic Cup hosted by the Cantiere Navale Pornic saw twenty-six boats participate in the hopes of securing good results to end the season-long championship in the top five.  It has been a battle all year to determine which teams would emerge unscathed from the battle to survive and command the podium positions at the end of the 2012 series.  New actors on the stage are introduced all the time and this regatta was no exception.  Sailing to a well-deserved victory was the QUANTUM SAILS team led by Jean Queveau along with team-mates Axel Trehin, Damien Iehl and two women- Veronique Soule and Claire Pruvot.

The weather forecast was quite promising, with strong winds for sailing on Friday and Saturday with winds diminishing into the single digits for Sunday with warm weather and sun!  Sailed over the August 24th to 26th weekend, the teams couldn't have asked for better sailing conditions.  After sailing six races, the QUANTUM SAILS team managed to post a 1-2-1-1-4-6 record for a net of 9 pts.  Top French J/80 team INTERFACE CONCEPT II sailed by French Champion Eric Brezellec also managed to sail a consistent scoreline, his 3-3-2-7-1-2 for 11 net pts was good enough for the silver and an improved position in the top three for the overall J/Cup France trophy.  Perhaps the most frustrated team was that led by Vincent Vandekerkhove, their DUNKERQUE PLAISANCE team sailed the most consistently of the top three, scoring a 2-1-3-3-2-3 for a 14 pt gross total and 11 net total to not only lose the tie-breaker to Brezellec's IC-II team, but also lose the win on gross pts to end up third overall!  The balance of the top five included Jacques Hubert sailing EOS to a 6-4-6-8-3-1 score to finish on a high-note with just 20 pts net to secure 4th overall and lying fifth was Paul Chiron sailing JULES to a 4-8-7-5-5-4 for 25 pts net.  Sailing photo credits- Pierrick Contin/ France. For more J/80 Pornic Cup sailing information

"Girl Power" Trumps Hebe Haven J/80 Series

(Hong Kong, China)- Sailing is growing faster and faster in China and nowhere is this more evident than the J/80 teams that are sailing off the two principal clubs on Hong Kong's amazing harbor- Royal Hong Kong YC and their counterparts on the north side, Hebe Haven YC.  Both clubs have done a remarkable job to cultivate sailing as both a recreational activity and competitive sport-- especially for women, children and newcomers to sailing in China.  Well, it seems the program is beginning to demonstrate that it has some interesting dividends.  Recently, it looks like the "girls" beat the "boys" in the Hebe Haven Typhoon J/80 Series.

More to the point, Lauren Mead's all-girls team won on their J/80 HAKAWATI!  Here is Lauren's report (courtesy of SA)- "Team Danger, as we're often referred to by the "boys" on the other teams, has had its share of moments in Hong Kong sailing.  The Hebe Haven Typhoon Series concluded with a windless race around the islands (Typhoon Tembin has been threatening to give us some awesome sailing conditions all week but they failed to materialize on the day).  I helm the J/80 HAKAWATI as part of Hong Kong's first all-girls team in about 15 years (we are known as "Team Danger" in Hong Kong for reasons entirely un-deserved), and we won our series overall - with help from some suspect swimwear and distraction tactics!

Thought I would pass the photos along to you as a demo of what NOT to wear sailing (but, our clothing sponsors demanded we needed to!), but also to prove that girls can wear literally anything on a boat and they will get attention!" - Anarchist Lauren.   For more Hebe Haven YC J/80 Sailing information

German J/80 Youth Team Report

* German J/80 Youth sailing team report- from Fynn Terveer- like their Long Island Sound youth sailing buddies, this German J/80 youth team has been having a fun and successful season sailing their boat "Bibelot GER 529".  Here's Fynn's report-

"Our team of BIBELOT GER 529 got funding from the German J/80 Class Association to participate in the 2012 German J/80 Open sailing circuit this season.  Some of you we have probably already met, others we have not met on the race course. Therefore I would like to report briefly on our crew.

Our crew is comprised of Malte Harneit (18 yrs old) on main sheet, Felix Stallforth (19 yrs old) on jib sheet, Patrick Flob (17) on the gennaker, and me Terveer Fynn, as skipper.  All of us have been sailing for about five years in the Kieler Yacht Club. Here Felix and Malte had been sailing 29ers for two years in the Kieler Yacht School. Good things have been happening there with great changes for junior sailors.  Patrick and I have sailed for five years and active in the yachting school, along with 35 other young members, we added four more boats and two dinghies.

As with most other J/80 teams, we are ready to race in the Schlei One Design Cup and at German Open in Flensburg. Furthermore, we are ready to sail in Berlin or Hamburg, provided there are enough sailing teams to race us!! We are looking forward to a fun end-of-the-season sailing program!  Best regards, Fynn!"

BABY J Wins Deauville Open

(Deauville, France)- 13 races (11 to count) in four days of racing.  Windward-leeward courses of 1-1.2nm.  Wind from 8-20 kts. It was a prescription for some great sailing by the eighteen J/80 crews assembled for the gorgeous Deauville Open.

After establishing their supremacy in the first eight races with four 1sts, 2nd and 3rd, the team of BABY J lead by Jean Francois Guionet backed off the throttle a little bit and put themselves into "cruise control" knowing that they'd won the regatta with only 3 counters left to go in the entire event to finish with 34 pts.

A strong women sailor in the form of Nathalie Corson led her team on JAWS to a strong second place, only two points behind the BABY J team.  Her finishes nearly were the converse of Jean Francois's team- with a 5-4-6-4-3-2-1-1-3-5-2 for 36 pts.

In third place overall was Marine Cherbourg Issartel sailed by Gilles Drouet with finishes of 2-5-1-6-10-5-4-5-1-1-3 for 43 net pts.    For more J/80 Deauville Open sailing information

J/80 MAPFRE Wins Copa del Rey

(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- The J/80s gathered together in Palma Mallorca for what has to be one of the world's better sailing venues for offshore one-design racing.  The Bay of Palma provides classic sea-breeze conditions most of the time and this year was not a disappointment for most of the sailors.  It all started on the first day for the J/80s.

The Bay of Palma delivered another day of fantastic conditions in spite of a not so optimistic wind forecast. The latter announced light Southerly winds of around 10 knots for most part of the day, but the locally known as "Garbi" picked up progressively reaching 18 to 20 knots. This allowed the fleet to display a fantastic show on the water, which saw several spinnakers blow under such unexpected wind pressure.

The J-80s enjoyed lighter winds in the race area Charly which hosted the day`s two races. Ignacio Camino`s Nextel and Jose María van der Ploeg`s Nilfisk won race one and two respectively, thus cutting down distances with Carlos Martinez`s Mapfre which remains leader in spite of her third and fourth places today.

For the second day of racing, the wind pattern of around 15 knots from the Southwest-West that prevailed the three past days switched to a Southerly-Southwesterly light breeze of around six knots at the beginning of races today, gradually picking up and reaching 12 to 14 knots in the early afternoon. Demanding conditions and very tactical racing in a very decisive day in which discards came into effect in J-80 divisions.

The J-80 division saw Carlos Martinez`s Mapfre increase her lead thanks to her rival`s Nextel`s over the line in the first race and a fourth place in the second, whereas Martinez was second and first. The victory in the first race went to Nilfisk of José María van der Ploeg, but the boat skippered by the Olympic sailor could only finished seventh in the second. Nextel lies second in the overall classification, followed by Nilfisk, which is twenty points clear of fourth classified.

For the third day of sailing, the J-80 Mapfre stood out as clear favorite with just one day of races left. Conditions proved tricky for the J/80s, with 14 knots of wind gusting up to 18 knots and lumpy seas in the first race. Carlos Martínez discarded his result on today`s first race, which was won by Jose María van der Ploeg skippering Nilfisk, and was third in the second, a good result given that his closest competitors, Nilfisk and Nextel where eighth and sixth respectively. Mapfre held to the hot spot with six points advantage over second place Nextel.

For the final day, the Bay of Palma provided perfect sailing which started in Northeasterly winds of 18 knots at the beginning of races, dropping to 12 knots along the day. The wind shifts of around ten degrees and almost flat seas made for the perfect challenge for aspirants to the crown of each class.

In J-80s, Ignacio Camino`s Nextel lost his options when his boat dismasted right before the start of race 1, forcing him to abandon. This benefited Mapfre who got rid of his main contender, so he sailed conservatively the two last races of the event, and got his first Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre crown. Nextel was third.  For more J/80 MAPFRE Regata Copa del Rey sailing information

RAF Sailor, Airman Down

RAF J-Sailor, Airman Down-  We received sad news this past week about a fellow J/80, J/97 and J/109 sailor who was very active on the RAF Sailing Team on the Solent.  Hywel ‘H’ Poole, aged, 28, was one of the three pilots who tragically died in the RAF Tornado fighter jet incident over the north-east coast of Scotland on Tuesday 3 July 2012.

‘H’, a proud Welshman, was born in Bangor and grew up on the water sailing in the British and Welsh Optimist and Laser squads. He joined the RAF in 2006 following a degree in Naval Architecture at Southampton University and excelled through fast jet training. H was a regular on the Solent as a member of the RYA Keelboat Programme, sailing on the Farr 45 and TP52. He also sailed J109's and J80's to huge success with RAF colleagues and often joined his friends on the J97 JIKA-JIKA.

H lived life on the ground as fast as he did in the air and achieved so much in such a short time. Famed for a fast yard, dubious dancing and a heart as big as his hands, he was a true gent who will be sadly missed and never forgotten.  Best wishes and condolences to H's family from the J/Family and friends around the world.

Here’s a little of his flying experience shared by one of his RAF buddies.  Amazing footage (thanks for this contribution from SA).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goEydHDN8JQ

J/80s Sailing Copa del Rey

(Palma Mallorca, Spain)- The 30th edition of the famous Copa Del Rey Audi Mapfre regatta again promises world-class competition in Spain and the Mediterranean.  And, continuing to be one of the pre-eminent classes at this prestigious gathering of sailors from around the world will be the J/80 International Class.  For sailors in Europe, the J/80s have become the breeding ground for top international competitors.  In Spain, in particular, World, Olympic and European champions from many classes are tested routinely in local and regional competitions.

For this year's edition of Copa del Rey, top teams will be participating from Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy.  The UK representative is John Horn sailing BALTIC ROPES/J-SAILING for the Royal Yachting Association.  From Italy, it will be veteran campaigners Massimo Rama on JENIALE! racing for YC Chiavari.  The German teams will be represented by the Segelkameradschaft Das Wappen von Bremen sailing from Bremen, Germany.  Then, Spain is showing up with an armada of recent and past World Champions and national champions, including 2012 World's Champ Jose Maria van der Ploeg sailing NIFILSK/ GREAT SAILING.  Also, in attendance will be NEXTEL ENGINEERING sailed by past World Champ Ignacio Camino and past Copa del Rey champion MAPFRE will be sailed by the Martinez/ Barrionuevo team-- yes, the same Martinez family that saw Iker race the Volvo 70 TELEFONICA in the 2012 Volvo Race.  The racing promises to be extremely competitive across the board.  For more Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre sailing information

Great J/24 & J/80 Kieler Woche Regatta

(Kiel, Germany)- This past week saw one of the largest regattas in Germany finish with a flourish with some great sailing for both the J/24 fleet participating and a growing J/80 class.

In the fifteen boat J/80 class, there were Polish and German crews sailing a good series.  Dominating the class was Germany's Martin Menzner from Kieler YC, winning with a remarkable six 1sts and four 2nds to simply crush the class, eight points clear of second place finisher Malte Christopherson, also of Germany.  Third overall was Thomas Dehler, fourth was Fyn Terveer winning a tie-breaker over fifth place finisher Karsten Thode.

There was a fantastic turnout for the J/24s, with 33 teams attending from Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany.  The J/24s also saw a top team dominate the proceedings, with Kal Mares winning with 29 pts, followed by Frank Schonfedlt in second with 43 pts.  Rounding out the podium was past champion Manfred Konig with 50 pts.  Top Swedish team was Per-Hakan Persson in 7th overall.  For more Kiel Week Regatta sailing information