Stellar J/80 UK Nationals

(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron from Friday 14th June to Sunday 16th June 2013, the large J/80 fleet held their National Championships in widely varying, challenging sailing conditions on the Solent.  Winner in the J/80s was Rob Larke on J2X.

Expectations were high amongst the J/80 fleet following a stellar 2012 season. The J/80 World Championships came to the UK for the first time in seven years, and hosted an incredible seventy-six boats from nine nations including the USA and Hong Kong. Twenty-six boats then went on to compete in the J/80 UK Nationals in September. The Nationals provided a nice warm up for UK teams sailing the 2013 World Championships in July, where more than 130 boats are expected to travel to host city Marseille.

The first day of the regatta on Friday could not have been nicer.  Both fleets were presided over by PRO Captain Simon Van Der Byl. Conditions on the race-track (in the area of Brambles Bank) were some of the Solent’s finest with a brisk but variable 10 to 18 knots from South to South West. Captain Van Der Byl explained, "We really did have the best of days. We had to use the Z flag on the first start for the J/80 fleet but after that the behavior of both the J/70s and the J/80s was immaculate."

The J/80s were first away for Race 1 of the two races scheduled. Once the fleet had settled down following the deployment of the Z flag, Kevin Sproul led Race 1 from the start in J.A.T and took the bullet at the finish line. Sproul said, "The Squadron did a fantastic job with the course. We sailed well and we had good boat speed. In the second race Stewart Hawthorn just got past us. It was great racing." Hawthorn and his crew on board J’ai Deux Amours were clearly pleased with the way things went for them. "We managed to get away from the fleet and get ourselves inside the leading pack at the penultimate mark. From then we managed to stay ahead until the line." But, it was a day where consistency delivers its own rewards and a mid-fleet result for Hawthorn in the first race countered by consistency and some strong and intelligent sailing by Allan Higgs with Team Juicy and Jon Powell with Betty put them in second and third place respectively, each on eight points at the close of the first day.

It was a challenging day on the water for all on Sunday. Having completed the first two races of the championship on Friday in sublime race conditions, competitors were sent ashore and racing was abandoned before the first start sequence on Saturday, as an easily sailable 21 knots quickly built to a steady 33 knots in the course area near Mother Bank on the Solent. Three races were scheduled for Sunday, of which two were completed by the J/70s and the J/80s in a fading breeze of between 6 and 12 knots which swung between 230 and 190 degrees.

Sunday was a ‘double bullet’ day both for Rob Larke and his crew in the J/80 National Championship fleet on J2X.   For Rob in the J/80 fleet, two wins on the final day of racing, although impressive, were not sufficient to overhaul Kevin Sproul and his crew on board J.A.T who had led the regatta from Race One and, having never posted a result outside of the top two across the series, were deserving winners of the 2013 J/80 UK National Championship.

Both fleets were invited to a Pimms loaded prize-giving on The Platform at the Royal Yacht Squadron on Sunday afternoon, which, unsurprisingly, was extraordinarily well attended. PRO Captain Simon Van Der Byl thanked competitors for their sportsmanship throughout the weekend and presented prizes alongside the Rear Commodore for Finance, the Honourable Patrick Seely.

In the J/80 fleet, Gillian Ross and her crew from Rock & Roll were presented with the prize for Most Improved J/80 which was sponsored by Race Yacht Services. Rock & Roll’s results got better and better as the championship progressed, perhaps aided and abetted by the team’s visit to the Isle of Wight Festival.

The Best Corinthian J/80 Team at the J/80 Nationals was Jon Powell and his crew on Betty. There are many full-time professional sailors racing J/80s and J/70s and both classes acknowledge that recognition is due for outstanding achievement by the ‘amateurs’ in each fleet. In the J/70 Class The Best Corinthian Team was Simon Ling and the boys on board Team RAFBF Spitfire Powered by SLAM. The prizes were generously sponsored by Fastnet Insurance.

It was a short hop back to the podium for Jon Powell: he and his crew on Betty finished third overall at the 2013 J/80 UK National Championship with 15 points across the series. Rob Larke and J2X finished in second place with 11 points. J.A.T finished on just 7 points and the 2013 UK National Champions, Kevin Sproul, Phil Taylor, Chris Taylor and Chris Fisher were presented with the silverware and were congratulated by the assembled fleet.

The next key event on the 2013 calendar for J/80 sailors is AAM Cowes Week and then the J-Cup in Plymouth later in August. The 2014  J/80 UK National Championships will take place at Poole Regatta from the 24th to 26th May 2014.   Sailing photo credits- Rick Tomlinson   For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information

Block Island Race Week Preview

(Block Island, RI)- For many sailors in northeastern America and their friends from the around the world, Block Island Race Week is the highlight of the sailing summer.  Hosted by the Storm Trysail Club with professional, well-managed race committee's, sailors can count on fantastic racing for five straight days of sailing from June 24th to 28th.  Included in the schedule is another one of those fabulous "round island" races, the 25nm Around Block Island Race sailed mid-week.  While many enjoy the sailing, it's not unusual for many of the thousand-plus sailors to enjoy the renown "Block Party" that goes all week long, fueled by Mt Gay's famous rum and, equally as famous, The Oar Restaurant & Bar's famous "mudslides".

This year the sailing teams are looking forward to one of the largest fleets to assemble in years, with 183 boats registered to sail, J/Boats having by far the largest brand presence in the regatta with 80 boats participating (44% of the fleet!).  Six J one-design classes are sailing, including the J/111s, the J/80 North American's and East Coast Championships for the J/109, J/105s, J/44s and J/29s.  J/Teams are also sailing in the IRC and PHRF handicap divisions.

The J one-design teams are loaded with excellent sailing talent.   With their North American Championship on the line, the J/80's sixteen boats are also the largest J one-design class participating.  There are several top teams sailing with North American, Sailing World NOOD, Key West and East Coast champion credentials amongst them, including R80 (Will & Marie Crump fresh off a NOOD and New York YC Annual Regatta wins), RUMOR (John Storck, Jr and family), Clarke McKinnney, Bert Carp, CHURCH KEY (Chris & Liz Chadwick), FKA (Les Beckwith) and COURAGEOUS (Gary Panariello). For more Block Island Race Week sailing information

JENIALE Three-Peats J/80 Italian's!

(Sestri Levante, Italy)- This year's J/80 Italian National Championships hosted in Sestri Levante saw a good fleet of eleven teams participating from Italy, Poland and Germany.  The three day regatta saw an enormous variety of weather conditions challenge the fleet, from 15 to 30 kt winds on the first day to freezing cold on the second day to epic, beautiful weather for the finale on Sunday.

Friday's racing saw southerly breezes gusting over 20 kts with tough conditions sailing upwind in the puffy winds, but fantastic planing conditions downwind for the fleet!  After three races the fleet was exhausted.  After the first day's racing, it was RAPISARDI skippered by Taito Sanchez that was leading, following by the Polish team on MOONRAKER and in third was BLUE 8 (their first regatta in J/80s).  After all the heavy duty sailing, the crews retired to the nearby Yacht Club Chiavari for the evening for excellent local Italian food, delicious wines and evening entertainment.

The second day of racing was very special for many sailors.  It was overcast, cold, with snow on the mountains in the hinterlands.  And, the big waves/swell came from the southwest with 15-18 kt winds at approximately 300 degrees. In the end, it became a perfect day for sailing! Three races more beautiful and more competitive than the one before. The first race was won by JENIALE skippered by Massimo Rama, followed by RAPISARDI and the Polish team of Pawel Boksa.  After three races, the team of Taito Sanchez was still leading, chased by a group of teams that included MOONRAKER, JENIALE!, J-BLUE 8 and MONTPRES PAUL MONTEDONICO.  After the second day of sailing, the evening dinner on the promenade of Sestri for all crews was lots of fun.

For the final day of sailing on Sunday, the Tigullio Bay was amazing- sun, waves, gentle southerly breezes of 10-12 kts.  Perfect.  The Race Committee started on time and managed to produce three races!  In the end, JENIALE! managed to get three firsts to secure their third J/80 Italian Championship.  Congratulations to Rama's crew with Anne-Soizic Bertin, Eva Gonzalez, Pier Giorgio and Cristina Matteini.  Next step for the top Italians teams is the J/80 Worlds in July sailing in Marseille, France!  For more J/80 Italian Nationals sailing information

Championship of Champions- Italian Style!

(Genoa, Italy)- The 37th Gulf of Tigullio Winter Championship began on Sunday, November 11, 2012; it's the annual sailing circuit organized by The Committee of the Tigullio Sailing Clubs chaired by Franco Noceti.  Perhaps most importantly, the circuit has become a major sailing event for winter sailing along Italy's western coastline and has been well-attended by many top teams in the Italian offshore circuit.

For this year, a "special prize" has been introduced that takes all the top sailors from all classes along with forty(!) Italian journalists (as crew) to compete for the "Championship of Champions" aboard J/80s sailing off Lavagna, Italy at the conclusion of the regatta-- it will mark the ending of the Gulf of Tigullio Winter Championship 2012/ 2013.  One hopes there will be plenty of "GoPro" video afterwards of the crews performing amazing maneuvers in cramped spaces and with lots of colorful language describing how well the spinnaker came down at a mark-rounding while getting pin-wheeled outside of a dozen boats!

The Tigullio Winter Championship Finals will take place from March 9 to 10, 2013. All of the nine winning teams will challenge aboard J/80s provided by Blue Project.  Blue Project's primary intention is to organize the Championship of the Champions every year to promote this unique, fascinating, spectacular sport of sailing and, furthermore, to help promote and support the J/80 class in Italy.

For more Blue Project Championship of Champions sailing and promo information, please contact Ivana Quattrini at email- ivanaquattrini@concepteventi.it or go to the Blue Project event website.

The Swedish Report on French J/80 Nationals

(Marstrand, Sweden)- The forecast before departure from Sweden did say the weather was going to be quite challenging- wave height of 5 meters and winds from the west over 17-20 m/s. It was admittedly a little nervous situation, we would drive 250 miles just to sit on the bridge and look out on a raging sea?  But it is an outdoor sport and weather is beyond our control.  If no sailing, we know the oysters will be excellent and we could get in a bit of sightseeing in the worst case.

Our team has not sailed together before, but we have sailed against each other many times across the race track.  This is a bit unusual for me, but it will be fun to do something else (tactics) while Lasse steers, Gitte trims and Pelle does strategy.

Douarnenez in Brittany is probably the nicest place we have sailed in, says everyone when we all arrive. After a great dinner, we look forward to the first race, but it does seem a bit windy.

At dawn on Thursday it was blowing about 15 kts, but gusting much higher, perhaps 30 kts.  It was even windier in the villages, it was raining too, so today's race is canceled. The French sailors are very unhappy, of course, even though the organizers say they must prioritize safety. A sensible decision, we think, although we would happily had sailed out of the protected harbor and into the Atlantic to give it a test.

On Friday, the wind has died down somewhat, so we get out and practice a little before the first start. After the start, we get going good. Up at the first rounding we're 7th with 73 boats behind.  Fun! But, the wind changes 30 degrees and those located on the other side get level or ahead of us while we get into the basement of the fleet! Ugh! But when you go planing along at 15.6 knots, it's hard to not smile!  So, for the next start, we are greatly stoked!

However, it was a tight start and when we dodge a boat before the start we collide with another boat!  Ouch! At the same time we smoke our forestay- gone!  So, when the wind is more than 10 m/s in the Atlantic we can't sail. I jump up and sit forward in the bow, holding the forestay while I get soaked to the skin-- ultimately we get towed into the harbor.

The rest of the day, evening and following morning are devoted to locate spare parts. The French are incredibly friendly and very helpful.  About 7 different sailors from other boats stay around and help us.  Finally, we find what we need in a small village about 1 hour away. By early morning the next day, everything is repaired-- thanks to our dear French friends.

Next race, we are well placed for the first beat, but a big left shift sends us down into the basement again. I have not seen such big wind shifts in the Atlantic before. And 20-30 degree shifts seem to be common here.  This place is worse than Ram in Sweden, but with fast-moving 3 meter waves!  We have some other top boats around us, there are several who have missed the big shift.  But soon, we draw level with the top boats and get a good race finish-- so it's still smiles all the way to the finish.

Today's last race would also be the last of the regatta.  On Sunday it "blew dogs off chains" and then some, so there was no sailing at all.

It is incredibly fun to sail in large fields and, although we were unlucky with the collision and weather, it is still worth the effort to get here and sail. It extends our short season and get a great sailing experience to think back to the dark winter months. The cost is not particularly high, rental boat € 1800, entry fee € 250, accommodation sleeps 4 (with breakfast) € 600 + travel. That is, about 8,000 SKR-- not bad for the experience, really!  Plus, the food and drink and friends were fantastic-- the best!  Until next time, friends!  Sailing photo credits- Jacques Vapillon

Brezellec Wins J/80 Coupe de France

(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- With over 190 participants, it can be said the J/80 Coupe de France is by far the most successful sailing circuit for one-design sailboats in the entire world.  Without a doubt, the level of sailing overall in France has improved considerably since the introduction of the J/80 and the development of fleets on all three coastlines (Bay of Biscay to the west, Mediterranean down south and La Manche in the north).  It is not without coincidence that this year's 2012 Coupe de France was taking on special significance since the next J/80 World Championships are being held in 2013 off Marseilles in July-- and the J/80 French Association are expecting well over 130 J/80s to participate.

The Coupe de France consists of seven events that starts with the famous "monster regatta" known as "Le Spi" (a.k.a. SPI OUEST France) that is sailed in April off the quaint seaside village of La Trinite sur Mer and ends with the Atlantic Telegramme Regatta sailed off Lorient.  The series scoring is based on a "high point" basis that counts 4 of 7 events.  Proving yet again they're the team to beat was Eric Brezellec's INTERFACE CONCEPT I, finishing the series with 359 pts and winning by a clear margin, most notably because of their exceptional performance at SPI Ouest.  Fellow colleague Simon Moriceau also proved they're a rapidly improving team that is a force to be reckoned with for next year's Worlds, finishing 2nd overall with 306 pts due in large part to their strong showings at the Grand Prix Crouesty and the Atlantique Telegramme event in Lorient.  Taking third only one point back was Luc Nadal's GAN'JA with 305 total pts.  Fourth was Herve Leduc's J'ILE DE RE with 287 pts and fifth was Martin Le Pape's ARPEGE PROMOTION with 266 pts.   For more J/80 Coupe de France sailing information

NEXTEL Wins Spanish J/80 Circuito Montanes de Vela

(Santander, Spain)- The Spanish J/80 sailing circuit this year comprised of three events starting in April and concluding in October-- all competing for top honors in the Circuito Montanes de Vela.  A total of thirty-two J/80 teams sailed over the course of the year starting with the VIII Trofeo Autoridad Portuaria de Santander in April off Santander's gorgeous harbor and waterfront.  During May, the teams sailed the Campeonato de Cantabria de Monotipos and then concluded their racing circuit sailing the VII Trofeo Presidente de Cantabria in October.

The series proved to be a hotly contested affair with the top three not being determined until the last regatta of the series.  After a modest start getting a 5th place in the Autoridad Portuaria regatta, the NEXTEL ENGINEERING team led by Ignacio Camino sailed consistently in the last two events by securing 2nds in both the Campeonato Cantabria and Presidente Cantabria events to win with a series total of 9 pts, winning by four pts over the rest of the World Champion-studded field.  After a strong start and strong finish, Pichu Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS managed a 1-11-1 over the course of the three events for a total of 13 pts.  Third was Tonio Piris skippering YATES Y COSAS with a 2-4-13 for 19 pts.  Fourth was determined by a tie-breakers with Rafael Pascual Alfonso Esposito's MAQUECHE team winning the draw with a scoreline of 12-6-3 for 21 pts while fifth was Jaime Piris' FONESTAR team with a 11-5-5 also with 21 pts.   For more J/80 Circuito Montanes de Vela sailing information

IC2 Wins J/80 French Nationals

(Douarnenez, France)- The J/80 sailing teams in France are clearly gearing up for the J/80 Worlds showdown in Marseilles, France in 2013.  The enormous turnout of highly competitive teams from around Europe meant the seventy-eight teams participating off Douarnenez were going to see spirited competition from the leading teams vying for the top three spots on the podium.

The first day of racing was simply "gray"- the sky, metallic gray, mingled with the sea, just lit by a light cold. But, it was not enough to discourage the crews. The wind had eased a bit before switching to 50 degrees for the first race.  Emerging out of the gloom, somewhat prophetically, to win the first race was Simon Moriceau's team on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 and, so it went for the rest of the regatta.

Simon's team sailed a strong regatta to win by 5 pts with a 1-6-2-7-2-15 scoreline, quite a remarkable display of sailing for this team.  Second overall was Nicolas Troussel's BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL with a record of 8-1-3-2-9-18 for 23 pts overall.  Third was another top French champion, Luc Nadal, who sailed GAN'JA to a 25-8-6-6-7-4 record for 31 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Quentin Ponroy's ELECTRA in fourth and in fifth was Vincent Vanderkerkhove's DUNKERQUE PLAISANCE.   For more J/80 French Nationals sailing information

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 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

Calling all J/80 Sailors!

(Fort Worth, Texas)-  Get your game on in Texas for the 2012 North Americans to be held at Fort Worth Boat Club on October 31-November 1st!  There are a great slate of feeder events starting with the HOOD regatta at Houston YC, followed by J/Fest at Houston YC.  J/Fest Southwest has become a "can't miss" event for the local J Sailors, and the Texas J/80 sailors would like to see all their J/80 counterparts to go down and experience the fun times at this great event!

The very next weekend is the last Southern circuit stop two weeks before the North Americans!  So, get your J/80 on down there and dial up your favorite airline (Southwest, maybe?) and get some cheap tickets to fly back and forth.  Local J/80 owners will try to pitch in and help trailer boats to Ft. Worth from Houston!  In the true vernacular of Southern hospitality, "you'll come on down, ya here!"  They mean it.  When the Texan contingent decide to throw a "hoe-down" and have some fun, you really don't want to miss it.  Fun sailing and entertainment for all!  Here's how the schedule lays out for those who wish to extend their sailing seasons into the fall (especially for our J/80 European friends):
     Sep 22-23rd- The HOOD Regatta- Houston YC
     Oct 13-14th- J/Fest Southwest Regatta-  http://www.jfestsouthwest.com/
     Oct 20-21- Old Man of the Sea Regatta- http://fortworthboatclub.com/
     Oct 31-Nov 1- J/80 North Americans- http://j80northamericans.com/

Piris Wins J/80 Compesca Trophy

(Santander, Spain)-  Thirty one boats competed in one of the first major trophies of the famous J/80 Santander fleet sailing season-- the Trofeo Compesca.  The Cantabrian fleet takes no prisoners, amongst them are multiple J/80 World Champions, Olympic and European Champions.  In the end, Tono Piris too his crew on YATES Y COSAS to a one point victory over current 2011 J/80 World Champion (Copenhagen, Denmark) Ignacio Camino's famous NEXTEL ENGINEERING.  Third was yet another 2010 J/80 World Champion (Newport, RI), Jose Maria "Pichu" Torcida's ECC VIVIENDAS.   The fleet enjoyed good weather, sunny days, and plenty of wind over the course of three weekends of sailing.   For more Spanish J/80 sailing information

ECC VIVIENDAS Wins "El Mundialito"

BANCAJA and GO FIT Complete the Podium
(Santander, Spain)- This year's "Mini-Worlds" (as El Mundialito refers to) held each fall in Santander, Spain almost always seems to live up to its billing, hosted by Federacion Cantabra de Vela.  It is an event that attracts some of the top one-design/ keelboat talent in all of Spain.  Who can argue with the turnout, thirty-one J/80s and about 140 crew, with some of Spain's best sailors in the mix-- J/80 World Champions, TP52 Champions, Olympic Champions and friends of the Martinez's (one of them, Iker Martinez, is now racing the Volvo 70 TELEFONICA in the Volvo Race), amongst others.

This year, Cantabria hosted a new edition of its traditional 'Mundialito' fleet that has been hosted for the last six years in the J/80 class- one of the the largest and highest quality International One-Design keelboats fleets worldwide. Top sailors are invited as "guests" to participate as both skippers and crew with the J/80 owners.  Two races were held on Saturday in the interior bay of Santander with a Northeast wind between 8 and 10 knots, sadly no racing on Sunday for this fun-loving, highly competitive bunch of sailors due to no wind.  Perhaps a good thing since Saturday night many sailors had fun to dawn on Sunday?  It is the way the Spanish play, love the sailing, dinner and dancing late, wake up late and do it again-- so far, so good, a few J/80 Worlds title holders from Spain attest to the fact their formula works!

This year, the winner of the competition was Pichu Torcida's familiar ECC VIVIENDAS, sailing with "guest sailor" Ariane Mainemare Malaga.  It was hard for the other teams to match their speed and cleverness, posting a 1-2 to once again be "the best on the bay"!  Just behind them in second was BANCAJA, sailed by Javier Lopez-Vazquez, Alvaro Alfonso Madrid Mazarrasa and Colon de Carvajal, which also had a fantastic weekend with a 2-3 record. Behind them, it was a hard-fought contest for third place.  In the end, GO FIT sailed by David Madrazo and Ignacio Triay combined forces, with Triay skippering to a 6-4 snatched the third spot on the podium.  That's an awesome performance for Triay along with another famous shipmate, Ignacio Postigo (creator of the Cantabrian MedCup TP52 Circuit).  This trio beat out the current J/80 World Champion on a tie-breaker, Ignacio Camino on NEXTEL ENGINEERING. Camino and friend Armando Gutierrez sailed to a 5-5, but had to be content with fourth place finish.  Just off the pace and sailing well was RAITA sailed by Rafa and Jesus Gonzalez Maliach Colvee, with Canarian tactician Susana Romero called the shots, their 4-9 securing them fourth place. Another regatta favorite, the CROCS TEAM sailed by Javier Aguado of Menorca (2nd in Copa del Rey) and Laureano Wizner, finally took 6th place after sailing to a 9-6.

Yet another fixture in "El Mundialito", Jaime Rodriguez-Toubes, accompanied by good friend Toño Piris on YATES & COSAS,  finished a creditable seventh. The FONESTAR Team with Jaime Borras at the helm took the honor of winning the second race from start to finish to finish in eighth position. Ninth was MAQUECHE sailed by Rafael Pascual Alfonso Esposito, who had as sailing guest Javier Polanco.  Rounding out the Top Ten was LOUPE sailed by Alberto Padron and Cesar Obregon.

It is important to mention the presence of Galician Malal Bermúdez de Castro sailing aboard SOLVENTIS, which was third in the first race but boomed the second race to finish 11th overall.  Also,  Italian J/80 Champion Max Rama finished in the middle of the fleet in his first major test against to top Spanish teams in their home waters, not bad!  The defending champion, SOLUCIONES CINQUA, sailed by Alejandro Diaz was not so lucky and ended up in the middle of the fleet, too.  Many other top sailors and Spanish champions were sailing, however, "El Mundialito" is a weekend designed to bring together representatives of the top offshore and one-design fleets in Spain-- the end result is not important, and indeed there is no award.  Nevertheless, the sailors love having fun and competing at the highest level in the world.  The success of the event is due to the enthusiasm and generosity of the owners of the J/80 fleet at the Real Club Marítimo de Santander.  An extraordinary event, a model for other top sailing clubs and countries to follow as they introduce more people to the sport of sailing.   For more J/80 Mundialito Regatta sailing information

CO-PILOTES Dominates French J/80 Nationals

(Saint Cast, France)- The record fleet of seventy-four boats were treated to a superb weekend of sailing in the 2011 French J/80 Nationals, hosted in Saint Cast along the Bay of Biscay by Centre Nautique Saint Cast.  The event also marked the "changing of the guard" amongst the leaders in the French fleet.  Many of the top teams that had been dominating the standings all season long found themselves fighting for contention at the top of the fleet.  A new leader emerged that probably surprised everyone in the fleet, the team of CO-PILOTES for YC Granville won sailed by the team of Benoit Charon, Christian Ponthieu, Gael Fichet and Olivier Camebourg.  And, they won BIG!  Twenty four points big after seven races!

The first day of racing dawned with spectacular sailing conditions.  Gorgeous weather, moderate breeze, sunny.  Most importantly, the 74 boat strong fleet managed to get in three races on the first day.  It was an impressive level of competition.  At the end of the first day, the leader-board saw Yannick Le Clech's COTE D'ARMOR BLANC in first with an 8-2-5, followed by Charon's CO-PILOTES in second with a 2-13-4 and Clement Guihot's APCC J-PRANGOO in third with a 7-6-15.  Clearly, high scores for all in the top three.

Day two was a tough day for most teams.  Only two races were sailed that put a premium on getting clear lanes, clear air and to the correct side of the course.  Large gains and losses happened to many of the teams.   After a delay due to the presence of haze, driven by the wind, the fleet sailed in light ESE winds from 2 to 9 knots under clear skies and mild temperatures.  A pretty day for sailing, but tough on the tacticians!  There was a tremendous premium on getting off the starting to get to where you needed to go.  And, the multiple general recalls only heightened the anxiety for the top skippers in the fleet.  After the clouds of dust cleared from the battlefield, a new leader emerged to lead the pack, Charon's CO-PILOTES overcame great odds to win both races!  Dropping back significantly was Le Clech's COTE D'ARMOR BLANC with a 9-DSQ.  Ascending rapidly up the ladder was Quentin Ponroy's JIINGLE with a record of 3-10-24-12-7, good for third overall going into the final day of racing.

The third and last day of the French J/80 Nationals was an opportunity for the committee to launch two nice races in a 12-15 knot wind, an ideal setting for the final, determining races in the regatta. The best performances of the day went to top French women skipper, Christine Briand, racing J'ILE DE RE to a 5-6, and also to Simon Moriceau sailing INTERFACE CONCEPT III to an 8-2.  As a result, the top five again saw a significant change in the standings as some of the top French teams all season long prevailed in their consistency to stay in the top ten in most races.  Sailing a superb regatta, and "congratulations" to his team, was Benoit Charon's CO-PILOTES from YC Granville, finishing out with a 7-10 for just 25 points after 7 races!  Behind them in second was Nicolas Troussel's BRETAGNE CREDIT MUTUEL with a record of 14-8-33-11-2-1-13 for 49 pts (drop included).  Third was Quentin Ponroy's JIINGLE, fourth was Christine Briand's J'ILE DE RE and fifth was top French sailor at the J/80 Worlds, Eric Brezellec on the familiar INTERFACE CONCEPT II.

Congratulations to the CNSC Race Committee for getting off seven excellent races over the three days.  Not an easy task considering the conditions of the wind, current and the aggressiveness of the fleet that caused a number of general recalls.    Sailing photo credits- Luc LeGrand/ Fox Images  For more French J/80 Nationals sailing information