Tuesday, June 9, 2015

J/80 Worlds Update

J/80s sailing Kiel, Germany (Kiel, Germany)- The German J/80 class is expecting a sizable and competitive fleet to compete in the World Championship off Kiel from 4th through 10th July. While German and Danish teams have already filed their entries, the number of teams from the South of Europe continues to rise.  Furthermore, the patronage for the up-coming J/80 World Championship has been taken over by the President of Schleswig-Holstein, Torsten Albig, himself a member of Kieler Yacht-Club.

“The J/80 class is developing very differently in the various countries. It all depends on class membership structures”, says Andreas Rose, President of the German Class Association. “The Bremen and Kiel fleets, in particular, have seen substantial developments.  Newcomers are always welcome to learn from the class leaders regards technique and sail trim. Joint training sessions like “Go4Speed” is offered by the German Sailing Association— this particular program make teams work together to increase their performances – and social evenings prove just how well this approach works.”

It remains to be seen who will get the title this summer, as there are no clear favourites. With a view to the entries so far, Rose is expecting perfectly prepared teams, especially the teams from France and Spain that sail throughout the winter season. There may also be surprises in store from the Great Britain teams, and Denmark, too, has grown a strong fleet over the past couple of years.

On shore, the sailors will be able to enjoy an extraordinary variety of drinks and food near the Sailors Lounge (Vaasa hall).  Plus, the RWE baker’s shop will send out lovely smelling wafts of freshly baked waffles: The RWE conglomerate is the second largest electricity and gas supplier in Germany and is a sponsor of the J/80 World Championship. In addition, the J/80 World Championship organizers are grateful for additional sponsors such as HELLY-HANSEN, Sailmakers Faber + Münker, and Pantaenius Insurance.

The J/80 Worlds will start on Saturday, 4th July with registration and measurement and races commence on Monday through Friday, with up to three races being scheduled each day.

As the J/80 Worlds’ media partner, the “Segler-Zeitung“ (SZ) magazine will issue daily reports on races and current rankings after providing extensive coverage in the lead-up to the event.  For more J/80 World Championship sailing information