(Bilbao, Spain)- From July 13 to 20, the Real Club Marítimo del Abra will host the 2019 edition of the J/80 World Championship. Eighty-seven teams will battle for the title on the Cantabrian Sea from twelve nations across the world (Canada, Spain, France, USA, Russia, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and India).
There is no question the biggest battles will be fought between the principal protagonists of the class in Europe- the host nation Spain and their counterparts just across their border to the north- the French. Familiar names will be in the thick of the battle for Spain, such as past World Champion Rayco Tabares Alvarez on HOTEL PRINCESA YAIZA from the Canary Islands; past World Champion Marc de Antonio on the famous BRIBON MOVISTAR; and IBO.ES with Francisco Javier Chacartegui on the helm.
The French are showing up in force, with teams like Luc Nadal’s GAN’JA; top woman helm Anne Phelipon on NAVIGATLANTIQUE; another top woman helm- Maxime Rousseaux’s J’RAFON; Patrick Bot on ECOLE NAVALE CD29; Simon Moriceau sailing ARMENT HABITAT; and Ludovic Gilet sailing NUMERO J.
One top American team is participating, Ramzi Bannura’s STACKED DECK from Annapolis/ Eastport YC. The Russian team NEW TERRITORIES is being sailed by Alexei Semenov. Ireland is fielding two teams from Howth YC just north of Dublin- Dan O’Grady’s JAMMY and Patrick O’Neill’s MOJO. The United Kingdom have a pair teams from the Solent- Chris & Hannah Neve’s NO REGRETS and Nick Haigh’s SLIGHTLY STEAMY. The Netherlands also have a pair on the starting line- Bram Adema’s NJORD and Louis Kanters’ JIP. Their neighbors in Belgium also have a duo in the frame- Jean Marc Fobert’s BAD JOKE and Lemaire Jacques & Winnie Berteloot’s SEA JOU 2.
Perhaps the most surprising development is the five-boat contingent from India’s Royal Madras Yacht Club. It will be interest to see how they perform and how quickly they learn the tricks of the trade from the best J/80 sailors in the world. For more J/80 World Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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