J/Boats News is a digest of worldwide events, regattas, and news for sailing enthusiasts and members of our J Community. Contributions regarding your racing, cruising or human interest stories on-board J's are welcome- please send to "editor@jboats.com".
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
World Match Race Champions Racing J/80s
Current World Match Racing Champion, Kiwi Adam Minoprio, will be racing J/80s in the Match Race France Regatta from April 6-11 in Marseilles. Adam's signed on to Team New Zealand as understudy to Dean Barker. It's Adam's unflappable nature that has earned him the call up from Grant Dalton to be Dean Barker's side-kick in Team New Zealand's two-boat development programme for the next America's Cup. "For Adam it's how fast is he, because you can be able to match race, but on these boats Dean's instinctively fast, there's only a few that are fast," says Grant Dalton. "I'd like to think I'm fast enough. I've been sailing a long time, I'm always learning and I think I've got what it takes to make one of those Cup boats go fast," says Minoprio. At 24, Minoprio is the reigning world match racing champion, set to defend his title on the eight month long World Match Racing Tour circuit with his team Black Match Racing. First event is Match Race France in Marseille to be held in J/80s on April 6 - 11, 2010." Time to prove you can beat the world's best on a J/80. A boat that is sailed fast by many, many people worldwide- French, Spanish, Germans, Belgians, Americans, British. Good on ya mate...master these like other J Champions before you (Ken Read, Ed Baird, Terry Hutchinson, Chris Larson, Dave Curtis, Brad Read, Eddie Warden-Owen, Francesco D'Angelis, to name just a few) and the "big ride" could be yours! Good luck!