(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- In the aftermath of the famous Cowes
Week, a young J/70 team comprising of brothers Jack (20) and Freddie
(19) and Charlie Davies (18), joined by Tim Carter (22) and Harry
Houlding (21) were crowned champions of the Aberdeen Asset Management Under 25 Trophy at Cowes Week 2014.
The crew raced JUGADOR in the J/70 fleet at Cowes this year and were
awarded the prize for best-performing boat across the entire 1,000-boat
regatta made up exclusively of sailors under the age of 25.The Under 25 trophy is a recent initiative brought to the regatta by principal sponsors of Cowes Week: Aberdeen Asset Management. Crews made up of individuals under 25 years of age may enter the regatta and have their entry fee covered, as well as receive complementary sailing gear.
Jack Davies, the team’s helmsman, also received the Cowes Week Young Skipper’s Trophy on the back of his team’s performance through the week. Jack spoke about their experience at Cowes:
“I’m
thrilled with how we performed as a team this week and I’m delighted
our achievements as a young team have been recognized. Winning the
awards that cover the whole regatta of 40 different fleets and classes
is a huge milestone for us. Our main strengths this week were good
boatspeed backed up by solid crew work and strong tactical
decision-making.”Team JUGADOR finished 3rd overall in the J/70 class after a week’s racing, with highlights being race wins on Tuesday and Wednesday. “It was a tough long race on Wednesday, but crossing the Shrape Finish Line in the lead was a really special moment for us, especially given that we’d started the final leg in third,” said Jack Davies.
This is the second time JUGADOR has finished on the podium in 2 years of competing at Aberdeen Asset Cowes Week. A successful Cowes Week outing for the team runs alongside other good results this season, including 3rd place at the J-Cup in Hamble, and 1st place at the Royal Southern July Regatta.
The team’s bowman, Harry Houlding, remarked, “the J/70 is a great class to be racing in at the moment. The boat is great to sail, and racing is competitive but still well spirited. The class is growing quickly and new boats are on the race course at every regatta.”
When asked about what it was like to sail with both his older brothers in the regatta, Charlie Davies, who joined the team as tactician for the final 4 races of the week had this to add, “well, we’ve been sailing together for quite a few years now, so we tend to get along better and have fewer arguments than we used to. Still, when things are going badly things can tend to get a little too heated, but we’re working on that!”
It is likely that Team Jugador will be one of the youngest teams at the upcoming 2015 J/70 World Championship in La Rochelle, France. To keep up with the team’s progress into next season follow the via their Facebook page.
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