(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The final day of the Landsail Tyres
J-Cup in partnership with B&G was nothing short of spectacular. With
20 knots, gusting 25 out of the southwest, the race course was
festooned with J-Boats surfing downwind in a full on foam up. There were
thrills and spills right across the 67 J-Boat Fleet in the big
conditions. Boat handling was at a premium and today's high performers
harnessed the breeze, staying under control downwind and upwind hiking
the boat flat and keeping good sail trim.In IRC B Robin Stevenson from Brighton, racing J/92, Upstart had a perfect score for the regatta, winning all four races. Robin Stevenson's Upstart was the only team to score a perfect result and was awarded the J-Cup for their performance. “I have been to quite a few J-Cups and Key Yachting put on a great event.” commented Robin Stevenson. “I have to hand it to the whole crew, they all sailed exceptionally well as a team and it was exceptionally breezy for the last day and we held it all together really well. I am delighted for everyone of the team, it was a great performance.”
In
the J/92 Class, David Greenhalgh's Hamble based J/92, J'ronimo made the
podium in every race to claim second place and Robert Salter's J/92,
Jackdaw was third. Top performing J/80 was Rachel Hunt's Hamble based
Jumblesail.Rachel Hunt, skipper of Jumblesail is the social secretary for the J/80 UK fleet. “It would have been great to have more J/80s participating and we hope to have at least 14 taking part in Cowes Week,” commented Rachel. “The J-Cup has been part of our honeymoon, which is a little unusual but I wouldn't have it any other way, the atmosphere ashore and the racing has been very memorable.”
Stuart Sawyer's Cornish team racing J/111 Black Dog was the winner of IRC A and the J/111 Class with Londoner Chris Body racing J/111 Icarus in second place with five podium finishes for the regatta. Cornell Riklin Lymington based J/111, Jitterbug was third. “That was awesome, a fantastic event.” commented Stuart Sawyer. “Sunny, windy and a great competition that was well organized – champagne sailing.”
In
the Lifedge J/109 National Championship, 17 J/109s had an intense
battle with Ian Nagle's Royal Cork YC team, racing Jelly Baby, taking
the crown for the open event. Tony Dickin's Hamble based J/109, Jubilee
scored a first and a second today and a dramatic tie with Joe Henry's
Jolly Jack Tar to claim second for the championship. Alan Bennett's
Dorset team racing J/109 Blue Jay of Poole was third for the regatta.
“To go up on the stage with all the team and win the championship was
fantastic, a great moment.” commented Jelly Baby's Ian Nagle. I couldn't
hope for a better crew and we are delighted we came over and I hope
that we will get a lot of boats over for Cork Week next year. We came
here because we had done most of the events in Ireland and we wanted a
different challenge.”
In
the J/70 class Geoff Carveth from Warsash, helming Gill Race Team, was
fully launched in the fast conditions, producing text book starts, power
upwind and scorching speed off the breeze, Gill Race Team scored six
bullets for the regatta to win by a handsome margin. Jamie Holmes' J/70,
Jika had a great last day on the water, blotting Gill Race Team's
perfect score line, winning the penultimate race of the regatta. Patrick
Liardet's J/70, Cosmic, based in Hamble, had a consistent series to
claim third place and the Corinthian prize for an all amateur crew. Ian
Wilson, owner of Gill Race Team spoke about the experience.“It was awesome, off the scale. Today was just fantastic, we were a little bit worried coming out today, as we could see standing waves, but once we got out there and started to send it, well I am speechless. I spoke to Geoff after racing and we agreed it was one of the best days we have ever had on the Solent and we have both sailed here for years. This is the last serious competition before we go to the J/70 Worlds and to mix it up with 19 boats was perfect for putting the final bits of training into place before we go to La Rochelle.”
Paul
Ward from Itchenor, racing J/88 Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat won two of
today's races to win the inaugural J/88 National Championship. Stewart
Hawthorn's J/88 Ji Fi scored six podium finishes for the series to place
second, just a point ahead of David Apthorp's J/88 J-Dream. “It is
really great to be the first name on that trophy, racing with a great
group of people in a fun boat.” smiled Paul Ward. “We are looking
forward to more people joining the class, so we can have a bigger fleet
next year. This regatta has helped us find out how to sail the J/88
faster and that is down to racing against some good opposition, we feel
really excited and we are looking forward to the next regatta.”
Andy
Howe's team racing Blackjack II are the new Fastnet Marine Insurance
J/97 National Champions having scored three bullets in the five race
series. However, it was far from easy for the Hamble based team; every
race was won by seconds. Norwegian skipper, Ole Bettum racing J/97
Alamara B III claimed second in class in dramatic style by winning the
last race of the series to edge ahead of Richard Sparrow's J/97, Only
Magic on countback. “It feels great.” said Blackjack's Andy Howe. “We
have had three days of partying really hard and then focusing on the
water – we really smashed it. Today we took a risk and went for the big
kite, it was pretty hairy downwind but all in all - fantastic!”Chris Thomas, Sailing Secretary at the Island Sailing Club commented. “It has been an absolute pleasure to have the J-Cup at the club, at we hope that they have enjoyed the regatta. The J-Boat family are a credit to sailing, highly competitive on the water and great fun off the water. We hope that all of the sailors will get the chance to visit the club in the future and fair winds to all for the future.”
After racing, competitors at the Landsail Tyres J-Cup enjoyed a Gala Awards Ceremony with supper at the Cowes Yacht Haven Events Centre. Well over 300 party revelers danced the night away to live music late into the evening. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ photoaction.com For more J/Cup Regatta sailing information
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