“The regatta is a great occasion for everybody to get together and enjoy close racing on the water and a party atmosphere ashore,” commented Key Yachting's Paul Heys. “Whilst J/Boats are in abundance at regattas all over the world, the J-Cup provides an opportunity to set courses that are ideal for fast planing asymmetric boats and a party atmosphere that suits the J/Boat family. It is really great to see so many owners supporting this regatta and I am sure they will be rewarded with excellent racing and great company. Over 500 sailors will enjoy this J/Boat family rendezvous with up 12 races scheduled for the three-day event. Daily prize givings and supper at the Island Sailing Club give competitors the opportunity to rub shoulders with old friends and meet a few new ones.”
Heys and the J-Cup organizers are also thrilled to announce that Italian clothing brand SLAM will once again support the J/Cup regatta. Selected by many of the world's top sailors and competitive racing teams, and a firm favorite with J Boats sailors, SLAM pride themselves on designing sailing gear that not only protects against the worst of the weather but, at the same time, allows for maximum comfort and freedom of movement. Store manager Elena Antoniazzi said, "We are honored to support the J-Cup event, and we are excited to welcome competitors into the store to take advantage of special discounts on their regatta orders. We specialize in sailing team gear and provide a very fast, competitive, and high quality embroidery service to our customers." Their new website is- http://www.slam-cowes.co.uk.
The vast majority of the fleet will be racing in one-design classes, including a 19-strong fleet of fast, fun-loving J/70s. The fastest growing sportsboat class in the world will revel in the fresh breeze. In addition to class veterans like Simon Ling’s SPITFIRE TEAM RAF BENEVOLENT FUND, Ian Wilson’s GILL RACE TEAM and Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY, a number of J owners from the larger-sized classes have jumped into the fray to have a go at full-on planing in the blustery conditions. Some of those teams include Adam & Nick Munday’s J7T, Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA VIII, Mike Holmes’ JIKA, Jack Davies JUGADOR, Dave Mitchell’s JUMANJI, Jamie Arnell’s LITTLE LOUISE, and David McLeman’s OFFBEAT.
The new J/88 fleet will enjoy their first National Championship, sponsored by Fastnet Marine Insurance; eight of these one-design family speedsters will do battle for the title. These teams will have some experienced sailors like Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, Marie-Claude Heys’ JIFI and Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR up against some very experienced offshore J crews. Some of those teams include Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM, Ivan Trotman’s JOJO and Jackie Dobson’s TEAM JERONIMO.
The J/97 National Championship will also be held during the regatta and the fleet is packed with talent. It’s anyone’s guess which horse to ride for win-place-show, but in the mix should be Annie Kelly’s BLACKJACK, Rob Orr’s JACKAROO, Helen Hofmann’s JASLAN, Rick Sparrow’s ONLY MAGIC and Ole Bettum’s ALAMARA B III.
Sixteen J/109s will be racing for the Lifedge J/109 National Championship and the racing will be spirited and extremely competitive. Most of the top teams are in attendance and hope to excel in the first day’s breezy conditions. Amongst those that should be a factor overall are Roger Phillips’ DESIGNSTAR 2, Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB, Ian Nagle’s JELLY BABY, Tony Dickin’s JUBILEE, Owain Franks’ JYNNAN TONNYX and William Edwards’ SARDONYX.
The high performance, turbo-charged, J/111 fleet will enjoy tight racing in the feisty conditions. While several teams have already headed over from the UK for the J/111 Worlds in Newport, the balance of the teams will enjoy excellent sailing. Look for Stu Sawyer’s BLACK DOG, Chris Body’s ICARUS, Cornell Riklin’s JITTERBUG and Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II to be in the hunt. Joining them is a top Irish team, Stephen Schoelfield’s MUSTIGO II.
In addition to these one-design classes, J/92s, J/95s, J/122s, and a J/120 are sailing in IRC handicap classes. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright- Photoaction.com. For more J/Cup Regatta sailing information- http://www.jcup.co.uk/
