On the final leg of the Grand Finale race, the Cape Crow YC from Gothenburg salvaged victory from the jaws of defeat and, by beating KSSS (the Royal Swedish YC) by one point, managed to tie them on points for the overall regatta and win the tie-breaker!
On Friday, the Swedish J/70 Sailing League kicked off with great sailing- getting in eight races for each club. The best team on Friday were the dinghy sailors from JKV (Kapp Västerås) with a 2-1-1 record. Sailing an identical record was the Cape Crow YC team with a 1-2-1 to hold on to second on a tie-break at the end of the first day.
On Saturday, Ekerö continued to deliver good races with tough sailing and shifting winds. Saturday offered many races and happy sailors and organizers. At the end of the day, Cape Crow YC was leading KSSS by just two points.
“After a rough start on Saturday, with a false start and trawling the gennaker, we pulled off three bullets in a row. Now we are second overall and just two points behind the leader Cape Crow,” said KSSS skipper Niklas Edler.
On Sunday, more good breeze and very tight, tactical racing. At the end of the preliminary rounds, it was KSSS in the lead by followed by Cape Crow YC. “We are pleased with the race, it has proceeded well and we have gotten to know the J/70 better and better,” said Patrik Sturesson skipper for Cape Crow YC. He continued to explain, “the Final race was exciting, we knew we were in with a good score and we could not lose second place, so it's nice to utilize our match racing skills. It was very fun!”
Real fun as it was for CCYC, it was not for the Royal Swedish Yacht Club - which, however, was satisfied with their weekend. “We made a mistake at the start of the last race and had to catch up during the race to try to get to past our competitors. But, we did not, unfortunately, get past Cape Crow and, thus, we finished second on the tie-breaker them,” said KSSS skipper Niklas Edler.
At this stage, Cape Crow YC leads the overall series with a 1-2, followed by KSSS with a 3-2, in third is Segelsällskapet Kaparen with a 6-4, fourth is Ekolns Segelklubb with a 4-6 and fifth is Kullaviks Canoe & Sailing Club with a 1-12!
The Swedish J/70 League now takes a summer break and the two remaining races will be sailed in Malmö (12-14 August) before finishing in Gothenburg (2-4 September). Sailing photo credits- Tommi Rotonen For more Swedish J/70 Sailing League information