(Hamble, England)- The Royal Southern Yacht Club (RSrnYC) is proud to be
hosting the 2017 J/70 Class European Championships in conjunction with
the J/70 UK Class Association. The Club completed the Prince Philip Yacht Haven, opened by its Royal Patron, the Duke of Edinburgh, in 2015.
This, and its associated waterside deck, has greatly enhanced
shore-based and entertainment facilities, ideal for such a major
Championship. Karen Henderson-Williams, Commodore of the RSrnYC,
said "Hosting the J/70 European Championship is a rewarding challenge
for the RSrnYC and its members. We are looking forward to showing the
J/70 competitors some great hospitality in our wonderfully enhanced
facilities."Racing commences on Monday 5th June, with an opportunity for competitors to sail a practice race, then the Championships run Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th June. The Championships provide a great opportunity for teams to prepare for the 2017 World Championships in Sardinia, Italy in September. RSrnYC’s PRO Stuart Childerley commented, "The intention is to run eleven Championship races. We are preparing for a large fleet and I am sure the sailors will find racing on the Hillhead Plateau area of the Central Solent challenging and fun. The Solent in June can be a stunning championship venue."
The club is greatly appreciative of its latest sponsor- RAYMARINE Ltd, a world leader in marine electronics. Raymarine will provide onsite support at the event, and a selection of high value prizes for the final prize-giving. Gemma Dunn from Key Yachting, said “Raymarine Racemaster and Tacktick systems are fitted to most of the J/70s we deliver here. They are the go-to, easy to use, easy to read displays for these boats.”
The fleet that has assembled to via for the European Championship title is second to none. There are ten nations (Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, & USA) participating in the forty-five-boat fleet, including Claudia Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE from Ancona, Italy, the 2016 European champion. Chasing her team hard will be another top woman skipper, Russia’s Valeria Kovalenko and her ARTTUBE team from Moscow, winners of the Monaco J/70 Winter Series. From Monaco, Stefano Roberti’s PICCININA crew, winners of the Monaco Primo Cup Credit Suisse in 2016, will also be hoping to parlay success in Monaco on the Mediterranean Sea into a top performance on the Solent. Other notable visiting teams include a past J/80 World Champion from Santander, Spain, Jose Maria “Pichu” Torcida and Luis Martin Cabiedes sailing NOTICIAS; the French crew on PAPREC RECYCLAGE skippered by Thomas Mellano for Le Havre, France; Alwin Van Daelen’s KIM FROM HOLLAND from the Netherlands; Fredrik Hedlund’s AGERA 3 from Buchillon, Switzerland; and Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY from New York, NY, USA.
No question, all of the foreign visitors to the fabled waters of the Solent will have to be sailing with eyes “wide open” and hoping to have a fair amount of “local knowledge” input from various sources. The Solent is relentless in surprising even the local hotshots that have won numerous national and World Championships on this fabled body of water. Strong currents screaming around the various mud banks and winds that are curving constantly over the local hills have thwarted some of the best teams in the world. With 29 British teams making up over half the fleet, it’s likely they will populate most of the top of the leaderboard. Rumored to be participating is multiple World Champion and Whitbread Champion Lawrie Smith from Lymington as main trim/ tactician! In addition, the top local crews should be Ian Wilson & Marshall King’s SOAK RACING, Martin Dent’s JELVIS 7, Simon Ling’s SPITFIRE, the Calascione/Ripard team on CALYPSO, Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC, and Jack Davies YETI. For more information on the J/70 European Championships Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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