American Whittemore Tops Open Europeans(Lake Balaton, Hungary)- Two hundred fifty competitors from eight nations sailed on forty-eight boats in the 2017 J/24 European Championship, that was organized by the Balatonfüredi Yacht Club in Balatonfüred, Hungary between September 24th and October 1st.
The Opening Day kicked off with beautiful sunshine and a pleasant, but light, easterly wind which some of the competitors took advantage of for training. Unfortunately, the wind completely died down by the late afternoon, so the practice race was canceled by the Race Committee. That outcome presaged what was going to happen for the rest of the regatta, a lot of time spent waiting for winds to develop enough to run proper races for the aggressive fleet of J/24s. In fact, it may have been the first Europeans in recent memory where every race took place in less than 8 kts of wind, with just 150% genoas flown, and rare moments of crews sitting on the windward rail hiked out hard. Nevertheless, the weather was pleasant, sometimes cool, but those warmer days brought out the “shorts & shades” for the more ambitious crews.
The
regatta marked the first time a Hungarian crew was victorious in the
continental championship! After ten races, winning the 2017 European
Championship title was the young Robert Bakoczy and his local Lake
Balaton crew on FGF SAILING TEAM (Domonkos Rozsnyay, Kristof Takacsy,
Levente Takacsy, Maxim Szigeti). “The J/24 European Championship was a great adventure for us. It was great that there was no pressure on us and this brought us victory. We are extremely delighted. I don’t know, I am just overwhelmed right now. It hasn’t yet sunk in that this has happened to us and we won,” said Bakoczy after his win.
Silver went to Farkas Litkey with his mixed Hungarian-Italian Team on board PELLE NERA (Alberto Forti, Paolo Ceccamore, Barbara Frigyer, Mihaly Szanto), while the bronze was earned by Balazs Tomai and his Team on JENESIS (Tamas Tompa, Balazs Boros, Gabor Nagy).
The Open Trophy was taken home by American Keith Whittemore and his Team on FURIO from Seattle, Washington (Kevin Downey, Shelby Milne, Brian Thomas, Mark Rodgers). “It was amazing to race on this beautiful lake where, to our surprise and biggest delight, powerboats are banned! You cannot believe how lucky you are with this. We had 10 great races, great organization, fair start lines,” said Whittemore after the races. Here is how it all took place over the four days of competition.
Day 1Two races were sailed on September 27th, the first day. Both races were dominated by the Hungarian teams, they occupied 10 spots in the top 20. JUKEBOX, helmed by local Miklos Rauschenberger, secured 2 wins by confident sailing, followed by the current American National Champion Keith Whittemore on FURIO, while last year’s World Champion, the German team on JJONE helmed by Daniel Frost and his crew came in third.
The first race started out in light, easterly 7-9 kt winds at 1000 hrs as scheduled. First start was under U flag, but loads of excited competitors went over the start line early, so the second start was under the Black Flag. Seemingly, the teams were more careful at the second start in order not to be disqualified.
JUKEBOX took over the lead after the first upwind leg and won the race. In second was JJONE, followed by fellow German LUV, helmed by Tom Stryi. The wind lost its strength by the 2nd race, dropping to 5-7 knots, further boosting the Hungarian teams’ self-confidence on the start line. The tricky winds require expert starting technique, where choosing one’s starting position is key to a successful race. Those starting closer to the pin end proved to be faster coming up the 1st upwind mark.
Six Hungarian teams got there fastest. 1st to round the mark was Tamas Madarasz and his team on REBEL. The first downwind leg was fastest on the right side. After the first round, the dying wind was also shifting northwards, forcing a course alteration. The frontrunners split into two. The 2 leading teams, JUKEBOX and PELLE NERA chose to remain on the left, while the rest of the fleet kept to the right hoping to find stronger breezes.
By
the end of the 2nd race, winds had died almost completely, though the
spinnakers were still holding up nicely. Patience and focus were the
strongest virtue to finish the race. The second race was ruled by
JUKEBOX, while 3-time Soling World Champion Farkas Litkey came in second
on PELLE NERA followed by fellow Hungarian Madarasz on REBEL. As the
wind completely died, there was no chance to do the third race.After two races, JUKEBOX was leading the regatta with 2 wins. He summarized the day, “In today’s light winds local knowledge was definitely an advantage. We knew at both starts that we must choose the pin side and it proved right. It is very good to see that the Hungarian teams are doing well, though today’s tricky conditions haven’t given foreign competitors the chance to really prove how good they are.”
FURIO’s Whittemore was second with two 4th places at both races, while JJONE was sitting in 3rd place.
Day 2The second race day continued with two further races. After four races, three Hungarian teams ruled the leaderboard. JUKEBOX continued to lead, shadowed by JENESIS in second and PELLE NERA in third.
Due to the black flag start rules, yesterday’s favorites, the FURIO and JJONE lost their top positions, as they haven’t been able to drop their BFD’s.
The day started out beautifully in 7-9 knots of easterly winds. The first three teams to round the first upwind mark during the 3rd race were Germany’s Tom Stryi (LUV), Hungary’s Gabor Sallai (IJRONCAT) and PELLE NERA, keeping their positions until the finish of that race. Germany’s Stefan Karsunke on SULLBERG finished fourth, while the current overall leader on JUKEBOX crossed the finish line 5th. The middle of the fleet pretty much clustered up due to dropping winds and finished really close to each other, so the Race Committee decided to shorten the course on the third and fourth legs.
Race 4 was preceded by an on-water postponement, as the wind started shifting and it also dropped well below 5 knots. After a bit of waiting the race course moved southwards, a new course was set and racing continued. Excited teams were unable to hold back enough, six teams were BFD, including FURIO and JJONE, so they were forced to watch the race from the sidelines.
The repeat start for Race 4 was clear. The rounding order at the 1st upwind mark was Jörn Harms on VITESSE, Tomai’s JENESIS, and JUKEBOX. The order pretty much remained the same at the end of the first round at the downwind gate. JUKEBOX decided to take the left-hand mark and continue upwind on the right while JENESIS opted for the right-hand mark and sailed on the left upwind. The 2nd upwind mark was rounded by VITESSE first, followed by JENESIS, then FAST FORWARD. The race was won by Jörn Harms on VITESSE, JENESIS finished second, while the 3rd was taken by a female skipper, Johanne Maske!
Race 5 started in somewhat annoyingly shifty 5-6-knot easterly winds that later completely died, so the race committee decided to abandon the race to the biggest disappointment for the two-race leaders- FURIO and PELLE NERA!
Day 3Incredibly, four races were sailed on the third day of the regatta, for eight races total! Friday was a busy day, not only in race numbers but also in number of protests, so the international jury was kept busy as well! Litkey’s PELLE NERA took over the lead, though tied on points with Whittemore’s FURIO.
The day started out with a shore postponement. After a short wait, the fleet headed out to the course area. The fleet sailed Race 5 in 6-8-knot easterly winds. JUKEBOX won Race 5, followed by Frank Schönfeldt’s HENK, Peer Kook’s BOCKDRUF third and JENESIS fourth.
Winds dropped by Race 6, though it was about 5-6 knots at the start. Winds dropped further during the race, forcing the RC to shorten the length of the 2nd upwind leg. Race 5 finished with 5 Hungarian teams occupying the top 5 slots- PELLE NERA, Robert Sarina’s JBOND, JENESIS, Bakoczy’s FGF SAILING TEAM, and IJRONCAT. Race 7 was preceded by a lengthy on-water postponement, as the Race Committee decided to move the course southwards in hope of more steady winds. The new course was set and Race 7 started in an 8-knot northeasterly.
The start for Race 7 had to be repeated due to a general recall, 3 teams including leading JUKEBOX collected BFD’s. The 2nd start for Race 7 was clear. The Swedish FOR FUN crew rounded the upwind mark first, followed by VITESSE and IJRONCAT. The order shifted by the downwind mark, which was rounded first by FGF Sailing Team, followed by FURIO and EVNIKI. FGF ended up winning race 7 by consistent sailing. VITESSE came in second, FURIO third.
The wind had dropped to 5-6 knots by Race 8 while keeping its direction, so no course change was needed for the last race of the day on Friday. Teams really had to be alert and decide which side to choose that would bring them fresh breezes. JENESIS opted for the left and rounded the 1st upwind mark first, beating VITESSE and PELLE NERA. At the end of the first lap, VITESSE overcame JENESIS and held onto the lead position until the finish.
Jörn Harm from Vitesse commented, “It is difficult to sail here, as there is relatively little wind and there are lot of wind direction changes and there are no waves. We, from the North of Germany on the Baltic Sea are used to different conditions: mostly a lot more wind and waves, where it is somewhat easier to sail. Nevertheless, the organization of the regatta has been perfect.”
PELLE NERA finished second, FURIO came in third, JENESIS landed in 4th while FGF Sailing Team nailed the 5th spot.
The winner of the day was definitely Farkas Litkey, whose consistent sailing paid off with his PELLE NERA team taking the lead in the regatta.
Litkey commented after the races, “We sailed 4 races today out of the total 8. We had four good races, so we are happy with our scores! It was light wind, which benefits us as we are fast in light winds. We have enough speed there to stay among or ahead of the best. The Regatta organization is fantastic. It is incredible that there are 48 boats. I’m truly impressed. Shore events are perfect. New videos, edited every night, the day’s photos displayed is really unique. I haven’t seen this at any other regattas. This is the best organization, I’ve ever seen!”
Day 4Despite the challengingly shifty conditions, the Race Committee, headed by Bence Fluck, managed to run two more races on the final day.
Race 9 was sailed in 7-8 kts northeasterly winds in which 3 German Teams gathered BFD penalties due to jumping out early. LUV was the first boat to reach the 1st upwind gate, shadowed by the young girls-only team on GER 5266, while DJANGO rounded third. By the end of the 2nd leg, leading positions had shifted as the left side of the course proved faster, but LUV and the girls on GER 5266 managed to hold onto their leads while EVNIKI completed the leg third. The second upwind leg saw LUV maintain their lead, but 2 teams came in from the right, JUKEBOX in second and FURIO in third. In the end Stry’s LUV won Race 9, with JUKEBOX in second and FGF in third in a massive comeback!
Race 10 was a nerve-wrecking course, testing the endurance of the teams with its dropping, shifty winds.
EVNIKI was first to round the 1st upwind mark, followed by Dutch Team JOOL and JMANIA. At the downwind mark, EVNIKI swapped positions with Team JOOL. Dropping winds clustered up the teams at the mark, there were fierce struggles for inside positions, coupled by load protest calls. Team JOOL struggled to the 2nd upwind mark to round first, followed by EVNIKI and VITESSE. The Dutch Team JOOL won the race, beating EVNIKI and VITESSE in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The Race Committee was determined to do an 11th race that had to be started by 4 pm. The wind was picking up to 7-8 knots, shifted east, but the 1st start attempt had to be interrupted by an AP due to a sudden wind shift. The 11th race started clear at the 2nd start attempt, though radically shifting conditions forced an abandonment, closing the regatta with a total of ten races in very challenging weather!
Following the J/24 Class legacy of awarding special prizes, here are some of those winners below:
- “The Old Boat Trophy”- was earned by JUST A BIG DINGHY- helmed by Annamári Sabján. The boat had been used by a Swiss fisherman who shortened the mast by 6 cm. So, the mast had to be restored to its original length before the European Championship in order to comply with class regulations. The girls-only team went to great lengths to make their boat race compliant!
- The “Ladies Trophy”- was won by Emily Kern and her German crew of all-women on ROTOGIRL.
- The “Top Youth Boat Trophy”- was won by the GER 3634 team, FAST F helmed by Johanne Maske.
- The “Top Senior Boat Trophy”- went to Italian Attilio De Battista on ITA 498- PILGRIM.
J/24 Hungary sailing videos
First day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1574122279311655/
Second day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1574942895896260/
Third day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1576005189123364/
Fourth day- https://www.facebook.com/hunj24class/videos/1577399228983960/
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