(Cowes, IOW, England)- The Island Sailing Club will be hosting the
annual J/CUP U.K. this coming weekend for an amazing fleet of
fifty-eight boats from eight countries (United Kingdom, Switzerland,
Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Wales, France, Ireland). There will be
One-design racing for J/70s, J/88s, J/92s, J/97s, J/109s, J/111s, and an
IRC handicap class.Sailing will take place on the infamous Solent, where tidal current tactics matter at least as much as playing windshifts and wind streaks on what many consider to be one of the trickiest bodies of water to sail on in the world. In short, it’s a river that shifts tidally up to 4.5 kts with powerful wind-bending attributes off the highlands surrounding the Solent.
As
the largest class, the seventeen-boat J/70 fleet will have most of the
top U.K. contenders present as they continue to marshal their resources
with a view to a strong showing in the 2019 J/70 Worlds held in
Weymouth, UK. The leading contenders should be Terry O’Neill’s AQUA-J,
Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC, Geoff Carveth & Doug Struth’s DSP, Paul
Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA 8, Graham Clapp’s
JEEPSTER, David McLeman’s OFFBEAT, and Marshall King’s SOAK RACING. 
With
four teams, the J/88 class will have fierce competition amongst crews
that have all won major events of one form or another over time. The
betting form on this group won’t make any sense, since they are all
capable of winning. The real question is, who’s got the complete team
to make it happen for starts, tactics, and boathandling? The contenders
are David & Kirsty Apthorp’s familiar J-DREAM, Richard Cooper’s
JONGLEUR, Dirk & Diane van Beek’s SABRIEL JR, and Gavin Howe’s
TIGRIS. The six-boat J/92 class will be their largest gathering in years. Watch for class veteran David Greenhalgh’s family on J’RONIMO to set the standard for this grouping.
Similar to their J/88 class colleagues, there is no question that Ladbroke’s betting parlor would have a helluva hard time laying betting odds on each team in the five-boat J/97 class. Each of the teams is formidable; it all depends on the crew/ tactics and staying out of trouble. As such, those crews are Andy & Annie Howe’s BLACKJACK II, Mike Sellers & Chris Miles’ HIGH JINKS, Bob & Jon Baker’s JAYWALKER, Bob Hunt’s JUMBLESAIL 2, and the French crew from La Trinite sur Mer, Yann Gindre’s L’OPALE.
With eight-boats, the J/109s are looking forward to their annual get-together at the J-CUP. Look for these teams to factor on the leaderboard, Mike & Susie Yates’ JAGO, Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE, John Smart’s JUKEBOX, and Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN.
As
part of the J/111 Northern European Championship Series, the J/CUP was
considered key, “not to miss” regatta, in the whole circuit. With
eleven boats in attendance, virtually all of the top crews of a very
European contingent are participating from the U.K. (Paul Griffiths’
JAGERBOMB, Louise Makin/ Chris Jones’ JOURNEYMAKER II, Tony Mack’s
McFLY, and Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG), Belgium (Sebastian de
Liederkeke’s DJINN), Netherlands (Sjaak Haakman’s RED HERRING & Paul
van Driel & Hans Zwijnenburg’s SWEENY), Germany (Norbert Burkert’s
TOP JOB), and Switzerland (Michiel van de Meulen’s LALLEKONIG).In the IRC handicap division are Chaz Ivill’s J/112E DAVANTI TYRES, Mike & Sarah Wallis’ J/122 JAHMALI, Angus Bates’ J/133 ASSARAIN IV, and Mike Lewis’ J/80 JESTER. For more J/CUP Regatta sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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