J Spot hits the spot
Tuesday May 25th 2004, Author: Becci Eplett, Location: United Kingdom
See View Yacht Club on the Isle of Wight played host to the J/105 UK National Championships for the third time over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of May. The Class has come to rely on the warm welcome and superb facilities offered by the club and Richard Prest (the PRO) and his hardworking team put together a great series of 6 races in predominantly light airs and warm sunshine.
Four races were scheduled for Saturday, and the fleet were faced with a light and shifty breeze (8 to 10 knots) from the north east, coupled with an awkward chop caused by strong spring tides sweeping round from Bembridge.
The boat to beat on day one was J Spot, sailed by Malcolm Jaques and his extremely competent crew. After three impressive wins and a general recall to start Race 4, the rest of the fleet were given some reprieve when J Spot and a number of other boats on the racetrack found themselves the wrong side of a big shift on the final race of the day. However, Simon Curwen and the team on Voador saw the shift coming and sailed an intelligent race to take the bullet. Shaun Murphy’s Slingshot finished second and Andrew Bird’s Jambalaya third.
So, as the party commenced on Saturday night, the top three boats (with no discard yet applied) were Malcolm Jaques and J Spot with 7 points, Shaun Murphy and Slingshot second with 11 points and Andrew Bird and Jambalaya in third with 15 points.
Sunday morning dawned and the Race Officer wisely postponed until the breeze filled in from the South East; slightly stronger than the previous day (10 to 12 knots), with flatter water. J Spot had a faltering start, mistakenly thinking that they were OCS, but Andrew Bird in Jambalaya made the most of the conditions and lead race 5 from the off. J Spot finished in second and Gary Fry and Nick Martin’s Diablo-J was third.
The final race of the regatta confirmed the shift of overnight placings between Slingshot and Jambalaya; J Spot won, securing their National Championship title, with Jambalaya second and Voador taking third.
The Sobstad Sailmakers Trophy for the 2004 J/105 UK National Championship winner was awarded to Malcolm Jaques and his team, which included his wife Shirley his daughter Naomi and her boyfriend Dave Waters. Malcolm’s son Tristan and his 29er crew Alain Sign are the current 29er UK National Champions and Youth Champions so perhaps having some of this young talent on board paid? That said, Malcolm’s old (established?) Laser 5000 crew Steve Mummery was also on board…
Second place overall was Andrew Bird in Jambalaya. New to the J/105 but previously a J/92 owner, Andrew and crew sailed consistently and fast and were rightly pleased with their second. Shaun ‘Spud’ Murphy and the rest of the Slingshot (below) boys will not be too disappointed with their third but will undoubtedly be looking for better at the J-Cup in August.
The J/105 Class would like to thank the Sea View Yacht Club and the prize sponsors of the event Sobstad Sailmakers and UK Sails for their part in ensuring that this was a thoroughly enjoyable regatta.
Boat Name | Skipper | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Points | |
1 | J Spot | Malcolm Jaques | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
2 | Jambalaya | Andrew Bird | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
3 | Slingshot | Shaun Murphy | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
4 | Voador | Simon Curwen | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 18 |
5 | Diablo-J | Gary Fry / Nick Martin | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
6 | J-Dream | Colin Wall | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 22 |
7 | Jet | James Owen | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
8 | Jacana | D Sheehan / P Sandover | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 38 |
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