J/amboree

J-Cup gets underway in the Solent

Racing commenced today at the J-Cup, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble. The event has attracted a record entry of 58 boats including 26 J/109s which are competing for their 2006 UK National Championship as part of the event. Two races were sailed in a shifty 8 to 14 knots from the south east.

In the J/80 Class Liz Savage and the Savage Sailing Team showed blistering pace in their brand new boat and led for almost the entire first race, only to lose their lead at the top end of the last beat to Kevin Sproul in Jane. In Race 2 Jane fought her way through from a mid fleet position into first place on a long downwind leg and held onto her lead until the finish with Stephen Chiverton in Just Chilling finishing second.

In Class 3 (a mixed IRC Class comprising J/92s and a J/110) the first race was won by Andrew Roberts and Steve Etheridge in their J/92 S Just in Time with Neilson Redeye, (owned and raced by Pete and Pip Tyler) second. Neilson Redeye took the bullet in Race 2 from Charlie Wise and Phil Thomas’ J’Ronimo in second.

The J/105s are also racing in Class according to their one-design rules, and the top three places were the same in both races; David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-Dream in first place, Shaun Murphy’s Slingshot hot on their heels in second. Andrew Tristram and his team from the East Coast took two thirds in Panther.

Stewart Hawthorne and J/133 Jump is overnight leader in Class 1, with a 2, 1, score-line. Graham Hall and his team of Venerable Veterans on J/133 Quicksilver VI won Race 1. Mark Lloyd in J/133 Jellina was second in Race 2 and is second overall as we go to press.

Overnight leader in the J/109 National Championship is Chaz Ivill in Johnny Blue on equal points with Ben Richards and Michael Ewart-Smith in Zelda.

For Race 1 there was a 30 degree port bias on the start line and this lead to bunching at the port end and ultimately a general recall. The Race Committee re-laid the line, reducing port bias to 20 degrees and thereby facilitating a clean getaway. Guy Knight in Beth was ‘king of the pin’ and crossed whole fleet but he rounded the top mark second behind Zelda. Kevin Moll’s Jura was third round followed by Nigel and Suzie Brooke’s Jalapeno and Johnny Blue II. By the leeward mark Johnny Blue II had worked through to second having sailed a good downwind leg but Zelda was extending her lead all the time. At the final windward mark it was Zelda, Beth, Johnny Blue II and then Philip Smith and John Perry’s Firestorm, and this was also the final finishing order.

The wind shifted further to the east for Race 2, coming from 115 degrees and now up to about 14 knots. All the J/109s stayed with genoas except for Jalapeno who changed down to a #3. Again it was the pin end that was favoured and Peter Bresnan’s Newton’s Wonder was first on to port. At the top mark the order was Zelda, Johnny Blue II and Newton’s Wonder. At first downwind mark Zelda goose-winged in. This worked really well at first. However, team Zelda then failed to unroll the jib prior to dropping the kite (most un-Zelda like!) and unfortunately this error lost them three places. On the final beat Jalapeno headed out to sea into worse tide (but perhaps in better pressure?) passing Beth and moving up to fourth. The final results were Johnny Blue II in pole position, followed by Newton’s Wonder and Zelda.

Racing at the J-Cup continues tomorrow with three races are scheduled for all five classes.