Key Yachting J-Cup Race Day Two: J/Boats Spectacular

The Key Yachting J-Cup, in association with B&G, had superb conditions for the second day of racing. Brilliant sunshine with a south westerly breeze, pumping up to over 20 knots, produced stunning, planing conditions for the 56 J/Boats. Hundreds of sailors were grinning from ear to ear after a ballistic day on the Solent, three races were completed by all classes.

Race winners on Day Two of the Key Yachting J-Cup: J/99 Jump 2 it, J/122 Jahmali, J/105 Jacana, J/92 J'ronimo, J/111 McFly, J/111 JourneyMaker II, J/109 Joule, and J/70 Jelvis.

Martin Dent's Jelvis had an exceptional day, scoring three straight bullets in the highly competitive 27-boat J/70 fleet for the UK National Championships. Paul Ward's Eat Sleep J Repeat scored a 4-2-3 today and drops to second place.

"When you add together 20-25 knots of wind with a fleet of 27 J/70s, managed by a great Race Officer and team, who set perfect courses and start lines, you are in for a spectacular day," commented Jelvis' Martin Dent. "Normal J/70 racing is sick, today was super-sick. Given the strong wind, boat handling was at a premium and Ruby (Dent), and Wetherell Brothers; Jack and Henry did a great job."

Doug Struth's DSP had another belter of a day, scoring a 5-3-2 to retain third in the Open Division. DSP leads the 19-strong Corinthian Division by an impressive18-point margin. In the Open Division DSP is one point ahead of the 2021 Open J/70 National Champion, Nick Phillips' Chaotic, as well as two points ahead of Charles Thompson's Brutus and Simon Patterson's Standfast. Tim Dickinson's Jellyfish, with son Fin on the helm, moves up to second in the Corinthian Division, three points ahead of Jon Calascione & Marshall King's Calypso.

J/109 UK National Championships

Arjen van Leeuwen's Dutch J/109 Joule put in an outstanding performance winning all three uber-windy races. Defending J/109 National Champion, David Richards' Jumping Jellyfish, scored a 3-3-2 and drops to second, four points behind Joule. John Smart's Jukebox retains third but only by single point from David McGough's Just So, which battled hard today scoring a 4-2-3. Mike & Susie Yates racing JAGO scored a second in the first race of the day and have joined the challenge for the championship podium.

The Dutch J/109 Joule comes from Jachtclub Scheveningen on the North Sea. The team are all-Dutch and after the Key Yachting J-Cup the boat will remain to compete in Cowes Week. "We enjoy one-design racing but back home we are lucky if we have six J/109s racing together, so it is great to race in such a big fleet," commented Joule's Arjen van Leeuwen. "We were surprised at the speed advantage we had today, but the crew also sailed really well. We did have one mistake with the spinnaker, but we were far enough ahead that we still won the race. The goal now is to avoid the pub, go to bed early, and sail as well tomorrow. After that you will see us on the dance floor!"

J/111 UK National Championships

Defending UK National Champions Tony & Sally Mack's J/111 McFly scored two race wins today. However, Louise Makin & Chris Jones' JourneyMaker II won the last race to stay in touch with McFly for the national championships. Cornel Riklin's Jitterbug scored a 3-2-3 today to move up to third ahead of Tim Tolcher's Raging Bull 2.

IRC One

Kevin Taylor's J/99 Jump 2 it scored a third and a win, but a retirement in the last race, due to a block failure, all but cost Jump 2 it the class lead. Michael & Sarah Wallis' J/122 Jahmali revelled in the big breeze scoring two race victories to move up to second in class. Derek Shakespeare's J/122 Bulldog scored a 2-2-4 to finish the day in third place for the regatta.

IRC Two

Mark Stevens' J/105 Jacana had another excellent day, scoring two race bullets, to lead the class by three points. David Greenhalgh's J/92 J'ronimo scored a 1-3-2 to move up to second place just one point ahead of the defending IRC Two champions J/92s Upstart, sailed by Robin Stevenson.

Half of the J/105 Jacana crew are members of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and skipper Mark Stevens has raced at many J-Cups in many different classes. "It was absolutely awesome sailing today, one of the best for a long time, we had great breeze and good courses," commented Mark Stevens. "There is a lot of racing history between boats in our class; we have raced against each other for a long time, so it is great to do so well! The best we have achieved in the J-Cup is third, so we are really going for it this year."

The Key Yachting Daily Prize Giving at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse was a very happy affair with sailors grinning from ear to ear after a superb day of racing. Key Yachting's Wayne Palmer and Hannah Le Provost welcoming winners to the stage to receive a bevy of prizes from regatta sponsors.

Racing at the Key Yachting J-Cup concludes tomorrow the 2nd of July with three more races to finish the regatta. For more information about the J/Boats range. Visit Key Yachting, the exclusive agent for J/Boats in the UK and Ireland for over twenty years.