Racing at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club

J24 2008 Spring Cup Championship

As always, the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club was delighted to welcome the J24 fleet to Falmouth again for the 2008 Spring Cup championship. The event was held from May 2nd through to May 5th 2008. A series of seven races met the Championship requirement.

The Notice of Race is published and the Sailing Instructions were available at registration.

Well, the weekend has passed and the weather seemed to get better over the weekend. Initial feedback seems positive on the event. The Championship results have been published and should be available on the Class association website by now. A number of images are in the Gallery, but any others would be welcomed.

Barney Peters has provided a review of the racing to act as a reminder amongst other things.

J24 SPRING CUP, 3-5TH MAY 2008

14 J24 teams competed for this years J24 Spring Cup hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Falmouth in glorious Cornish sunshine. Race officer Roger Hollingsworth and his committee boat team managed to get 7 races over weekend in difficult light conditions in Falmouth Bay.

Competition was tight for this years Spring event, with a number of the UK fleet qualified and training for the World championships to be held in Sardinia, Italy. At least 6 of the competitors who raced over the weekend will be racing for the coveted World Champion title.

Day one, held on the Saturday afternoon, comprised of 2 races in an unusual south easterly breeze creating a testing sea swell. The first race was won by Thijs Knapper in Phoenix, the second race with won by Stouche helmed by the class regular and previous national and European champion Stuart Jardine. There were a few tender stomachs on a number of the boats and committee boat caused by the stirring seas, settled after racing with a few local ales and a bbq in the evening.

Day two produced more sunshine, flatter seas and a steadier northerly breeze. 3 races were held, with local boat Roger Rabbit (Hirst & Denning) proving to be the quickest boat for the day with a 6th, 2nd and a 1st. Jon Powell on Peggy recorded to 2nds and a 7th to challenge, Phoenix for top spot who had a win, 4th and a 7th. The overall table after racing was close for the 14 boats competing leaving the final day to sort out the final winner.

An earlier start and even more sunshine greeted the sailors for the final days racing on Monday morning. 2 races were sailed with sort out the final table. Peggy made the most of a difficult first beat as the wind dropped and shifted to split the fleet to take the win on a single beat, one leg race. The second race started in more consistent breeze proved to be the best race of the weekend with tight racing for all competitors. Another former national champion David Ellis won the race with a comfortable lead. Peggy (Powell) taking their worst result for the week in 11th just enough to take overall first position for the event by one point from Phoenix (Knapper) in second, with third place tied between Madeleine (McCarthy) and Hitchhiker (Ellis).

Prizes were kindly provided by local breweries St Austell Brewery and Skinners. Thanks for Pendennis Marina and Falmouth Docks for their assistance in craning and berthing.

Last updated May 6, 2008