Please select your home edition
Edition
Maritimo M75

Vamos victorious at NSW J/70 Championship 2024

by J/70 Australia 5 Nov 2024 08:35 UTC 2-4 November 2024

The 2024 J/70 NSW Championship was sailed from 2-4 November 2024 from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, with 14 boats from clubs around Australia and even some international visitors amongst the crews. Tim Ryan skippered his Vamos team to their second State Championship in almost as many weeks with his crew of Rob Greenhalgh, Charlie Gundy and visiting British 49er Olympian James Peters.

The first two days were sailed in northerly breezes, with the leader and Boat of the Day for both being David Doherty and his team on Matador, including James Corrie, Hamish Hardy and Steve Thomas leaving them with a lead going into the final day.

Matador opened the door in the second last race of the series, dropping from fourth to eighth on the last run, while Vamos finished first, to be just one point behind overall with a better drop on their scorecard.

It then came down to the battle of the last race. Tim Ryan's Vamos were successful in holding Doherty's Matador back on the first beat, and went on to secure a second in the easing southerly. Matador were unable to find their way back into the top of the pack following the tight cover, and were forced to settle for second place overall.

"Yeah, we won this one," said Tim Ryan. "We won the Victorian States also, so it's a pretty good outcome for us. We're pretty happy."

He credited his team with their work on the difficult race track. "It was a tricky day. I think Rob [Greenhalgh] did very well in picking all the shifts today. We were pretty much on top of it. Teamwork was fantastic," he concluded.

With two regatta wins from their last two events, it puts Vamos firmly in the favourite position for the upcoming National Championship.

"Sandringham, January 13-18. Four days of racing, hopefully windy and wavy, should be fun," said Rod Warren, J/70 Australia Class President, Sandringham local and skipper of third place overall, Joust70.

"There are now 12 or 13 boats [J/70's] on the hard stand, so that's a good contingent and the kids are just getting better and better. They're really putting in a lot of effort, training, getting coached and they're going to keep improving, and keeping us on our toes," he finished.

The class is growing in Australia with both Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron and Sandringham Yacht Club adopting the J/70 for their Youth Keelboat programs in recent years.

Sandringham Yacht Club Youth Keelboat Program member, Hayden Brown and his team on Sirocco, were the winners of both the Youth Division (under 25) and the Corinthian Division for the event.

"Honestly we're trying to just focus on trying to get the pros so we're happy with how we're going, and to get both the divisions is nice," said Hayden Brown after racing.

"In this combination we started sailing after the last Nationals so just under a year in our current combo."

"It's good with the Sandy program because we're able to get on the water in these boats which is sort of helping us get into bigger boats as well. It's a phenomenal fleet. They're all really experienced and we're learning a lot just from what we're doing," he admitted.

Other divisional winners included Kim Ketelbey's Anemology in the Mixed Plus Division, a division that has been introduced by the J/70 Class to encourage female participation. To qualify, you cannot have more than two males over the age of 18.

There were at least 18 sailing clubs represented at the event, including Belmont 16ft Skiff Club, Black Rock Yacht Club, Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, Brighton Yacht Club, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Double Bay Sailing Club, Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club, Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Royal Motor Yacht Club Broken Bay, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, Sandringham Yacht Club, Southport Yacht Club and Wangi Amateur Sailing Club.

For full results available here.

For more information about J/70 sailing in Australia, including upcoming events such as the National Championship at Sandringham Yacht Club 13-18 January 2025, head to www.j70australia.org.

Related Articles

Kieler Woche Day 8
Mourniac & Retornaz take the lead in the Nacra 17 class A dream day ahead of the second weekend at the Kieler Woche regatta off Schilksee: Moderate to fresh westerly winds with strong gusts, alternating sun and clouds, provided ideal sailing conditions for all participants on Friday. Posted on 27 Jun
J/70 Mixed-Plus Worlds at Lake Garda Day 2
Spanish team Yupi top the leaderboard Friday was the second day of racing in Torbole for the inaugural J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship. Although the "Ora" breeze was lighter than yesterday, it didn't disappoint; it blew steadily enough to deliver three fair, fun and hard-fought races. Posted on 27 Jun
J/70 Mixed-Plus Worlds at Lake Garda Day 1
Yupi leads after a perfect opening day in Torbole Lake Garda delivered its finest conditions for the opening day of the first-ever J/70 Mixed-Plus World Championship: three races completed in a steady, warm Ora breeze peaking at 20 knots. Posted on 26 Jun
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week overall
Class Leaders Win Big at 20th Edition There were few surprises on the final day of racing at Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week as class leaders who took control on Day 1 skillfully navigated the unusual-for-Long Beach conditions to prevail in their respective classes. Posted on 23 Jun
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week Day 2
Another day of not-so-classic Long Beach conditions Day 2 of the 20th edition Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week, co-organized by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) dished up another day of not-so-classic Long Beach conditions. Posted on 22 Jun
Mustang Survival sponsor J/70 Corinthian Worlds
Being held at Marblehead, Massachusetts this September The Eastern Yacht Club and Mustang Survival are thrilled to announce a partnership to bring the 2025 J/70 Corinthian World Championship to the waters of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Posted on 21 Jun
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week Day 1
Leaders emerge in all 10 classes in a lighter than usual breeze Day 1 of the 20th edition Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week, co-organized by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) and Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC), challenged those used to the bigger breeze that the venue usually dishes out. Posted on 21 Jun
Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week starts Friday
115+ competitors race ready for 20th edition of legendary West Coast event With some 115 boats signed up to participate in the 20th edition of Ullmans Sails Long Beach Race week, the regatta is thrilled to welcome plenty of newcomers to enjoy three days of world-class sailing in the best racing conditions Posted on 19 Jun
Royal Thames YC 250th Anniversary Regatta overall
Perfect Solent conditions and desperately tight racing for the conclusion Picture-perfect conditions of a building 8-18 knots from the south-west, bright sunshine and flat Solent conditions on the flood tide made for a glamorous conclusion to the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta on Sunday. Posted on 16 Jun
The Ultimate Guide to Load Pins
Types, applications and uses for cruising and racing The use of load pins onboard yachts dates back to grand prix racing in the 1980s. And, while there are many different load sensing devices available today, for standing rigging on yachts 50ft+, the load pin remains king. Posted on 15 Jun
Maritimo M75Palm Beach Motor Yachts