J105 National Championships at Hamble
by Paul Griffiths 8 Jul 2009 12:37 BST
4-5 July 2009
The J105 UK Class Association held their 2009 National Championships over the weekend of 4/5 July.
Nine J105s took part over eight windward/leeward races over the two days, with race organisation superbly managed by Race with Condor.com. After an early morning shower on both Saturday and Sunday the weather was fantastic, mostly sunny with a building south easterly on Saturday from 6 to 14 knots and a south westerly on Sunday, peaking at 20 knots in the final two races of the day.
The racing was close - classic, unbeatable one design racing at its best. Four boats won individual races: Fay J (Paul Griffiths) 3, Java (Rob Dornton-Duff) 2, Jelly Baby (William Newton) 2 and Diablo J (Nick Martin) 1. After seven of the eight races Jelly Baby and Fay J were equal first with 13 points each, so everything hinged on the final race of the series.
This race saw an incredibly close finish with seven of the nine boat fleet arriving at the final leeward mark virtually together with the result in doubt right up to the finish. In the event Jelly Baby prevailed, winning the race and the series.
Overall Results:
1st Jelly Baby, William Newton, 13 pts
2nd Fay J, Paul Griffiths, 17 pts
3rd Java, Rob Dornton-Duff, 17 pts
Our thanks go to the RAF Yacht Club for hosting the Saturday night party and to North Sails for supporting the event and donating prizes.