Round #1 J/70 UK Class Sprint Series
The 2022 J/70 UK Sprint Series is off and running after the Royal Southern Yacht Club’s North Sails May Regatta held 7-8 May on The Solent. Race Officer Peter Saxton and his team provided ten short, sharp windward leeward races.
As with all of the Summer Series regattas, superb après-racing social events are organised at the club’s purpose-built facility on the banks of the River Hamble. The North Sails coaching team was out on the water, and after racing on Saturday, their experts Jeremy Smart and Ruaridh Wright presented a debrief, including detailed drone video and top tips from specialists including double-Olympic sailor and J/70 racer Chris Grube. The North Sails May Regatta Prize Giving was held at the Royal Southern YC Clubhouse with North Sails jackets, books, and sail bags for the winners.
Paul Ward’s Eat Sleep J Repeat romped home scoring nine bullets in ten races. Ian Poynton’s Powder Monkey scored their first podium finish in the J/70 UK Class coming second overall and was the top J/70 with an amateur crew. Paul Barnett’s Scottish team racing Panther in their first season also made the podium for the first time and was only a point behind Powder Monkey after ten short sharp races.
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Paul Ward’s Eat Sleep J Repeat romped home scoring nine bullets in ten races. Ian Poynton’s Powder Monkey scored their first podium finish in the J/70 UK Class coming second overall and was the top J/70 with an amateur crew. Paul Barnett’s Scottish team racing Panther in their first season also made the podium for the first time and was only a point behind Powder Monkey after ten short sharp races.
Ian Poynton lent Powder Monkey to his friends Hannah Muskett and Ross Perchard, who raced with Fran Evans and 15-year-old Freddie Denton. “We have done very little J/70 sailing in the past and not since last September!” commented helm Hannah Muskett. “Ian is the kindest man in the world to let us race Powder Monkey for the series at the Royal Southern. Racing J/70s takes us back to our student days racing J/80s. A J/70 is incredibly tweaky, so it took us a few races to get going and watch Paul Ward, we learnt so much, especially being soft on the controls in light air. It was a fantastic weekend with incredibly well-run race management.”
Full Results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=14998
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