J Talk Vic …. That’s a wrap
2022 J24 Victorian State Championships
It was with great expectation that 12 boats (11 Victorian & one interstate raider) hit the blue waters of Port Phillip Bay in what turned out to be glamour sailing conditions at the weekend.
A barmy 24-28 degrees, the water was flat & the wind was 6-10 from the south on Day 1 and then 6-12 from the North on Day 2…magic.
The script:
With newer skippers pressing hard and in good form and an intestate raider ACE attempting to take the spoils, interest was at an all time high
After the first two races on Day 1 it seems the script was written with ACE dominating Race 1 & 2 with two bullets taking with JAB and Baile de Luna filling the minor placings, the script seemed set with ACE by how far?
Huey obviously had other ideas, the more things change the more they stay the same!
This is exactly what happened next.
As if the clock was suddenly wound back a couple of decades the Title became an exclusive rumble in the jungle between two J24 Heavy weights.
To see Mr J24 himself, ably supported by Angels (& Bosley – James) take on the Grain Hermitage (apparently it’s a specially brewed bourbon) along with JET’s Flight crew, dominate and battle out the next six races was truly a sight to behold.
With the exception of a brief interlude in Race 6 where Baile De Luna took the chocolates, all other bullets were shared between Bruschetta IV (3 wins and nothing over a 4th to count) 16pts in 1st, and JET (2 wins and three 2nds, but carrying a 7th) 18pts in 2nd place, those two boats dominated the regatta.
Despite some blinding moments by Haywire, JForce and Joyride (winner of PHS) the rest of the fleet was lead in, many points behind, by the consistent JAB, the best of the rest finishing 3rd.
The Dogs made a late charge on day 2 slipping into 4th place and ACE battled hard at the end to finish 5th on count back
A heartfelt thanks to our outgoing President Warren Campbell on all his hard work over the last couple of years, to the SYC Race management crew for getting 8 superbly timed races in and of course to Kylie and Crew from Haywire for the wonderful catering, Nathan for the awesome drone footage and John Neville for his caring, empathetic approach whilst handing out trophies and raffle prizes.
Congratulations to our podium places:
One Design
1. Bruschetta IV ( 22 years between drinks, I bet this one tasted good!)
2. JET
3. JAB
PHS
1. Joyride
2. Haywire
3. Panarea
What a regatta, what a season!
Story by Adam Keys-Tilley
Full Results: