Simon Grain

We have a number of overseas competitors contemplating bringing a hot boat to the Worlds in Sandringham in 2026. At least two of these owners have contacted me and are willing to bring a boat out to Australia if they can sell it to someone here.
This does mean you would only get the boat after the worlds, but you would be getting a very good ‘5 series’ boat from the current offerings. If you are even slightly interested in this please contact me with an expression of interest and I can put you in touch with one of the US or European owners we already know about.
Simon 0413 870 046

Two recent mast breakages have meant there is an immediate demand for replacement masts. This happens from time to time.
There are two options available, new or used.
With the 2026 Worlds coming up there are number of owners contemplating putting new masts on their boats, this means there maybe very good used masts available that would suit older boats wanting a replacement for an even older mast – new and good used masts do make a difference !
If you are contemplating upgrading an older mast to a new or good used mast, please give me a call and we may be able to help put you in touch with the right person.
Call Simon on 0413 870 046

The 2026 J24 World Championship is being held at the iconic Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne from the 4 – 11th November.
The Organising Committee is excited and proud to announce the confirmation of our Title Sponsor, Peerless Industrial Systems.
They are an Australian company with an international client base involved in the manufacture of Industrial Epoxy Resin Systems under the brand name EPIGEN.
Peerless Industrial Systems have been an industry leader since 1970 in the development and provision of resin-based technology, they are dedicated professionals with technical expertise in the Mining, Water and Power, Oil and Gas, Mineral Processing, Refining, Pipeline, Material Handling and storage industries.
Their resin systems are also used in boat building industries throughout Australia and overseas.
To see more about the company, go to their website https://epigen.com.au
Nick Subotsch from Peerless is excited to come on board with us, “The opportunity to work with an international event like this is the sort of excitement we love being involved with, giving back to active and forward-thinking people is what our company is all about and it is a perfect match for us”.
Now is the time to be thinking about coming ‘down under’ in 2026.

For more information please regularly go to syc.com.au/j24-worlds or get in touch at j24@syc.com.au

Sean Kirkjian’s winning ‘Vice Versa’ crew

Last week the undisputed king of J24s in Australia picked up his 7^th Nationals title.

Sean Kirkjian and crew dominated the racing, finishing 10 races with five firsts to finish on 20pts, 10 clear of second place Brendan Lee.

With the regatta backed by J24 Victoria’s long time Sponsor ‘Hodges Sandringham’ the regatta must rank as one of the most competitive and successful Nationals of recent history. With a perfect week of sunny warm weather ranging from 20+ knots to light drifting conditions the racing was fierce, with the first four finishers all taking race wins.

Very Popular Warren Slater takes out Day 1 Winner

Day one was taken out by Warren Slater sailing ‘Jab’ from Sandringham, a very popular day winner, Warren and crew showed what they are made of with a 1, 3, 4, setting an immediate benchmark and a warning shot across the fleet on the high level of competition to come.

Perfect conditions were the week’s feature

Day winners for days 2, 3, and 4 all have the same name against them, ‘Vice Versa’ (purchased through the regatta from John Neville), with Skipper Sean Kirkjian, from Sydney, and crew of Shane Guanaria, Tony Reynolds (AJ), Oliver Guanaria, and Margot van der Poel, taking each day’s chocolates.

Brendan Lee sailing Great White, and twice national champ in the last few years, fought a continuing battle with Sean and took the overall lead after day two, however Sean crushed this temporary setback with 3 wins and a 2^nd over the next two days.

While the racing was close the rest of the fleet clearly has some work to do.

National President Steve Wright sailing ‘Tinto’ and national champ in 2022 took out third with a runaway win in the last race to take Warren Slater off the podium. With the wind dying in this race only Tinto, Vice Versa and Great White managed to finish, the rest of the fleet chewing boiled lollies when the time limit expired.

There was pain back in the fleet too, with previous national champions, struggling to convert effort into places.  The oldest skipper Dave McKay (Australian Sailor of the year 1969 – and still celebrating !) in the regatta and a wily old fox sailing ‘Stamped Urgent’ came in 6^th behind Simon Grain in ‘Convicts Revenge’.

Close racing from start to finish

A recent record six entries from NSW and two from South Australia built the fleet out to 19 boats, Scott Hagan in the ‘eBay auction’ boat had respectable placings considering he hadn’t sailed a J before the regatta. He was foiled mid-regatta with some mast issues and went through 3 masts in a day, however he is as keen as can be and with only 4 months in Australia from Ireland, is the new SA class rep, new boat owner and fired up in ‘Hey J’. Also from SA was familiar face Sophie Davidson, and her all-female crew on Hi who keep coming back for the regattas and friendly atmosphere. Catherine Thornton-Rofe was the skipper of the other all-female crew sailing Arthur Crother’s ‘Kaotic’ from NSW, also keen, coming in at 14^th. This year the organising committee also introduced a new trophy for the first female helm, award to Janette Syme on Jet who came in 13^th place.

The new ‘Foredeck’ is a perfect after-racing venue

Day winners were celebrated after racing in the SYC new Foredeck extension to the club and provided a welcoming and friendly after race atmosphere, with welcoming free beers for those thirsty palates. A strong social theme ran through the regatta with a number of functions including Daily Recaps, a well attended NSW crew dinner, Thursday night twilight racing (some took the option of viewing from the foredeck cheering Scott Hagan on), a Mexican night and all culminating in the sit down dinner presentation evening. In addition to the hotly contested “J of the Day” was the equally prestigious “pic of the day” and “volunteer of the day” awards which brought a few laughs and celebrated the community spirit that is so intrinsic to the J24 class in Australia. Sean Kirkjian, overall OD winner, brought thunderous applause all round after re-awarding the PHS win to Chris Ravesi in ‘Panarea’ being the next in line after the first three PHS places turned out to be the same as OD.

The 3 Amigos at the Mexican Night getting into the ‘spirits’ of it

Steve Aulich was the RO for the regatta doing a very professional job setting great courses and turning races around fast – thirsty work Steve ! SYC put on a great regatta and the many volunteers helping run the regatta did an excellent job with very little fuss. Our thanks go Sponsor ‘Hodges Sandringham’ again and to the whole Sandringham Yacht Club team for a very successful regatta. With this regatta and next year’s worlds being run up and qualifying regattas for the 2026 Worlds to be held at Sandringham in November, it was excellent practice for competitors and race management alike.

The very professional race management team headed by RO Steve Aulich

Preparations for the Worlds continue and the organising committee will shortly be sharing some exciting sponsorship news to help make these worlds a fantastic ‘Australian flavour’ regatta that both the locals and the visiting overseas competitors will remember for a long time.

Simon.

The Nationals have been done and won.

Sean Kirkjian and team have taken out the chocolates on his new boat ‘Vice Versa’ purchased from John Neville during the regatta. Brendan Lee is second on ‘Great White’ and third is Steve Wright on ‘Tinto’.  Chris Ravesi on ‘Panarea’ is awarded the PHS prize.

For full results go here.

PHS results go here

A full story will come in the next few days.

The 2025 (and 2026) Nationals are being held st Sandringham YC in Melbourne. This is in part as preparation for the 2026 World Championships to be held at Sandringham in November 2026.

More details please go to the Regatta Information page

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the full story of the worlds with many pictures. Includes reports from Australia, Hungary, Canada, Greece, the Technical Committee and more.

Download the newsletter here:  International Pulse Fall2024-Final-J24

Innaminka competing in Seattle

When Seattle—a city famous for its coffee, rain, and salmon—puts on a show, you can bet your last shackle that it’s going to be a great experience, especially when world-class sailboat racing is involved.

Such was the case at the Seattle 2024 J24 World Championship presented by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese (September 28—October 5), which concluded yesterday on the waters of Puget Sound in about 10 knots of northerly breeze and under rippled clouds that were punctuated by pockets of blue. After the day started off with a postponement that allowed the northerly winds to gather, skipper Travis Odenbach and his Honeybadger (USA 5325) crew put on a master class by decisively earning the day’s only bullet and capturing the championship title in the 56-boat fleet.

“That’s a relief!” exclaimed a jubilant Odenbach moments after winning the regatta. “I’ve been trying to win the J/24 Worlds for 10 years!” While Odenbach has won the J/24 U.S. Nationals Championship and has previously finished second and third in the J/24 Worlds, this regatta represented a massive commitment to high-level racing in the world’s most popular keelboat. “We made a plan in January,” he said, noting that they carefully stuck with it. “We’re from the Great Lakes, which is a little bit different because it isn’t tidal.” The solution, he said, was to enlist a top- notch crew, including tactician and former Olympian Dave Hughes. “I had a lot of good people who helped make this happen,” he said of his talent-riven team.

Odenbach’s Honeybadger crew were joined on the winner’s podium by Mike Ingham, skipper of USA 5443, and his crew, who finished in second place, and skipper Kohei Ichikawa and his Gekko Diana (JPN 5450) team. Amongst Corinthians, skipper Nobuyuki Imai and his Siesta (JPN 5185) crew took top honours, followed by skipper Jakob Lichtenberg’s Hair of the Dog (USA 5354) crew, and Daniel Borrer’s Jesus Lizard (USA 2436) team.

John Crawford being interviewed promoting the 2026 Worlds in Melbourne

Our own John Crawford competed in the regatta, finishing in a very creditable 25^th overall, and 13^th in Corinthian.

“The Americans certainly know how to host a regatta! From being greeted by 2023 Champion Keith Whittemore to his home club, to the beer and food tent every night, the excellent charter boats and not to mention some fantastic sailing on Puget Sound.

After 3 days of measuring, all done prior for you if you had a charter boat, a practice race was held that was preceded by 4 practice starts, so we could get to grips with our new Vakaros  compasses and the Race Sense System. That night a wonderful Opening Ceremony was held at the Seattle Nautical Museum.

The robotic marks and Race Sense meant there were no general recalls over the whole regatta! Because of the water temperature, cold, we were advised to contact the PRO to get help if anyone fell in! Hypothermia was a worry! Racing was held in changeable conditions, we changed headsails 3 times in race 1.

Race 2 had what the Americans call a ’Goat Rodeo’! Everyone gets caught in a tight tangle at the top mark!
Seattle showed its teeth on day 4 with rain wind and freezing conditions, frostbite was mentioned! However, day 5 was perfect although the breeze disappeared after one race.
Overall, probably the friendliest regatta I have ever sailed in. Excellent hosts and very fair well-behaved racing.

The party tent every night was fantastic, like a family gathering. Many people expressed the view this part is just as important as the sailing!”

In the All-Female division, skipper Elisabeth Hudson’s Two Shots (USA 2342) crew was the boat to beat, followed by Lee Ann Zaretsky’s Lady Minx (USA 5482) team, and Chloe Nunn’s Super G (GBR 4260) squad. Amongst the Under-25 division, Sam Hopper’s Saltine (USA 62) was the quickest around the buoys, followed by Ryan Milne’s Jester (USA 5470) team, and Yuki Sekine’s Gyosyu (JPN 5273).

While the last day yielded a single race, the regatta delivered a total of nine engaging races over five full days of racing and saw leaderboard shuffles and plenty of great competition within the fleet.

“It’s been awesome,” said Jon Anderson, who served as regatta chair and raced aboard Lichtenberg’s Hair of the Dog. “We picked this time of year specifically because it tends to have better breeze than the rest of the summer, so it’s right on the hybrid of the seasons. Seattle isn’t known for a predictable Miami- or Texas-type breeze where the wind comes from the same direction and the same speed every single day, so it really puts your tactical and strategic skills to the test.”

All sailors reported that the 56-boat fleet showcased the best that competitive one-design keelboat racing offers.

“That theme of, ‘we get to race against Tiger Woods’ is really kind of a big theme this week, because the best in the world were out there,” said Ron Rosenberg, a multi-time world champion sailor who served as tactician aboard Kurt Dammeier’s Amuse Bouche (USA 3379), noting that the fleet saw winds ranging from 5 to 20 knots over the regatta’s nine races. “It was a really strategic regatta, even more than a boatspeed regatta, which made it really challenging for many teams. I think everyone appreciated that challenge.”

While Seattle delivered great on-the-water conditions, all competitors also reported a fantastic onshore scene, which was the result of a lot of hard work from a dedicated cadre of volunteers and sponsors.

“The race committee has been top-notch, and everyday there’s been snacks and things going on in the tent and a few beers if you want them,” Ingham said. “They put on a great show.”

Part of this great synergy between the racing and the onshore scene was made possible by title sponsor Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, as the company’s founder—Kurt Beecher Dammeier—is a dedicated J/24 sailor.

“The competition is fantastic, 56 boats, and there’s probably 35 of them that could win a race at any time,” Dammeier said. This is reflected in the results: While Odenbach and Honeybadger took three bullets, the other wins were scattered across the fleet, with no other team taking more than one bullet.

“I think it’s been perfect for this regatta to have a prominent, local sponsor—that’s not a bank—to be here to represent,” Dammeier continued. “I hope that this can be the model going forward, with every new Worlds seeking something that’s endemic to their place as a lead sponsor,” he said, noting that this helps infuse the regatta with a sense of place.

Please visit www.j24worldsseattle.org to learn more about the Seattle 2024 J24 World Championship.

The 2025 J/24 World Championship will be held on the waters off of Plymouth, England, from September 6-14.
Please visit www.j24worlds2025.com to learn more about next year’s J/24 championship regatta.

Thanks for the use of the article from the Seattle Worlds management.
Simon