Light and fickle winds compounded with strong tides tested the skills of the 10 J’s participating at the SA state heats on the weekend of the 13th & 14th March.
The six races were always close with only five minutes separating the first and last boats in many of the races. Even those boats at the back of the fleet found the competition tense and enjoyed the thrill of coming in only a split second in front of another boat.
Trevor Conyers and his crew aboard No Eye Deer demonstrated consistent form in winning all but one race with Alyn Stevenson and Simon Grain always close on his tail.
As is a hallmark of J events the participants had a great time together and we very much appreciated the participation of our national president and his crew who incidentally presented the trophies to the winners even if that meant giving two to himself.
Thanks must go to the race officers who handled a constantly shifting course with considerable skill and also to the CYCSA who were our gracious hosts.
It was fantastic to see our fleet numbers up this year and with two other clubs showing significant interest in starting their own J fleets we reckon the J’s are in for a big year.
Simon Grain and Crew
The final results were
No eye Deer Trevor Conyers
Fun 2 Alyn Stevenson
Fun Simon Grain
Hi Peter Stevens
Vertigo Jamie Goode
Such is Life Roger Nicholson
Good Company Robin Townsend
Kaizan 2 Michael McGlinchey
Foolish Behaviour Rod Wenham
Cookie Monster Brian Walsh
For a break down of each race and PHS results go to the CYCSA website under racing results.
Alyn Stevenson, Pete Stevens and crew race FUN in an earlier series
The SA states were held over the weekend of 13/14 March in Adelaide. With typical late summer soft winds and fine weather the sailing was a glamour and easy on the body.
Trevor Conyers in No Eye Deer sailed an almost perfect series to win with five bullets and a second, from Alyn Stevenson sailing Fun 2.
Pete Stevens should have finished third but a small mistake in leaving the life jackets in the car on Saturday morning meant he was late to the starting line for the first race and scored a DNF and with no drops meant he had to carry that.
Instead he had to watch his old boat sail away into third ahead of him with me at the helm …. because we had ‘Fun’. Pete had invited us over, lent me the boat, given us a bed and as it turned out conceded to us the third he would otherwise have got. Sometimes it all turns out sweet … for us anyway.
Saturday and the weather was hot and sunny, wind around 8 knots from the south and flat water, you’ll be asking yourself why you didn’t come to this one. The CYCSA held the Great Southern Regatta in conjunction with the J States and did a very good job to get 3 races in – shortish courses with 2 or 3 times round and nice tight start lines to keep us on our toes. We had 10 boats on the line and plenty of talent in the field.
Competition was fierce around the track in all 3 races on Saturday with most of the fleet sailing the course and finishing in a tight pack.
Sunday and we had light westerlies with sun-blocking cloud – thankfully – once again the PRO did a good job to set up a tight line and course giving fair racing and tactical sailing. Trevor didn’t seem to have a lot more speed but with good sailing put himself in the right place each time and he moved through to lead each race by a small margin from either Alyn, Pete and in the last shortened race, Simon.
Snapping at the transoms of the first 4 boats were Vertigo, Good Company, Such is Life and Kaizen. Never far out of the picture, these boats are ready to jump you if you make a mistake. Foolish Behaviour and Cookie Monster rounded out the fleet.
The club and the State Association came together to put on a good regatta with many thanks to the PRO, his team and all the volunteers who made this happen.
Oh did I forget to mention we had the most amazing stroke of luck as I hadn’t even considered the handicap part of the series … but we took that out too.
As the only interstate boat we had a Fun time and were looked after by Pete Stevens in particular, but thanks to all who made us feel so welcome. Next time get on the blower and organise yourself a berth interstate, there is a cost but it is worth the effort and having class members organising billeting and help to get on the water makes this a great short holiday and a way to get to know your interstate friends better.
The next regatta is the Vic States on 17/18 March and if you haven’t already decided to come then have another think about it. Melbourne in autumn is traditionally a carbon copy of the regatta above, warm and light and lots of fun.
Alyn Stevenson just sent me this great chunk of “News from the club bars”, mostly talk around whats happening in SA – and plenty is happening, just like the action in the Victorian fleet – more of that later. So what a great idea and here it all is for your further edification. I’ve called it ‘Bar Talk’ – fits on the nav bar at the top easier – so check on this page regularly and if you have info to add send it to me at grain@smarketing.com.au
One of the huge benefits of sailing a windward leeward course is, it evens out the boats.
At the 2006 Melbourne World Championships, many of the top performers were boats with a minimum age of 15 years. None was more noticeable than Mike Ingham who shipped a 20 year old J out from America, whilst not in the top 3, his top 5 finish was excellent. He then went on to come second at the 2007 Worlds in Mexico in the same boat.
At the 2009 J Worlds in Sardinia last year, the majority of the fleet were boats 10 years+, just with new rigs and fast as ever.
Since then in Melbourne we have seen older J’s revamped and now competing at the front of the fleet. Ron Thompson’s AUS 1324 “Kicking Bottom” ( 20+ years old) has won several races at the beginning of the season, and Micheal Lewenhagen has just put AUS 1687 “Excite your Senses”, back in the water after a major rebuild.
In addition, 3 boats have new rigs and 2 have upgraded 2nd hand rigs. The end result of all of this effort, is improved performance across the fleet.
This was driven home when the J fleet sailed in the Audi Victoria Week at Geelong. Out of the 4 races that weekend the J’s got line honours in 3 and a 2nd in the 4th. A fantastic effort out of 50+ boats all of whom were bigger. In past years the S80 design yachts would have sailed past the J’s, this year, none of the 10 S80’s beat a J24 for line honours!
In South Australia several owners have revamped old J’s. Some of these boats were past Australian champions, were cheap to buy, cheap to clean up and revamp and are now sailing at the front of the national fleet again.
J24’s in Australia, can be brought up to race speed with a minimum of effort and experience. With the racing opportunities now offered, the excuse that your boat is no longer competitive no longer holds water. There are around 200 J24’s in Australia and most can be revamped into a competitive boat.
Over the next few months I will be listing hints on how to get old J’s fast, by reducing weight and getting rid of the huge amounts of junk found down stairs.
So, to all the owners of J’s not currently being used because of a notion that they’re no longer competitive, get out there and fix them up and see how quick they still can be. Just maybe, your boat may have been one that started a legend…. and …. one that could start another.
A revamped active fleet maintains the investment we all have in our boats, increases the enjoyment and interest in the class.
So get the spanners out, find the screw driver and start taking off all that old crap.
Sean Wallis and crew lifts the trophy again, flanked by SYC Commodore Phil Burn and Vic State J24 President Michael Lewenhagen
Still the name of a very famous western movie, but also the very deserving winners at this year’s nationals. The J24 National Association congratulates our magnificent seven and their crews.
Sean Wallis, who took out the championship after being ahead, getting behind and then on the last day fighting it out to take the win.
Doug McGain, fought an equally tough and enthralling battle to come second.
David Suda, who has been knocking on the door to the top position on the podium took out third.
Adam Evans, the young gun winning the handicap prize.
Alyn Stevenson, our immediate past president, with his first ever nationals race win was second in the handicap section.
Sean Kirjian needs no introduction, sailed with a crew mostly of sailing school trainees and one gorgeous blonde took out third – simply awesome.
Kirsty Harris, one of two female skippers takes the female skippers prize with a very creditable 7th overall.
As well as the perpetual trophies successfully defended this year by Sean, these seven skippers also each take away impressive half model trophies made by our national measurer Peter Stevens. Each of these models was hand made by Peter from fiberglass and then coated in various colours to indicate the place, with gold, silver and bronze for the first three one design and blue, red and green for the handicap. Fittingly the female skipper’s model is done in pink. The models were then mounted on a backing board with a plaque indicating placing.
Peter spent many hours making these and they are a credit to him. He is prepared to make more for future regattas, but you should get your orders in early as Peter is a busy guy.
On behalf of the J24 National Association, thank you Peter for your efforts in producing these trophies.
On a day where bad luck stories abound, Sean Wallis and his team on Wetty Gripper came home to win one of the closest and most hard fought titles for many years. Doug McGain on Code Violation was bridesmaid and Dave Suda sailing Pacemaker third.
Adam Evans and his youth team won the Handicap Title.
All agreed it has been fantastic regatta, great weather, great race management and a great social time.
Tight racing at the bottom mark - 2010 J24 Nationals in Melbourne
In true one design tradition you can always rely on great a competition.
With only one days racing to go in the Australian J24 championships, there is only one point between first and second and one point between third and fourth. The current standings have Doug McGain NSW first 14 points, Sean Wallis W.A. second 15 points, Hugo Ottaway Vic third 22 points, Dave Suda Vic fourth 23 points and Sean Kirkjian NSW 32 points.
McGain, Wallis, Ottaway and Kirkjian, are all Australian Champions, and Suda a runner up National Champion.
Today’s heats, 7 & 8 were sailed in perfect Port Philip Bay sailing conditions, a 10 to 15 knot southeast wind matched with a flat sea and clear 28 degree temperature saw both Suda and Kirkjian win heats putting additional pressure on the front three boats.
Doug McGain and Hugo Ottaway consolidated their positions with two seconds for Doug and two thirds for Hugo.
Sean Wallis had his worst day so far with an 8th and 4th, however with the one race drop system now achieved after six races completed, Wallis is still able to hold second.
Both McGain and Wallis need top eight positions tomorrow to secure their hold on first and second anything worse could see Ottaway and Suda with a win, move into the lead.
The game now changes with “Hunting” a practice where the lead boats race only against each other ignoring the rest of the fleet. This practice is risky as a boat in Kirkjian’s position can slip unnoticed into a race winning position and leap frog into third.
With a change in weather conditions forecasting lighter winds, the final results in the Australian J24 Championships might be very interesting.
Last night’s Mexican hijinx was a night to remember. The Mexican spirit flowed liberally and stick on moustaches ponchos and sombreros were all the rage. Live music, Mexican accents and margaritas all combined to make sure that the night was a huge success. Dave off Wetty Gripper won the major prize in the raffle of a hamper donated by Hamper Creations of Melbourne and is seen in the picture carrying off his prize !
It’s rumoured that Dougie McGain must have gone home after the first day and written lines – ‘I must not go right, I must not go right, I must not go right, I must not go right, I must not go right, I must go left’. And clearly it worked because he came back with a vengeance yesterday, he didn’t go right at all, just banged the left corner every time and came home with 3 bullets.
Of course 3 wins helps every time and he has moved up the leader board from fifth to second. Sean Wallis had an almost equally consistent day with two seconds and a third and still holds a 9 point lead from Doug on current points score without the drop. A pretty clear picture you might think, but look again. Factoring in the drop changes the picture dramatically and gives Doug the chance to win if he gets another clean sweep.
This means that the Wetty Gripper guys will need to stay sharp and get another win or two if they want to take the trophy home. If Sean continues his current consistence he should just win the championship although some poorer placings than thirds and wins by Doug will make the points table as tight as Sean is likely to get after the presentation.
Doug already has his drop with a 10th in the first race so he has nothing up his sleeve there and can’t afford another bad one, Sean is dropping a 3rd at this stage so has a little margin for error.
If Doug does have another bad one he risks having a battle for second with David Suda and Hugo Ottaway and both these skippers still have the chance of being the bridesmaid this year if they can keep their noses clean and stay in contention for race wins or a second placings in the next 4 races.
The battle of the Seans is now a fizzer, with Sean Kirkjian although putting in some good performances yesterday now being 13 points behind allowing for the drop at this point. He will have to work hard and bring in some good finishes to get the money as he also already has a drop in his current results. Dave and Hugo can afford to have a bad one and still be in the race for 2nd and third.
Once again the ‘Hyper Girls’ are doing well, currently lying 6th although they have a 12 point gap off the back of Starpac.
The weather for the last two racing days looks good with forecast winds under 20 knots on both days and mostly sunny skies. Temperatures on Friday are forecast to get into the mid 30s so it will be a hot finish to a hot regatta.
Ron Thomson and crew are sailing like demons and are now guaranteed to be the first green boat in this years regatta
