Last year the ‘King of Smile’ Clinton Hood from Cronulla came and took away the SA Sate title (well he had some help from Dougie Watson’s boat), this year looks like a warm up for the VIC Titles as a solid 4 or 5 boats look like making the trip across the little desert (there is a LD pub out there on the road, worth a stop too). Will a VIC boat do the same thing this year?
Bet the SA fleet want the trophy back !
Jim Townsend the SA President (the ‘nothing is too much trouble’ man) is still the man to talk to regarding the SA States with all the info you could want to know about getting there, getting it done and getting out of town without too bigga hangover !
CYCSA is once again the venue. If you haven’t been to the CYC over there, you are missing out on a friendly little club with a great marina and lots of cold beer and SA wine and food – they always do it so well – on and off the water.
Here is the schedule: Friday March 11th 2016
Boat and crew registration, and crew weigh in: 15:00–19:30
Saturday March 12th 2016
Boat and crew registration, and crew weigh in: 08:30–09:30
Regatta Briefing: 10:00
Racing: First warning signal 12:00 (it is intended that 3 races will be sailed this day)
Social function: Directly after racing (see what I mean !)
Sunday March 13th 2016
Racing: First warning signal 09:55 (it is intended that 3 races will be sailed this day)
Presentation and closing function: 16:30 (And they are doing it again, probably keep serving until Ronnie has left town!)
Six (6) races are scheduled over two (2) days of racing. No more than three (3) races may be sailed on any day.
No warning signal shall be made after 14:30 on Sunday, March 13th, 2016.
CYCSA’s sheltered marina with the clubhouse in the background
The 2015 J24 National Championships will be held on 8 – 11 January at the CYCSA in Adelaide.
December 15th Update – SAILING INSTRUCTIONS NOW AVAILABLE – DOWNLOAD BELOW
Only one local hull is now available, so if you want in at the last minute this is the time to grab this boat. Entries need to be put in by TOMORROW at the latest – today is better. Interest is shaping up to be around the 20 boat mark so this is going to be a great regatta
For those wanting to get some racing in early, there will be a Twilight Race on Wednesday evening, a W/L course starting around 1800 with the number of laps to suit the breeze and reds back at the bar to follow – Jim is keen to get everyone in the mood for the main game. So if you are keen to sail the twilight, please give Jim an email on jim@micrometonline.com just so he has an idea of the number of entries beforehand.
Ladies – ‘bring a plate’ – No ! Don’t worry girls you don’t have to bring anything but yourself and your smile, but you could win a cup. Jim tells me they are giving a trophy for the first female skipper and you are going to be surprised at the name this trophy is going to have. Can’t let you know that here, but it is another reason for the ladies to race hard. Jeanette – that means you could possibly take away at least two trophies this year ! No Ron – no dressing up, it won’t apply to you and your boatload of girls !
December 8th Update – Early bird entries close on the 17th December and race office will be closed from that date due to Xmas break until the 7th of January so it is important that entries are received this week.
IMPORTANT NOTE: THE CYCSA DOESN’T HAVE ONLINE ENTRIES. SO YOU NEED TO FILL OUT THE FORM ON THE BACK OF THE NOR AND FAX OR SCAN AND EMAIL BACK TO THE RACING MANAGER (JESS HARGREAVES)
HER EMAIL ADDRESS IS Racing.Manager@cycsa.com.au IT IS ALSO ON THE BOTTOM OF THE ENTRY FORM
IF YOU WANT TO EFT YOUR ENTRY FEE TO THE CYCSA: HERE ARE THE DETAILS
Bank details:
BSB 035-000
a/c 290626
name Cruising Yacht Club of SA
Please put ‘J24 Nationals’ as your description and add your name when making payment this way
Jim Townsend the SA President says there are still two local hulls available for crews wanting to use them. One was previously taken but the visiting crew are now bringing their own boat I gather. So you can still get to the Nationals on the cheap and have a ball, but you need to get in quick !
He also tells me that there is going to be great social atmosphere, plenty of SA wine and good food and a relaxed approach to the champs to make sure everyone has heaps of fun.
Don’t let that fool you though, mystery surrounds the Sydney fleet entrants, the Thommo Cup is on this year, so that’s one – Jeanette and her girls, Convicts and Kaotic are probable ‘no goes’ so the title is up for grabs, the Black Prince will be there and he wants it back – bad, the Shorts and O’Rourkes from ‘The Shire’ want to take it north, as does former World Moth champ Dave McKay, of course there are another half dozen wannabees from Vic with the same idea, Dougie Watson and the locals want to keep it there so it will be hot on the water!
Want to play ? Get in touch with Jim and get one of those boats asap
Mid November Update – Interest in attending the Nationals is growing by the week with several Cronulla teams booking boats to use and several Sydney Harbour crews also planning to go. There will be approx 9 local SA crews sailing and up to 8 Victorian crews planning to go. Thats a fleet of nearly 20 boats enjoying the great sailing water off the CYCSA. The supply of local boats available to be charterd is now nearly exhausted so you need to make a move quickly if you want one.
The club has a very good set up with lots of hard stand area, trailer parking and gear storage. It has crane and ramp launching for Js and plenty of wet sail mooring area right in front of the club. Walk 20 metres from your boat and you are at either the outdoor BBQ and catering area, wet bar and the club restarant and bar, it is a great set up with your boat in a sheltered marina and a cold drink in your hand after sailing. The club is very friendly and will look after your needs very happily – as will the class association.
If you haven’t been there before – give Jim Townsend a call for directions, organisational help and anything else you need on the way to the start line. He is a great guy and is driving the regrowth of the SA Fleet and this regatta in particular. Jim is also happy to help people with trailer usae to get to Adelaide as well.
There will be some hulls available for those wanting to fly in with sails and there maybe some assistance with trailers as well, but get in early for those – now wouldn’t be too soon.
The format will be a 4 day regatta starting on the Thursday and running through to Sunday, this minimises the time off work for fly-in crew to 2 days.
Jim Townsend, the current SA President is planning a great regatta with an opening function, prize giving function on the Sunday night and informal evenings on the Friday and Saturday.
If you haven’t sailed there before, Adelaide is great sailing with seabreezes to around 20knots and warm sunny weather the norm.
To keep measurement time to a minimum, boats should have a current measurement cert, insurance cert and inventory cert organised prior and sent in with your entry. As usual check measurements may be made at any time during the regatta period. So prepare your boat before hand and make sure you have it all sorted.
NEW INFORMATION FROM JIM TOWNSEND – NOW ONLINE ON THE REGATTA PAGE updated as of 24/7/14
Click here to go to the regatta page for more information Regatta Page
The 2014 South Australian States are going to be held at the CYCSA, 29 & 30 March 2014. There will be five races over the two days. Skippers and crews will enjoy a special Saturday evening gourmet barbecue accompanied by an extra-special selection of SA wines. Excellent facilities, great SA Title Tee shirt and a great time etc etc. Of course there is also the great sailing the waters off Adelaide give at this time of the year.
Jim Townsend is the new SA President and he is determined to bring the SA fleet back into National contention so this regatta is a bit of a dry run for next years nationals. Jim is determined to make some big changes including bringing the fleet back together and get all those boats sitting on the hard stand out on the water. Can’t tell you all the behind the scenes ‘goings on’ but there will be charter boats available for the States, so if you can’t trail there get a plane and sail one of the SA boats, Jims intention is that you will have the best time on and off the water. It’s close to the Vic States time wise so if you are doing the trip from NSW then why not make it a round trip doing the two regattas for a bit of extra training. There’s no limit on how much SA wine you can bring into Vic !
Let’s go and support the SA fleet and have a great time !
J24 Australia welcomes Angus Middleton as the proud new owner of Amazing Grace in Adelaide and he is looking for some keen crew – see the SA pages for details.
The Port Adelaide Sailing Club has been hosting this premier sailing event since 1958.
The Port Line Cup to be contested on Sunday 8th August presents a unique challenge for S.A.’s keelboat’s that have to compete in close quarters in the river. The race tests the skills of the crew with lots of tacking and changing of sails.
This creates exciting competition, a few bumps the odd boat going aground but fantastic viewing for the spectators.
In excess of 50 yachts are expected to race coming from clubs all over the Adelaide area including the Cruising Yacht Club and Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron. There will be boats form 20 to 50ft sailing for the Cup but also in 5 different divisions.
Up to ten J24’s are expected to compete in the event as the Port Line Cup race will be the final race of the Ice Breaker series to be held over the two days of the weekend.
This year the start and finish will be at Snowdon’s Beach allowing a large viewing area for spectators. Good viewing spots will be at Snowdons beach and Keitch road south of the Sub Corp.
The Port Adelaide Sailing club fleet will be bolstered with some new boats to the club, having attracted a group of Fast sports boats including Touch & Go- G Price and some newer 30 to 40 footers including Blue Max – Peter Montgomery.
The big surprise is they have a new fleet of J24’s including 3 times Australian Champion Sean Wallis , 4 times State Champion Alyn Stevenson and Peter Stevens complete with a new boat.
The Port Adelaide club is enjoying a major membership growth with and extensive Sunday programme planned for the summer plus junior keel boat training on Sundays.
Port Princess has been hired by the club to take out spectators and will be at the club wharf prior to the start. Spectators for a modest fee can watch the entire race on the water.
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.
A new J24 fleet is being established in Adelaide based in the Port River in a new marina. Several High Schools are now basing their sailing programs at the club as well as Sailability.
Port Adelaide is the base in South Australia for Sailability with multiple cranes on the wharfs to assist.
Alyn Stevenson sailing Fun2 has relocated his J24 for 3 months to help establish the fleet and Peter Stevens has bought Haywire and this J24 will go to the PASC as well. 2 boats for sale are being moved to the Port as well as a couple a members who have not hit the race track for several years also in the process of moving.
A clear goal of 10 J24’s within 18 months has been set and will be achieved. The aim is to get older boats out of circulation and back in the club scene in an easy sailing environment. The river offers owners the opportunity to sail shorthanded or with inexperienced crew.
Having said, it also offers the opportunity to get some of S.A’s top juniors involved in the J24’s and the river is great training for the experienced teams wanting to sharpen their skills in shifting breezes, tides and up and down pressure.
Whilst it is early days in the project we now have interest from another club in the river region as the J24 has been dubbed “Pocket Rocket” by the members.
Port Adelaide Sailing Club was recently relocated to a brand new Marina and boasts superb facilities at affordable prices with Membership under $500 per year and hardstand fees at around $900 per year. This makes it attractive to get those older J24’s back on the water and sailing and affordable to most people.
Several large Regattas are already in the planning stages including a Junior Keelboat Regatta inviting all the States top juniors.
Anyone interested in joining the latest J24 fleet in Adelaide can contact
Alyn Stevenson 0400227562 J24 Australia Vice President
Warwick Ward 08 83417103 Port Adelaide Sailing Club
Peter Stevens 0417802640 J24 National Measurer
Two J24s, Kaizen and Fun2, were caught in a “freak” water spout during the Queen of the Gulf Regatta.
Kaizen, unfortunately, almost sunk completely straightaway, with only the tip of the mast visible. Later, the wind increased to 50 knots and with 3m seas, Kaizen was pushed toward shore. Her keel was lost, and she was destroyed in the surf at Taperoo Beach.
Fun2 was towed (very slowly!) back to the Club, and with the help of many members, was refloated, pumped out and hauled onto a trailer. Fun2 sustained approximately $18,000 in damaged/lost items. Her sealed bulkhead helped to save her from total annihilation. Due to this, many J24 skippers are considering sealed bulkheads.
With thanks to Alyn Stevenson for article details – published in Groundswell December 2007
The One Design Division was a whitewash, with Hi scoring 5 points, and the second place Kaizen 2 scoring 18 points, with third-placed Cookie Monster following closely on 19 points.
The PHS Division was hard-fought – Hi scored 9 points, Cookie Monster snapping at their heels with 14 points, and Kaizen 2 on 16 points, making it a slight rearrangement of the OD placements.
Showing the value of training and competing in as many races as possible, Hi took out both divisions. Cookie Monster demonstrated their practice pays off, and have two placings to show for it!
