J/22 Netherlands Nationals

Quantum Racing Repeats World's Win

(The Hague, Netherlands- Sep 17-19)-  Quantum Racing Team NED 1364 sailed by Nic Bol is not only the World Champion, but now the Dutch Champion!

It was exciting race this past weekend sailing in front of The Hague, a monumental and historical waterfront city.  Autumn often means lots of wind, rain and cold in the area.  No one was disappointed by the forecast- winds of 20 knots and gusting above 25 knots all day.  Three races were held in these demanding conditions.  There were many tough stories about planing, broaching equipment failure in conversations at the Restaurant Ektaboer over many a pint and a few suffering from bruises.

Saturday started with more wind and rain, but by the start of the first day's racing, it was fantastically beautiful autumn weather with sunshine and a nice breeze, so the less experienced sailors J/22 could compete more favorably and still have fun.

Although the top three teams after the first day didn't change, the battle at the top was very exciting. After the first day, first was MOJO sailed by Roy Heiner with 4 points on top, followed by Team KESBEKE and third was Quantum Racing Team. After two days of racing, these top three teams had equal points!  Talk about a "horse race"!  

On the last day of racing, the brand new World Champion, Nic Bol and his team Quantum Racing, sailed the most steady series and avoided the many dangers on the race course to win overall.  Second place was Team KESBEKE sailed by Eelco Blok, Bart Fast and Niels Blok.  THird was Team MOJO sailed by Roy Heiner, Ronald Veraar, Robert Janssen and Joost Brouwer.  For more J/22 Netherlands Nationals sailing information.

  

Jaffrezic Wins J/22 French Nationals

(Nantes, France)- Over the weekend of September 4th and 5th, the French J/22 class held their Nationals, competing for the Trophy Dominique Doucet.  The setting was gorgeous and the sixteen boat fleet took full advantage of the beautiful conditions to get in six races over the two days.  

In an unusual scoring scenario, the regatta had a two throw-out six race series! As a result, the scoring was extremely close for the top three spots as it was difficult to compute who was going to win until the last leg of the last race-- even then some of the sailors simply threw away their calculators and just sailed around the race course, praying for the right combinations to win.

 

After sailing in 3-6 knots south-southeast winds all weekend, it was the team of APCC2 sailed by Jean Yves Jaffrezic that took the top step on the podium, winning with a counting score of 1-3-3-1, throwing out two 4ths.  Jean Yves was the only team to score all top five scores in the regatta.  Benefitting from the high throw-out count was Frederick Mouchet, tossing a 16-9 and counting a 2-2-1-4 for nine points, just one point from first.  Third was early regatta leader Jean-Francois Guionet, starting strongly with a 3-5-2-1 and tossing an 11-7.  The local Nantes-based J/22 teams dominated the top five.  For more J/22 French Nationals sailing information.

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FUNHOUSE Wins J/22 East Coast Championships

(Annapolis, MD)- Fall is in the air and down in the Chesapeake Bay that means the fall sailing season is kicking into high gear.  With its gorgeous tree-lined shores turning brilliant colors of flaming red, burnt orange and screaming yellow, it has to be one of the world's more beautiful places to sail, especially in a "clear as a bell" puffy northwester.

The J/22s enjoyed the first of the fall sailing weather this past weekend racing their East Coast Championship, though this year it was a bit more painful.  The last time AYC was due to host this event, it was postponed due to an impending Tropical Storm that was working its way up the Coast.  

This year they could have used a bit of that blustery weather!  Three races were held on Saturday with the first two in trying conditions with major wind shifts which in the light air proved frustrating for RC and competitors alike.  With the chance of a 3rd race seeming bleak, PRO Mark Murphy patiently waited for even the slightest sea breeze and was rewarded with a comfortable, steady breeze and the best sailing of the day to round out the first day or racing.  On Sunday, the RC posted the AP Flag and kept everyone ashore hoping that once again there would be a light at the end of the tunnel but it wasn’t to be.  

In the end, it was a "foreigner" from way south of the Mason-Dixon line that strode into town and demonstrated to everyone who was the new posse in town.  Collin Linehan's FUNHOUSE MIRROR took the top spot, winning the racing with a 2-1-3 record to just beat out local Annapolis sailor, Brad Julian, sailing JULIAN ASSOCIATES to a 3-2-2 tally.  The regatta came down to the last race and if Brad could push the FUNHOUSE gang further down the ladder and place a boat in between them they'd take home the gold.  However, it was not to be.  Finishing third overall was a local Annapolis favorite, Jeff Todd racing the famous HOT TODDY, garnering a 5-3-1 score.  For more J/22 East Coast Championship sailing information.  Sailing photo credit- Tim Wilke