J-Cup 2010 at the Royal Southern Yacht Club - Day 2
by Becci Eplett, J-UK 5 Jun 2010 15:58 BST
3-5 June 2010
Friday 4th of June was the second day of racing at the J-Cup 2010, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble. The Principal Sponsors of the J-Cup 2010 are B&G, Dubarry of Ireland, North Sails and Universal Marina and each of them have staff sailing at the event.
The fleet of 74 J Boats have enjoyed light south easterly airs and fabulous sunshine, with the breeze topping out at about 15 knots for the second day of racing. The J/109 UK National Championship fleet completed four races on Friday, one more than scheduled, but all other classes had just the scheduled three, opting instead for an early return to the J-Cup marquee bar.
In IRC 1 Ian Matthews continued his sparkling form and unbroken race win scoreline by slotting in another three bullets in his J/122 Jinja. David Hunt’s J/122 Jacob’s Ladder pressed Jinja harder on Friday and moved up the scoreboard by one place, squeezing Herman Bergshaven’s J/133 Solnes III into third place. For their climb up the leader-board on Day Two, the team on Jacob’s Ladder were presented with the North Sails Boat of the Day prize for IRC 1.
Friday was Oi! Day in the J/80 fleet with John Cooper and his team scoring 1,2,1 on the water and pushing ahead of Steve Mittler’s Team Baltic in to pole position. This was enough to earn Oi! the North Sails Boat of the Day prize in this 18 strong fleet. Patrick Liardet has a better day in Aqua J on Friday too and he now sits in third place in the J/80s.
Mike and Jamie Holmes remain at the top of IRC 2 in the J/97 Jika Jika but there were three different race winners in this class on Friday. Race Four was won by Mike Flood on J/97 Induljence, Grant and Brigitte Gordon nailed Race Five in Fever Jr. and Jika Jika took the chocolates in Race Six. The North Sails Boat of the Day in IRC 2 was Fever Jr.
Rob Dornton-Duff and his fantastically badly behaved (but loveable) crew on Java found their form on Friday in the J/105 Class. Their 1,4,1 results secured Java the North Sails Boat of the Day prize. William Newton’s Jelly Baby just holds the lead over Java, but only by a single point at this stage. Richard Watney’s Jeopardy lies in third place as we go in to the final day of racing on Saturday.
Six wins out of six races is a fairly convincing result for Andrew Roberts’ Just in Time in the J/92 Class. He really is flying. Hot on his transom though is Richard Sparrow’s Who’s To No, with Pete and Pip Tyler’s Neilson Redeye in third place. Who’s To No was the North Sails Boat of the Day in the J/92 Class on Friday.
The J/109s are racing for their UK National Championship at the J-Cup 2010, and with concerns over a potential lack of breeze on the final race day (Saturday), the J/109s raced four races on Friday. Race Four and Race Five were won by Velvet Elvis, expertly guided round the trace by Chairman Wright and Martin Miller. Race Six was won by Matt Boyle’s Shiva and Race Seven belonged to Dave Richards on Jumping Jellyfish. Dave has been sailing his J/109 for a few years now and he also owns a J/122, but this was his first race win in the J/109. Team Shiva were presented with the North Sails Boat of the Day prize in the J/109 Class.
Friday night was B&G ‘Dark and Stormy’ Night and it seemed that everyone was rather thirsty after two full days of fun packed, adrenalin filled racing. B&G rum, sun, breeze and a little light music were enjoyed by all. The J/109s will sail one race on Saturday, two are scheduled for the other classes. By Saturday night there will be a new J/109 UK National Champion and a new holder of the J-Cup.
Full results on the Royal Southern Yacht Club website.