Junior Offshore Group (JOG) end of season report
by Kathy Claydon 19 Nov 2008 11:19 GMT
Despite some dreadful weather this summer JOG had a great season of competitive racing. The total number of entries was up on 2007 with 668 different boats entering at least one race.
The race to Poole in September was one of the windiest of the season. Force 8 winds gusting to force 9 and very large, wind against tide seas challenged the fleet. Some of the smaller boats sensibly opted to stay in the Solent. The rest of the fleet battled on, showing excellent seamanship skills and were rewarded with a great party and well earn meal in Poole. Sunday’s weather for the return race was perfect, with a fantastic spinnaker run, in moderate winds and very close racing all the way back to the JOG finish line off Cowes.
A new addition to JOG’s programme this year was a longer distance race, The Cognos Illingworth Challenge, from Cowes to La Trinite. The conditions for the race were perfect with sunny weather. The first boat finished in just under 2 days. The SNT yacht club were fantastic hostsand JOG crews were able to party as is their tradition. Many of the competitors then enjoyed some great cruising in that part of France a little further afield than the usual JOG weekend race destinations.
Next year’s races are scheduled to French, Channel Island and English ports, starting with the popular Cherbourg and back races over Easter. The full programme can be found at www.jog.org.uk