J80 World Championships at Santander, Spain
by Terry Palmer 16 Jul 2009 17:17 BST
4-11 July 2009
After 12 tight races Ruayco Tabares and his crew aboard Hotel Princesa Yaiza, from the Canary Islands, secured the J80 World championship in the last race.
Going in to the final day Tabares was two points behind Gustavo Martinez also from the Canaries, but managed to slip a tight cover shortly after the start which enabled him to finish with a seven point lead in the series.
Conditions varied from a light seven knots to around eighteen. The race officer held her nerve on two of the days having had the fleet motor out to wait for the wind to fill and settle.
The fleet was dominated by the 84 boat Spanish turnout. Rob Larke in Joystick made steady progress up the leader board to finish 12 and first non Spanish registered boat.
RCM Santander put on a spectacular event to host the largest J80 worlds held so far, with 132 boats from 10 countries. No doubt the entry would have been even larger if the club could have convinced some more of their club members to give up their berth in the marina. Certainly next years worlds in Newport Rode Island has a big act to follow.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat | Helm | Ptts |
|---|
| 1 | ESP-783 | Hotel Princessa Yaiza | Rayco Tabares | 40 |
| 2 | ESP-774 | JJ Palmensis | Gustavo Martinez | 47 |
| 3 | ESP-977 | Peraleja Golf | Carlos Martinez | 56 |
| British |
| 12 | GBR–1138 | Joystick | Rob Larke | 156 |
| 35 | GBR-912 | Boats.com | Ian Atkins | 291 |
| 63 | GBR-904 | University of Plymouth | Tom Phipps | 417 |
| 80 | GBR-744 | Just Chilling | Stephen Chiverton | 302 |
| 82 | GBR-801 | Just Do It | Terry Palmer | 336 |
| 91 | GBR-725 | Purple Haze | Simon Thomas | 418 |
| 120 | GBR-571 | Junior High | Steve Cooper | 528 |
| 127 | GBR-479 | Joie De Vivre | Robert Kneen | 609 |
Full results at www.j80worlds2009santander.org/result.php
More photos at www.chapifoto.com/galeria/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&Itemid=83&g2_itemId=9930