J24 National Championship at the Port of Plymouth Regatta
by Johnny Allen 18 Jul 2017 17:17 BST
14-16 July 2017
Returning to the J24 Class after winning the 2015 World Championship and taking time off from the class, Ian Southworth sailing Chris McLaughlin's "II Ricco" showed no loss of form with an impressive set of consistent results to win the 2017 J24 National Championship in Plymouth.
Sailed as part of the Port of Plymouth Regatta, race officer Mike Johnstone and his crew ran an immaculate set of windward leeward races in conditions ranging from seventeen down to six knots over the three day, nine race competition, sailed outside the breakwater of Plymouth sound.
With five different race winners, consistency was the name of the game, with Quinton Hall in Ju Ju, Matthew Conyers in Unity Lets, and Roger Morris in Jolly Roger all showing excellent turns of speed, but all unable to maintain the performance throughout the weekend, finishing 6th 5th and 4th respectively.
In the end, second and third place was decided in the last leg of the event, following neck and neck racing in the lighter winds of Sunday morning. It was class chairman Dave Cooper in Jawbreaker who pipped Nick Mcdonald's Cacoon to take second place at the end of an excellent event, thouroughly enjoyed by all the competitors.
The J24 Fleet is now preparing for a series of high profile championships, including 2018 the Worlds in Garda, Italy and the 2020 Worlds in Poole, UK. The local championships are already raising interest in the class, with top quality competition available at a fraction of the cost of other classes.
The 2018 event is proving extremely popular with many teams already in training and using the events throughout Europe as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming world championships.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 5219 | Il Riccio | Ian Southworth | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | (DNS) | 14 |
| 2 | 4271 | Jawbreaker | David Cooper | ‑7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 30 |
| 3 | 5432 | Cacoon | Nick McDonald | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| 4 | 4270 | Jolly Roger | Roger Morris | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 2 | ‑9 | 3 | 5 | 42 |
| 5 | 4245 | Unity Lets | Matthews Conyers | 6 | 3 | ‑9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 49 |
| 6 | 4254 | Juju | Quinton Hall | 3 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 10 | ‑15 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 54 |
| 7 | 7207 | Dogs Jorrocks | Steve Wassell | 8 | 7 | 4 | ‑13 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 59 |
| 8 | 4213 | Hijinks | Mark Lewers | 12 | 8 | 13 | 10 | ‑15 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 80 |
| 9 | 4236 | Team Impact Racing | George Kennedy | 4 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | (RET) | 10 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 82 |
| 10 | 4100 | Midnight Express | Sam Marshall | 11 | (DSQ) | 11 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 91 |
| 11 | 4206 | Jam Too | Austen Davies | 10 | 10 | 12 | ‑15 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 92 |
| 12 | 4026 | Just the Tonic | Adrian Bennett | 13 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | ‑14 | 10 | 96 |
| 13 | 4153 | Jam | Ben Maddaford | (DNS) | 14 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 101 |
| 14 | 4260 | Jeli | George Kerr | 9 | 11 | ‑14 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 103 |
| 15 | 4103 | Jojo | James Torr | 14 | 12 | 15 | ‑16 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 104 |
| 16 | 4251 | Italian Job | John Gorman | 15 | 15 | ‑16 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 118 |