DSP leads the J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series
by Louay Habib 30 Jul 2018 09:36 BST
20-22 July 2018
Doug Struth's DSP and Patrick Liardet's Cosmic - 2018 J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series © Louay Habib
Five of the nine events for the 2018 J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series have now been completed. The fifth event was the GJW Direct J/70 UK National Championship. Held 20-22 July, the national championship was a non-discardable event for the Grand Slam Series.
The Grand Slam Series was set out to galvanise the J/70 UK Class to promote more teams racing at organised events. Just over half way through the series, a total of 41 J/70 teams have been racing. The average number of teams on a start line has been 25, and those teams have competed in 37 races.
Doug Struth's DSP, with Geoff Carveth on the helm, leads the Grand Slam Series with five scoring regattas completed, and was the winner of the Corinthian Class at the GJW Direct J/70 UK National Championship.
"The UK Class still has work to do if we are going to compete with the best teams in the world. However, we are making progress towards our aim of getting UK teams onto the podium for the 2019 J/70 Worlds in Torbay." - Geoff Carveth DSP
In the 2018 J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series, Ian Wilson & Marshall King's Soak Racing is in second place and is yet to score in five events. Clive Bush's Darcey & Martin Dent's Jelvis are tied for third, and have yet to score in five events. David McLeman's Offbeat has declared five Corinthian events and is in fifth place, just ahead of Tim Collins' Corinthian team racing Velvet Elvis.
Congratulations to Mark Lees and his young team from the Royal Southern YC, who won the GJW Direct Open J/70 UK National Championship in a fleet of 38 teams. Mark Lees' team literally went sailing in their J/70 Serious Fun for the first time, in the first race of the Nationals.
Latest results from the 2018 J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series are available at j-70.co.uk/grand-slam-2018.
38 J/70s for Lendy Cowes Week
The sixth event of the 2018 J/70 UK Class Grand Slam Series will take place 04-08 August as a mini-series during Lendy Cowes Week. There will be one-design racing for the duration of Lendy Cowes Week. The J/70 fleet will form the largest sportsboat fleet at the world famous regatta with 38 teams already entered.
The winners of the Grand Slam Series will be announced at the end of the season with two fabulous trophies for the Open Winner and the Corinthian Winner. The results of the 2018 J/70 UK Grand Slam series will act as qualification for the first 20 UK slots at the 2019 J/70 World Championship, which will be hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club.
For more details about the J/70 UK Class: www.j-70.co.uk