Please select your home edition
Edition
Noble Marine 2022 YY - LEADERBOARD

J70 Weekend at Bembridge Sailing Club

by Mike Samuelson 19 Aug 07:12 BST 16-17 August 2025
J70 Weekend at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Unusually the annual J70 weekend, organised so brilliantly by Andrew Eddy, had to be scheduled to coincide with the second day of the BSC Regatta (Saturday) and the first day of the SVYC Regatta (Sunday). In the event, it all worked extremely smoothly and great sailing (and fun) was had by the crews of the twelve J70 that had been chartered from RYS and RTYC.

Aside from sorting out the crews planning to participate, as always, the first problem for Andrew to get sorted is actually getting the J70s from Cowes to Bembridge. This he choreographed with his usual calm aplomb despite one of the towing boats having to be swapped at the last moment. Although not as rough as the previous year, conditions on Thursday for the towing team were certainly not flat calm. Late tides meant a late start and it was past 18:00 before everyone was back at the Club.

After an 08:30 briefing on Saturday, crews took longer than normal to get to their boats at Under Tyne because of the paucity of water both at BSC and in the channel. After a practice start to give everyone a chance to get themselves organised, the first race started at 11:20 and was once round the windward/leeward course. Conditions were quite bumpy in the E/NE'erly breeze F4 (13 knots) but the hot favourites in No 5 (Marcus Howe) showed that they were going to be the boat to beat. Monty Orange with his young team were second and No 2 (James Beart) was third.

The second race was twice round the windward/leeward course - dominated again by No 5 but with No 12 (Charlie Parker) demonstrating that they were likely to be in the top echelon for the rest of the Regatta. No 7 (Ed Eddy) was third.

J70 Start of Race 2 on Saturday

The third race was another two rounder with No 5, No 12 and No 2 demonstrating their sail handling skills were simply better than most and that early dropping of the asymmetric priot to reaching the leeward gate made life considerably easier. The fourth race was the one for the BSC Regatta. Setting off prior to the other fleets, they led the way around a Special Course 1 (triangle, sausage and triangle) using Ruthven, an inflatable wing mark and Under Tyne. After some very close racing Monty and team 11 finished just ahead of No 5 with No 7 in third. An excellent race that certainly proved to be quite testing. Max Aylmer in No 6 and Rex Chalmers in No 9 both retired.

Race 5, anther two round windward/leeward saw No 5 back in the lead with No 12 & No 11 unable to match their sail handling skills and having to be content with second and third. The day's racing finished with a 'round the cans' using Moreton as the windward mark, Garland as the leeward mark and the finish at Under Tyne. No 5 picked up their fifth top spot, with No 11 second and No 3 (Xander Huber) third.

All in all an excellent day's racing which saw No 5 justifying their top spot expectations.

With the tides an hour later Sunday morning was not quite such a rush to get out of the harbour but with crews more used to their boats and therefore able to rig them quicker, we were able to get the first race started by 10:25. Conditions were fairly similar to the previous day and just on the edge 15 knots which is the top wind speed for spinnakers to be used. They started with a two round windward/leeward course using laid inflatables. The crew of No 5 started off where they finished the previous day with quite an easy win. No 12 was second and No 11 was third.

J70 Start Race 1 on Sunday

Broaching during Race 1 on Sunday

It was two rounds of the same course for the second race of the day. No 5 again showed the rest of the fleet how to race fast and stay on top of the spinnaker handling. Second was No 2 and third was No 3 again. It was a very competitive start to Race 3 (which was a simple 'round the cans' windward/leeward) using Moreton and a laid inflatable in slightly deeper water than Footprint.

J70 Start of Race 3 on Sunday

It was no great surprise that the winner was again No 5 although No 11 and No 12 were not that far behind. After a short lunch break, the penultimate race took them to the windward inflatable, the windward spreader and then off on a long run to Little Deb, Bertie and the SVYC line.

J70 Start of Race 4 on Sunday

The final race of the weekend was off the SVYC start line to Pier Head, then the two Red posts off Ryde Sands to Cowes.

J70 Start of Race 5 (from SVYC) on Sunday

Fortunately the breeze held (as did the sun) and although it was not the smoothest of seas, the spinnaker run to the finish at the Shrape Beacon was a very pleasant sail. The top three to finish were No 5, No 3 and No 2. The final exercise of getting all the boats back to Shepard's Marina went very smoothly despite the Red Funnel Car Ferry departing as a couple of boats were lining up enter the Marina!

Congratulations to No 5 (Marcus Howe, Henny Arnold, Ben Clothier and Mike Pennock) who were the overall winning team with 10 firsts and a second. Second overall was No 11 (Monty Orange, Alice Clegg, George Gillespie, Jack Wilson & Henry Landon) and third was No 12 (Charlie Palmer, Mimi Palmer, Helena Peacock/Amelia Hickmott & Simon Walker/Mike Elwin)

A huge thank you to Andrew; also to Ali Gornall for his support with Duma, the crews of the tow boats, Race Officers and Marl Layers. Plus of course the BSC shore support team.

Additional photos on flickr here.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoTeam CaptainR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11Pts
15Marcus Howe111211111119
211Monty Orange2561323522424
312Charlie Palmer11224252435929
43Xander Huber4476635353235
57Edward Eddy53431244847539
62James Beart39351086284342
74Richard Hall6687467678857
86Max AylmerRR9R111212R10121258
91Ashley McLucas78R89119766759
1010Lachlan McLucas9751051081099668
118Charles Armitage810109871010991080
119Rex Chalmers101111R7911911111180

Related Articles

J/70 Worlds 2025 Essentials Webinar
Unlocking the Río de la Plata The waters off Buenos Aires are unlike anywhere else on the J/70 circuit — a river with tides, unique wave patterns, strong gusts and chocolate-brown water create challenges and opportunities for every team. Posted on 29 Sep
Cascais J/70 Winter Series - Portuguese Nationals
This Championship held particular weight, as it served as a qualifier for the 2026 J/70 Worlds The Clube Naval de Cascais hosted the Cascais J/70 Winter Series - Portuguese National Championship, bringing together 22 boats from 8 nations for a regatta marked by tactical racing, international talent, and the powerful influence of Storm Gabrielle. Posted on 29 Sep
J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts overall
Alec Cutler's Hedgehog takes the title With only one point separating the leaders on the final day of the J/70 Corinthian World Championship in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA, Edward Gary's Ayacucho (USA) and Alec Cutler's Hedgehog (BER) were set for the final face-off. Posted on 28 Sep
2025 J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts day 3
Light winds lead to leaderboard shake-up Mild breeze combined with a strong tide equaled a shake-up in the standings at the J/70 Corinthian World Championship in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA. Posted on 26 Sep
2025 J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts day 2
Alec Cutler's Hedgehog takes charge after 3 more races held Winds at 10-15 knots, murky skies and rolling waves were the order of the day at the J/70 Corinthian World Championship in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA. Posted on 25 Sep
2025 J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts day 1
The regatta has moved to the United States for the first time Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA welcomed 29 all-amateur teams to the third annual J/70 Corinthian World Championship. Posted on 24 Sep
September Regatta 2025 at Royal Southern YC
Including the inaugural UK National Championships for the new Performance 30 class Last weekend, 19-21 September, the Royal Southern Yacht Club hosted the culminating event in our flagship Summer Series - the September Regatta. Posted on 24 Sep
Torbay Royal Regatta 2025
Fierce competition as Tor Bay delivers champagne conditions Teams from across the country converged on the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, hosts of the latest edition of Torbay Royal Regatta, for three days of intense racing and socialising over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Posted on 8 Sep
Double bill for British Keelboat League
David Haw Memorial Trophy and Women's SAILING Champions League event An action-packed double bill for the British Keelboat League saw teams battling it out both on the Solent in the UK and with the SAILING Champions League in Germany. Posted on 2 Sep
J/70 Europeans in Sweden overall
Brazilian Ralph Rosa's Mindset tops fleet, Portuguese Vasco Serpa's Solyd is European Champion After five days and 10 races, the leaders of the Apotea J/70 European Championship were shuffling until the final downwind leg. Posted on 30 Aug