JK Delfin's young crew crowned first-ever J/70 Montenegro Champions
by Bora Sailing Club 19 Jun 19:11 BST
11-14 June 2026
The inaugural J/70 Montenegro Championship, sailed in Tivat Bay from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 June 2026, brought together seven crews from five countries and ended in a home triumph for the youngest team on the water.
Over four days of racing in Tivat Bay, the race committee completed all 12 scheduled races in stable conditions. Entered in the Montenegrin Sailing Federation calendar as the country's first national championship in the J/70 class, the regatta drew an international entry, with crews from Russia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and the UAE joining two local Montenegrin teams. The event was organised by Bora Sailing with the support of Porto Montenegro Yacht Club.
The championship was also a milestone for the class itself. Competitive sailing in Montenegro has long centred on Olympic dinghy classes, and the J/70 — a one-design keelboat sailed by a full crew — is a more recent arrival on the local scene. With a J/70 fleet now based in Tivat, the class is opening a pathway for the country's dinghy sailors, many of them young, to step up into crewed keelboat racing.
JK Delfin of Tivat — the only crew fielding sailors under 18 — produced the standout performance of the week. Lying second after the opening two days, the young team took control on the final day to claim the title. All four — Ilija Markovic, Andrija Markovic, Andrej Ashnin and Ivan Vucic — are accomplished dinghy racers from the ILCA 7 and ILCA 4 classes, and taking the title after only a single training session in the J/70 is exactly the kind of crossover the young keelboat fleet is meant to nurture.
"We did hope to win, even though we'd had only one training session on the J/70 — a first for Ivan and me. I couldn't be happier," said Andrej Ashnin.
Local knowledge proved decisive. "On the first day the bura was blowing, so we raced off Seljanovo and Lastva, closer to the Verige strait. On day two the maestral moved the course nearer Kumbor, and on the third day we sailed closer to Krtole to work the shifts," explained Ivan Vucic. "Team sailing is completely different from sailing solo, but the result shows we adapted well."
Behind the champions, the fight for the rest of the podium went to the wire. Burmalda and Almaty finished level on 26 points, with Burmalda taking silver on countback thanks to their greater number of race wins.
"We didn't expect a podium — we are still new to the class. The opening day was tough with the chop and some role changes, but we found our rhythm on day two, and third place was a wonderful surprise," said Dana Kunanbayeva, a member of the bronze-medal Almaty crew.
Twelve races were sailed over the four days, with one discard applied. The racing was overseen by an international jury led by chief judge Martin Klasen of Germany.
"The international jury did an excellent job and reacted very professionally, and the stable weather in Tivat Bay let us complete all 12 races. The experienced crews on the start line made the racing especially compelling to watch," said Ivan Gureev of Bora Sailing.
Looking ahead, the organisers hope to build on the inaugural edition. "We hope even more teams will join us next year, and that we can stage high-level events like this more often," Gureev added.
Overall Results: (12 races, 1 discard)
1. JK Delfin (Tivat, MNE) — 21 pts
2. Burmalda (Moscow/St. Petersburg, RUS) — 26 pts
3. Almaty (KAZ) — 26 pts
4. Don't Panic (Belgrade, SRB) — 41 pts
5. Gazu! Gazu! (Kazan, RUS) — 47 pts
6. Bora Sailing Tivat (Tivat, MNE) — 56 pts
7. WIND RISES (Dubai, UAE) — 74 pts