The Royal Yacht Squadron and the Royal Thames Yacht Club will each be hosting a new event on the J/70 calendar this summer.
Taking place in Cowes on 21 st and 22 nd May will be the J/70 Southern Area Championships , under the direction of the Royal Thames YC whilst the J/70 Summer Championships will be organised by the Royal Yacht Squadron on 9 th and 10 th July.
Points from the two new events will count towards the overall J/70 Grand Slam Championship which consists of seven Solent based events through the season, as well as the Nationals in Plymouth. The results from the Nationals and the best four results from the Grand Slam series including these two events will be counted.
These two new events are open to anyone who has joined the J/70 Class Association, whether they own a boat or have chartered one. Participants who are members of one of the two organising clubs will be able to charter a J/70 from the RYS and RTYC fleets based at Shepard’s Wharf in Cowes.
Rear Commodore of Yachting for the Royal Yacht Squadron, Jon Perry, says “On behalf of Cowes, we are looking forward to welcoming a large and highly competitive J/70 fleet. All the yachts competing in the J/70 Summer Championships will be berthed at Shepard’s Wharf for the duration of the event assuming that we can fit them all in! The class is growing fast.”
Richard Hill, Rear Commodore of Sailing at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, comments “The Royal Thames Yacht Club is thrilled to be part of the J/70 Grand Slam Championship circuit. This fleet boasts some of the UK’s top sailors including many of our members. These events will provide close and exciting racing in the Solent which we know will test the skippers and their crews.”
The Royal Thames YC will also be hosting May’s Southern Area Championships at Shepard’s Wharf.
These events are expected to attract up to 40 entries in a class that is rapidly gaining popularity. The powerful little sportsboats are the latest generation of affordable performance boats and plenty of sailing’s top names from world championship level are competing.
A proven format of windward leeward race courses from a committee boat in the Solent will be format of the event with up to four races each day.