J/70 Grand Slam 2 hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club

J/70 Grand Slam 2 hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

The Solent sparkled in bright sunshine for the opening Grand Slam of the UK J/70 Class 2024 season. A crisp cold Spring weekend, with mainly Northerly breeze ranging from 12-16 knots on Saturday and slightly more on Sunday.

A delightful way to start the season, after the disappointment of a cancelled event two weeks ago due to Storm Kathleen. 21 boats made it to the start line in a predominantly Corinthian fleet that included a number of charter boats, and many new young teams, including the 6th formers from Ryde School, in their first competitive outing this year.

When the Solent breeze is in the North, it is almost invariably quite shifty. And so it proved on Saturday, as the wind regularly swung through 50 or 60 degrees, creating a significant challenge for the tacticians and plenty of 'snakes and ladders' moments in the four races that day. It was clear from the outset that the fleet was a bit trigger-happy and full of adrenalin on the start line, perhaps impatient after missing Grand Slam 1. This was exacerbated by a strong oblique cross tide, with the predictable result: three 'general recalls' in Race 1. PRO Tim Hancock promptly unfurled the Black Flag which immediately calmed down the cortisol levels. There were no more general recalls for the rest of the weekend.

J/70 Grand Slam 2 hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club - photo © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

The front of the fleet soon had a familiar look, with Martin Dent's 'Jelvis' fresh back from an excellent result in the Bacardi Cup in Florida, Charles Thompsons reigning 2023 world Champions 'Brutus', this time in Corinthian mode, and 2022 European Champs 'Calypso' with new helm Bella Fellows all showing good pace. Reigning youth champions 'Jeepster',Hector Simpson on 'Dads n' Lads' and Class Captain Ian Poynton's 'Powder Monkey' were always in the hunt. The shifts and gusts were often quite extreme. 'Calypso' provided entertainment for John Greenland's team on 'Woof' by executing a full windward capsize, dunking the whole crew, right in front of them after being caught out just after the start of Race 2 by a 50 degree shift and accompanying strong gust.

The wind speed was just on the cusp for high vs. low mode downwind, and occasionally favoured the goose-wing. The boats that cracked the 'swift mode-change' algorithm and could execute well were rewarded with steady gains. At the end of day 1, the top 5 were notably all Corinthian boats, led by 'Calypso', 'Jeepster' and 'Brutus', This bodes well for the UK contingent that will travel to Copenhagen in the first week of June for the first ever Corinthian World Championship.

J/70 Grand Slam 2 hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club - photo © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

Sunday was slightly windier, and offered some wonderful planing, with an even stronger cross-tide vector for all 3 races to keep the tacticians on their toes. It was again really shifty, particularly in the final third of the beat, and offered some good practice at tight mark roundings, particularly useful for the increasing number of UK boats travelling to international events. Jelvis won the day, so ended the event tied with Calypso on points overall and pipped her to the top of the podium on countback of first places, with Jeepster completing the Open podium. Calypso were Corinthian winners with Jeepster and Brutus completing that podium, in a wonderful season opener that showed off the best that the J/70 has to offer in ideal Solent Spring conditions.

Overall Results: