A special visitor on the J/24 stand on press day
by UK J/24 Class Association 29 Nov 2007 10:47 PST
Stand C76, 30 November 2007
The J24 Class has a special visitor on Stand C76, Hall 2 for press day, Friday 30th November, between Noon and 1 pm.
George, possibly Britain’s biggest Hedgehog, will be visiting a nautical member of the family, Hedgehog, the Triple J24 European Championship-winning 1987 Rogers , displayed for the Exhibition.
George is coming to weigh-in, then collect a cheque from the crew, which will help keep his smaller cousins in slugs and milk throughout the winter.
Ian Southworth, Hedgehog’s helm, said “We are always on the edge at weigh-in and know how George must feel when faced with the scales. Still, he’ll be a popular Hedgehog when he gets back to the Leatherhead Wildlife Aid Centre with his cheque”.
The J24 class has seen a resurgence of international interest in the last few years. And for the 2008 Worlds it will allow member countries to select an all female crew for automatic qualification and an all under 25 years crew – developing the Class for the future.
J 24s represent very good value for sailors. They are solidly built and can be realistically used for family day cruising, whilst remaining competitive for club and international events. Their strict One-design rules mean that older boats are as competitive as new ones.
The class has a list of current second-hand boats available on the Stand and its website. These range from £3950.00 to £21,000.
New boats are available from J Boats Italy, starting at £26,000.00, in time for the June World Championship in Cannigione, Sardinia.
The Open European Championship is to be held at Lake Balaton, Hungary in September 2008, all J 24 owners are welcome.
And for those planning ahead, the 2009 World Championship will be at the US East Coast’s home of racing, Annapolis Maryland. Over 100 entries are expected, many from past World Champions for a true celebration of the Worlds most popular One design keelboat.
The UK J24 Class is offering any new Owner and Helm full Membership and three crew Associate Membership for the 2008 season, worth £140, to anyone who purchases a new or 2nd hand J24 by the 1st March for racing in the UK as a result of visiting the J24 Class at Earls Court Hall 2 stand C76.
In addition the UK Class wishes to thank; Inmarsat, Dubarry of Ireland, Ullman, Hyde and North Sails and Yacht and Yachting for supporting us at Earls Court and our activities on the water.