J/70 UK Grand Slam Series 2025 Round Up
by Ruby Dent 10 Oct 08:45 PDT
UK J70 Class during the Royal Thames Yacht Club 250th Anniversary Event in the Solent © James Tomlinson
Last weekend (4th - 5th October) marked the conclusion of the 2025 UK Grand Slam. With some of the World Championship berths still undecided, this final event was as hotly contested as all of events throughout the seven round series.
The GS series has continued to grow, with huge momentum building across the fleet; 2025 saw record numbers of new teams and owners joining the Class. A total of 52 teams took part in the 2025 series (up from 42 in 2024), with 75 UK class members now active both at home and internationally. The series featured 333 different sailors, and as usual stacked with quality including 14 Olympians and multiple World Champions. Most encouragingly the average age of the fleet, has declined with many new sub 30 year olds, and even a sub 18 year team regularly racing.
Throughout the year the J/70 Class was continually the biggest class racing in the Solent. This season's notable standout events were Cowes Week (37 entrants) and the UK Nationals held as part of the RTYC 250 year anniversary (33 entrants).
Grand Slam Overall (Open) Results:
1st Ali Hall, Calypso - 10 pts
2nd Martin Dent, Jelvis - 11 pts
3rd Will Edwards, Sardonyx - 15 pts
Grand Slam Corinthian Results:
1st Doug Struth, DSP - 25 pts
2nd Max Clapp, Jeepster - 26 pts
3rd Ali Hall, Calypso - 30 pts
Grand Slam Mixed Plus Results:
1st Izzey Hung, Manta / XV Stripes - 50 pts
2nd Jemima Lawson, Elizabeth - 53 pts
3rd David McLeman, Offbeat - 73 pts
Grand Slam Youth Results:
1st Morgan Reynolds, Lightfoot - 98 pts
Full results are available here.
The final prize-giving and celebration will take place at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, London, on Friday 14th November. We hope to see many of you there to celebrate another incredible season.
It's been a fantastic year on the water- thank you to everyone who came out to race, support, and help the fleet grow.
Thank-you to our fantastic sponsors: Rooster, Ocean Rope, and Tideway Wealth Management.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The 2026 UK Grand Slam will feature the introduction of the Vakaros Race Sense technology, which has been very well received throughout the International J/70 Class. Our calendar is shortly to be announced.
With the Open Worlds in Cascais, the Corinthian Worlds in Marseille, the Mixed Plus Worlds in Denmark there is an international World Championship "2026 menu" to cater for all teams, in addition to what we know will be yet another epic year of UK racing.
Come and join us — the best is yet to come!