Photo by Nick Frampton
From the UK Nationals:
The five crew of J/24 Juvenile Deliquent were rescued just seconds before their upturned boat sank stern-first into the waters of Weymouth Bay on Sunday. The incident happened in the first race of the British National Championships in winds of 25-29 knots and big seas.
More here.
Triumphant return for Reloaded, a watery end for Delinquent
Mark Jardin reports on the first (and only) race so far:
[Source: Yachts and Yachting]
After racing was cancelled due to high winds on the first day, the fleet was chomping at the bit to get out on the water on day two of the 30th Anniversary J/24 nationals in Weymouth. Just after midday PRO Frank Newton judged the wind had dropped enough for racing to begin.
While the sun may have started shining, the wind certainly hadn’t gone away. An over-eager fleet led to an almost inevitable general recall on the first attempt to start the race. This lead promptly to the black flag being hoisted and a more orderly second start.
From the off, Mark Penfold’s ‘Reloaded’, back on the water after a couple of years collecting moss, took a commanding lead. Conditions were fierce with the wind a constant 25 knots and gusts much higher. The left hand side of the beat paid off with ‘Reloaded’ rounding the windward mark first, Thijs Knapper’s ‘Phoenix’ second and Jon Powell’s ‘Peggy’ third.
The run saw the real drama begin. High speed surfing was had by all on the run leading to a few broaches and the odd capsize. Half way down the run Adam Bowers’ ‘Juvenile Delinquent’ had a huge wipe out filling the boat with water. It was clear to the crew that the boat was going down so they abandoned ship to the safety of a nearby rib.
Conditions continued to get more difficult with the wind going from strength to strength. ‘Reloaded’ just held it together on the final beat, despite a last-minute broach on the final run to take the win. ‘Peggy’ came through into second just ahead of ‘Phoenix’.
The postponement to another day combination of flags were wisely hoisted by the race team at the finish line sending the slightly reduced fleet back in to lick their wounds and repair the damage. Tonight sees a barbeque for the fleet at Weymouth Sailing Club.
Adam Bowers said after the sinking of his boat:
“You can look on a situation like that one of two ways; either it was bad luck that we lost the boat or it was good luck that all five of the crew are safe and well. I’m definitely looking on the positive side of the situation.”
Mark Penfold commented on the winning return for ‘Reloaded’:
“It was great to have her back on the water and performing in such big conditions, I’m over the moon. We’ve a totally international crew on board with British, Swedish, Danish and Cornish sailors – a triumph for us all.”
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