Winter Series 2008 Update –June 28 Added 3rd July 2008
J boats dominated the RSYS race yet again sweeping all before them, with the J/109 Sweet Chariot clearing the finish line first, hotly pursued by the J/120 Euphoria. The 2 J Boats leaving much larger boats in their wake including the well campaigned 44.7 on a beautiful days sailing on Sydney harbour. Both J Boats were punished by the handicapper on PHS with the 35 ft Sweet Chariot now giving some 40 + footers over nine minutes on PHS.
Winter Series 2008 Update – May 31 – June 1 Added 10th June 2008
It was déjà vu at RSYS the weekend of 31 May – 1 June, with the J/109 just behind the J/120, which was again just behind the Beneteau 44.7.
Sweet Chariot was 2nd around the top mark behind the TP52 in this big boat division, with the other 40 footers finishing some 10 minutes behind. This luxury appointed 35 footer proving once again that she can more than hold her own against much larger boats in the fleet.
The casual entry of Matt Short’s TP52 "Shortwave" showed the way by scorching around the harbour in an astonishing display of boat speed, finishing the race in just over an hour. Good luck to Matt and his crew with whatever they have planned for the boat.
Sunday’s CYCA race was held in un-forecast gusty 20knots. Vamos put in another respectable result with the 5th fastest time, sailing short handed in the predominantly spinnaker flying course.
Winter Series 2008 Update – May 24 – 25 Added 27th May 2008
The weekend of 24-25 May turned out to be a disaster for the crew of the J/109 ‘Sweet Chariot’. After what seemed to be a cracking start on a beam reach start line, she only found out she was called OCS after drifting around the harbour for 2 ½ hours. She again came in 3rd over the line just behind the J/120, after a frustrating light wind race.
Tim Ryans ‘Vamos’ finished 4th in the CYCA race. “We managed to pull in the entire fleet and were leading for a short while on the second last leg. Unfortunately the boats closer inshore picked up the sea breeze earlier and we slipped back to 4th place.”
Winter Series 2008 Update – May 17 - 18 Added 20th May 2008
Sydney Harbour has been up to its usual form this winter with wind deviating between nothing and un-forecast 25knots. The J/120, J/109’s and J/92S are doing well in this winter series, sailing consistently well in all wind strengths.
Racing over the weekend of 17-18 May again had the J/120 ‘Euphoria’ and the J/109 ‘Sweet Chariot’ finishing 2nd and 3rd over the line at RSYS, coming home between 7 to 16 minutes ahead of the competition in a 2 hour race, though relegated down line on corrected time. It seems the only thing that can get the better of a JBoat is the local handicapper!
Winter Series 2008 Update – May 10 & 11 Added 14th May 2008
J Boats score 1st , 3rd and 3rd over the weekend of 10th - 11th of May 2008 on Sydney Harbour.
The three racing J sprit boats again scored impressive results this weekend. The J/109 ‘Sweet Chariot’, the smallest boat in Division 1 of the RSYS Winter Series scored a 1st on handicap.
After more than 3 hours of racing, ‘Sweet Chariot’ was 2nd over the line just 4 minutes behind the 44.7 Honeysuckle. Tony Coleman’s J/120 ‘Euphoria’ came storming home in third place making a great recovery after being caught on the wrong side of a major shift in the tricky harbour winter winds.
Tim Ryan’s J/109 ‘Vamos’ put in another great performance finishing 3rd in the CYCA Division D, after receiving a further three minute time penalty from last week. Passing four boats on the last tight spinnaker reach made for an exciting finish.
Guest crews on the J/109’s were amazed to see the well-appointed interior of these impressive 35ft boats. They would not normally associate race winning speed and performance with the interior comforts of the J/109’s.
Winter Series 2008 Update – May 3 & 4 Added 6th May 2008
What a great weekend the J Boats had on Sydney Harbour this weekend.
Congratulations to Tony Coleman in his J/120 ‘Euphoria’ who took line honours in the first race of the RSYS Winter Series. The smallest boat in division 1, the J/109 ‘Sweet Chariot’ crossed the line in 3rd place.
“It was a bit of a lottery at the beginning of the race with the light winter winds doing the odd 360o shift – a bit of a challenge as we were all on the downwind leg with the kites up! The breeze eventually picked up to a steady 12 knots which made for an extremely enjoyable sail.”
Congratulation are also in order for Tim Ryan in his J/109 ‘Vamos’ who also finished 1st in Division D of the Audi CYCA Winter Series. Tim and his crew sailed a great race. Due to work commitments this was Tim’s first race of the winter series and he is sure off to a good start.
No doubt all three J Boats are dreading the handicapper‘s pen for next weekend’s races.
J/109 "Sweet Cahriot" wins CYCA Winter Series 2007 Added 9th March 2008
The 2007 CYCA Winter Series was the usual winter mixed bag of weather conditions, from quite a few drifters to the odd heavy weather race. In Division D, Ray and Sandra Entwistle’s J109 Sweet Chariot comfortably won Division D with 30 points, second going to the J35 J Force (Moty & Judy Bergman) on 35 points and third to the Beneteau 34.7 Brilliant (Howard & Susan Piggott) on 36 points.
Ray Entwistle was pleased to see the J109’s older sister the J35 coming in 2nd. “There aren’t too many J Boats in Australia which is surprising considering the huge fleet numbers in America and Europe. For us, the J109 caters for all our sailing needs, from competitive racer to comfortable short handed cruiser. It was great to have the J’s finish 1st and 2nd in this years’ Winter Series.”
Morna Cup - ‘Sweet Chariot’ brings home the silver Added 9th March 2008
The weekend of the 17th – 18th November 2007 saw the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Spring Offshore Regatta, with the Squadron Offshore Division fleet racing approximately 20nm north from Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour to Broken Bay, Pittwater on Saturday and then back to Port Jackson on Sunday for the Morna Cup, one of the club’s traditional trophies.
J/120 Euphoria wins Hamilton Island 2003 Added 9th March 2008
Sydney skipper Anthony Coleman steered his exciting J120 Euphoria to a consistent series to win the prestigious Hahn Premium Race Week IRC Cruising class title
