As part of the annual Sydney Harbour Regatta to be held out of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club on the 2nd and 3rd of March, the J/99 fleet will contest for the Australian Championship. The class will be returning after holding its inaugural Championship at the Sydney Harbour Regatta in 2023. Upping the stakes this year, J/Boats USA President Jeff Johnstone will be flying out to get in on the racing action. A great honor to have him hear and we hope he enjoys the racing.
Last year the J/99 Championship was won by Jules Hall with Disko Trooper Contender Sailcloth and he returns to defend the title he won by a landslide, posting five wins from six races. “We’re really looking forward to coming back to defend,” Hall proclaims. “We have a bigger fleet this year. Eight boats and the standard has increased enormously. It means the competition will be better than ever. We’re looking forward to two days of close racing. The Sydney Harbour Regatta is a great regatta and we’re delighted to be supporting it,” Hall finished.
Photos above from the 2023 J/99 Championship courtesy of Marg Fraser Martin.
Recently we also had the J/70 Aus Champs held out of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron on the 17th-21st of January. Another great event with 19 J/70's competing for the top spot! Some photos below of that event courtesy of Darcie Collington.
“We experienced a tricky set of weather patterns and the usual summer North East breeze failed to eventuate over the four day series. Instead, we had wind conditions typically in the East or South leading to very challenging sailing, particularly for the interstate visitors” commented Vamos’s Tim Ryan. “Racing was tight at the top of the fleet and I felt that any of six or seven boats could have won the regatta depending on how conditions evolved.”
