2021 J70 Australian Championships at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron - Day 1

Day one of the J70 Australian National Championship kicked off on Saturday 3 April in an 8 to 10 knot onshore northerly.

Vamos from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia skippered by Tim Ryan, with his team of Rob Greenhalgh, Charlie Gundy and Jess Grimes lead after a perfect scorecard on day one with three bullets.

In the first race, Vamos led around the top mark followed by Celestial and Juno. At the second mark Rod Warren and Joust70 had fought their way into third place and battled through the next beat, but it was Juno who took the final podium place at the finish.

The remainder of the fleet battled it out over a predominantly left-hand track due to the current, and the local knowledge of the Blairgowrie fleet came to the fore giving them a solid start to their weekend.

The start of the next race saw the top three from race one vying for position at the pin end, with Tim Ryan and Vamos leading across the line. Mild drama quickly followed as Juno T-boned the pin boat while attempting to squeeze their way through.

There were no surprises at the top mark with Joust70 jostling their way through the fleet to round in third position. Juno recovered strongly and fought their way back to take third at the line, with Mike Hodgson, Tom Grimes and Murray Jones, all youth match racing champions no doubt assisting in the comeback.

The last race of the day started after a slight postponement, when the fading breeze also shifted right in the first attempted start sequence. Following a course reset, a tight start for the majority of the fleet saw racing under way.

The change in conditions saw a shake-up of the leaders, with local heroes Jumping Jack Flash leading at one point on the second work, before the race again settled into a familiar top three finish.

Consistent results from the top three boats, and the next few firmly in striking distance, has the regatta poised for exciting racing heading into day two.

In a fantastic effort from Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron and the J70 class there are three youth teams taking part in the regatta. Hayden Harding and the Javelin crew are currently in sixth place. The all-female youth crew skippered by Laura Harding on Spike is currently tenth overall.

"The youth are a real focus for us, and the J70's as a class is a real focus, so we are utilising them to create our pathways" said Gavin Wall, the General Manager of Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron.

"We have two club boats and we are in the process of raising money for our third."

"The really good thing about them though is that we've got our youth going in, but our SheSails program is absolutely kicking goals. We had 34 women go through our SheSails program all wanting to race the J70's."

Celestial leading Juno -2021 J70 Australian Championships - photo © Nic Douglass / www.AdventuresofaSailorGirl.com

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Results after 6 Races: