Thursday, December 4, 2014

JOI de’VIVRE Repeat J/80 Benelux Champion!

J/80 sailing Benelux Open Championship (Grevelingen, The Netherlands)- There were many familiar and unfamiliar faces that participated in this year’s 2014 J/80 Benelux Open Championship.  The top seven was occupied by mostly veterans and the fleet saw three new teams debuting in in the regatta.  Thirteen teams in total enjoyed a good seven races series over the weekend.  Winning for the second year in a row was Laura Vroon’s JOIE de’VIVRE with a stunning record of four 1sts and two 2nds for a mere 8 pts total after toss race.

The fleet enjoyed great conditions both days, with moderate swell and good breezes.  It was clear there were two winners for each day of racing on Saturday and Sunday.  Vroon’s crew had four 1st’s Saturday while NB Elsink’s crew on J-ZUS took three 1sts on Sunday!

In the end, behind Vroon’s team, the J-ZUS crew took second with 11 pts with a 6-2-4-2-1-1-1 record for 11 pts net.  Third was David van Veen’s nJOY crew with a 4-3-3-3-3-5-3 tally for just 18 pts net.

J/80 youtube sailing videoThe biggest battle seemed to be for places 4th to 7th.  After the smoke cleared mid-fleet, taking 4th overall was A Menck’s JOT with 31 pts, followed by Bernard Holsboer’s JUUL in 5th with 33 pts.  Sixth was taken by Edwin Spaans’ J-STRING with 34 pts and, finally, in 7th was T deJohnge’s DJ with 39 pts!  Close, fun racing with a great camaraderie amongst the crews!  More racing soon!   See the J/80 Benelux YouTube sailing video of the regatta here.
For more J/80 Benelux Championships sailing information