By Tommy Ballantyne
Near-perfect sailing conditions prevailed offshore Durban, South Africa on Friday, December 21 for the closing stages of the J/22 World Championship with Mark Sadler of the Royal Cape Yacht Club capping a superb performance over the previous week aboard Orion Express to claim the world title in this Class for the first time.
In second place overall was defending J/22 champion Jeroen den Boer of the Netherlands on HBB/ Slam. The Point Yacht Club entry, Eikos, skippered by Ian Ainslie finished third, and Greenlight (RCYC) with Dave Hudson at the helm came in fourth.
Sailing in 15-knot light-to-moderate north-easterly winds, Sadler and crew members Paul Wilcox, Gary Sindler and Julia Sfarlea underlined their undeniable superiority in this regatta by winning three of the last four races. This made six wins from 10 starts for the week-long regatta which was curtailed by strong winds resulting in two-and-a-half day’s racing out of five being lost. Four yachts dominated the final four races—Orion Express, HBB/ Slam, Eikos and Greenlight.
The overall winner was virtually a foregone conclusion after the sixth race on Thursday with Orion Express out in front of the leaderboard, nine points ahead of its nearest rival, HBB/ Slam. Ainslie at this stage was a distant 12th in a fleet of 35 yachts.
Racing on Friday was always going to be about deciding which of the nearest challengers would fill the placings. The overall results were in doubt right up until the last race of the day, with Den Boer finishing second to Hudson and Ainslie slipping back to fifth leaving
Den Boer the runner-up to Sadler.
Sadler, who skippered Shosholoza with distinction in the America’s Cup regatta earlier this year, put his considerable marine knowledge and racing skills to good use to finish with an event aggregate of 23 points and a net result of 10 points after two discards. This gave Orion Express the overall title by 12 points from runner-up HBB/ Slam with 22, only one point ahead of third-placed Eikos with 23.
Then came Greenlight at 27 points followed by Macs with its all-women crew of Penny Alison, Kim Rew and Claudia Meek skippered by Dominique Provoyeur (RCYC) fifth with 46 and the satisfaction of a first place in the third race.
Den Boer did well to retain the runner-up berth, which he held throughout the championship in the face of some stiff opposition from Ainslie who had Greg Davis at helm and Marcello Burricks on bow. Had it not been for Ainslie’s poor start on the first day when he suffered a disqualification in the first race, he might well have overhauled the Hollander.
But at this level it is all about consistency, and in this department Sadler had no peer.
Top 10 (10 races scored with two discards)
1. Orion Express (RSA/ RCYC; Mark Sadler) 10 points
2. HBB/ Slam (NED; Jeroen den Boer) 22, points
3. Eikos (RSA/PYC; Ian Ainslie) 23 points
4. Greenlight (RSA/ RCYC; Dave Hudson) 27 points
5. Macs (RSA/ RCYC; Dominique Provoyeur) 46 points
6. Rampant III (RSA/ Aeolians; Phillip Baum) 62 points
7. Quantum Sails Design Group (RSA/ TYC; David Rae) 65 points
8. Essent Banana-Jama (NED; Kasper Kieft) 67 points
9. Orion Contender (RSA/ PYC; Craig Millar) 74 points
10. Team Gaastra (NED; Eelco Blok) 76 points
complete results
