No Sleep Till Torbay

Tricky conditions in Torbay tested the mettle of professional and amateur sailors from 20 countries at the J/70 worlds. It was keelboat racing at its best

It was a stellar collection of sailors that gathered in Torbay for the Darwin Escapes 2019 J/70 World Championship in September, crews having flown in from Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA.

The event was hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club and proceedings were got under way in fine style, with a pageant featuring members of Squadron 13, the club’s junior sail training club, parading the flags of the 20 participating countries – 78 crews in Corinthian and Open Classes.

Event director Bob Penfold, of Royal Torbay YC, introduced club vice commodore Phil Rumbelow, chief executive of sponsor Darwin Escapes Anthony Esse, and Key Yachting’s MarieClaude Heys, who opened the regatta.

DAY 1

Big shifts and variation in wind speed tested sailors on day 1, but the race officers, led by Stuart Childerley, managed to get three races run.

In the Open Class, Joel Ronning (USA), racing Catapult, led the championship at the end of the day, saying: “It was a very anxious series of races but we had a lot of fun.

“It was very shifty, very puffy and you have got to find a lane, which was incredibly important downwind because if you didn’t find a vein of breeze or gybed the wrong way you were a loser. Consistency is going to be very important. We have a bet on the boat in terms of the average score for the winner – my number is 9 – and we are all about that range.

“This is a very tricky venue and we expect variable results, but we are prepared for that – we know we will bring in some real shockers, but we are looking forward to tomorrow. This is a lot of fun!”