The proposed J/80 Class Rule Amendments, previously approved by the J/80 Class Association in June 2017, have formally been adopted by World Sailing and now posted on their website. These rules are The approved proposals were: 1. Increasing the maximum crew weight to 350kg. 2. Permitting the installation and use of video and still cameras and their associated mounting hardware. 3. Permitting the addition of a fiberglass backstay flicker on the mast crane to help the backstay clear the mainsail. 4. Updating all references of "ISAF" to "World Sailing."
Rayco Tabares (ESP) is the 2017 J/80 World Champion, retaining the title for the third consecutive year, Racing Hotel Princesa Yaiza, with a crew of: Alejandro Bethencourt Fuentes, Afredo Gonzalez, Hector Gonzalez, and Laiyin Francisca Ley Torres Jorge.
Rayco Tabares has now won the J/80 World Championship four times! The Spanish team from Lanzarote, Canary Islands, led the regatta from the first day to the last, but did survive a jitter on the penultimate day. On the last day of racing, the team scored two second place finishes to clinch the world title. A northerly breeze ranging from 10-18 knots, with shifts both to the west and the east, provided yet another testing race course in the Central Solent. All fourteen scheduled races were completed, much to the satisfaction of the competitors, which roundly showed their approval for a World Championship that was extremely well run.
Eric Brezellec (FRA) had an outstanding fourth day at the J/80 World Championship, scoring a scintillating 1-7-1-2, and is now within striking distance of Rayco Tabares (ESP). The defending world champion, from Lanzarote, is still in pole position, but a 4-1-16-18, has cut his championship lead to just seven points, with two races remaining. Tomorrow is the 14th July, French National Day, and Brezellec will be coming out with all guns blazing.
Rayco Tabares (ESP) has retained his lead in the J/80 World Championship, but a crack has appeared in the Spanish team's seemingly invincible armour, scoring eighth in the last race of a tricky day in the Solent. Luke Patience (GBR) took his first race win, to move up to second place, and Eric Brezellec (FRA) had the best day of all, scoring a 3-3-1 to move up to third for the championship. Jose Maria Van Der Ploeg (ESP) scored 10-10-2 to move up to fourth.
The 16th edition of the J/80 World Championship got off to a flying start with two spectacular championship races for the 48 boat fleet. A southwesterly wind of 12 knots built during the afternoon, piping up to over 20 knots in the gusts. With wind over tide shortly after the start, the combat zone boiled up with the J/80s powering upwind, then surfing downwind, in a full on foam up. Rayco Tavares (ESP) leads the championship, Kevin Sproul (GBR) is second and Luke Patience (GBR) third.