The 2014 J/70 World Championship was the largest inaugural world championship of all the J classes to date. 86 boats and 14 countries were represented. The event was staged at Sail Newport and hosted by New York Yacht Club. 12 races were conducted over 5 days in mostly moderate winds and big seas, testing the mettle of top sailors from around the world. If you weren’t following the action, check out all the daily reports and great photos at www.j70worlds.com.
All 86 boats went through a rigorous measurement including boat weight, keel and rudder, hull check, deck equipment, sails, etc. The measurement team included ISAF international measurers and an ISAF Technical Committee member. The measurement team was equipped to check for alterations to the shape of foils and hulls. The “random sample” test in the J/70 class rules is based on the similar provision in other J/ class rules – allowing measurers to spot check any aspect of a boat against a random sample. Most of the boats passed through the process quickly with no issues. Some were flagged for secondary inspection, and of those, some had to take corrective action to be legal. The ratio of boats passing/not passing initial inspection was no more or less than would be expected at a one-design world championship. Most boats passed through the measurement process in about 12-15 minutes, which was the goal of the class at the outset – make measurement rigorous but efficient.
To maintain an enforcement presence throughout the event, the event docks were walked early each morning, and it was typical at the morning Skipper’s Briefing for a few bow numbers to be directed to the measurer. Additionally, on-the-water umpires were monitoring the hiking rule. It was great to see from the photo library that the crews were very good about staying inside the vertical plane of the lifelines. They actually look comfortable!
From the perspective of several people who have been integrally involved behind the scenes of many previous “first” major one-design championships, the 2014 J/70 Worlds represented one of the most rigorous on the measurement side and one of the most memorable from a competitive sailing standpoint.
Rudder Report
Last week during the middle of the Worlds, a popular sailing website posted a three week old photo of a broken rudder shown on the transom of a J/70. The rudder was not built by a licensed J/70 builder and appeared to contain carbon fiber. Unfortunately the timing of the post has caused many people to mistakenly believe that the rudder had something to do with the Worlds, which it did not. The rudder in question broke while the boat was practice sailing in Newport, Rhode Island on August 16th. The broken top part of the rudder was left on the transom for 24 hours with no apparent attempt to conceal it. When questioned about the rudder, the owner stated in writing that the rudder had not and was not intended for competition but had been built as an experiment to attempt to reduce the humming/vibration of the rudder at high speeds. The owner further pledged to certify that any molds taken from a J/70 rudder to create the test rudder would be destroyed. The owner, who was also a volunteer member of the US J/70 Executive Committee, accepted responsibility for the incident and resigned from the board.
Needless to say, if a boat were discovered to be competing in a class event with a non-licensed appendage, spar or other major component, then the Class with J Boats support would pursue all available disciplinary avenues under ISAF.