This past weekend was a very summery atmosphere on the waters off Monaco. A hundred boats made a stop in the YC Monaco Marina, divided between the races in the Bay of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series and the arrival of boats sailing the Grimaldi Trophy—a coastal race between San Remo, Italy and Monaco. 25°C outside, 23° in water, 15 knots of wind, and moderate sea conditions greeted the 30 crews sailing one-designs from across Europe. The teams came from Italy as well as Eastern European countries to start Act# 1 of the Monaco Sportsboat 2014-2015 Winter Series. Initiated last year under the leadership of Valentin Zavadnikov, this winter gathering of fun-loving sailors (scheduled on a monthly basis with five events to March 2015) now includes the rapidly growing J/70 fleet. This promising series has attracted to YC Monaco one of the largest J/70 fleets in Europe, with 15 teams attending. Training “clinics,” combining theory and practice, are available for competitors who wish to prepare for the upcoming season at the highest level. It is in this spirit that Ekaterina Skudina, double European Champion and World Champion, shared her experience with sailors in the J/70, which have benefited from the new building infrastructure. Having swapped his past European Champion J/24 for a J/70, it was clear the transition worked out for one YC Monaco member. Ian Ilsley’s ST ANDREWS crew, with tactician François Brenac, quickly took advantage of the techniques required to sail an asymmetric spinnaker boat fast. With a 1-1-4 in the first three races, they are just one point in the lead. In a close second with a very consistent 2-2-3 are Dennis Fredriksen’s and Stefano Roberti sailing ARIA with a 2-2-3 for 7 points. The President of the Monegasque class, Jacopo Carrain (CARPE DIEM) completed the podium. Under his leadership, the Y.C.M. will host the J/70 European Championship from October 12-17, 2015 with nearly 60 teams expected. For more J/70 YC Monaco Winter Series sailing information, click here.