The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS) played host to the 2024 J/70 Australian Championship, delivering four days of competition on Sydney Harbour. Nineteen J/70s, including four from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), battled it out in 11 races to determine the nation’s top J/70 sailors.
Day 1: Thursday marked the start of the Championship with a delayed kick-off due to lighter breeze conditions. Despite the challenges, the four front-runners–CELESTIAL, AMBITION, VAMOS, and JUNO–established their dominance in the first three races. CYCA’s Bryan Northcote’s JEDI and Marco Poli’s NUVOLA also made their presence felt on the opening day.
Day 2: The second day presented another challenge with tricky winds from the east. Competitors had to navigate the conditions carefully as they vied for supremacy in the highly competitive fleet.
Day 3: Winds shifted back to the northeast. However, the sailors not only contended with the changing breeze but also had to navigate through the bustling Saturday Sydney Harbour traffic, as multiple fleets raced alongside the J/70 participants.
Day 4: The final day saw CYCA members making their mark at the top of the standings. After a full-on battle for the top three over 11 races between Rob Davis’s CELESTIAL, Tim Ryan’s VAMOS and Chris & Lachlan Dare’s AMBITION, it was Davis’s CELESTIAL team (David Chapman, Alex Gough & Jack Acton) who was crowned 2024 Australian J/70 Champions. Just four points back from grabbing the silver medal was Ryan’s VAMOS crew (Robert Greenhalgh, Charlie Gundy & Jess Grimes). Rounding out the podium with the bronze was Dare’s AMBITION team (Ben Lamb & Murray Jones) only two points in arrears. The balance of the top five included Reg Lord’s JUNO and Steven Proud’s SEQUEL, in fourth and fifth, respectively. For more J/70 Australian Championship information, visit https://cyca.com.au/j-70-australian-championship-2024/