The J/70 South Coast Championship was hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. Race Officer Philip Warwick and his RYS RC/PRO team were roundly applauded by the fleet for running six excellent races in highly changeable conditions. The start to Day One was delayed waiting for a seabreeze to fill in and that patience was rewarded with three races in a 7-11 knots southwesterly with brilliant sunshine. The final race of Day One finished after 6:00 pm. The Race Committee was back on station the following day by 9:45 am for three more races; a rain-affected day in a southerly front with the wind speed providing planing conditions for the J/70 fleet. Winning the weekend RYS South Coast Championship, against a strong field including Olympic medalists and multiple World Champions, was Martin Dent’s JELVIS. They continue their good form, winning the first three Grand Slam Events of the 2022 Season. Martin Dent commented, “This weekend the J/70 racing was, as usual: epic racing! While our scoreline was strong, the racing was incredibly close with multiple lead changes and finishes with sometimes three boats overlapped crossing the finish line. Philip Warwick (Race Officer) did a fantastic job, holding his nerve and well-positioned in the Solent to give us three good races on a difficult Saturday, and on Sunday, when the breeze was up, it was spectacular. The detail that the RYS team race team went into, not only setting start lines with perfect bias but also the gate, to balance the one-sided racecourse was first class.” Jonathan Calascione commented, “Early in the season, it is good to have a mix of conditions. With the big events coming up like the Nationals, the Europeans and the Worlds, you don’t know what conditions you are going to get, so getting a range of conditions this weekend was very useful. The South Coast Champs was a Grand Slam event and very well managed by my club, so I was very glad that they did a good job. Calypso is delighted with the result and our start to the season. Calypso has gone back to being a Corinthian team, as we were 2015-19. Our ambition is to push the Pro teams and who knows, it would be really cool for a Corinthian team to win the Nationals. It is also great to see young sailors coming into the Class like Finley (Dickinson). We want the J/70 UK Class to be the place where young sailors want to race at a very high level.” Dent’s JELVIS scored four bullets in the six races held to win the Open category. Calascione’s CALYPSO with Geoff Carveth at the helm was the best Corinthian team for the regatta. In the Open Category, taking the silver was Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT, Sam Carter’s BRUTUS was third, Calascione’s CALYPSO fourth, and Nick Phillips’ CHAOTIC fifth place.