J/Boats Shine Across IRC, J/24 and J/105 Fleets at Off Valparaíso Regatta

(Valparaíso, Chile)- J/Boats had a strong showing at this weekend’s Off Valparaíso Regatta, the traditional event organized by the Chilean Army. The championship comprised three windward-leeward races on Saturday and a coastal race on Sunday, October 18. Of the fifty-three boats in the regatta fleet (across different classes), half o27 were J/Boats!

The weather conditions in Valparaíso Bay over the weekend were quite variable! On Saturday, southwest winds of 10 to 20 knots blew steadily from 240° to 250°. Then on Sunday, the weather “Gods” threw a “monkey wrench” at the fleet! The winds were tricky and extremely shifty, ranging from 1 to 20 knots and swinging from 240° to 320° (southwest to northwest)!!

IRC Division
J/Boats took 3rd and 4th place overall in the 13-boat fleet, both finishing tied at 21 points each. On countback, Carolina Ibañez’s J/122E BELEN took third place, with a mixed crew of young local sailors from Puerto Williams (the Chilean town closest to Cape Horn) and two Spanish teammates. Then, taking fourth was Juan Reid’s J/99 LADY CHOPPER II.

J/24 Class- International Navies:
Every year at the Off Valparaiso Regatta, the Chilean Navy organizes an international navy J/24 Championship, with crews from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Italy, and Chile. On this occasion, CONDESTABLE from the Chilean Army won among the 8 teams.

J/24 Class Overall:
The winner in the J/24 class with sixteen teams was Javier Nuñez’s BRIBON, followed by CONDESTABLE from the Chilean Navy and CHARLIE from Canada.

J/105 Class:
Seven boats took part, starting together with the IRC fleet in a combined field of 22 boats. Although they raced against each other for one-design class results, the J/105s placed very well against the IRC boats. WICHITA 4 took first place, winning on 3 of the 4 races for 5 pts total. Second place went to FOGONAZO from the Chilean Army with 10 points. Third place was Mauricio Zulueta’s JAMBO with 11 points.