JIRAFFE Wins J/70 UK Grand Slam Act VI on the Solent

(Hamble, England)- With just one more event to go, things are getting tight for the top of the leaderboard in the 2026 J/70 UK Grand Slam Series, which has been hosted by the fabulous red carpet treatment on offer at every regatta at the Royal Southern Yacht Club on the Hamble River in the United Kingdom. What’s not to love about sailing from RSYC with great regatta management on the always mercurial Solent Waters?

In the penultimate regatta, Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE team (Alice Perry, Arran Holman, Sabine Potter, and Martin Wrigley) finally got it all together and posted a breathtaking, eye-watering scoreline of three bullets and two deuces for just 7 pts net after six races.

Taking second for the balance of the podium were two women skippers, a first for sailing J/70s in the UK! The silver medal went to Jacintha Love’s LADY KHUMBU team (Ruairidh Scott, Hannah Bristow, James Taylor, Jack Wetherell, and Isabella Drewitt) with an enviable 2-1-2-3-1-7 tally for 9 pts net. Then, Ali Hall’s CALYPSO crew (Benno Marstaller, Jack Elsby-Hartman, and Jonathan Calascione) earned the bronze medal after a somewhat roller-coaster run, posting a 12-3-3-2-7-8 for 23 pts net.

It’s all on for the finale in two weeks to determine the overall winner of the 2026 J/70 UK Grand Slam season championship!

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For more J/70 UK sailing information
https://j-70.co.uk/2026-schedule/