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Kinsailor Rockets Through J/24 Euros To Bronze Overall And Youth Gold

3rd September 2022
The new hotshots. The final one-race day of the J/24 Euros at Howth was so damp and grey that we all need a sunny image of the new Euro J24 Youth Champions and Open Division Bronze winner to cheer us up, and this is Kinsailor in a bright mood at her home port
The new hotshots. The final one-race day of the J/24 Euros at Howth was so damp and grey that we all need a sunny image of the new Euro J24 Youth Champions and Open Division Bronze winner to cheer us up, and this is Kinsailor in a bright mood at her home port

The old salt who looked out at the weather this morning (Saturday) in Howth and remarked that in the west of Ireland this would be called “a high stool day” was echoing the feelings of most participants. But the J24 European Championship fleet went out racing nevertheless, even if the east to south-east breeze with its sometimes heavy rain was in a weird and weaving sort of mood which produced some very peculiar performances by overnight leaders.

Yet as far as the oldest and the youngest skippers were concerned, it was a lovely sunny day with perfect sailing conditions. The most senior skipper racing, 83-year-old Rear Admiral USN (Retd) Denny Vaughan of Seattle, finished the ten-race series as he’d begun, with a win for Easy Street which shifted him back up to ninth overall in the results at a provisional level, as protests are pending but they don’t directly affect Easy Street.

Meanwhile, the youngest skipper racing, former Optimist and Laser star Micheal O’Suilleabhain of Kinsale with his youth crew in Kinsailor, was right there with the Admiral in second. But while the Admiral admits the brisker breezes at mid-week were challenging, the young toughs on Kinsailor had revelled in it all, and took full advantage of a world-class learning experience to turn in a telling scoreline of 21,2,6,6,(27),5,11,3,12,4,2 which rocketed them into the overall lead in the Youth Division at the finish of the series, and even more importantly gave them the Bronze in the Open Division.

This final race produced some off-the-wall placings for top boats. Jmania from Athens provisionally retains the title after a count-back against Cacoon (David Hale) from Poole with both on 65, with Jamania having been held back to 25th in the final contest while her closest challenger Headcase was 24th.

But Headcase had to carry that 24th into her total which leaves her at 5th overall, whereas Jmania dumped the 25th to keep her Gold by a whisker. And as for Kinsailor, she finished in style, just one point off the two front runners.

Results below (Protests Pending)

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

WM Nixon

About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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About the J24 keelboat

American Rod Johnstone designed the J/24, a one-design boat, in the mid-1970s.

Since 1977, it has been manufactured and at present, at least 5,500 hulls have been constructed throughout the globe.

The J/24 has significantly contributed to the popularity of competitive sailing, and numerous internationally recognised racing personalities have won international J/24 championships.

This class still thrives and remains a favourite among owners and crews of all levels.