24 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2018
FROM TOP:
Hanuman bowman in
a helmet; Svea’s
skipper Paul Kelly
celebrates the team’s
fi rst race and fi rst
win; race helm on
Topaz; winning team
on Lionheart;
afterguard on Svea“
It was a fantastic day for
Shamrock V today and obviously all
J-Class racing
”
Ande Hoek said: “She sailed extremely consistently to
gain her victories, recording several fi rsts.”
He also congratulated the crew of another Hoek-op-
timised J, Svea (see p106), which won her fi rst ever race,
having been launched earlier this year. Sadly later Svea suf-
fered gear failure that forced her to retire.
Lionheart’s tactician Bouwe Bekking said: “The boat is
doing a nice job for us but I think the crew work has been
really good. That atmosphere on board, where you are still
able to claw back from maybe an impossible position like
today, that’s what makes the di erence.
“We’ve been together for a few years since Harald
bought the boat. That has been the really nice thing about
the crew. Everyone digs in for each other and there’s no
captains. Everyone’s kind of the same level.”
He gave credit to the boat’s owner, who helmed the
boat and also ensured that Lionheart was heavily optimised
through the winter for the lighter breezes expected in Ber-
muda (as was Hanuman).
Jeroen de Vos, of Dykstra Naval Architects, who was
o side trimmer on Shamrock V, said: “The J-Class put on
a real show today. It was very exciting to be on board one
of the boats at what is an historic event for the class and it
was very close racing. The regatta win was up for grabs for
more than one J right up to the last race.”
Tom Dodson of North Sails, who was tactician on Velshe-
da, which won the fi nal race of the regatta (also helmed by
her owner), said: “It was interesting to be racing on one of
the original Js, against some fast, highly-optimised replica
boats. The boats are all sailed at a high standard by crews
who have got to grips with the unique skills and techniques
required to win in this class. We were punching above our
weight in that light stu , so we are delighted. Velsheda is
84 years old, 85 next year, so second in that fl eet is pretty
good stu.
“As well as advances in crew work, the boats are going
a lot faster compared to when I started sailing on Velsheda
in 2001, mainly through improvements in rigs and rigging,
hydraulic power and sails.”
Ken Read, the Hanuman skipper-helm, said: “We made a
mistake today, but that is life, that is sailing, and Lionheart
deserved to win. Now we have to regroup a little bit. It is
such a shame. I feel bad. I feel bad for our team who have
worked so hard. I feel bad for Jim and Kristy, the owners,
who put so much into this, but at the same time, that is
sailing boat racing. You take the bad with the good. We had
our breaks when we won in Saint Barths. We did not have
our breaks here. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Stu Bannatyne of Shamrock V said: “It was a fantastic
day for the Shamrock V today and obviously all the J-Class
racing. A big thanks to the owner for providing such an
awesome boat with such a great history for us to go sailing
in.”
To crown an amazing year for the J-Class fl eet, its fi rst
ever world championships later took place in August, in
Newport RI, the spiritual home of the Js, after they raced
for the America’s Cup there in the 1930s.TYY4 Americas Cup+J-class 2.indd 24 04/12/2017 14:55