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| News 2007 |
Archive 2005 & Archive 2006 |
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Picture perfect cold winter sailing day
Nice racing but no present from Santa
Report coming soon but be sure to check out the gallery in the mean time
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Salon Nautique de Paris 2008
J80 soiree and a brasserie Parisienne
The
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Nice racing in the Grevelingen Wintercup
Ten J80's racing in ideal racing conditions
The weatherforecast predicted a cold day with showers and medium winds increasing to medium heavy in the afternoon. But luckily for us that second part was late and the sun remained present all day.
Briefing at 9h30 in the Brasserie Le Bateau. Race Commitee planned two starts for the one design classes. With the first start scheduled at 11h we had little time to prepare and no time to scrub the bottom.
Race 1: All ten J80 took off with a clean start and powered up towards the upwind mark. Although the boat end looked favored we were third at the top mark right on Jot's hip despite taking the pin end due to an overcrowded boat end. Unfortunately we didn't have the right map on board so we had to follow the opposition meaning we always were one step behind. Apparently we weren't the only one with compromised navigation abilties that day as the leading boats took the whole fleet over very shallow waters. DJ took the lead when the leading boats overshot a mark and never gave away that lead, nice job guys! The fleet seperated in a leading group of 5 boats and a second group trailering by ten boatlengths. At the second upwind mark we couldn't set the gen because the halyard shackle opened unintentionally resulting in a wet gen and a halyard on the loose! Just great! The leading group surfing away and the trailering group catching up on us fast. Joris was then promoted to monkey and he went up the rig to get that halyard back. We managed to get the beast up just in time and had Seagull allready right next to us. The leading group was gone so all we could do was to defend that 5th place and we managed to do so succesfully.
Race 2: We took an average start and were a little slow which pushed us back in the dirty wind of the first line. But we managed to hang on and after everyone tacked away towards the right side we remained on port and sailed towards the left to try to gain some speed while sailing in free air. We tacked back towards the pack near the layline but the pack was still very dense and it wouldn't be easy to find a gap. We found that gap and tacked right between two boats assuming or hoping that the leeward boat was on the layline and that the windward boat would be over the layline. But unfortunately the leeward boat was below the layline and thus so where we. After performing a short tack we were too slow to pinch and we hit the mark. After making our penalty turn around the mark we rounded the mark in the one but last place. Great again! Five minutes in race 2 and already at the back of the fleet. From then on our goal was to sail without making major mistakes and to climb up the ranking on boatspeed without taking any strategical risks. Jiffy showed us some nice local skills by splitting with the fleet and having a ten boatlength lead over the second boat at the next mark. During the last downwind mark we saw an opportunity to overtake Jack and Dj as they were struggling with their gennaker in the gusts on the doggy leg. When we overook DJ they went into an uncontrolled luff and we had to luff up to avoid them, check out the picture on the left, despite being on the edge of control. Rock 'n Roll! That's what we came for! The crew did an excellent job to keep the boat in control and on speed. We sailed right next to Jot on the last downwind leg fighting it out for second place. Quite a laugh on board when Alexis thought we would take down the gen during the last gybe and released the halyard. We finished 3rd which isn't bad considered we rounded the first upwind mark in 9th position.
A 5th and 3rd place resulted in 4th place overall on the provisional standings. We'll be back for more!
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First Training Session in Port Zélande
Very nice effort from Quantum South Holland
Report coming soon...
Unfortunately no pictures due to the intensive nature of the training session.
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The Dutch J80 National Class Association is coming!
The brand new website has been launched
The website is fully loaded with all the information you need, like a regatta calender, hot news, tuning guides, ... to sail a J80 at the top of it's game in the Netherlands. In addition to this there is a private forum to share ideas and sloution in order to strengthen the J80 community.
Check out this masterpiece on www.J80.nl  |
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1st Racing day of the Winter Series
7 J80's but windless and foggy conditions
With a huge high pressure system setteling over the Netherlands the weather forecast was pretty obvious: very light wind, sunshine, cold night and fog. After a long ride we arrived in Port Zélande and met the other J80 crews in 'Le Bateau'. During the briefing the race officer announced that the start would be postponed and probably even cancelled. This gave us the opportunity to have a chat with crews we hadn't seen before. After that we had lunch with the Jiffy crew in the subtropical shopping mall of Port Zélande.
In the afternoon we set sail to do some speed trials against Jiffy. The light wind and flat water offered the ideal conditions to test how close we could sail to the wind with the gennaker while maintaining decent speed. Jot joined us for a couple of short gybes.
Nice pictures will be available in the media section soon.
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Goese Sas Trophy 2007
Wind going from light to none
Saturday: crew 1. Thomas 2. Stolio 3. Joris 4. Alexis 5. Lieven
Good start in light wind. Again we had a very loose mast setting. But the wind increased and in the second upwind leg we couldn't follow DJ who was sailing a sharper angle at higher speed. They definitely found the right groove that day. In the next downwind leg we tried gibing angles to see if this would help us to catch up, while DJ went straight for the mark. Once again the advantage was on their side. DJ finished many minutes before us.
Sunday: yet another racing day in very light wind! No problem when the tide is light also. Not this time: new moon conditions resulting in a strong tide of more than 1 kt against which we had to sail upwind at speeds barely reaching 2 kts. No direct competitor today as DJ didn't compete. After 4 hrs 45 min we abandoned racing. Many others had already abandoned some time before. We feel a strong resistance towards this because we deeply believe it ain't over till it's over... Crew: 1.Thomas 2.Stolio 3.Joris 4. Wouter VT 5.Alexis. | | |
Full results on www.goesesastrophy.be
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WSVO Clubkampioenschap 2007
3 laps of fun racing!
Despite uncertain wind onditions it turned out to be a nice sailing day. The crew consisted of the following nice guys: 1. Thomas 2. Stolio 3. Joris 4. Wouter VT 5. Pieter, and fortunately we didn't finish last.
To overcome the risk of a grueling long race against the tide in a dying wind, the race committee decided to make a track of 4 nm round 4 buoys. Depending on the wind we would sail only one or up to three rounds. In the end 3 laps were covered.
About our performance: we tested an extreme loose mast tuning in the first lap (wind about 3-4 kts). It gave us low upwind angles and speed. We tightened the whole thing up for the next laps and saw a better upwind performance. Unfortunately too late to catch up the lost distance. We wonder what rig tensions other J/80 sailors use in different wind conditions. The various existing tuning guides sometimes have very diverse ideas. We look forward to the coming winter series where many J/80 boats will be sailing together. | | |
Check out the pictures!
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Mossel Race 2007
Light wind and strong current made it very tricky.
We were out on the water early, one and half hours before the gun, to practise our manoeuvers in a new positioning system. Stolio returned from the worlds with lots of bright ideas and wrote it down in a crew manual. Now we work in positions 1 to 5 with very strictely timed handlings for every position. Improvising will only be allowed on unforeseen situations.
We sailed with a crew of four: 1. Helm: Thomas, 2. Mainsail: Stolio, 3. Jib: Marc, 4. Gennaker: Alexis & Stolio, 5. Mast: Alexis.
We had a slow start in third line at the pin end but made a very good first upwind leg to the first mark. In the first downwind leg we saw the wind change direction and almost completely die away. Only a very impressive Jiffy managed to overtake almost the whole fleet by being able to keep their gennaker up close to the wind.
With 150 boats in light and variable wind, starting in different classes every 10 minutes, made the roundings of the first couple of marks very crowded and "interactive".
Further on we practised our roll tacks, we then realized we had to keep out of the contrary tide and followed the others over the sandbanks. At one of the many tacks we dealed successfully with a "SOB" (shoe over board) situation. After that we learned Alexis how to tie his shoelaces.
Mentaquilibrium finished 8 minutes behind Jiffy, 5 hours and 5 minutes after the gun. DJ finished as 3rd J80.
Officially we ended up 8th out of 15 in ORC-3 (see results on the Racing page).
The day finished with a delicious Oosterschelde mussels party.
Check out the gallery for the pictures. | | |
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Delta Week 2007
Only one race sailed, no wind on last day
On the first weekend not enough crew was available for racing.
On the second Saturday in the early morning Lieven and Thomas sailed from Wemeldinge to Colijnsplaat in a very nice SSW 3 breeze. We were able to drink a hot cup of coffee before arriving at Colijnsplaat about 1.5 hrs after we set sail. Wouter VT, our third man for the day was already waiting for us. Because of the heavy wind expected for the day, the windward leeward racing was replaced by a long track of 27 miles round existing buoys. The start of the race was postponed until 11:00 am.
Because of the less experienced crew we left early to practice. We even experienced a hat overboard situation which we managed to recapture in a wind increased to W 6. We had a prety good start in the middle of the line but gradually we we overtaken by most of the competitors. A crew of three is clearly not enough to have great upwind performance in winds of more than 20 kts. Downwind however was fast! Gibing went well, Lieven and Wouter learning very fast how to control the mean gennaker. We enjoyed sustained runs of more than 13 kts and the day's top speed was 14.68 kts! Needless to mention we overtook most of the fleet when we arrived at the down wind mark 6 miles further. Upwind again was much slower and the fleet passed us again. The next run was a short one, unfortunately it took more than 5 minutes to hoist the gen. Yes, we were shrimping! Eventually the sails got set again and soon we were hitting the 14 kts. After another long beating against wind an large waves we started the last run at the back of the fleet, but this time the wind was decreasing, only allowing speeds of about 9 kts.
We crossed the finish line after 4 hrs 46 minutes, all three very satisfied about the thrilling sailing experience.
On Sunday we woke up underneath blue skies and only a very light puff. The crew: Thomas at helm and main, Wouter pit, gib and gen trim, Alexis at mast and trim. The lack of wind forced us to engine to the starting line. We towed an X-79 towards their championship start. Arriving at our starting ship we saw all boats anchored an we were preparing ours when a light breeze rose. The postponement flag was still floating so we used our time again for some upwind and downwind practice. Gibing the gennaker in light wind needs perfect timing of helm and crew.
Eventually we started, an excellent start, almost on the line at the signal and at speed! After 20 minutes unfortunately, the wind died away before anyone of our starting group had reached the topmark. All threw their anchors because of the tide pushing us back. There we were floating, all sails set, not a puff of wind, for almost what felt like an hour. The race was cancelled and after waiting another hour all racing was cancelled for the day.
Fortunately beer and sausage helped us to motor our way back to Wemeldinge.
Results
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J/Club weekend 2007
Mentaquilibrium sails a bullet and wins the series
This J/Club weekend was organizes at Zierikzee on the Oosterschelde not far from Wemeldinge, our home port.
Because Stolio was having exams we had a different crew set up for each day.
On Saturday 3 races were held on a windward-leeward track. The fleet was divided into 2 series: big boat and small boat (10m and less). Conditions were good in the first 2 races, while race 3 ended in an impressive thunderstorm featuring a 100° windshift and an increase to 7 bft. Some boats abandoned racing at that moment.
We had an excellent crew line up for the day: Yorick at mainsail and tackticks, Alexander Menck (owner fo the J80 named Jot) at jib and gennaker trim, Wouter R in the pit and Lieven at the mast position and Thomas at the helm.
On Sunday we sailed a longer track round existing bouys. Upwind at first against a SW 6, decreasing in the following hour to S 4. Alexander was helming this race with Thomas coordinating the crew formed by Lieven and Alexis.
At the upwind mark we were late in preparing the gennaker because one of the sheets was trailing in our wake. And once the gennaker was hoisted, we saw that the starboad sheet was round the tack. This costed us many minutes but we managed to catch up some of the lost time in some very enjoyable surfs. | | |
| Plaats |
Punten |
Naam Schip |
Type |
Eigenaar |
Slechtste |
Aantal gevaren |
| 1 |
14.7 |
MENTAQUILIBRIUM |
J-80 |
T.,Savoye |
6.0 |
4 |
| 2 |
17.4 |
JIMJAMS |
J-92 |
P.H.,van der Pol |
11.4 |
4 |
| 3 |
31.7 |
Jiffy |
J-80 |
P.J.,Hanse |
18.0 |
4 |
| 4 |
39.7 |
Jack |
J-80 |
Robin Verhoef |
26.0 |
4 |
| 5 |
44.0 |
JUNE |
J-92 |
J.,Ligthart |
16.0 |
4 |
| 6 |
53.4 |
JUNO |
J-92 |
C.P.,van Steenis |
20.0 |
4 |
| 7 |
67.4 |
JULIET |
J-92 |
L.N.,Wielaard |
23.4 |
4 |
| 8 |
77.0 |
Jongeheer |
J/100 |
Paul Ockers |
28.0 |
4 |
| 9 |
79.0 |
DJ |
J-80 |
T. De Jonghe |
30.0 |
4 |
| 10 |
84.0 |
True North |
J/92 |
Lennart Rijksen |
32.0 |
4 |
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Upcoming J80 Worlds
Stolio joins French team Jiotoo
After studying different options to realize a sucessfull campaign to race Mentaquilibrium at the worlds it is with great regret that we considered it was not achievable to organize a competitive campaign for the worlds on short notice.
But nevertheless Stolio will strengthen another team to compete at the worlds. Stolio will join French entry Jiotoo, raced by International J80 Class President Jean-Baptiste Bernard.
Mentaquilibrium Sailing Team will try to cover the event by adding daily race reports and pictures of the event every day. More news about this also to follow shortly.
Follow this link to access the Special J80 Worlds Media Section where you will find daily race reports, results, pictures and movies about the event. At the bottom of the page you will find a detailed weather forecast for the region provided by Windguru and weeronline. |
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J/Cup June 16-17 Zierikzee
Mentaquilibrium confirms its participation
The J/Cup is a yearly racing event for all J-boats not represented in a one design class in the Benelux. As we are still in the preleminary fase of founding an official J/80 NCA we are still allowed to participate in this event. See J/Club website for more info.
On Saturday 3 races will be held on short up-wind/down-wind tracks. On Sunday only one longer race will be held.
Our results, comments and pictures will be posted on this site after the event. Stay tuned.
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Van Uden Reco Regatta 2007
Mentaquilibrium sails a strong series in the first Benelux J80 event and takes 2nd overall.
The first J80 Benelux event gathered 5 dedicated J80 teams to compete in this great event. Because there is not a J80 NCA in the Benelux yet, the boats were not measured nor checked for full class conformity. One of the boats was optimised for handicap sailing, they sail with a fully battened kevlar mainsail with a huge roach. Other boats were not carrying their outboard engine. Nevertheless we were looking forward to some close racing. The crew was formed by the usual core Thomas and Stolio and Yorick and Alexis, Wouter joined us on Sunday.
Race 1: We had a good start but due to some tactical mistakes, which means being in the wrong place at the wrong time, meaning being at the wrong side of the course, we ended up 4th after a close tacking duel with Jot during the last upwind leg. In race 2 we took a lousy start in the shadow of a X99 but we sailed higher and faster and managed to escape. Better boat speed allowed us to make better tactical decisions controlling the rest of the fleet and finishing 2nd behind Jiffy. During Race 3 we managed to consolidate our 2nd overall position for the day with another 2nd place. Amazingly half way the last downwind leg the wind shifted 180° and we saw the boats on the upwind leg sailing towards us with their spinnaker up!
On day 2 the first race was postponed due to a lack of wind, the Max Fun 25 had to abandon the race that had already started. In race 2 we took a pin end start knowing the right side of the course had better pressure because we figured sailing free was more important. Unfortunately the lack of pressure on the left side was so persistent that we rounded the upwind mark in last position. A perfect gennaker set allowed us to sail higher than the rest of the fleet and to overtake the fleet and close the gap with the leaders. In the next and last upwind leg, as the race had been shortened, we maintained a tight cover on Jot and didn't notice J Benelux slipping closer behind a X99. They passed us and finished 5 seconds in front of us making us 3rd, Jiffy finished 1st. In race 3 we were almost late for the start because we were trying out some new settings and we didn't notice we were so far away from the starting line. We sailed a perfect upwind leg and rounded the first upwind mark in second place right behind Jiffy which gave us the opportunity to cover them downwind, they reacted accordingly with a nice set of gybes trying to escape. After the downwind mark Jiffy immediately tacked away while we sailed towards the right side of the course. At the upwind mark we met again but luckily for us Jiffy had to gybe to hoist their gennaker on the doggy leg which allowed us to fully take control and the lead. We consolidated this position during the last upwind leg and finished first in the last regatta of the series.
Pictures: check out the Van Uden Reco 2007 Gallery in the media section following this link!
Results:
| SailNr |
Name |
Skipper |
Nat. |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
R4 |
R5 |
Points |
| NED7621 |
Jiffy |
Hanse, P.J. |
NED |
FIN 2 |
FIN 1 |
FIN 1 |
FIN 1 |
FIN 2 |
5 |
| BEL883 |
Mentaquilibrium |
Savoye, Thomas |
BEL |
FIN 3 |
FIN 2 |
FIN 2 |
FIN 3 |
FIN 1 |
8 |
| NED7749 |
Jot |
Menck, A. |
NED |
FIN 1 |
FIN 4 |
FIN 4 |
FIN 4 |
FIN 3 |
12 |
| NED4 |
J80 |
Block, Walter de |
NED |
FIN 3 |
FIN 3 |
FIN 3 |
FIN 5 |
FIN 5 |
14 |
| NED8842 |
J Benelux |
Geerling, Michiel |
NED |
DNS 6 |
FIN 5 |
DNS 6 |
FIN 2 |
FIN 4 |
17 |
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Spanish & Italian NCA
New Italian & Spanish National Class Associations
Yesterday, January 25th the good news was sent to Mentaquilibrium Sailing Team:
Dear NCA Presidents and association members.
I am pleased to inform you that a new J80 class has been created on December 19th 2006 in Italy.
The new website is available on the following link: www.j80.it
Welcome to the italian class and thank you to the team :
Mauro Espositi: President
Fabio Antonacci: secretary
Paolo Boido, Consigliere,
Gianlucca Barsottini, Patrizia Pellerano
Our best wishes to the class!
Closely followed by this second good news of the day:
the Spanish class is growing so fast that I have just been informed that the NCA has just been created.
Champaign and welcome to them and to their president Carlos Morales!
Another good news to post on your national websites.
Team Mentaquilibrium wishes all the best to the new NCA and maybe the Belgian and Dutch teams will be next to pour the champaign!?
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