BRUSCHETTA VI Crowned J/24 Victorian State Champions

Story by Adam Keys-Tilley: It was with great expectation that a dozen boats hit the blue waters of Port Phillip Bay, hosted by Sandringham Yacht Club, in what turned out to be “glam” sailing conditions. A barmy 24-28 degrees, the water was flat and the wind was 6-10 from the south on day 1 and then 6-12 from the North on day 2. The script: With newer skippers pressing hard and in good form and an intestate raider ACE attempting to take the spoils, interest was at an all-time high. After the first two races on day one, it seems the script was written with ACE dominating races one and two with two bullets taking with JAB and Baile de Luna filling the minor placings, the script seemed set with ACE by how far? Huey obviously had other ideas; the more things change, the more they stay the same! This is exactly what happened next. As if the clock was suddenly wound back a couple of decades, the title became an exclusive rumble in the jungle between two J/24 heavy weights. To see Mr. J/24 himself, ably supported by Angels (& Bosley – James) take on the Grain Hermitage (apparently, it’s a specially brewed bourbon) along with JET’s Flight crew, dominate and battle out the next six races was truly a sight to behold. With the exception of a brief interlude in race six where Baile De Luna took the chocolates, all other bullets were shared between Bruschetta IV (three wins and nothing over a fourth to count) 16 points in first, and JET (two wins and three seconds, but carrying a seventh) 18 points in second place, those two boats dominated the regatta. Despite some blinding moments by HAYWIRE, J-FORCE and JOYRIDE (winner of PHS), the rest of the fleet was led in, many points behind, by the consistent JAB, the best of the rest finishing third. THE DOGS made a late charge on day two, slipping into fourth place and ACE battled hard at the end to finish fifth on count back. A heartfelt thanks to our outgoing President Warren Campbell on all his hard work over the last couple of years, to the Sandringham YC Race management crew for getting eight superbly timed races in and, of course, to Kylie and crew from HAYWIRE for the wonderful catering, Nathan for the awesome drone footage and John Neville for his caring, empathetic approach whilst handing out trophies and raffle prizes. For more Australian J/24 Class information, visit http://www.j24.com.au/.