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 News from Around Banderas Bay | November 2006 
Vallarta Hosts J24 World Championships
 Kathy Taylor - PVNN
| | In front of Nuevo Vallarta windward leg. | 
| | Downwind leg toward the beach. | 
| | Chairman Organizing Committee Chairman: Peter Weigandt; President J24 Mexico: Jorge Castillo; Social Committee: Laura Brier and Klaus Weigandt. (Photos courtesy of Jay Ailworth, Strange Bird Photography, jailworth@yahoo.com) |
In a series of "firsts," Puerto Vallarta will host the J24 World Championships from March 4th-9th, 2007. For the first time ever, the competition will be held in a climate with warm waters and consistent winds. Another first is that this race will be available to fans around the world in real time with the advent of satellite technology - transponders on each boat will enable internet viewing of the race.
Another first took place in Puerto Vallarta between November 2nd and 5th. The first of the Mexican qualifying events for the Mexican J24 Nationals and the J24 World Championship was held in Banderas Bay this past weekend. Thirty-seven boats registered for the regatta in an attempt to claim one of 10 spots still available for the World's; the winds were light but the racing was intense.
The J24 Class was established in Mexico in 1979, and there are now more than 250 affiliates and 70 active boats between Valle de Bravo (Mexico City,) Cancun, Acapulco, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. The J24 program is relatively new but growing rapidly here in Puerto Vallarta due to the efforts of the Vallarta Yacht Club.
This past weekend's entries were mainly from Valle de Bravo, with one from Guadalajara and one from Puerto Vallarta. Successful Puerto Vallarta and international Capri racers, the all-female crew from Dreadnought, transferred their skills to the J24. This one design sailboat race sees some highly sophisticated tuning as the teams work to gain every last second on their competitors.
The format for the qualifying is a three day competition, with 3 races Friday, 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, with 3 windward/leeward legs.
Vallarta Yacht Club is the host club for all the qualifying races as well as the Mexican J24 National Championship and the J24 World Championship. The Mexican fleet will hold one more qualifying event on November 30 through December 3, 2006.
Then from February 23rd-25th, 2007 the Mexican J24 fleet will be back to compete in the J24 Mexican National Championship. The yacht racing will culminate in March 2007 when the world will come to Nuevo Vallarta and crown a J24 World Champion.
More than 20 countries are expected to vie for the honor - Germany, Japan, Sweden, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Chile, Puerto Rico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Venezuela, Uruguay, Holland and the United States will all send teams to Puerto Vallarta. Mexico will have 20 boats in the competition, and the fleet could have as many as 80 boats on the starting line on March 5th-9th, 2007. For more information visit http://www.vallartayachtclub.com or http://www.j24mex.com/worlds2007.asp.
What is a J24?
The J24 is a fiberglass sailboat 24 feet (7.32 meters) long, with a beam of 9 feet (2.70 meters). These measurements were determined by the size of the garage attached to the family house of Rodney Johnstone, who is the creator of the J24. On May 15, 1976, Ragtime, the first J24 sailboat touched water. The J24 is usually sailed with a crew of 4 or 5 sailors.
Currently, the J24 is second only to the Laser in worldwide popularity. Its popularity can be attributed to its design, the skill necessary to sail it well, and the force of the International J24 Class Association, which has 2,728 active members in 27 countries around the world. |
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