Captains Log

With three quarters of the JOG races over already this season am I the only one still waiting for summer!!
The good news is our racing has continued at a pace. The re-scheduled St Vaast race was a success and even the weather was not too bad. After returning home from St Vaast I do remember feeling very tired and it seemed to take much longer than usual to recover after an offshore race.

Concerned, I thought I was getting old until it was pointed out Electron had raced several consecutive weekends in May and June. Four of those weekends were JOG offshore and two were JOG inshore - no wonder I was tired. The partying alone was exhausting enough without the racing!

The Cognos Illingworth Challenge in July was a resounding success. Crews were sent off with a warm and hearty breakfast courtesy of our sponsors, Cognos. Even the sun tried to shine! The race started with eight boats in each class on a windy day. A wet and windy beat out of the Solent was followed with some fast off the wind sailing. So fast in fact, the first boats arrived in La Trinite around midday on Monday - two days after the start. All of the competitors were in by Tuesday afternoon.

The local yacht club, SNT, who are used to running by far larger events than ours were perfect hosts. They welcomed all the Illingworth Challenge competitors and provided a fantastic prize giving celebration (and the sun shone all day too!).

We also managed to squeeze in a Committee meeting in July. You will notice the Committee has updated some of the Club Rules. We have made the changes to reflect the way the Club is now operating whilst still keeping that relaxed and generally informal atmosphere so unique to JOG.

Another item discussed at Committee was that of advertising. It was my privilege to chair that meeting and listen to our Committee Members discuss the matter in a highly motivated and intelligent manner. Without reservation the Committee concluded that JOG must keep its Corinthian roots and the Club will continue to race under ISAF Regulation 20 Advertising Code, Category A, 'No additional advertising' and IRC Rules, Part 4 IRC A, 'No additional advertising' without any prescriptions or modification.

JOG continues to grow and prosper - it is our formula of true Corinthian racing in a relaxed style which is the key to that success.
See you on the water.

Paul Harding
Captain