Blue J lands Audi Morgan’s Harbour Race
BLUE J, captained by Mark Thwaites, captured the inaugural Audi Morgan’s Harbour Yacht Race yesterday at the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club at Palisadoes Park.
The event, sponsored by ATL Autohaus through its brand, Audi, to the tune of $100,000, saw 11 boats participating on a course which took them from Palisadoes, through the big ships’ channel, into Morgan’s Harbour around a specially placed mark close to the Morgan’s Harbour Hotel, along the waterfont in Downtown Kingston and back.
Richard Jackson aboard Jazz passed the winning line first and won the Line Honours Award, but Blue J was declared the overall winner based on the corrected time by the handicap scoring system.
Blue J, owned by Thwaites and captained by his brother, Mark, said the race was perfect.
“It was an excellent race; we enjoyed it. The team worked like a clockwork. We did everything right. It was good fun and the wind came and it was all over the place in the beginning,” said Mark Thwaites.
He said he and his team will be looking forward to next year’s event: “Absolutely. This is one of our favourite events and we’re happy to have Audi on board. Looking forward to seeing them next year,” he added.
Mystique, skippered by Gordon Hall, finished second in the corrected time ahead of Mark Shield’s Getaway in third.
Stefanie J with Allan Ross was the first boat to cross the line that did not fly a spinnaker — a special type of sail designed for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, which makes the yacht much easier to handle.
Event organiser Ian Gibson, who was aboard Lamborrdinghi said the race was closer than most people thought.
“We didn’t do so well today. We were at the back of the pack but the difference between first… and last place was only 15 minutes, so it was a good race,” said Gibson. “It was a good turnout,” he added.
Judith Denton, ATL Automotive’s marketing and communications manager, said it was a pleasure to sponsor the event.
“Audi… has traditionally participated in sailing and we’re continuing that fine tradition… you can look forward to seeing us more and more,” said Denton.
Part proceeds from the event will go towards rebuilding the JY 15 fleet for the benefit of junior sailors.
The Search and Rescue team assisted members of the media who followed the event over the three-hours’ duration.
