J70 Nationals in Mexico wrapped up this past weekend. The event was held in Puerto Vallarta over 3 days of racing in virtually perfect conditions. Willem van Waay led a couple of training days before the event. Our customers placed 1st* and 2nd overall and 1st and 3rd Corinthian. Of the four sailmakers powering boats in the top 10, Doyle One Design’s customers made up 6 of the top 10. We would also like to congratulate our friends at B17 on placing 5th and 6th overall.
Ignacio Perez Morett and team Zaguero dominated the Nationals with five bullets and dropping a 4th using Doyle M2 Main and Doyle J8R Jib. Ignacio’s son and tactician, Juan, said, “We had very good upwind speed. We were definitely one of the fastest boats in the regatta. We used the Doyle Sails trimming guide and it worked perfectly the whole event.” Team Zaguero is made up of Ignacio, his brother Alvaro, and his two sons, Juan and Santiago. This was their fourth attempt together to win the National Championship. “The communication between my father, the helmsman, and I was critical to be able to get top speeds from our boat. We believed that was our key to success, even after a bad start.” The family was very happy to win the national title, especially with a regatta so close in points. “Coming into the last race, there was only one point between us and Radioactivo. There was some close racing throughout the last leg of that race!”
In second, Jokin Luisa Donnay and team Radioactivia comprised of two couples and Willem van Waay as tactician, made out with 2 bullets and five seconds. Jokin gave us some feedback after the racing, “It was awesome, I still have a really big smile on my face. Willem is impressive about his approach to have the boat ready, to adjust the boat between races, and to communicate. It was amazing to race with him. Puerto Vallarta is a great venue for sailing, with good steady thermal wind that would be from 8 knots and flat water in the first races to close to 20 knots and very choppy in the last ones. We followed the Doyle tuning chart that came with the sails and it worked very very well. However, it is much easier to understand it if somebody explains on the boat. I think the Doyle Sails are a very superior product if you compare them with other brands. Not only in the go fast area, but also in the quality of the sailmaking and the materials used. To have people like Willem and other pros involved in the design process is very very positive. For the team, Radioactivo, it was a great success, not only our result, but also the great competition, learning, and sharing with all the fleet. It also got us a place at the LA Worlds in 2020.”
Fernando Perez Ontiveros, the skipper of Black Mamba, was excited to win the Corinthian division and place 4th overall. He said, “Our tactical approach and race plan was to try to be consistent in all the races. We were a fast boat and we knew that, so we needed to take advantage of that and try not to take high risks in our decisions but to be conservative. Look for clean starts, aim to be always top 7 at the first weather mark and from there start passing boats. It was a very good championship in which 7 out of 9 races were with winds between 12 to 16 knots so could not ask for more!!” Fernando’s brother and trimmer, Alejandro enjoyed their new Doyle spinnaker, mentioning that he felt a difference in speed and response in planning conditions.
Third in the Corinthian class and 7th overall, Manuel Vazquez Robles and team Chavorrucos, had a top race score of 3rd.
Andres Barrios and Team Zumbale placed 9th overall and 4th Corinthian with a top race score of 4th.
Fernando Gutierrez Ahrensburg and Team Woodstock placed 10th overall and 5th Corinthian with a top race score of 7.
As with many venues, we are in awe of how beautiful the Puerto Vallarta area and Vallarta Yacht Club are.
