J-Cup Australia #2 - Lake Macquarie

After eight races over three days, Chris Dare’s Ambition team won the 2025 J/70 J-Cup #2 on the beautiful waters of Lake Macquarie.  Dare sailing with David Chapman, Lachlan Dare and Jeremy O'Connell, secured the title with consistent racing in the top four, dropping a 7th in race 5. 

Ambition

The weekend hosted by Lake Macquarie Yacht Club showcased the beautiful waters of Lake Macquarie and provided some fantastic conditions with smooth waters and lots to think about for the tacticians.  Fifty four sailors across thirteen teams represented sixteen different clubs around Australia.  The event was the 2nd event of J-Cup Australia 2025, the overall results of which will determine J/70 Australia's nominees for the J/70 World Championship in Cascais in August 2026. 

Second overall was David Doherty’s Matador with James Corrie, Joe Turner and Hamish Hardy onboard. 

Matador

Third overall was Steven Proud’s Swish with Billy Sykes, Finn Alexander and Charlie Wyatt.  Swish won the last race of the series by 40 seconds from the next boat, Ambition. Unfortunately for Rod Warren’s Joust which had looked secure in 3rd place, prior to that race Swish and Joust ended the series on equal points, with Swish taking 3rd place on a countback. Also onboard Joust was Aaron Cole, Noel Drennen and Mark Bulka.

Swish

“It was great to see some new owners and teams joining the fleet for the first time and you could see the improvement from them over the eight races’ said Proud.  “With the regatta being part of the 2026 Worlds selection process, the standard of racing was super competitive and you only needed to make one small mistake to find yourself buried in the fleet.  A key lesson for us from the 2024 Worlds was the importance of being consistent across what ends up being a long regatta, and we have been really focussing on that as a team”.

Tim Ryan’s Vamos with George Richardson, Cole Tapper and Charlie Gundy were the first Corinthian boat in the fleet.

Two very competitive youth teams from Sandringham Yacht Club contested the event.  First Youth team was Emma Maertens’ Tramontana with Harry Sly, Brandon Demura and Mats Maertens.  Second Corinthian and second youth was Josh Griffith’s Ora with Daniel Conacher, Ollie van der Slot, Felix Duell and Max O'Connell.

 Tramontana

The J-Cup Australia series was created as a new addition to the J/70 calendar, designed to rotate locations around the country and support local fleet growth. The fleet raced 8 races in light to moderate conditions over the weekend of April 5-7, 2025.  The J-Cup Australia series is supported by Zhik and Ensign Yachts.

Three of the teams used the Lake Macquarie event as a warm-up for the J/70 Mixed Plus Championship on Lake Garda in July. 

A huge thank you to Lake Macquarie Yacht Club and their team for welcoming the J/70 fleet and in particular to Simon Turpin for also providing photos of the racing.

Results

Open
1^st     AMBITION                  Chris Dare (SYC/DSS/CYCA), David Chapman, Lachlan Dare, Jeremy O'Connell
2^nd   MATADOR                   David Doherty (CYCA), James Corrie, Joe Turner, Hamish Hardy
3^rd    SWISH                        Steve Proud (RSYS), Billy Sykes, Finn Alexander, Charlie Wyatt

Corinthian
1^st     VAMOS                       Tim Ryan (CYCA), George Richardson, Cole Tapper, Charlie Gundy
2^nd   ORA                             Josh Griffith (SYC), Daniel Conacher, Ollie van der Slot, Felix Duell
3^rd    JEDI                             Miles McLennan (CYCA), Bryan Northcote, Christian Stevens, Paige Caldecoat

Youth
1^st     TRAMONTANA            Emma Maertens (SYC), Harry Sly, Brandon Demura, Mats Maertens
2^nd   ORA                              Josh Griffith (SYC), Daniel Conacher, Ollie van der Slot, Felix Duell

Mixed
1^st     SYNAPSE                     Karyn Gojnich (BYS/SYC/RSYS), Tony Landgren, Martin Kudnig, Sally Derham
2^nd   JABIRU                         Natasha Miller (RSYS), Danielle Gerace, Alex Birrell, Elizabeth Tucker

Clubs represented:
Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Derwent Sailing Squadron, Double Bay Sailing Club, Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club, Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club, McCrae Yacht Club, Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Port Melbourne Yacht Club, Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, Safety Beach Sailing Club, Sandringham Yacht Club, Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, Teralba Amateur Sailing Club Inc, Woollahra Sailing Club