Far East 26 and J/80 share the honours

After six races over three days, the Far East 26 and the J/80 shared the line honours at the 5th China Cup.

This was the first time that the two classes have lined up together on the same start line in a major regatta, so all eyes were on them to gauge their relative performance.

The fastest Far East 26 astounded the pundits by crossing the line ahead of the quickest J/80 in the first three races, but then the roles were duly reversed in the second half of the series.

Undoubtedly the reasons for this swing in fortunes bear deeper analysis, but changes in the wind and wave height may well have been the deciding factors.

The breeze was gentle and sea relatively smooth during the first three races. In races 4 and 6, however, the wind was considerably fresher with the challenge of real waves.

Conditions were slightly tougher in race 5, with the sole Far East 26 (Sanya Yomovo) that elected to reef still in contention at the end of the first beat.

I’ll leave it to the experts to comment on the performance attributes of the somewhat different hull shapes: the J/80 looks like the sleek racer it is, while the Far East 26 stands taller to provide more comfortable cabin accommodation.

My personal thought is that the Far East 26 seems well suited to the light wind conditions often found in China, while the J/80 looks particularly good for the heavier weather often experienced in China…

Martin Clark