“As soon as Bermuda was announced, we just said that’s the one we’d like to win,” said Bekking after the final. “As always, I think you have to have an aim. You have to have a goal as a team.
“Every regatta you win is a nice one but here this is the one, with the America’s Cup going on and a record fleet of seven J Class yachts, it has been magic,” he added.
Lionheart and Velsheda traded punches over the two scheduled races, each scoring a first and second to move up the standings and take the top two positions. Lionheart’s second with Harold Goddijn on the helm in the dramatic, high-stakes final race was enough to clinch victory, three points ahead of Velsheda, while day one leader Hanuman dropped to third.
The crew of Lionheart showed their mettle as they recovered from a flat-footed start to roar down the last run. A penalty for a rules infringement as she approached the last buoy saw Hanuman’s hopes for the title dashed, while Lionheart kept focused in the fickle breeze.
Overhauling the leader, Topaz, and with Velsheda winning the second of the two races of the day, Lionheart was named the winner of the regatta.
Last week, she also won the earlier J Class regatta, competing among a wider fleet of 20 superyachts racing across several classes in the America’s Cup Superyacht Regatta. Her strong performance was enough to not only be named winner of the J Classes, but winner of the America’s Cup Superyacht Yacht Regatta overall.
It’s the latest in a string of titles for the much-loved beauty, including the Menorca Maxi J Class, Palma’s Superyacht Cup and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup for the J Class.
The Dutch yacht, completed in 2010, will head from Bermuda to the J Class World Championships in Newport in the hope of adding to her list of wins.
The Js were the biggest boats built to the Universal Rule devised by legendary American yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff in 1902. There were also Ks, Ls, Ms, Ns, etc – a total of 10 classes ranging from 23 feet to 100 feet on the waterline, although the J Class (defined by a max 87ft waterline), captured the most attention.
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