News Around the World
As well as being secretary – really the manager – of the J Class, as one of today’s most sought-after (and very best – ed) professional race officers, Stuart Childerley obviously also fulfils that role in his own fleet. While being PRO for a small number of enormous, but fortunately well-sailed and predictable behemoths may be easier than running a regatta for 80 uncouth J/70s, the political and event delivery responsibility that comes with Childerley’s dual-role is formidable. A fine example for other former youth world champions
the highest levels. The Childerley name has been ever present since he announced his talent on the world stage with a Youth World Championship in the Laser Class in 1984. The Olympics beckoned and Stuart represented Britain in the Finn at both the 1988 and 1992 Games, finishing with the ‘leather medal’ on both occasions. Undeterred, he was soon on the professional scene winning the
Tour de France with Adrian Stead on the Mumm 30 Barlo Plastics, the One Ton Cup with Ian Walker on Patches and the Etchells World Championships back to back in 2001 and 2002. Later, with a young family on the Oppie scene, it wasn’t long before Stuart also became involved in race management and he was soon in demand from the likes of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and World Sailing – he was race officer for the Marseille Olympic Test Event this summer. However, 11 October 2021 was a turning point. Childerley was on
a bike ride on the A6006 outside the village of Old Dalby near Melton Mowbray, close to his mother’s house in Nottingham, when a car turned into him on a right turn, leaving him in a critical condition and hospitalised for two months. ‘It was three days after my interview with the J Class association and it was very humbling to have to stop life and deal with the accident, but the class gave me time to recover and were great to me. ‘Previous J Class Secretary Louise Morton thankfully stepped back
in while I recovered. Throughout my recovery my mantra was that I just had to get out there again. Don’t write me off. I can still do it. And, as I say, I was lucky that the J Class gave me time.’ Stuart’s contract with the J Class began on 1 April 2022 and for
the first year it was all about finding the touch points in the class with a myriad owner’s representatives, logistics managers and the owners themselves. ‘It’s really all about finding consensus and achieving buy-in. J Class owners live busy lives, but they are extremely open to ideas and have good, talented, experienced people around them. ‘Often my job is working through those lines of communication but
it’s a proactive process. I’m a facilitator at the end of the day and I’m conscious of the need to try to meet their expectations.’ The programme Stuart is initiating from 2024 to 2027 is ambitious
but achievable for this fabulous class, the sight of which is hard to better anywhere in the sailing world. The sheer beauty of yachts from a bygone era of pre-war opulence, where names like Lipton, Vanderbilt
24 SEAHORSE
and Sopwith graced the America’s Cup, is still out there today with modern technology and professional programmes making an attractive prospect for those with the substantial wherewithal to compete. ‘For 2024 we have Mahon, Porto Cervo and then a class world
championships in Barcelona during the America’s Cup. Barcelona will be huge, in my opinion, and we are hoping the majority of the fleet is able to come.’ Early confirmations suggest five J Class yachts will be there plus one more now being offered for charter, as Stuart confirms: ‘The owner unfortunately can’t make it but is determined that his yacht should compete. What an opportunity for someone!’ Planning is then well underway for 2025 with a Caribbean regatta
followed by a stop in Bermuda, then – with luck – two events at the class’s spiritual stomping grounds on America’s east coast. ‘For me it is all about longer-term planning. There are so many considerations for owners, with cruising and charter periods, plus refits, sail scheduling and co-ordinating busy professional sailors who are in demand around the world. We want the best sailors and crews racing the J Class and that takes some organising… There is also a huge amount of planning with venues and relevant authorities like the US Coast- guard, so it’s something we always have to think about early.’ Big class news is that a new-build is underway, for launch by the
end of summer 2025. Another positive development was seeing Svea and Lionheart off cruising together; which often, of course, turned into some impromptu racing before anchoring together for cocktails into the sunset. ‘That’s very much the spirit of the class now.’ With nine boats about to become 10 the J Class is in rude health
and for many it still offers some of the purest yachting that mankind has ever enjoyed. At the 22-carat end of the sport at least. Magnus Wheatley
NEW ZEALAND Spoilt by hosting the Women’s Rugby and Football World Cups in successive years, New Zealand has experienced an unprecedented focus on women’s sport – and sailing is not missing the opportunity. Record audiences for both world cup events revealed a growing appetite for women to punch through the glass ceiling in sports traditionally dominated by men. The Rugby World Cup, in particular, showcased a distinct tonal shift from the life-or-death struggle of the
INGRID ABERY
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