The British ‘Joystick’ team returned last month from the J/80 World Championships having finished a hugely successful 13th out of 132 teams, the highest ranked visiting yacht at the championship.

This was the team's first overseas regatta and after a decent start they claimed three top 10 finishes in the qualifying rounds to take them into the top half of the rankings for the final series. The team gave a solid performance in the final 5 races finishing an incredible second in the final race of the series, which outlined how much the team had improved throughout the championship. Team member Ben Duke commented that it was ‘The best championship I have ever attended'.

The J/80 used by the team was fitted with a specially modified Barton Boomstrut, which is fast becoming the must-have fitting for all J80’s. The Boomstrut primarily supports and lifts the boom whilst instantly responding to the kicker and offers perfect leech control, which is extremely beneficial to the J/80 racers. Further information on the Barton Boomstrut can be found here:
http://www.bartonmarine.com/products-boomstrut.asp