The Jester Azores Challenge 2008
Following a successful Jester Challenge in 2006 the next in a growing series of trans-ocean races for small sailing vessels is the Jester Azores Challenge 2008. The race will be from Plymouth to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel and is for for sailing vessels between 20 and 30 feet.
It is of interest to Corribee owners for a number of reasons. Most important of these are Roger Taylor and Jake Kavanagh, who are preparing to sail in their junk-rigged Corribees. Roger was an entrant in the 2006 Jester Challenge (and is also on the entrants list for the 2010 race). Roger was unable to finish the 2006 race but nevertheless managed to cover a few thousand sea miles, with Mingming safely coping with some extreme weather conditions. Jake is one of the editors of Practical Boat Owner, and acquired his Mk 2 junk rig Corribee as a result of a change in the wind direction!
Another point of interest is the history of the race and the sort of boats that participate. The original Jester was a carvel Folkboat with a junk rig. The Folkboat design inspired a number of designers, including Jeremy Rogers with the Contessa 26 and, of course, Robert Tucker with the Corribee. A look at Corribee No 1 on the History page will confirm just how similar it is to the Folkboat. Newbridge took this link with Jester a stage further by producing the Corribee and Coromandel with a junk rig.
Jester
(Photo from the Jesterinfo.org website)
