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SUPERYACHT #521
Sep 2005

Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical articles, images and yachting news


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Article by
Fabio Petrone

Photos by
Franco Pace

JONGERT REGATTA 2005

 

 

The boats unfurled their imposing cloth wings in search of wind, seemingly with the intent of defying Aeolus and mockingly he paid them back with three days of uncertain and capricious weather. This is how the gods tried to steal the show from the Jongert boats. The main interpreters of the Jongert Regatta 2005 were imposing as always, some with a classic design others extremely hi-tech, but all displayed the quality that made the famous brand so appreciated.

Jongert is the symbol of a way of intending and of building boats. A way that can be defined as pure workmanship with a care that is almost an obsession to detail, to doing the work well, to the use of the best materials, to the workmanship strictly made by hand, piece by piece, nog by nog. Last spring we testified to these characteristics during our visit to the yard, in the windy Netherlands. There, sea and sails are in everyone's DNA and the metal hulls are more than just a tradition. There, we saw the shaping of the majestic Jongert boats as if in a magic lathe, where the individual manual skills of each worker leave a precious and unique mark on the vessels. Jongert is synonym to exclusiveness because Jongert boats are tailored to the client's requests: they meet his tastes, his way of living aboard and of sailing. This class of yachts is difficult to define for it includes classic ketches with the unmistakable aft windows and sometimes with the bow embellished with strictly hand-carved figureheads, as well as modern sloops with a contemporary and essential shape, fitted for the most exacting regattas.

The essence of this small and exclusive universe met in Calvi, on the northwestern coast of Corsica, June 16th through 19th, for the annual meeting of Jongert boats and their Owners. The event lasted four days, with Thursday exclusively dedicated to the welcoming of boats arriving from several European countries. Sixteen crews challenged each other on racecourses made difficult by the irregular wind. On Friday the wind was brisk and gusty, on Saturday there was a light breeze which lulled after the first leg forcing the organizers to cancel the race and the third and last day started under the ill omens of the morning lull with very high "Saharan" temperatures. Luckily the wind increased and conditions were worthy of so many beautiful sailing ships: they challenged each other on difficult and windy legs.

Beyond competitive spirit and ranking - reported here - the Jongert Regatta 2005 we attended showed us how this brand is passionately followed by so many Spanish, German, Dutch Owners among others, who were involved by the shipyard's organization in a convivial rather than competitive event. Of course, nobody likes to arrive in second place, but those who did not win could console themselves at beach parties and barbecues perfectly organized by the Dutch staff. At this meeting, crews and Owners had the possibility of getting acquainted with each other, of confronting their own seamen's stories and sailing experiences and of strengthening their friendships under the golden Jongert effigy.