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J24 Fleet Going Techie, By Airwaves Editor Jen Vandemoer Mitchell

The J24 East Coast Championship, which will be held in Annapolis, MD October 28-30, is going to be a modern event thanks to Mark Hillman, his company Hillman Capital Management and other supporting sponsors. Hillman has been competing for many years in the J24 class (placing in the top of the fleet many times at the ECC’s) and has been a sponsor for the J24 ECC since 2002.  Hillman thought it was time to re-vamp the event and take it into the direction that sailing events are moving in which is using technology to reach out to people everywhere, to allow viewers to watch and get a feel for sailing like you can any other broadcast sport. Some new elements the regatta will include are: on the water commentary, live video feed from boats, on-the-water coaching, and real time scores. Because it is not a qualifying event, they can play with it and try new things out. This will help show one-design sailing how integral it is to the sustainability of the classes to stay current with technology and attract interest to the sport.

Hillman started sailing when he was ten years old at summer camp. When he was fourteen he and his brother taught their parents how to sail and they fell in love with it.  They were hooked and soon the whole family got into racing. Later, when Hillman was racing on the Chesapeake Bay in a Ranger 22, he noticed a boat he had never seen before set up below him on the starting line and in his slot, it took off the line and sailed over the horizon, “so that was interesting,” Hillman says. From there he started crewing on the J24 and he says it has been the thread that has woven throughout his sailing career, “I never go more than two or three years away from the class without coming back.”

Hillman’s love of the J24 fleet and what it has taught him is partly responsible for why he has chosen to vamp up the J24 ECC; “I feel like I don’t do enough for the sport, I am always a beneficiary of someone else’s hard work. A lot of people do race committee or plan events, I hardly ever do that stuff, and so it’s a way for me to actually give back because the class has done so much for me over the years, through my development it has helped me learn responsibility, perseverance, fair play and all those important traits.”  Being a bigger presence at the event also helps build his company brand, Hillman Capital Management, “the sailing community is a natural community to share capital management business with,” Hillman states.

Hillman’s talented IT staff from his company built the J24 ECC website and will be responsible for running the on board video cameras, online registration (coming soon) and all the real time updates.  Hillman has also been using social media to advertise the regatta on Twitter and Facebook, this caught the interest of a sailor in Japan who sent him a message excited to come sail in the event. The regatta has reached people on the other side of the world who will be tuning in to follow the racing online. Finding funding and good sponsorship has helped Hillman bring technology and resources to this event, and hopefully with its success other classes will follow suit.

By adding new elements to the regatta, Hillman is also interested in building a better profile for the J24 fleet to continue to grow the class. Providing on the water coaching will be very helpful for sailors who are still working on making it to the top of the fleet, and who may otherwise be discouraged from continuing to compete without improvement.  There has been a decrease in the fleet over the last few years and Hillman would like to position the J24 class so that as the economy gradually comes back and sailors return to the water; they come to the J24 fleet.

The J24 ECC has been around since 1978, which makes it one of the longest running events.  “It is a great tradition and Annapolis in the fall is the perfect place to host it,” Hillman proudly states. An event steeped in history, Hillman is also compiling a history of the event and is still looking for contributions if anyone has articles, written memories or photos, they want to share they can be submitted to the event website.  Available to view for free on the website are videos from the 2004 and 2005 ECC, provided by Tucker Thompson at T2P TV. “You will see from the history, we are the best of the best in our sport.” Speaking of the best, Hillman will also help arrange housing for anyone who needs a place to stay for the regatta.  It can be expensive to house a whole team, and this is not a reason that Hillman will accept for people to not attend the event.

Hillman is brining the J24 ECC into the 21^st century with the addition of technology and resources for the sailors to continue to develop the class; he wants this to be a great experience for the sailors. There will be a lot of new parts at the regatta and “it will probably not be perfect in its first year, however it will be over time, and it will continue to be a great fall event,” explains Hillman. We are hoping it all goes well and it is a direction that one-design sailing will continue to move in.  Visit the J24 ECC website to learn more and follow the event in October.

About the J/24:

The J/24 is one of, if not the most successful keelboat one-design sailing classes of all time. These great boats are still being produced. For more information check out the J-Boats Website:

http://www.jboats.com/j24/

Regatta Website:

http://j24eastcoastchampionship.com/