Japec Jakopin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 April 1951 |
| Occupation | CEO of J&J Design |
| Years active | 1971 - present |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Tilen, Eva, Jakob, Gitica and Jadran |
Japec Jakopin (pron. Yapets Yacopeen), born 19 April 1951, is the CEO of J&J Design, a pleasure boat design company, based in Slovenia, which he founded in 1983, together with his brother Jernej. Jakopin is most known as a yacht concept designer. [1] [2]
Jakopin was born in 1951 in Brežice, Slovenia. The family lived in the nearby village of Leskovec pri Krškem. [3]
Japec began diving at the age of six and learned to sail by the age of 13. [4] After graduating from the Medical school at the University of Ljubljana in 1974 he pursued an academic career at that school's Institute of Physiology and at the University Medical Centre, Department of Intensive Internal Medicine. In 1977 he obtained a master's degree in cardiology, of problems connected to arrhythmia, also during freediving, in 1980 a PhD and in 1981 the title academic specialist in cardiology. [5] In 1983 he resigned from his academic (and medical) career because of political issues. [4]
During his academic years Jakopin spent his weekends in the Croatian seaside town of Punat building do-it-yourself boats, and later learned the charter yacht business. [4] After leaving the medical profession in 1983 Japec, together with his younger brother Jernej, founded J&J Design studio, for production yacht design. [2] [6] In 1983 they designed the Elan 31 sailing boat for the Elan sporting goods factory of Begunje, Slovenia, followed by Elan 33. Between 1983 and 1987 Elan sold 940 units of the Elan 31, Elan 33 and Elan 43, increasing its marine sales from DEM 2 million to DEM 32 million. [4] In 1987, Japec took a marketing and sales manager job at the French sailboat and powerboat builder Jeanneau where he stayed until 1990. In the meantime J&J Design continued designing boats for Jeanneau and several other European boatyards. [4]
In 1989 the two brothers founded Seaway, also in Slovenia, to expand J&J Design activities to engineering, tooling and prototyping for boat manufacturers. By 2000 Seaway became the only independent company outside major yacht builders that could engage in the entire development process - from design to prototype and final moulds, and its revenue grew to 6.6 million euros. [2] [7] The list of clients included Bavaria, Beneteau and Jeanneau. [2] In 2001 KD Group, the largest Slovenian private finance group, invested 3 million euros in the company, for a 50% share and a request for change of strategy to own boat production. Investment enabled the purchase of a robot for precise prototype and mould production, required by Seaway's customers and acquisition of new, larger premises for installation of the new tool. [7]
Seaway produced a limited number of high-class yachts and powerboats, the Shipman carbon sailboat line from 2002 and Skagen powerboat line from 2004. [2] [6]
The Shipman 50 and Shipman 63 won the 2003 and 2006 European Boat of the Year Award at the Boot Düsseldorf boat show.
In 2009 a hybrid powerboat with diesel, electric and solar propulsion was developed and produced, [8] the 33 feet (10 m) long Greenline Hybrid 33 (GH 33). It also won the 2010 European Boat of the Year Award at the Boot Düsseldorf boat show. Its main appeal besides the hybrid propulsion with zero-emission and no-noise sailing was the constant availability of 110/230 VAC power for appliances. [9] It sold 400 units by 2015, claimed to be the best-selling 10 m boat in 2010 and 2011, [10] [11] and was followed by larger models, GL 40 in 2011, Greenline Ocean Class 70 in 2012 and GL 48 in 2014. [12] [13]
Hybrid technology was also applied to a Seaway's sailing boat, to the Shipman 59 Carbon, designed together with Doug Peterson and the French naval architect Guillaume Verdier. [14] [15]
In 2014 Seaway was in no shortage of orders for boats, but the enduring credit crunch after the 2008 crisis crippled further production and in 2015 both divisions of the company went out of business. [16]
In the meantime Jakopin brothers reestablished J&J Design as an independent company [17] [18] while the boatbuilding part of Seaway (Greenline and Shipman families) was taken over by SVP Yachts (Vladimir Zinchenko). [19] [20] [21] [22] The renewed venture continued to provide design as well as boat engineering and production process engineering for vessels from 20 to 80 feet, to major volume boatbuilders in the power and sailing area, including the Greenline builder SVP Yachts. [23] Since 1983 J&J Design produced over 300 designs from which 60.000 boats were built, by 63 boatbuilders in 26 countries. They won over 110 Boat of the Year, Design or Environmental awards. [24]
Jakopin was engaged in promoting new ideas in naval design, especially in the area of hybrid boat propulsion and environment friendly technologies, through lectures, [25] [26] public presentations [27] [28] and work in professional associations such as the Slovenian Academy of Engineering. [29] In October 2021 he won three gold medals in the freediving world championship in Kaş, Turkey in the category over 70 years: in constant weight monofin dive, in free immersion and in constant weight bifin dive. As of 2021 Jakopin held three world records in the above category, in free immersion, bifin and monofin classes. [30]
At the Freediving Indoor World Championship 2022, in June in Belgrade, Serbia he repeated the achievement from Kaş in Masters 70+ category, in Bifins (164 m), Monofin (186 m) and Static apnea (7 minutes 6 seconds) disciplines. In 2022 these results were the world records for the category. [31] In Monofin and Static apnea they were also the best for all groups over 50 years of age. [32] [33] [34]
During the CMAS Finswimming World Masters Championship on June 25 and 26, 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, Jakopin won four gold medals in 70-74 age group: 50 meter surface swimming with monofin (SF), 50 and 100 meter bi-fins (BF), and 50 meter apnoea with monofin (AP). [35] [36] [37] The results achieved in 50 m BF (27.15 s), 100 m BF (1 m 2.78 s) and 50 m AP (21.70 s) were world records for the age group. [38]
At the Mediterranea Cup (September 7 to 10 2023) in Cefalu, Italy, Jakopin ranked 4th over all age groups in the CWT discipline with a dive to 80 m. [39] [40] Also in 2023, at the CMAS 6th Freediving Outdoor World Cup from October 7 to 15 in Kalamata, Greece, he achieved two new world records in the Masters 70+ age group (M5) : constant weight bifin dive (76 m), and constant weight monofin dive (75 m). [41] [42]
Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving, is a mode of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.
Diving activities are the things people do while diving underwater. People may dive for various reasons, both personal and professional. While a newly qualified recreational diver may dive purely for the experience of diving, most divers have some additional reason for being underwater. Recreational diving is purely for enjoyment and has several specialisations and technical disciplines to provide more scope for varied activities for which specialist training can be offered, such as cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving. Several underwater sports are available for exercise and competition.
A monofin is a type of swimfin typically used in underwater sports such as finswimming, free-diving and underwater orienteering. It consists of a single or linked surfaces attached to both of the diver's feet, emulating the fluke of Cetaceans like whales or porpoises. Even though the diver's appearance might be reminiscent of a mermaid or merman, monofin swimming is not the same as mermaiding.
Finswimming is an underwater sport consisting of four techniques involving swimming with the use of fins either on the water's surface using a snorkel with either monofins or bifins or underwater with monofin either by holding one's breath or using open circuit scuba diving equipment. Events exist over distances similar to swimming competitions for both swimming pool and open water venues. Competition at world and continental level is organised by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS). The sport's first world championship was held in 1976. It also has been featured at the World Games as a trend sport since 1981 and was demonstrated at the 2015 European Games in June 2015.
Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée (AIDA) is a worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events, also known as freediving. It sets standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education. AIDA International is the parent organization for national clubs of the same name. AIDA World Championships are periodically held.
Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sports are conducted in the natural environment at sites such as open water and sheltered or confined water such as lakes and in artificial aquatic environments such as swimming pools. Underwater sports include the following - aquathlon, finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater football, underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater photography, underwater rugby, underwater target shooting and underwater video.
Alexey Molchanov is a Russian champion freediver, 34-time world champion, world record holder, and freediving promoter. He is also president of the "Freediving Federation" association, president of AIDA Russia, head of freediving school named in honor of Natalia Molchanova, and designer and engineer of the freediving equipment brand Molchanovs. Alexey is a son of Natalia Molchanova – multiple champion and world record holder in freediving.
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba diver training and recognition. It is also known by its English name, the World Underwater Federation, and its Spanish name, Confederación Mundial De Actividades Subacuáticas. Its foundation in Monaco during January 1959 makes it one of the world's oldest underwater diving organisations.
The Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM) is a French sports federation specialized in recreational and competition underwater sports, like scuba diving and freediving. It is the main diver training organization in France.
The Australian Underwater Federation (AUF) is the governing body for underwater sports in Australia.
The Spanish Federation of Underwater Activities is the governing body in the field of Spanish aquatic sports. As of 2022, the federation has 895 registered clubs and 32,289 federated athlets.
Peppo Biscarini is an Italian-American swimmer, freediver, entrepreneur and evangelist. He represented both Italy and the United States in various international competitions and also won many titles. After retiring from his athletic career, he had a long stint as coach and entrepreneur. Later in life he responded to a higher calling and directed his life towards evangelism.
The South African Underwater Sports Federation (SAUSF) is the official CMAS (World Underwater Federation) representative in the Republic of South Africa, and is affiliated to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
The Underwater Society of America (USOA) is the peak body for underwater sport and recreational diving in the United States.
J&J Design is a naval architecture, design, boat and production-process engineering company, mainly for high-volume production sail and powerboat builders. It introduced the carbon-epoxy technology from the America's Cup into cruising sailboats with the Shipman line. J&J also designed and engineered the first serial production hybrid powerboats, the Greenline Hybrid range.
Nataliia Zharkova is a 2017 freediving champion of Europe and Ukraine. Zharkova holds multiple records in the discipline of freediving. She was also a freediving runner-up champion of the world in 2013. She is the first Ukrainian and the second woman to ever dive below the arch of the Blue Hole vertical underwater cave in Dahab, Egypt, on a single breath.
Alessia Zecchini is an Italian freediver who has set world and Italian records in freediving.
Sofía Gómez Uribe is a Colombian freediver and civil engineer. She holds six national records in three different freediving disciplines, a Bolivarian Games record set at the 2013 Games in Trujillo, Peru, that won her a gold medal in the Women's individual dynamic apnea free-diving event, and a Pan-American record in dynamic apnea with equipment.
Constant weight bi-fins, denoted by the acronym CWTB in competition notation, is a competitive freediving discipline wherein the freediver wears a pair of bi-fins to descend along the line with or without the use of their arms. Pulling on the rope or changing ballast will result in disqualification; only a single hold of the rope is allowed in order to turn and stop the descent and start the ascent. The diver is prohibited from using a dolphin kick; doing so will result in disqualification of the day's dive.
