(Rochester, NY)- From Day One, Mauricio Santa Cruz snatched the lead of the Quantum Loop Solutions J/24 World Championship and never looked back. He is now the reigning J/24 World Champion and has earned his fourth J/24 World title-- just one title shy of Ken Read's record five J/24 World Championships. BRUSCHETTA achieved a remarkably consistent performance of seven top-ten tallies, a 13 and 19 in the ten-race series (including one discard). The team stacked up a 42-point advantage heading into Friday's final race and was able to stay ashore and let the others fight it out for the remaining podium spots among the 96-boat fleet.American John Mollicone's 11th Hour Racing gained momentum throughout the week and seized second place with 101 points, followed by fellow American Tony Parker's Bangor Packet with 108 points. The 96 teams represented 12 countries-Argentina, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Peru and the United States.
"The venue was very shifty, and the team worked hard to stay on top of them. We had good sails and good speed," Santa Cruz summarized. "We used an old boat, but the old and new boats are fairly equal. The mast, keel and rudder have a good shape so we knew we would be fine. Our team has sailed together for eight years, and that is a big help. The Race Committee did a great job. Managing 100 boats is not an easy task." Hank Stuart served as PRO.
In Friday's race, three North American teams claimed the top places- Paul Scalisi's Rabit Cson Duck Cson of the USA, Darby Smith of the USA and Phillip Williamson's Roo of Canada. Winds on Lake Ontario shifted often and blew between 6-12 knots. As a result of the last day, the balance of the top five saw local Mike Ingham in fourth place and Matias Pereira from Argentina in fifth place. Americans only managed four of the top ten! Top Canadians were Rossi Milev in seventh overall. Top German team was Frithjof Schade in eighth place. Top Peruvian team was Luis Olcese in 10th place.
For amusement and perspective from the "crews view" from the "sink", please read Collin Leon's commentary below in the J/Community section. Collin sailed with John Mollicone and Tim Healy on the second place finisher 11TH HOUR RACING. Below are YouTube daily summaries and an interview with Mike Ingham.
Summary J/24 Worlds Racing Day 1 Racing Day 2 Racing Day 3 Racing Day 4 Racing Day 5 Racing
Mike Ingham Interview- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzOQiqY-3Ck For more J/24 Worlds sailing information and results
