skip to main |
skip to sidebar
(Howth, Ireland)- "It's usually not like this here", was the familiar
refrain heard from the local J/24 sailors from Howth Yacht Club. After a
reasonably windy J/24 Irish Nationals, the forty teams attending the J/24
Worlds were looking forward to battles on the windy, storm-tossed Irish Sea--
at least that was the promise from the Mayor of Howth and the local Chamber of
Commerce! However, an unusual front passed over Ireland for the first few
days, producing somewhat capricious, light airs for the first few days of the
event, even forcing cancellation of sailing on the Tuesday due to lack of wind
(and later a notorious Irish pub crawl for those with too much time on their
hands)! With the exception of the one day, the championship
featured four good days of racing, with the wind strength progressively
increasing as the week went on-- in fact hitting 20-25 kts on the last day.
The racing was very closely fought, especially by the top three teams.
There were six different race winners and the four American entries all
finished in the top ten, which featured two British boats, two German boats and
the sole Italian and Brazilian entries.
In a tense and closely fought final
day any one of the top three teams could win the regatta, with all three of
them trading positions atop the leaderboard during the previous three
days. Going into the last day, Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER was
winning, followed by Mauricio Santa Cruz's BRUSCHETTA in second and Tim Healy's
HELLY HANSEN in third. On the final two races in fairly big breeze,
Healy's HELLY HANSEN scored a 4-5 to become the impressive winners of the BMW
J/24 World Championship-- they had eight top-five results (including three race
wins) in the ten race series.
Healy, who previously won the title in 2010, was pushed all the way by the
defending champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil on BRUSCHETTA, who also
demonstrated remarkable consistency, but who had to be content with the
runner-up spot, four points adrift of his rival. BRUSCHETTA's final day
tally of 9-3 was not enough to pull off a record-tying fifth J/24 World title
to match the famous Ken Read from Newport, RI (now President of North Sails).
Third place overall went to another American crew led by Travis Odenbach from
Rochester on HONEY BADGER who had been the series leader overnight but who did
not enjoy the final day. A 20-8 score completely blew-up their chances of
winning the regatta, although he was only two points off Brazil's Santa Cruz in
the end.
In fresh westerly winds which touched
25 knots at times, the penultimate race saw a second win in the series for
Britain’s Ian Southworth on IL RICIO, ahead of fellow Briton Bob Turner’s
SERCO. Third place went to local Howth skipper Mossy Shanahan on CRAZY HORSE,
following up on his great form the previous day, a result which contributed to
him finishing as the top Irish boat overall in 19th place. Success in the
last race went to the German boat ROTOMAN skippered by Tobias Feuerherd, with
Keith Whittemore sailing FURIO from Seattle 2nd and Santa Cruz 3rd.
Rounding out the top ten was England's Ian Southworth in fourth followed by
Germany's ROTOMAN in fifth-- for both sailors their best J/24 World's regatta
performance to date. After leading the first day, Seattle's Keith
Whittemore sailed FURIO fast and furiously, but not enough to overcome a third
race "black flag" that knocked them out of contention, settling for
sixth overall. British skipper Bob Turner sailed Team SERCO fast and
smart at times, managing scores of 1-2-2-4, but five higher double-digit scores
moved them down the ladder into seventh overall. Posting five top ten
finishes was Italy's Ignacio Bonanno sailing LA SUPERBA (also J/24 Italian
Nationals champions) to place eight overall. Top Washington, DC political
strategist and, arguably, the "wiseman cometh" of the J/24
"tribe", Tony Parker, sailed his famous BANGOR PACKET team to a first
place in the first race to put their stamp on this year's Worlds-- cool,
eh?! Tony has only sailed a J/24 since 1977, since back in his Falmouth
Foreside/ Portland, Maine days-- almost four decades! Nevertheless, after
winning the World Championships for a few hours, Parker's crew may have been
blinded by ambition, scoring a few double-digit races but still celebrating
their time in the limelight with five top ten finishes-- good enough for ninth
overall. In tenth was the other top German team, SULLBERG skippered by
Stefan Karsunke from the Blankeneser Segel Club. Sailing photo credits- by David Branigan - Oceansport Gallery
For more J/24 World Championship sailing information
(Fowey, Cornwall, England)- As the J/24 class in the United Kingdom and Ireland
prepare for the onslaught of "foreign" teams to invade the
"islands" like the Vikings of old to plunder for J/24 Worlds
silverware, the locals are not taking the challenge lying down. Quite the
contrary, in fact. With Olympic medallists, World and European champions
in their quiver, the UK/ Irish contingent are pulling out all the stops to
ensure it's a "jolly good show" for all, not just as hosts, but as
competitors, too.
This past weekend, Duncan McCarthy and the team of MADELEINE (GBR 4265) got
their season off to a great start by claiming the 2013 Fowey Trophy by 3 pts
from the HITCHHIKER team (GBR 4242). Third was JIGGY 2, forth was JUMBA
and fifth was JAWBREAKER.
Kudos to the Fowey Gallants Sailing Club for "just the job, well done mates"
for a great weekend series. Every step of the way to the Worlds in Howth
will be paved by such efforts to ensure the "home team" provide a
gallant defense to win the title for the British/ Irish isles, or is it--
"the Queen"!! We will all soon find out! For more J/24 Fowey Trophy sailing information
(Howth, Ireland)- This year's J/24 Worlds promises to be a special event,
one remembered for decades to come. It's the first 24 Worlds hosted by
the Irish J/24 class and you can bet the Irish sailors will do their best to
roll-out the red carpet for all participants and ensure everyone (almost
without fail) will have an absolutely fantastic time!
With the event sailing from August 22-30, 2013, we recently got a nice update
from Derek Bothwell - Event Chairman. Says Derek, "With just a
little over five months to go until the start of the BMW J/24 World
Championships I am very happy to say that everything is going well on the
planning side. Entries are stacking up and I am very pleased to see that we
have interest from many J2/4 sailors representing North & South America,
Europe & Asia.
I am delighted that the current World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz, from
Brazil, will arrive in Howth to defend his title. This really puts it up to the
Europeans who have only a pond to cross in comparison to arrive in large
numbers.
We will also have Allison Young heading up a ladies team from the UK. Allison
who competed in the Laser Radial in the Weymouth Olympics has a very busy year
ahead as she continues to train for the next event in Rio. It is a challenge
for our lady sailors which should not be overlooked.
Charter boats are being snapped up and there is a lot of activity on the
accommodation front, so if you are thinking of entering, do not get left out!
The Irish J/24 National Championships will be run on the 16th and 17th of
August in the same waters with the same Race management team, so why not come
early and get a taste of the venue and tides." For more BMW J/24 Worlds sailing information
Newport Fleet #50 Steamrolls
Competition
(Tampa, FL)- John Mollicone's HELLY HANSEN team has seized the lead after five
races on the opening day and never looked back. Taking four 1sts and
three 2nds in ten races, John Mollicone from Newport, RI and his HELLY HANSEN
team were crowned 2013 J/24 Midwinter Champions. With Tim Healy, Geoff Becker,
Dan Rabin and Gordon Borges, the group was able to spectate the last of the
10-race series to allow the other 19 teams to duke out the remaining places.
Will Welles, also from Newport Fleet #50, skippered COUGAR to an impressive
series and 26 points for second place, starting off fast to lead the series
after four races but dropping back in the end, collecting a
2-1-5-4-6-1-2-3-8-2. Peter Bream’s TEAM TARHEEL accumulated 43 points for
third overall but had to work very hard to three other teams that could have
easily grabbed the last spot on the podium. Dueling for the bronze and
just 1 pt back with 44 pts was Mike Ingham's team on USA 5448 from Rochester,
NY in 4th place; Tony Parker's "AI" team in 5th place just two points
back with 47 pts; and in 6th was Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER tied with Tony
Parker on points but losing the tie-breaker! Close racing, indeed!
Conditions in sunny Tampa Bay remained gorgeous on Wednesday, with breeze
between 14-16 knots and puffs to 18. Mollicone praised the “champagne sailing
conditions” as the best he’s ever seen there. On the heels of winning last
November’s J/24 North American Championship, Mollicone thanked his consistent
team, saying “We’ve got a good team, but the biggest thing is we’ve got the
same people all the time, and it makes a big difference in our crew mechanics
and communication.” The group put in some practice time and training before the
event which “helped a lot with getting comfortable again on the J/24 after
taking some time off,” Mollicone explained. His dependable group will be
heading to Howth, Ireland in August for the J/24 World Championship, but he’ll
turn over the helm to Tim Healy. “We’ll just switch roles, and then next year
I’ll drive in Newport (for the 2014 J/24 Worlds),” shared Mollicone. In
Wednesday’s final two races, Mollicone and Tony Parker took the bullets.
The top ten J/24 teams overall were: 1st- John Mollicone (21 points), 2nd- Will
Welles (26), 3rd- Peter Bream (43), 4th- Mike Ingham (44), 5th- Tony Parker
(47), 6th- Travis Odenbach (47), 7th- Chris Jankowski (76), 8th- Robby Brown
(77), 9th- Darby Smith (80) and 10th- John Poulson (84). For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information and results
Need J/24 Parts? Go to:
