J/24 North Americans Preview

(Newport, RI)- Forty one J/24s are entered from six countries across North and South America to compete in the upcoming J/24 North American Championships hosted by SAIL NEWPORT in Newport, RI from September 19th to 22nd.  Renown for their pro-active race management, the J/24 sailors should be treated to superior racing by SAIL NEWPORT's Race Committee team on either Narragansett Bay or outside on Rhode Island Sound, depending on wind and weather conditions.  For America's Cup history buffs, the J/24 NA's are being sailed at about the same time as past Newport-based America's Cup had been sailed for several decades; with promise of cooler weather conditions and generally reliable sea-breezes from the south/southwest.

The largest number of teams hail from the USA, however, eight Canadian teams are sailing and a very competitive group of seven teams are participating from the South American countries of Chile, Peru and Argentina.  What's readily apparent is that many of the J/24 sailors are looking at this year's event as a "warm-up" for the 2014 J/24 Worlds also being sailed in Newport and hosted by SAIL NEWPORT in late September 2014.

The top US teams include Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY; Peter Bream on Team TARHEEL from Florida; John Mollicone on HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI; Taylor Neff on BUBBLES from Lake Minnetonka, MN; Pat Toole on THREE BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara, CA; and Travis Odenbach sailing HONEY BADGER from Rochester, NY, amongst many other good teams.  Some of these teams have been sailing quite a lot lately, including recent J/24 World's participants Ingham, Odenbach and Mollicone (the cockpit/ tactician for Tim Healy's recent J/24 Worlds win in Howth, Ireland).

Eight Canadian teams from the Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia provinces include Greg Blunden on ADRENALIN RUSH; John Whynacht on STICKY FINGERS; Mike Howarth on MISTER H and Rossi Milev on CLEAR AIR.  Some of these teams are well-practiced having just competed in the Chester Race Week regatta in Nova Scotia.

The South American contingent all have tremendous experience at the top of the J/24 class, including a few with world-class experience.  The top Argentinean crews are Mario Cubria on ELVIS, Sergio Pendola and Guillermo de Martis on TWIN.  The Chilean teams include Matias Seguel sailing GURU and Robert Vernon on GRINGA.  And, the Peruvean teams include Lucas Peschiera on TIAMAT and Javier Arribas on WAYRA.

The lone ranger from Japan is Sumio Shimoyama sailing aboard SOKOKUMARU. Sumio is no stranger to top flight J/24 competition, having been a top Japanese J/24 team for years and is always a factor in the J/24 Worlds in recent years.   Sailing photo credits- Carter White   For more J/24 North Americans sailing information

Mollicone Dominates J/24 Midwinters

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
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