J/70 Midwinter Championship V Preview

(Miami, FL)- Since its inception, the extraordinarily popular J/70 class had hosted its Midwinter Championship concurrent with Key West Race Week off Key West, FL- the first event taking place in January 2013.  For the first time, the class will be holding its fifth edition of the Midwinters on Biscayne Bay, hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club in Coconut Grove, FL.  A very competitive 64-boat fleet has registered with sailors attending from across the world, including Brazil, Turkey, Canada, and Monaco.

Headlining the event will be the two protagonists that have won the past two J/70 World Championships, Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY from Rye, NY and Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT from Wayzata, MN.  Both men are in their mid-60s and are living proof that you can be competitive at any age in the world’s toughest one-design class. They will be having to contend with a number of crews that have maintained a high-level of consistency, like Brian Keane’s SAVASANA that was not only 2nd in the 2017 J/70 Worlds in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy, but recently won the Quantum J/70 Winter Series held on Tampa Bay, Florida.  In fact, Keane was second to another contender, the winner of the recent Helly Hansen St Petersburg NOOD Regatta in the J/70 Class, Pamela Rose’s ROSEBUD from Chicago with Morgan Reeser aboard for sail trim and tactics.  Throw in two more past winners of the J/70 Winter Series- Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club in Ft Worth, TX and John & Molly Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES and it looks like you may have a hard time handicapping this horse race. Plus, one cannot forget other world champion-level contenders like Jud Smith’s AFRICA from Marblehead, MA; Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS from Long Beach, CA; and Jack Franco’s 3 BALL JT (another 2018 winter series winner).

As usual, the foreign contingent has a few solid teams in the mix.  YC Monaco’s 2017 Sailor of the Year, Vincenzo Onorato, will be racing his famously-named MASCALZONE LATINO (e.g. “latin rascal”); Ahmet Eker from Istanbul, Turkey is sailing EKER KAYMAK; and from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is Flavio Andrade’s CARURU.

In the Corinthians Division, look for Jenn & Ray Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY team from Annapolis, MD to be at the top of the leaderboard. Plus, other crews like Andrew & Melissa Fisher’s BUTTON FLY from Greenwich, CT; Frank McNamara’s CHINOOK from Boston, MA; Jim Cunningham’s LIFTED team from San Francisco, CA (he was Etchells 22 Midwinter Champion); Ed Keller/ Billy Lynn on USA 28 from Marblehead, MA; Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD from Annapolis, MD; and Nancy Glover/ Mark Foster on WINTERWIND from Marblehead, MA.  For more J/70 Midwinters V sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.


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