ANGELS Soar To USA J/24 National Championship

(Falmouth Foreside, ME)- This year’s J/24 U.S. National Championship, hosted by Portland Yacht Club in Falmouth, ME, saw a very strong and competitive fleet of forty-eight teams assembled from across the USA and South America (Argentina).  Starting off slowly, but closing fast in the final race, it was Robby Brown’s ANGELS OF HARLEM that snagged the 2018 USA J/24 title.  Here is how it all went down over the three days of the regatta.

Day One
It was worth the wait for the anxious fleet. After several hours of anticipating the wind to settle, it came in at 6-8 knots, and then increased to 8-10, allowing two long races to go in the books on Casco Bay.

At the close of the day, two races were held, and two teams were tied at 5 points each- Nicolas Cubria’s ELVIS from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET (a long-time “local” in these Portland waters). Cubria registered a 4-1, while Parker took a 3-2. Local Carter White’s YOUREGATTA.COM held the third spot with 11 points.

Natalie Harden’s GIGGLES (a top woman J/24 helm) commenced the Championship with the opening bullet, in advance of White and Parker. Cubria then took line honors in the second race, as Parker moved up to second and Aidan Glackin’s Mental Floss made the top three.

Day Two
Along with the wind being shifty on Saturday, so were the standings. Parker’s BANGOR PACKET claimed the overall advantage after posting a pair of thirds, giving him a consistent record of 3-2-3-3 in the four races thus far (11 points). Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM shot up to second place with 20 points after rocking a 1-2 amongst the 48-boat fleet. Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS cracked the top three with 38 points.
Fickle winds around 6-8 knots made for a long day on Casco Bay. Brown started his leap up the leaderboard with a bullet in race three, trailed by Matt Coughlin’s FUDGIE and Parker. Evan Petley-Jones’ LIFTED earned the next victory with Brown and Parker again in the top three.

Day Three- Finale
By way of a second-place finish in Sunday’s final, and only, race, Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM clinched his first J/24 US National Championship. The Florida-based skipper came into Sunday nine points behind Parker’s BANGOR PACKET, but Brown’s second, paired with Parker’s 12, gave him the Championship by a single point over Parker in the five-race series.

Breeze on Casco Bay looked promising at the start of the day, but lightened throughout. The Race Committee waited two hours in hopes of starting a sixth race, but the wind Godz did not cooperate. Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS took the bronze spot on the podium with 42 points.

Joining Brown on the ANGEL OF HARLEM crew were Mark Liebel, Ron Hyatt, Arthur Blodgett and Brian Simkins. Liebel shared that the team prefers light air, which the Championship saw plenty of. Regarding Sunday’s race, Liebel summarized, “We had a very good start at the boat and tacked right away into the current. We played the current, instead of the shifts, both upwind and downwind. We sailed our race, and the end result worked out!”

Rounding out the top five were Natalie Harden’s GIGGLES (the USA Women’s J/24 Champion) in fourth place and Petley-Jones’ LIFTED took fifth.  For more USA J/24 Nationals sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.


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