(Coconut Grove, FL)- Enthusiasm for the J/24 Class was still running high after the opening ceremony and flag parade to open the 41st J/24 World Championship when racing got underway Tuesday in hot and sunny Miami, Florida. The 80 teams had to wait out a two-hour onshore postponement while the seabreeze kicked in at 8-10 knots.
After two races, three teams were tied at 7 points: Rossi Milev’s CLEAR AIR (1,6 on the day), Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD (5,2) and Keith Whittemore’s FURIO (4,3). Eighty teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) are scheduled for 10 races through Saturday.
Milev, 2017 J/24 World Champion and winner of the first contest, summarized his starting strategy, “We started just above the mid-line boat. There were a couple of boats we barely lived with, and then we saw something on the left. It was nice pressure, and more about the wind than the five-degree shift.” Milev and Mike Ingham’s NAUTALYTICS traded the lead until CLEAR AIR passed them on the second downwind for the victory. Todd Fedyszyn’s SPOONY TACTICS followed in third. Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET and Stone were launched on the fleet in race two, when winds decreased slightly. Whittemore placed third, lining up the three-way knot for first.
However, everything changed on day two as the entire top ten leaderboard was jumbled by the relatively light winds in the 5-7 kts range.
Only one team has recorded all scores in the top 10 so far, and that is the day two leader after four races: Whittemore’s FURIO. Conditions were such that it really tested the competitors’ ability to locate the better breeze and tackle the shifts. The Seattle, WA-based FURIO crew (used to similar light air condition in Seattle) added scores of 7-3 on Wednesday for 17 points overall. Milev’s CLEAR AIR team (also used to the light airs off Toronto on Lake Ontario) notched their second bullet of the Championship in race four, however a 14th in the day’s initial contest gives them 22 points and second place. Parker’s BANGOR PACKET held their own Wednesday, tallying a 6-2 for third place (24 points). When the fifth race has been completed, a discard will take effect.
Keiji Kondo’s FOX finished ahead of all others to start Wednesday’s matches, and the Japanese team was exuberant to earn a World Championship race win. With his son Wataru among his crew, Kondo shared, “I did come to Miami last year for the J/24 World Council Meeting, representing Japan. It was so nice weather and a good place, so I wanted to bring my guys here.” Following Kondo across the line were Andrew Carey’s MR. HANKEY and Robby Brown’s ANGEL OF HARLEM. Milev’s CLEAR AIR racked up bullet number two to close Wednesday, with Parker and Whittemore behind.
It is still an all out battle for the top five as the point spreads are quite close. Complete event results and details may be found here. For more J/24 World Championship sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
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