Monday, March 11, 2013

Terhune Dazzles J/22 Midwinters

J22 Midwinters champions- Allen Terhune and Dazzler crew (Tampa, FL)-  Allan Terhune of Arnold, MD helmed DAZZLER to the lead on the first day of the J/22 Midwinter Championship in Tampa, Florida and never looked back. Ideal conditions greeted competitors from fifteen teams at Davis Island Yacht Club on the first day, with breezes in the 5-15 kts range under sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s. From their the weather hung in there, despite one cloudy day.

Terhune's DAZZLER dominated the competition to win by fourteen points. Racing with Allan were Katie Terhune, Jeff Linton and Louise Neuberger. Terhune dropped his lowest score of only four and kept a line of 3,1,1,1,1,1,2 for just ten points in the eight race series. He was quick to praise the host Davis Island Yacht Club, saying "We couldn’t have had a better three days of sailing—warm, good breeze, challenging and fun!"

J/22 one-design sailboats- sailing MidwintersChris Doyle of Kenmore, NY finished in second place with 24 points, and Casey Lambert of Seabrook, TX came in third with 28 points. The Maryland-based DAZZLER led from day one in the 15-boat fleet, and Terhune voiced that it was "unfortunate for anyone who missed this fun regatta. The Race Committee was great, and the social events were all fun." The J/22 Class is gearing up for its 30th anniversary with their J/22 World Championship this October in Newport, RI.

Terhune was happy to start off his year in such an exciting manner. "We were able to work on our team work and tuning, and start off the season right,' Terhune said. 'We’ve started our road to Worlds!"

J/22 one-design sailboat- sailing under spinnakerIn the final day of racing on Saturday, winds averaged around 14 knots in race eight, and then increased to a sustained 28 so race nine was abandoned. Terry Flynn’s TEJAS won the day’s only contest, trailed by Terhune and Doyle.

The top five were 1st Allan Terhune (10 points), 2nd Chris Doyle (24), 3rd Casey Lambert (28), 4th Terry Flynn (30) and 5th Chris Wientjes (36). The J/22 Class extends its appreciation to Davis Island Yacht Club and its volunteers, including PRO Mike Dawson and Regatta Chair Trista Snook. Complete results are available at J22 Midwinters.   For more J/22 Midwinters sailing information