(Columbia, SC)- One of the all-time spring classics on the J/24 racing calendar has always been the Easter Regatta sailed on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. This year the awesome fleet of twenty-six J/24’s were treated to three great days of racing, an amazing weekend on the lake with nine races completed! Sailing “lights out” all weekend was Mike Ingham with tactician Tim Healy on-board, taking top honors with ease.
Friday’s weather presented the J/24 fleet with some cloudy conditions and winds out of the North East ranging 10-15 knots. Shifty conditions provided challenging sailing and with rain on the horizon, the Race Committee was pressed to put two races on. Race one was variable shifts north to north east and puffs nearing 16 knots. Travis Odenbach finished first with Chris Stone in second and Mike Ingham close behind in third. The second and last race of the day brought us similar conditions with increase of velocity to sustained 16 knots. Finishing first was Mike Ingham, second John Poulson and third Chip Till. “Wash, rinse, repeat”-this scenario on day one carried on throughout the weekend.
After three days of racing, the Ingham/ Healy team proved too much for the fleet, compiling an impressive 3-1-2-1-5-1-1-5-1 for a total of 15 pts net, ten pts clear of Travis Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER who had to scrape hard to hold onto second place. Giving Odenbach’s team massive anxiety attacks was Chip Till’s infamous crew aboard MURDER INCORPORATED. Were it not for some “brain fades” in races 3, 4, 5 Till’s crew closing four race record of 2-3-1-2 might have sprung them into second place, instead having to settle for bronze on the podium. Peter Bream’s TEAM TARHEEL took fourth and John Poulson’s LONGSHOT took fifth. For more J/24 Easter Regatta sailing information
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