Saturday, October 1, 2016

J/88 North Americans Preview

J/88 sailing fast off San Francisco (Rye, NY)- American YC is hosting the inaugural J/88 North American Championship on Western Long Island Sound from September 30th to October 2nd.  The forecast is daunting for the weekend, with breezes offering 20-30 kts from the northeast, making for a choppy, breezy start for the sailors hoping to sail fast on the Sound.

The previous weekend at the American YC Fall Series served as a good “practice regatta”.  Showing good form all weekend was John Pearson’s RED SKY, winning the weekend by taking three bullets.  Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE just squeaked out a second place over Doug McKeige’s JAZZ.  Based on the weekend’s results, it was clear it was very tight racing overall.  Past regatta winners like Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION, Doug Newhouses’ YONDER, Mike Bruno’s WINGS and Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY all posted top three finishes in their records in the five race series.  After that warm-up, it will be interesting to see who pops onto the top of the leaderboard after three days of racing.  Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing.  For more J/88 North American Championship sailing information