(Rye, NY)- American YC hosted the inaugural J/88 North American
Championship on Western Long Island Sound from September 30th to October
2nd. The forecast was daunting for the weekend, with breezes offering
20-30 kts from the northeast on Friday/ Saturday and lighter easterlies
on Sunday in the 8-15 kts range. The choppy, breezy start to the
regatta kept the sailor’s hands full with trimming sails fast upwind and
making sure to keep the boat under the spinnaker downwind while in
full-on planing mode. Taking advantage of the challenging weather and
winning the eight-race event was Mike Bruno’s WINGS.
During
the first day of the regatta, it was clear the battle from the start
was going to be between Bruno’s WINGS and Doug Newhouse’s YONDER. After
Friday, YONDER was leading with a 1-3-1 record to WINGS’ 2-1-3. The
second day saw enormous fluctuations in everyone’s scorelines, including
the initial leaders. By the end of Saturday, John Pearson’s RED SKY
was making a bid to leap up the standings with a 2-1-8, but not enough
to crack the top three. Meanwhile, Bruno’s WINGS crew managed a 1-5-2
to eke out a small lead over Newhouse’s YONDER that had a steady 3-3-4.
On the final day, the fleet continued its roller-coaster, “snakes &
ladders” scoreline. For example, Kevin Marks’ VELOCITY posted a 1-9-1,
which ultimately enabled them to crack the top three. But, it was
Bruno’s WINGS team that nailed it, knocking out an unassailable
scoreline of 2-1-3 to assure their grip on the first J/88 North American
Championship.
Ironically,
the standings nearly inverted from the previous weekend’s scores,
essentially the “Pre-NA’s” during the American YC Fall Series. RED SKY,
Ken & Drew Hall’s NEVERMORE, and Doug McKeige’s JAZZ were 1-2-3.
The NA’s finished with WINGS first, YONDER second, VELOCITY third, JAZZ
fourth and RED SKY fifth! Remarkably, it is amazing to see that all top
five boats had at least two top three finishes in their 8-race
scoreline! That is a healthy sign for any one-design fleet!
Distribution of top three scores is indicative of highly competitive,
talented teams that are sailing at an equitable level of performance.
Sailing photo credits- Andrea Watson/ Sailing Press NY. For
more J/88 North American Championship sailing information
