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(Annapolis, MD)- With the “tail feathers” of Hurricane Jose just
scraping by on the mid-Atlantic coast, the ten-boat fleet that assembled
for the 2017 J/35 North American Championship were expecting to be in
for a wild, wild ride during the course of their four-day regatta.
However, it was MR BILL’s WILD RIDE that truly gave them a lesson in
“wildness”, how to go fast and have a helluva-lotta fun at the same
time. The notoriously fun-loving crew of Bill Wildner and friends from
Detroit, MI were, ultimately, crowned the winners of this year’s event.
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Sailed
on the Chesapeake Bay and hosted by the Annapolis YC, the J/35 fleet
enjoyed the usual most-excellent red-carpet treatment from AYC and its
amazing crew of Race Committee volunteers. The AYC RC and PRO managed
to run five races in the difficult sailing conditions. After starting
off with 3 straight bullets, Wildner’s crew on the “WILD RIDE” took a
breather and dropped back to 3rd place in their fourth race. However,
after clearly disappointing themselves with a blemish on what was a
perfect record until that time, they put the hammer down again for the
5th and final race to post yet one more bullet to win the series with
just 7.0 pts total.
Behind the WILD RIDERS, it was a very close regatta for the balance of
the podium and the top five. Taking the silver was Roger Lant’s ABIENTOT
with a record of 5-2-3-2-2 for 14.0 pts. Third just three points back
was William Vogan’s MAJOR DETAIL with a scorecard of 3-4-4-1-5 for 17
pts total. A scant one point back was Jim Sagerholm & Jerry
Christofel’s AUNT JEAN with a 2-3-2-7-4 tally for 18 pts. Rounding out
the top five was Bruce Artman’s T-BONE with a 7-5-5-4-6 record for 27
pts.
J/35 N.A. Yachtscoring.com results For
more J/35 North Americans sailing information