Julian Tops J/22 Mid-Atlantics(Annapolis, MD)- Over the “pre-Halloween” weekend, the Severn Sailing Association held its 39th annual J/24 East Coast Championship. Simultaneously, they also hosted the J/22 Mid-Atlantic Championship. Off the mouth of the Severn River on Chesapeake Bay, both fleets enjoyed a lot of racing over the weekend, with J/24s sailing nine races and the J/22s seven races.
What was not surprising was who won the J/22 class, a long-time leader, Brad Julian from Youngstown YC in Youngstown, NY. What surprised most everyone in the J/24 class was to see James Bonham’s SISU defeat several J/24 class championship teams (of note- Bonham did have two-time J/70 World Champion crew Willem van Waay in the cockpit and past J/24 East Coast Champion skipper Todd Hillman as “rail meat”).
The
J/24s had twenty-five boats registered for their 39th J/24 East Coast
Championship; a terrific turnout considering the class was also
celebrating 40 years of J/Boats (e.g. J/24s), too! The teams came from
as far away as Bermuda, Nova Scotia, Florida, Maine, New York and the
usual suspects from the local Chesapeake Bay fleet. It was not an easy
win by any stretch of the imagination for Bonham’s SISU crew; in fact,
it was a three-way battle for at least the first six races. After the
first six races, SISU’s tally of 3-2-1-1-2-1 for 10 pts was just four
points in front of perennial J/24 class champion, Tony Parker and the
infamous BANGOR PACKET crew. Parker’s tally was an equally impressive
1-1-3-3-3-3 for 14 pts. And, just as good in those six races was Travis
Odenbach’s HONEY BADGER with a 4-3-2-2-1-2 tally for 14 pts. However,
thereafter, the “wheels fell off the shopping trolley” for Parker and
Odenbach. Parker’s crew misfired in race 7, adding a 7th to their
scoreline, while Odenbach’s crew “sent it down the mineshaft” in race 8,
adding a 9th to their scorecard. In the end, consistency paid off for
Bonham’s all-star cast on SISU, closing with a 1-2-5 to win by five
points. Second was Parker’s BANGOR PACKET and third was Odenbach’s
HONEY BADGER.
Unlike
the J/24s, the top three J/22 teams on the leaderboard were all very
close until the last race. In fact, the final race for the J/22
Mid-Atlantic Championship determined the ultimate outcome. Going into
that race, Mike Marshall’s BAD NEWS was leading with 18 pts, followed by
Brad Julian’s USA 677 with 19 pts and Jeff Todd’s HOT TODDY next with
20 pts. By winning the last race, Julian’s USA 677 crew snatched the
title away from Marshall’s BAD NEWS, who scored a 4th in the last race
to drop to 2nd. Todd’s final race 3rd place kept them in 3rd overall. Sailing photo credits- Sarah Parker. For more J/24 East Coast and J/22 Mid-Atlantic Coast Championship sailing information
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