(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis YC hosted the 2018 edition of the J/22
World Championship from September 9th to 14th on the Chesapeake Bay, for
a fleet of sixty-three entries from the USA, Canada, South Africa, and
The Netherlands. Winning the event was a last-minute, come-from-behind
victory by Zeke Horowitz’s UNCLE FLUFFY.
Zeke’s team accomplished what none of the other teams could avoid- a
high-number finish in the nine-race series hosted by Annapolis Yacht
Club in Maryland. As a result, Zeke and crew Jackson Benvenuti, Jo Ann
Fisher and Emmy Stuart were named the 2018 J/22 World Champions.
Rounding out the podium were Allan Terhune’s THUNDER CHICKEN with the
silver and Jeff Todd’s HOT TODDY with the bronze, based on a tie-breaker
with Mike Marshall’s BAD NEWS. Taking fifth place was Chris Wentjes.
Surviving the battle to win the war
This report from Bill Wagner, of the local newspaper Capital Gazette,
provides some great insight on what took place to win the regatta for
Zeke Horowitz.
Annapolis skipper Zeke Horowitz won the regatta on the water, then
survived a lengthy challenge in the protest room to capture the 2018
J/22 World Championship on the Chesapeake Bay.
“It’s an incredibly humbling thing, for sure,” Horowitz said. “We were
going over some of the other names on the perpetual trophy and it’s a
very impressive list. It’s certainly quite an honor to get my name on
there.”
Horowitz was a member of the College of Charleston sailing team and had
Greg Fisher as head coach his last two years. Remarkably, the
inscription on the J/22 World Championship perpetual trophy listing
Horowitz as 2018 winner was placed adjacent to the one recognizing
Fisher as the 2008 champion.
“Greg Fisher is my ultimate mentor, and made a major impact on my life,
both as a sailor and as a person,” Horowitz said. “So it was really cool
when I saw the columns lined up perfectly so that our plaque is right
next to Greg’s.”
Allan Terhune led the regatta at the end of racing on both Day One and
Day Two and carried a nine-point lead into the final day of an event
ending one day early due to the threat of Hurricane Florence. Horowitz
held second place, but readily admitted he needed Terhune to make a
mistake in order to have a chance of claiming the title.
Terhune did just that, drawing a “U” Flag penalty in Race 7, for
committing a rules violation during pre-start maneuvers. That saddled
the Annapolis skipper with a finish of 65th, which he was forced to
throw out.
That meant Terhune had to count an 18th place finish in Race 5, that he
had previously used as a throw-out. Meanwhile, Horowitz tossed his worst
result of 11th in Race 4, and his consistency made the difference.
“Allan’s team sailed an incredible regatta. They were really fast, and
in the right place a lot of the time,” Horowitz said. “We had to hope
they made a mistake and that’s what happened.’
It took almost two hours for the final results to become official as a
series of protest hearings dragged on through the scheduled awards
ceremony and held up formally crowning the 2018 J/22 World Champion.
Horowitz and Terhune, who worked together at the North Sails-Chesapeake
loft in Eastport, were adversaries in a protest that potentially could
have changed the final outcome.
Terhune alleged that he was fouled by Horowitz in the ninth and final
race. That protest was ultimately dismissed by the International Jury
after hearing testimony from both sides.
Terhune then protested being assigned the “U” flag penalty in Race 7,
hoping to receive redress and a result that would have wiped out the
three-point deficit. That protest also was eventually denied.
“I really don’t want to comment on any of that,” Horowitz said of the
protest ordeal. “I’ll just say it’s not the way anyone wanted the
regatta to end.”
With Jackson Benvenuti on tactics, Jo Ann Fisher handled the foredeck
while Emmy Stuart worked the pit aboard Uncle Fluffy, which represented
Eastport Yacht Club.
“I owe it all to my team. They were on point the whole event. They were
all calm, cool and collected even when things weren’t going well,”
Horowitz said. “Everyone was totally focused on doing their job. It’s a
really, really cool thing to be able to focus solely on driving boat and
going fast while letting the team worry about everything else.”
Horowitz was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Sarasota, Florida,
where he developed into a top-notch youth sailor. He became an
All-American competitor at the College of Charleston, where he was a
teammate of Benvenuti. Those two have been friends since they were
competitors on the Optimist class travel circuit as pre-teenagers.
“I can’t say enough about Jackson’s contributions this week. He is such a
gifted sailor. It’s really a pleasure to sit next to him and watch his
brain work,” Horowitz said. “How Jackson can focus on trimming the jib
and also concentrate on watching the race course in order to make sound
tactical decisions is truly remarkable.
“Jackson is a brilliant, but conservative sailor who is always looking
to hit singles instead of home runs and that was really the key to our
success in this regatta,” Horowitz added.
Horowitz also had high praise for Stuart and Fisher, former of whom just
happens to be his girlfriend and latter of whom is a past J/22 World
Champ as crew for her husband.
“We set this goal two year ago and it’s been a long process,” Horowitz
said. “This is particularly special because I got to do it with my
closest friend, my girlfriend, and a veteran sailor, who I respect
immensely, in Jo Ann. Getting this outcome with people you love is
really rewarding.”
As an up and coming professional with North Sails, Horowitz readily
admitted this result was a big boost for his career. The 28-year-old
previously captured the 2016 Viper 640 World Championship off Bermuda.
“It means everything. My career revolves around winning championships,
so getting my name on a World Championship trophy is a huge
steppingstone,” he said. “Winning a World Championship in a class as
competitive as the J/22 is very validating.”
Bringing a Dutch Youth Team to J/22 Worlds- a retrospective
There were eight foreign entries in the 2018 J/22 World Championship on
the Chesapeake Bay. None was a more interesting backstory than
RSZV-RWG, skippered by Auke Holtrop from South Africa.
Holtrop was leading a youth entry from the Netherlands that was
representing the Rotterdam Student Sailing Association. The official
name of the organization in Dutch is Rotterdamse Studenten Zeil
Vereniging, hence the RSZV in the boat name.
Holtrop was the helmsman, while Anique Noordam was trimming the main and
calling tactics. Sipke de Man was the headsail trimmer and strategist,
while Lotte Brasser was on the foredeck and assisting with tactics.
Holtrop, Noordam and Brasser are all 22 years old while de Man is 23.
Those four team members were selected to campaign a J/22 owned by the
Rotterdam Student Sailing Association for one year and have competed in
regattas throughout the Netherlands, performing well and posting
impressive results. Holtrop was so encouraged by the showing in national
events, that he entered the youth team in the J/22 European
Championship, held in Brest, France. The young sailors from Holland
stunned a talent-laden fleet, by placing second overall.
That result led the youngsters to consider a bid for the J/22 Worlds. It
was not going to be easy to travel all the way to Annapolis, but
several notable members of the J/22 class made that dream a reality.
Veteran North Sails professional Mike Marshall finished behind the Dutch
team at the European Championships and came away impressed. Marshall
reached out to current U.S. Class president Matt Dunbar, who had
purchased a used J/22 for the express purpose of providing a platform
for youth participation in major class events.
“We need to do whatever we can to grow the class, and that starts with
encouraging younger sailors to get involved,” said Dunbar, who raced his
boat, Wharf Rat, in the 2018 J/22 World Championship. “I wanted to do
my part to pull younger members into the class to help keep it vibrant.”
Needless to say, Dunbar was totally on board when told by Marshall about
the talented group of youth sailors from the Netherlands that were
looking for a ride for the J/22 Worlds.
“Having a team from Holland show up, and use my boat to enter the J/22
Worlds, is a real bonus. It is very valuable and a huge boost for the
event,” said Dunbar, whose intention was to eventually donate this
particular J/22 to a Rhode Island-based sailing foundation, with the
caveat that it be made available to youth teams for participation in
major class events.
Holtrop and crew arrived in the United States and spent a week in
Newport getting the boat sorted. Marshall, a resident of Jamestown, RI,
helped with the process of tuning the rig and setting up the sail
package.
“I went out on the water with the team and answered a lot of questions
about tuning and sail shape,” said Marshall, who welcomed the four Dutch
sailors into his home.
Marshall also played an instrumental role in getting some sponsorship
help from Harken (deck hardware), Vela Sailing Supplies (standing
rigging, ropes) and North (sails).
“We are grateful to all the companies that came aboard and helped with
the boat. It has turned into quite a nice overall boat package,” he
said. “Auke and his crew are very adept at fixing things themselves.
They have worked really hard to get this boat prepared for worlds.”
Dunbar lent the Dutch team his own vehicle to trailer the restored J/22
to Annapolis, borrowing a friend’s truck to get his own boat here. More
assistance for the Netherlands’ program was provided by Canadian sailor
Michele Cimon, who was housing the young sailors in Annapolis.
“Michele Cimon, Matt Dunbar, and Mike Marshall, have been super
important to making this happen, and we cannot thank them enough,”
Holtrop said. “It’s unbelievable that this is possible, and we are going
to be racing in the J/22 World Championship.”
Holtrop felt good about the boat setup, which was quite different from
the J/22 his team sails in the Netherlands. “We had a lovely week of
training in Newport, and put a lot of effort into rigging the boat, and
optimizing everything the way we wanted,” he said. Holtrop knew the
competition at the 2018 J/22 World Championship would be the toughest
the Dutch crew had faced to date.
“We know the level of J/22 sailing in the United States is a lot higher
than in Europe, so this will be a great learning experience,” he said.
“Our goal was to finish Top 15, or somewhere around there. I think the
most important thing is that we have a lot of fun and we definitely plan
to do that. We are already having a wonderful experience over here.”
There are six Canadian boats entered in J/22 Worlds, with most coming
from the Quebec province. Ron Harris, who served as President of the
Canadian J/22 Class Association for six years, was competing in his
fifth world championship and had a top finish of 11th in New Orleans in
2011.
“This is one of the best turnouts of Canadian boats at the J/22 Worlds
in a while, so we are pleased with that,” said Harris, who is currently
chairman of the Technical Committee for the International J/22 Class
Association.
Harris said the six Canadian boats in Annapolis all come from Lac des
Deux Montagnes (“Lake of Two Mountains” in English). Several of the
owners are members of the Hudson Yacht Club, including Harris and
current Canadian class president Trevor Collins (Alternative
Girlfriend). “We have really pushed the class in the greater Montreal
area,” said Harris, who bought his first J/22 in 2005.
Canada has hosted one J/22 World Championship, the 2016 edition that was
held as part of the legendary Canadian Olympic Regatta at Kingston
(CORK). It was a tremendous success and has the Canadian Class
Association, which includes approximately 20 members, to bid for future
North American and World championships.
“Kingston is the best location for fresh water sailing in Canada and I
think all the teams that came to the world championship we hosted
enjoyed the venue,” Harris said. Harris has an extremely experienced
crew aboard Broomstick and is quite familiar with Annapolis, having
sailed several North American and East Coast championships here.
“Annapolis is quite different from what we are accustomed to in Canada.
When we sailed here in the past, the tidal currents were a major issue,”
he said. Rounding out the list of international entries is Solstice,
which will be representing South Africa. Skipper David Waiting and his
wife Natalie both grew up sailing on Table Bay in Cape Town – he an avid
Laser racer and she aboard various sport boats.
Waiting was introduced to the J/22 while in college, crewing for Buddy
Phillips who won the World Championship one of the four times the World
Championship was held in South Africa.
Natalie Burls is a Professor at George Mason University, and the couple
joined Severn Sailing Association shortly after moving to Fairfax, VA.
Waiting is the current J/22 fleet captain at SSA but is also a member of
the South African Class Association and chose to race this year’s J/22
Worlds under the banner of his home country.
“I’m very proud that we were able to put together a fully South African
crew,” said Waiting, who will have his wife doing foredeck and longtime
friend Neil Mackeller– a Cape Town resident– in the middle.
“We have no expectations of doing well in the regatta. We’d be happy to
finish in the middle of the fleet,” Waiting said. “We are still learning
the J/22 so this opportunity to sail in a big fleet is invaluable.
We’re the only blue boat in the regatta so we’ll be extremely
conspicuous on the starting line.” For
more J/22 World Championship sailing information
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
(Seattle, WA)- Kurt Hoehne, an active sailor and writer of the popular blog-
SAILISH.com- in the Pacific Northwest offered some thoughts on their
popular charity sailing event held each summer- the “Pink Boat
Regattas”.
(Wayzata, MN)- The Clifford D Mallory Trophy, emblematic of the U.S.
Adult Sailing Championship, will be taking place this coming weekend in
Wayzata, MN, sailed on Lake Minnetonka on a fleet of matched J/22
one-design class sailboats.
(Medemblik, The Netherlands)- The 2018 Delta Lloyd Open Dutch J/22
Championship took place off Medemblik, The Netherlands last weekend for a
fleet of a dozen J/22s from across the country. The fleet was blessed
with great sailing conditions, with the PRO producing a stunning NINE
races for the happy campers sailing on their beloved J/22s.
(Marblehead, MA)- The 2018 edition of the J/70 World Championship,
sponsored by WEST MARINE, will be hosted by Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA
for a fleet of ninety teams from around the world. It may represent the
most unprecedented assemblage of world-class talent ever gathered
together in a single one-design regatta in history- keelboat or dinghy.
Teams will be travelling thousands of miles to compete at the 2018 J/70
World Championship from as far away as Australia, Germany, Mexico,
Canada, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, Monaco, Russia, Spain, Norway,
Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey. Furthermore, J/70 teams will be
competing from all over South America including; Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, and Uruguay.
Day 1- Big, Fat Tuesday
Day 2- Spanish Flyboys Dominate
Day 3- Black Flag Thursday
1st Sailing Bundesliga
Day Two
(Miami, Florida)- James Boyd from SailingIntelligence.com wrote an interesting piece on
Augie Diaz, titled “Master of the Classics”. It is an insightful,
entertaining story and perspective on how Augie evolved into one of the
world’s better sailors, truly a story reminiscent of Robert Frost’s
famous poem- “The Road Not Taken”.