J/22 Midwinter Championship - Terhune and Dazzler crew victorious

by Christopher E. Howell on 3 Mar 2013 At the J/22 Midwinter Championship in Tampa, Florida, Allan Terhune dominated the competition to win by fourteen points. Racing Dazzler with Katie Terhune, Jeff Linton and Louise Neuberger, Terhune dropped his lowest score of only four and kept a line of 3,1,1,1,1,1,2 for just ten points in the eight race series. He was quick to praise the host Davis Island Yacht Club, saying 'We couldn’t have had a better three days of sailing—warm, good breeze, challenging and fun!'

Chris Doyle of Kenmore, NY finished in second place with 24 points, and Casey Lambert of Seabrook, TX came in third with 28 points. The Maryland-based Dazzler led from day one in the 15-boat fleet, and Terhune voiced that it was 'unfortunate for anyone who missed this fun regatta. The Race Committee was great, and the social events were all fun.' The J/22 Class is gearing up for its 30th anniversary with a World Championship this October in Newport, RI.

Terhune was happy to start off his year in such an exciting manner. 'We were able to work on our team work and tuning, and start off the season right,' Terhune said. 'We’ve started our road to Worlds!'

In the final day of racing on Saturday, winds averaged around 14 knots in race eight, and then increased to a sustained 28 so race nine was abandoned. Terry Flynn’s Tejas won the day’s only contest, trailed by Terhune and Doyle.

The top five: Allan Terhune (10 points), Chris Doyle (24), Casey Lambert (28), Terry Flynn (30) and Chris Wientjes (36). The J/22 Class extends its appreciation to Davis Island Yacht Club and its volunteers, including PRO Mike Dawson and Regatta Chair Trista Snook. Complete results are available at J22 Midwinters.