J/22 Midwinter Championship overall

by Julie & Christopher Howell on 30 Mar 2015 Terry Flynn, with crew Mark Foster and Matt Romberg, earned the J/22 Midwinter Championship at Jackson Yacht Club. All nine races were completed, and the League City, Texas helmsman on Tejas scored a (14), 3, 2, 5, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3 for 22 points. Flynn is no stranger to J/22 Championship trophies, including the World Championship, North American Championship and Midwinter Championship. Allan Terhune’s Dazzler came in second with 36 points, and John Dyer’s Aquavit third with 49 points.

The Championship marked the first time for the J/22 Class to hold its Midwinters at the Ridgeland, MS club. Flynn and his fellow competitors praised the first-class treatment provided by Jackson Yacht Club. The inland lake proved very tricky for the 37 teams, as Flynn confirmed, “It’s very trying conditions because it’s so shifty. There are just not a lot of patterns.” After the opening four races on Friday, Tejas was in third place overall but jumped to a 10-point advantage on Saturday. “There was a little more breeze on the second day, which we were more comfortable with,” Flynn explained. “It was a little easier to see the puffs and holes, and we got off the line very well. Once we figured it out, we stuck to the same game plan.”

Mike Farrington got Sunday started with a victory in eight-ten knots of breeze, followed by RJ Moon’s Axe Wound and Flynn. David Muller’s JTT Racing won the final race, with Steve Willits and Flynn closing out the top trio.

The top five: Terry Flynn, Tejas, GBCA (22 points), Allan Terhune, Jr., Dazzler, Annapolis YC (36), John Dyer, Aquavit, Wayzata YC (49), Benz Faget, Fats, Southern YC/New Orleans YC (52), RJ Moon, Axe Wound, Rochester YC (53)

This event marks the highest J/22 Midwinters attendance since 2010.