J/105 North Americans - Wilmer and McLaughlin master light conditions
by Julie and Christopher Howell on 26 Sep 2014
2014 J/105 North American Championship, Day 1 Tim Wilkes
http://www.TimWilkes.com
Rod Wilmer and Terry McLaughlin excelled in the light air of the opening day of the J/105 North American Championship hosted by Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
McLaughlin (current J/105 Midwinter Champion and Sail Canada’s Rolex Sailor of the Year) and the Mandate team tallied at one, three, two in Thursday’s contests for a three point advantage. Rick Goebel’s Sanity stands three points behind. Following closely in third is Peter Hall’s Jamaica Me Crazy (10 points) and James Rathbun’s Hey Jude (current J/105 North American Champion) with 11 points.
The fleet of 27 J/105s took to the waters of Lake Ontario under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 70s. The winds began around four knots when the Wilmer/McLaughlin team grabbed the regatta’s first victory. Kevin Pask’s Full Tilt trailed in second and Rathbun in third. In the next battle, Goebel took line honors, as Hall and Wilmer/McLaughlin followed. Rathbun moved to the top spot in the day’s last race in winds hovering at six knots. Wilmer/McLaughlin were the runner up, with Hall in third.
Twenty-seven teams are competing from Bermuda, Canada and the United States. Racing continues through Sunday.
2014 J/105 North American Championship Preliminary Cumulative Results:
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