J/70 North American Championship - Tight three on top
by SDYC on 26 Sep 2015
2015 J/70 North American Championship SDYC
Although today's shifty San Diego winds certainly made the day's three races very interesting, they weren't strong enough to shake the fleet leaders from their top spots.
When the second day of the 2015 J/70 North American Championship concluded, the top three positions remained unchanged: Zounds (Doug Strebel) in first, Africa (Jud Smith) in second and Helly Hansen (Tim Healy) in third.
The first race of the day began with winds blowing between eight – nine knots at a direction of 270. A temporary left shift at the beginning of the first beat seemingly gave left-side starters a significant advantage over the rest of the fleet. However, their puff disappeared before the fleet was halfway to the weather mark, leaving them in slower winds than the steady pressure on the right side of the course.
Renato Faria, skipper of To Nessa, kept a tight tail on Jud Smith's Africa as he led the rest of the fleet around the upwind mark. Faria was quick to close that gap on the downwind mark and took over as fleet leader, finishing the race with his first win of the regatta.
As crews regrouped for the next race, winds picked up to a steady 13kts. By the end of the upwind leg, a 17-degree shift in wind direction mixed up the beat's current leaders, and Allan Terhune's Ocho Cinco was quick to seize the opportunity in front of them. Terhune was able to hold his position throughout as he led Flojito y Cooperando (Julian Fernandez Neckelmann) and Cool Story, Bro (John Brigden) to finish in the top three spots of the race. It was the first top three finish for both Terhune and Neckelmann. By the time the rest of the fleet finished the race, the winds had slowed down to a light 7.5kts.
The third race of the day was the longest and the last, with Race Committee opting to set up a five-leg course with an upwind finish. Jack Franco and the three Ball JT crew secured their first bullet of the regatta early in the race, after taking the lead on the very first upwind leg. Jud Smith's Africa gained two boats after the first leg to finish in second place. The current regatta leader Doug Strebel was overtaken by Kostanecki to finish Race six in third place.
With 26 points, Smith is five points behind regatta leader Strebel and 21 points ahead of the third place skipper Tim Healy. Racing will continue tomorrow with the First Warning scheduled for 11:30am.
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