Twins leads the J 24 Nationals

by Lynn Fitzpatrick on 21 Apr 2007 Noroton Yacht Club’s Waldek and Chris Zaleski, sailing Twins, stole the show during Friday’s J 24 Nationals racing at Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville. With blustery 15-20 knot winds and gusts up to 25 knots, clocking from the North to the East throughout the afternoon, crews from the Mid-Atlantic and New England were on fire. Twins posted a 2, 1, 1. Mark Hillman, in WIP from Maryland, had a 1, 5, 2 and would be leading the regatta were it not for his DSQ in the first race. Chip Till, in Red Large Delicious from North Carolina, also sailed three races in the top ten on Friday.

After a day of downwind wipeouts, break downs, bruises and even a man overboard, Saturday’s forecast calling for ENE winds at 10-14 knots with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70’s, is a welcome respite for everyone. The scores are tight in the 34-boat fleet and no one can afford a deep race or alphabets in their scores. No races will be discarded in this championship series.

Twins leads with 33 points. Mike Ingham, steering Brain Cramp, is in second with 40 points. Doug Clark, in Flying Squirrel, is in third with 43 points. Three other boats have 50 or fewer points going into the final day of racing.
See www.j24nationals.com/results for results.