J/105 Midwinter Championship at Lakewood Yacht Club - Day 2
by Christopher E. Howell 8 Mar 2014 22:32 PDT
7-9 March 2014
J/105 Midwinter Championship day 2 © John and Scott Lacy
Terry McLaughlin lengthened his advantage after another five-race day at the J/105 Midwinter Championship. Sailing Avici with Paul Parsons, Kevin Taylor, Jeff Cooke, Emmett Dickheiser and Monica Parsons, McLaughlin (recently named Sail Canada's Rolex Sailor of the Year) notched another round of consistent scores to total just 20 points in 10 races heading into the final day of competition. The event is being hosted by Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas with 11 teams. Local Bill Lakenmacher on Radiance continued his stellar performance, and kept hold of second place with 31 points. Fellow Texan Uzi Ozeri on Infinity maintained his bronze position with 43 points.
The day dawned with light breezes around 4-5 knots, as Greg Turman's Horny Toad lodged Saturday's first victory, trailed by McLaughlin and Lakenmacher. Radiance won the ensuing contest over Ozeri and McLaughlin. The breeze kept creeping up a couple knots each race so by the third bout, teams saw 10-12 knot winds, when Mark Young's Killer Rabbit took the bullet. Again Lakenmacher and McLaughlin made it into the top three. Avici returned to the first spot in the next battle, followed by Alan Bates on Zippity and Matt Arno on Blue Flash. McLaughlin ended the day with another victory, ahead of Turman and Lakenmacher.
Racing continues through Sunday. Photos (courtesy of John Lacy Photography) are available at www.flickr.com/photos/lacyphotos/sets/72157642007204024, and complete results are available at www.j105mw.com.