2019 J/111 World Championship at Chicago Yacht Club - Day 1
by Julie & Chris Howell 21 Aug 20:51 PDT
19-23 August 2019
Following storms that rolled through Chicago on Tuesday, 23 J/111s had to wait a bit longer still on Wednesday to launch the 2019 J/111 World Championship, hosted by Chicago Yacht Club.
Race one was abandoned due to lack of breeze and a severe shift, however winds eventually amped up to 12-14 knots, allowing three races for the hungry teams. Despite a pair of bullets by Rob Ruhlman's Spaceman Spiff, it's Andrew and Sedgwick Ward's Bravo who ended the day at the front of the pack. The Bravo crew from Shelter Island, NY only placed in the top three once, but their scoreline of 7,3,5 for 15 points puts them one ahead of Spaceman Spiff who added a 14 for 16 total. Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key snuck into third place with tallies of 6,8,4 and 18 points.
Ruhlman's Spaceman Spiff earned the first victory of the Championship in the day's opening, and lightest, affair. Jeffrey Davis' Shamrock and Richard Witzel's Rowdy followed. Swiss sailor Jorg Sigg's Varuna outdid the fleet in the middle race, with Douglas Curtiss' Wicked 2.0 and Ward's Bravo close behind. The Ruhlman family closed Wednesday the same way it started, trailed by Martin Roesch's Velocity and Rod Warren's Joust.
Racing continues through Friday.
Results after Day 1:
| Pos | Bow No | Sail No | Yacht Name | Owner / Skipper | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 25 | USA 60909 | Bravo | Andrew Ward / Sedgwick Ward | 7 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | 56 | USA 134 | Spaceman Spiff | Rob Ruhlman | 1 | 14 | 1 | 16 |
| 3 | 54 | USA 115 | Skeleton Key | Peter Wagner | 6 | 8 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | 35 | USA 008 | Velocity | Martin Roesch | 8 | 12 | 2 | 22 |
| 5 | 66 | AUS 1110 | Joust | Rod Warren | 4 | 15 | 3 | 22 |
| 6 | 50 | USA 112 | Pura Vida | John Kalanik | 9 | 6 | 8 | 23 |
| 7 | 24 | SUI 2193 | Varuna (Lällekönig) | Jörg Sigg | 11 | 1 | 13 | 25 |
| 8 | 62 | USA 12 | Kashmir | Michael Mayer / Steve Henderson | 13 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
| 9 | 43 | USA 132 | Sitella | Ian Hill | 5 | 16 | 6 | 27 |
| 10 | 61 | USA 30 | Wicked 2 | Douglas Curtiss | 15 | 2 | 15 | 32 |
| 11 | 51 | USA 47 | Rowdy | Richard Witzel | 3 | 20 | 9 | 32 |
| 12 | 52 | USA 61666 | Shamrock | Jeffrey Davis | 2 | 7 | UFD | 33 |
| 13 | 17 | USA 119 | Slush Fund | Jim Connelly | 19 | 4 | 11 | 34 |
| 14 | 40 | USA 90 | Utah | Bradley Faber | 10 | 11 | SCP | 37 |
| 15 | 47 | USA 72 | Lucky Dubie | Len Siegal | 16 | 10 | 12 | 38 |
| 16 | 48 | USA 24 | Momentus | Kevin Saedi / Raman Yousefi | 17 | 9 | 17 | 43 |
| 17 | 58 | USA 100 | Variance | Carl Hanssen | 14 | 13 | 19 | 46 |
| 18 | 49 | USA 117 | No Quarter | Mark & Colin Caliban | 18 | 17 | 14 | 49 |
| 19 | 60 | USA 28 | Warlock | Tom Dickson | 12 | 18 | UFD | 54 |
| 20 | 53 | USA 20 | Shmokin Joe | Jeff Schaefer | 21 | 22 | 16 | 59 |
| 21 | 64 | USA 25 | Unplugged | Tim Clayson | 22 | 19 | 18 | 59 |
| 22 | 28 | USA 102 | Evonne.com/3 | John Yonover | 20 | 21 | 20 | 61 |
| 23 | 65 | USA 111 | Skull Cracker | Daniel Kitchens | 23 | 23 | 21 | 67 |