Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

J/88 North American Championship at Larchmont Yacht Club

by Julie & Chris Howell 22 Oct 2019 05:55 AEDT 16-20 October 2019
J/88 North American Championship © Christopher Howell

Fourteen J/88s competed in the 2019 North American Championship held at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York from October 16-20. Teams came from San Francisco, Canada, Youngstown, Rochester, Shelter Island and Long Island Sound.

The regatta started with a coastal storm on Thursday, with steady winds of 35 knots and gusts exceeding 45 knots, leading to an abandonment of all racing for the day. Four races were held on day two in a shifty NW wind of 20 knots, gusting to 28.

Laura Weyler and the team of Hijinks, winners of two previous North American Championships, took an early lead with six points, ahead of John Sommi's Cloud 9 (15 points) and Elizabeth Barry's Escape (17 points). Boat handling and consistency paid off, as even the smallest mistake could lead to a deep finish. This was evidenced by Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault's team on Oh Jee, who sailed three spectacular races with two bullets and one fourth but had to retire from race three because of a broach at the finish line, leading to a scrape with another boat.

Day three started with 6-8 knots out of the West, testing everyone's light air skills. Four races were held in flat water and sunny skies. Keeping the boats moving and finding lanes of clear air paid off. At the end of the day, Cloud 9 was leading the pack with 28 points, while second to fifth place were only points apart, with Hijinks in second (32 points), Andrew Weiss's team of One Too Many moving into third (38 points), Oh Jee in fourth (39 points) and Escape in fifth (40 points).

Day four brought an Easterly breeze of 8-12 knots with lumpy seas. Three races were held, and John Sommi's Cloud 9 finished the day winning the 2019 North American Championship with a total of 36 points (11 races, no throw outs). Cew included Victor Diaz de Leon, Edward Kiaer, John King, Hugh MacGillivray and Carlos Lorente Robles.

Second went to Hijinks (41 points), third to Oh Jee (47 points), fourth place Escape (51 points) and fifth One Too Many (55 points). The Corinthian Trophy was awarded to Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault, who placed third.

Overall Results:

PosBow NoSail NoYacht NameOwner/SkipperR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11Pts
133  USA 33Cloud9John Sommi3444144413436
227  USA 27HijinksLaura Weyler1212SCP85526141
325  USA 25Oh JeeBruce Stone / Nicole Breault41RET1236741347
492  USA 92EscapeElizabeth Barry273512SCP1372251
517  USA 17One Too ManyLawrence Cutler / Andrew Weiss8826552264755
624  USA 24DeviationIris Vogel535126181310559
735  USA 35YonderBrice Dunwoodie10691077101055685
856  USA 56WhirlwindWilliam Purdy71068101091197895
936  USA 36VelocityKevin Marks121279893610131099
1077  USA 77CourageousGary Panariello6583411148141414101
1116  USA 16GauchoDave Tufts14111011111279128.511116.5
1234  USA 34AlbóndigasJustin Scagnelli9912714131212118.513120.5
1384  CAN 84Give'rTim Sweet11DNF13139613148119122
1490  USA 90Surfer GirlKeith Rehder1313111413141113131212139

Related Articles

31st Block Island Race Week Day 5
IHG Hotels and Resorts Race Day concludes the event Block Island Race Week's final tent party was abuzz with anticipation and excitement Friday evening, as sailors and spectators awaited the announcement of cumulative awards for the regatta's 60th anniversary. Posted on 27 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 4
Round The Island Race on Mount Gay Rum Race Day Mount Gay Rum Race Day featured everyone's favorite race of Block Island Race Week: the Regatta Craft Mixers Round The Island Race. The breaking of the recent heatwave made for a fast and furious counter-clockwise lap. Posted on 26 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 3
Soaring temperatures on Risk Strategies Race Day Risk Strategies Race Day at Block Island Race Week featured another day of champagne conditions and soaring temperatures. To give sailors a brief reprieve, the Race Committee called for an "early" end to racing (only 2 long races instead of 3). Posted on 25 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 2
Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turns up the heat Regatta Craft Mixers Race Day turned up the heat at Block Island Race Week—literally. The Island was not spared from the heat wave sweeping the East Coast this week, but that did not put a stop to the action out on the water. Posted on 25 Jun
31st Block Island Race Week Day 1
The wind fills in after a short delay on North Sails Race Day Racing in the 31st Block Island Race Week got under way on Monday with the North Sails Race Day. After a one hour wind delay, the three fleets motored through "The Cut" to their respective race courses for a 12:00 p.m. start as the sea breeze filled in. Posted on 23 Jun
American Yacht Club Spring Regatta
Dozens of J/crews from around the region enjoyed racing in coastal PHRF and ORC fleets This past week, the American Yacht Club hosted its annual Spring Regatta from Friday to Sunday on Western Long Island Sound. Posted on 12 May
Gorgeous sunny Spring Fest on San Francisco Bay
OIne-design fleets of J/24s, J/88s, and J/105s go racing The battle-hardened, hard-core sailors of San Francisco Bay, accustomed to the worst their Bay can dish out, were pleasantly surprised to contend with a very sybaritic weekend of sunny weather and light to moderate wind conditions! Posted on 21 Apr
Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point overall
Darby Smith thought his chances of winning the J/22 class were derailed on Friday Darby Smith thought his chances of winning the J/22 class at Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point were derailed during the third race held Friday. That's because the main halyard aboard Tasmanian Devil snapped and the boat was unable to finish. Posted on 14 Apr
Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point Day 2
Standings tighten on 'Moving Day' It was moving day at Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point and that's exactly what several skippers and teams did. Posted on 13 Apr
Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point Day 1
Spectacular start with sunny skies, warm temperatures and solid wind Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point got off to a spectacular start on Friday with sunny skies, warm temperatures and solid wind. Competitors on Circle 1 completed four races, while those on Circle 2 got in three. Posted on 12 Apr
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERRolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTERV-DRY-X