J/70 Midwinter Championship at Davis Island Yacht Club - Day 1
by Julie & Christopher Howell 4 Feb 2022 16:46 PST
February 3-6, 2022
A postcard day on Tampa Bay delighted the 63 teams opening the 2022 J/70 Midwinter Championship hosted by Davis Island Yacht Club, completing four races.
Under blue skies with temperatures in the 80s, winds started at 8-10 knots, then decreased briefly during a mid-day shift before increasing to 14-16 knots for the second half of the day. Teams, including 27 Corinthians and six in the One-Pro division, gathered from across the United States, plus Argentina, Chile, Great Britain, Germany, Mexico and Sweden.
Taking an early but strong advantage is David Jannetti's Very Odd with crew Travis Odenbach, Kris Werner and Terry Hutchinson, who tallied 15 points (4,7,1,3). Fernando Perez Ontivero's Black Mamba holds second place with 24 points. Following are Bruno Pasquinelli's Stampede and Robert Hughes' Heartbreaker tied at 27 points.
More than half of the fleet is competing in either the Corinthian or One-Pro divisions. Francisco Van Avermaete's Juicy has the lead among the amateur teams, and USA1516, led by Dave Kerr and Lee Sackett, is atop the One-Pro group.
Friday's race winners were John and Molly Baxter's Team Vineyard Vines, Pasquinelli's Stampede, Jannetti's Very Odd and Richard Witzel's Rowdy.
Racing continues through Sunday. Complete results may be found at yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=14757.