J/24 World Championship at Corpus Christi Yacht Club - Preview

J/24 World Championship © Christopher Howell

First sailed in Newport, RI in 1979, the J/24 World Championship has since taken place on four continents and over two dozen countries around the world. The 43rd edition of the J/24 Worlds is being hosted by Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, Texas for a fleet of thirty-eight teams from ten countries (Argentina, Chile, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad, & USA). The event features awards for the top Open teams, as well as Women's and Youth teams.

The class continues to provide amazing sailing competition for a cross-section of sailors, from beginners to multiple World Champions and Olympic Medallists. The Worlds always attracts the top teams from each country. The sailors were undoubtedly attracted to the super hot "Tex-Mex" cuisine and even hotter sailing conditions at the end of July- typically 15 to 25 kt winds from the southeast (just your basic seabreeze) with temperatures hovering in the low 100s (dry though, low humidity). Needless to say, "hydration" and "sunscreen" will be major themes being practiced by all teams while being on Corpus Christi Bay for up to 7 hours a day.

The foreign contingent of teams are all excellent examples of the quality of their respective fleets. Those teams include:

• From Argentina is recent National Champion Nicolas Cubria sailing ARG 5459 with team of Mario Cubria, Hernan Cubria, Marcos Aurelio Casciola, and Gonzalo Frejenal.
• From Chile is Jorge Valdez sailing CHI 5465 with a crew of Benjamin Gershman, Miguel Salinas Guerra, Carlos Alberto Solar-Perez, and Pedro Andres Vera Carrera.
• Sailing from Great Britain is David Cooper's GBR 2720 with the team of Ian Parkinson, Jeff Coulter, Marcus Rogers, and Ellie Harding.
• Back again from Japan is their top team in the form of Nobuyuki Imai sailing JPN 5185 with a crew of Daichi Wada, Taiga Nakagawa, and Kousuke Demichi.
• From Mexico is Enrique Perez Cirera's MEX 2988 team consisting of Walter Porter Sordo, Antonieta Zimmerman, Eduardo Ragasol Zimmerman, Erik Becker Meyer, and Mercedes Ragasol Zimmerman.
• The top Swedish team that has competed in dozens of J/24 Worlds is Per-Hakan Persson's SWE 4896 with a team of Monica Persson, Andreas Eld Emilsson, Hans Thulin, and Per Andersson.

• From Newport is Mike Marshall's USA 3379 with a team of Dave Hughes, Allan Terhune, Jeff Hayden, and Rod Favela. Mike is a J/24 World/North American Champion, and Terhune is a J/22 World/ North American Champion.
• From Vermont is Will Fastiggi on USA 2901 with a crew of Bill Hardesty, Suzy Coburn, Matt Bologna, and Heather Ambrose. Hardesty is a multiple J/70 and Etchells 22 World Champion, amongst others too numerous to mention.
• From Rockwall, TX is Paul Foerster's USA 1954 with a team of Rob Johnston, John Skiles, Stephen Andre, and Mike Brown. Foerster is a J/24 National and Midwinter Champion.
• From Newport is John Mollicone's USA 5237 with a crew of Paul Abdullah, Will Welles, Matt Coughlin, and Nick Turney. Both Mollicone and Welles are J/24 World and Midwinter Champions.
• From Huntington, NY is Aidan Glackin's USA 5257 team of Chris Fischer, Kris Werner, Geoff Becker, and Scott Apmann. Becker is J/24 World Champion and Lightning World Champion.
• From Seattle, WA is Keith Whittemore's USA 5325 with a team of Mark Rodgers, Brian Thomas, Shelby Milne, and Willem van Waay. Whittemore and Thomas are J/24 North American, Pacific, Italian, and European Champions. van Waay is a J/70 World Champion.
• From Pittsford, NY is Travis Odenbach's USA 5208 with a crew of Chris Morgan, George Braddon, Chris Stocke, and Monica Morgan. Odenbach is a J/24 and Melges 24 North American Champion and J/24 Midwinter Champion.
• From Seattle, WA is Scott Milne's USA 5471 team of Tom Niccoli, Jim Barrett, Rob Green, and Chris Walker. Milne is J/24 National and West Coast Champion.
• From Locust Valley, NY is the Constants family team on USA 3775. Sailing are Alfred, Dave, Mike, and Steve Constants with their token friend of Dave Hammond. The Constants brothers are J/24 Midwinter, East Coast, and Long Island Sound Champions.

The J/24 class has been an early pioneer in supporting and rewarding Women's sailing teams. In fact, the J/24 class held the first Women's World Keelboat Championship in Newport, RI in 1985.. a long, long time before other international one-design classes embraced similar initiatives to be inclusive of Women's sailors. Here are the teams competing for both Open and Women's World Championship honors:

• From the famous lake high in the Andes Mountains- Villa Carlos Paz- is Beatriz Agusti from Argentina on ARG 5461 with her crew of Rocio Agusti, Lucrecia Arrambide, Maria Candelaria Berberian, Mariana Felix de Lara Soares, and Barbara Gold
• From Webster, NY is Lee Ann Zaretsky sailing USA 5482 with a team of Shelly Strachan, Lois Breen, Leah Bourne, Linda Bowen, and Stephanie Crittenden.
• From Seabrook, TX is Elisabeth Hudson sailing USA 2342 with a team of Julia Wayland, Stephanie Lightfoot, Florence Rodriguez, and Brittany Ford.