J/24 World Championship at Corpus Christi Yacht Club - Overall
by Julie & Christopher Howell 23 Jul 2022 11:28 AEST
July 14-22, 2022
Mike Marshall's American Garage may have never been in first place overall during races one through nine, but he was after the tenth and final race to claim the title of 2022 J/24 World Champion.
With crew Dave Hughes, Allan Terhune, Jeffrey Hayden and Rod Favela, the Newport, Rhode Island-based skipper overcame a Black Flag in Race 7 to finish with 29 net points. Paul Foerster's Grand Slam 2 compiled a stellar week of racing, but a 10 in the last race became their discard, and they finished a mere point behind Marshall for second place.
Nobuyuki Imai's Siesta always impresses, and this Championship was no different as they placed third with 32 points. John Mollicone's New England Ropes was in the hunt all week and ended just a notch behind Siesta for fourth place. Foerster's Grand Slam 2 won the strong 27-boat Corinthian division, ahead of Imai's Siesta and James Freedman's LOL. This year is the inaugural presentation of the Corinthian perpetual trophy, generously donated by long-time J/24 sailor Jim Farmer.
In regard to the team mood following the BFD, Marshall said, "It's always hard waiting the race out. You know you put yourself in a bad start." From Race 8 on, he continued, "We needed to be perfect, and we weren't, but in the last race we rounded the top mark in first. Paul was behind us, and we knew we had to be in front of Siesta. (Friday) was the lightest day, but we liked the big breeze all week." Marshall finished second in Race 10.
The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:
- Jaeger Women's Trophy to Beatriz Agusti on Mermaid Rescue
- Youth Turner Trophy to James Thurlow on Fortitude
Race nine started at Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Texas USA as scheduled under a Black Flag and was all clear. It was a four-legged course at a distance of 1.6 nautical miles for the first leg and 1.5 following. West wind speeds were 12-14 knots. Race 10 was similar: black flag all clear, course 4 at 1.55nm. Friday's race winners were Keith Whittemore's Furio and Mollicone's New England Ropes.
Overall Results: (top five)
1. American Garage, Mike Marshall, 8-2-5-1-1-5-[39/BFD]-2-3-2-; 29pts
2. Grand Slam 2, Paul Foerster, 1-1-1-7-6-1-4-7-2-[10]-; 30pts
3. Siesta, Nobuyuki Imai, 4-6-3-4-2-4-1-[10]-4-4-; 32pts
4. New England Ropes, John Mollicone, 5-3-2-3-[8]-6-3-3-7-1-; 33pts
5. Furio, Keith Whittemore, 2-4-4-5-5-7-[39/BFD]-4-1-8-; 40pts
Corinthian Results: (top five)
1. Grand Slam 2, Paul Foerster
2. Siesta, Nobuyuki Imai
3. LOL, James Freedman
4. Caramella, Frederick (Ted) Wiedeke
5. Hair of the Dog, Jakob Lichtenberg
Thirty-eight boats represented Argentina, Chile, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and the United States from July 18-22.
A complete list of all J/24 World Champions can be found here.
Complete event details may be found here.