J/88 North American Championship at Chicago Yacht Club Overall

Team Dutch after winning the J/88 North American Championship © Vakaros Sailing

The J/88 North American Championships wrapped this weekend, with John and Jordan Leahey's Dutch winning overall honors. Sailing in the Corinthian Division, Dutch also took home the prize for the top Corinthian boat. Dutch won in convincing fashion, scoring four bullets in the twelve race series.

"Sailing with nearly two dozen other J/88's in a championship regatta was an awesome experience," commented John Leahey, Dutch's skipper. "We saw a little bit of everything in this regatta, and the competition was outstanding. It was great to see so many teams doing well at various points this weekend," Leahey added.

The fleet did see a little bit of everything, as conditions varied dramatically during the four-day regatta. Thursday featured northerly winds over 20 knots for much of the day, with five to seven-foot waves. Friday's conditions offered light and lumpy conditions, with southeast winds in the six to eight knot range for much of the day. Saturday brought lighter southwesterlies and a smoother sea state. And the finale on Sunday offer with west to northwest winds in the 10-15 knot range, with gusts of over 20 knots.

The differing conditions gave many teams opportunities to excel. Lindsey Duda's Sin Duda!, Ben Marden's Banter, and Iris Vogel's Deviation scored two wins apiece in the twelve race series. Michael and Grace Gillian's Julia won Saturday's contests with a 1-2-3 performance in the three races that day. The top five overall finishers in the regatta received half-hull awards at the prize-giving hosted at Chicago Yacht Club on Sunday afternoon:

First Place: Dutch (John and Jordan Leahey)
Second Place: Deviation (Iris Vogel)
Third Place: Exile (Andy Graff)
Fourth Place: Gaucho (Dave Tufts)
Fifth Place: Piranha (Dave Dennison)

Joining Dutch in the Corinthian winners' circle were Piranha and Julia.