Honor Roll crowned J/35 North American Champions at Annapolis Yacht Club
by J/Boats 29 Oct 2022 07:30 PDT
20-23 October 2022
J/35 North American Championship 2022 © Annapolis Yacht Club
Nine boats sailed this year's 2022 J/35 North American Championship on the Chesapeake Bay.
The host Annapolis Yacht Club managed to run four races over the three-day weekend, despite the challenging weather patterns they had to contend with.
What was very cool about this particular regatta was the strong support by the Detroit J/35 fleet, with four teams making the trucking trip from the Great Lakes to the mighty Chesapeake Bay. Bert Jabin's Boat Yard was super helpful and accommodating to those traveling J/35 teams, as many locals also dry-store their boats there, too.
In the end, that influx of Detroit boats had a huge impact on the regatta's final results. Winning with a 2-3-1-2 record for 8 pts was Dean Fitzpatrick's HONOR ROLL from North Star Sail Club. Second, went to Mike Welch's FALCON from PYC with a 5-2-2-1 tally for 10 pts. And, third went to Jim Sagerholm's AUNT JEAN from North Star Sail Club with a 1-1-7-3 scoreline for 12 pts. Wow! Detroit teams ruled the roost in this year's event, testifying to the very high level of competition for J/35s in the Great Lakes.
Rounding out the top five were two local Annapolis teams. Roger Lant's Eastport YC team on ABIENTOT took fourth, while Bruce Artman's Annapolis YC team on T-BONE took fifth place.
Commenting on their win, Fitzpatrick said, "it is a very special honor to have my name on the trophy with men who are great sailors. The J/35 family is in the middle of a true renaissance. Rod and Bob Johnstone have given us the finest race boat ever designed. A true Thank You to them and all of the people involved with J/35 racing. A special shout out to Tim and Amie Ross, they came from Michigan and chartered a J/35 for the regatta, they're truly hooked on J/35 racing."
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