J/24 Midwinter Championship at Davis Island Yacht Club - Day 2
by Julie & Christopher Howell 24 Feb 16:15 PST
February 23-25, 2024
Radiant sunshine, flat seas and champagne breeze allowed four races on the middle day of the J/24 Midwinter Championship. With the discard in place after five races, 27 boats are battling for the 2024 title at Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, Florida.
Friday's leader, Paul Abdullah's Team Tarheel, continued to dominate with scores in the top four, leading to net points of 7. Travis Odenbach's Honeybadger, now dropping a 17, nets 10 points, leading the tiebreaker with Mike Ingham's USA5443, who received redress for a man-overboard retrieval in race three. Leading the 14-boat Corinthian division is Ted Wiedeke's Caramella.
With light and shifty winds, racing resumed Saturday with Kelly FitzGerald's Rush Hour topping the fleet, and Abdullah's Team Tarheel runner-up. Abdullah earned his second bullet in Race Three, trailed by Wiedeke's Caramella and Al Constants' Blitz. As the breeze built to 14-16 knots and gusts in the lower 20s, Odenbach's Honeybadger took control, with Ingham's USA5443 and Abdullah holding strong. Ingham closed the day with a bullet, including Odenbach and James Freedman's LOL bringing teams to shore.
Racing concludes Sunday. Complete results available here yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=16288.