J/80 North American Championship 2025 at Southern Yacht Club - Day 1
by Julie & Christopher Howell 10 Oct 2025 07:05 AEDT
October 7-12, 2025
Twenty-one J/80s from across the United States and Canada have descended on New Orleans, LA for the 2025 J/80 North American Championship hosted by Southern Yacht Club.
Excitement has been high leading into this match-up, after recent Championships in the North/Northeast of the continent. The results from day one proved a wide variance of entrants, led by James Buley of San Diego, CA on Le Tigre, who posted scores of 1,2 for the early advantage at 3 points. The breeze started quite promising on Lake Pontchartrain, with winds in the mid-teens. Buley's Le Tigre took the bullet, ahead of Daniel Wittig's Turbo Sloth and John Van Landeghem's Fujjimo.
Wittig's Turbo Sloth of Annapolis, MD landed second-place on the day after another podium finish in race two (5 points overall). The wind backed off in that contest, but sailors had to endure the lingering chop. Jason Balich's OverAchiever of Beverly, MA earned that race win, with Buley and Wittig rounding out the top group. Balich's OverAchiever holds third overall with 6 points.
Racing continues through Sunday. For complete NAC results, visit 2025 J80 North American Championship: Southern Yacht Club.