2025 J/70 North American Championship at Davis Island Yacht Club - Day 3
by Julie & Christopher Howell 6 Dec 2025 05:43 PST
December 1-6, 2025
2025 J/70 North American Championship, day 3 © Hannah Lee Noll
The 2025 J/70 North American Championship delivered spectacular conditions on Tampa Bay, as 42 teams enjoyed sunshine, steady 10-15 knot breezes, rolling whitecaps and powered-up planing downwind legs.
With the discard race now in effect after six completed races, the leaderboard tightened—and tightened again—setting up an exciting final stretch toward Saturday's conclusion.
Race 4: Under bright skies and classic Tampa Bay pressure, WarCanoe helmed by Dalton Bergan punched out early and never looked back, taking a clean win. Last Call with Lee Eikel and GARM led by Per Roman followed to round out the top three.
Race 5: The breeze held strong. Joel Ronning's Catapult surged ahead for the bullet, showcasing hallmark upwind pace. Ralph Rosa's Mindset claimed second, while Richard Witzel's Rowdy delivered one of the day's standout performances to take third.
Race 6: In the day's final race, Richard Witzel's Rowdy climbed another step and powered into first. John Heaton's Empeiria grabbed a second-place finish, while Bruce Golison's Midlife Crisis stayed locked-in with a solid third, strengthening their overall position.
Overall Standings (top three after 6 races, 1 discard)
- Midlife Crisis - Bruce Golison, Ian Barrows, Erik Shampain, Jeff Reynolds
[20] - 1 - 5 - 4 - 5 - 3 = 18 pts
- OceanPact - Haroldo Solberg, Geison Mendes, Mario Tinoco, Gabriel Silva
[11] - 3 - 5 - 6 - 5 = 20 pts
- WarCanoe - Dalton Bergan, Alyosha Strum-Palerm, Paulo Manso, Goncalo Riberio
2 - [12] - 8 - 1 - 10 - 4 = 25 pts
With breeze-on racing and tight margins throughout the fleet, the championship remains wide open heading into the final day. Consistency has been key, and Midlife Crisis currently holds the advantage over a hard-charging Brazilian OceanPact squad and WarCanoe team.
Topping the 13-boat is Corinthian division is Ayacucho helmed by James Gary.
Racing concludes Saturday.