The International J/24 Class Association is currently accepting submissions to host its 2016 World Championship. Per the IJCA regatta rotation, the host shall be a location other than North America and Europe. Proposals, and any related questions, may be submitted to the IJCA Class Office via e-mail at director@j24class.org.

The International J/24 Class Association (IJCA) Executive Committee recently approved a request by the Organizer to modify the World Championship Regulation number 4.3 to increase the number of available entries per level of paid members to help increase the potential participation in the 2014 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.  The change affects all countries with 26 members or more.  The change was made due to an overall decrease in memberships throughout the world due to the economic climate that the US and Europe is currently experiencing.

The following Matrix will be in use for the 2014 J/24 World Championship and will affect qualifying systems in each member country in 2013.  Each country should determine their potential World Championship entries as soon as possible and clearly communicate to their members how the slot or slots will be filled.

New Matrix for IJCA Regatta Regulation 4.3

This change was not made lightly and hopefully achieves the goal of preserving the high level of competition, international feel and level of attendance the Class expects for this prestigious event.  This modification has been granted, at this time, for the 2014 World Championship only.

Contacts:

Christopher E. Howell

Executive Director, IJCA

director@j24class.org

Carter White

2014 J/24 World Championship Regatta Chair

carter@regattapromotions.com

Robin Eagleson

IJCA Chair

robin@eagleson.co.uk

The Executive Committee of the IJCA has announced that Chris and Julie Howell of One Design Association Management have been retained to provide management services to the International J/24 Class Association for a period of two years commencing January 1, 2013. Announcing the agreement, Chairman of the Executive Committee Robin Eagleson said that he was highly impressed at the speed and competence with which Chris and Julie had immersed themselves in the affairs of the Class since their interim appointment in June, and he was confident that they would continue to provide exemplary service in the future.

The Italian J/24 National Circuit concluded recently with the final stage in their series determining the winner at the Trophy Credito Valtellinese hosted the by Societa Canottieri Lecco. The great yacht “KONG EASYNET GRIFONE” sailed by Marco Stefanoni, Fabio Mazzoni, Massimo Consonni, Roberto Santomanco and Giusi Riva won the XXXVIII edition of the Winter Championship. They took the lead on the second day of racing and never looked back, accumulating a scoreline of 2-2-1-4-5-1-4-6-5-1 for 20 pts net. Joining them on the podium was JAMAICA sailed by Gianluca Caridi, Ginesi Fabrizio, Giuseppe Garofalo and Paul Governato who sailed a very strong series but after losing the lead on the second day could never gain it back. Their record of 4-3-4-1-1-14-1-5-5-8 for 24 pts was good enough for second place. Lying third was JJ EXTRALARGE sailed by Roberto Spata, Robert Martignoni, Michele Malandra, Andrea and Stefano Zamboni Carnelli. They had a great comeback on Saturday and Sunday but not enough to overcome the other leaders with their record of 8-7-2-5-4-3-3-1-3-7 for 28 pts net. The opening day of racing saw the “breva” wind (local wind from the south) around 6-7 kts, providing the fleet with two good races that didn’t complete until sunset! After all, this is what you must do when sailing high in the Italian Alps! On the following day, the crews started in the early morning to take advantage of the “tivano” wind (typical wind from the north of the lake). However, despite starting twice in these conditions, the sudden drop in the wind forced the race PRO’s to postpone racing until the afternoon “breva” wind would show up to complete two races very late in the day. For Saturday’s racing, the decision was made to start even earlier in the impetuous “tivano” winds, sailing from 0800 hrs to 1300 hrs! It resulted in getting in four races in 5-8 kts of wind and was a good test for the sailors. Sunday’s racing started under a light rain and the schedule was for two more races in the “tivano” breeze of about 6-9 kts, much to the satisfaction of all the participating sailors! This was the seventh and last stage of the Italian J/24 Circuit that began in February in Monaco with the Primo Cup! Many thanks for this contribution from Paola Zanoni. http://canottierilecco.wordpress.com/interlaghi-2012/

The Mexican J/24 Class continues to build on it strength and momentum with fleets continuing to improve and get strong in both Valle de Bravo as well as in Puerto Vallarta. Other fleets continue to develop nicely. Coporito recently did a fabulous job of hosting the 2012 Mexican J/24 Nationals. The weather was less than cooperative with only six races of at least eight that were scheduled for the vent. But, sailors are sailors–the fleet still managed to have great fun! Weather conditions were changing all the time. The first day of competition started with 5-8 knots, then the wind died completely and then re-started again with little velocity. As a result a second race was held but, unfortunately for most fleet, the wind died again before most boats could make to the finish line before the time limit. The second day the wind began to blow a little early and the first race was held again with light winds of 5-7 knots. Then like what happened on Friday, the wind died for about an hour before returning with gusts of 8 at 11 knots with rain. On Sunday the racing began an hour earlier and the first race was again run in light winds of 4-7 knots and the last race was run in rain! In summary, it was fun sailing despite the challenging conditions. A great turnout for the Mexican J/24 fleet and a special “Congratulations” to the “Good Vibes” team for showing great consistency in widely varying conditions– winning 4 of 6 races! Congratulations to Team GOOD VIBES- Jorge Murrieta, Julian Fernandez, Diego Fernandez, Jorge Ogarrio Ander Belausteguigoitia- for being crowned the 2012 Mexican J/24 Champions! Second place went to VENDETTA sailed by Mario Velasquez, with Margarita Pazos, Mario Velasquez Jr, and Walter Porter. Third overall went to a family team on BESANGA sailed by Jerome, Diego, Paul, Philip and Gloria Cervantes. Fourth spot went to a familiar name often at the top of the leader-board- Ken Porter on COMEX. And, finally in fifth was Javier Velasquez and crew. http://j24mex.com/index.html

High in the Argentinean side of the Andes along its western borders their lies a simply spectacular lake set into the foothills of the Andes Mountain range. In winter (the northern hemisphere summer) many Olympic ski teams from around the world head south to the famous town of Bariloche and places nearby to continue their year-round downhill ski-training programs. While Argentinean sailors can often be found on the slopes themselves, they look forward to their spring-time sailing on simply spectacular lakes at the base of the Andes Mountains in quaint mountain village towns like Cordoba’s Lago San Roque or San Carlos de Bariloche’s Lago Nahuel Huapi. It’s a bit like the South American version of Italy’s famous Lago di Garda in Italy’s northern region bordering the southern reaches of the Austrian/Swiss/Italian Alps. Recently, the J/24 fleet in Cordoba held their Spring Cup and had a solid turnout of sixteen boats to experience the rather chilly waters, amazing winds and spectacular vistas of Lago San Roque–at least that’s what the local Chamber of Commerce usually predicts for this time of year. On the first weekend of racing the fleet was confronted with not too much wind. In fact, it was uncharacteristically light for this time of year when the fronts are still raging around the South Pole and often the northern fingers hit the Andes and produce some monstrous winds. Nevertheless, the RC managed to run three races with much effort, despite the wind at times blowing in from the Northeast, dying and then returning back again from the East. The first race went to the ONLINE Team sailed by Adrian Bongioanni at the helm with his brother Saul on the sheets. Second went to CALEUCHE sailed by Matías Arrambide, Gringo Betendorf and Pedrito Lozada. Third went to Team CAMBURY skippered by Alvaro Abate. In the second race, SAMA skippered by Frank Pesci, Mariana Buteler in the bow, Ezekiel Despontin in sheets and Carlos took the lead from the start to cross the line first! They were followed closely by J-MAC sailed by Spoceti Gabriel, his son Paul, Adrian Berelejis on the sheets and Marcelo Romero at the helm. The third and final race of the regatta went to ONLINE in first, with SAMA in second. At the end, ONLINE’s 1-3-1 for 5 pts total meant the Bongioanni brothers were crowned Spring Cup Champions in Cordoba! Second was Team SAMA with a 5-1-2 for 8 pts for Frank Pesci and crew. Rounding out the podium ws J-MAC’s team led by Spoceti Gabriel with a 7-2-6 for 15 pts. The balance of the top five was CALEUCHE winning a tie-breaker with a 2-5-10 for 17 pts over CLICK with a 6-3-8 for 17 pts. http://j24arg.blogspot.com/

John Mollicone’s 11th Hour Racing team emerged victorious at the J/24 North American Championship in Jacksonville, FL. Comprised of Mollicone, Tim Healy, Collin Leon, Geoff Becker and Gordon Borges, the Newport team credited their consistency and team work during the nine races as the keys to their success. “We had good starts, and our boat speed was good,” summarized Mollicone. “It’s hard to be in the right place all the time tactically, but our boat speed helped us get out of some tough situations.” Finishing with 30 points overall, 11th Hour Racing won the regatta’s first contest, and never finished out of the top 10. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t have any real deep races, especially early on,” shared Healy. “It ended up paying off late in the regatta. We could afford going into the last race knowing we couldn’t get worse than second, so that was a nice place to be.” Canadian Rossi Milev sailed an impressive regatta on Clean Air, and placed in second overall with 34 points including three bullets. Travis Odenbach’s Honey Badger rounded out the top three. Conditions in Jacksonville on the last day of the event were the breeziest of the week at 16-18 knots with gusts in the 20s. “This is a challenging place to sail because it’s not only shifty but there are a lot of holes and you have the current factor,” Mollicone said. “Tricky conditions, but the people at Florida Yacht Club are awesome and it was a great regatta.” On Saturday, Milev won race 7, with Greg Griffin’s Majic and Odenbach in the next two slots. David Van Cleef claimed the next victory, trailed by Mollicone and Odenbach. Milev returned to the top in the event’s final bout, and Van Cleef and Griffin followed. The top 10: John Mollicone (30 points), Rossi Milev (34), Travis Odenbach (40), Peter Bream (41), Mike Ingham (43), Carter White (44), David Van Cleef (45), Greg Griffin (63), Robby Brown (65), John Denman (74). Twenty-nine teams competed at the Florida Yacht Club. Complete results are available at www.j24northamericans2012.com.

Include photo credit © 2012 Tim Wilkes / www.timwilkes.com

(Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia) – The Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club hosted this year’s 2012 NSW J/24 State Championships and, again, the club, its volunteers and RC/PRO did an amazing job running another great regatta. The very light breeze on Saturday slowly built during the day and overnight to a decent 15 kts by the end of Sunday. Consequently, all the sailors were delighted to get in six good races under gorgeous, clear blue skies and all round great weather! As Simon Grain (owner of CODE VIOLATION) commented, “To All NSW owners, we apologize that the Trophies again went to Victorians, Dave Suda and crew on PACEMAKER are hard to beat, but let’s keep trying!” “Many Thanks” to Janette Syme, skipper of the totally fab all-girl crew sailing on WHISPER, for contributing her version of events at the NSW J24 Championships. Here is Janette’s awesome commentary: “Friday – the day before the regatta – boats arrive at RANSA from various points on Sydney Harbour, Victoria and one from South Australia. There is a mixture of crews, skippers, boats (owned, begged, borrowed, stolen – pieced together)! And, crew all keen– boats sleek, shiny and cleaned. Soon thereafter their launching, they were all ferried around to moorings outside RPEYC. RPEYC has a magnificent aspect of the harbour at Point Piper. Essentially an historic building, oozing character, it was comfortable and welcoming. We all sat waiting for the wind on Saturday morning, perched on the verandah, or reading books in the lounge or feet up on the lawn (as you do at regattas!). After a couple of weeks of sea-breeze, southerly busters and generally plentiful wind, there was nothing, and grey clouds (think it must have been the Mexican Margarita’s influence)! Nonetheless off we all went at first puff and bobbed around within a couple of start line shifts until a reasonable Easterly settled in at 5-10 kts. So the first day, we only managed 2 races but it was hotly contested in the light airs. Dave Suda (Sandringham YC) in PACEMAKER secured a win as did Sean Kirkjian (RPEYC) in SAILPAC. The racing was set around mid harbour– across the channel– all windward/leewards. Sean Wallis (Perth ) sailing KAOTIC was first to the windward mark in race 1 only to hit it– they lost 4 places doing penalty turns. Creditable sailing from ACE (MHYC), VORTEX (MHYC) , KICKING BOTTOM (Sandringham YC) and EL FIDELO (SA CYC), CODE VIOLATION (Sandringham YC) and BY THE LEE (Sandringham YC) to fill the places. Sunday started with a 10 kts sea breeze from the NE– sun shining– the harbour littered with the usual power boats, ferries , speed bumps etc. Definite western shore lift and turning tide run out – affecting all boats up and down stream especially races 5 and 6. The wind lifted to 15-20 kts NE, perfect sea-breeze and great sailing. Downwind legs generally favoured the shoreline and boats mostly headed for the starboard gate. Ferries had a habit of splitting the fleet with many boats gaining or loosing a place because of a ferry or two. All in all, the series was predominantly clearly contested which is great to see. So after 6 races I think we could all feel our arms, shoulders and hands and wore a generous amount of sea spray and wind burn. But for the most part everyone was smiling. Congratulations to Dave Suda and the Pacemaker crew who deservedly won the NSW title again. To Sean Kirkjian and crew on SAILPAC a fabulous 2nd and Sean Wallis and crew in KAOTIC (Arthur Crothers) that rolled into third. Handicap winner was JAGGED EDGE (Leon Ratner REPYC), 2nd BY THE LEE (Brendan Lee Sandringham YC) and 3rd WHISPER (Janette Syme with fab all-girl crew from Manly-Man YC). The NSW Women on Water trophy went to Sophie Kennedy for her continued support of the class, over the years racing on various boats from Sailpac, Kaotic, Wildfire and Whisper. Many thanks to NSW committee especially Sean Kirkjian for organizing a great regatta – see you next year same time same place! Thanks also to Danny, AJ and James for your help with tenders and photos!” For more J/24 NSW Championships sailing information, visit http://j24australia.com.au/. (This article courtesy of J Boats)

From the introduction of the J/24 in 1977 until about 2009, Tillotson-Pearson or its successor company Pearson Composites built the vast majority of J/Boats. They have files and records on every boat built. Since Pearson Composites and J/Boats ended their relationship, these files have been inaccessible. Recently, WLS with the knowledge and cooperation of J/Boats, secured all of these files and records. The end result of which is a better ability to provide “Factory” service and parts for the 13,000+ J/Boat owners out there. There are about 500,000 documents relating to every J/Boat ever made. We are in the process of having them scanned, indexed and catalogued, and brought into a searchable web form. We are also integrating all the bills of materials and parts to our parts department and web-store. We were hoping to have the scanning and indexing all completed before we announced this, but the storm has forced our hand. Many J/Boats of many vintages will be in need of repairs and specialty parts. Having access to this information will help us pinpoint the exact “factory” parts that the boat was built with and, perhaps more importantly, where to source it. Not only was TPI sitting on a half-million documents that were of little use to them, they also have a back forty full of useful molds. Laymen probably think each boat uses two, three, or maybe four molds. Not so. There are many, many molded pieces that go into each boat. Many of these parts are the ones that wear out or get broken. Sure, there are work-arounds, but they are expensive and it can be a real problem getting the parts to fit and operate properly. As part of our deal on the files, we have also secured the rights to make parts out of the original molds. This includes items such as rudders, hatches, sea-hoods, pedestal, interior parts, etc. Access to these molds will greatly expand our capabilities to service J/Boat owners and help retain value of your J/Boat. With this acquisition of molds, we also have the capability to complete repairs that would simply be financially unrealistic without this tooling. Deck broken? We may be able to replace it. Major hole? We may be able to scarf in a new, molded hull section. So, if your beloved J/Boat was beat up in the storm, don’t despair–Waterline Systems stands ready to help you restore it.

http://www.waterlinesystems.com/

Whether your sailing style is weeknight beer-can racing or competing on the world stage, one thing is true –the J/24 is undeniably the most popular racing keelboat around the world.    The Legendary J/24 has become the competitive launch pad for the careers of numerous America’s Cup professionals.

This year’s 2012 J/24 World Championship featured 96 boats!  The ages of the boats ranged from #58 built in 1977 to the new Pipe Dream which was one day old when she arrived in Rochester, NY!  So, while some of the world’s best sailors have the newest version J/24, a well prepared late model built to the same shape and weight as a new one can still win the J/24 Worlds as proven this year in a 1980 boat!

With numerous major J/24 events on the horizon and realizing that not everyone is ready to invest in a one of our new J/24’s, we have put together a “Special Offer”.  Now is the time to restore that J/24 that has been in the family for 25 years or buy an old workhorse and restore it for half the cost of a brand new J/24.  Check out our specials here:  J24 Facelift

·         2012 J/24 East Coasts (Annapolis, Maryland. October 26-28^th)
·         2012 J/24 NA’s (Jacksonville, Florida. November 14-18^th)
·         2013 J/24 Mid-Winters (Tampa, Florida. Feb. 9-13^th)
·         2013 J/24 National’s (Wayzata, Minnesota June 19-22^nd)
·         2013 J/24 NA’s (Newport, Rhode Island. Sept. 19-22^nd)
·         2014 J/24 National’s (Marion, Massachusetts. August 22-24^th)
·         2014 J/24 Worlds (Newport, Rhode Island. Sept. 20-26^th)

The J/24 World Council held its annual meeting on Saturday, October 13 at Howth Yacht Club in Ireland.  The new Executive Committee members are as follows: Chairman Robin Eagleson, Vice Chairman Jorge Castillo, and Executive Committee members Marianne Schoke, Paul Scalisi, and Mark Penfold. And on the Technical Committee: Michael Johnson (USA), Edwardo Ortiz (PR), John Peck (USA), Reid Stava (USA), Mark Penfold (GBR), Alexander Finsterbusch (ARG), Gianpietro Polessel (ITA), Stuart Jardine (GBR Emeritus), Lorne Chapman (CAN) and Jan-Marc Ulrich (GER) with Tim Winger as the Chairman. Also, the Copyright Holder has appointed Kelly Holmes-Moon to the ITC.

The J/24 Class Office interviewed Team Bruschetta following the event…

1)      Four-time J/24 World Champs…congratulations! What was your strategy coming into this year’s event?  How did you prepare?
Alex Saldanha: Thank you very much!!  It was a very, very difficult regatta…we sailed in Rochester back in 2006 (I think) at the NAs, and it was completely different.   We did not have a special preparation for the event.  Here in Brazil there are not many active J24s so we try to keep sailing regardless of the Class to keep our brains in a “race mode” 

2)      Tell us about each member of the team and his role/contributions to your team work as a whole.
A: Team Bruschetta was born in 2003 but the “winning” configuration only started at the worlds in 2006.  The “official team” today is:  Maurico Santacruz (helm), Daniel Santiago (trimmer) Alex Saldanha (me-tactics), Paolo Boido (mast) and Alfredo Rovere (bow). However it’s very hard to have everybody available all the time and to have money to have the original team all together, so from time to time there are a few changes at the mast and bow (mostly). Good thing is that we found replacements that do not jeopardize the team’s performance at all!  For this Worlds, we had Sergio Bittencourt at the mast performing a KEY role maintaining the team spirit up sky high–it is amazing how this guy keeps us laughing all the time with his fantastic jokes and stories!! On the original formation, we have: Mauricio – steering (with fantastic starts!!) and developing the sails…without him there would be no new sails for the most important events. Daniel Santiago – an amazing trimmer and responsible for tuning the mast… he´s got all the numbers on his head, and it is very easy to switch gears when needed.  He is also responsible for diving and cleaning the bottom regardless of the temperature (very important!!) and organizing sponsors and trips. Alex Saldanha (me) – I call the tactics and jump from one side to another…I’m also responsible for all trips planning (together with Daniel) and communication. Paolo Boido (mast) – Paolo is a Myth!!  This guy is amazing!!  Not even going to talk about the perfect boats he builds…but his organization skills are amazing!  When we walk in the boat, everything is well organized, clean, dry. His truck…everybody knows his truck!! His jokes…this guy is incredible!!! It is like a father to us!!!! Alfredo Rovere (bow) – the best bowman I have ever seen…also very good on putting the boat together, doing splices, wood and fiber work, AND, most important of all, helping me with tactics!! Yes… he is a very, very good sailor too!!!

3)      You raced a boat from 1980. How do the older boats compare to newer ones?
A: Yes… she was a “lady”… a 32 years old one with a teenager look!!  This boat was completely refit with perfect bottom, keel and rudder – nice job by John Enwright.  If you spend some money and A LOT OF TIME to do a complete overhaul, I don´t see why an old boat cannot be as competitive as a new one. HOWEVER, I have to be honest…. as my good friend Rossi Milev would say, there is nothing like sailing on a brand new boat! It is a “plug and play” sensation… it´s awesome! And we need new boats for the Class to grow! So, if you can, without a doubt, buy a new boat!!!

4)      What was your opinion of the venue?
A: As I said before, Rochester is a fantastic place.  We sailed there back in 2006 during the North American Championship.  At that time we had the “run of our lives,” blowing 40 kts of wind and sailing downwind with our kite up!  I remember we went from top 20s to top 5 on a single leg!!  That was incredible!!! Now during the Worlds was a completely different game…we have never sailed in such a difficult condition in all our lives!! It was the worse tactician´s nightmare!! 20-30 degrees shift with huge wind holes….OMG!!!  I had such a headache every day after racing!!!  Not to mention the “washing machine” effect due to the waves and boats!

5)      How did you maintain such consistency all week – in a variety of conditions and in such a large fleet?
A: It was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?  We were a little surprised too, due to the conditions we had.  I think the most important was that we were never trying to go for the big one AND somehow we managed to stay “calm” and wait for our puff and header to cross…as “simple” as that…

6)      What was your approach to starts in a 96-boat fleet?
A: That’s an easy one…first you decide where you want to start as if there was no boats on the water.  Then you start looking where all the good (and local) guys are, just to make sure you made the correct decision.  Then with 3 minutes to go you start looking at the fleet movement to see if the place you chose will get crowded or not. Then, if that is a no penalty start, and if there is enough space, you go for the big start. Otherwise you just try to start as near as possible from where you chose on a free spot – this is what happened 98% of the time during the Worlds!!

7)      Did you like the “open” format of this year’s Worlds?
A: This is a very controversial subject…I think for the Worlds itself it was a good thing…having 96 boats on a starting line is fantastic.  However, I don’t know how good or bad this decision was for the local qualifying events.  We need to remember that what keeps the Class alive are the small regattas, not just the Worlds. Another point to take into consideration is that the more boats you have, the longer measurement will be…and from the sailor point of view, speaking for myself and many others that I have talked to, measurement is a HASSLE !!!  We waist 3-4 days out of the water just measuring the boat!  In our opinion, there should be no pre-event measurement at all, with a full measurement inspection of 3 to 5 boats drawn every day after racing.  With penalties clearly specified, people would be their own judges and not go to the very edge of the rules limit. Trust me: 1mm difference on the “J” measurement does not make any difference AT ALL!!! 3 or 5 kilos more or less on boat weight does not make any difference… etc…etc…

8)      Will you be defending your title in 2013 in Ireland?
A: FOR SURE we will do everything within reach to go, after all – KEN READ, watch out – we are getting there!!  But unfortunately for us, it´s always a last minute decision as gathering money for those trips is always a nightmare and uncertain.

Mauricio Santa Cruz snatched the lead on day one of the Quantum Loop Solutions J/24 World Championship and never looked back. He is now the reigning J/24 World Champion. Sailing Bruschetta with trimmer Daniel Santiago, tactician Alex Saldanha, mastman Sergio Bittencourt and bowman Alfredo Rovere, Santa Cruz earned his fourth J/24 World title. At the Rochester Yacht Club in New York, Bruschetta achieved a remarkably consistent performance of seven top-ten tallies, a 13 and 19 in the ten-race series (including one discard). The team stacked up a 42-point advantage heading into Friday’s final race and was able to stay ashore and let the others duke it out for the remaining podium spots among the 96-boat fleet. American John Mollicone’s 11th Hour Racing gained momentum throughout the week and seized second place with 101 points, followed by fellow American Tony Parker’s Bangor Packet with 108 points. The 96 teams represented 12 countries—Argentina, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Peru and the United States. “The venue was very shifty, and the team worked hard to stay on top of them. We had good sails and good speed,” Santa Cruz summarized.  The team raced on J/24 #2021 made in 1980, making it a 32-year-old hull.  “We used an old boat, but the old and new boats are fairly equal.  The mast, keel and rudder have a good shape so we knew we would be fine.  Our team has sailed together for eight years, and that is a big help. The Race Committee did a great job.  Managing 100 boats is not an easy task.” Hank Stuart served as PRO. In Friday’s race, three North American teams claimed the top places—Paul Scalisi’s Rabit Cson Duck Cson of the USA, Darby Smith of the USA and Phillip Williamson’s Roo of Canada. Winds on Lake Ontario shifted often and blew between 6-12 knots.

The top 10: 1) Mauricio Santa Cruz, BRA, 58 points 2) John Mollicone, USA, 101 3) Tony Parker, USA, 108 4) Mike Ingham, USA, 111 5) Matias Pereira, ARG, 111 6) Nicolas Cubria, ARG, 121 7) Rossi Milev, CAN, 122 8) Frithjof Schade, GER, 131 9) Peter Bream, USA, 132 10) Luis Olcese, PER, 147

The 2012 J/24 World Championship was title-sponsored by Quantum Loop Solutions and platinum-sponsored by Piehler Land Rover and Jaguar, Shumway Marine, and Miller Coors.  The J/24 Class and the Rochester Yacht Club were proud to be partnered with these companies and thank them for their support.

Regatta website
Tim Wilkes official photos
Photos
Video
Kattack
Rochester Yacht Club

Mauricio Santa Cruz is on the verge of being crowned the 2012 J/24 World Champion. With nine races in the books, Bruschetta holds a 42-point advantage over its closest competitor. In the 96-boat fleet at the Rochester Yacht Club in New York, Santa Cruz has led from day 1 of the week-long event.  On Thursday, he tallied a 19 and 3, but after dropping the 19, he has notched seven top-10 finishes and a 13. No other team has approached the consistency exhibited by Bruschetta this week. With only one more race to go, the battle is for the remaining top spots, with only two points separating second through fourth place. Mike Ingham’s 11th Hour Racing of the USA has 81 points, Nicolas Cubria’s Elvis of Argentina has 82 and John Mollicone’s 11th Hour Racing of the USA has 83. In Thursday’s first race, American Will Welles won his second race of the regatta on Cougar, trailed by Mollicone and Matias Pereira’s Luca of Argentina.  In the day’s other contest, two U.S. teams collected the top spots—Peter Bream’s Team Tarheel and Mike Marshall. Santa Cruz grabbed third. Winds on Lake Ontario ranged from 6-16 knots offshore, providing relatively flat conditions.  A twenty-degree oscillation throughout the day allowed for several lead changes. Racing concludes on Friday, and one more race is planned. Live updates are available http://www.2012j24worlds.com/.  The 2012 J/24 World Championship is title-sponsored by Quantum Loop Solutions and platinum-sponsored by Piehler Land Rover and Jaguar, Shumway Marine, and Miller Coors.  The J/24 Class and the Rochester Yacht Club are proud to be partnered with these companies and thank them for their support.

Regatta website
Tim Wilkes official photos
Photos
Video
Kattack
Rochester Yacht Club

Three days into the week-long J/24 World Championship at Rochester Yacht Club in New York, and Mauricio Santa Cruz of Brazil has taken dominant control of the 96-boat fleet.  Team Bruschetta has held the lead on each day of the event so far, and has now opened up a 41-point advantage with just three races to go. A throw-out took effect on Wednesday, and Santa Cruz dropped a 13, leaving him with all top 10 finishes in the seven races thus far.  Following him in the standings to date are American Mike Ingham who shot into second place, and a tie for third between Frithjof Schade’s JJone (Germany) and Rossi Milev’s Clear Air (Canada) with 67 points each. In the day’s first race, Ingham took top honors on 11th Hour Racing, with Nicolas Cubria’s Elvis of Argentina second and Pat Toole’s 3 Big Dogs of the USA in third. Race 2 saw another American in first—Will Welles’s Cougar. Matias Seguel’s Guru of Chile and Ignazio Bonanno’s La Superba of Italy trailed Welles. In the third bout, Mauricio Santa Cruz ended the day on a positive note, as did Americans’ Ingham in second and Darby Smith in third. Winds on Lake Ontario started at 12-14 knots, then built to 18 for most of Race 1, decreased slightly in Race 2, then dropped to 5-7 knots in the final race. Swells lingered from the previous night’s storm throughout the day. Racing continues through Friday, and 10 total races are planned. Live updates will be available all week at www.2012j24worlds.com.  The 2012 J/24 World Championship is title-sponsored by Quantum Loop Solutions and platinum-sponsored by Piehler Land Rover and Jaguar, Shumway Marine, and Miller Coors.  The J/24 Class and the Rochester Yacht Club are proud to be partnered with these companies and thank them for their support.

Regatta website
Tim Wilkes official photos
Photos
Video
Kattack
Rochester Yacht Club