2016 J/24 East Coast Championship (Oct 28-30)
& J/22 Mid-Atlantic Championship (Oct 29-30)
Severn Sailing Association, Annapolis, MD
Congratulations to Tony Parker & the Bangor Packet team, who are the 2016 J/24 East Coast Champions!
2016 J-24 East Coast Championship Recap by Tony Parker
The J24 East Coast Championships are back! After being arguably the most highly attended and most prestigious regatta in Annapolis for the last 39 years, the attendance had fallen off in recent years. But the class put in a sustained effort this year and were rewarded with almost 30 boats on the starting line.
And what a terrific three days of sailboat racing the sailors got. The Chesapeake Bay validated that it is the best sailboat racing venue anywhere in the country in the fall. The conditions challenged all three types of sailing: mid 20’s wind with blades on the first day; “top of the genoa” sailing in 15 to 18 knots on Saturday; and light air 4 – 7 knots on Sunday.
The racing was extremely tight; going into the last race, there were four boats within two points of each other with a fifth only 5 points back. We were able to get a good start the last race, went the right way and kept our main competitors behind us to win the regatta.
But the real winners were all the competitors. They were treated to superb sailing in an extremely competitive class over a gorgeous weekend. Coupled with on-land activities that everyone described as outstanding meant that this was, once again, a regatta not to be missed!
2016 J-24 East Coast Championship Recap by Travis Odenbach
The weekend of the Oct. 28 – 30 marked another great J/24 East Coast Championship for 26 teams from up and down the East Coast (including the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia). This number is up significantly from last year, and the competition – well let’s just say there was no shortage of competition!
Big Breeze in Annapolis
To begin with, the weather came through for the sailors in a big way. Winds Friday ranged between 15 & 32 knots from the NW with air temperatures in the high 50’s. While some boats struggled down-wind, others reveled in the challenging conditions that make this boat thrilling to sail. Winds Saturday ranged from 12 to 18 knots from the S-SW with temperatures in the upper 60’s. This was one of the best sailing days I have ever had in Annapolis! A high-pressure system moved in Sunday with unsettled winds from the SW ranging from 6 to 11 knots, but with air temperatures rising to 70+ degrees! All in all Annapolis provided us with a variety of conditions from great breeze to light and unstable giving everyone a chance to make some points back or extend a lead!
On the Water
From a competitive standpoint, this 26 boat fleet was the strongest I have seen it in the last 3 years. Mike Marshall was leading the regatta the first two days with very consistent scores. Neither Tony Parker or I raced the 2nd race of the series – Tony had broken his main halyard, while I was a bit eager at the start and caught a U flag. I recommend staying away from both of those mistakes! After two races on Friday in big air, boats were beaten up and crews were too, so the RC decided to let us live to fight another day and called racing after two. Read more here!
For more info, contact regattachair@j24eastcoastchampionship.com