Extending the Season in Florida

The keelboat winter circuits got underway with the Melges 20, J/70, and Etchells classes hosting their opening events this past weekend in Florida. Each series is scored separately but there is an overall title to encourage participation. Here are updates from each event, which includes how participation compares to a year ago.

Melges 20: This series in Miami includes events in December, February, and March. At the opening event they had 16 entrants which included 3 Corinthian teams, which is down slightly from a year ago when they had 21 teams with 5 Corinthian entrants. Drew Freides and his team of Morgan Reeser and Charlie Smythe survived big winds to win the opener, with John Brown’s team taking the Group 1 title after finishing 9th overall. Full report.

J/70: This three event series in Tampa is held in December, January, and February. With 53 teams, and 23 entered as Corinthian, this opening event had an increase from last year when 39 boats competed, with 19 entered as Corinthian. Marty Kullman’s team won 4 of 7 races to take the victory, with Andrew Lew finishing 14th overall as the top Corinthian team. Full report.

Etchells: The series dates back to 1994, making it the oldest among the three classes. The four event circuit in Miami has events in December, January, and two in February. Forty one Etchells competed in the opener compared to 47 teams a year ago (no Corinthian division), Luke Lawrence kept it clean with all but one top two scores through the five race series to take the title. Full report.