Locals dominate J/105 North Americans

Seabrook, TX (October 29, 2017) – Of the 10 races at the J/105 North American Championship, Steve Rhyne’s Mojo won five of them, en route to a commanding victory in the 22-boat fleet. No races took place today due to lack of wind, but it wouldn’t have mattered for Rhyne who had wrapped up the Championship, hosted by his own Lakewood Yacht Club.

With Brian Shores, Jake Scott, Joe Taylor, Alan Woodyard and Ryan Glaze, the Mojo team recorded scores of 4,1,1,2,1,5,1,1,1,6 for a slim 23 points in the no-throw-out series. Fellow LYC members Bill Zartler on Deja Vodoo (49 points) and Bill Lakenmacher on Radiance (57 points) completed the top three overall.

Rhyne only bought his J/105 in the past year, lured by the strong Fleet 17 in Galveston Bay as well as this Championship at his own club. The conditions did not disappoint over the three days of competition, as winds held in the teens for the duration.

“These were physical conditions but not unmanageable,” summarized Rhyne. “After we got the lead on day one, we went into conservative mode. We felt we had speed, so we just couldn’t do anything stupid with no throw-out. It was about points management.” Rhyne gave all the credit to his team, saying, “Crew is everything on any boat. I think my crew could’ve stepped on any boat and won.”

Racing was held on October 26 to 29 with a total of 11 races planned (no discard).

Final Results (Top 10 of 22; 10 races)
1. 15 / 41, Mojo, Steve Rhyne, Lakewood Yacht Club, 4-1-1-2-1-5-1-1-1-6- ; 23
2. 6 / 130, Deja Voodoo, Bill Zartler, Lakewood Yacht Club, 1-3-4-4-2-8-2-4-10-11- ; 49
3. 16 / 649, Radiance, Bill Lakenmacher, LYC, 3-6-5-8-4-6-3-6-15-1- ; 57
4. 13 / 88, Sanity, Rick Goebel, SDYC/CRA, 8-9-3-1-3-7-9/SCP-2-2-18- ; 62
5. 12 / USA 96, Good Trade, Bruce Stone, St. Francis Yacht Club, 12-10-2-6-7-1-8-13-3-8- ; 70T
6. 22 / 628, Double Dare, Rick Schaffer, Fort Worth Boat Club, 5-4-10-3-12-3-6-19-4-4- ; 70T
7. 21 / 490, Distant Passion, James Macdonald, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, 2-11-8-23/ZFP*-8-9-13-8-7-2- ; 91
8. 9 / 43937, Pesto, John Barnett, lyc, 9-7-7-18/SCP-6-15/SCP-12-10-6-9- ; 99
9. 3 / 03, Ne * NE, Osmond Young, LYC, 6-2-22/SCP-17/ZFP*-18-10-7-3-13-10- ; 108
10. 1 / USA 378, Infinity, Uzi Ozeri, LYC, 16-17-12-18-15-4-10-7-9-3- ; 111

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: J/105 class