Will Welles wins J/24 World Championship

Riva del Garda, Italy (August 31, 2018) – Will Welles’ Kaster of the USA has achieved his second J/24 World Championship in five years, this time at the 40th edition of the prestigious Championship on Lake Garda. With crew Nick Turney, Rich Bowen, Giuliano Cattarozzi, and Andrea Casale, the Newport, RI-based helmsman recorded 47 net points in 10 races.

Next best was Nobuyuki Imai’s Siesta of Japan who ended with 68 points. Three Americans followed: Keith Whittemore’s Furio, Travis Odenbach’s Honeybadger and Mike Ingham’s Nautalytics, who dominated today’s three contests with a 2,1,1. The day’s other race winner was Welles.

Welles put together a combined American and Italian team, and commended “Giuliano for bringing a fast boat and Andrea for putting it all together. In the two years that I prepared for this trip, I leaned on them for local logistics; Lake Garda is a particular lake, it is the first time I came here and it was a surprise. However, I am not surprised at the large participation in this championship, because everyone once in their life should to come to race here. It was a success for the J/24 class.”

The IJCA also awarded its perpetual trophies:
• Jaeger Women’s Trophy to Lynn Wolgast (Germany)
• Under-25 Turner Trophy to Pietro Parisi (Italy)

Ten races were held for the 89 teams from 14 countries from August 27 to 31.

Final Results (Top 5 of 89; 10 races, 1 discard)
1) Will Welles, Kaster, USA, 2, 5, 2, 9, (25), 2, 2, 1, 8, 16, Net 47
2) Nobuyuki Imai, Siesta, JPN, 25, 10, 5, 5, 1, 1, 7, (32), 7, 7, Net 68
3) Keith Whittemore, Furio, USA, 31, 19, DPI20, 3, 2, 9, 3, 1, (46), 3, 4, Net 75
4) Travis Odenbach, Honeybadger, USA, 14, 7, 8, 3, (16), 12, 8, 15, 2, 11, Net 80
5) Mike Ingham, Nautalytics, USA, 20, (43), 4, 10, 5, 8, 30, 2, 1, 1, Net 81

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: J/24 Class, Fraglia Vela Riva