J/24 Worlds takes to the bay on penultimate day

Newport, RI (September 25, 2014) – With marginal conditions and diminishing visibility on the ocean course, the Race Committee chose to sail inside north of the Newport Bridge for races 7 and 8 of the 2014 J/24 World Championship hosted by Sail Newport.

Will Welles’ Cougar (USA) sailed his throw-out in race seven but came back with a solid six in race eight to hold onto the lead with a total score of 31 points. Mauricio Santa Cruz’s Bruschetta (BRA) is just six points back with a total of 37; and John Mollicone’s Team Helly Hanson (USA) had a another strong day and moved into third place with 45 points.

Overcast skies, cool temperatures and rain greeted the 69 teams as they sailed to the start. Wind speeds starting at 8 to 10 and built slightly out of the Northeast. The first race of the day was won by Mollicone and then Travis Odenbach’s Honey Badger (USA). Al Constants’ Blitz (USA) rounded out the top three for race seven. Joshua Bone’s Motorhome (USA) won Thursday’s second race, trailed by Nobuo Nakazawa on Gekko (JPN) and Rossi Milev on Clear Air (CAN).

Hosted by Sail Newport, racing continues for the 69 teams from 13 nations (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and the United States) through Friday. Ten races are scheduled.

Preliminary Day Four Standings (Top 10 of 69; 8 races, 1 discard)
1. Cougar, Will Welles , USA – 1 -6 -9 -1 -4 -4 -[46] -6 ; 31
2. Bruschetta, Mauricio Santa Cruz , BRA – [12] -4 -10 -2 -1 -7 -9 -4 ; 37
3. Helly Hansen, John Mollicone , USA – 2 -[24] -11 -10 -2 -9 -1 -10 ; 45
4. Team Tarheel, Greg Griffin , USA – [23] -7 -4 -3 -12 -8 -17 -8 ; 59
5. Luca vive, Alejo Rigoni Gonzalez , ARG – 10 -25 -[26] -4 -8 -2 -5 -11 ; 65
6. Clear Air, Rossi Milev , CAN – 8 -[34] -14 -7 -15 -14 -14 -3 ; 75
7. Sokokumaru, Mark Hillman , USA – 4 -1 -7 -21 -[72] -6 -34 -5 ; 78
8. Honey Badger, Travis Odenbach , USA – 23 -8 -[72] -16 -3 -1 -2 -27 ; 80
9. Extasis, Pedro Garra , URU – 14 -3 -13 -6 -16 -13 -[42] -31 ; 96
10. Nautalytics, Mike Ingham , USA – 27 -29 -2 -8 -11 -3 -[37] -17 ; 97

Event website – Complete results – Photos

Report by class media.