Foster victorious at J/22 Midwinters

Houston, TX (March 18, 2018) – Four J/22 World Champions finished in the top five of the 2018 J/22 Midwinter Championship, but it was 1999 Champion Mark Foster on Pressure Drop who edged out fellow Texan Terry Flynn on Tejas to earn the title on a tie-breaker.

Both teams had net points of 23, but Foster’s bullets secured the top spot. Fellow past World Champions Mike Marshall on Bad News and Chris Doyle on The Jug 4 1 finished third and fifth, respectively, with Travis Odenbach’s HoneyBadger in fourth.

Thirty-nine teams completed eight races on Friday and Saturday, however light winds today did not allow the final scheduled contest. With 39 boats on the line, this attendance matched the highest for a J/22 Midwinter Championship since 2008.

Foster, with crew Brian Babbitt and Matt Romberg, enjoyed battling it out with friend Flynn, who he has known more than 30 years. “We have sailed together in many Championships,” said Foster. “Terry was sailing the boat I won the Worlds in (hull 707), and I was sailing the boat Terry won the Worlds in (hull 1501)!”

Racing was held March 16 to 18.

Final Results (Top 10 of 39; 8 races, 1 discard)
1. Mark Foster/Brian Babbitt/Matt Romberg, Corpus Christi YC, [16]-5-6-1-1-3-4-3- ; 23T
2. Terry Flynn/Brett Allred/Bryan Calk, GBCA/ FWBC, 3-5/RDG-5-4-2-[10]-2-2- ; 23T
3. Michael Marshall, NYYC, 5-1-3-8-5-7-[11]-4- ; 33
4. Travis Odenbach/Justin Damore/Kris Werner, Ro, 2-4-2-7-[40/OCS]-13-1-7- ; 36
5. Chris Doyle/Will Harris/Adam Burns, Youngstown Yacht Club, 9-3-1-3-12-[19]-10-1- ; 39
6. Doug Weakly/James Kondziela/Joe Mayfield, -, 1-11-4-5-[15]-5-9-6- ; 41
7. Nataleigh Perez/Alex Crowell/Blake Billman, FWBC, [10]-9-7-6-9-8-5-8- ; 52
8. Kevin Doyle/Victor Snyder/Aaron Snyder, Youngstown Yacht Club, 7-2-14-12-4-[15]-3-12- ; 54
9. Danny Pletsch/Megan Pletsch, Larchmont Yacht Club, 14/ZFP-[18]-18-2-10-1-6-5- ; 56
10. Tom Meeh/Robert Brann/Tom Johnson, GBCA, [14]-9/RDG-9-14-8-4-13-11- ; 68

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: J/22 Class