Cloud9 wins J/88 North Americans

Fourteen J/88s competed in the 2019 North American Championship held October 17-20 at Larchmont Yacht in Larchmont, NY. Teams came from San Francisco, Canada, Youngstown, Rochester, Shelter Island, and Long Island Sound.

The regatta started with a coastal storm on day one with steady winds of 35 knots and gusts exceeding 45 knots, leading to an abandonment of all racing for the day. Four races were held on day two in a shifty NW wind of 20 knots, gusting to 28. Laura Weyler and the team of Hijinks, winners of two previous North American Championships, took an early lead with 6 points, ahead of John Sommi’s Cloud 9 (15 points) and Elizabeth Barry’s Escape (17 points).

Boat handling and consistency paid off, as even the smallest mistake could lead to a deep finish. This was evidenced by Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault’s team on Oh Jee, who sailed three spectacular races with two bullets and one fourth but had to retire from race 3 because of a broach at the finish line, leading to a scrape with another boat.

Day three started with 6-8 knots out of the West, testing everyone’s light air skills. Four races were held in flat water and sunny skies. Keeping the boats moving and finding lanes of clear air paid off. At the end of the day, Cloud 9 was leading the pack with 28 points, while second to fifth place were only points apart, with Hijinks in second (32 points), Andrew Weiss’s team of One Too Many moving into third (38 points), Oh Jee in fourth (39 points) and Escape in fifth (40 points).

Day four brought an Easterly breeze of 8-12 knots with lumpy seas. Three races were held, and John Sommi’s Cloud 9 finished the day winning the 2019 North American Championship with a total of 36 points (11 races, no throw outs). Cew included Victor Diaz de Leon, Edward Kiaer, John King, Hugh MacGillivray and Carlos Lorente Robles. Second went to Hijinks (41 points), third to Oh Jee (47 points), fourth place Escape (51 points) and fifth One Too Many (55 points).

The Corinthian Trophy was awarded to Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault, who placed third.

Event details – Results – Photos

Final Results (11 races)
1. Cloud9, John Sommi , USA – 3 -4 -4 -4 -1 -4 -4 -4 -1 -3 -4 ; 36
2. Hijinks, Laura Weyler , USA – 1 -2 -1 -2 -8 -8 -5 -5 -2 -6 -1 ; 41
3. Oh Jee, Bruce Stone / Nicole Breault , USA – 4 -1 -15 -1 -2 -3 -6 -7 -4 -1 -3 ; 47
4. Escape, Elizabeth Barry , USA – 2 -7 -3 -5 -12 -7 -1 -3 -7 -2 -2 ; 51
5. One Too Many, Lawrence Cutler / Andrew Weiss , USA – 8 -8 -2 -6 -5 -5 -2 -2 -6 -4 -7 ; 55
6. Deviation, Iris Vogel , USA – 5 -3 -5 -12 -6 -1 -8 -1 -3 -10 -5 ; 59
7. Yonder, Brice Dunwoodie , USA – 10 -6 -9 -10 -7 -7 -10 -10 -5 -5 -6 ; 85
8. Whirlwind, William Purdy , USA – 7 -10 -6 -8 -10 -10 -9 -11 -9 -7 -8 ; 95
9. Velocity, Kevin Marks , USA – 12 -12 -7 -9 -8 -9 -3 -6 -10 -13 -10 ; 99
10. Courageous, Gary Panariello , USA – 6 -5 -8 -3 -4 -11 -14 -8 -14 -14 -14 ; 101
11. Gaucho, Dave Tufts , USA – 14 -11 -10 -11 -11 -12 -7 -9 -12 -8.5 -11 ; 116.5
12. Albóndigas, Justin Scagnelli , USA – 9 -9 -12 -7 -14 -13 -12 -12 -11 -8.5 -13 ; 120.5
13. Give’r, Tim Sweet , CAN – 11 -15 -13 -13 -9 -6 -13 -14 -8 -11 -9 ; 122
14. Surfer Girl, Keith Rehder , USA – 13 -13 -11 -14 -13 -14 -11 -13 -13 -12 -12 ; 139

Source: J/88 Class