Wild day at J/24 Worlds

Miami, FL (October 25, 2019) – Keith Whittemore’s Furio extended his lead at the 2019 J/24 World Championship, as Biscayne Bay in Miami delivered a wild and exciting day for the 79 teams. Winds were regularly recorded at 18 knots with gusts in the 20s, testing competitors and equipment, and causing some boats to retire early.

Whittemore’s Furio, who exceled in the Championship’s lighter days, also shone in the bigger breeze Friday, posting a bullet and a 12 for 32 net points in eight races. Chris Stone’s Velocidad held on to the runner-up position with 41 points, following a 26,5 on the day (discarding the 26). Rossi Milev’s Clear Air maintained the third spot with 42 points.

The Seattle-based Furio crew is comprised of Shelby Milne, Willem Van Waay, Mark Rodgerd and Brian Thomas. Whittemore explained that Van Waay has some regatta experience with Furio but joked, “The rest of us has sailed together for 4,000 years.” Whittemore also keeps a boat in Europe, and is regular on that circuit, creating friends and supporters worldwide.

After Whittemore in race seven were John Mollicone’s Helly Hansen and Tokuma Takesue’s Gekko. Three J/24 World Champions comprised the top three in race eight: Mauricio Santa Cruz’s Bruschetta, Will Welles Buckaroo and Daniel Frost’s JJOne. Two more races are planned for tomorrow to conclude the event.

Seventy-nine teams from 19 countries are competing from October 22 to 26, with ten races scheduled for the five days of racing. For a complete list of all J/24 World Champions, click here.

Event details – Results – Facebook – Photos

Day Four Results (Top 10 of 79; 8 races, 1 discard)
1. Furio, Keith Whittemore, USA – 4 -3 -7 -3 -[33] -2 -1 -12 ; 32
2. Velocidad, Christopher Stone, USA – 5 -2 -4 -14 -4 -7 -[26] -5 ; 41
3. Clear Air, Rossi Milev, CAN – 1 -6 -14 -1 -3 -[16] -11 -6 ; 42
4. Nautalytics, Mike Ingham, USA – 2 -14 -[39] -7 -8 -5 -14 -4 ; 54
5. bangor packet, Tony Parker, USA – 15 -1 -6 -2 -2 -[27] -17 -24 ; 67
6. Honeybadger, Travis Odenbach, USA – [22] -19 -19 -5 -9 -1 -8 -11 ; 72
7. Lifted, Evan Petley-Jones, CAN – 12 -16 -29 -6 -5 -[35] -4 -9 ; 81
8. Buckaroo, Will Welles, USA – 13 -[24] -13 -21 -6 -14 -13 -2 ; 82
9. Bruschetta, Mauricio Santa Cruz, BRA – 27 -[80] -11 -20 -10 -8 -9 -1 ; 86
10. Angel of Harlem, Robby Brown, USA – 7 -12 -3 -29 -[80] -23 -6 -8 ; 88

Source: J/24 Class