Franco, Willis win J/70 Winter Series #2

Fifty-three J/70 teams savored spectacular conditions on Tampa Bay for the middle part of the 2019-2020 J/70 Winter Series on January 11-12 in Tampa, Florida. Jack Franco’s 3 Ball JT, with crew Bill Hardesty, Alec Anderson, and Rob Lindley, ruled the six races, posting five bullets and an eighth for just 5 net points.

Bob Willis’ Rip Rullah, with team of Matt Clark, Michael Whitford, and Patrick Hitchins, topped the 23-boat Corinthian division.

Brian Keane’s Savasana placed second on the weekend with 26 points, but leads the overall ranking, while Darby Smith’s Africa finished the second event in third with 28 points.

With record high temperatures, winds were ripping on the first day, starting at a sustained 16 knots with gusts in the 20s. Four races were completed, as the wind slowly backed off. Day two saw about 8 knots, dying throughout the day, when two more races took place. The only other race winner was Kevin Downey’s Mr. Pitiful.

The three-event series concludes February 7-9.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Final Results (Top 10 of 53; 6 races, 1 discard)
1. 3 Ball JT, Jack Franco/ Bill Hardesty/ Alec Anderson/ Rob Lindley, USA – [8] -1 -1 -1 -1 -1; 5
2. Savasana, Brian Keane/ Nick Baird/ Mack Bryan/ Conner Harding, USA – 2 -4 -2 -5 -13 -[54/DNF]; 26
3. Africa, Darby Smith/ Carlos/ Trent Long/ Will Felder, USA – [12] -7 -3 -9 -7 -2; 28
4. Honeybadger, Mark Foster/ Travis Odenbach/ Ian Coleman/ Mark Liebel, USA – 6 -8 -6 -3 -8 -[16]; 31
5. Building A, Joshua Goldman/ Allen Terhune/ Cate Terhune/ Austin Powers, USA – 7 -5 -4 -4 -[26] -11; 31
6. Bribona, Will Welles/ Steve Liebel/ Judah Rubin/ Coleen Walsh, USA – 14 -11 -[15] -8 -3 -4; 40
7. Mr. Pitiful, Kevin Downey/ Willem VanWaay/ Mike Downing/ Patrick Norris, USA – 1 -2 -35 -2 -[37] -5; 45
8. Very Odd 1513, David Jannetti/ Scott Nixon/ Dan Cameron/ Larry Kane, USA – 10 -9 -7 -13 -[30] -9; 48
9. Polar, Doug Clark/ Lincoln White/ Richard O’Leary/ Liam Long, USA – 4 -[20] -11 -11 -15 -8; 49
10. Rip Rullah, Bob Willis/ Matt Clark/ Michael Whitford/ Patrick Hitchins, USA – 13 -[16] -16 -14 -2 -6; 51

2019-20 DIYC J/70 Winter Series
December 7-8
January 11-12
February 8-9

Source: J/70 Class