2023 J/70 World Championship
Published on November 4th, 2023
Tom Mallindine and Charlie Thompson’s Brutus III (GBR), with team Chris Grube, Ben Saxton, and Elisabeth Whitener, won the 2023 J/70 World Championship held October 31-November 4 in St. Petersburg, FL. Eighty-three teams completed 10 races, and after Brutus III started the regatta with a 53, they then never finished lower than 13 to win by 27 points over Bruce Golison’s Midlife Crisis (USA).
Laura Grondin’s Dark Energy (USA) finished third place overall and she was the top female skipper.
Finishing in 21st place, two-time US Corinthian US National Champions Lee Sackett and Dave Kerr won the Corinthian World Championship title among the 28 qualifying teams.
On the winning team, boat owner Kerr is their 71-year-old bowman, and fellow team member Erica Trejo is pregnant. “We embody the Corinthian spirit, we all have day jobs,” noted crew Michael Booker. “It’s an amazing accomplishment! We’ve been working hard all year doing as many events as possible and getting into the groove.”
The event had 14 nations competing from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, Monaco, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the USA.