Honeybadger wins 45th J/24 Worlds

A city famous for its coffee, rain, and salmon can do sailing too as host for the 2024 J/24 World Championship which celebrated its 45th anniversary on October 1-5 in Seattle, WA. Fifty-six teams completed a 9-race series that was handily won by Travis Odenbach and his Honeybadger crew of Monica Morgan, Dave Hughes, Jay Miles, and Jeff Sullivan.

“That’s a relief!” exclaimed a jubilant Odenbach. “I’ve been trying to win the J/24 Worlds for 10 years!” While Odenbach has won the J/24 U.S. National Championship and has previously finished second and third in the J/24 Worlds, this regatta represented a massive commitment to high-level racing in the world’s most popular keelboat.

“We made a plan in January,” he said, noting that they carefully stuck with it. “We’re from the Great Lakes, which is a little bit different because it isn’t tidal.” The solution, he said, was to enlist a top- notch crew, including tactician and Olympian Hughes. “I had a lot of good people who helped make this happen.”

It worked, winning three of the last six races for a final margin of 23 points.

Odenbach’s team was joined on the winner’s podium by Mike Ingham, skipper of USA 5443, and his crew, who finished in second place, and skipper Kohei Ichikawa and his Gekko Diana (JPN 5450) team.

Amongst Corinthians, skipper Nobuyuki Imai and his Siesta (JPN 5185) crew took top honors, followed by skipper Jakob Lichtenberg’s Hair of the Dog (USA 5354) crew, and Daniel Borrer’s Jesus Lizard (USA 2436) team.

In the All-Female division, skipper Elisabeth Hudson’s Two Shots (USA 2342) crew was the boat to beat, followed by Lee Ann Zaretsky’s Lady Minx (USA 5482) team, and Chloe Nunn’s Super G (GBR 4260) squad.

Amongst the Under-25 division, Sam Hopper’s Saltine (USA 62) was the quickest around the buoys, followed by Ryan Milne’s Jester (USA 5470) team, and Yuki Sekine’s Gyosyu (JPN 5273).

“It’s been awesome,” said Jon Anderson, who served as regatta chair and raced aboard Lichtenberg’s Hair of the Dog. “We picked this time of year specifically because it tends to have better breeze than the rest of the summer, so it’s right on the hybrid of the seasons.

“Seattle isn’t known for a predictable Miami- or Texas-type breeze where the wind comes from the same direction and the same speed every single day, so it really puts your tactical and strategic skills to the test.”

Ron Rosenberg, a multi-time world champion sailor who served as tactician aboard Kurt Dammeier’s Amuse Bouche (USA 3379), reported how the fleet saw winds ranging from 5 to 20 knots over the regatta’s nine races. “It was a really strategic regatta, even more than a boatspeed regatta, which made it really challenging for many teams. I think everyone appreciated that challenge.”

Details: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/IMIGSj06De/