Sledge Hammer Wins J/120 US National Championship

Tom Lewin’s Sledge Hammer beat 14 other teams over an 11-race series to claim the J/120 US National Championship title, held August 19-21 in Detroit, MI.

With teams from Detroit, Toronto, Buffalo (NY), and Hudson (OH), Lewin led his son Tommy and Mark Christensen of Santa Cruz CA, and Doug Bienko, Pat and Mike Augello, Larry Militello, Peter Johnson, Anthony Alexander of the Buffalo Area, to the hard fought victory featuring very close racing in high winds for most of the 11 races.

The winning team had 5 first place finishes and 31 total points to beat Night Moves, a boat once owned by singer Bob Seger, that ended with 46 points in the low point, no throw out, scoring system, with Sledgehammer first, and Night Moves 11th in the last race. Sledgehammer also won the prestigious Port Huron to Mackinac race in 2013.

Final Results
1. Sledge Hammer, Tom Lewin , USA – 2 -6 -2 -1 -3 -1 -2 -1 -1 -11 -1 ; 31
2. Night Moves, Henry Mistele , USA – 10 -2 -4 -4 -1 -2 -6 -2 -2 -2 -11 ; 46
3. J Hawker, Dave Sandlin , USA – 11 -9 -1 -2 -6 -7 -1 -5 -10 -1 -2 ; 55
4. Hot Ticket, Mike & Bob Kirkman , USA – 3 -12 -3 -7 -5 -8 -5 -4 -5 -4 -3 ; 59
5. FUNTECH Racing, Charlie Hess , USA – 1 -13 -5 -3 -7 -16 -3 -3 -3 -3 -7 ; 64
6. Viva La Vida, Tim Yanda , USA – 4 -7 -13 -8 -8 -3 -4 -10 -7 -7 -6 ; 77
7. Carinthia, Frank Kern , USA – 5 -10 -6 -11 -10 -9 -8 -6 -6 -8 -4 ; 83
8. Ihnsanity Too, Marv Ihnen / Ken Tanner , USA – 9 -5 -7 -12 -2 -11 -14 -8 -4 -12 -8 ; 92
9. The Cat Came Back, Graham Toms , CAN – 15 -1 -11 -6 -11 -6 -10 -9 -12 -5 -14 ; 100
10. Scout, Geoff Brieden / Jeff Clark , USA – 14 -14 -14 -10 -13 -10 -7 -7 -8 -10 -5 ; 112
11. Nauti Boys, John Hughes / Ed Vermet , USA – 8 -8 -9 -14 -12 -14 -11 -12 -11 -6 -9 ; 114
12. Victrix 3, Curt Kime , USA – 7 -4 -12 -15 -14 -13 -9 -14 -9 -9 -10 ; 116
13. Proof, Michael Fozo and Robin Kendrick , USA – 12 -3 -15 -5 -9 -12 -13 -11 -15 -15 -12 ; 122
14. Sleeping Tiger, John Harvey , USA – 6 -15 -8 -13 -4 -5 -16 -16 -14 -13 -15 ; 125
15. Storm Warning, Merrily Kuhn , USA – 13 -11 -10 -9 -15 -4 -12 -13 -13 -14 -13 ; 127

Event details: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=1668