J-24 North American Championship Wrap Up

The J-24 North American Championship came to a close on Saturday, September 24th, with one of the best days of racing of the regatta. The morning opened with a puffy 10-14 knots of breeze and big steep waves. The race committee ran another fantastic day of racing, with two long courses and course changes at every mark to keep the course square to the wind. Anthony Katoun had another solid day of racing to hold on to first place and become the newest J24 North American Champion. But that was just the beginning of the story.

The challenging conditions made for good racing for everyone in the fleet right up to the last race. After 4 days, 10 races, and over 65 miles of sailing, second place was a tie between the Zaleski brothers and Mark Hillman. After three tie breakers, Mark Hillman was awarded second place. Racing doesn't get any tighter than this. Most of the fleet finished within a point or two of the boat in front of and behind them in the standings. In many regattas of this length, the results would have been much more spread. It is a true testament to the quality of the venue, the race committee work, and the quality of all the racers who came to Marblehead for this great championship.

The fun extended right to the last minute. The regatta committee put on an excellent awards ceremony, with awards for many more than just the winners of the regatta. In addition to the leaders of the regatta already mentioned, Thomas Barbeau and Stuart Challoner walked away with impressive half hull trophies for fourth and fifth place. Bob Kraemer was crowned the first J24 North American Masters Champion. Caleb Sloan won the Peter Milnes sportsmanship award for the hard work that he and his team did in boat and sail measurement. They helped us get the regatta off on the right foot.

And, as has become the tradition in this fleet, in an effort to make sure that everyone goes home happy, some of the best trophies went to those that struggled the most. The mid-fleet boat went home with a new North Sails Genoa. And, thanks to Dave Smith and Cianciulli and Ouellette, the crew of the Blue Fox walked away with a handle of Mount Gay for their efforts. There was also a handle of Mount Gay for Dan Busch and crew. Unfortunately, Dan had already packed up and hit the road. Dave Smith asked for a volunteer to deliver this trophy. In another genuine demonstration of good will, every single person in attendance leapt forward to volunteer. Dan, I don't know who has your trophy, but you better ask around or it may evaporate before you see it.

Most of all we need to thank all the people that made this a fantastic regatta on and off the water. First and foremost, thank you to the Corinthian Yacht Club for making all the competitors feel extremely welcome. Everyone I talked to throughout out the week felt very welcome by the club and the members. Thank you very much for sharing your waterfront facilities, race committee boats, and most of all your fantastic club, and it's beautiful porch.

Most importantly, we need to thank our Race Committee, Jury, and the long list of volunteers. The quality of the event could only have been achieved with such a large and dedicated group of people.

Registration, Hauling, Awards, Planning, etc, etc, etc.

Rona Earl, Nancy Toso, Lisa McNamara, Chuck Twombly, Allison Whittredge, Leanne Smith, Diane Denman, Cheryl Harvey

And thank you to Dale and Paul Earl, and Maureen and Dan Tucker for their help and for opening their homes to visiting competitors.

Race Committee, Jury, and Scoring

Ken Adam, Judy Adam, Barbara Hallawell, Pat Hart, Jack Killian, Rick Hamill, Jim Whipple, Joe Whipple, Nancy Parrillo, Dennis Esposito, Dave Graham, Odvar Solstad, Brent Larlee and Tony Charmay, Ken MacDonald, Maura Power, Rick Hamill, Karl Renney, Pat Wheeler Elevich, Gordon Vineyard, Phylis Vineyard, Brad Marvin, Fritz Koopman, Arther Saulsberry.

And of course our regatta committee that spent the last year and a half planning the event.

Mark Toso, Dave Smith, and Pip and Jeff Earl

If you would like to order photos of the event, please take a moment to visit the gallery of photos available from Wavelength Studios. There are also photos taken by participants of the regatta on our local fleet website. If you have photos that you took during the regatta that you would like to share, please e-mail them to photos@j24fleet28.org.

No Breeze in Marblehead, Who Would've Thunk It. -- Day 3

Well, it wasn't really no breeze today, but it sure was challenging breeze. And of course, to finish the day, we had a classic Marblehead epic--5 long legs of huge shifts, dying and reappearing breezes, and lead changes like you could only see here. In this race, we saw the beautiful yellow boat Rental (1-800-EAT-WIND????) way out in front with what seemed like an insurmountable lead. Yeah Rental!!! Oh, wait, welcome to Marblehead, where anything can happen, and it often does. Well, you saw the front for a while, which is more than a lot of us saw.

As with all great championships, the stage is set for a classic showdown tomorrow. I am sure the arm chair sailors on Sailing Anarchy will all be laying down their bets tonight. While Anthony Kotoun continues to lead the regatta, the story of today was all about Mark Hillman. While 36 boats were busy scratching their heads, Mark and crew figured out how to scratch out two bullets, and claw their way into second place today. So all you sailing fans, if you are sitting at home on a Friday night reading this, then you are as lame as I am, but go ahead and lay down your bets. Tomorrow it is between Kotoun, Hillman, and the Zaleskis.

Ahhhhh, forget about the hype. Let's talk about what is great about this class and what is great about life. We have a member of the class celebrating their 40th birthday this weekend. John Groskoph, the skipper of Jersey Girl, celebrates his 40th birthday this Sunday. Wow, 40.....40.....40. He should be out buying a tiny sports car and dyeing his hair. But instead, he is sailing this week with his wife Donna, his sister Suzanne and his brother-in-law Jason. A complete family affair. He has either chosen to do this to remind him that everything that is good in life is right here on the boat and on the water......or on Sunday, he is going to turn over a new leaf, sell the boat, buy a Miata and take up tango dancing. Well, I know some of the crew and I bet the J-24 is staying in the family, and we are all lucky to have people like this in the class. (Jason, was that the sort of embarassment you were looking for?)

Well, the forecast is for huge breeze tomorrow. So to all my fellow breatheren in the 200+ pound club, I hope that you will pray with me that it blows tomorrow, so that we are not relegated to the dog house smelling four day old coolers, shoes, and foul weather gear. This has been a truly spectacular event put on by the Corinthian, and I hope we have a great day tomorrow.

GO BREEZE, GO DOGS!!!

Breeze in Marblehead, Who Would've Thunk It. -- Day 2

Today started with the sort of flat glassy water Marblehead often delivers. However, as has been typical this summer, with a little patience, some great air filled in. We got off three great races, and although Anthony Kotoun and crew continued to show great speed, the day belonged to the Zaleskis. Two bullets in challenging conditions that are making a lot of the locals look like they flew in from out of town showed everybody that luck doesn't just happen.

Today turned out to be probably the greatest sailing day we have seen all summer in Marblehead. And then, upon reaching the Corinthian Yacht Club we were treated to a phenomenal sunset over Marblehead. This is what the porch at the Corinthian is famous for. On top of that, the club treated us to a wonderful dinner and the sponsors treated us to more swag than I have ever seen. Few people walked away without a new sheet, halyard, hat, shirt, or even a spinnaker pole tonight.

I must also take a moment to point out the local boats doing well. Brett Detels and crew on Wizard are having a very consistent regatta and holding on in the 10 spot. In 8th place is the infamous green boat Airodoodle. Oh, wait, I mean white boat. Man, I guess a paint job can make you faster? Well anyway, it is a demonstration about what is great about this class. You can take a family boat and put some work into the boat, and some work into your sailing and get right up there with the pros. The Denmans and Smiths have a great family program and have put a lot of hours into the boat, and on the road. And it is paying off this week. p.s. John, I don't just do write ups when we are doing well.

The Event Begins -- Day 1

After a long day of sail measurement and lots of running by crews who could not stay away from the donuts on Tuesday, the racers at the J24 North Americans were treated to a picture perfect fall morning for racing. The winds at 10:00 am in Marblehead were a perfect 8-10 knots out of the Northwest.

By race time the breeze began to lighten and get a bit shifty. But despite the challenging conditions, Anthony Katoun jumped out to a convincing lead with two bullets. Anthony just got back from the World Championships, and from what we have heard, he has not even gotten a chance to unpack from England.

The Corinthian Yacht Club and all the volunteers are putting on a great event and making us feel very welcome. We have to thanks everyone who took the week off to help us launch boats and measure sails. Thank you to all our sponsors for dinner and drinks every night and a great selection of trophies and merchandise.

Results will be posted each day as we come in off the water. Preliminary results should be up as soon as we have them.

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Important News

We understand that Hurricane Katrina has impacted our Nation in a significant way. We understand that some of you may be on the fence about coming to this event due to the increase in gas prices. In response to that, we are suspending late fees. We are also offering housing to any crew outside of the Northeast. We hope that this helps offset your cost in participating in this event which promises to be an outstanding event with good food and drink. If you need housing or have other questions send an e-mail to info@j24northamericans2005.org

Join us for the J24 North Americans 2005

The Corinthian Yacht Club and J24 Fleet 28, along with the support of the Boston Yacht Club and the Eastern Yacht Club are pleased to host the J24 North American Championships in 2005. This Championship regatta will be held from September 19th to the 24th in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, directly outside of Marblehead harbor. This will be a World's qualifier sailed in one of North America's premier sailing locations.

This will also be the first North American Master's Championship for the J-24 Class. All boats which meet the age requirements for helm person and average crew age will automatically be scored in the Master's division as well as the open class.

Mark the dates on your calendar and bookmark this page for more information regarding the event as it becomes available.

Shaping Up to be an Incredible Event

The dog days of summer are finally slipping away here in the Northeast and we beginning to feel some relief from one of the hottest summers we have had in years. But just as the evening temps cool down, preparations for the J-24 North Americans are really heating up. We have commitments from close to 20 sponsors now and will be announcing a title sponsor this week. We have signed up a fantastic race organization team including a 5 person international jury and an incredibly experience race committee. We also have the support of all the local yacht clubs and the City of Marblehead to help with housing, launching, and the logistics of this great event. We are going out of our way to make sure that the J-24 North Americans will not only be a World Class event, but that it will be an event that will be enjoyed by everyone who attends.

The local fleets are seeing record turnouts in our evening series and our weekend series. We have verbal commitments from fleets in Maine, Newport, and Canada. One boat from Florida is already here, tucked in the driveway of one of our organizers. Time to get yourself registered and get your team together. The timing is going to be perfect for an end of the season event to see how your work over the summer has paid off, or to tune up for the beginning of you winter circuit.

Get your registration in soon to avoid the late fees.