J/24 Midwinter Championship at Coral Reef Yacht Club - Overall
by Christopher E. Howell 24 Feb 2014 06:27 GMT
21-23 February 2014
John Mollicone and his Helly Hansen team win the J/24 Midwinter Championship © Christopher E. Howell
John Mollicone gains back-to-back wins
John Mollicone from Newport, RI and his Helly Hansen team have successfully defended their J/24 Midwinter Championship title. With Geoff Becker (trimmer), Tim Healy (tactics), Collin Leon (mast) and Gordon Borges (bow), the group was able to spectate the last of the 10-race series to allow the other 26 teams to duke out the remaining places. Dropping the DNS, Mollicone ended the three-day event at Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami, FL with 18 points and a line of 1,5,1,1,1,2,3,3,1.
Thanks to a bullet in the final race of the championship, Travis Odenbach's Honey Badger (with Patrick Wilson, Rossi Milev, Chris Morgan and Emery Williams) snagged second place with 29 points. Tied on points, but in third place, was Luis Olcese's Scaramoush of Peru with crew Christian Sas, Joel Raffo, Joaquin Razetto and Alek Stewart. Conditions on Sunday remained sunny and warm with winds between 5-7 knots.
Mollicone praised the work of the Race Committee, saying, "The courses were nearly perfect. It was never windy, but we got 10 good races in." He also complimented his team, which will be competing in the J/24 World Championship this September in Newport with Mollicone at the helm. He credited their boat speed as the key to success. "It was somewhat choppy both upwind and downwind so having a bit of a speed edge helped us. Our whole team did a great job." He'd also like to see the Midwinter Championship return to Miami within a rotation of other Florida venues. "You can't beat the weather at 80+ degrees and 7-12 knots of breeze!"
Overall Results: (top five)
1st John Mollicone, 18pts
2nd Travis Odenbach, 29pts
3rd Luis Olcese, 29pts
4th Robby Brown, 40.7pts
5th John Poulson, 48pts
Photos are available on the J/24 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at www.coralreefyachtclub.org/Waterfront/Racing-(1)/J-24-Midwinter-Championship.aspx.