J/22 Midwinter Championship at Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans

/22 Midwinter Championship in New Orleans © Christopher Howell

Kevin Doyle, Vic Snyder and Aaron Snyder's Mo' Money mastered the light conditions on Sunday to win their first J/22 Midwinter Championship. The Youngstown, New York-based team tallied a 4,3,1 for 8 points in the three-race series.

No racing took place on Friday and Saturday due to high winds and storms. Travis Odenbach's Sea Bags Sailing Team secured second place with 16 points, and Matt Thompson's Underdog took third with 17 points. Thirty-two boats competed at the event hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, LA.

Going into the final race, the Doyle/Snyder team held a one-point advantage over Kevin's brother Chris Doyle on The Jug 4 1. "We had a great start in the middle of the line with no one around us, and we launched," explained Kevin Doyle. "We kept touch with Chris, but mostly we just sailed ultra conservative. The winds were fluky in direction and velocity all day." Doyle and Snyder have been racing Mo' Money for more than 20 years, previously with Kevin's son Jake and now with Vic's son Aaron. When asked what has kept him in the Class for so many years, Doyle replied, "Number one, the J/22 is a great boat, and number two is the people. Actually, those two are interchangeable. Good boats attract good people. And number three, we race in cool and folksy places."

Overall Results: (top five)

1. 489, Mo' Money, Kevin Doyle, Youngstown Yacht Club, 4-3-1-; 8pts
2. 1542, Sea Bags Sailing Team, Travis Odenbach, Rochester Yacht Club, 5-8-3-; 16
3. 1311, Underdog, Matt Thompson, Wayzata Yacht Club, 12-1-4-; 17
4. 486, En Fuego, Michael Schmid, Wayzata Yacht Club, 9-6-6-; 21
5. 707, Tejas, Terry Flynn, GBCA/FWBC, 2-15-7-; 24pts

Sunday's race winners were Peter Doyle and Jack Huebschmann's Escape, Thompson's Underdog and Mo' Money. Photos are available on the J/22 Class Facebook page, and complete results are available at www.j22mw.com.