J/24 North American Championship at Houston Yacht Club - Day 2

J/24 North American Championship day 2 © Christopher Howell

Will Welles' Bogus went four for four on Saturday at the J/24 North American Championship hosted by Houston Yacht Club. The Newport, RI-based skipper made a strong case in defending his title by winning all four races in winds at 12-18 knots.

Welles is now able to discard an OCS from race 1, leaving him a scoreline of 4,2,3,1,1,1,1 for 13 points. Mike Ingham's Nautalytics, also now dropping an OCS from race 1, moved up to second with a solid day including three runner-up finishes. A sixth in the day's final contest, paired with Welles perfect afternoon, prevented him from taking the overall lead in the 29-boat fleet. Travis Odenbach's Honeybadger dropped to third with 22 points.

Welles and Ingham placed first and second, respectively, in each of Saturday's first three races. The bronze position was taken by Todd Fedyszyn's Spoony Tactics in race 5, Odenbach's Honeybadger in race 6 and Nobuyuki Imai's Siesta in race 7. Following Welles in race 8 were Imai and Odenbach.

Racing concludes Sunday. Complete results may be found at www.regattatech.com/websites/action/showEventHome?clubCode=HoustonYC&eventCode=J24NA17, and photos are available on the J/24 Class Facebook page.