2019 J/24 World Championship at Miami, Florida - Day 3
by Julie & Christopher Howell 25 Oct 2019 03:11 BST
19-26 October 2019
The middle day of the J/24 World Championship brought the Miami conditions the 79 teams came for—breeze in the mid-teens, sunny skies, warm temperatures and the Biscayne Bay chop. Day two leader Keith Whittemore on Furio overcame his worst finish in Thursday's beginning race (32nd) to earn a second in the next. With the discard taking effect as of race five, Furio keeps all top-seven scores for 19 net points in six races (10 races are planned).
Chris Stone's Velocidad shot up the leaderboard into second, posting a 4,7 on the day for 22 net points. Rossi Milev's Clear Air and Tony Parker's Bangor Packet remain in the hunt in third and fourth places, Milev with 25 points to Parker's 26.
Victor Diaz de Leon, Clear Air tactician, is racing only his second J/24 regatta. He noted, "The camaraderie in the fleet is really fun. Everyone is super friendly and nice." A regular in other one-design Classes, Diaz de Leon has been impressed with the high level of female participation, including two all-women teams. "There's a ton of great sailors here, and the boats are very challenging."
Kohei Ichikawa, from Japan, racing Gekko Diana proudly crossed the finish line first in race five, trailed by Parker and Milev. Travis Odenbach's Honeybadger completed Thursday triumphantly, with Whittemore rebounding in second place and Ichikawa again in the top three.
Seventy-nine teams from 19 nations (Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Grenada, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States) will compete through Saturday.
Full results available here.